State (website)
{{Short description|Web platform aimed at using natural language processing to facilitate opinion sharing }}
{{update|date=August 2020}}
{{About|the global opinion network||State (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox website
| name = State.com
| logo =State Offical Logo.png
| logocaption =
| screenshot =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| caption =
| url = {{URL|http://State.com/}}
| commercial =
| type = Opinion poll, Global opinion network
| registration = Optional
| language = English
| content_license =
| owner = Equal Media Ltd.
| author =
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2014|df=yes/no}}
| alexa =
| revenue =
| current_status = Public
| footnotes =
}}
State is a semantic web platform created by London, UK-based Equal Media Ltd. Announced in 2013, and launched in 2014, State aims to build a global opinion network using natural language processing, databases and sentiment analysis.{{cite news | title = Graphing your opinion: Jawbone founder wants to data-track points of view | url =https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2012/01/start/graphing-your-opinion | access-date = 2013-09-09 | work = Wired}} It seeks to "democratiz[e] online conversations" by giving equal representation of each person's opinion.{{cite news|last1=Kirkland|first1=Sam|title=Opinion network State launches with goal of democratizing online conversations|url=http://www.poynter.org/mediawire/top-stories/241331/opinion-network-state-launches-with-goal-of-democratizing-online-conversations/|work=Poynter|date=27 February 2014}} As of 2020, the site is inactive.
History
Equal Media was founded by Jawbone founder Alex Asseily and his brother Mark Asseily, who raised $14 million in seed financing in May 2012{{cite news | title = State Launches Opinion Network where you don't need followers to be heard | work = Techcrunch | url = https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/29/state/
| access-date = 9 September 2013| first=Josh| last=Constine}} from funders such as Atomico.
State launched in closed alpha in May 2013 with around 10,000 users{{cite news|last1=Solon|first1=Olivia|title=Jawbone founder launches 'opinion network', State|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-02/28/state-opinion-network|work=Wired|date=28 February 2014}} and at TechCrunch Disrupt in September 2013 it launched an invite-only beta release.{{cite news | title = State Launches Opinion Network where you don't need followers to be heard | work = Techcrunch | date = 29 April 2013 | url = https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/29/state/ | access-date = 2013-09-09}} When State launched its mobile app and the platform to the public in February 2014, it had about 30 employees, most of whom work at headquarters in London. It also has an office in San Francisco.
Its advisors include Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Deepak Chopra, Troy Carter, Eli Pariser, Andrew Paulson, and Nigel Shadbolt.{{cite web
|title = State.com/about
|url = https://state.com/about/people
|access-date = 2013-09-09
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192300/https://state.com/about/people
|archive-date = 2016-03-03
}}
Features
State has a large dictionary of "headlines", or structured expressions organized semantically. This allows users to opine more specifically, as Asseily explained: "The world isn’t as thumbs-up/thumbs-down as we may have imagined. They are adding texture to their opinions." Furthermore, users can “tune”—i.e., follow— in to specific topics such as politics or technology, and can also import friends from Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter. Because opinions are computer-readable, they can automatically be summarized and cross-referenced.{{cite news | title = Making sense of opinions: Celeb-backed State takes a stab at the modern forum | work = PandoDaily | date = 31 May 2013 | url = http://pandodaily.com/2013/05/31/making-sense-of-opinions-celeb-backed-state-takes-a-stab-at-the-modern-forum/ | access-date = 2013-09-09| first=Hamish| last=McKenzie }}
Re/code writer Liz Gannes described it as an "interest graph" startup.
Business model
Asseily envisions State "eventually becom[ing] a research-on-demand service"{{cite news|last1=Gannes|first1=Liz|title=State App Wants to Be a Public Opinion Poll for Everything|url=http://recode.net/2014/02/27/state-app-wants-to-be-a-public-opinion-poll-for-everything/|work=Re/code|date=February 27, 2014}} with a "database that brands can access". For example, "insights reports" based on aggregated opinions could "aim to capture sentiment about a concept, brand, or event, which are currently free for State users".{{cite news|last1=Hockenson|first1=Lauren|title=Got opinions? State wants to build a social network for them|url=https://gigaom.com/2014/02/27/got-opinions-state-wants-to-build-a-social-network-for-them/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227202921/http://gigaom.com/2014/02/27/got-opinions-state-wants-to-build-a-social-network-for-them/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 27, 2014|work=GigaOm|date=27 February 2014}}
Examples of such insights include the following. State users generally viewed "Facebook as a whole" negatively while opinions of the company's new Paper app were overwhelmingly positive. Regarding the surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden, some people held conflicted opinions towards Edward Snowden and the Prism programme. As Asseily explained, "In general terms, some people who thought Snowden was a villain, also thought Prism was bad and likewise, some thought Snowden was a hero but that Prism was a good thing".{{cite news|last1=Gibbs|first1=Samuel|title=State is more than just a social network for opinions|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/27/state-social-network-opinions|work=The Guardian|date=27 February 2014}}