Freedom Lawyers of America

Checkout the indexing system for files created by my friend, Mike Linksvayer, and his friends. It is the next stage of search engine technology and I hope it is successful because it is a good idea. Bitzi

Cataloging the World Bitzi
May 08, 2002

by Futuredex Editor, Eric Reyes
Here�s a twist to peer-to-peer file sharing. What if you could identify a file by unique code � an MP3, an image or video, even text � and find out what it is, find similar files, and find out what others using the file have said about it?


A startup that has had two lives � San Francisco-based Bitzi � wants to be the card catalog for the World Wide Web. Hopefully, the Bitzi Website will be the first stop anyone will want to make to discover details about a file before they download it, launch it, or otherwise read it.


Founded by Gordon Mohr, CTO, in 2000, Bitzi actually went into �hibernation� in November 2001 to regroup. After much bootstrapping they reemerged and currently have a catalog of 401,274 files and adding more everyday.

How do they do it with three people? They rely on Web surfers as volunteers � more than 11,000 of them -- to help describe each and every file. Right now, the majority of them are MP3 files � still hot commodities in a post-Napster world.

�There are utilities for P-to-P or document identifiers,� Mohr says. �There are also some Websites that rely on rating files and consultancies that want to tag every page on the Web,� he adds, but nothing with Bitzi�s buzz. �It�s very early and there will be players.�

It will always be free for a user to do lookups, but to appear in the directory will cost a registration fee. Adding advertising partners is also an option. �We are not trying to be the source of the files themselves,� Mohr says, �but a source for reference. We provide a service that will help all the P-to-P networks.�

As a kind of card catalog, Bitzi will also not be an enforcer of copyright � a concern of any originator of a file, especially if it is music, video, or an image. However, using the code tags, any file can be used to tell fans how to get legitimate copies.

The three founders have put about $200,000 of their own money into the project and gave up salaries and their trendy San Francisco offices for, literally, the kitchen counter top as work station. �Going mass market is going to be an organic process,� Mohr says. �As more discover it, the word will get out.�

They also give out key bits of source code in a product they call bitcollider to help third parties to use the Bitzi catalog.

�Everything digital that you can want can be shared on the celestial jukebox,� he adds. �Everything is available on demand in the air and heavens. We fit into that world that is being created moment by moment.�