Plugaid - Instant conversations about anything

Plugaid is a new Web2.0 company on the prowl looking to help bloggers instantly start a conversation about a certain idea or topic. I received an invite in my email this morning allowing me to join the closed beta that they are starting.

The service works by embedding code for a 'box' into your post that allows people to form conversations on a specific topic. When you include a plug box into your post you are automatically included as part of an ongoing conversation or can start a new topic.

The premise is that many people often discuss similar topics and while your post by itself may not have a significant impact, the post when grouped with others of its kind can be much more valuable. Not only are your opinions on the topic reaching others who are participating in the conversation but you can provide your readers with links to other peoples opinions and responses.

Here is an example of a PlugAid box:

The above conversation groups several posts on the topic of Technology, Gadgets, and Gizmos. Each blog post is listed as an entry or plug. The best part is that you can preview a small snippet of the post without having to load each one. If a particular plug looks interesting you can click the yellow visit button to read more.

The box can be embedded in two ways: participate and scrap. In participate mode, your blog post will actually be included in the conversation while in scrap mode you can show the conversation without participating in it.

I am going to try and implement Plugaid into some of the posts to see the response it draws. Who knows if this will be a success or not but the idea is certainly novel.