Faq

What is Combo?
Why do I need Combo?
What makes Combo unique?
This sounds amazing - when can I start?
Can I get in on the beta?
How does Combo work?
Do I need to give you my login and password credentials?
How do I know my passwords are safe?
I don't want to give you my password - can I still use Combo?
Can I use Combo features on my Facebook, MySpace or other sites?
Which phones can I sync my contacts from?
I won't have my Facebook account frozen for using Combo, will I?
Where can I learn more about Combo?

What is Combo?
Combo is a social-web dashboard that allows you to integrate your contacts, content and communication into one interface accessible from the web and mobile devices. Combo makes all the services you use work together in a smarter, more natural way - letting you spend less time managing accounts and more time sharing with friends.

Why do I need Combo?
If you have a handful of social networking or media sharing accounts, blogs or other services you use - Combo will make it easier to keep track of everything from one place!

If you use both a cell phone, email and instant messaging to communicate with friends - Combo will organize all of your contacts in one universal address book. Also, you can send messages out from Combo to your friends on many different sites from one place!

If you want to share your media (movie trailer, blog, photos) with as many people possible - Combo can help you put it everywhere with a single upload!

If you want to create playlists and mash-ups with multiple types of content stored on multiple different sites - then Combo will make it fast and easy (and let you export it as a widget!)

If you want to create different levels of privacy between different profiles - business, friends, family - Combo's privacy settings will let you show the different aspects of you to different people.

If you want to own your social graph - then you need Combo to pull it all together and then download it to your computer, mobile device or take it with you to your favorite site via our API!

Simply put, Combo puts you at the center of the social web.

What makes Combo unique?
Combo let's you make a universal address book with all your email, cell phone, and chat contacts, integrated with all your social networking friends - all in one place. Combo let's you create a comprehensive media collection with all your shared and favorited photos, videos, blog entries and music. Combo gives you a watchbox that allows you keep track of what selected friends are doing on other sites, anywhere on the web. Combo has a lifestream feed that lets you publish your own activity, with privacy controls. Combo has a set of widgets that let you access all of your favorite Combo features from the sites you use most. Combo lets you upload media to multiple accounts at once.

This sounds amazing - when can I start?
Combo will be released as an invite only beta in April 2008, with a public release a few months later.

Can I get in on the beta?
Yes. Put your email address on the list from the Combo homepage. We will be testing the system out during the beta, asking for your feedback and gradually rolling out more features. We really could use your help during this process - we want to make Combo as useful as possible. Once it is ready, we will open the application to a larger group over the next couple of months and eventually it will be available for everyone.

How does Combo work?
Combo uses all the major web 2.0 profile standards - OpenSocial, the Facebook Application Platform, the Yahoo Application Platform, oAuth and others - and makes them all work together for you. For some sites and services that do not support these tokens, we have customized the system to access data. If you have a site or service you think we should work with, send us an email.

Do I need to give you my login and password credentials?
For some sites, yes. We know, it isn't ideal...but here's why: some sites offer a token based API exchange, in which you go to the site once and say "I'm cool with Combo" and then the site gives us a unique token to use when accessing your data. Those sites rock. We love those sites. You get to do more with your data, we don't have to worry about storing your password - everyone wins!

Some sites, however, have not yet implemented a token based system - some are going to do so sooner, some are going to do so later. Eventually we believe that the notion of Data Portability will win, but in the meantime, we need your credentials for some sites.

How do I know my passwords are safe?
We use AES encryption, which is used and approved by the National Security Agency. For more information about AES, read about it here.

I don't want to give you my password - can I still use Combo?
Yes! Many of the most popular sites don't require your password and even more services can be accessed via RSS. Try it out and you'll see - Combo is still for you.

Can I use Combo features on my Facebook, MySpace or other sites?
Yes. We have a growing list of widgets that will allow you to access all the neat features of your Combo dashboard on third-party sites. Some of the initial widgets and apps will include:

ComboStream - create your own feed of activity, based on everything you do everywhere on the web. Choose your privacy settings, then put it in your blog or social network profile so your friends and fans to see!

Watchbox - create a newsfeed tracking your friends activity anywhere on the web.

ComboFriends - make a friends-list that shows off your friends from all your accounts - then post it everywhere! Get status updates in real time from friends everywhere.

Playlists - Make video and audio playlists or photo slideshows, or mash-ups that include a little bit of everything. The content can come from any number of sources - and you can embed it anywhere.

Which phones can I sync my contacts from?
We sync to all major brands and phone operating systems. Blackberry, Windows Mobile, iPhone, Symbian, Motorola, Linux and more. We use the open source Funambol software to sync to and from smartphones and PDAs. For all other web accessibly phones, you will have to find your sync menu in the phones operating system. It is a lot easier than it sounds.

I won't have my Facebook account frozen for using Combo, will I?
No. We access Facebook exclusively through the Facebook Application Platform.

Where can I learn more about Combo?
You can read about the current status of Combo development, as well as new features we're working on, at our blog. Or you can contact our press office at press at combo.com to get your urgent questions answered directly.