Community Gems

“As ‘digital citizens’, users would have new property rights… Companies like Personal are pioneering this concept on the web today.”

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The data revolution will not be televised

You can’t change the world without people power. Community gems are such a simple, geeky idea – creating sets of data for others to use. Think of them as the internet’s version of renewable energy — a true green revolution.

Ten minutes of your time and knowledge could literally save years of human effort — just in data entry. We invented community gems after someone told us she didn't understand why the car gem she took ten minutes to fill out couldn't be used by all the people who also owned that car. We did the math. Assuming 100,000 people used the gem, close to two years of human labor could be avoided by not having to enter the same data. That's what we call giving a helping hand.

Community gems in action - from the team at Personal

Directions - 1010 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20007

This gem for our office complex can be imported and customized by the two-dozen companies working here - or the thousands of people who visit each year. Includes public transportation and parking info, and the best way to enter the building.

Camera - Canon

When your iPhone camera just isn't enough... this is a place to store all the specs on your 'real' camera. Two people in our offices are avid photographers and love using this gem to keep track of their cameras' info. This gem contains dozens of fields of data others can import and use too.

Business Card - Personal, Inc.

Everything about Personal’s corporate headquarters in Washington, DC. Includes our address, tel, fax, web address, twitter handle, and a bunch of other stuff you might need.

Movie Reel - The 10 best startup flicks

Our favorite movies about startups and disruptive business ideas. Yes, The Social Network made the list, but Money Ball is tops.

Restaurant List - Top 5 cafes for a meeting in Georgetown

Baked and Wired ranks at the top of our list, although it can be a little hard to find a seat sometimes. Wi-Fi is mandatory, as is great coffee and a cool ambience.

Import data from Facebook and LinkedIn

These two gems allow you to connect to Facebook and LinkedIn to download all of your profile data. Just add the gems to your vault and then follow the instructions. Bam! Dozens of fields of data you have already created flow into your vault.

Check out our partner programs for community gems and data imports.

By the people for the people