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The first news I had of Popego , said that Santiago Siri had reached Argentina locate a site in the top 50 of world prestigious event of TechCrunch . I was surprised, I was overjoyed to hear about how good it was positioning a website compatriot globally.

What is it? How did he do? How much cover? Is it business? Were the first questions I asked myself.

For starters, the site has a name that describes him from head to toe: Ego Pop.
In this new (old?) Social network age, the fluid communication between people, contacts, references, the navigator is full of sites and services to feed his ego. His "I". Your photos, your videos, your stories, your comments, opinions, votes. The brainchild of this site is that of nuclear various services that are subscribed to the egocentric navigator and concentrate in Autoblog.

But that's for sure? and my privacy?

Yes yes yes ... is it safe, stay quiet lady. Two things, privacy and almost does not exist , especially in teenagers and new internet-social tribes seeking emerging popularity is in the exhibition and second, the site's brother Liniers public access only to user profiles, without requiring user and password for other services.
If you have a Picassa album or Flickr (or both!) You know them you can set the scope of privacy desired for the album is public or restricted to persons you designate. If the photos are public, then you can tell him Popego "Hey Popego!, Knows more about my profile on my public album of Mar del Plata".
Similarly, we can tell that you review our services Popego YouTube videos, blog, Reader, Delicious, Twitter and many other services (Facebook coming soon).

And that's not all.

With all that ball data, tags, keywords, image and multimedia material the site of the orange smiley face is not satisfied. Want more. And going for more.
Personally I buenisima the idea seemed to there to the autoblog with my items for various services concentrated in one place.
But it seems that the boy of the lens was given to advance and improve the idea. Maybe that's the break to get to be one of the 50 best sites of 2008 .

Popego takes our "likes" (taste), processed our profile and provides us with new data. Of course, when we endorse our services turn you were saying "Hey Popego, I like reading science fiction, my language is Spanish, my tags are Computer Science and Art, I read news about movies." Then he is responsible for reviewing and stir in the network to find feeds, news, images and videos that are similar to our tastes.

Popego becomes a personal assistant, who tries to understand, how we are, what we like, what does not and juggling for King, sorry, I meant for the surfer.

We continue with the interview with Santiago Siri ( part one )

The Tecnoloco (ET): As you look at the future? (If any fucking question!) Santiago Siri (SS): lol .. if it is not an easy question. When I booted with Popego, the target set was to generate a company that could really innovate and get into a competitive edge worldwide. And that demand a huge effort and is very ambitious it to boot from a country like Argentina where there is little tradition of that. I wish I could take a long flight Popego and my future is marked by the course that will take the company over the next years or even decades to come. I like to think in long term and obviously work every day to grow steadily. But, given as things are given .. surely in the future find me working on projects that seek to innovate and be original. Nothing is more important than that.

ET: How do you Definis Artist or Technician?

SS: Although long ago I do not, I like programming and long ago I do not. On the other hand, as many programmers think that elbowing is an art in itself. But it is also true that I look much the aesthetic side and particularly Popego I have put my own hand in the design and usability. I suppose I should define myself as an "entrepreneur" now that I am conducting a company .. but I do not like at all that definition, that always sounded a bit empty to be an "entrepreneur" to dry. Well .. harder at me with this question

ET: What general approach should be an entrepreneur?, Used to be "submissive"?

SS: I can tell you that attitude I took, which helped me a lot .. and is to be constantly in learning mode, to be alert to what is happening and be receiving all kinds of tips, news, views, etc.. In my case I learned a lot from my partner, Emiliano Kargieman , who also invest in the company on capital invested also clearly transmit their knowledge and experiences. I learned a lot of team working in Popego: they all know a lot more than me in some specific area of ​​the project. And finally learn a lot of feedback from users, which are quite sincere when they have a chance to speak their minds openly. If one is always alert to hear the voices of others, the criterion that has one to make decisions much more solid then.

ET: Are you still active in ADVA ?

SS: ADVA is one of those projects that I love but I can not spend my time. I am heartened to see that today a lot is well-established gaming companies, selling projects around the world and even reaching what seemed like a utopia 7 years ago as it was to develop console games in Argentina. Check that the EVA is made by 6th year is also something that makes me very happy. If I look in perspective, there have been lots of things with the community effort of video games and have been involved in the genesis of it was incredible. Today my only link with ADVA, and this does not tell anyone is that I am the one who pays the hosting of the site

ET: Did your parents to get involved?

SS: My father is a lawyer, a very traditional work for several decades in the brewer Quilmes. And my mom is a rare combo writer (this putting together a book of stories now) + entrepreneur .. I was very young when she had a slipper factory and now works in the tourism industry. And luckily the two stalwarts have been with me .. supported me from day one, when I told them I wanted to leave the power to make a football game .. but hey, in case of my brother and were cured of fright .. I paved the way the

ET: How do you get along with your brother Liniers (by the way, this great interface of your site )?

SS: He has 10 years older than I. .. and throughout my life was my idol. I can tell? If today I have some musical taste or literary cinephile's all because of him. I remember as a kid forced me to memorize the names of rock bands that came out on TV channels .. he opened the world of culture since I was born .. and today with his cartoon in the newspaper is doing just that with very many readers around the country! He was also an example of persistence, endeavored to take a lot to reach the site is within the world of comics here .. which leaves me little doubt to me about how valuable it is to strive and persist in what one likes.

ET: Are you studying a university degree?

SS: No.. and perhaps there are things I would like some more solid formation. But I always felt uncomfortable in academia .. I enjoy a lot of reading and paradoxically end up reading about various topics of science or philosophical and political essays. But hey, I often say that having made ​​the FD was my university

ET: Do you see directing a movie, you want this kind of project?

SS: hahaha .. obvious! I love .. but I have full awareness that direct a film requires a lot of technical knowledge and aesthetic .. film has a very complex and profound language. The most important thing would certainly have a good story to tell .. but hey, I enjoy a lot to make software, which I think in many ways as one of the most important forms of expression and interesting this time.

And these are the questions tecnolocas: (to everyone we interview them we will do the same questions)

• PC or Mac?: Mac
• MAC OS, Linux or Windows?: Mac OS X.. this operation is something poetic.
• Favorite gadget: iPhone, hard to believe it's real. It's a bug in 2015, not 2008.
• Favorite Software: Hard to choose. Gmail seems to me impeccable.
• Video favorite game: Katamari Damacy .. pure beauty.
• Last video game played (and opinion): Spore .. contrary to other games Will Wright, is very goal oriented and lacks the fantasy of playing as an unrestricted free experience. In a Darwinian game, that was very important and missed. I hate to say.
• Book / Cartoon Favorite: Maus I and II. It's a painful portrait of the Holocaust and gave the comic a unique expressive richness.
• Blog / favorite place: Wikipedia. We should give him the Nobel Peace Prize to Jimmy Wales
• Favorite Movie: Thank .. put it in technical tie "Space Odyssey: 2001" Kubrick for his influence on me and "Modern Times" by Chaplin for his influence in the world.
• Last movie seen (and opinion), " Blindness "in the film based on the novel by Saramago. Impeccable direction of Meirelles (" City of God ") and one of my favorite actors, Gael Garcia Bernal .
• Sports: haha .. a year ago I would say without shame Tennis .. Today I tell you with shame.
• What are you doing on Saturday at night?: Hmm .. not find a regular pattern of activity to my Saturday night, but if I can be at a barbecue with friends swapping stories, I'm happy.
• Person / s you admire (of any kind): I do not admire, but I woke up a lot of fascination at the time the historical figure of Che Guevara. An idealist who died with his boots on and became a symbol of rebellion .. but I can not separate that fundamentalist and dogmatic man who murdered people and established a disastrous regime in Cuba. This dualism of Che .. is fascinating.

THANK SANTI!

In these days, from the one of the interview today, followed two important facts:
1) Creative Award Argentino: Candelaria Schamun, Santiago Siri, Sebastian Ortega, Diego and Pedro Saborido Capusotto

2) Popego in hyperconnected (TELEFE, Canal 11, Argentina)

We started a new section within the tecnoloco: "Interviews". Who?, People that I personally admire people who show us "the way" to those who already made ​​the effort, which changed its stars! (One of the memorable phrases of " Heart of Knight "), those who did something that changed his life and why not, the lives of others.

Without further ado, I begin the first part of the interview we did to Santiago Siri , starting with questions about his past:

ElTecnoloco (ET): How long it took to make Soccer Deluxe ?, why do you say 'octopus'? Santiago Siri (SS): Soccer Deluxe was a project that took about 3 years. Since its inception as an idea to the international publication was a lengthy process and a lot of learning. The nickname came about when doing demos colleagues from ADVA and explained that both the art, as the code or the music I had made ​​and baptized my man under conductors such as "Octopus"

ET: No Soccer Deluxe, do you think Popego exist?

SS: I really never thought about it. Certainly I think having some previous experience undertaking was considered something positive for my current partners who invested in Popego. There is much value in having tried to start something, but to be successful or not (as was the case of FD where although the investment is recovered, is far from a success). In our culture we should stop being so exitistas and assess the learning that arise when things go wrong.

ET: How much influence do you think that knowing how to speak English in your endeavors?

SS: This is something I owe to my father fully instilled in me from very young to speak English. Honestly I think today is a fundamental tool to speak more than one language. Of course English has the virtue of being the common language to talk with anyone in the world .. and if you want to grow both professionally and personally and culturally able to speak a language like English opens the doors of the world. I think learning a second language should be compulsory in all schools in the country, today only speak a language is a serious symptom that cancels many possibilities as it was several decades ago illiteracy.

ET: How was the experience of TC50 ? ( what the hell is TechCrunch? ), many feelings together I guess.

SS: It was the best professional experiences of my career. The mere fact that the selection process was very demanding and we face more than 1000 companies I find it a bit impressive. So a lot m proud to see the effort we put everyone in Popego to achieve that milestone. When making the presentation, although there were some nerves before going on stage Emiliano my partner told me I had a sense of party .. and could not have been better defined.

ET: What you can tell us about the experience of having lived a month in Silicon Valley?, Will you start a company there?

SS: Popego was conceived as a company poised to grow in a global context .. and that demand has a strong presence in the U.S. which is where the market. Our goal is to assemble a team of business development here there and keep the excellent development team we have.

Being in Silicon Valley certainly very helpful to understand how the gears of the world of technology. In Argentina is far from having a clear notion of how things happen there and I learned a lot in my stays. Undoubtedly there is an abysmal difference of capital to do things .. but I think it is worth noting that here, contrary to what you see there is everything to be done and that in any entrepreneur in Argentina should be seen as a great opportunity.

ET: The Popego development time, to this day is over 2 years, almost as much as "Soccer Deluxe", persistence is a quality that every entrepreneur should have, then how did all this time to motivate (both you and the team) to continue development?

SS: I personally like large projects, and the fascination of the web in particular (which is not so great games) is that for big projects also are "alive" that can renew and readjust to new realities. A simple analogy is that I like writing novels more stories .. and so I feel comfortable doing this work knowing that demand a lot of patience. With Popego is very comforting to know that you work with an excellent team that constantly brings new ideas, making us never tire of the project .. keep that fire alive is fundamental.

ET: How Popego infrastructure?

SS: The development is done in python on the backend and the frontend has the classic components of javascript and html. So in that sense there is no big deal! The main challenge in terms of architecture, is able to scale which requires a lot optimize the algorithms we use and simplify as much as possible the different pieces of the "machinery". Actually as we move forward we realize how ambitious the project .. which requires us to constantly be learning how to read papers and solve new problems. It's a fun job

ET: How do you see the future of Argentina with doing?

SS: In Argentina we have an excellent track record undertaking software? There was a very good first generation in Internet companies and there is now a new wave of entrepreneurs eager to continue to demonstrate that there is room for new ideas in the country. Now, in international terms, we still have much to learn and go .. make good investment practices that exist in the U.S., have a culture more akin to that undertaken where it is based both on the success or failure .. and eradicate some negative notions that arise when one speaks of "entrepreneurs" in Argentina. We are a country badly beaten by our politicians and corruption .. and it shows very clearly when one is out: it is very unfair as long as we lose the Argentines discussing with us for basic questions that have not been resolved. And that greatly affects entrepreneurs .. but I think with good examples, leading to mark a path to follow and show that you can do great things here, things will be getting better. I learned a lot from my partner in this regard.

ET: How do you see in the future? (If any fucking question!)

Continued ...
UPDATE: continuous: http://eltecnoloco.com/entrevista-santiago-siri-parte2

For hanging not knowing what is Popego, here is a review . :)