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Max Van Kleek
Associate Professor at University of Oxford
Professional Background
Max Van Kleek is an esteemed Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) at the Department of Computer Science at the prestigious University of Oxford. In his role, he engages in pioneering research that spans across cognitive science, artificial intelligence (AI), and systems to devise innovative tools addressing the emerging societal challenges we face today. Max primarily teaches within the Software Engineering MSc Programme, imparting his knowledge to the next generation of computer scientists. Additionally, he serves as a Governing Body Fellow at Kellogg College, a role that allows him to contribute significantly to academic governance and community development.
Max has cultivated an impressive career in academia and research. His expertise lies in making AI and machine learning (ML) systems user-friendly, enhancing decision-making processes for individuals in areas where they might lack expertise, and empowering people to manage their personal information more effectively, especially concerning privacy preferences.
A collaborative spirit defines Max’s approach—he enjoys working alongside social scientists, cognitive psychologists, public policy researchers, machine learning experts, industry researchers, and entrepreneurs. Together, they focus on solving critical problems that enable individuals to lead improved, computer-supported lives. His belief that technology should facilitate rather than complicate our lives drives the core of his research and teaching philosophy.
Despite the advancements in digital information technology, Max notes that many individuals struggle with managing their everyday information. He emphasizes the importance of redesigning information tools by understanding how these tools interact with our daily activities and information practices. This focus on user experience and information management positions Max as a thought leader in HCI, contributing significantly to how technology can better serve users in the modern age.
Beyond working with individuals, Max also aims to foster collaboration and coordination among groups. His research demonstrates the profound impact collaborative tools have on enhancing human interaction and cooperation, further illustrating his commitment to developing technology that improves collective outcomes for society.
Education and Achievements
Max Van Kleek's educational journey is marked by excellence and achievement from one of the world’s leading institutions. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also completed both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees—earning a perfect GPA of 5.0 out of 5.0 in both programs. This strong academic foundation laid the groundwork for his future endeavors in research and education, allowing him to dive deep into the fields of human-computer interaction and cognitive science.
His commitment to advancing knowledge in HCI and computer science has led him to hold various influential positions at esteemed organizations. Before joining the University of Oxford as an Associate Professor, he served as a Senior Research Fellow at the same university, where he honed his research skills and collaborated with a wide spectrum of scholars. His research tenure also includes significant roles as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Southampton and a Research Intern at PARC. This broad spectrum of experience has enriched his understanding of both academic and practical aspects of technology and innovation.
Max’s work has frequently appeared in scholarly venues, and he remains an active participant in the academic community, frequently collaborating with a network of researchers and professionals. His former role as SIGCHI Ops at ACM SIGCHI highlights his leadership within the global HCI community, further cementing his reputation as an authority in the field.
Throughout his career, Max has garnered recognition for his pivotal contributions to human-computer interaction research. His innovative frameworks and methodologies have significant implications for how technology interfaces are designed and utilized by users, fostering a deeper understanding of user needs and behaviors.
Achievements
Max Van Kleek's contributions to human-computer interaction and technology are marked by several notable achievements. His research specifically addresses critical aspects of user engagement with technology. He focuses on understanding how people interact with AI and information systems, and how this affects their decision-making processes. Max's ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable insights for users is a hallmark of his work.
He has published numerous articles and research papers that explore the intersection of AI, cognitive science, and systems thinking, contributing to a growing body of knowledge that shapes the future of technology design. His dedication to making technology more accessible and user-friendly is evident in his research projects, which frequently aim to enhance users' abilities to control their personal information, especially regarding privacy.
In addition to his research, Max's teaching philosophy emphasizes practical skills alongside theoretical knowledge, preparing his students for the challenges of the tech industry. His guidance and mentorship have helped many graduate students and professionals develop the competencies needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world.
As a thought leader, Max actively engages with both academic and industry partners, advocating for research that leads to tangible impacts on users’ lives. His collaborations extend to diverse fields, illustrating the multifaceted nature of human-computer interaction and its applications in everyday life.
In conclusion, Max Van Kleek is not only a prominent figure in human-computer interaction but also a dedicated educator and researcher whose work aims to bridge the gap between technology and user experience. With a robust educational background, extensive research experience, and a passion for fostering collaboration and innovation, Max continues to inspire others in his pursuit of better technologies for enhancing human life.
Summary of Contributions
Max Van Kleek’s longtime commitment to exploring and enhancing human interactions with computational systems positions him as an influential voice in the realms of cognitive science, AI, and system design. His emphasis on collaboration—both in academic partnerships and in technological development—addresses some of the most pressing needs of today’s users, including effective decision-making and personal information control. Max's ongoing efforts exemplify how research can translate into meaningful tools that support users in navigating the digital landscape and ultimately empower them to lead improved, connected lives.
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Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.