
I've posted a few times about the "widget wars" I see emerging -- functionality being extended from one platform into another.
But I was thinking about the process of communicating (by Web) and it dawned on me how ...just wrong... it is that we have to select what medium we're broadcasting a communication through before we begin the utterance (or rant).
How wrong is that?!
Let me put it this way - have you ever sent an email, which, as you click "Send" clearly looked more like an IM? (Or, a blog post -- "this will be lost on HIM"?)
To communicate is human; to type is ...less so. To open an application prior to activating one's voice is ...just wrong.
So, what does the resultant look like? I guess it's me, having a thought, and perhaps a vague sense of who I want to say it to, and what medium would be most appropriate, but then simply beginning the recording. Might be video, might be clicking on keys. One thought leads to the next. I make references, then, as an afterthought, tie in hyperlinks -- and add a comment about the photo at the aforhyperlinked site ("she doesn't usually look so strange").
And then, only then, am I ready to hit "Submit."
But alas, Jabber is going to choke on this 2 page, multi-media rich instant message. (And the recipient isn't online anymore.)
So, break it down.
Step 1: Rant, and capture. (It's like a dictaphone.)
Step 2: Look at it, and decide where to send it (Blog, IM, email, a mix.)
Step 3: Engage A.) social networks (GMail, FB, MySpace, etc) B.) and work through their address books (GMail vs. FaceBook).
Step 4: They get either a link, a notice, the bulk of it, etc. The systems between us figure out what to do with the embedded video, attached slideshow link, etc.
Oh, but then the insanity begins...
Step 5: They reply.
So where can I get an embedable widget called "Rant" that I can embed on any utility I use (I'd go for a Mac desktop widget this week). It looks like a sticky note, but expands to a WordPress editor. My uber-client.
Medium or media should be the afterthought, like licking the stamp.
(ps - my first post from MarsEdit.)
0 comments:
Post a Comment