Yesterday I posted an intentionally provocative question on Friend Feed, which was inspired by commentary I’d read in recent weeks about the value/nature of what we share in relation to differing motivations.
Here is the question:
“Social media & status: Do you wish to be popular (you amuse/entertain an audience) or do you wish to be relevant (you activate and engage a public)?”
While I admit the distinctions are simple and that I’ve created a bit of an either/or dichotomy (as a couple of people pointed out), my intention was to identify two impulses that - while not always divorced - stem from somewhat different motivations and objectives.
What’s far more interesting than my question is the resulting discussion - 66 comments long (at the current count), which amounts to a shared collaboration between myself and everyone who partcipated. The point of my question was to obtain some concrete statements about how each of us perceives what we’re engaging in (with my question as a starting point).
I’m not sure what it is about the nature of Friend Feed that’s inspiring this much participation but it’s a very promising result in comparison with other similar services/tools like Twitter. I’m not saying FF is an alternative to these other services but that it functions in a very different way. Like Steve Rubel and others, I’m impressed.
Continue reading ‘Why Friend Feed works for me’
Published on June 8, 2008
in Future.
Crossposting of my Smartmobs piece “Cell phones in Japan: Go big or Big Mind?“:
Apple’s 3G iPhone may well hit all the right notes with North American consumers but will it go big in Japan? WIRED writer Lisa Katayama isn’t so sure:
“Steve Jobs’ new iPhone, expected to be unveiled Monday, is headed to Japan by the end of the year. But the device’s famed ease of use may actually be a turnoff in Japan, where consumers want features, not simplicity.”?
Practical considerations aside, perhaps these questions are better left to philosophers. Is the cell phone market in Japan about going big or going Big Mind?
Functionality or philosophy?
From the emergence of Keitai culture until now, Japan is the most definitively mobile culture in the world. It is also a culture deeply informed by a very different philosophical aesthetics than the West. And this is precisely why this market is so different than anywhere else.
The cultural significance of these differences has a basis in Japan’s Iki or traditional aesthetic ideals, which are informed by principles of depth (Yugen) as well as incompleteness (Wabi Sabi).
Right now, technology is still discussed along pragmatic lines of functionality and usability. But as technology takes on greater significance in human society, our unconscious may be seeking out more profound experiences. In these terms the question of complexity in mobile design transcends the pragmatic to the awe and wonder of Yugen.
[click on the image to enlarge]
The above mess is my contribution to Eric Rice’s provocative ‘byhand’ meme. It all started with his attempt at a handwritten blog post. His experiment was followed up by Christine Cavalier’s, Goldie Katsu’s and now … mine. In each case, we’ve raised some questions about what’s been lost and gained in relation to writing and blogging. Christine, for her part, even came up with a definition for those who engage in this practice: scratchers.
Once I’ve had some time to reflect on this, I”ll write a follow up. Though the first things that came to mind were:
1. Permanence/impermance. Ink on paper v. elliptical expression.
2. Physicality. Writing as extension of the body - hand - writing.
3. Static v. hyper text. Inability to link words and ideas to outside contexts.
In the meantime, I encourage you to join us in our challenge. Tag your post with “byhand.”
Scratchers unite!
Published on June 2, 2008
in Future.
My top three picks from this weekend’s explorations - on the theme of “future” literacy, business and virtuality:
Transliteracy: Towards a definition of 21st Century literacies
“Transliteracy might provide a unifying perspective on what it means to be literate in the twenty–first century. It is not a new behavior but has only been identified as a working concept since the Internet generated new ways of thinking about human communication. This article defines transliteracy as “the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks” and opens the debate with examples from history, orality, philosophy, literature, and ethnography.”
Gartner Identifies Top Ten Disruptive Technologies for 2008 to 2012
“Social networking technologies, web mashups, multicore and hybrid processors and cloud computing are amongst the ten most disruptive technologies[1] that will shape the information technology (IT) landscape over the next five years, according to research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.”
“One important goal of the project is for the environment to be completely extensible. Developers and graphic artists can extend the functionality to create entire new worlds, new features in existing worlds, or new behaviors for objects and avatars. The art path for Wonderland is also open. The eventual goal is to support content creation within the world, but in the shorter term, the goal is to support importing art from open source 3D content creation tools as well as professional 3D modeling and animation applications.”
“A book is a mirror; if an ass peers into it, you can’t expect an apostle to look out.” - GC Lichtenberg
Had GC Lichtenberg been alive today, he might well have been talking about the internet. We’re the ones teaching the internet what to be with our every use. Utopia or dystopia, what it is, is up to us. The real question is, what are YOU contributing (and what do you expect in return)?
From my experiences working with clients, educators and learners, there is an assumption that you’ll have instant success if only you buy the right hardware, learn specialised technical skills or attend expensive conferences.
The truth is, none of this stuff has any value unless its scaffolded with a set of qualities and priorities that have nothing to do with technology.
Before you buy in to the promise of another conference, workshop or product please consider the following list and your affinity to each item. Your relationship is the real measure of your return on investment - the metric is you.
5 interpersonal web metrics (money can’t buy)
Continue reading ‘Optimize your self, not your site’
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