Robert - a topic I'd love to see you cover would be a kind of future predictions - where is all this social/media web going? what might we see next, how could it affect people's life's etc
Background: I use the web a lot, been using it for years, but I've been struggling with all the new social/media sites for a while now.
I use some of them a lot (Flickr, Facebook, You Tube), many of them never (Twitter, FriendFeed and the rest)
Blogging bored me initially, but I got into eventually about 4/5 years ago (reading, not writing my own).
Most of my friends (27-32 age range) use these sites way less than me.
My girlfriend scoffs at all of them as being a total waste of time, but then she can't understand why I need a laptop and a PC (and an Xbox and a Wii etc..... :)
For example, she hates the idea of photos (never mind videos) of her being shown on the web - I have to make sure anything of her is hidden from public view on FB, Flickr etc. When we have kids she'll make sure (and I'll be in agreement) that none of their photos will be public either.
So then I read a book by Ben Elton (a British comedian/satirist/novelist) called Blind Faith ( http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Faith-Ben-Elton/dp/... ) that satirises the whole social web thing mixed with a load of religion, the basic concept being that privacy is a sin, so everyone's lives are broadcast 24/7 by their own video podcast.
Now, I am honestly not the author trying to plug the book, but the concept of the book is pretty funny, and it did make me wonder where the social web is going. In a way parts of the book summed up what I thought of some of the new websites out there.
thanks for listening! :-)
Mike Sadler
· 1 year ago
As a "consumer" (rather than a poster) I prefer old-fashioned blogs - did I really just say old-fashioned - simply because of the amount of time that I have available is limited.
I don't always have the bandwidth (or inclination) to spend time reading through conversations, and certainly don't have the time to participate.
What I value is most is the ability to read blog entries from people I like while I'm taking a break from work, then moving on. If it resonates, then fine - I'll comment, but on the whole I prefer to be an audience member, rather than participant.
While there clearly is a place for tools like Friendfeed and Twitter (yes, I like to use Twitter to see what people are up to) I wonder how many other people are consumers like me. I'll guess we'll never know because by definition, they are unlikely to participate in this conversation ;-)
It would be great (although not a reasonable expectation from me) if you could write blog posts that captures the input of the great conversations that you've had to provide me with some simple, interesting entertainment.
DAVE ID
· 1 year ago
I see people putting so much emphasis in FriendFeed - which I adore - but I don't get the level of importance attributed to it by tech-bloggers baffles me. Especially when I hear other tech bloggers tell me with surprise "FriendFeed still exists?" It's one thing to love FF but I don't think its the end-all.
Mark Wilson
· 1 year ago
The emphasis on FriendFeed is important. It's the best of the Internet in one place. I have varied interests. I'm interested in social media and technology but I'm also interested in movies and music. FriendFeed is slowly showing diversity in the material being shared. If you visited FriendFeed early in its launch, you would have noticed a strong emphasis on tech and social media related material. Now, there is a growing movement to diversify FriendFeed.
I think people are baffled with FriendFeed because they don't participate. It is not a lifestreaming service. Many tech bloggers seem to want to dump their Twitter feed into FriendFeed and leave it at that. Guess what? I can follow you on Twitter if that's all you're going to do. As an active user of FriendFeed, engage me, get me involved, make me think. If you don't want to do that, stick with your own blog.
Robert, do you think that you're really missing out by blogging longer pieces here? Will you be posting a video from your discussion with Nicholas Negroponte? If so, is there a need to write a post?
Dawn
· 1 year ago
Robert: One problem with you using FF is that comments here have mostly dried up. I think that's significant if you care about your blog being a historic record. The FF discussions wash away quickly.
But I suppose that's why you often come back and say, "The discussion to this post can be found here." Will those FF links always be good? Do they plan to archive everything forever?
Do FF posts show up in Google? I haven't run across any.
John Koetsier
· 1 year ago
Robert,
>Most of my blogger friends think I’m nuts focusing so much >effort over on FriendFeed.
They're right. You're a digital sharecropper (a la Nick Carr) building a business for someone else while your own is suffering. The reality is that if you played your cards right you'd be making multiple thousands per month off your own blog ... and wouldn't have to whine about not being able to afford the new Canon.
:-)
Seriously, I think you can do that without losing credibility. Long-term, it makes much more sense for you.
All Comments
Background:
I use the web a lot, been using it for years, but I've been struggling with all the new social/media sites for a while now.
I use some of them a lot (Flickr, Facebook, You Tube), many of them never (Twitter, FriendFeed and the rest)
Blogging bored me initially, but I got into eventually about 4/5 years ago (reading, not writing my own).
Most of my friends (27-32 age range) use these sites way less than me.
My girlfriend scoffs at all of them as being a total waste of time, but then she can't understand why I need a laptop and a PC (and an Xbox and a Wii etc..... :)
For example, she hates the idea of photos (never mind videos) of her being shown on the web - I have to make sure anything of her is hidden from public view on FB, Flickr etc. When we have kids she'll make sure (and I'll be in agreement) that none of their photos will be public either.
So then I read a book by Ben Elton (a British comedian/satirist/novelist) called Blind Faith ( http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Faith-Ben-Elton/dp/... ) that satirises the whole social web thing mixed with a load of religion, the basic concept being that privacy is a sin, so everyone's lives are broadcast 24/7 by their own video podcast.
Now, I am honestly not the author trying to plug the book, but the concept of the book is pretty funny, and it did make me wonder where the social web is going. In a way parts of the book summed up what I thought of some of the new websites out there.
thanks for listening! :-)
I don't always have the bandwidth (or inclination) to spend time reading through conversations, and certainly don't have the time to participate.
What I value is most is the ability to read blog entries from people I like while I'm taking a break from work, then moving on. If it resonates, then fine - I'll comment, but on the whole I prefer to be an audience member, rather than participant.
While there clearly is a place for tools like Friendfeed and Twitter (yes, I like to use Twitter to see what people are up to) I wonder how many other people are consumers like me. I'll guess we'll never know because by definition, they are unlikely to participate in this conversation ;-)
It would be great (although not a reasonable expectation from me) if you could write blog posts that captures the input of the great conversations that you've had to provide me with some simple, interesting entertainment.
I think people are baffled with FriendFeed because they don't participate. It is not a lifestreaming service. Many tech bloggers seem to want to dump their Twitter feed into FriendFeed and leave it at that. Guess what? I can follow you on Twitter if that's all you're going to do. As an active user of FriendFeed, engage me, get me involved, make me think. If you don't want to do that, stick with your own blog.
Robert, do you think that you're really missing out by blogging longer pieces here? Will you be posting a video from your discussion with Nicholas Negroponte? If so, is there a need to write a post?
But I suppose that's why you often come back and say, "The discussion to this post can be found here." Will those FF links always be good? Do they plan to archive everything forever?
Do FF posts show up in Google? I haven't run across any.
>Most of my blogger friends think I’m nuts focusing so much
>effort over on FriendFeed.
They're right. You're a digital sharecropper (a la Nick Carr) building a business for someone else while your own is suffering. The reality is that if you played your cards right you'd be making multiple thousands per month off your own blog ... and wouldn't have to whine about not being able to afford the new Canon.
:-)
Seriously, I think you can do that without losing credibility. Long-term, it makes much more sense for you.