Putting a Real Time Conversation Everywhere
I’ve written a bit about this idea before, but since I killed my last blog I’m going to go into it again.
I’m a fan of the service that Scribblelive provides. They have a “live-blogging” platform that allows communities to create a real time stream of posts for any specific event. I would really like to see their software implemented with google maps for real places. Just slap it onto the physical world and let people create permanent streams and URL’s for their towns or favorite hangouts.
I often go to cafes and kick it online surrounded by 15-30 people face down in their laptops. We have no means of connecting digitally and this drives me crazy. The same goes for when I am hanging out downtown, on campus, or at the library, I can’t connect with the people around me or see what’s going on there. A keyword search on search.twitter.com just doesn’t really do it, especially when millions more have facebook accounts. Scribblelive has it right in that it doesn’t even require you to register. You can sign in with your facebook, twitter, hotmail or openid accounts or just send a tweet with a certain tag and they’ll pull it out of the API and put it in the proper stream. This makes it very easy for almost anyone wanting to temporarily connect with those in their present location.
The growth of smartphones, twitter, connectivity and the move away from online anonymity is enabling a service like this to be successful. But no one is truly capitalizing on this yet. Brightkite tries and fails, twitter is mentioning something about launching local news but I’m confident it won’t fill this need. Most other location based apps are walled gardens which is foolish and will never work. I can imagine optimizing the service a mobile, a standard browser, and a display setting which would allow for a use similar to Rippletv.com where the stream could be displayed publicly on a monitor.
I think a service like this might be quite an evolution in communication. We don’t really know what type of social value there will be in a service that gives everyone the “intercom mic” at the local train station, school, cafe, town, mall, airport, etc. Certainly there is potential for harm too but think about how well it may work for reporting crime or emergencies. It could have a social value like that of craigslist. Myself, and others, are really itching for something that will allow this type of functionality.
Edit #1:
Dave Winer has been pushing to create more “Twitters” with installs of Identi.ca or the recently opened up Jaiku. I don’t think this is a bad thing but I wish there would be more focus of services like Scribblelive or Stocktwits that can pull data from API’s or use your favorite login whether openid, twitter, facebook, etc.
I know I am basically talking about giving IRC type functionality to every place you go. Forums and chat rooms are often full of trolls and slander, and like Clay Shirky recently tweeted, “Comments create Tragedy of the Commons”. This does not mean that sites like craigslist or wikipedia are useless even though trolls and slander run wild, they just need plenty of work by the community to keep them in check. Systems for the necessary types of checks and balances could be implemented. The other thing is that anonymity on facebook and twitter doesn’t really work. They are both part of the movement towards having a digital account that openly represents and is connected to the real world you.
Edit #2
I’ve been thinking lately the way to do this is less with google maps and more with Craigslist’s already divided up geographic location architecture. Here is a sample for the San Francisco bay area.
-
SFBAY
- SFC
- NBY
- PEN
-
SBY
- MOUNTAINVIEW
- SANJOSE
- SUNNYVALE
-
EBY
- OAKLAND
- BERKELEY
All posts tagged *Oakland go into Oakland thread and up the tree into *EBY (East Bay) thread and finally into the *SFBAY thread as well.
Yes I’d like to give this dream site features like posting on site like StockTwits and Facebook Integration like Scribblelive but simply pulling from the twitter api could provide a simple working demo.
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Putting a Real Time Conversation Everywhere
I’ve written a bit about this idea before, but since I killed my last blog I’m going to go into it again.
I’m a fan of the service that Scribblelive provides. They have a “live-blogging” platform that allows communities to create a real time stream of posts for any specific event. I would really like to see their software implemented with google maps for real places. Just slap it onto the physical world and let people create permanent streams and URL’s for their towns or favorite hangouts.
I often go to cafes and kick it online surrounded by 15-30 people face down in their laptops. We have no means of connecting digitally and this drives me crazy. The same goes for when I am hanging out downtown, on campus, or at the library, I can’t connect with the people around me or see what’s going on there. A keyword search on search.twitter.com just doesn’t really do it, especially when millions more have facebook accounts. Scribblelive has it right in that it doesn’t even require you to register. You can sign in with your facebook, twitter, hotmail or openid accounts or just send a tweet with a certain tag and they’ll pull it out of the API and put it in the proper stream. This makes it very easy for almost anyone wanting to temporarily connect with those in their present location.
The growth of smartphones, twitter, connectivity and the move away from online anonymity is enabling a service like this to be successful. But no one is truly capitalizing on this yet. Brightkite tries and fails, twitter is mentioning something about launching local news but I’m confident it won’t fill this need. Most other location based apps are walled gardens which is foolish and will never work. I can imagine optimizing the service a mobile, a standard browser, and a display setting which would allow for a use similar to Rippletv.com where the stream could be displayed publicly on a monitor.
I think a service like this might be quite an evolution in communication. We don’t really know what type of social value there will be in a service that gives everyone the “intercom mic” at the local train station, school, cafe, town, mall, airport, etc. Certainly there is potential for harm too but think about how well it may work for reporting crime or emergencies. It could have a social value like that of craigslist. Myself, and others, are really itching for something that will allow this type of functionality.
Edit #1:
Dave Winer has been pushing to create more “Twitters” with installs of Identi.ca or the recently opened up Jaiku. I don’t think this is a bad thing but I wish there would be more focus of services like Scribblelive or Stocktwits that can pull data from API’s or use your favorite login whether openid, twitter, facebook, etc.
I know I am basically talking about giving IRC type functionality to every place you go. Forums and chat rooms are often full of trolls and slander, and like Clay Shirky recently tweeted, “Comments create Tragedy of the Commons”. This does not mean that sites like craigslist or wikipedia are useless even though trolls and slander run wild, they just need plenty of work by the community to keep them in check. Systems for the necessary types of checks and balances could be implemented. The other thing is that anonymity on facebook and twitter doesn’t really work. They are both part of the movement towards having a digital account that openly represents and is connected to the real world you.
Edit #2
I’ve been thinking lately the way to do this is less with google maps and more with Craigslist’s already divided up geographic location architecture. Here is a sample for the San Francisco bay area.
-
SFBAY
- SFC
- NBY
- PEN
-
SBY
- MOUNTAINVIEW
- SANJOSE
- SUNNYVALE
-
EBY
- OAKLAND
- BERKELEY
All posts tagged *Oakland go into Oakland thread and up the tree into *EBY (East Bay) thread and finally into the *SFBAY thread as well.
Yes I’d like to give this dream site features like posting on site like StockTwits and Facebook Integration like Scribblelive but simply pulling from the twitter api could provide a simple working demo.
