Social Online Interaction: The App and the Agg
I am currently locked in a rip tide of social networking and online interaction. I wanted to write down some of my thoughts while they are fresh. For some time I have been listening to the voice of fellow colleagues, commuters, snippets of conversation and rumour; all asking whether online social interconnection can be used for business. All asking if it is an ego parade, buzz word, band wagon or flash trend. This blows my mind! How can we still be questioning the overwhelmingly obvious fact that any trend that is present on the net is a combined response from the way people use the net. It seems like it is taking businesses a long time to really get their head around the meta-narrative, the quintessence and the zeitgeist.
For me it comes from use and immersion. If you spend all your time interacting with and using the net, then trend awareness becomes second nature - you absorb the subtleties from all over the net, with every site you visit, because everything is connected. If you spend you time merely talking or thinking about how people interact with and use the net, then you miss out on the reality and are left with 'a priori' concepts and therefore assumptions.
That's just the basic statement, that I believe investment in social online interaction, of time and money, by individual or corporation, is both worth while and inevitable. I'm not saying I have the whole thing worked out though, as an expert and egotist I feel quite happy presenting my opinions - but as an introvert I am not really compelled to either interact or socialise online. That's me as an individual, if I were a business then things would be different. The personality of the business is what would compel the interaction and its various forms.
Blog. Obviously I blog. I keep this blog as a receptacle of ideas and thoughts, a means to sort through concepts that I feel are worth keeping or developing, no matter how odd. By writing and publishing I am forced to put the thoughts into a better order or in a more presentable fashion. There are a number of posts that have withered and died because they weren't strong enough to withstand the scrutiny of a blog post. Some people use it as a diary, others as a publishing medium for full blown articles. All are valid. As an individual it is governed by what I feel like talking about, I think as a business it may be governed by what others are talking about.
Facebook. Clearly a big deal and not to be overlooked but personally I can't stand it. It seems to amalgamate the worst aspects of real life small talk into a sharp ended magnifying glass and repeatedly poke you in the eye whilst you're trying to procrastinate. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Perhaps that is merely a side effect of my personal online personality, my pseudo self; as a business I may feel very differently.
Twitter ( https://twitter.com/catjuju ). I like Twitter and use it but seems to me to be dependent on stability. If you are able to give the time to it, it can be inventive, addictive and interesting. Mixing the best of voyeurism and self expression, allowing you to feel connected and engaged whilst keeping track of those you aspire to. You can see I use Twitter, I also have my Tweets published here on the right as a micro-blog. Filling the gap between huge rambling post and immediate thought, the gap between ego and id. I also use Twiiterfeed to post my blog on Twitter, which then shows up here in a strange loop of concepts that makes me just a little bit freaked.
LinkedIn ( http://www.linkedin.com/in/curtismcfee ). I mention this because I use it and because it seems to be the best of it 's kind. It does everything it needs to, everything you expect it to.
Summing up - the only thing I really want at this stage is to be able to get everything in one place. This is an app. that has yet to be created as far as I can see. I also want and app. that can gather a user created aggregation of information from whatever online source may be appropriate. This is what I have referred to as the Agg. I want to gather a list of blogs, a number of Twitter users, various websites and mash them up into a single cloud of information. Plus I want to have numerous clouds for different occasions and questions. The I want break out threads that can display filtered results. All of this and more I see. Bring me the AGG!
For me it comes from use and immersion. If you spend all your time interacting with and using the net, then trend awareness becomes second nature - you absorb the subtleties from all over the net, with every site you visit, because everything is connected. If you spend you time merely talking or thinking about how people interact with and use the net, then you miss out on the reality and are left with 'a priori' concepts and therefore assumptions.
That's just the basic statement, that I believe investment in social online interaction, of time and money, by individual or corporation, is both worth while and inevitable. I'm not saying I have the whole thing worked out though, as an expert and egotist I feel quite happy presenting my opinions - but as an introvert I am not really compelled to either interact or socialise online. That's me as an individual, if I were a business then things would be different. The personality of the business is what would compel the interaction and its various forms.
Blog. Obviously I blog. I keep this blog as a receptacle of ideas and thoughts, a means to sort through concepts that I feel are worth keeping or developing, no matter how odd. By writing and publishing I am forced to put the thoughts into a better order or in a more presentable fashion. There are a number of posts that have withered and died because they weren't strong enough to withstand the scrutiny of a blog post. Some people use it as a diary, others as a publishing medium for full blown articles. All are valid. As an individual it is governed by what I feel like talking about, I think as a business it may be governed by what others are talking about.
Facebook. Clearly a big deal and not to be overlooked but personally I can't stand it. It seems to amalgamate the worst aspects of real life small talk into a sharp ended magnifying glass and repeatedly poke you in the eye whilst you're trying to procrastinate. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Perhaps that is merely a side effect of my personal online personality, my pseudo self; as a business I may feel very differently.
Twitter ( https://twitter.com/catjuju ). I like Twitter and use it but seems to me to be dependent on stability. If you are able to give the time to it, it can be inventive, addictive and interesting. Mixing the best of voyeurism and self expression, allowing you to feel connected and engaged whilst keeping track of those you aspire to. You can see I use Twitter, I also have my Tweets published here on the right as a micro-blog. Filling the gap between huge rambling post and immediate thought, the gap between ego and id. I also use Twiiterfeed to post my blog on Twitter, which then shows up here in a strange loop of concepts that makes me just a little bit freaked.
LinkedIn ( http://www.linkedin.com/in/curtismcfee ). I mention this because I use it and because it seems to be the best of it 's kind. It does everything it needs to, everything you expect it to.
Summing up - the only thing I really want at this stage is to be able to get everything in one place. This is an app. that has yet to be created as far as I can see. I also want and app. that can gather a user created aggregation of information from whatever online source may be appropriate. This is what I have referred to as the Agg. I want to gather a list of blogs, a number of Twitter users, various websites and mash them up into a single cloud of information. Plus I want to have numerous clouds for different occasions and questions. The I want break out threads that can display filtered results. All of this and more I see. Bring me the AGG!
posted by Mobius Engineer at
06:23:00
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