Social Networking Sites as they are now are dead. So is the internet as we know it.
This is the change that is coming and it is coming because I'm tired. I'm tired of repeating the same things over and over again, going through the same process and being asked to interact with the people that I know in a way that is completely unnatural and counter to everything I do in my "real" life. I am a person, and although I live somewhat on-line, you don't own me. My friends are my friends, my business associates are my business associates, and if I decide that you're not meeting my needs, or even if you are but I would like to go somewhere else, I don't need your permission. Who am I? I am everyone.
I have a dream, and this is it.
The Dream
The first part of the dream, is The Book. The Book is something that I keep safe somewhere that is like my phone book, my address book, my schedule, my calendar and my plan, my memory, and my recollections all in one place. In that book are all the names of people that I've encountered in my online life and how I've interacted with them in the past and where, and it along with The Wardrobe will predicate how I'll interact with them in the future unless I choose to change that. The Book looks into the future. I will only share parts of my book with people that I know.
The second piece is called The Wardrobe, I call it the wardrobe because just as I dress for my day based on who I imagine that I might see that day or based on what I might be doing, so to will I dress in the online world. The Wardrobe unlike it's real world counterpart, will be a virtual coat of many colours, that may allow me to appear differently to many people in the same space.
Last I will carry The Satchel. Like the book, and very much a part of the book, the satchel is a place that I keep things that I may want to use, share, give away or sell.
To see the dream is to forget about web pages as you know them now, to forget about sites as you know them now, and to forget about the web as you know it now. The dream comes to me, I do not go to it unless I insist. In the dream, the internet fades into the background, and is no more apparent to me than the wires that carry my telephone call. Even the idea of a web browser as we know it vanishes or at least has the sole function of delivering services and functions to the variety of devices in my life.
What does it look like?
Friends
Imagine that I meet an old friend and we say that we should really stay in touch, and we exchange a token. Perhaps it is a phone number, or perhaps it is an email address, or any other such thing. When I add that person to the book and they add me to their book, we will be connected. I will have the information in my book about them that they wish to share, and they likewise will have the information about me that I wish to share. But remember, the book is not a site and it is present on every device that I own. Each device will interpret information from the book in it's own way. My phones will have my friend's phone number available to dial (but only the ones they share). My picture frames may have photos of my friend. My calendar may have important dates that relate to my friend. My media centre may have movie recommendations or shared media (family movies for instance) from my friend.
All of this happens through the interaction of the book, which stores the information about who my friend is and the token that I received, the wardrobe which allows me to present the version of myself that I wish my friend to receive, and the satchel from which I share my photos, my family videos etc.
Business Colleagues
In another instance, I receive a business card from a business contact. When I store their token in my book, I will have their contact information updated in my work related devices. If it was a chance meeting, perhaps The Book will note that I met with the individual and that it was a business meeting, and update my company's book to note the meeting. If the contact happens to also be a personal contact, they may also (through their wardrobe) give me access to their home number or recent photos of their children. Books and Wardrobes work equally well for companies and individuals.
Things I like
In another instance, I may see a band that I like or hear about a play I want to see or a television show I enjoy. By adding that band or play or television show to my book, I will automatically be informed in a contextual way about those things. For instance, when I listen to my media centre, I may have presented to me a new song by my favorite band, along with some notes about their new bass player and a reminder of the their upcoming tour. My Book is updated from the band's wardrobe, and the new song comes from their Satchel. The song, by the way, is shared from the satchel of the band through their wardrobe, which controls the way that it is presented to me (i.e. can I put it in my satchel permanently, or can I only listen to it this week for instance)
If a friend of mine shares my musical tastes, or looks to me for advice, I can share my listening habits or recommend new artists through my wardrobe, and they will show up in their media centre.
If I like an artist, I may have their artwork presented on my picture frames, If I enjoy an author, my reading device may be updated with their latest novel. Again, with the same sharing property controls as with the music - set through the wardrobe.
If I am out on a Friday night and am stumped for something to do, I will be able to consult a device, that will (based on my book, and location) make recommendations about a restaurant that just got a good review that is similar to one that I visited last week, or a band that I listened to on my media player that is playing a show nearby (or perhaps an indie act that has been compared to them...even more interesting). I would also be able to see what people that I know (or that have similar interests to me) are doing in the area.
Introductions
In my wardrobe, I may choose to allow my contacts contacts to discover me (If for instance I was in a job that required extensive networking). Alternatively, I may only allow people that are friends of people that I've identified as friends (not to be confused with the current idea of "friends" on social networking sites now) to discover me. This is opposed to the model that is most often employed by sites that allow me to see all your friends whether they wish to be seen or not. Just as in the real world, you will need to be introduced to someone to meet them. The exception to this is if I attend a public event (virtual rock concert for instance) If I choose to, when I enter the event, I can make myself a visible participant which would allow me to interact with the others in the room.
Advertising and media
Websites will cease to exist as we know them. Syndicated information in standard schema will proliferate, distributed through the wardrobe. For instance, a grocery store that wishes to update their sale information will publish to their wardrobe and consumers who have subscribed to the feed, will receive the information that they request. Feed aggregation will provide meaningful groupings of feeds (all the grocery stores in your area for instance) through simple queries that will allow the consumer to receive the detailed information that they need. Publishers of paper newspapers (if they still exist) will receive advertisements from the wardrobe which will be immediately inserted into the appropriate place in the paper based on the budget for the advertisement.
Radio will move to the online world, and terrestrial radio stations will disappear. Company Wardrobes will distribute ads to online stations around the world through centralized services. Ads will be delivered to individuals based on their physical location and demographic profile (once again, their wardrobe). A listener in Canada, will only hear advertisements that are targeted to them, even though they may be listening to a broadcaster that is physically located in Dubai.
In business to business models, marketing efforts will be entirely focused on ensuring the wardrobe and the satchel is up to date. Instant feeds from the wardrobe of a supplier will automatically feed the data systems of a customer in the manner that they wish to receive their information. Pricing, product information, staff bios, investor news, will all be fed through the wardrobe and received, integrated and acted upon in a much more instant and timely way than is at all possible now.
In the dream, personal information, corporate requirements, individual preferences, and information interact with one another in a seamless fashion, allowing technology to fade into the background, and interactions between people in personal and business matters to flow smoothly.
This is the dream and only the first glimpse
And now the call...
For those with the talent and skill and influence, to make the dream into the real.
This is the change that is coming and it is coming because I'm tired. I'm tired of repeating the same things over and over again, going through the same process and being asked to interact with the people that I know in a way that is completely unnatural and counter to everything I do in my "real" life. I am a person, and although I live somewhat on-line, you don't own me. My friends are my friends, my business associates are my business associates, and if I decide that you're not meeting my needs, or even if you are but I would like to go somewhere else, I don't need your permission. Who am I? I am everyone.
I have a dream, and this is it.
The Dream
The first part of the dream, is The Book. The Book is something that I keep safe somewhere that is like my phone book, my address book, my schedule, my calendar and my plan, my memory, and my recollections all in one place. In that book are all the names of people that I've encountered in my online life and how I've interacted with them in the past and where, and it along with The Wardrobe will predicate how I'll interact with them in the future unless I choose to change that. The Book looks into the future. I will only share parts of my book with people that I know.
The second piece is called The Wardrobe, I call it the wardrobe because just as I dress for my day based on who I imagine that I might see that day or based on what I might be doing, so to will I dress in the online world. The Wardrobe unlike it's real world counterpart, will be a virtual coat of many colours, that may allow me to appear differently to many people in the same space.
Last I will carry The Satchel. Like the book, and very much a part of the book, the satchel is a place that I keep things that I may want to use, share, give away or sell.
To see the dream is to forget about web pages as you know them now, to forget about sites as you know them now, and to forget about the web as you know it now. The dream comes to me, I do not go to it unless I insist. In the dream, the internet fades into the background, and is no more apparent to me than the wires that carry my telephone call. Even the idea of a web browser as we know it vanishes or at least has the sole function of delivering services and functions to the variety of devices in my life.
What does it look like?
Friends
Imagine that I meet an old friend and we say that we should really stay in touch, and we exchange a token. Perhaps it is a phone number, or perhaps it is an email address, or any other such thing. When I add that person to the book and they add me to their book, we will be connected. I will have the information in my book about them that they wish to share, and they likewise will have the information about me that I wish to share. But remember, the book is not a site and it is present on every device that I own. Each device will interpret information from the book in it's own way. My phones will have my friend's phone number available to dial (but only the ones they share). My picture frames may have photos of my friend. My calendar may have important dates that relate to my friend. My media centre may have movie recommendations or shared media (family movies for instance) from my friend.
All of this happens through the interaction of the book, which stores the information about who my friend is and the token that I received, the wardrobe which allows me to present the version of myself that I wish my friend to receive, and the satchel from which I share my photos, my family videos etc.
Business Colleagues
In another instance, I receive a business card from a business contact. When I store their token in my book, I will have their contact information updated in my work related devices. If it was a chance meeting, perhaps The Book will note that I met with the individual and that it was a business meeting, and update my company's book to note the meeting. If the contact happens to also be a personal contact, they may also (through their wardrobe) give me access to their home number or recent photos of their children. Books and Wardrobes work equally well for companies and individuals.
Things I like
In another instance, I may see a band that I like or hear about a play I want to see or a television show I enjoy. By adding that band or play or television show to my book, I will automatically be informed in a contextual way about those things. For instance, when I listen to my media centre, I may have presented to me a new song by my favorite band, along with some notes about their new bass player and a reminder of the their upcoming tour. My Book is updated from the band's wardrobe, and the new song comes from their Satchel. The song, by the way, is shared from the satchel of the band through their wardrobe, which controls the way that it is presented to me (i.e. can I put it in my satchel permanently, or can I only listen to it this week for instance)
If a friend of mine shares my musical tastes, or looks to me for advice, I can share my listening habits or recommend new artists through my wardrobe, and they will show up in their media centre.
If I like an artist, I may have their artwork presented on my picture frames, If I enjoy an author, my reading device may be updated with their latest novel. Again, with the same sharing property controls as with the music - set through the wardrobe.
If I am out on a Friday night and am stumped for something to do, I will be able to consult a device, that will (based on my book, and location) make recommendations about a restaurant that just got a good review that is similar to one that I visited last week, or a band that I listened to on my media player that is playing a show nearby (or perhaps an indie act that has been compared to them...even more interesting). I would also be able to see what people that I know (or that have similar interests to me) are doing in the area.
Introductions
In my wardrobe, I may choose to allow my contacts contacts to discover me (If for instance I was in a job that required extensive networking). Alternatively, I may only allow people that are friends of people that I've identified as friends (not to be confused with the current idea of "friends" on social networking sites now) to discover me. This is opposed to the model that is most often employed by sites that allow me to see all your friends whether they wish to be seen or not. Just as in the real world, you will need to be introduced to someone to meet them. The exception to this is if I attend a public event (virtual rock concert for instance) If I choose to, when I enter the event, I can make myself a visible participant which would allow me to interact with the others in the room.
Advertising and media
Websites will cease to exist as we know them. Syndicated information in standard schema will proliferate, distributed through the wardrobe. For instance, a grocery store that wishes to update their sale information will publish to their wardrobe and consumers who have subscribed to the feed, will receive the information that they request. Feed aggregation will provide meaningful groupings of feeds (all the grocery stores in your area for instance) through simple queries that will allow the consumer to receive the detailed information that they need. Publishers of paper newspapers (if they still exist) will receive advertisements from the wardrobe which will be immediately inserted into the appropriate place in the paper based on the budget for the advertisement.
Radio will move to the online world, and terrestrial radio stations will disappear. Company Wardrobes will distribute ads to online stations around the world through centralized services. Ads will be delivered to individuals based on their physical location and demographic profile (once again, their wardrobe). A listener in Canada, will only hear advertisements that are targeted to them, even though they may be listening to a broadcaster that is physically located in Dubai.
In business to business models, marketing efforts will be entirely focused on ensuring the wardrobe and the satchel is up to date. Instant feeds from the wardrobe of a supplier will automatically feed the data systems of a customer in the manner that they wish to receive their information. Pricing, product information, staff bios, investor news, will all be fed through the wardrobe and received, integrated and acted upon in a much more instant and timely way than is at all possible now.
In the dream, personal information, corporate requirements, individual preferences, and information interact with one another in a seamless fashion, allowing technology to fade into the background, and interactions between people in personal and business matters to flow smoothly.
This is the dream and only the first glimpse
And now the call...
For those with the talent and skill and influence, to make the dream into the real.
