Kagi Media Presents Pro Tools Mixing Site HardDiskLife.com
Grok Headline matches for Kagi Media Presents Pro Tools Mixing Site HardDiskLife.com
UNDERSTANDING MEDIA: WEBLOGS ARE
EXCELLENT COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA, BUT
LOUSY COMMUNICATION TOOLS
UNDERSTANDING MEDIA: WEBLOGS ARE
EXCELLENT COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA, BUT
LOUSY COMMUNICATION TOOLS
06/04/2004 11:02 AM
Ton Zijlstra is on to
something.
He describes blogs as "personal presence portals", and then goes on to
describe the "awkwardness" that we feel when we go from 'knowing'
someone through their blog to meeting them in person. His solution to
that is simple: acknowledge
the awkwardness explicitly in the first face-to-face conversation, and
then work through it. Jon Husband chimes in
with the observation that on-line 'presence' is still foreign to us,
and we need to learn how to use it, much as at one point in our lives
we first learn to use the telephone. So why is it that learning to use
the telephone is childsplay, while learning to use blogs, especially
when 'enriched' with Skype VoIP telephony, IM, wikis and webcams is so
awkward, so hard?
It all comes down to the subject of Ton's post: presence. Ton refers to this
article that defines presence as a high-quality simulation of actual personal
existence,
high-quality implying socially rich, perceptually and socially
realistic, transporting (in both senses of the word), immersing, and
natural. Do blogs, with or without add-on multimedia tools, provide a
high-quality simulation of the author's existence, do they have presence?
To understand why this question is meaningless, we need to turn to the
guru of media, Marshall McLuhan. In his landmark book Understanding Media,
almost half a century ago, he explained the difference between media
and tools. Communications media are place holders for content, for the
message ("the medium is the
message"). Communication tools are technologies that deliver
the content, the message . In today's electronic age, he said, the two
have become blurred together. So my communication media decision tree
from last year, reproduced above, while useful, is somewhat flawed, in
that it mixes the two together.
But if we want to understand blogs, which are part media, part tools,
we need to unblur these distinct characteristics. The best way to do
this is to understand what, in McLuhan's terminology, the constituent
parts of blogs are extensions
of. The telephone, a communication tool, is an extension of the ear
and
the voice. Radio is a communication tool, likewise an extension of the
ear and voice, but the radio program is a communications medium, an extension of
the programmer's memory (and,
if we tape it, an extension of our memory as well).
Blogs, like newspaper columns or news digests, are essentially
communications media, extensions of our memories, place holders for
our
ideas and messages. They are not really extensions of our brains,
because they capture, like a snapshot, our thinking at one point in
time. Although we can try to make them conversational and describe our
thought processes in a blog article, they do not, in their simplest
form, allow the reader to truly engage our brains in real or
close-to-real time.
Now, blogs also have two communication tools included: a publishing
and
subscription tool (RSS), which does transmit our messages (very well),
and the rudimentary comments 'thread' functionality which, like a poor
web forum, does allow some dialogue with the author and with other
readers. The thread is a (lousy, and because it's asynchronous, jerky)
extension of our brains. To some extent the Internet itself is a
communication tool that disseminates our blog comment; it is the
blog's
'printing press'. And by that analogy, RSS is like the delivery truck
that takes the newspaper to the subscriber's house -- both are
communication tools, though RSS is clearly the superior delivery
vehicle.
So what? Well, there is a huge amount of discussion about how to make
blogs better, how to use them in business, and what their future is,
none of which makes the essential distinction between their role and
value as communication media and their role and value as communication
tools.
I would argue that the critical functionality of blogs, both in
personal and business use, is as a personal communications medium i.e.
a storage space for everything of consequence in our memories, and
everything of consequence in that other extension of our memory, the
filing cabinet (and its electronic analogue, the 'My Documents'
folder). As I've said in my posts on the future of blogs and in my future
state visions,
I think blogs will eventually (and properly) morph into purer, simpler
versions of this one critical functionality -- they will become the
proxies, the substitutes for our memories, for use by friends and
business contacts when we're busy or away from the high-presence
communication tools, by vendors to ascertain our need for their
offerings, and by ourselves as a place to organize, store and access
our own thoughts and memories, thus freeing up more of our real
memories for new ideas and perceptions. There have been some
interesting articles lately by people who say that making and keeping
huge numbers of dynamic lists and notes, instead of trying to keep all
that in our memories, we can actually enrich our brain's power, our
intellectual effectiveness and even our intelligence by 'freeing up
memory and brain CPU'. Next-generation blogs could be perfect for
that,
not only freeing up our memories but also allowing others access to
our
ideas and learnings.
So to that limited extent, blogs have presence -- they can be
excellent
simulations, surrogates, proxies for our personal memories. But what
if
we need more context to be able to properly understand the message, or
effectively use or build on the content of this virtual memory? Then
we
need high-quality, high-presence communication tools,
not communication media. We are rapidly moving towards a convergence
of
several 'online' communication tools: telephony, e-mail, IM, and
potentially voice-mail and videoconferencing. Right now, the content,
the stored messages of these various tools are unintegrated, but voice
recognition and transcription is quickly improving and we will soon be
able to 'record' conversations in any of these media in one simple,
intuitive way, and with Simple
Virtual Presence
we will also have a simple intuitive way to connect with people using
any or all of these media. Then we'll need a 'bridge' to allow each of
the participants in a conference to see anything in the blog/virtual
memory of any of the participants.
Until that day arrives, blogs get high marks as a communication
medium, but barely a
passing grade
as communication tools. If the technology developers understand the
distinction, and start building tools that are properly engineered for
simple, seamless connectivity, then one day the blurring won't matter,
and the integration between media and tools will be complete.
|
Kagi integrates anti-piracy solution at
e-store
Kagi integrates anti-piracy solution at
e-store
04/22/2004 10:38 AMKagi is integrating LicenseControl from Derman Enterprises into its
e-store to deliver anti-piracy product-activation licenses with the
sale of software...
Decentralized Media Tools
Decentralized Media Tools
04/09/2004 07:55 PMunmediated is "tracking
the tools that decentralize the media." Good stuff.
Kagi announces integrated anti-piracy
licensing for your software
Kagi announces integrated anti-piracy
licensing for your software
04/22/2004 10:35 AMKagi announces the
integration of LicenseControl from
Derman Enterprises Inc. (DEI) into its popular
e-store. With the integration of DEI's Licensing Services, they now
can deliver anti-piracy product-activation licenses with the sale of
your software...so you can earn the revenue you deserve.
New site tools
New site tools
06/12/2002 06:22 AMNew site tools: MySQL site UDMSearch and Searchable Manual with user
comments.
Mac Users Get Windows Media Tools
Mac Users Get Windows Media Tools
09/14/2004 10:45 AMTelestream has released Windows Media 9 series encoding support for
Mac OS X, Flip4Mac. By Macworld UK (via MyAppleMenu)
Dynamic Web site tools for Standard ML
0.1
Dynamic Web site tools for Standard ML
0.1
12/29/2004 08:39 PMTools for developing dynamic Web sites using Standard ML.
Site-search tools expand scope
Site-search tools expand scope
08/06/2004 06:17 PMAiming to help an enterprise's Web site customers better help
themselves, new tools from Kanisa, Atomz, and Endeca build on core
search technology to offer guided customer self service and guided Web
commerce search.
SMS 2003 Site Recovery tools also
support SMS 2.0
SMS 2003 Site Recovery tools also
support SMS 2.0
01/04/2004 09:31 PMiLife Bundles Sophisticated Tools For
Manipulating Digital Media
iLife Bundles Sophisticated Tools For
Manipulating Digital Media
01/25/2004 06:25 PMBy Rob Pegoraro (Washington Post via MyAppleMenu)
Download site for AirPort tools 'not
found'
Download site for AirPort tools 'not
found'
04/20/2004 02:17 PMTry the URL for the AirPort Management Tools that Apple announced
yesterday, and you'll get a "page not found" message...
ILife Bundles Sophisticated Tools for
Manipulating Digital Media
(washingtonpost.com)
ILife Bundles Sophisticated Tools for
Manipulating Digital Media
(washingtonpost.com)
01/24/2004 08:25 PMwashingtonpost.com - When Apple chief executive Steve Jobs introduced
iLife '04 early this month, he called this bundle of jukebox,
photo-album, movie-editing, DVD-burning and music-recording programs
"Microsoft Office for the rest of your life." The idea was that, just
as Office handles the work you do at your office, iLife is ready for
the digital-media fun at home.
Circle K re-tools web site to focus on
local store promotions
Circle K re-tools web site to focus on
local store promotions
12/08/2003 07:14 PMInternetRetailer.com Dec 8 2003 6:14PM ET
Take control of your web site. Web
Managements gives you the tools and
support to fire your web master.
Take control of your web site. Web
Managements gives you the tools and
support to fire your web master.
09/11/2004 03:36 AMWeb Management systems innovative use of RSS feeds, to publish and
share your web content, can help increase page views, and lower
operating costs. [PRWEB Sep 11, 2004]
i-mode Site Won Cannes Media Lion
i-mode Site Won Cannes Media Lion
06/24/2004 11:17 PMWireless Watch Japan Jun 25 2004 4:08AM GMT
O'Reilly Launches Digital Media Web Site
for Enthusiasts
O'Reilly Launches Digital Media Web Site
for Enthusiasts
09/14/2004 08:57 AMWi-Fi Technology Forum Sep 14 2004 1:13PM GMT
Web Site Killings Raise Dilemmas for
Media (Reuters)
Web Site Killings Raise Dilemmas for
Media (Reuters)
09/12/2004 09:27 PMReuters - A terrified-looking man, rocking
back and forth in his chair with his hands tied behind his
back, appeals to the United States to leave Iraq and spare him
death. Then a hand with a knife appears to slice off his head.
Making Use of Free Online Tools Can Aid
You in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION &
MARKETING & WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT
Making Use of Free Online Tools Can Aid
You in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION &
MARKETING & WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT
07/25/2004 02:48 AMFree, high quality resoures and tools can increase your Web site's
performance and R.O.I. [PRWEB Jul 25, 2004]
Domain Registrar BulkRegister Launches
New Tools to Drive Web Site
Optimization, Revenues for Business and
Res
Domain Registrar BulkRegister Launches
New Tools to Drive Web Site
Optimization, Revenues for Business and
Res
12/17/2003 02:24 PMCPU Review Dec 17 2003 12:41PM ET
Media, people blamed for 1901 census
site cock-up
Media, people blamed for 1901 census
site cock-up
11/14/2003 06:58 AMIt's not funny, not clever
Revolution launches rich-media awards
preview site
Revolution launches rich-media awards
preview site
03/14/2003 02:13 PMFootage will appear on Revolution's website on the Monday after the
event. Companies up for awards include Opodo, Google, Egg, MTV and
NatWest. ...
Web's First Interfaith Streaming Media
Site Launched at FaithStreams.com
Web's First Interfaith Streaming Media
Site Launched at FaithStreams.com
06/24/2005 07:27 PMFaith and Values Media, the nation's largest coalition of Jewish and
Christian faith groups dedicated to media production and distribution,
today announced the launch of FaithStreams.com, the first Web-based
interfaith service to incorporate streaming video and video-on-demand
(VOD). In addition to video, the new site will also include all
content from the award-winning Faith and Values Media Web site at
faithandvalues.com
Mixing Linux
Mixing Linux
07/25/2004 01:11 AMG4 Tech TV Jul 25 2004 5:08AM GMT
Mixing Metaphors
Mixing Metaphors
12/27/2002 06:32 PMSo I'm reading some official documentation about JDBC and I run across
this bit of text (emphasis mine): The second major advantage is that
the DataSource facility allows developers to implement a DataSource
class to take advantage of features like...
Mixing drinks the iPod way
Mixing drinks the iPod way
07/20/2004 02:47 PMWhat can I say I think this article is cool I'm a geek after all.
My Pocket PC already has a cocktail recipe database installed. This
was done after my wife ordered me to make her some wild cocktail they
drink in Japan. The database has made me pretty popular at parties and
I am usually the duty bartender. Now it seems we will be able to jam
to our favorite music and use the iPod to pull up cocktail recipes.
[Engadget]
Mixing and Mingling With Yahoo!
Mixing and Mingling With Yahoo!
03/19/2005 02:41 AMMixing business and pleasure-is it
really possible?
Mixing business and pleasure-is it
really possible?
12/03/2003 03:47 PMZDNet Dec 3 2003 2:58PM ET
Budding DJs mixing on mobiles
Budding DJs mixing on mobiles
06/26/2004 08:28 PMFestival-goers at Glastonbury 2004 have been getting a taste of making
their own music with a new service launched by Orange.
How To Create Your Own Fad - Mixing
Bluetooth And Sex
How To Create Your Own Fad - Mixing
Bluetooth And Sex
04/19/2004 12:26 PMLast month we saw the first article about the practice of "toothing" -
using a Bluetooth-enabled phone to randomly, anonymously proposition
people for sex on trains in the UK - and pointed out that it really
sounded like
a made-up
fad by a few guys who really really wished it were true. They may
be getting their wish. Following that first article, now Reuters has
picked up on it and
written their own article
about the practice, which is sure to get plenty of press
attention. This article, like the previous one, makes no effort to
establish how widespread the practice really is (and how much of it is
just in the minds of a bunch of horny commuters). Still, with this
press coverage, it may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, all you
need to do to create an overhyped fad is take some sort of
communications technology, and figure out how to use it for sex.
Then, you can anonymously tell the press about it, and they'll
basically believe everything you say until the made-up fad sounds
legitimate. Now, if they really wanted to get publicity, they should
find a religious group that wants to ban Bluetooth because of this.
factually challenged David Brock
starting a web site to fight "erroneous
assertions" by the conservative media
factually challenged David Brock
starting a web site to fight "erroneous
assertions" by the conservative media
05/03/2004 10:48 AMNew Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right .. Media
Matters To Launch With $2 Million Funding .. corrigir os
media
nytimes.com/2004/05/03/business/media/03BROC.html
track this
site | 5 links
Mixing and Matching, 2 New Palms Emerge
Mixing and Matching, 2 New Palms Emerge
04/28/2004 07:02 PMPalm, the company who spawned the current age of palmtops and smart
phones, has two new models out. Do they break new ground?
Ask MacSlash: Best Audio Mixing Software
Ask MacSlash: Best Audio Mixing Software
07/24/2004 05:44 PMNetwork mixing PC and Mac doable, but
not so simple
Network mixing PC and Mac doable, but
not so simple
09/13/2004 06:18 PMPhiladelphia Inquirer Sep 13 2004 9:28PM GMT
Audio Mixing And Manipulation Project
Audio Mixing And Manipulation Project
01/11/2004 04:53 PMWorking towards 0.2
Bill allows mixing of religion, politics
Bill allows mixing of religion, politics
06/07/2004 08:42 PMBoost Mobile Pro of Surf Web Site Now
Live; Media Pass Applications to
Mainland America's Most Important Profe
Boost Mobile Pro of Surf Web Site Now
Live; Media Pass Applications to
Mainland America's Most Important Profe
08/30/2004 01:33 PMInvestors Business Daily Aug 30 2004 4:08PM GMT
Mixing and matching on one's public page
Mixing and matching on one's public page
06/06/2005 12:13 AMThough the stylesheet is still rather conservative, and the range
of external modules still limited; take a look at my public
page on Tribe.net (below.) Imagine this was your "About Me" page.
Notice that we're meshing in de.licio.us and RSS feeds, giving our
end-users the ability to put up more than one 'desktop image' up into
their interface and combining internal and external blogs.
We're also displaying different combinations of friends and groups
- and in general - fulfilling the 'customization' requirement of
DLAs.
This is what we all need - every DLA, portal, social network and
blogging tool around. The ultimate "About Me" page. Now that Tribe
has set the new standard, all other systems will be compared to
this.
I especially like this approach as it allows one to add in
additional modules - without fundamentally changing the UI.
Sure it looks allot like MyYahoo, and it could use three columns,
and sure we'd like sexier stylesheets and Tribe still needs a better
header - but that all will come with time. It's the ease of use and
power quotient that I'm excited about right now.
It's taken years - but the Tribe team: Paul Martino, Brian Lawler,
Chris Vale, Elliot Loh (among otehrs) - and the product marketing
dudes - Chris Law and Gary Chao - have finally figured it out.
It's called product iteration - and it's what we did with
VideoWorlks - for five years till we got Director - just right.
HTML Tip: Beware of Mixing Forms and
Fonts
HTML Tip: Beware of Mixing Forms and
Fonts
11/30/2002 12:30 AMNet Mechanic Nov 29 2002 11:13PM ET
Mixing Google GMail and Yahoo Groups
Mixing Google GMail and Yahoo Groups
05/12/2004 11:09 PMSearch Engine Journal May 13 2004 3:18AM GMT
Grok Description matches for Kagi Media Presents Pro Tools Mixing Site HardDiskLife.com
GrokA matches for Kagi Media Presents Pro Tools Mixing Site HardDiskLife.com
Kagi Media Presents Pro Tools Mixing Site HardDiskLife.com
