On Multitasking, Integrated Social Accounts, and the Future

I know, a very heady and timely topic for someone that posts as infrequently as I do. I've been a little pre-occupied with my Twitter steam and ignoring this blog, but hopefully that will change and I'll be back to some semblance of weekly posting again soon. Anyway...

In the past few weeks there have been two big mobile OS announcements, and both of them have featured (at least publicly) the same thing.  Both Apple's new OS4 and RIM's new Blackberry 6 feature touch-interface based multitasking as well as integrated social networking accounts. Of course there were other things in Steve Jobs' 7 pillars and BB seems to be focusing on appealing to a younger demographic, but as far as consumers are concerned, multitasking and social integration are the big steps forward.

Those of you that follow me on Twitter (or have just glanced at the stream on the right) no doubt know about my feelings on these "innovations" from Apple and RIM. Simply put, Android has been doing multitasking out of the gate and Motorola has this great little UI called Motoblur that does an amazing job of social integration. I won't go into depth here about those two, other than to say that I love my Cliq XT simply because it handles both multitasking and integration so well, and all this before the Android 2.1 upgrade scheduled for this quarter!

What I'd really like to note here is that the adoption of these features by Apple and RIM (in addition to the Facebook announcements from F8 last week) should mean great things for the inter-connectivity of the web. The thing that I love about the integrated social accounts on the Cliq XT is that it allows me to have a true snapshot of my life. If you looked at my old phone, you would assume that I'm a recluse that orders a whole lot of take-out (nearly 30% of my phone book was dedicated to delivery joints in my neighborhood). Now when I look at my phone I see all of my work and personal contacts with an option on how to contact those that blur the boundaries.

Allowing people to feel connected (and indeed reflected) by their hardware will, in the long term provide a greater incentive for sharing and web usage, which is exactly what applications (like Facebook and Twitter) and cloud-based services like Google and now Microsoft want. This is also crucial information for marketers and advertisers to keep in mind.

Both the mobile and social spaces will continue to expand exponentially in the next 2-3 years (I include tablets in the mix here, since I see them more as mobile computing devices than a replacement for the desktop). Mobile gaming and location-based services should be in the front of mind when looking to emerging and new technology. Same with QR and AR, especially if Motorola continues to move forward in 3D tech for mobiles.

These are just a few suggestions for people and agencies to keep in mind when it comes to the utilization of next gen tech. What you do with it is of course entirely up to you.

New York Times Website May Charge: Will You Pay? [Mashable POLL]

Really NYT?  Are we really doing this again? People are not only accustomed to free news content, they expect it.  Unless you have a very defined niche (see WSJ) pay for news doesn't work.  Any news organization that will be competing with the NYTimes will see an instant increase in online readership when/if the NYT goes forward with a pay plan. I understand that the revenue from online ad sales do and will not make up for the loss of revenue from traditional print advertising.  Print publications need to look towards the expanding possibilities presented by e-readers.  CES this year featured a nearly endless supply of new readers from traditional emerging tech companies such as Aesus to entrenched traditional companies such as Barnes and Noble (with an new/update to the Nook).

People expect for the news to be free, that's not about to change.  However, people are willing to pay for a service that will make accessing that news easier.  A news outlet would be able to charge individuals to have items constantly updated on a reader, especially if it has the opportunity to present itself in a traditional format.

New York Times Website May Charge: Will You Pay? [POLL]

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B&N does it right

Well, Barnes and Noble has officially released it's new e-book reader, The Nook, and it looks like they're the first to really grab a hold of all of the facets of book ownership. In addition to an attractive pricepoint ($259 usd), it includes integrated 3g and wifi (although the 3g is from ATT, not my personal favorite T-Mobile). But really, as far as I'm concerned the real innovation here, the real reason that this particular reader is noteworthy in an increasingly flooded market is the ability for peer-to-peer book sharing. And the best part is that the sharing is irrespective of device: You can share nook to nook, but it doesn't stop there. Using the new Barnes & Noble LendMe™ technology... you will be able to lend to and from any iPhone™, iPod touch®, BlackBerry®, PC, or Mac®, with the free Barnes and Noble eReader software downloaded on it. - via BN.com

Finally, the missing link in readers, the social aspect of reading (well at least until flexible OLED becomes a consumer reality, then we'll get to the really fun stuff). And B&N will do well to continue marketing the Nook based on that social element. Book sharing is a time honored tradition in most families and social circles. The Nook makes it even better, since the book is automatically "returned" when the 14 days are up. No more bothering your 80 year old aunt Mildred for that copy of Anna Karenina you loaned her 4 years ago.

Combined with the ability to scribble notes in the margins, there is little left to distinguish ebooks from their traditional counterparts (that being said, I'll always enjoy reading a physical book).

Good job B&N.  This should be good.

Hyperlocal News? As long as it's professional.

CNN.com has a wonderful piece on the emergence of "hyperlocal" news organizations. Thinking about the rise of focused, local news organizations certainly makes me happy, much like thinking about the farmers market at Grand Army Plaza makes me hungry. Certainly this can be a great boon to not only local news outlets (which, lets be honest, need it), but also to general knowledge around the world. The advent of wiki's and truly mobile computing (Blackberry, iPhone, etc...) has turned everyone into a expert on everything. Many years ago when I was graduating from high school my guidance council had some trouble giving me a good recommendation for college because I was a "renaissance man" in his mind. I knew a lot about a whole lot of things, but I had no real advantage in any field. Wiki's have compunded this problem into an international issue, with a general knowledge of almost everything made available at the push of a button (at a recent night out we used Wikipedia to remember the villains from several Hanna Barbera cartoons). Of course the problem with this knowledge is that it's never completely trustworthy. Wikipedia and the like can be edited by anyone with internet access, and has been shown as a result to be easy to tamper with. History is certainly written by the winners, but facts are facts and should remain so. This is why it is still inadmissible to use a wiki as a source in a publishable paper of any kind.

So what exactly am I getting at here? While I'm excited about the possibility of an increase in hyperlocal news organizations such as chitowndailynews.org Id' like to echo the sentiments of Jane McDonnell, the executive director of the Online News Association. "...there's less journalistic oversight over what is being disseminated and distributed and created." So basically news outlets will turn into wiki's. This is the danger that these hyperlocal outlets create. Journalists go through school and training to prevent (or at least try to) the distribution of un-sourced, unreliable news. My greatest fear is that these organizations will reduce newspapers to wiki's (and who will kids quote in school papers then?).

Personally, I like aggregators like Everyblock. Sourcing established news outlets (both local and national) as well as government agencies (again, both local and national), seems to be the best and most reliable way to generate hyperlocal news. Of course that's just what I think. In the end, I fear, that this will be decided by money and if hyperlocal news organizations are the wave of the future, I can only hope that they are well staffed and well trained.