I read how Robert Scoble had a hard time getting Maryam Scoble to appreciate Twitter, but now she loves it. I've heard that type of story a few times from different people. They don't get Twitter, they sign up for it, they love it.
I used Twitter for a while with a small group of friends. We used it essentially to group chat on certain things mostly pertaining to sports or the election. It allowed different people to interact in different ways. A couple of us used text, some used IM, some Twitter gadgets and others just used twitter.com. When certain events were going on most of us would have some sort of Twitter access to interact with each other. I liked that.
None of us followed anyone else or allowed anyone else to follow us. It was not only narrowed down to "real" friends...but we drilled down even further and went only with a certain group of friends. This seemed useful to me, but I understood it was not what so many others loved about Twitter. Others liked the idea of getting involved in the bigger conversation.
When Yammer came along we moved our conversation over there, at my request, so I could open up Twitter and see what all the fuss was about. So I started following all the A-List bloggers and the others they suggested and the ones they were following and some local people and...I don't get it.
It's not interesting at all really. I have no idea what anyone is talking about. 75% of the posts I see come across Twitter are responses to someone else's tweet. And 99% of the time the person they are responding to is not someone I follow, so I have no idea what the hell any of them are talking about. And even if it was someone I followed, the chance that that person's tweet was anywhere I could currently see were slim to none. How am I supposed to get involved in that?
My settings are set to only show "@ replies to people I'm following". But people don't always use that properly it seems. And to be honest that whole "@username system is pretty lame, at least it seems that way to me. Am I just doing it wrong?
It seems like the worst place to carry on a conversation. Even if I did comment on someone else's comment, I could not see all the other comments that were thrown out...can I? Can I really get involved here? Seriously, am I doing it wrong?
When it was a small group of us it made sense. We were all talking about the same thing and I did not have to @ anyone. It seemed like a great place for a small group to get together.
Twitter seems like it would be a great place to "Microblog" when your talking about a big group though. Tell me what you are doing or thinking in 140 characters. But it only seems useful as one way communication on a large scale. I know that is not very web 2.0, but commenting on someone else's comment that I can't see is not very interesting.
If we are all going to talk about something, and I get to jump in and talk to you with other people you know, that I don't know and I get to talk to those people too - why don't we just do that at Friendfeed? It all makes sense over there.
Maybe I'm just following the wrong people. I probably need to cut out some of the professional tweeters. Send me your username and I'll follow you for a while. Or just follow me (links on the right) and I'll follow back.
I'm not giving up yet. One thing is I have not gotten very involved myself. I don't post a lot on there. I'll start doing that and see if that helps me "get it". If anyone has any suggestions that don't involve loading any additional software etc, I'm open.
I want to like Twitter. The idea of a big conversation seems like a good idea. Twitter just seems like a bad place to have that talk.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
This is an actual web page
I don't understand how anyone approved this.
You will notice in the right hand corner it says "Other IBS Sites". I did a quick search on "IBS sites" and the top site was this one on Irritable Bowl Syndrome. That seems about right. Looking at it kind of makes me want to run to the bathroom.
Gmail is different...but it's good different.
Even though my two previous post are on Google products, I have no intention of making this a Google focused blog. With that being said...Don Reisinger has a good post over on webware that is a great run down on what makes Gmail so much better than other email programs. I just wanted to expand a little.
He does not really get into labels, which are one of my favorite features. I've heard others complain about Gmail and it's lack of "folders". But the "label" is so much more powerful. It only takes a short time of using them to quickly realize how horrible and limiting the "folder" structure is. The ability to give an email multiple labels (like storing it in multiple folders) is great.
Through filters (which he mentions) I can also have an email labeled automatically when it arrives in my inbox. Any email sent to my work address, is automatically labeled with "Strasburg". Depending on who it came from it may also get labeled with that person's name as well. That's all done before I even see it. Once I read it I will most likely give it another label based on the project it pertains to. This email now has three labels attached to it (like putting the same email in 3 different folders). I can go to any of those labels (like a folder) and find the email.
Best of all, I can do a quick search on multiple labels to narrow it down. So I can just look at emails for a certain project, or I can look at just the emails from a specific person on that project.
Labels are the 2nd best thing about Gmail. The best is the threaded conversation display. I won't go into that, since Don does a pretty good job of explaining it. But it changes everything. If you have never given Gmail a try, open up a free account and give it a run for a week. That's how I got hooked.
Gmail is different...but it's good different.
Next post is on something besides Google. Maybe bacon.
He does not really get into labels, which are one of my favorite features. I've heard others complain about Gmail and it's lack of "folders". But the "label" is so much more powerful. It only takes a short time of using them to quickly realize how horrible and limiting the "folder" structure is. The ability to give an email multiple labels (like storing it in multiple folders) is great.
Through filters (which he mentions) I can also have an email labeled automatically when it arrives in my inbox. Any email sent to my work address, is automatically labeled with "Strasburg". Depending on who it came from it may also get labeled with that person's name as well. That's all done before I even see it. Once I read it I will most likely give it another label based on the project it pertains to. This email now has three labels attached to it (like putting the same email in 3 different folders). I can go to any of those labels (like a folder) and find the email.
Best of all, I can do a quick search on multiple labels to narrow it down. So I can just look at emails for a certain project, or I can look at just the emails from a specific person on that project.
Labels are the 2nd best thing about Gmail. The best is the threaded conversation display. I won't go into that, since Don does a pretty good job of explaining it. But it changes everything. If you have never given Gmail a try, open up a free account and give it a run for a week. That's how I got hooked.
Gmail is different...but it's good different.
Next post is on something besides Google. Maybe bacon.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Google tasks: Lightweight - no collaboration - but at least a start
Google launched their new tasks feature last night. It feels like an early google product. Clean, simple and...unfinished. It's a very lightweight task manager. Those of you using Remember The Milk will not like it. Those of you that don't rely to much on a task manager might. I've been using labels and superstars in Gmail to manage tasks lately. It's not ready for me to move from that simple setup yet, but it's a start. Here are my first impressions on the new task feature:
You can set up multiple lists. I started by creating one list for multiple projects (indenting for sub tasks, etc). But it got busy real quick. So I decided I would try a separate list for each project. Unfortunately I had to retype all my tasks, because there does not appear to be a way to move a task from one list to another (which can be an issue when a task on one project turns into a full blown project of it's own and I want a separate task list for it).
So I retyped them into 3 lists. Gave each task a due date and added some notes where needed. Unfortunately the due date does not generate anything on your calendar. It would be nice if whenever a due date was added, it added an entry to a calendar of your choosing. I would probably set up a new "task" calendar for everything to go to.
Another problem is that now my tasks are spread around 3 lists. What I would like is a "master" list that combines all of the task pads into one list ordered by due date. I would not want to live on this list, but it would be nice to start there each day. I can then get full top down view of what is going on and what needs to be done (ordered by due date not task), before drilling down to the specific project lists. Being able to color code the different lists would be great when looking down on all lists from the top. If the tasks went to the calendar you could look at an agenda view to start the day. A possible quick fix, but not ideal.
You can create a task from an email quickly which is good. But it adds the task to your active list (or the last one you were on if your list is not currently open). And since you can't move a task from one list to another you have to navigate to the correct list before creating a task off an email. If you work off one list, it's a nice feature. If you are running on multiple lists - it's more of a pain.
The email to task feature is limited. You can't create a task then attach emails to it. You also can't add an email to an existing task. And - there is no task to email feature. I would like to be able to email a task to someone else.
The last thing that really stands out it that it lives in a gmail chat like window in the lower right of gmail (over the top of gmail). You can pop out the mini task into it's own window (which is really the only way to work with it if you have more than a couple items on the list) but it would be nice to get it to appear in the body of the page, where email is. Contacts takes over the screen when I select it from the left hand nav, I see no reason tasks can't as well.
Obviously this feature is not ready to handle a project that is very complicated yet. It's great for creating a static list I would imagine. One that outlines simple steps to accomplish something. While you can move tasks around and edit things like the due date, it's not made for a fluid project that is changing direction, sprouting new projects, or has a hiccup along the way. And it is not for working on a project with other people. There is nothing in this task list that lets you share or collaborate with anyone. I can't move a task to a shared calendar, I can't email a task to someone, and I can't share a task list with anyone. That's the strangest part really. In a time when everyone is trying to create software that allows us to share and work with each other more (and google does some good things in this area) it seems a little odd to come out with a new feature that does not allow any collaboration.
It sounds like I am disappointed in the new feature, but I'm not. It's early, and hopefully google has some bigger plans for it. I'm glad they're doing something in this area. I really want my tasks inside gmail. I know there are tons of add ons for firefox to bring in more robust task managers like Remember the Milk. But I'm tired of add ons and I don't need to go as far as RTM really. Hopefully they keep this going. I think it's a nice start.
You can set up multiple lists. I started by creating one list for multiple projects (indenting for sub tasks, etc). But it got busy real quick. So I decided I would try a separate list for each project. Unfortunately I had to retype all my tasks, because there does not appear to be a way to move a task from one list to another (which can be an issue when a task on one project turns into a full blown project of it's own and I want a separate task list for it).
So I retyped them into 3 lists. Gave each task a due date and added some notes where needed. Unfortunately the due date does not generate anything on your calendar. It would be nice if whenever a due date was added, it added an entry to a calendar of your choosing. I would probably set up a new "task" calendar for everything to go to.
Another problem is that now my tasks are spread around 3 lists. What I would like is a "master" list that combines all of the task pads into one list ordered by due date. I would not want to live on this list, but it would be nice to start there each day. I can then get full top down view of what is going on and what needs to be done (ordered by due date not task), before drilling down to the specific project lists. Being able to color code the different lists would be great when looking down on all lists from the top. If the tasks went to the calendar you could look at an agenda view to start the day. A possible quick fix, but not ideal.
You can create a task from an email quickly which is good. But it adds the task to your active list (or the last one you were on if your list is not currently open). And since you can't move a task from one list to another you have to navigate to the correct list before creating a task off an email. If you work off one list, it's a nice feature. If you are running on multiple lists - it's more of a pain.
The email to task feature is limited. You can't create a task then attach emails to it. You also can't add an email to an existing task. And - there is no task to email feature. I would like to be able to email a task to someone else.
The last thing that really stands out it that it lives in a gmail chat like window in the lower right of gmail (over the top of gmail). You can pop out the mini task into it's own window (which is really the only way to work with it if you have more than a couple items on the list) but it would be nice to get it to appear in the body of the page, where email is. Contacts takes over the screen when I select it from the left hand nav, I see no reason tasks can't as well.
Obviously this feature is not ready to handle a project that is very complicated yet. It's great for creating a static list I would imagine. One that outlines simple steps to accomplish something. While you can move tasks around and edit things like the due date, it's not made for a fluid project that is changing direction, sprouting new projects, or has a hiccup along the way. And it is not for working on a project with other people. There is nothing in this task list that lets you share or collaborate with anyone. I can't move a task to a shared calendar, I can't email a task to someone, and I can't share a task list with anyone. That's the strangest part really. In a time when everyone is trying to create software that allows us to share and work with each other more (and google does some good things in this area) it seems a little odd to come out with a new feature that does not allow any collaboration.
It sounds like I am disappointed in the new feature, but I'm not. It's early, and hopefully google has some bigger plans for it. I'm glad they're doing something in this area. I really want my tasks inside gmail. I know there are tons of add ons for firefox to bring in more robust task managers like Remember the Milk. But I'm tired of add ons and I don't need to go as far as RTM really. Hopefully they keep this going. I think it's a nice start.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
I want Google Chrome to do this...
I want Google Chrome to store all my passwords to all the social, shopping, etc sites I go to (with my approval). But for it to use them, I have to sign into my browser with my google account first.
And I want it to work from any computer. And I want it to run in incognito mode.
So when I fire up Chrome from any computer, I want the Chrome home menu (or whatever that first screen is called) to display a google accounts login alongside everything else. When I enter my user and password it retrieves my usernames and passwords file from the google servers (for other services/sites I have approved) and logs me into an incognito session of Chrome. Then wherever I go, it already knows who I am. I don't have to click anything to automatically sign me in. I'm just in.
I would also like access to all my bookmarks and bookmarks bar and bring it to the browser I'm on. And my search engines .
And when I close Chrome, I want it to flush it all away.
I'm sure this would scare the hell out of some people (giving google your facebook or twitter username and password), but it seems like I'm kind of doing this anyway with my iGoogle page...right? And I'm ok with it either way.
And I want it to work with Chrome. I want it to be clean and simple. Not Firefox and Greasemonkey and Add-Ons.
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