However, today I discovered a whole new dimension to the product, and probably not one which was originally foreseen by the designers.
My wife and I went to opening of the movie Hairspray (thoroughly recommended). We went to the first screening (11:40 am EST). At the same time, several thousand miles away, one of my friends was doing exactly the same thing. We only discovered this when we noticed the entry in each other's calendar.
Obviously, the movie trips could have come up in general discussion, but the point is that we both shared small parts of our lives effortlessly. In other words, by doing something which was of direct use to ourselves, i.e. put an entry in our calendars, we also strengthened our social networks.
So, that got me thinking. If seeing your diary is a bit like going to the movie with you, what else might be worth sharing effortlessly? Would it be a good idea to publish my credit card bill to my friends? Would that be a bit like going shopping with me? What about sharing my latest running route - maybe with the bio mapping data so that you can see how I felt about the run.
It's good to share, particularly if it is effortless.
3 comments:
Interesting - your last comment reminded me of the iPod nano (or shuffle - I forget which model) which has the pedometer attachment. You can run competitively against people you've never met via the website by uploading your latest stats...
Wow, that's an interesting idea. I wonder if there may even be a market for data like that. I suspect I might be prepared to pay a small amount to have a virtual running partner, who had run the same route. It could help to keep me going if they were ahead of me climbing the hill
Well, you don't have to look too far (or event pay I don't think) - www.nikeplus.com. I'd meant to post the comment as fact, not an idea, but I didn't have the link to hand.
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