The whole Kurt Lewin thing really got me started thinking about all the new 2.0 stuff and the best way to be able to start something and be able to both easily update it and be able to share it with other people and allow those other people some way to add their own content into the mix somehow.
At first, I thought about a wiki. Great for sharing right? Very collaborative right? Well yes but it violates the "ease of addition" criteria. So the wiki gets a no. Then I started running through the content aggregators like suprglu, rojo and Squidoo. I settled on Squidoo because its interface seemed pretty intuitive and it seemed like I could add suff quickly. Now I'm not so sure. The whole adding a link thing on Squidoo is a bit ponderous and I don't like being forced to fill out description boxes. Plus, there is no way to leave comments.
So now my easily distracted mind starts to wander from the task to the idea of sharing in general. I was impressed early on by the work that Alex Bosworth had done creating BosPages (here is an example from Jay Cross) but again, for this experiment at least, they fell short. Over to NetVibes.
Netvibes is currently my main information interface with the Web. Currently I have 87 feeds running through 5 tabbed pages. Love it. Very clean. I like how when I click on an item, the full post opens there instead of a new tab in Firefox. Super easy to add stuff to - and by stuff I mean mainly RSS feeds - you can add email inbox checkers, weather, calendar, etc. but the the main content for me is from feeds. it does however fail the sharing test - I think in large part because it is concieved of as a Web-based desktop - the Webtop - and you don't really share that with people right? So who is the winner? Read on!
Now that I had tripped into the realm of Webtops, I looked at the Google personalized home page - nope - no sharing. My Web 2.0 from Yahoo! just didn't feel right. Then I checked out Goowy (who the hell does come up with these names!!??)
Goowy is pretty slick - you can add feeds, email (Goowy has its own integrated Web-based email), its own integrated IM (much like Meebo), and it integrates file storage with box.net (so does Netvibes). So in one sense, if you could integrate something like ThinkFree with this, you'd have a complete office package. I can see why Google and MSFT are both worried abotu controlling this space. It used to be that the search engine was the primary user interface to the Web but no longer. remember when everyone's home page was set to google? Not anymore - not when I can set my home page (I dodn't even have a home page anymore since I use Firefox, I have like my home tabs) to a Webtop that integrates a Google search box and a host of other user-configured pieces of functionality and information.
Falling into the trap of "you just try one Webtop, you have to try them all", I went from Goowy to Protopage. Now Protopage is just as slick as Goowy - no IM yet but wait 5 minutes, its probably coming. I like a couple of things about Protopage in regard to this experiment (I forget what that was anyway) - easy to add stuff but more importantly - its easy to add a range of stuff. I can add links, I can add feeds but I can also add Web pages. Pretty slick. I can also create multiple pages and then choose which of those pages I want to share. You can check out the page I am currently sharing here.
Now I'm stuck though. Is the Protopage sufficient for this task? No real way for others to add content but I like the sharing and the interface but am I overthinking this whole thing when I should just start a Kurt Lewin specific tag on del.icio.us? Help me out folks.
Tegan - I'm more than happy to give PageFlakes a try - just registered as a matter of fact. You have my email so feel free to shoot me an email and we can chat - i will also post something here about it as well.
Coleman - I do like the aspect of protopage that allows you to do the whole customizing thing - although there are still a few bugs there. I do like the clean lines of netvibes but after a quick look at pageflakes, I think they have some cool stuff going on as well.
---Mark
Posted by: mark oehlert | May 28, 2006 at 09:43 PM
Use Protopage.com myself mostly because it’s unique & not a clone of anything similar on web2.A start page accessible from anywhere which doubles as your web site that looks, thinks, and talks like you! Never are two PROTOPAGES ever the same.
Use it in collaborative projects because its the only FREE site where all six of us can work together without sitting in the same room or wasting time on video conferencing discussing goals, making notes and then rechecking and comparing results. Every move each one of us makes is monitored instantly and modified in real time as it progresses, there slap-bang before our eyes. Like watching a plant grow with a time lapse camera. Ajax used properly has made this possible. When it’s done. It’s done!
Posted by: Coleman | May 28, 2006 at 08:51 AM
I read your comments on web 2.0. I found it really interesrting . I was wondering if you have visited Pageflakes (http://www.pageflakes.com) already? We are offering a similar service allowing you to read news feeds and setting up multiple pages that can be customized with local weather, address book, todo lists, event finders, TV guides and page sharing. I was wondering if you would give us a some feedback let us know what you liked or didn't like. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Tegan
Posted by: Tegan | May 28, 2006 at 01:53 AM