Abstract Dynamics: Moblogging Mo Hype?

March 04, 2003

Moblogging Mo Hype?

Adam Greenfield proposes aMoblog Conference for Tokyo summertime. Well Tokyo sounds damn enticing, has been for quite some time. Moblogging on the other hand just doesn't sit right with me yet. A handful of smart people (Greenfield, Rhiengold, Ito, Eismann) are really excited about the idea, but I just can't catch their enthusiasm.

What really sets me off is that I seem to be closer to really moblogging then most of the boosters. I've been a nomad for 2 years now, I was one of the few Ricochet customers, I've uploaded files next to drug dealers at 1 am in Washington Square Park, I've had top of the line pda/cell phones for the past few years, I've used them to connect to the web a ton. I've actually posted blog entries from my Treo.

Its not that exciting.

So why are smart people getting so into the idea? A dream I think, its a step towards the mythical ubiquitous computing Xanadu. A hope for more dotcom style euphoria. And maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think taking pictures from a cell phone really is going to get you there. Its not that different then taking a digital picture and uploading later in the day. All it really means is there is less friction in the system. Info gets digital quicker, circulates a bit faster. Done. No revolutions, no ecstasy, just a slow excelleration of the velocity of information.

Posted by Abe at March 4, 2003 12:20 AM

Comments

It could be qualitatively different for critical events though, like protests, etc...

Posted by: Trevor Hill | March 5, 2003 07:57 PM

I think there certainly could be an event or two that moblogging plays an important role in, but in the end those events will be the exceptions that prove.

The key flaw with the moblog concept is in the medium. Not the medium of mobile posting, but the medium of the weblog. Weblogs are not instant the way TV is. If I post to a weblog I can't expect most of the audience to view it for a day or two. Sure a random head or two will see it soon after I post, but for the most part few people will. Now if Dave Winer gets caught in a riot that the TV misses and posts photos to his blog then that will become news as he has a critical mass of readers. But following the power law distribution of weblogs, very few people have the audience necessary to create news like that.

Bottom line it'd be a lot easier to just call up a TV station, rather then moblog. Or to shoot photos / video, edit them and post later. The instantaneous aspect of moblog is useless without the audience. And almost no bloggers have that audience. Most blog memes circulate on a time scale measured in days. If a meme hits a few key points like Instapundit then that scale might accelerate to hours. Generally the fact that someone is posting instantly is pretty insignificant.

On 9-11 I was woken up to the news of disaster. First impulse was to go online. Didn't take long to realize that the TV was pumping much better info. Stayed that way for about a day. Then the internet info took over. For real time news broadcast is an infinitely better medium. The internets strengths, rich filtered information, take time to develop.

Take a look at Joi Ito's "moblog" [ http://joi.ito.com/moblog/ ]. Is there anything on it that makes it better then any other photo blog? Maybe if you hit his site at precisely the time of posting you can catch a cool feeling of connectedness. Sort of like what webcam fans must get... But basically its a photoblog. And it might even be better if the photos were edited, color corrected, etc, but that's not for me to judge.

Moblog? I'll believe it when I see it. Until then its another buzzword headed for the trash bin my friends.

Posted by: William Blaze | March 6, 2003 05:00 PM

Why does anything new have to change the world? Maybe it will be fun and addictive for some, and that's it. If anything, it will just be a richer extension of the blog.

Check this out - this is the best moblogger that I've seen so far.

site: http://www.eachday.net
sample account: http://www.eachday.net/memories/demo

It's basically just a better way to share memories on the web, no more, no less. On their site, they don't even use cool speak like "moblog" etc. They are getting the message out to dummies, while the UI of the product is the slickest thing I have seen. That's the way it oughta be.

Posted by: Trevor Elliott | March 12, 2003 08:42 PM

I believe the fortune of MoBlogging lies non in the Instantness, but in the Easyness and Pervasivity of the medium.
To post a photo comment with a mobile, it takes 4 steps:
1. point your mobile
2. click
3. add a comment
4. send the message to the Moblog

Time it takes: 2 minutes if you spend time on the cut of the picture

With a digital camera (always if is the case that you have it, because it's something much less popular than a mobile phone, and much more unconfortable to carry):
1. Take the camera from your backpack and out of her protecting case ;)
2. Point
3. Shoot
4. Go back home
5. Connect it to your computer
6. Download the picture to the PC
7. Save it for web (MMS are web ready!)
8. Connect to the internet
9. Reach your Blog host page
10. Login
11. Insert your text note
12. Upload the previously saved picture
13. Post the message

Time needed: 20 minutes (of course leaving the time to get back home, during wich probably you will loose part of the sensations you were feeling while you where ON the spot, without counting that maybe in the meantime you bump in a friend and go for a couple of beers with him ;)

Posted by: Marco B | September 18, 2003 10:50 AM

Time it takes: 2 minutes if you spend time on the cut of the picture

Posted by: Marco B | September 18, 2003 10:51 AM