WHOA TechCrunch, slow down, there’s a question mark at the end of that heading! More and more I’ve been trying to make sense of the various news and social networking outlets I frequent on an hourly basis. Sure, you’ve got your Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace accounts to worry about but throw in your favorite RSS filter/reader and you could spend an entire day plugged into the internet and never read the same thing twice. It can be a bit overwhelming. We are slowly inching towards a Matrix reality where we are jacked into the internet, learning ju-jitsu in 10 seconds, and then fighting an African-American mentor in a digital dojo. Some think it terrifying, but I think it’s exciting!
So I got to thinking… what if Apple, in all their infinite wisdom and coolness, created something that encompassed all the things you use the internet for on a daily basis? Packaged as a sleek, streamlined iLife ’10 application, the possibility is becoming increasingly plausible. Why have five windows open when you can have one? If Apple and Google continue down their current path of animosity, it seems clear that Apple will want have to release something that can counter Google Wave, a one stop shop for seamless email/chatting/social networking. And there are other things that point to this possibility: people are starting to wonder what Apple needs all that computing power for down in North Carolina – in case you haven’t heard, the company recently bought up a 500,000 square foot facility to be used as a data center for an undisclosed reason.
For many young people today, social networking has become an integral part of daily life. Like or not, Twitter is becoming more popular than Jesus The Beatles. I use Gmail, Google Reader, TweetDeck, and Facebook constantly during my “work” day but it would be downright efficient to have all these functions operating in the same application. Imagine sifting through an RSS reader, sharing links immediately with others on Facebook and Twitter at the same time, or maybe taking a photo from Google Reader and inserting it directly into a Flickr account shared by your coworkers. Or how about finding a great new song on Lala and then immediately sharing a streaming link to the song with multiple friends via Gchat? It almost seems like a no-brainer, given the rapidly increasing trend to use multiple online accounts/sites at once.
Maybe this is just the result of the laziness that goes hand and hand with new technological advances, but it seems to me with all these open protocol applications and services, some cross pollination would greatly benefit users. Unfortunately that’s typically not a priority for many profit driven companies. Still, just recently I heard rumblings of Last.fm and Facebook integration into iTunes 9 which leads me to believe that something big is coming, possibly integrated straight into iTunes. I have to say, the idea doesn’t seem too far flung, given Apple’s desire to monopolize all things new and cool.
Lifting Fog 
August 21, 2009 at 6:04 pm |
that would be awesome for some and terrible for others! check out my blog:
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go to the clean apple devices page! comment if you know about any other devices!
August 21, 2009 at 7:51 pm |
It’s called “google wave.” Just wait.
August 21, 2009 at 8:58 pm |
It would be awesome for Snow Leopard to have something like this, but I don’t know if I would like it. I have tried a lot of different apps that “manage” one or two aspects of my social networking sites, but they never end up working as well as the pure and normal website interfaces. They became popular for a reason. I would love to see something like this for the iPhone where i can’t have Facebook/Twitter/RSS open at the same time. I’m not so sure the same idea on the desktop would work as well…. :/
August 21, 2009 at 9:23 pm |
Yah, I was just going to say… Google Wave will be doing all that apparently.
August 21, 2009 at 9:38 pm |
friendfeed was combining all things cool almost into one platform but it just got acquired by facebook….we’ll see what happens. but i think friendfeed is pretty all encompassing.
August 21, 2009 at 9:56 pm |
what if everybody followed truedeity on twitter?
August 22, 2009 at 1:50 am |
I think no one can beat Google wave…
August 22, 2009 at 4:59 am |
Yes, one application would definitely my life a bit easier. I really appreciate this article. I think that’s where the trend should definitely head for sure. I think it’s a hassle logging into a LinkedIN, logging out, checking facebook, checking e-mail, found out someone added you on LinkedIN and then you have to go back and do everything over! It’s very redundant
August 22, 2009 at 10:28 am |
Google Wave is quite a strong application.
http://www.clubpenguinmasterscp.wordpress.com
August 22, 2009 at 12:03 pm |
I thought they are interested only in hardware, not software
August 22, 2009 at 12:26 pm |
I think Google wave will be the best
August 22, 2009 at 12:50 pm |
tell them to concentrate on there computers and os and not bother with trying to take over every inch of everything.
August 22, 2009 at 2:42 pm |
I agree! If they spread themselves too far, a “Roman Empire” effect will undoubtably occur – less attention to detail and quality in their products and ultimately the toppling of the coolness/functionality of Apple products.
August 22, 2009 at 1:11 pm |
I agree. Apple is everywhere!
http://www.clubpenguinmasterscp.wordpress.com
August 22, 2009 at 2:04 pm |
I think Google Wave is certainly going to be something to see. But it’s possible that it will be limited upon initial release. Google’s #1 priority will be dishing out its OWN apps before anything else. The biggest upside I see to Wave is the open platform that SHOULD allow for tons of original integration with many sites.
But as we have seen in the past, companies like to use “open” as a relative term. Open often means as long as it coincides with our business plan.
It would be nice to see Apple do Google one better by offering it as an application with more integration across many different sites as opposed to pushing Google apps first and foremost
August 22, 2009 at 3:53 pm |
It already exists.
It’s called EventBox.
http://www.thecosmicmachine.com/
August 22, 2009 at 6:04 pm |
Google Wave is already heading that direction. Plus, without hardware, Apple would have to charge for something to make money.
August 22, 2009 at 7:13 pm |
Fistly, the strikethrough should have been Jesus. Not God. (that’s what John said in the original quote in the london evening whatever it was…) But I like the reference. Made me smile…
And have you tried AIM 7 (beta 5)? I just got it and it has a “Lifestream” tab, where you get your tweets, fbook updates, and whatever other feeds you have membership with. It doesn’t do RSS as far as I know (or Atom, or whatever) but part of the coolness is that when I update my AIM status, it also sends it out as a tweet and as a facebook update. I’m just saying. I never used aim until now. I always used GMail (the app) and set it to use aim protocol instead of GoogleTalk or whatever. If AIM mixes VOIP in there, it would be a no brainer.
(plus, since its in beta, AIM 7 has no advertising hehe… I say its worth the price… [the price being instability and them asking for feedback])
August 22, 2009 at 9:06 pm |
You are correct on the reference, will update that, thanks.
As for AIM 7 I haven’t checked it out. I’ve been using Adium to run my Gchat stuff + AIM because AIM for Mac was so outdated for so long. I’ll have to check it out to see if this Lifestream is the real deal
August 22, 2009 at 9:28 pm |
There are so many apps out there for social networking, status updating etc Some are better than others, and more encompassing than others. One app would be nice, seems like Google Wave might be it…
I use Adium as well and love it, I wish they had a windows version for my other computer.
August 22, 2009 at 9:34 pm |
Interesting topic you bring up regarding the endlessly rapid advance of today’s technology and their growing presence in our lives.
August 23, 2009 at 1:01 am |
Id give it a try but most have been kinda lame so far.
August 23, 2009 at 3:34 am |
So – you’re suggesting that our entire lives should be reduced to a single application that pulls together all our data – tweets, FB feed, everything?
Wouldn’t that be boring?
And, do we really want to move to a society where everyone spends all their time at a terminal? I agree that the possibilities here are vast, but they aren’t nearly as vast as those in real life. Knowing and experiencing the world through a portal as narrow as the internet is a sad experience for any human.
I hope that titles like “lifestream” are meant as an ironic joke. As much as I love Gchatting with everyone, reading my tweets and my Google reader feeds, when I’m done, I get up and go. With the amount of sharing you’re talking about, there won’t be time for anything else.
Why learn ju-jitsu in 10 seconds, if I’m just gonna use QWERTY my whole life?
Life is for living – not keeping track of via feeds.
August 23, 2009 at 3:45 am |
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August 23, 2009 at 6:37 am |
I agree that Apple would want counter the mighty Google Wave and with the idea of the iLife ’10, I think they would be a good competition.
http://helpcooltheearth.wordpress.com
scikid
August 23, 2009 at 9:15 am |
I see what you mean… Apple could well in time create a social networking application, to rival Google Wave. It certainly is a possibility.
August 23, 2009 at 9:27 am |
I do think Apple is one of the coolest companies in trhe world.. However, I don’t think they can compete with Google when it comes to the Internet.. Google has many more users and has the advantage of being accessible for free!
Apple has to tie in all their producst with their Mac bundles and there just aren’t enough of them out there to compete with the free for all Google products.. iTunes may be free to all, but all the other super cool Apple products come at a hefty price, with a Mac and Mac OS attached.. I say Apple, stick to what you’re good at – making technology cool.. Google will power through with the social networking and rival Facebook and Twitter from launch.
August 23, 2009 at 10:19 am |
I’m not an expert at the topic, but it seems Apple would want to counter Google Wave. They’re coming up with so many ideas, that’s almost ceratian. Also, I think Apple should stick to things like making technology fun! Google can become make rivals towards Facebook and Twitter and socialing ntworks like that. Complications would settle, right? http://www.clubpenguinmasterscp.wordpress.com
August 23, 2009 at 1:13 pm |
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August 23, 2009 at 4:01 pm |
I would love that actually.
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August 23, 2009 at 11:51 pm |
I’m not sure if I would really like that, unless it was very, very sleek. But something tells me it would be cluttered.
August 24, 2009 at 2:48 pm |
[…] 24, 2009 Interesting rumors about Apple releasing its own social media manager, as well as built-in connections from iTunes to Last.fm, and iPhoto to flicker, […]
October 11, 2009 at 11:33 am |
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April 16, 2010 at 12:46 pm |
Brilliant!! Loving your observations. Keep it up!.
May 3, 2010 at 3:29 am |
But there is nothing cool about Apple. What makes you think would make this application cool all of a sudden?
August 8, 2010 at 8:06 pm |
Social networking is good and bad. It’s nice to say you got 10,000 friends, but it’s bad when you never met any of them and probably never will.
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