Some Computer/Internet Thoughts

My mind is whirring away this evening.  Not sure why, but here are the outcomes.

1. There's no difference between e-mail and RSS feeds for news, sports, whatever.  If we use IM for chatting back and forth, our RSS readers don't need to separate e-mail and feeds.

2. We need more options than just "archive".  There should be a drag-and-drop solution (or quick-key, etc.) for Actionable Items and for Re-Read.  So, I get an e-mail that requires me to do something.  I simply skim it, drag it over to my calendar and attach a quick "to-do" note and priority.  It's now attached to a date, picked up on a to do list, re-submitted to my RSS reader (on the appropriate date) and stored.  Or I get an interesting NY Times article that I want to save for blogging.  I just tag it with "blog" and store it in the re-read section.  Archive becomes a searchable history of stuff we don't really want to "save", but want to be able to find again.

3. We should be able to write blog posts the same way we write e-mails.  Just send it to "blog" and it's up.  Then, everyone gets our RSS feed ('cause it's attached to our e-mail address) and always sees our new blog entries.  This means that e-mail and blogging is totally integrated.  There is a reader (RSS) and a writer (which can auto-publish with RSS)

4. All RSS items should have a "reply" feature.  If we reply to an e-mail, it works like normal.  Replying to a news story attaches the message to the story as a comment.  That way, news stories auto-append to themselves and create a dialogue that is stored, searchable and rich.

5. It seems like it's all boiled down to READING/WRITING/CALENDAR/TO-DO/CONTACTS (blogging, e-mailing, RSS feeds, e-mail messages, scheduling) and CHATTING (IM, file transfer).  After that, there's not much web surfing left.  Some, certainly, but not too much more.

6. It's obvious that the killer app known heretofore as READING/WRITING/CALENDAR/TO-DO/CONTACTS needs a better name.  PIM Client, maybe?

7. MS Outlook has much of this functionality, but none of the UI stuff (everything as an RSS feed, tags, feedback loops for actionable items).  Part of this solution is software, the other part is internet community conformity.

These ideas are free, but only if they're used for good.  Evildoers should pay me a consultant's fee.  A large consultant's fee.