Flows All Over: Friendfeed, Flickr, Slideshare, Co-Op, Backpack
I am having a hard time keeping up with the explosion of flow apps, or new views in existing services that are pure flow.
I noticed today that Slideshare.net presents a flow panel at the topmost level. I don't know how long it has been there but it feels new:
I had stopped using Friendfeed a few months ago, because I didn't enjoy the user experience either at the website or in Twirl. They launched a new "real-time" view (in beta) with a "mini window" presentation that looks one step away from becoming an Adobe Air client on my desktop.
I really dig the pure flow (or "real-time) model here, where every stroke in every thread is posted individually, not as a cluster. I find it a drag to have to read or scan through all the old strokes to skip to the new ones, so I had dropped FF, basically. Now I really like the experience.
I found that Flickr has launched a new flow presentation called an Activity Stream:
It's not pure flow, since collections of comments are displayed on pictures, for example, but its headed there.
The Harvest folks (whose invoicing I am trying out this month, post soon to follow) have announced the new Co-Op app, which looks like a direct competitor to Yammer, and is positioned as implementing a 'workstream' for your team.
Co-Op is closely integrated with Harvest, so users can track their time in Co-Op and update timesheets in Harvest. But the main theme of Co-Op is implementing something almost identical to Backpack's Journal function, where team members can indicate status, as well as updates on project accomplishments. To compete here though -- at least for me -- they will have to support something like Backpack Newsroom messages (which appear to be the only social object in Backpack that has a comment thread).
I have been using Backpack as my primary mode of coordination with others in recent months, and I have explored the Journal and Newsroom as a way to interact with others, but I am too much of a soloist for it to be really productive; at least at the moment.
And here's the Newsroom... why don't they just consolidate them into one flow?
37 Signals has also created its first client tool, called Logbook, that integrates with Backpack, allowing users to update status which are reflected as entries in the Journal flow:
However, this client does not post the status updates of others in my Backpack team, so it is a minor timesaver, not a real workstream tool... at least not yet.
The innovation in this area is truly amazing. And obviously, the need for new and better plumbing that I pitched in Better Social Plumbing For Social Media is absolutely needed.
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