The Steve Rubel Stream

I think that there is a shift in focus going on. The discussion seems to be about controlling one's information again, which I guess is a good thing. It seems to happen every couple of years. I suppose this is just how the system grows. People decide they want more control and gravitate towards the sites and companies that they thing are most likely to give it to them.

On the FriendFeed thing, I think it was inevitable and I imagine we will see some pretty amazing things on the FB platform that make use of the FF technology and technologists. I can't wait to see what they do. I can only hope that part of what they bring to FB is some more openness to the system.

Look forward to the rest of the mini podcasts.

Definitely a rage going on around here. The iPhone has a great customer satisfaction but when it comes to the service (AT&T), people despise it. Plus, when they don't offer it on other networks, it makes people feel that there's a power hungry battle going on and can be a turn off.

Friendfeed, I personally think (or should I say hope LOL) isn't going to go down the gutter in terms of the technology & the site. Facebook would have to be EXTREMELY stupid to screw up what's already been working for them there.

I agree with you on Open source and open source systems. You really can't go wrong with it and I feel unless Apple reconsiders their deal with AT&T or AT&T get's their sh*t together, Android could be a real driving force in touch screen and mobile "computer" phones.

Me: I'm personally keeping a close eye on Android and Friendfeed. Open source is king. And Twitter? I love it and think it's going to be sticking around for a while ;-)

Have a great trip Steve. Keep siphoning the ocean for new techno krill. Technology adoption is driven by two things: opinion leaders and the Webertarian Ethos. Opinion leaders are Posters (cap P) who are inquisitive, smart and offer broad context. Posters help create opinion and Pasters (cap P again) pass it along. The other thing that drives adoption is what I call the Webertarian Ethos. Webertarians don't like to be governed. They don't like rules. They don't like "the man. Webertarians were the first to dis Microsoft and embrace free, usable web tools. The rage you speak of is the product of Webertarians pushing back. (Zack de la Rocha is an opinion leader and Webertarian, BTW.)

As a non geek, I have a slightly different take.

I don't see a "rage against the machine," I see a fading of the bandwagon effect. I think the average user is just looking for a way to participate in these online technologies without a steep learning curve, and without a huge time commitment.

Those of us who do not spend all day in front of a computer do not have time to spend on twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, reading all of the blogs we subscribe to, write our own blogs and live the rest of our life also. We want to be involved and keep up but we are looking for ways to simplify how we interface with all of these information streams.

So while all of these things a cool and exciting, and we join the bandwagon so to speak, our excitement cools after a while when we realize they don't really add anything to our lives.

I have recently started using Posterous (witch I discovered via Steve blogging) because it is so stupidly simple. I can post to all of my social profiles through email to my Posterous account. Email and Google reader are all I need.

I guess the people in the tech circles adopt early, get bored quickly, and the rest of us simply use the things that settle out of the dust.

Steve, I love the idea of your micro podcast. Seems so simple and easy that hopefully you start a trend.

I think the topics you discuss in this episode are those only techmeme regulars care about. And while these types of people - myself included - have huge influence on our mainstream friends and family, most these issues are those they'd rather leave to us.

I do find it ironic/funny that we tend to hype new technology and products to the point where it hits mainstream, and then are profoundly perplexed about how the mainstream use has destroyed these products (or led to their aquisition).

My 2 cents.

Dear Steve: if you look it from a not english-speaking world I would separate three issues:
1. security, data access & backup and user interface (how easy is to use, publish, retrieve and search) which necessarily will have to be killer features of the platforms to come -and I do still think that Apple and Google are the current winners). I would call it the Personal Operative System
2. Publication, personal brand building and audience gathering which might have involved some ad-hoc or trendy platforms like twitter, friendfeed and the rest..
3. Collecting info and search for trusted opinions: as this is variable over time, I do think this is much more room for trendy and social networks and might be integrated into the Personal Operative System via RSS

Hi Steve. I saw a funny graphic the other day that illustrated the life cycle of early adopters and technology. Wish I could remember where that was! Anyway, it just said that as soon as things hit mainstream we've already moved on to the next big thing. The graphic said that it had something to do with mainstream media bringing all of the non-techy users so it 'dumbed down' the service. I'm not sure I agree with that because for all of these services to survive, we need them to make money and go mainstream. It's a catch 22. I think it's a lot like fashion... trends circle back around and replay often. Eventually, blogging will be cool again. ;)
Wow, lots of travel! Are you going to be doing any meet ups while you're in those cities? Would love to meet up with you here in Atlanta!

Stacy I will make sure we meet up in Atlanta. Schedule is still being firmed up.