Beyond IM: Welcome to the EM era
January 14, 2007 by Chris Heuer
Instant Messaging (IM) is not dead or even dying, but EM is about to change everything. While IM emphasizes the immediacy of the communication, EM can represent the value of the communication. Then again, like any communications channel, what gets transmitted can also be pure drivel. EM, however, has tremendous potential for solving some of the biggest problems I face on a daily basis, and have been thinking about for over a decade, most especially the idea of annotating the world around us and sharing key insytes about what is happening and what I see as the important matters of the day.
What is EM? EM is “Everywhere Messaging” - in particular, Text-Web-IM-Blog/Site. Some may think the distinctions I am going to make are not important enough to consider it a separate category, but as we explore this topic further, it will become apparent that EM is game changing. When this idea struck me the other day, I did a search to see if anyone else was talking about EM yet and found little on the subject. In fact, only 470 results on Google and only 2 on Technorati, none of which talking about EM in the way that I am thinking about it. The #1 result on Google is a great paper on ACM from 2000 which is informative and visionary, but still thinking of it as a communications tool, and not within the context I imagine it as an annotation tool, a publishing tool, a personal journal, an instant feedback mechanism AND a communications tool.
I started thinking about the idea of EM the other day when I finally gave in to peer pressure and began to use my Twitter account. As you may know, it takes a lot to get me (and most people) to change behavioural patterns and make a new service a part of my daily life and routine. The value proposition must be compelling, it must be easy to use and it must ‘feel good’ to use. While Dodgeball seemingly has all these characteristics as well, I never fully embraced it enough to change my ongoing behaviour - even when other members of my community became addicts. Why is this? Well I believe the key difference was found by removing the prescribed context of physical proximity from the usage of the tool. The use of Twitter is not ‘artificially restricted’ by the instructions of use or the social purpose for which it is prescribed.
The reason for making this very big distinction between IM and EM is that the purpose and usage is quite different. I primarily use IM for communicating with another person - whether that is texting or IM’ing from my laptop does not really matter. One might argue that IM is on mobile phones, making it ‘everywhere’ you are, and rendering this distinction moot, but that is missing the point. With Twitter and other EM services, the purpose is not about communicating with another person instantly. While I could send a direct message to someone over an EM channel, it is probably not something that has a time imperative on it - ie, it is more about sharing something with someone at some point in time than about conversing with them right now.
Most importantly, with EM, I believe the message is more about me, my needs and my desire to be heard - it can also be more self serving along the same lines that social bookmarking is - to help me find something later. EM can just as easily be a tool for publishing (start following my Twitter account or check in on my personal Blog sidebar if you want to see this in action) as it is a tool for communicating with those I trust, or those that want to know what I am doing or thinking. As a tool for publishing, it can also be a tool for annotating and sharing.
For instance this morning I was watching a little TV while waiting for breakfast and happened across the Sundance Channel’s Iconoclast series - this was the pairing of Dave Chapelle and Maya Angelou. The connection the two of them built in front of my eyes, together with the depths and poignancy of their insytes actually brought me to tears - it was so moving. Now there have been many other experiences with media and the world around me that has really touched me in a way that inspired me to think differently, or to simply recognize the value and want to share it. More often than not, this moment passes without being captured because of more pressing matters - in other words, not having enough time to note the source, add my insytes and share it with you.
This morning, I Twittered this update “touched deeply by iconoclasts with maya angelou and dave chapelle“. While such a short statement does not have the depth of a blog post, I was able to apply the OHIO principle (Only Handle It Once) and publish the key information, instead of doing nothing. A whole new world of connectivity and knowledge sharing will soon open up through EM.
Of course, at this stage Twitter is really only a feature, a robust one, but it is not a complete solution within the contexts I envision it will be. As such, I expect to see numerous new uses of ‘Twitter like’ functionality in many other products, for many other communities very soon (if it is not happening already). The real interesting things happen when people can begin to use EM together with TagSpaces and other intelligent routing. It would be really great if Twitter would know that I have Direct TV and combined that understanding with some basic short codes such that I could have had a link to the show automatically appear in the message. This could look like “CH549:Inspired by Maya’s wisdom and Dave’s soulfullness, a must watch show”. The backend would see that I am on DirectTV, that channel 549 was Sundance and the time was 910am, at which time the Iconoclasts show was on air. Take this a step further with the ability to link directly to the video clip that preceded my EM and now things get really interesting…
Of course, there are many other potential uses we should consider beyond annotation and sharing key insytes. I have seen Twitter used to simply share a state of mind, which in an odd ways makes me feel more connected and less alone, even when there are no physical ears upon which my feelings land in my immediate surroundings. It can also be used for quick reviews, promoting something/someone and publishing just about anything else. I could even see where a TagSpace could hold all of a given community’s insights on a given issue or topic, where it could spark a conversation, be included in a Wiki, or even be used as a polling mechanism.
Once EM evolves to include audio/video, to enable tagging by others and other intelligent backend functionality, the importance of this evolutionary product will be clear to all. As with most game changing innovations, you can’t fully understand it without experiencing it. After you do, it will be great to hear back from you on other ways we might be able to use it or improve it. So go ahead and try it, you might like it!
So the big question is, what do you think of EM and some of the uses I propose here? Does this make sense?
This is the first of my weekly columns we are calling “A View From The Middle” - it is still in its birthing phase, so the format might change a bit. We will be announcing and starting a few other interesting things later this week.
Sphere: Related Content
First up - “yes!”, this all makes a great deal of sense, and indeed it is the most inspirational thing I have read today. I’m especially interested in exploring the idea of what happens when we can all generate and publish content instantly and ubiquitously in the way you have described with the Sundance example. Just another way in which traditional broadcasters will be under attack for mine. I can well imagine “subscribing” to twitter like “feeds” of groups of individuals I grew to trust through the reliability of their recommendations. How can a broadcaster control the flow of information and critique in this framework?
Nice post - more like this!
I agree with Maxine — great post and you’re making loads of sense! Personally I am loving Twitter just for the “keeping in touch” factor … nice to see how people are doing, what’s going on, especially when you don’t have the time to keep up with lots of people on a frequent basis. Not that it replaces the 1:1 communication, just gives you that “watercooler” effect in a nice, non-intrusive way.
[...] Social Media Club » Beyond IM: Welcome to the EM era “Once EM evolves to include audio/video, to enable tagging by others and other intelligent backend functionality, the importance of this evolutionary product will be clear to all.” (tags: twitter web2.0 community socialsoftware society webapps webapplications comments) [...]
I love this post Chris
Manual Trackback!
http://www.touchstonelive.com/blog/2007/01/everywhere-messaging-twitter-and-others.html
Interesting stuff. Isn’t this, at it’s heart personal broadcasting. Something that is the core of social networks.
Intesting Blog.
[...] Besides, we also know that “Social Media” Club is adaptive once all media is digital, we live in a 3 screen world and have fully realized persasive connectivity with very rich read/write tools through integrated hardware/software solutions like that I imagined for sharing and annotating television programs in my post on Twitter from a few weeks ago. As the term Social Media loses prominence in a few years, the pronunciation merely changes to “Social” Media Club. The focus on media however, is a part of our roots and our desire to bring all media producers together to understand the Importance of Social Media. [...]
[...] aunque a mi, personalmente, no me resulte de ninguna utilidad y lo vea más como un elemento disruptivo de la atención/acción, sólo el comportamiento de los usuarios nos dirá, con el tiempo, si twitter es una herramienta útil o es simplemente una moda. I have seen Twitter used to simply share a state of mind, which in an odd ways makes me feel more connected and less alone, even when there are no physical ears upon which my feelings land in my immediate surroundings. It can also be used for quick reviews, promoting something/someone and publishing just about anything else. I could even see where a TagSpace could hold all of a given community’s insights on a given issue or topic, where it could spark a conversation, be included in a Wiki, or even be used as a polling mechanism. escrito por chris heuer en social media [...]
[...] Social Media Club - » Beyond IM: Welcome to the EM era Chris Heuer’s take on Twitter an “EM” — Everywhere Messaging (tags: EM IM Twitter SocialMedia) [...]
This is an interesting post about an interesting service.
I think that you are correct that social media services will continue to evolve but I’m not so sure that the level of integration you want for EM will happen as quickly.
The first thing to remember about social media is that it has only recently come out of the early adopters stage.
MySpace has a huge following now, and blogs are being created in droves. But even those two most popular social options have very high bounce rates. People create a blog, post once, and then leave. I can name 5 friends off the top of my head in this category.
So, as services like Twitter become available, the early adopters start using them. Because these people are more likely to have blogs (I’ve had a personal one for 4 years now) they are more connected to one another giving the adoption a better chance of succeeding but also a sense that it’s more widespread that it actually is.
I think that much of social media is still in the honeymoon phase. People are very willing to ‘be connected’ by sharing about themselves in very personal ways. But, unlike talking with your friend in a coffee shop, what gets posted to the Internet doesn’t fade into memory. It can be dug up anytime by anyone. I don’t think that social media has faced the real challenge of convincing enough of the mainstream that continued publishing of their personal lives in order to be connected outweighs the permanent record being created.
[...] clipped from http://www.socialmediaclub.orgInstant Messaging (IM) is not dead or even dying, but EM is about to change everything. While IM emphasizes the immediacy of the communication, EM can represent the value of the communication. Then again, like any communications channel, what gets transmitted can also be pure drivel. EM, however, has tremendous potential for solving some of the biggest problems I face on a daily basis, and have been thinking about for over a decade, most especially the idea of annotating the world around us and sharing key insytes about what is happening and what I see as the important matters of the day.What is EM? EM is “Everywhere Messaging” - in particular, Text-Web-IM-Blog/Site. I started thinking about the idea of EM the other day when I finally gave in to peer pressure and began to use my Twitter account. With Twitter and other EM services, the purpose is not about communicating with another person instantly. go to this clip Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
[...] + A system for sending IM/SMS. + Can send and receive updates on the web, through an IM client, or via your mobile phone. + Something Chris Heuer from the Social Media Club calls “Everywhere Messaging” + A way to communicate a state of mind and answer the question “What are you doing?” + Could be called “asynchronous micro-blogging” + Why can’t it expand to audio and video? + Must be coming soon: Twittering to specific groups + It can be used in political campaigning. + It can be used in internal communications. + It can be used to easily keep in touch with family and friends when you’re on the road. + A chance for marketing or mobile marketing coming? + My profile: Twitter.com/Bryper [...]
[...] + A system for sending IM/SMS. + Can send and receive updates on the web, through an IM client, or via your mobile phone. + Something Chris Heuer from the Social Media Club calls “Everywhere Messaging” + A way to communicate a state of mind and answer the question “What are you doing?” + Could be called “asynchronous micro-blogging” + Why can’t it expand to audio and video? + Must be coming soon: Twittering to specific groups + It can be used in political campaigning. + It can be used in internal communications. + It can be used to easily keep in touch with family and friends when you’re on the road. + A chance for marketing or mobile marketing coming? + My profile: Twitter.com/Bryper [...]
Great post. EM is different. Yesterday I could have blogged about Dave Winer being on a live video stream from Boston at that moment, but who would have heard me?
So I posted it on Twitter to my ‘followers’, one of them being Chris Pirillo, who then ‘re-twittered’ it to his followers.
So that’s 51 plus 279 people, who if watching their twitter streams, would have gotten the instant message to tune in to see and hear Dave in Boston.
There is something new and exciting going on and I’m glad to be in the middle of it right now trying to figure it all out.
[...] Social Media Club - » Beyond IM: Welcome to the EM era If you have not seen this post yet, it is still getting a bit of pick up - which is what happens when you occasionally have something good to say, but not a ton of people listening each day… (tags: Twitter SocialMedia IM EM) [...]
[...] When thinking about how Chris views things like Twitter as EM or everywhere messaging, a candidate having a Twitter account makes perfect sense. Perhaps EM could even stand for “everyone” messaging. (Note, this is not an endorsement of any candidate.) [...]
Twitter vs. Jaiku…
Twitter is great. Don’t get me wrong. I use it all the time, ever since……
May I suggest also Nimbuzz?
With Nimbuzz is possible to chat and send message (also when the buddy is not connected) with other communities (like MSN, Google Talk, etc…) from your PC and from your mobile phone – everywhere you go, you can exchanging text messages at very low price.
Nimbuzz Voice works on a basic, minimal GPRS data connection to unite mobile phone callers worldwide, so you can call other countries at low (local per-minute rates).
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Elisabetta Castriota
[...] Just about 6 weeks ago, I wrote a post about Twitter being a great evolution of IM, moving to EM, which I called “everywhere messaging”. Well, in the weeks since, I have come to realize it is really about EP, “everywhere publishing” - but not just publishing in the broad sense, but rather, it is a functionally restricted form of micro-blogging. If you look at my Twitter feed, you will see that this is generally how I use it. [...]
[...] Beyond IM: Welcome to the EM era by Chris Heuer at Social Media Club: Instant Messaging (IM) is not dead or even dying, but EM is about to change everything. While IM emphasizes the immediacy of the communication, EM can represent the value of the communication. Then again, like any communications channel, what gets transmitted can also be pure drivel. EM, however, has tremendous potential for solving some of the biggest problems I face on a daily basis, and have been thinking about for over a decade, most especially the idea of annotating the world around us and sharing key insytes about what is happening and what I see as the important matters of the day. [...]
[...] Still, whether or not Twitter itself is the solution of doom, the Twitter eruption of 2007 has exposed the enormous latent demand for low-cost, everywhere messaging that effortlessly crosses platforms and unites messaging channels. [...]
[...] posted on Saturday 24 March 2007 at 15:30 and filed under Geek, Blog, Social, Twitter. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback:Trackback URL. « “Textpattern Semantics” Tipici passatempi domenicali: Rage Against The Pitching Machine » [...]
[...] Instant messaging (IM) has been a staple of my life for eight years and only now is the focus beginning to change. Chris Heuer recently coined the term “Everywhere Messaging” (EM) in response to the release of Twitter. How is EM an evolution of IM? “While IM emphasizes the immediacy of the communication, EM can represent the value of the communication”, according to Chris Heuer. [...]
[...] Chris Heuer picks up on this point when he talks about [...]
[...] more popular with new services as Twitter and Jaiku. Its like mixing IM with SMS, Some call it an EM application (everywhere messaging). Your social contacts can receive your sms-alike messages (with or without [...]
[...] Parliamo quindi dell’abbandono dell’IM a favore all’EM. [...]
[...] Beyond IM: Welcome to the EM era by Chris Heuer at Social Media Club: [...]