About a month ago I started thinking about developping a web-based system for myself which I dubbed "Perfect Memory"... The idea being that I would start capturing any and all text based communication (emails, instant messages), writings (quick thoughts, articles, outlines), as well as text-based "traces of my online wanderings" (bookmarks, browser histories) as I could (since web-tech and the fantastic powers of Google are still text-based), while making sure I keep the dev open enough for future inclusion of audio, and video.
Yesterday I spoke to Mark Federman at the McLuhan Program at the University of Toronto. He mentioned such things as Ted Nelson's Xanadu (http://xanadu.com/) and Zig Zag (http://xanadu.com/zigzag/) concepts, as well as going over accelerated culture and it's ramification etc etc, but I digress...
I returned home to an email from a friend. He had done some digging (on Google of course!). The results were these links:
Good old Vannevar Bush & Memex back in 1945:
http://www.press.jhu.edu/press/books/landow/memex.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/computer/bushf.htm
Microsoft is stepping into the ring already (beware Userland...)
http://research.microsoft.com/barc/MediaPresence/MyLifeBits.asp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2495649.stm
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993084
And today, "moblogging" has got many folks talking:
http://www.thefeature.com/index.jsp?url=article.jsp?pageid=24815
http://doc.weblogs.com/2002/11/22#digWider
http://www.scripting.com/
http://blogs.it/0100198/2002/11/22.html#a361
Let me explain:
1- I spend an average 8-10 hours a day online. The Internet is just as much a real place to me as any "physical" location. I know where to look for what I want and i know how to get there. But my human brain is fallable and undisciplined.. and unsearchable via a text input box.
2- I want a web-based "extension" of my mind. As a hammer is an extension of my hand and arm, as an automobile is an extension of my feet, legs and back, so is the Internet an extension of my eyes, ears mouth and fingers (reading/researching text, "publishing texts via blogs and emails and IMs)... Now I want to use web-technologies to make it be an extension of my mind... of my experience.. of my Memory.
