Socially Mundane

[UPDATE below]

I received an email from someone I didn’t know. It was an invitation I apparently asked for some time ago, but don’t remember. There was minimal information in the email itself, except to say my invitation came through and I get to be among the very few starters.

So I clicked-through to read more – and I see now why I’d requested the invitation: think “Twitter” with a bit more than 140 characters, but essentially works the same: a micro-blogging service with follow/follower “streams”.

However, the main difference is that you follow subjects, rather than specific people. Granted, you do follow people as a rule, however each “jot” (think: Tweet) must be categorized by a subject. Then, all followers of that subject will see the twee… er, jot. Nifty is the ability for Subjot to cross-post your jots to Twitter and Facebook if you choose to “connect” them to your Subjot account.

I think the concept is absolutely superior to Twitter in every way – with regard to those of use who follow others more for the information discovery rather than the personable “small talk”. Twitter is obviously far superior in this regard. And they make a wonderful compliment to each other, though I fully expect I’ll be spending the majority of my Tweet/Jot time in Subjot rather than Twitter – because I am more subject oriented rather than “person-oriented” in the Twitterverse.

Subjot is definitely a great idea and I can see it really taking-off in the realm of microblogging for the sharing of news and other subjective information without a lot of the (often useless) “small talk” you get on Twitter.

Take a look are Subjot.com – if you really badly want to try it out, let me know: I have some invites available. (AriBlackthorne@shortmail.com is my public email address.)

This thing is really shiny new… hell, it still has that flimsy semi-stick protective plastic on the glass and chrome parts. This means feature-wise, it’s a bit lean, such as bookmarklets for sharing web links, native mobile apps or even desktop apps like you find for Twitter and FaceBook and the rest, but no doubt all that will appear over time when the motor is loosened-up and broken-in. Another 350 miles or so to put a little blue on the tailpipe.

The first screen I came to asked me to connect my shiny new Subjot account to my Twitter and (or) FaceBook to get things started. My account is then pre-populated with credentials from that other system, though I am still free to completely change anything, including my user name.

Above: once my account is linked (I started with my Twitter account) – I am then presented with a relatively short list of different subjects – and I need to follow at least one to kickstart the engine.

Above: the “home” display of Subjot – very Twitteresque and quite self-explanatory. The stream already here highlighting the subjects I am following/ I’ve already sent my first Jot – about Subjot and it appears at the top of the stream. There are three “quick-tag” subject buttons, but you can select from a menu or just create your own subjects.

Above: my jot as it appears in the Twitter timeline. The cross-posting feature allows my jots to be sent to my Twitter followers, though the idea of Subjot is to not spam your followers with jots (tweets) they are not interested in – hence the idea of following subjects rather than people specifically. Hence again (I know: redundant) the cross-post to Twitter should be used sparingly.

Above: the Jot page… Just as Twitter has a “page” for each Tweet, Subjot has a page for each jot – and this is a good. Subjot’s 250 character limit is almost twice as many as Twitter allows. So when cross-posting to Twitter, a link back to your jot is created. And as with other blogging services, replies can be sent along for discussion purposes.

Subjot: a really great idea. Socially Awesome.

[UPDATE]

Since publishing this diatribe, I’ve learnt a little more about Subjot, such as why and how it was conceived. An interesting read here. Also, there is a bookmarklet. Locating it just wash;t so obvious to me, but I’m a fail that way. The bookmarklet can be found here.

[UPDATE 2]

Discovered a serious cool-factor of Subjot: though the primary cool-factor is to follow specific subject by certain people, you can cruise a list of Subjot users. I find myself fortunate to be among the earliest to play with this new toy, so I didn’t expect to see many, if any others I already know. Found one (waves at Grace McDunnough). Except… she hasn’t posted anything yet, so she hasn’t participated in or created any new subjects to follow.

However, I like her writing when - she gets a round Tuit that is - (anyone have any we could throw at her?) - Subjot cool-factor-feature: “Autofollow”. meaning in short: automatically follow this person and the new subjects they create. Hence, the Twitter friend thing? It’s still in there. I’d call it Ragu, but I think that’s really a Nue Yawk thing to say that.

I’m from seattle and New Yorkers are all crazy. Which is why I love the place (I’m in town this week). And probably why Subjot is rocking (especially with the very slight Diaspora/Google+ feel to it.)