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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: October 25, 2002 Introducing the Microcontent Client (Anil Dash) -- "The primary advantage of the microcontent client over existing Internet technologies is that it will enable the sharing of meme-sized chunks of information using a consistent set of navigation, user interface, storage, and networking technologies. In short, a better user interface for task-based activities, and a more powerful system for reading, searching, annotating, reviewing, and other information-based activities on the Internet."
Reader Comments...
It all sounds very interesting and useful, but I do worry about people getting carrying away with the idea that 'content' consists of little chunks of text which can be filtered, categorised and aggregated. It's a very weblog/news-junkie-centric way of thinking which is incredibly powerful when applied to pieces of structured data but can be taken too far. We still need 'megacontent' that can stand on its own two feet and is fully integrated with its visual design, stuff that can't be meaningfully reduced to chunks and neatly categorised. After all, why should even a weblog retain its full value if pulled apart into individual posts? Don't the most interesting sites rely on the context of each part of their content, how each post relates to others, an ongoing 'dialogue' with readers, etc? Sometimes there are advantages to the loosely-structured, page-based approach the Web uses, and if we're not careful we'll end up reducing our idea of what 'content' is to something resembling newspaper clippings.
Or if we're even less careful we'll end up with web pages crusted over with tons of useless visual garbage. Crawling bugs and post it notes? That's your idea of megacontent? The point isn't that there's only "one true" content format. There's room for many. There's an audience of people out there that are too busy or are on bandwidth-budgeted conditions (laptops, handhelds, etc) that find tremendous value in actual CONTENT without the frills. Posted by: on October 28, 2002 03:59 PM
"Crawling bugs and post it notes? That's your idea of megacontent?" I was merely making the point that not all CONTENT consists of little bits of text, the Web needs its novels/comics/popup books as well as the newspaper clippings. Stuff that's "useless visual garbage" to you may be appealing and interesting design to someone else which enhances the meaning of the CONTENT, or perhaps even is the CONTENT. Posted by: Matt Round on October 29, 2002 05:58 PM
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