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Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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This time, they’ve gone too far

Interactivity, two-way communication, community building…it’s all good stuff. But sometimes, you have to wonder if the ability to do something means you should.

My first impression of the new blog tool Mobber was favorable, mainly because the fact that it does what it does is cool. There are two parts to the Mobber equation. As a blogger, you add a bit of javascript to your blog’s template. As a reader of blogs, you create a profile and upload a picture of yourself. Now, whenever you visit a Mobber-enabled blog (one that has that bit of javascript), your picture will appear along with those of any other readers with Mobber profiles who happen to be reading the same blog at the same time.

Shel Holtz

Now, you can view the profiles of those other readers and click to chat with them. I’m just not sure I’d want to be interrupted for a chat while I’m reading blog posts. And can you imagine what might happen to an A-lister who happens to be perusing a blog with his picture showing? How many chats would readers initiate with Robert Scoble or Michael Arrington? And, given that A-listers probably wouldn’t make themselves available for such chats, who’s left? Anybody you’d want to chat with? Maybe, if you viewed a profile and found someone interesting. But looking for conversation or making new friends just isn’t part of my agenda when I’m reading blog posts.

Besides, blogs already come with a way to engage with the blogger and other readers. It’s called “comments,” and it’s asynchronous, a characteristic I appreciate. I can engage when it’s convenient for me, which is preferable to an interruption while trying to read a post.

You do have to login to appear on a Mobber slider, so if you don’t have to be available for chats if you don’t want to be. But since I’d probably never log in, I don’t see the point in creating a profile. And I just don’t care who else is reading a blog at the same moment I am. Maybe others do, and if so, I wish the folks behind Mobber all the success in the world. It is cool, as you’ll see when you visit the Mobber site (which also lists the top 10 “mobbed” site).

What do you think? Should blogs double as platforms for real-time chats?

03/23/06 | 13 Comments | This time, they’ve gone too far

Comments

  • 1.I agree, Shel: TOO FAR!
    IMHO the only person who would even think about using something like this would be a full-time blogger. How many are out there? ;-))
    Reading and writing blog posts is time-consuming enough already!

    donna papacosta | March 2006 | Toronto

  • 2.Absolutely not. One of the main benefits (too me) of blog conversations is that it is on my terms. I can choose how much I engage and when I do it. This means you lose too much control of how you network and with who.

    Stuart Bruce, BMA PR | March 2006 | Leeds, UK

  • 3.I could see the use of this during a blog conference like GlobalPRBlog Week or HigherEd BlogCon. But not on my everyday blog - you are correct.

    Elizabeth Albrycht | March 2006 | France

  • 4.Actually, I think it might be fairly practical for private corporate blogs (and wikis?) where people are constantly interacting but in the context of actually getting something done.

    Other than that, no, I'm with you - I'm an asynchronous communicator.

    kris olsen | March 2006 | Cincinnati

  • 5.No thanks -- this reminds me of my reaction when eBay bought Skype suggesting it will connect Buyers and Sellers in auctions... I think people like the uninterrupted expressions on blogs, just as they like the psuedo-anonymous shopping on auction sites.

    Edward O'Meara | March 2006 | Atlanta, GA

  • 6.I like the idea of enabling profiles for people who visit the blog. Maybe a photo in the comments section with a pop-up to view their profile. That way you could check out who the person is without having to click all the way through to their blog.

    But I agree chatting while reading blogs is too much, even for me and my ADD.

    Tac | March 2006

  • 7.Totally agree. I said much the same thing when 3Bubbles launched:

    http://mashable.com/2006/02/12/3bubbles-why-im-skeptical-about-live-chat-on-blogs/

    Pete Cashmore | March 2006

  • 8.I think that the technology is cool but misapplied. Having a chat while reading a blog is like trying to have a conversation while reading the newspaper. But, as a collaborative tool, I think it is great.

    Imagine it being used on projects where a client can collaborate in real-time. It could cut down on the approval times and the project can be better focused. I wonder... do they have an api?

    Mike Bellina | March 2006

  • 9.Mike, there are plenty of tools like this already. IM is the one that leaps to mind. My daughter can hold as many as 11 or 12 conversations at once. Chat rooms are another. Groove let you have project-specific chats with only those who were invited members of a team. I don't see how this adds any value to these and other collaboration tools.

    Shel Holtz | March 2006 | Concord, CA

  • 10.I have to agree that they are entering a saturated market. From a purely geek perspective, I think that the concept is a cool. I guess it can be suggested that it is a poor attempt to be a myspace.com knock-off? Your thoughts.

    Mike Bellina | March 2006 | Tinton Falls, NJ

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