RockMelt + Fb Email Could Rip Space Time Continuum

In this post, we'll take a look at what happens if two social media software forces on the horizon merge onto some hapless citizen's computer screen. Heaven help us all.

RockMelt Gives You More Stuff To Do At Same Time

Netscape-person Marc Andreeson is backing a new internet browser, RockMelt, that's driven by the power of social media. It's built off of the same thing that gives us Google Chrome, but this time the sides of your screen will be loaded down with all the social media shortcuts you could possibly need in a hot second. Hang on... I need to Tweet that, Like it, and Post it to my profile right now.

Google Chrome = Gas Powered Mini-Cooper
Fun, lightweight, and gets you
there without costing battery life

One RockMelt tester reported that all the excess live activity made him feel twitchy, like having too much caffeine. It seems that for everything you might do on the internet there are 30 responsive actions you can take to let everyone know that you did it. One second... I need to Share it, Friend it, and save it to my queue right now.

Well, imagine if this was combined with other news, like say for example:

Facebook Awakens Sleeping Gmail Killer

In a move that's called “Project Titan” by those on the inside and the “Gmail Killer” by those on the outside, Facebook seems to be opening up a new portal into a seamless social-media-driven email client. This will let you have an email address ending in @facebook.com, and it will presumably further merge your personal and your social lives, so everyone will be all up in your business.

Caution: Checking Facebook Email on RockMelt May Rip Space-Time Continuum

If you find yourself with plugs running from your upper spine down one arm to a USB port while in the other arm you have a coffee needle slow-dripping into your arteries, you may be going too fast. In fact, your brain speeds may reach critical mass and threaten the fabric of space and time. A tiny black hole could invisibly open, right behind your computer screen, and it will suck all of your brain power through it to the other side of the unknown reaches of the universe.

Is All This Constant Brain Activity Making Me Better?

According to some reports, excessive and constant multitasking can actually make you do everything worse. One family suffered from burned cookies, dropped grades, and a $1.3M business deal nearly lost. Think about it: Are you getting more done? Hold up for one minute... I need to poke it, Buzz it, Yelp it, and tell everyone I know. Right Now. 

Thirty of your friends like this. Do you like it too?

To Tweet or Not to Tweet: Hamlet's Blackberry

Did you know Hamlet had a Blackberry?


The Bard's greatest non-actor tackled an issue that confronts our society today: connectedness or nonconnectedness. Whereas he wrestled with whether to follow up on his ghost-father's plea for vengeance (connectedness) or go ahead and wash his hands of all that rotten mess in Denmark (nonconnectedness), author William Powers addresses our society's ability to use our new powers of constant digital connection to create real connections between people--or does this constant connection drive us further away?


You can read/listen to Powers' interview on NPR, where he talks about taking each weekend off from digital connectedness. A sort of "Internet Sabbath," the article says.

In his 2007 essay,  "Hamlet's Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal," Powers explains that when Hamlet is overloaded with new and shocking information, he does the same thing we do in that situation: pulls out his smart phone and processes. For all we know, he may have been adding the ghost as a contact.



In fact, Powers describes a little tablet popularly carried around by people of the 16th century, and later by the likes of even Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. Hamlet pulls out his tablet, which he calls a "table," and begins making notes. He can erase the notes with a sponge at any time to make room for new notes, which he says he will do upon hearing the ghost's chilling news.


Hamlet's tablet, like the modern Blackberry, came before the iPhone.

Interview with a Youth Minister

Great sense of humor and understanding. "Youth Ministry" has post-graduate degrees both in Theology and in Making Youth Group Awesome. He has traveled far to bring home a greater sense of purpose and mission.


How do you use new technology at your job?
I am both a Youth Minister and a middle school teacher, and so I find myself using technology often. In YM it's mainly for communication to young people and their parents. Without using Facebook (and texting), I would not reach probably 70-80% of the kids I'm trying to reach. And email just makes it easier to stay in touch with parents. As a teacher, I use different media all the time in the classroom (short downloaded films shown on my projector) & mainly email to communicate with other teachers. 

Is there any new technology/website made in the last 5-7 years that you cannot live without?
There are three: my phone, Google calendars, and Dropbox. I recently dropped Outlook like a bad habit (which it is) and switched to Google calendar and my life has never been more seamless. ... (*sweet! Giants just won World Series!!!!*) ... It easily syncs with my phone and iCal on my Mac and updates in just seconds when I add an event. I also like that if I ever lose my phone I haven't lost my schedule for the whole year. Then there is Dropbox. I can access all my files on any computer I'm on...it's a great tool. And being able to use a SmartPhone where I can receive my emails and sync my calendar is priceless. It keeps me from spending 2 straight hours every day sifting through a bunch of email when I get to the office cause I can take them as they come.

Is there any new technology/website made in the last 5-7 years that seems useless to you?
Twitter. I still don't see the point, but obviously someone does since it's so wildly popular. Maybe I'm just not narcissistic enough to appreciate it.

What do you wish you could do with technology that you can't do now?
I'd like to think I'm forward thinking enough to come up with an answer to this question, but for some reason nothing is coming to me. I think I'm just inundated with figuring out how to bring the school into the 21st century with their technology.


[EDIT: Over the phone, "Youth Minister" and I discussed a new answer to this last question: a specific notification that all cars should give, alerting the driver what specific maintenance they should expect and why, including the last time such a maintenance was done and how frequently it should be done. We even pictured the Microsoft Paperclip, only this time it would be a wrench with eyes, popping up onto the windshield. "Did you know that your brake pads are close to needing a change? Would you like me to search for nearby auto repair shops now?" Why, yes I would! Thanks for asking!]