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| Blog, RSS and VoIP only with your eyes open |
May 2, 2005 |
By Peter Wolchak
THE GOOD TIMES SEEM TO BE ROARING BACK, BUT LET’S NOT GO CRAZY
It may be an exciting time right now for tech, but let’s not forget an idea that fizzled: Microsoft’s push technology initiative of the mid-’90s. Why look back? Because it’s relevant history, and we certainly don’t want to be condemned to repeat it.
Push happens when information comes to you without an invitation, such as television: shows are broadcast even if no one is watching. By contrast, the Web is a pull system: a user instructs a Web browser to access a specific site.
About 10 years ago Microsoft decided push was the future of communication.
Users would register their interests with online systems and relevant information would be zapped to them. I first heard of this at a Microsoft briefing. A newbie tech reporter, I rushed to my publisher and suggested we use our fledgling Web site to push content to readers.
His lukewarm response surprised me.
This was the future, darn it. But he had seen technologies come and go, and his caution was well earned. Microsoft’s wave of push enthusiasm drained away pretty quickly.
(As an aside, Redmond had yet to embrace the Web, and push was probably a control effort: “The Internet, brought to you by Windows.” But that’s another column.)
So why is this history important?
Right now there’s a refreshing excitement in the tech industry; innovations that have been around for a while are finally being deployed. And that’s positive, but every time I hear about blogs, RSS or Vo IP, a nagging little voice whispers “remember push.”
Take Voice over IP. Big names are lining up behind the idea of voice travelling over the public IP network, among them Mitel’s Terry Matthews. In our March issue, Matthews presented a world remade by ubiquitous IP, and he has become very successful by consistently being spot on.
And Vo IP certainly offers significant advantages. The challenge, however, is human. As Garry Foster from Deloitte points out in this issue, if users flock to Vo IP then so will spammers, and if your e-mail is overloaded just wait until junk messages clog your phone. We’ve been unable to stop e-mail spam; there’s no reason to think we’ll be successful with voice spam.
As for blogs, I realize it’s an unpopular opinion but I simply don’t understand the fascination. With specific exceptions—such as the U.S. blogger who sidestepped the Gomery inquiry’s gag order—I can’t see devoting regular chunks of time to someone’s opinion on current events or movie stars or even politics. That’s why we have magazines and newspapers.
Again, others disagree. Don Tapscott, a successful analyst and writer, argues in this issue that companies should blog.
Now people are talking up RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds, which distribute online content to people who have specified an interest in it. Sound like push technology all over again? You bet, but many people will tell you it’s the future of communication. I guess we’ll see.
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