Lifestreams

Analog Networks
When I was a boy—I can remember how my Mother would spend a good part of her Sundays.  She would take out her phonebook—a tattered collection of names and numbers written in handwriting you could barely read, and re-connect with her personal network—an intimate collection a family and friends.  She didn't create media other than the pictures she took or the video my father shot on his 8mm video camera. 

Digital Networks And The Increasing Number of Data Streams
Fast forward 36 years.  To the non-participant—Social Media seems like a dizzying array of communications, conversation, connections and technology that leaves them partially curious, partially intimidated and more than likely confused.  To the active participants, there is no shortage of technologies, platforms and networks which promise to provide social experiences that connect with business contacts, friends and even brands.

In addition to this blog, I have active digital sources in place where I am producing multiple streams of output or data.  Twitter, Slideshare, Linked In, and of course my Web site to name a few.  I also have inactive sources such as mybloglog, Ning or Kaneva—these are sources of personal data which exist but are no longer being fed.  And most recently I've recently added another lifestream—a fairly powerful one:  Facebook.

But let's take a step back for a moment and think about a word I just used.  Lifestream.

Lifestreaming as described by a blog with the same namesake can be summarized this way:

"What is a Lifestream? In it’s simplest form it’s a chronological aggregated view of your life activities both online and offline. It is only limited by the content and sources that you use to define it.  Most people that create them choose a few sources based on sites that track our activities such as Del.icio.us (bookmarking), Last.fm (Music we listen to), Flickr (photos we take) etc..."

Lifestreaming As A Basic Human Desire
The premise of Lifestreaming interests me primarily because it speaks to a basic human need.  The need to make sense of our lives.  The need to simplify the complex—and make it meaningful.  I'm not interested in technology here—leave that to the true geeks.  There are probably a variety of technical platforms to choose from.  Steve Rubel has aggregated much of his "Lifestreams" on Steverubel.com.  There are other kinds of examples.  I think in some ways that Trevor, the infamous Mentos intern is also doing this by aggregating his multiple streams into one place.  Heck, his video feed acts like a live stream—no prerecording there.

But here's what I find really interesting about Lifestreams.  What the visual here shows is that our streams do have a source.  Us.  Network aside—it's the individual that produces a stream of data whether it be media, text or other.  And what's becoming increasingly important is the array of multiple digital platforms that we use to create the streams.  Most of the aforementioned platforms have some type of mobile support.  Add advances in technology like the  iPhone and the increasing pervasiveness of wireless digital networks and you've got the perfect storm.  Soon, most participants will be looking for ways to make sense out of there multiple streams—not just the early adopters like Rubel.

Junctions + Aggregations
The irony of having multiple Data streams is that they don't have straight paths that go from point A to point B.  As the visual shows, our Lifestreams intersect at junctions.  Point in case, if you look around this blog you can see examples of several junctions.  I've got my own Twitter feed streaming in along with the feeds from individuals in my network.  Ive got a widget from Facebook that updates as soon as I update it—whether it be from mobile or PC.  While my blog doesn't act as a full-fledged aggregator—it does highlight some of my junctions.  Facebook's popularity is also due to this as it can consolidate some of the streams we produce.  Rubel recently penned a post singing the praises of Tumblr as a simple and free option to aggregate multiple streams in once place.  He wraps up his analysis by saying this:

"Aggregated Lifestreams could be the next big thing on the web, particularly as community expands. I am also thinking about how this might be coupled with services like social networks, Twittergram, Spock and OpenID."

I think I'm in agreement with Rubel on this.  As a recent  member to Facebook, I'm less inclined to see this particular network as more than a "community cluster" (more on that later).  However, I'm more interested in how we'll attempt to manage our multiple Lifestreams as more of us move from passive bystanders to active participants—creators from consumers.  Who knows?  Maybe "Lifestream consultants" or better yet "Brandstream consultants" will become a lucrative new profession as the number of streams and junctions increase.  You never know.

Comments

[Peter Kim]

Following Rubel's inspiration, I hacked together a lifestream at http://www.beingpeterkim.com/lifefeed.html. Initial thought is that the lifestream helps individuals retain power instead of any particular platform taking precedence. Need to think through this further...

[Gavin Heaton]

I like the idea of lifestreams ... and I think this is partly why Google and other search oriented systems are concerned about social media. Imagine your influence map a satellite image of social networks. Each blob is our personal source and the ripples that we send out radiate non-distinct influence. BUT below the surface, unseen by the satellite, is the lifestream -- tentacles that reach out and spread, tangling and entwining the lifestreams of others both geographically near and far. The influence is on the surface, but the authority/affinity operates below that and is mapped by the synapse-like connections between lifestreams.
It is this cross-over of lifestreams and sense of relative personal authority that networks like Facebook are beginning to activate ... And these could be the beginning of the end for machine ranked search. Value is in the personal connection and in the interplay of authority and influence, not in the number of "links".
Interesting ...

[catepol]

great post...I rewrite one on my blog inspired by your

[jon burg]

Great post, couldn't agree more. But are we truly more in touch or are we just a bit more connected? To that point, are our digital connections as meaningful as those analog conversations your mother had on Sunday morning?

[DA]

Jon,

Are they more meaningful? No. We're more connected_if anything we need to work on the meaningful part harder because we have more connections.

But remember this post is more about the management of our own personal data streams vs the management of our networks.

[Lewis Green]

David,

Like your mother, I connect with my personal network weekly, except I do it on Mondays, using my blogroll as that tattered list of names of people I want to say hi to. Hi David.

[DA]

Hi Lewis. How are your lifestreams doing today? ;-)

[giL]

"Brandstream consultants" LOL. I liked that. In my blog (http://individualathome.blogspot.com) I have been titling my lifestreams in various names - from a simple "my other places" to "additional hemispheres". Now i feel like a baby who was trying to describe an abstract term using his 40 words... thanks for this post friend. We seem to have at least this one thing in comment!

[Lewis Green]

David,

My lifestreams have never been better. Making new connections everyday.

[BobG]

just when all the options confuse me more than ever, you manage to bring it back to a basic human need, DA - to make sense of our lives. everybody been bugging about this facebook thing so I finally joined in...still discovering its power though its for certain become a creek into my life stream -

[Mike Arauz]

I completely agree that Lifestreams are the new frontier for online communications. The specific tools will continue to splinter and proliferate, and individuals will seek out ways to pull it all back together.

The act of curating these various streams is an act of self-discovery and the publicizing of these streams is an act of self-expression. I think that one of the primary motivations for Lifestreaming is our interest in cultivating a personal identity.

[jon burg]

To what extent do we want lifestreams - aggregating our lives for ourselves - and to what extent do we want MyStreams - aggregating our content for ourselves and for our readers/subscribers. If we all used MyStreams, the system could deliver specifically the content that was most relevant to our consumption and creation habits, creating the ultimate smart feed system whereby I would only receive content relevant to me across all publishing platforms. Going to be posting about this shortly, feel free to check it out!

[Doug Meacham]

Hi David,

Good thought-provoking post. Although it certainly did not start out that way, I think the big potential in Facebook is to be that "Lifestream Aggregator". Community created applications now let me blog to Wordpress.com, Twitter, post photos and video, etc. That's the outbound side and it really simplifies things. Inbound, I get "news feeds" about my friends activities and RSS Feeds from all the blogs that I enjoy reading. On top of all of that, its a central meeting place for virtually any community you can think of.

[Asi]

Great post as usual David.

But you argue that you are not interested (in this post) in technology and the networks but rather with the basic human need of meaning- making. In that sense something is missing in the argument. The interesting bit in this explosive neo-expressionism IS to understand where is it all come from?

Let's go back again 36 years. From the dawn of humanity, people used to do all kind of stuff in the sake of meaning making - religion, politics, art etc. And every person (in different levels of awareness) has his / here own ways of making sense of their worlds.

Now, for example, in the past years before the social media revolution people took pictures, arranged them in albums (for the sake of the same human need of documenting, re-living precious moments, defying mortality and so on), people organised their 'stuff' and created content in different shapes and forms.

So what we simply used to call hobbies or documenting or forms of expressions is now made simple and easy enabled by technology

So the big question for me, is where the RELENTLESS NEED TO SHARE has come from?

This, I believe is a more recently evolved human need - not entirely 'new' but something which technology and popular culture (celebrity, reality) has contributed to.

OK, i'll stop my brain-shagging here...time to do some work.....

best,

A.

[Colin McKay]

Another great post, David. Before the average person can really benefit from lifestreams, however, they will need to learn to manage their online identity more closely.

There's something missing between all these datastreams, however: chinese walls. What separates the banter between friends from the professional commentary from the family memories? We used to close our office door, take that Sunday morning discussion out on the porch, or simply make a phone call. Nowadays, we're becoming more used to transmitting impulsive statements and floating ideas for comments.

But most people haven't trained themselves to be intellectually and emotionally consistent. The stimulating data points - exhortations, exclamations, irritation - could be interesting to some in your extended circle, and disturbing to others.

The idea of a lifestream seems logical and appealing, but it also seems to imply some ability to manage your online identity.

[DA]

Doug,

Facebook has a lot of potential in this area. But others must be on the network to view your lifestreams in their entirety. But I agree, it's pretty damn robust.

Asi, I totally get what you are saying. My stressing of the "separation of church and tech" was just my way of saying that this post is not a social app review. There are more qualified people to do those. :)

[Liz Strauss]

Phenomenal explanation of how and why lifesteams work. Thank you, David, for what is the best I've seen on the subject and probably always will be.

The potential of lifestreams is as any human endeavor only as valuable as we make them. I wonder whether a generation who grows up with this technology will have wonderful keepsake tool here or whether it will be outdated and overwritten in a matter of virtual seconds.

[Rob]

Is it really possible or even desirable to continuously make sense of these consolidated channels and content? Personally don't have the time to follow my own RSS feeds (the things I'm really interested in) let alone the minutiae of someone else’s lifestream.

I want the good stuff, well thought through, considered, engaging, relevant content, the likes of which I get on Logic & Emotion (a single channel aggregated through RSS). Content stands to become diluted, suffering at the hands of the desire to post random thoughts, links, messages and syntax.

And what value is it adding, where's the real value and benefit to me? I can understand those with lot of time on their hands who are 'fans' of an individual (or maybe their mother!) wanting to know to the minute, where they are, who they've seen and what they've just eaten but I'd prefer to filter out the meaningless, valueless and superficial content from the meaningful and relevant content. I go where my expectations will be met and I don’t struggle to find good content, the risk is that if that content gets diluted I'll just stop going there.

I agree with you David that there is a basic human need 'to make sense of our lives' and Mike Arauz raises an interesting point by saying 'one the primary motivations for Lifestreaming is our interest in cultivating a personal identity.' I think he's right and this is the most interesting, meaningful and engaging aspect of Lifestreaming, us!

The journey of discovering what makes you who you are is wonderful and at www.FindLikeMinds.com we believe that it's that which has influenced you (people, books, music, film, art, blogs etc) that is the major contributor to your personal identity. The rewards that the journey of discovery can bring - the discovery of new influences, like-minded friends and the limitless benefits of connecting, engaging, communicating and collaborating with those people are irrefutable.

Give FindLikeMinds a go; of course you're in there already under influential blogs!

[Clayton Roche]

Not to sound rude, but I think many comments here are missing the point.

Lifestreams are tied to meaning, not a simple user-interface. A huge part of this is a new theory of value. An exchange system is arising that is less and less tied to money. More about attention than money. The idea of a lifestream may help us narrate a cohesive and meaningful story about this value system.

To the author, whom I am not familiar with yet, have you ever read Anthony Giddens? He is an amazing sociologist. If you are really interested in this lifestream idea, check him out. (He doesn't talk about the internet at all, yet is 100% relevant)

[steve garfield]

It was pretty easy for me to create a lifestream over on http://tumblr.com

http://stevegarfield.tumblr.com/

I've had readers ask for something like this because I post to so many places with a text blog, video blog, personal blog, video news blog, twitter, flickr, etc...

This is an easy solution to pull together using RSS 2.0

--Steve

[Courtney Kuehn]

Very interesting post - I specifically found relevancy to my own lifestreaming (wasn't quite aware I do it, but apparently I do) in "Junctions & Aggregations". Thanks for detailing the curves of the data flow lines and the junction points themselves. I'm a new reader to your blog and ended up here b/c I read "Explaining the Social Graph". I love pictures! Thanks for the visuals.

One ex. of a junction in my lifestream is the blog/note importer app on Facebook. Oh and speaking of aggregating lifestreams, I was recently pointed towards coComment.com. I haven't signed up yet...wondering if this is the best and most user-friendly site of its kind.

Do you have other suggestions?

[Alex]

Nice visual analysis with a typical name as LifeSterms. As the information flows from one device to other the only problem we can face is the synchronization, since no matter where all the information starts in ends in one place with Web 2.0 technology now we can stream line and synchronize large volumes of information hope the up coming Web 3.0 can only be better.

[Thomas Huhn]

David, thanks for your inspiring thoughts. With our new lifestreaming service named - you guess it - http://lifestrea.ms we do a lot of what you describe in your article.

lifestrea.ms additionally allows you to not only aggregate your own content, but also to add what you're interested in (your friends lifestreams and blog feed reading).

On top it gives you possibilities to reply to posts, share and forward them to your aggregated social network and even create your own media from inside your dashboard.

We're still in private beta, but anyone who's interested is welcome to give it a try. Just drop us an email at beta [AT] lifestrea [dot] ms

[Lawrence]

Excellent article! A good source about digital networks and data streams can be found at http://www.1-satellite-tv-facts.com/T1-Internet-Service.html