My Dream App - Mickey Wember

Mockdowns

2006-09-26T10:12:12Z

Much better than mockups.

This is the main view window and the simplest possible interface configuration. I’m tempted to put a really attractive woman in there, but I need your eyes (and biting criticism) on the interface. A menu item can toggle a “more options” slide-out, which I’ll get to in a bit.

The middle button records and pauses recording.

The up arrow on the right uploads the current recording. In default mode, it will open a pulldown menu for different hosting sites and an option to edit the list. Items can be removed from the list so that the button can be configured for one-click uploading to your preferred location. A dialog box will open ensuring that information the host requires, like a description, is provided. An option to also save the recording to the archive will be selected by default.

The down arrow on the left saves the current recording to the archive without uploading. The particular journal can be specified in the “more options” box, pictured below. When nothing has been recorded, the button will transition you to the archive (a rotating cube effect may put the archive on the left or bottom face).

This is the “more options” panel. The pulldown menu currently shows that the “personal” journal is selected, but there may be many custom journals, such as a dream journal.

Information like titles and keywords are not necessary for archiving but are necessary for uploading to hosts like Blip.tv and YouTube. This can be filled in before you upload or for your own archiving purposes.

When the “supplemental” option is checked, the recording will be appended to the most recent entry in the selected journal. The information text boxes will automatically fill in with that entry’s information and gray out.

A core animation effect for a timestamp automatically appearing over the recording is preconfigured by default. This and the other two core animation effects are configured in separate dialog boxes, which allow for experimentation over the live feed from the camera. The options will not be complicated and will allow timely entry and exit of such effects. Configurations may be saved as presets.

For immediate playback, before saving or uploading, one can move the cursor over the viewing area and reveal the translucent controller that overlays videos in iTunes and hit play, or just click the viewing area, or hit space.

Playback in the archive maintains the same translucent QuickTIme controller. I’m working on rough drafts for the archive interface and will upload one at a later time.

To discard the current recording, click the red close button in the window. By default, a warning box will appear.

It is assumed that one wants to start over, or else one would have quit from the application menu or cmd-Q. Warning boxes may be disabled in the preferences.

Every basic operation can be executed by voice commands with the help of OS X’s built-in speech recognition. So, for example, one could say, “personal log, supplemental” to begin a supplemental recording in your personal journal.

It is not realistic to expect that the first version of iVlog will have transcription abilities. However, I expect that iVlog will eventually permit keyword-based transcription, where the system will pick up on certain pre-defined words used in the entry and automatically store them in the keywords box.

Information does not need to be appended to each movie as metadata and may be stored in something like in an XML file.

Other capabilities included in the app but not mentioned here, like importing iChat recordings to publish them as interviews or iGlasses support, would be activated through the menubar. This interface is just a prototype and was designed with simplicity in mind. It may be altered or completely discarded in the interest of a better one. So, leave comments!

Moreover, I am not an interface designer. A much more beautiful and attractive one can be created by the developers, I’m sure. So please do not discount the idea if this draft looks drab.

My blog is starting to get a little long, so be sure to check previous entries, including this post regarding visualization of some effects.

Photo Finish!

2006-09-24T05:16:05Z

I thought I was done. Pessimistic and beaten. I even sent an email to Wil Shipley asking if he’d like to have the app idea upon elimination. (Sorry, Wil! MDA still owns it for now.)

On Friday night, the gap had narrowed to only 0.2% in what was almost a five-way tie for survival. How could anyone look at that and think, “oh, voting time as just been extended, there’s nothing I can do!”

A big thanks to everyone who voted for iVlog. At lot of people from a lot of different places and walks of life came together. Talk about a dream!

While staying up that night, the biggest gripe I heard about iVlog was the name. The “i” is overused. “Vlog” doesn’t translate well into Russian. “Vlog Wars” would have been better, especially if the vlogs shot lasers and fought one another. You name it, I heard it.

I don’t know any alternatives that make the function of the app immediately apparent, though. There’s already a vloggercon.com, so at least that part is here to stay in the public culture. As for the “i” part, I don’t know. I don’t especially like the “i” either, but perhaps we could change what the “i” means and make it more meaningful?

Looking at Your Own Face

2006-09-23T01:09:25Z

This is an issue that I have not properly addressed. In my earlier posts about demand, I mentioned that people are obviously not clamoring for a way to look at themselves on screen and that this masks both good uses for the app and the actual demand for it. Let me elaborate on why that is so.

I definitely agree that looking at one’s own face on screen is uncomfortable. I have a hard enough time looking at my picture here at My Dream App next to the contestants. It’s a funny story… I gave Phil a hard time sending in my photo, because I don’t own a camera and don’t keep many digital pictures of myself. Phil said that I was holding up the announcement that I was a finalist and can testify. I only have a smirk on my face because it’s so hard to smile on command for a camera. This whole time I’ve been worried about people making a judgment based on how silly I look.

But that’s exactly how iVlog can be of use. Journaling in general is supposed to help us be more comfortable with ourselves through better understanding ourselves and our lives. A video journal is the most honest way to do that. Not being able to stand a face-to-face encounter with a recording of yourself is not humility. And it most certainly is not egotistical to be comfortable with your moving image.

A video journal can help us see ourselves the way the world sees us. Consequently, we can use it to help the world see us more clearly. It’s better than looking in the mirror, because the mirror distorts your image by flipping it. Your haircut doesn’t look like that. Your face is the opposite of what you think it is. Your voice definitely doesn’t sound like how you hear it. Every bad American Idol singer would have learned this already if they used a little iVlog.

Futhermore, years from now, a mirror will not be able to show you the person you once were.

Wil Shipley implied that using this app would be egotistical. I thought he was joking, but I read a post at Ars Technica that also mentioned discomfort. A private and honest meeting with yourself at the end of the day, for the purposes of better understanding and being more comfortable with yourself, is the opposite of egotistical.

The more comfortable we are with ourselves, the better relationships we’ll have. The better we’ll be at public speaking. The better we’ll be in any kind of personal interaction.

Is this app idea so bad that it should be eliminated in the first round? With your comments and feedback, we can address problems and make it better.

Voting!

2006-09-21T02:47:11Z

The first round of voting begins in minutes. If you don’t think iVlog is the absolute perfect app for the contest criteria, here’s a little something to persuade you.

Innovation and Creativity:
The app does one thing and one thing only: video journaling or “vlogging.” Was it innovation for Apple to make a device that only played music? You bet it was. They could focus on it and do it well without getting in the face of the user. This is even more crucial for vlogging, because it’s the vlogger’s face that needs the attention.

An app dedicated to vlogging does not yet exist for the Mac, but the Mac is exactly the place where it can be done properly. This is a creativity app. The vlogger is the one who will be most creative.

Use of OS X and Leopard:
iVlog is principally dependent on Core Image and Core Animation for its creative feature set. Titles and effects can be experimented with in real time over video. Furthermore, if one does not wish to upload their vlog entry, they can save it and the effects without re-compression. The smooth experience of experimenting with video is absolutely necessary and OS X has demonstrated that it’s perfect for the job. OS X was made for iVlog, not the other way around. OS X’s abilitiy to provide a gentle overlay interface is choice. iVlog can show off OS X so well, there should be a presentation at the next MacWorld.

Feasibility of Development:
iVlog is similar to Apple’s Motion because of its ability to render text and image effects. However, it certainly will not be as extensive as Motion, because it shouldn’t be. All it would do are things that help vloggers. A headline and a timestamp. Maybe a sidebar with a word on it (think Colbert Report). Nothing fancy, just very cool. Core Image and Core Animation are made for this, so they should help development tremendously.

Update: There is some discussion in the comments section about voice-recognition feasibility, and I encourage you to check them out. Thanks for your feedback!

Mass-Market Appeal:
I think of this criterion as another way of saying “marketability,” which is a hugely dynamic and complex concept that even marketers don’t really understand. It takes more than just appeal from the mass market. It also takes a willingness, ability, and decision to buy the app at a price that makes us money. Mass-Market appeal is little good if the competition is stronger. To remain strong, it pays to have relationships with distributors and producers who can add value to the app. So, allow me to list reasons why I think iVlog is an insanely marketable app.

� The vlogging market is just starting, giving us an enormous opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime.
� The “My Dream App” format is poised to beat competition early, with fast development based on exactly what vloggers tell us they want.
� Demand will continue to emerge indefinitely with the growth of the Internet.
� Good opportunities with other producers, like a possible bundle deal with iGlasses.
� Good opportunities with vlog distributors, like YouTube one-click uploading from a free iVlog Lite
� It will give ordinary people the ability to make great vlogs that will further provide popular exposure for the app.
� Use of the app will raise the value of the whole Internet and a Mac with iSight, especially for tweens, teens, and people who think interacting with strangers over the net right now is too anonymous, dangerous, and impersonal (e.g. their moms and dads). iVlog can legitimately become the next killer app.

Personally, it would be my killer app for dream journaling (my dreap app). Nightvision through iGlasses can make it easy to wake up, talk about a dream, and get back to bed. Quick, consistent, and efficient dream journaling is very hard to achieve.

Here is a compiled list of iVlog’s feature set. Please remember that you can comment on these and that they are only ideas. There’s an opportunity to change them. Is something too much? Is something missing? By all means, let your voice be heard!

� Audio and video recording support
� Unobtrusive yet elegant overlaying interface
� Saving effects without recompression
� Easily navigable archive
� One-click uploading to sites like YouTube
� Video Podcast support
� Animated text (including titles and timestamps)
� Animated custom graphical adornments of any size, shape, and transparency
� Simple video editing capabilities like cutting and trimming
� iChat-style presentation abilities
� iChat-style still and video backdrops
� Ability to import recorded iChat sessions to publish as interviews
� iGlasses support

In the interest of time and space in this blog, I take some things implicit. For example, I am taking it implicit that iVlog will have the ability to distinguish personal journal entries from dream journal entries. I also assume the ability to add keywords for searching.

I’ll be here to listen how iVlog can be better. Thank you for your vote.

YouTube and iVlog Lite Together for Free?

2006-09-20T00:58:39Z

Remember I said I might have a surprise for you? Well? What do you think? :)

That question is also addressed to YouTube. Currently, I’m suggesting this idea in the spirit of forming a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship. The MDA team can increase the amount and talent of uploads to YouTube dramatically. In turn YouTube can help support contributions from iVlog. I sent YouTube an email a few minutes ago and invited them to comment in this blog. You should comment, too! Afterwards, I hope everyone sticks around and lets me know their ideas for a killer vlogging app.

As a reminder, I must stress that I certaintly cannot enter the MDA team into any agreement with YouTube. However, I submit the idea here as a possibility like any other I have submitted thus far that would make iVlog more marketable. It seems only natural and could benefit all parties - especially you.

iVlog Lite would literally just have the two capabilities I mentioned. Likewise, the interface would consist of these two buttons:

1) A record button
2) An upload to YouTube button

That’s it. A simple beautiful little app that anyone and everyone can use it. Even domesticated animals will find out they can upload videos of themselves across the Internet. Did I mention it would be free?

Of course, if you want to save your creations to an archive, and further personalize your vlog, add titles, images, iGlasses, iChat-style presentations, and any features iVlog may have (leave some comments!) you’ll need the full version. I think you’ll really want it. I know I do.

I’m thinking the full version should also include simple cutting, trimming, and editing capabilities, similar to QuickTime Pro.

My original idea was to make an extremely simple vlogging app, one that is enjoyable both offline and on. It would change the world by making it stunningly easy to give a face and a voice to everyone on the Internet. The price of such a simple app would be precarious. Someone may be able to just make it for free.

Well, why shouldn’t we make it for free, back it up with a stellar full version and a killer brand, and help YouTube while we’re at it?

Vlogging Manslaughtered the TV Star

2006-09-19T03:26:29Z

Don’t take that picture the wrong way. Glenn Beck and I have our disagreements. He’s just got a funny mug. So how come he has a vlog and you don’t?

A vlogging app for you doesn’t exist yet. Everything else you need does, though. If you bought an iMac or MacBook recently, there’s a camera facing you. If we’re honest with each other, you probably have a funny mug, too - but you have more interesting views! :) Yeah, Glenn has people working for him, but so do you. Right now a full development team is listening to you for ways to make your ideal vlogging app.

Here are some of my particular visual ideas for the app. Afterwards, please leave a comment on yours.

Images of people cuter than Glenn Beck from vlogyourface.com by Meerkat Media.

Animated text overlays

You’ll likely want to start a vlog entry with a timestamp or title. One current PC app puts in a silent blue screen (no joking) with big white text on it. We can do leagues better with core animation. Scrolling, sliding, fading, any kind of unobtrusive yet cool effects for textual info that won’t take attention off the vlogger. Nothing showy, just slick. Present the information and get it out.

Think of how feature films display text on the bottom of the screen when a scene changes to a different city. After it’s gone, you barely knew it was there.

Graphical adornments

Further personalize your vlog with your favorite touches. Import custom images of any size and shape like a personal signature. It can also be informative, like a national flag to identify the language spoken. A logo could go in the corner of the screen, much like how cable and television channels use their logos. You could even add something to a headline on the bottom of the screen to make a newscast. Or have some fun with other classic imagery, like those Star Trek-style panels, and have a good old fashioned “Captain’s log.” These can be animated as well and adjusted for transparency.

iChat-style presentation abilities

Phil has described my app as “PhotoBooth for videos” but that’s not quite how I think of it. I don’t have any particular want for those wild image distortion effects in my vlog, but, if feasible and desired by others, they can be implemented. I’d much rather think of iVlog eventually being an “iChat for mass distribution.”

That slideshow and presentation ability in iChat is very nice. It would work even better for mass distribution, so you won’t have to repeat the same presentation to every one of your hundred family members. I’m thinking of using it for showing some sketches - or for criticizing someone else’s. Maybe narrate a Photoshop tutorial. The possibilities are much greater for vlogs than they are for chats.

The “weatherman effect”

iChat’s “weatherman effect” would also be very fun - especially since it can do video!

Here are Apple’s lame examples for that effect. They’re interesting for about two seconds. Enough time for your semi-girlfriend to laugh awkwardly and say, “haha, you’re funny.”

Vloggers can utilize this technology much more creatively. Themed vloggers can use corresponding artistic backdrops. News vloggers can use footage from recent events. Political vloggers might use footage of a seemingly empty House of Representatives so often seen on C-SPAN.

iVlog will even be able to import recorded chats from iChat and publish them as interviews.

iGlasses support

There is a killer iSight utility out there called iGlasses. I definitely don’t want to be without it for late-night dream journaling! To me, it just seems like dream journaling is what iGlasses was made for. It supports other programs and could support iVlog as well. On the business side both developers could benefit from a bundle deal.

In this post I’ve focused on the actual video presentation. Some of these effects require video re-compression for general public viewing online, but offline they would display immediately.

In future posts I’ll elaborate on the interface and archive. The goal for publishing support is one-click uploading to sites like YouTube and podcast support.

Is the app starting to look complicated? If so, I might have a surprise in store for you. These are just my ideas, remember! I’m eager to hear yours.

iVlog

2006-09-18T09:18:20Z

The name of the app I submitted was “Supplemental.” Star Trek fans know it was inspired by a catch-phrase, when Captain Picard would famously update his video log by saying, “Captain’s log, supplemental.” I only had a paragraph to communicate the idea to the developers, so I was hoping one was a Trek fan and would understand the unobtrusive elegance and simplicity of a good vlogging app. Plus, it didn’t sound as generic as “iVlog.”

Of course, iVlog is a much more marketable name. It’s simpler and has the crucial personal element. If there is an app where the “i” is more appropriate, I’m not aware of it. The “i” not only stands for Internet (this is implicit in vlogging), but for an individual and her vlog. Like vlogging itself, the name is an individual personality statement.

What personality trait in particular? Sincerity.

The online world is infamous for the questionable sincerity of its users. Spammers, identity thieves, child predators, people undercover trying to catch child predators. The Web makes it so easy to be someone you’re not. There’s even a thread here at MDA where someone appeared to be impersonating the developers by accident.

What is this strange world, where people impersonate others by accident? “Whoops, sorry, didn’t mean to impersonate you.” It’s a world where people don’t have faces or voices. For most normal people, that is an unapproachable nightmare.

In my previous post and elsewhere, I expressed a desire to give the MDA team a killer app. Not just an app that will sell, but an app that will sell Macs. I’m dead serious about that.

The people I have in mind are not just switchers looking for more reasons they don’t need anyways, but the vast number of people who don’t own computers for themselves and are uninterested in interacting with people online, due to its highly impersonal nature. That Ukrainian housewife whose life is very busy and has opinions about the new Europe. Where’s her vlog? I want to watch it. Let’s not forget the teenagers who want a way to express themselves to the world (i.e. every single teenager).

Vlogging gives us all a face and a voice. And not just any face and any voice. It’s our face and our voice. A good vlogging app will take away the nightmare and make the whole net an approachable and more welcoming place for everyone on Earth.

MDA’s vlogging app would help change humanity, rescuing us from the wilderness of words, elevating all of us to greater levels of sincerity.

While thinking about a new name for the app, I thought about possible icons. Here are two *very* rough sketches for “iVlog.” I am intrigued by the idea that the “iV” can be created by any person with two arms and a face. It can give us back our missing social customs for meeting strangers online.

We can’t shake hands with each other on the net. I’m privileged to have met many people here at MDA so far, but did we really meet? Western custom is to offer each other open hands and the Eastern custom is to bow our heads. Each of them are customary signs for basic trust and honesty. They say to us, “I am a sincere person and it is safe to associate with me.” After these gestures, no matter what we do from then on, we are no longer strangers. Unfortunately, neither of these gestures are possible with text and still images online. The shaking of hands is not possible at all. However, that does not mean vloggers will not develop a custom that is equivalent.

The hands face towards the vlogger in a wordless expression that says, “here I am… this is my heart and mind.” And when the hands come down, they open towards the viewer, and the heart is uncovered.

Our Job at MDA

2006-09-17T07:24:12Z

I find sales jobs repugnant. I’m willing to bet that most of you do. Any human with a beating heart should. That’s why we’re here, I think. We’re turning the idea of sales on its head by bringing an idea to the developer, instead of waiting for them to bring it to us.

Yet, in a strange twist, finalists at MDA have quite a challenging sales job. First, we had to sell our idea to developers, making sure we met their specifications. Now our mission is to sell the same idea to people who visit and vote at MDA. Quite a different audience! Even more interesting, we’re to sell the idea to a diverse group of famous bloggers and celebrities who all know their stuff.

Thank goodness it doesn’t feel like a sales job, though. This is fun and I don’t want it to end.

However, I do feel a strong obligation to the MDA team, and you should too. This isn’t American Idol and they are not Simon. They are the singers. We’re just the muse.

Let’s give them a killer app.

Guns, Butter, and Vlogs

2006-09-17T05:32:41Z

Three days ago, before I knew I was a finalist, I was bringing myself up to speed on the news. You know, the important things. What’s the UN doing about Darfur? How far is Iran to a nuclear weapon, really? Are there any good congressional candidates? Well I needn’t worry about anything. That day CNN.com assured me, “Mystery solved: Lonelygirl15 wasn’t alone.” What a relief.

Wait… WTF?

Tens of thousands of people thought they had been watching some 16-year-old girl vlogging about boys she likes on YouTube. Some were skeptical, thinking it might be marketing for a Hollywood film. Such intrigue! The controversy grew to international proportions. Eventually, lonelygirl15 vlogged her true identity through the Tonight Show.

Are enough people into vlogging?

Four days ago I would have said something like what I’ve already said so far. There’s emerging demand, people just want a program that will make it fun and easy, etc. I didn’t think we were at the point where teenage vloggers were talked about on CNN, standing next to Jay Leno, and dancing with Tucker Carlson. Really, now.

The CNN article quotes people saying that they’ll still watch lonelygirl15, even though they know she’s not real. It will be like watching a movie in the form of a fictional diary.

Underneath the emerging demand, there’s a large unexplored hunger in the human soul. For at least a generation, everybody wanted to be on TV. However, TV isn’t as monolithic as it once was. Instead of wanting to be on TV, everyone will want a vlog and the opportunity to use it for creative expression.

And they will have it.

What will they vlog about? What will you vlog about? Is the world too violent? Are people too fat?

The guns and butter model of the market is history. We’re now more concerned with the interplay of communication and information (e.g. debating about guns and butter). The production possibilities in the hands of the populous are endless.

semilonelyyoungman23

2006-09-17T01:16:38Z

I’m glad there are some comments about Supplemental around the site. I was beginning to think my idea was so perfect that no one had anything negative to say about it. :P

Austin’s front page comment was not negative and I agree with almost every word, but I feel I should address it.

Development Judge Austin Sarner: “Supplemental is one of those ideas that seems really obvious but has yet to be done properly. A really slick overlay based interface would work great for this. I’m not sure how many people are into video blogging and journaling yet, but a streamlined app to do it would certainly be well received. This is an example of a neat and somewhat simple app idea that could appeal to nearly any creative person.”

Are there enough users? The MDA winner’s app will be released around the time of Leopard, so the question is, “will there be enough?” Of course, the app will not be sold for a limited time on some infomercial, so we must ask, “will there be enough to sustain the future of the app?”

Yes.

Austin recognizes that vlogging will eventually take off, but it’s not a big thing yet. The best time to release a quality app, however, is not after it’s a big thing, but just before. We’re at the right time to take advantage of the sharp growth phase.

As Austin said, the app has yet to be done properly. The developers who do it properly are the ones who will win the hearts of the vlogosophere during its conception. I’m easily convinced those developers are here at MDA. Austin’s comments are right on and in my opinion he’s on exactly the right track of what’ll work. Phil has it right too. Vloggers create their own content, so the best app does a few things well and then stays out their way.

Vlogging hasn’t taken off yet for a few reasons. The technology is relatively new. Most important of all the reasons now, I think, is that there isn’t a program people want to use. The competition is currently weak, not the market. No, individuals are not vigorously demanding for the ability to record videos of themselves for storage and distribution. The psychology of that overt demand would suggest a pushy personality. People aren’t like that. They want to have fun, communicate, and learn about themselves. Supplemental will help them do these brilliantly.

Supplemental’s name may have to be changed. It doesn’t seem to have the crucial personal element that the app itself does. It has the word “mental,” but its marketability may diminish outside of Trek-dom.

The title of this post is a reference to some recent news about the vlogging market. I’ll continue that in my next post.

Applied Dreaming

2006-09-16T11:50:00Z

Let’s get right into demand.

Both personal and social needs for vlogs have emerged and will continue emerging indefinitely. Each user has his own unique balance of personal and social needs. Supplemental is versatile enough to fulfill each user’s needs without sacrificing simplicity.

Since this is My Dream App, I’ll start with my own personal uses and then talk about the greater market.

The Importance of the Mac
I’ve been an off and on journal writer since I was eight (about 15 years ago) and have wanted a video logging app for about as long.

After a few years my family ditched the 386 for a PowerMac and I moved from writing in notebooks to typing on a computer. QuickTime made its debut and teased all of us with its Star Trek-y vision of Macintosh A/V. Yeah, I could’ve started writing on the old PC like Doogie Howser, but he didn’t have a Mac! (That always puzzled me, btw.)

The Mac was and is much more inviting and visual. I couldn’t resist the temptation to spruce the journal up with some art. Journaling with just words gets boring real fast. I looked forward to the day when I could add audio and video. Real starship Enterprise kind of stuff.

Like cell phones, 3.5″ disks, and women in space, that future would have its day. That day is now! :)

The Added Value of Vlogs
Video is the ultimate in casual and efficient recording of personal thoughts.

While journal writing, I often felt the need to be verbose and formal, worried that a future reader lacking emotional context would misunderstand the text. This is evident in the greater social climate of the Internet. Emails, forums, chat rooms, and blogs are rife with personal misunderstandings simply because text is inefficient for communicating the vast subtleties of emotion and behavior, which are so necessary for personal thoughts. Most of us are not expert poets and prose writers anyway. Everyone is much better in person. Vlogs cut away the confusion and distance by opening us to facial expressions, body language, tone, inflection, and general appearance, among other things. They also give us an active pictorial reference of our lives, which make better and longer-lasting memories.

Vlogs put the “person” back into “personal log.” Without motion and sound, the person is limited to playing the mysterious and eventually frustrating role of author. That frustration has been enough for me to avoid journaling for long periods of time.

So, I wish to use vlogging to embrace journaling again and amplify its many benefits. Prime among these benefits are greater self-understanding. With a vlog, I will regularly see and hear me the way others see and hear me. Vlogs surpass even the mirror.

Dream Vlogging
I’m only now getting to my most long-awaited use for Supplemental.

When I started journaling those many years ago, I also kept a dream journal, and it was astoundingly rewarding. Through the journal I discovered lucid dreams. What amazing experiences they are. I’m lucky to have had them at all, much less grow up with them.

I won’t elaborate on lucid dreaming specificually. What’s relevant here is that I rarely have them unless I am in the process of keeping a diligent dream journal. And this is very difficult. When I’m tired and I need to go to work or school in the morning, it’s a mean pain in the ass to get out of bed three or four times during the night and write or type. My coordination may be off. Maybe my hand is numb from sleeping on it funny.

Dream vlogging to my rescue. How convenient and exciting it would be to face a camera and talk about what just happened. Fewer words are needed, since I can look back on my own subtle emotional reaction - a far superior mnemonic.

Change hours of arduous writing into minutes of effortless talking, drop in a couple keywords, add an archiving function, some Leopard skin for show, and the result is literally my dream app.

So far this is just my personal use. Using it to send video messages to friends and family and to make a video podcast would also be on the horizon. Maybe do a Numa-Numa video on YouTube? Only joking!

I’ll pause here and continue in my next post, where I’ll study the nascent social demand and discuss the current state of the vlogosphere and its opportunities for the MDA team.

In the mean time, I’d love to hear your comments. :)

"Finalist's blog, supplemental."

2006-09-16T03:36:29Z

Remember the episode of Next Generation where Worf was drifting through parallel universes and had to check his video log to find out about his altered history? Aside from that being superlative use of a program like Supplemental, it’s worth noting that Worf never encounters a universe without a video logging program ready at his fingertips. That’s because it’s such a great app! Every universe has one.

In our universe the technology is already in the hands of the Mac community. We have invisible cameras embedded in stylish laptops. Core Animation is out in the Leopard Sneak Peek, so we can have smooth animated time-stamps and titles without the need to recompress video. We have the bandwidth, wired and wireless, and the storage capacity in ever more diverse forms of removable media.

More important than technology, we have a kickass development team!

So there’s eminently favorable supply conditions. In my next post I’ll assuage Austin’s doubts about demand.

Dreamware

2006-09-16T00:21:36Z

What a great idea this is. I don’t mean mine (I’ll get to that later!), I mean this contest. Bringing together all these people to work and have fun is already a wonderful achievement. Bravo to the team and thank you for letting me be a part of it.

I’m convinced that more dreamware titles will come out after this one. Yeah, dreamware.com is taken by what looks like an Italian communications company, but who needs it? Dream apps only run on a Mac and that’s all we need to know.

I’ll make another post later to, uh, supplement this one.

Congratulations to the other finalists!