MBP: Micro-Blogging Provider and Protocol
It’s time!
You folks may have read about the tiff a while back between Robert Scoble and Twitter. Scoble did meet with Twitter and resolve the situation. Some folks are speaking about a business model with these micro-blogging services where popular users pay for the service.
I’d actually like to submit a better proposal and that’s for the net’s micro-blogging platforms (Friendfeed, Tumblr, Jaiku, Twitter, Pownce, Seesmic, Brightkite, Plurk, Qik, etc.) to decide on a Micro-Blogging Protocol. All of these services could then become Micro-Blogging Providers.
Mobile, video, sound, links, attachments, photos, and messages could all be contained in a single, clean protocol. The ability to ‘follow’ could be leveraged across all platforms. Each platform could be distinctive from the other in their user tools and interfaces, but the load and popularity of some over another could begin to be dispersed. Not every provider even has to support the different media. This would provide greater uptime and users could gravitate towards the client applications they love best.
It’s not a novel approach – it would be much like Internet Service Providers have done with email. I can utilize whatever client I’d like and universally contact anyone on my contact list.
So there you have it – time for a Micro-Blogging Protocol in the industry! And let’s call the the providers Micro-Blogging Providers. Let’s make these easier for the consumer!