dean terry

Part 2 of my conversation with Bret Taylor of Friendfeed at Supernova 2008 in San Francisco.

Bret Taylor of FriendFeed (2 of 2) from therefore on Vimeo.

At Supernova I got a chance to sit down and talk with Bret Taylor of Freindfeed, which, along with Seesmic, is one of the most interesting silicon valley web startups. Friendfeed enables conversations around media objects such as twitter messages, favorited news items, and blog posts. My friendfeed ID is therefore. Here’s part 1 of the discussion. Click here to view in HD.

Bret Taylor of FriendFeed (1 of 2) from therefore on Vimeo.

What I’m talking about on Twitter. Interestingly (and typical), twitter itself ranks high. Can you say Echo (echo) ( e c h 0 ) chamber?

OK this is funny. I played a part in Bubble 1.0 and if we are in a Bubble 2.0 - there certainly is a frenzy over social software - then this image may have it down pat. One thing that was lacking in Bubble 1.0 was irony, not to mention doubt. We were all caught in this mass hallucination that looked something like the cover of The Robb Report, except younger and with email.

After the sales of myspace and flickr, a lot of people raised their heads from their gmail and went “hmmmm. So people really do want to connect with other people?” Well of course they do - at least via the mediation of a screen. Most of the built environment precludes opportunities for interrelations. We all get to have our stuff, our houses, and our cars, all of which keeps us at increasing distances from one another. And a good deal of recent technology is itself to blame for the spiral of disconnectedness.

As I finish my film Subdivided I am continually reminded how no matter how violently some societal forces push
us away from one another, we always find ways to connect, even if it’s just recreational
groping in Second Life