Orative offers an interesting technology that helps overcome some presence-related problems, at least among members of a team or organization and at least in connection with mobile communications.
The problem I'm really interested in looking at is, In a world of multi-modal communications, how does the user control his or her availability to other people trying to get in touch through various devices and applications. I am not equally available to all people at all times via all devices. How do I control who can contact me through what means at what time for what purpose? What would the user interface look like that could give me this kind of multi-modal control? How would that interface behave? What would be the user experience for such an integrated application?
Orative's solution focuses only on mobile communications, but its interface provides some insight into presence controls -- go to the company's home page for a pretty good Flash demo of how Orative works. Orative uses enterprise server technology with client software installed on users' mobile phones. The solution allows members of a team to "coordinate conversations, collaborate with colleagues, screen unwanted calls and interruptions, and access personal and corporate phone books."
Image these screen shots on your mobile phone and you'll get an idea what Orative is like for the user:
If I understand correctly, the screen on the left allows you to quickly set your availability at any give time. The screen on the right shows the availability of your colleagues.
The screen below shows how things might work if your colleague tries to call you when you're in a meeting and can't talk:
AB -- 1/30/06
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