This release from today introduces an interesting product for public sharing and interlinking of objects in multiple media:
GroupSmarts, the developer of MemoryMiner, positions it as an application that "captures moments in place and time, creating delightful digital journeys through personal and family histories." The release today makes it sound like a consumer-oriented storytelling program, but I have to wonder if there could be interesting business uses in the realm of knowledge-sharing.
The release describes MemoryMiner's capabilities like so:
-- Create -- Unlimited attachments of audio, video, documents, URLs and other annotations to any photo, turning records into multi-dimensional and limitless sensory narratives. Storyboards, documentaries, slideshows and scrapbooks that link people, places and time periods become powerful, transformative tools of exploration and rediscovery of one's personal history.
-- Link -- Visual search filters locate photos of individuals, groups of people and locations in seconds, while also allowing for the grouping and identification of specific life periods and events.
-- Explore -- Projection maps can be downloaded to plot and track the location of an individual at any given time in his or her personal history. Markers can then be plotted on a projection map, enabling users to explore the intersections of peoples' lives across the globe.
From what I can tell, the software is still in beta and is only available for Macintosh -- I assume if the project is successful a PC-version will come along eventually. Otherwise, I would be tempted to try it out, as this application could fit with some projects I've been working on.
Here's a screen shot that shows how the user can annotate a photo. It's interesting that you can annotate different regions of a photo, so if there are several people in the shot, you can embed a bio of each one.
This kind of application resonates with a book I read awhile back called "Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies," by Ben Shneiderman of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland. In "Leonardo's Laptop," Shneiderman points to the importance of applications that allow people to easily share media, knowledge and ideas in open environments.
AB -- 1/10/06
