You want to stay in touch with someone? You can use Facebook. Or Twitter. Or email. Or Plaxo. Or LinkedIn. Or . . . well you get the idea.
Sure there's applications like Flipboard and RSS feeds to try and tie things together. There's plenty of ways to try and arrange your time to keep up on social media. But it seems keeping track of people is awful complicated in this age of technology to make things simpler.
Now for people who want to be known, or who have a lot to say in various media, or who have people who follow them intimately (from friends do just family), this is even more complicated. Some people, for a million or just ten people want to keep in touch.
So I've wondered, in an age where there's many ways to turn simple feeds and data into Apps for Smartphones, iPads etc., are some people going to basically create "Me Apps"?
It's not like it's hard, I've seen many tools to let non-programmers create apps out of various sources of data. It's quite likely someone could bundle up enough personal feeds and info into a "Me App" and post it online. For those with some programming skill . . . well, skies the limit.
Think of the stars, celebrities, news figures, pundits, therapists, famous fans, etc. who might benefit from having "Me Apps." Everything you wanted to know at your fingertips – and updated. Updates on appearances or concerts or more. Show new art or new fanfic or whatever, easy and fast.
Think of people's information collated – as Apps.
I see this as a definite possibility because some folks simply want to be accessible, and Apps are where it's at – fast, efficient, and downloadable. For those whose fame is a serious part of their career it can even be used to measure popularity – via sales. For those that don't care, well, it may be a way for the members of your family or your writing group to keep up with you.
Am I sure this'll happen? No. It's just a theory. But as I've noted before I think the simplicity of Apps is part of their appeal, so I can see them becoming useful for some people who want to give others convenient, yet specific, access to information about them. I also see it useful, to put it bluntly, for people to gain and maintain mindshare as those Apps will be there, reminding you that, well, they're there.
Do I see this as replacing social media? No. It's right for some people, not for others. Even if it happens it may just be a short-lived trend as I can see it becoming too overwhelming – and integrators like Flipbook seem to have more potential for speed and convenience (if not depth). But again, it's an option.
So who knows. Maybe someday you'll be famous enough to have an App for you. Maybe as a programmer you'll be developing "Me Apps" for people. Maybe as a fan you'll be deciding which ones to download.
There's an App for you. One way or another.