Why Can't Flash Do This?

Almost five months ago (in an article entitled, Follow-up on Macromedia Central (If it could do this, it would be the bomb!!)
), I told you about an idea I had for Flash that would revolutionize the way we access information.

At the time, I thought it was a ground-breaking idea, and I still do, although I have not seen any interest from the Macromedia camp at all! So why am I crying about it again? Well, because I recently learned about a cool little app called KlipFolio, that partially implements my idea, but could be so much more if it were Flash-based.

KlipFolio is a very simple application you download and install. Once installed, you can begin adding your favorite Klips to it. What are Klips? Glad you asked! :)

In non-technical terms, Klips are little windows of information. The information contained within a Klip can be everything from news, weather, announcements, tips, tricks, etc.



There are any number of Klips available from content providers such a cnet.com, BBC, Slashdot, and tons more! You add the Klips you want to your KlipFolio app by simply pressing an Add Klip button on a content providers website. When you do, that content provider's Klip magically appears in your KlipFolio, and content from that site appears in tiny Klip window dedicated to that clip. The idea is that you build a KlipFolio of your favorite Klips, allowing you to easily see information from various sources in a single screen.

Anyone can become a Klip content provider. As a matter of fact, there are a number of bloggers turning their XML feeds into Klips.

This is such an awesome idea!! Content comes to you in a single window, as opposed for you having to go out and find it. This concept, known as 'Push' technology, was tried once before but didn't succeed. There were a number of reasons why, but the biggest reason (IMHO) was due to the fact that it was a technology before its time. Here's what I mean.

In the early days of the Web, people wanted to surf and explore it, quite mindlessly. It was the new frontier, and they wanted to be adventurers. Having content pushed to them (instead of you going and finding it) really hindered the whole adventuring spirit. After all, what's was the point in surfing around when everything they needed (news, weather, etc.) was coming to them automatically. 'Push' didn't succeed back then because the general mindset didn't accept it. People wanted to explore, thus 'push' became a needless technology.

Jump ahead 6 or 7 years, and people find themselves dealing with information overload. They want ways of saving time so that they don't need to mindlessly surf around looking for the info that interests them. Oh what a difference a few years, and several billion new Web pages, make!

Yes, 'Push' is making a resurgence because the timing is finally right. And KlipFolio will become a killer-app, because it seems to be one of the premier push-enabling technologies available right now. Why Macromedia isn't jumping on this with some sort of Flash solution is beyond me.

While Klips are great, they only display textual info. Imagine what you could do if you could download a FlashFolio, which allowed you to add small, interactive, dynamic, connected, multimedia windows of information (Flips, perhaps?) of your choice. Want to keep tabs on your favorite sports team or TV show? Surf to the appropriate sites, then click and drag the multimedia Flips to FlashFolio. Then, with FlashFolio open, you can see interactive, real-time content from various sources, in a single glance. This would be soooooo awesome!! The article I mentioned at the beginning of this entry has some more ideas.

Will we see something like this in the near future? I would expect to. Whether Macromedia has a hand in it remains yet to be seen.