I love learning about new social technologies on the Web. Many
have lost their appeal to me over time, but there are a few that I use daily.
For example, I've been an avid user of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) for about 10
years. During my time as a user, I have seen some interesting improvements, features,
and add-ons. Just recently, however, I was thrown for a loop by my beloved AIM.
On a day like any other, I received an instant message (IM)
from an unknown person by the name "InsightfulCoho". This random message was referred
to me as "Kevin". When I asked who the sender was, the person seemed offended and
said that I had IMed them. Irritated, I abandoned the conversation.
Then, a week or so later, I received another message from
InsightfulCoho, asking "What does Iron Maiden mean?" Convinced that someone was
playing a joke on me, I asked friends if they knew who InsightfulCoho was. What
I learned was that InsightfulCoho is a "FishBot" – part of a system that
connects two people via their AIM screen names.
Project Upstream:
Connecting People
FishBots are spawned by an organization called Project
Upstream. According to this group's website, it's "dedicated to
promoting social ideals through the use of exciting new technology".
Screen names are gathered from websites like LiveJournal,
deviantART, Twitter, Xanga, and Digg. Interested users may also opt-in from the
Project Upstream website. A bot then sends messages to two people by using a
randomly-generated screen name and forwards the messages back-and-forth to each
person. So, when I was telling the first "InsightfulCoho" that I didn't know
who he or she was, that person was just as confused as I. Both of us had
assumed that the other one had been the person to initiate the conversation.
Fishy Business
There are a few different types of social media bots. All contain
an adjective and one of the following words: salmon, trout, or coho. The
concept of connecting random people via AIM isn't new. Previously, a bot called
TheGreatHatsby had been connecting users until late 2007. TheGreatHatsby would initiate
conversation by asking "I say, old bean, have you seen my hat?"
A website has been set-up for people who have experienced
conversations via a FishBot and wish to share their stories. You can read their
experiences here.
I'm not sure how I became involved with this FishBot.
Perhaps it's because I've recently begun using Twitter. At first, I was
frustrated and annoyed because I thought I was being pranked. Once I learned that
"InsightfulCoho" was a bot, I almost opted-out of Project Upstream completely.
But after thinking about it, I was more amused than annoyed. I didn't respond
to the Iron Maiden question, but the next time I will. Who knows what may come
of it!
Has anybody else had an unexpected or surprising experience
with new technology?
Resources:
http://project-upstream.awardspace.com/
http://nixiepixel.com/blog/index.php/aim-fish-bot-help
http://community.livejournal.com/themissinghat/
http://innerworkingsofaspacecase.blogspot.com/2008/07/project-upstream.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheGreatHatsby
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Re: Social Technology is Full of Surprises
