Exploring AquaMinds NoteTaker

CultureHack has been in mothballs almost from the day I established this little NoteTaker-based beachhead. Recently, however, I've applied the paddles to CultureHack and it seems to be breathing on its own again. Check out the "Honey, I'm Home" post over there for more details.

The point's this: I'm feeling pretty spunky over at my first blog, and I'm extending a cordial, self-serving invitation to check-out what I'm up to. I've similarly sent the very patient CultureHack readers to pay a visit or two over here.

As for Exploring AquaMinds NoteTaker, have no fear--it'll still be around. The only thing that's changed is when I want to let loose with with an essay that has nothing to do with NT, I'll have someplace inherently designed to accept my highly developed brand of stream-of-consciousness . . .

You can’t step into
the same river twice.
--Heraclitus

This site is changing. And, given a very peculiar sense of fun, my first inclination is to just make the changes and say nothing--perhaps even vehemently deny that anything is even slightly different. Just to mess with you. But as weblog culture has evolved, there’s increased pressure to act grown-up--even responsibly. (This, of course, is why I tend to like my technologies interstitial as opposed to codified.) Thus, since it’s now seen as Thoroughly Wrong to mess around with visitors’ impressions, I’m here on my best, most hospitable behavior, writing this helpful, clarifying note. (Imagine Basil Fawlty, going way overboard as he welcomes guests to his hotel.)

Until recently, this little piece of the blogosphere was known as Blogging With AquaMinds NoteTaker. And, as long we’re dealing in trivia, also know that this is a perfect example of a spontaneous, accidental weblog. Originally, this site was an exercise in self-fulfilling prophesy: I predicted NoteTaker could be used as a blogging tool and then proceeded to actually use it to blog about, well, blogging with it. (Read that last sentence again--it makes twisted sense, I promise.)

Put another way, this weblog is basically a proof-of-concept that somehow got above itself. Much like Pinnochio aspiring to be a real boy or Bela Lugosi being buried in his Dracula cape or Joey from Friends getting his own TV series, this site is the result of a could that became a can. And although I was there at the time, I can’t say for certain how (or why) it happened. All I know is that here I am, more than a year later, still dancing with this thing.

The first 66 posts on this site represent my initial obsession with NoteTaker as a blogging tool. And then came The Hiatus, during which I thought a lot about NoteTaker (far more than is healthy for someone who does not work for AquaMinds) in other, broader contexts.

The main take-away from all this pondering is simply that NoteTaker is an extremely deep and multifaceted program and I feel the need to explore some of its other not-obvious uses. And yeah, blogging will continue to be one such application--but as part of a larger index of possibilities. For those who have previously visited this site, I encourage your continued pop-ins. While you won’t find wall-to-wall NT blogging tips of yesteryear, there will be a steady stream of tricks that usefully extend NoteTaker into all areas of a productive online life.

Blogging--properly-done--is the refinement and crystallization of living; the tip of an experiential iceberg. And I currently have 66 posts that demonstrates the many ways NoteTaker can hone that tip. But what about the run-up to a blog post? All the stuff that has inspired, driven and enhanced whatever it is you’re writing about? What about the 90 percent of resources that supports the posting, yet remains invisible to your readers? The intellectual dark matter comprised of searching, compiling, thinking, annotating, collaborating and exchanging ideas--all critically assisted by local and online tools and services? How does NoteTaker fit into this Panavision and Technicolor scheme of things?

This, my friends, is what the newly christened Exploring AquaMinds NoteTaker will be chronicling--along with continued coverage of the ways NT can be used to blog per se. I think you’ll find the new direction as helpful as the old one.

During the next few weeks the overhaul and repositioning of this site will be unavoidable. Try to treat this as a home remodeling job--some inconvenience, a lot of dust and, inevitably, the feeling it will never be over. But, of course, it will be--and better for those successive swarms of craftspeople. Here’s an example of what I mean: While the posting categories will be expanded to accommodate the new, broader vision of NoteTaker, I’ll also be building topical descriptors into the headline of each post, putting them at the reader-friendly top-of-entry.

Bottom line, there’s a good chance that some of the hitherto solid structuring of this blog may intermittently flicker and I beg your collective pardon in advance. What passes for normalcy in this place will be restored as soon as possible . . .

While the tagline of this site successfully articulates its high concept, some additional detail is owed to you--call it the Miranda Rights of this weblog:

(1) While I'm not an employee of AquaMinds or any of the other companies mentioned in relation to leveraging NoteTaker, I am unashamedly evangelical about the mentioned products. Thus, while I'll do my best to to ensure the content of this weblog is informative, useful and accurate, it it is in no way objective. In fact, I am biased as hell when it comes to the cited software and services.

(2) I played a role in forging the connectivity between NoteTaker and Ecto, so it stands to reason I have a strong (and possibly warped) sense of psychological ownership regarding the new intra-application capability. This may lead to more bias (see point one, above) and, potentially, to the literal and unaffected use of the word "we."

(3) This is a labor of love for me, not a money-making venture. If I am passionate here, it is not the strum und drang of the paid flunky. Rather, it's the vaguely dangerous enthusiasm of the amateur / advocate / fan.

(4) Unlike Las Vegas, what's said here is unlikely to stay here, so it's important to further understand that I speak for myself only. The opinions expressed here are mine--and hopefully yours--but not necessarily those of the AquaMinds or any other developer or product with which it may have an interconnected relationship. With regard to any comments posted here, please intone Stewart Brand's digital benediction with me: You Own Your Words.

(5) This is not my only weblog and in other online iterations I tend to be, well, waspish about most current uses of blogs and blogging. Others often refer to it as being a provocateur Know this in the spirit of Full Disclosure, but don't call me a hyocrite: Blogging is dramatically changing the nature of the Internet; I am an avid proponent of the possibilities of weblogs distinct for most of their implementations. I see the near-seamless use of NoteTaker and Ecto to post blog content as the realization of one of those possibilities. And while this capability will undoubtedly result in more Dumb Blogs, it will also facilitate greater numbers of Smart ones.

Someone once remarked that the blog phenomenon was the equivalent of giving everyone a printing press. The integration of NoteTaker, Ecto and TypePad takes that metaphor a step further: Mindbogglingly wide publication results from simply writing in a virtual notebook. Needless to say, I expect you to use your new super powers for Good . . .

I freely admit to having a small fetish about using the phrase "void where prohibited by law" both in context and in a non-ironic manner. Seemingly, this is my Big Chance:

All of the products and trademarks mentioned belong to their respective companies. The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of any company that may be referenced here. When used, the tips, tricks, work-arounds and AppleScripts discussed on this site affect your data. While the intent is to improve your management of data, every computer is configured differently. No suggestion or technical tweak can take into account the specifics of every computer. You owe it to yourself to back up any critical data before you manipulate it in new and possibly unproven ways. Let's say that again: You owe it to yourself to back up any critical data before you manipulate it in new and possibly unproven ways. Put another way, before attempting to do anything suggested on this site, ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST. Neither I, any contributors or the companies mentioned on this site are responsible for the loss of any data on your part.

And oh yeah, on the off chance some sort of offerings are made on this site, they are--of course--void where prohibited by law. (I've waited a long time to say that!)