Being constantly connected has turned most of us into little Social Media advocates- constantly running around tweeting the latest find from a smartphone, or logging into Facebook for some TLC (Tag, Like, Comment – with an added S for stalking if you’re willing to admit to it). It does provide endless entertainment, with the added benefit of connecting us to our (physical) social groups and peers.
Memolane is an online application that collates the user’s updates from various social networks into a visual timeline spanning your social networking existence. Basically, it allows you to take a walk down memory lane by viewing a timeline based on all your social posts. It reaches further than the usual Facebook and Twitter, and includes pictures and updates from your Picasa or Flickr Web albums, Foursquare, Vimeo, YouTube, MySpace and even last.fm to include your music choices. Memolane grabs the update and posts it as a “memo” on a neatly organised, visual timeline.
Design:
The site design is clean and easy on the eye, with a clear call-to-action. There are no big surprises, but then this is product that relies on functionality rather than spectacle. On the right there’s a short introductory video to demonstrate the product. (I liked how they illustrated how it would look “offline” rather than just running you step-by-step through the application.)
Usability:
The application itself is designed along the same lines as the website, and very easy to navigate. A plug-in enables you to easily add your chosen social network to your Memolane account, as well as selecting you privacy settings for each. Once done, the memos immediately appear on your timeline, and you can scroll as far back as when you opened your first social network account.
I like the support system: An online community forum is available from within your Memolane account, as well as FAQS, a link to a helpdesk ticketing system and (the killer) a platform to suggest new ideas that also indicates what others have suggested and which of those ideas are being considered for implementation.
The final product:
The result is a clean, easy to follow white-on-black timeline with updates from all your networks neatly pinned in chronological order. At the bottom of the page there is an easy to navigate timeline you can use to scroll through your entire history, whilst the main screen displays only the currently-viewed memos.
It’s a bit of a gimmick, but I had fun revisiting my travel updates from two years ago, laughing over my first year photos and comments. There’s a novelty factor in perusing your past experiences as their laid out before you. I’m no Anne Frank (keeping a diary never lasted more than two days), but my status updates make for a pretty entertaining read if I do say so myself...
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