(2010-09-03) Instant Outlining Update

Dave Winer is working on a new version of Instant Outlining. And the protocol is open. To prove that it's open, I've been working step-by-step with Marc Barrot, who is implementing an instant outliner that works with mine in his JavaScript outline editor, IJot. It's important for a lot of reasons. For me, selfishly, it means I will be able to edit my instant outline on my IPhone or IPad.

Jun15'2011 update: He's been using it with a group of devs. When a colleague of mine updates their outline it's a somewhat disruptive thing in my own workflow. I needed a way to turn it off. Without a good user interface for doing that, a couple of days ago I did turn it off. I know this was jarring for my colleagues. But that's the way to turn a corner. One day, boom -- that's it. I wish I could quit Twitter as easily. (Getting there.) I Commented. I think this doesn't need to a be synch system - you could just watch updates (ticket notes, version-control checkins) in your Software Forge. Then use something else for synch discussion when needed. IRC seems ok for that. (My current team process uses Skype voice, so there's no raw record. (Yeah, I could use Voice Record, which I've used for webinars, etc. but that's way too much overhead for normal discussion.)