Fragmented social life

Everyone got very excited about Google+ at the start of July. I've explored it as well, and find it has some interesting features that aren't available through Twitter or Facebook (my primary social networking tools). I've even seen some cross-over in my interaction with people on LinkedIn. And these tools all have advantages over email. I know the same people across all of these social locations. And there are plenty of people in each location that I don't know in the other location.

However, there is a big problem. And it isn't just a problem with Google+ - its release has just reinforced the problem.

The problem is highlighted by a simple situation. About a month ago, I posted my review of a book and mentioned the idea of "schedule chicken" which is a funny-but-sad problem of project management. A few days later, another friend posted a link to a video from Apollo 13 (I think) that demonstrated schedule chicken perfectly. Awesome!

The problem? Several weeks later, I have no idea where he posted that link to the video. Was it on Facebook, or Twitter, or Google+? Could it have been on LinkedIn? I hunted about, but having no idea where to start, I was quickly frustrated at the lack of search capability in the various platforms and the lack of ability to have control of my stream of stuff!

Fragmentation of my social interactions is a huge problem. I've asked for life streams or variations of it, but there isn't anything that has really solved the problem. For the next social tool to really catch on, it needs to make sense of ALL my interactions - especially stuff that people send to me or where they reference me directly.

[Photo: "Fragment [Tokyo Midtown]" by d Fuka]