Ross Mayfield says “email is dead.” Joi Ito says it “is officially broken.” And David Geletner characterizes it as endangered. Yet, email is still the killer app. Challenged to create the next new, new thing that connects people and enables them to collaborate over the Internet, how would you proceed?

Would you be Ray Ozzie, eschewing norms, thinking outside the box, and developing not just a piece of software, but an entirely new software ecosystem?… Would you develop Groove?

Or, would you be Julio Estradra (Julio Estrada???), embracing the single application in which business users “live for most of the business day,” leveraging their familiarity with an existing interface, and developing new ways to collaborate without leaving email?… Would you develop Kubi?

Me? Well, call me a chronic dissociative disorder sufferer. As often as I’m a hardcore Ozzie-ite, proclaiming (and developing) “what should be,” I’m also a card-carrying (and developing) “Estradra-ite,” looking to leverage “what is.”

Collaboration ala Groove or Kubi.

Interfaces ala WIMP or THE.

Mass-transit ala car or train.

Who ever said life was simple?

By the way, if you’re not already familiar with Groove or Kubi, familiarize yourself, and fast. You’re not going to find the future of collaboration rendered through a web browser.

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