NNTR…

I was finishing an email chain this morning about a conference call.  It was originally going to be a one-to-many call, with me at one end and a handful of folks at the other end.  I told them to call my cell number.  Then another person was going to be added at my end, so I wanted to do it from a conference phone.  I sent the following message:

“What number can we call you at?”

The other party sent back a number and confirmed the time.  I had that moment of hesitation – do I need to confirm?  This circumstance isn’t uncommon, and there are many conversations that have an unclear etiquette about replying.  Electronic communcation has created all kinds of situations like this.

In researching this problem I discovered the idea of “NNTR”, which is common in the text world but I haven’t seen it used in email.  The notion is to end a text or email with “NNTR”, which means “no need to reply”.  I like that, but there are some situations where you want to convey a bit more.  One is when you send someone a time/place update on where/when you will meet or call.  In this case it almost requires some confirmation, especially if the thread is to change plans.  “NRIC” is my suggestion, and maybe there is something in the text world that already implies this, but I couldn’t find it. “NRIC” means “no reply is confirmation”.

If you have other short reply suggestions or other suggestions, comment away.  We need to get a standard set of these going to save keystrokes and thumb muscle cramping.

Another rule I’ve implemented with a handful of people I have cell conversation with frequently.  Often the calls start with a specific topic and then degenerate into topics and threads that are intriguing but not urgent.  They are just conversations.  The rule is simple.  If the call drops after the principle business of the call has been dealt with and we are just yammering, there is no obligation for either party to call back.  Implementing this rule worldwide would eliminate a good 5% of wireless network traffic.

Which leads me to the notion of typing as a concept.  As I transition from a Blackberry Pearl to the Droid this week, I find that all existing typing methods on phones are completely outdated.  It seems that we are stuck trying to improve or innovate around character-based typing systems instead of seeking new ways to input information with our digits and voices.

I found a boggle-like word game interface among the growing number of Android apps that uses an interesting finger-sliding across a letter grid method of building words.  Made me wonder if that might be a better way to create words on a touch screen.  We also need some context-based potential next word generation engine, as opposed to the word-guessing tapfest that you can get today.  I became pretty proficient on the slim-downed two-character per key Pearl series, but I still thought it was wildly primitive.  I think we are in the stone axe period of smart-phone interface development.  We need to look at the power of stenograhy or short hand and come up with something new.

Voice-to-text is an equally maddening use case.  Suffice it to say that the initial Droid V2T interface and application options are indecipherable.  I think you are more likely to crash your car talking to your Droid than you are texting someone.  Hands-free operation is meaningless if your mind and eyes are engaged in trying to figure out what language the damn phone is speaking.  One element of the interface requires that you wait for the screen to display a prompt or notification that it’s ready for you to speak.  Well, I don’t know if this occured to anyone at Google/Verizon/Motorola, but the eyes are as important to driving as the hands.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am blown away by the Droid and its potential.  I know all the iPhoniacs think of those who have waited as Luddites, but who cares.  I have an open platform that will clearly be a body blow for RIM and the last nail in the coffin for Palm.  Carriers love the Droid because it breaks the handset makers control of the innovation process.  Software innovation constrained by hardware innovation cycles went out in the ’80s in most industries.  Wireless is finally there.

So what bugs me about the Droid is really that I want it to have incomprehensibly innovative interface elements that are probably years away.  Its heavyness, squareness and somewhat dated look don’t really bother me.  I think you could break a car window with it in an emergency, then call 911, take a photo of your destroyed vehicle, email it to friends, Tweet about the experience, and learn Chinese ideographs while you wait for the police.  I’m not sure the iPhone would survive the window-breaking.

Advertisement