Tools for Conviviality

Picking up on the notion of personal digital collections ... I'm a fiend for new computer-based tools, especially those of the genre that are supposed to make you more productive. Daily, I scan the Apple OS X download site for updates to tools I already have, or for new ones that promise to be the the one.

Occassionally I'm surprised by the clarity and vision of a new application.  More often, I'm disappointed.

The most useful tool I've come across over the past year is iView Media Pro, a small but highly effective application for cataloguing media files by employing a simple drag and drop interface. The application was designed for professional photographers and digital media producers, but it would work for anyone who wanted to have a visual catalog of all of their media files, including photos, video clips, graphics, audio clips, or web pages.

Using iView Media Pro made me think about what makes for a useful productivity tool. I remembered a concept from Ivan Illich that he called the convivial tool. Illich believed that people need tools to make the most of the energy and imagination each has.

To me, conviviality is the essence of why someone would want to adopt a computer-based tool or practice.

My PhD research in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) at Simon Fraser University is focused on this theme of conviviality, and more directly on what it takes to design or customize knowledge management tools that suit the situated learning practices or performance support needs of knowledge workers.