I have finally joined the mobile generation and purchased one of the so-called smartphones that are supported by this Web site. No, I’m not going to provide an endorsement for the manufacturer but simply say that I no longer need to make a trek to both the local Apple and Verizon stores to check on the functionality of updates to Sine Charta. I now need to go to just one of those stores to check on updates. I suppose this means that I have cut my workload in half.

Perhaps as a result of the decreased workload I have been downloading “apps” for my new device. No games, please, but instead I have downloaded numerous tools to increase my productivity. I have found a number of “apps” that do, in fact, help me to work better, faster, and more efficiently. Not all of these applications are perfect and so I have sent e-mails to the companies for which I have recommendations about improvements. Surprisingly, to me, I have received responses to my e-mails and it appears that my suggestions are likely to be in the next updates to these “apps.” I admit to a degree of self-interest here. I do really want the improvements that I have suggested, which is why I took the time to write, but I also want the products to be better. While this is likely a sign of some kind of disorder...it is who I am…I want things to work exactly to my specifications. Is that too much to ask?

If the research done as part of the two planning projects this year is any indication, I am not alone in wanting things to function a certain way. Much of what I have seen would seem to indicate that many in the Trinity community also desire a degree of individualized control over what they hear, read, view, and receive from Trinity. All of the applications that I have downloaded have provided targeted access to discreet information that serves my needs. I’m not saying that content is all about me…well, actually, that is exactly what I am saying. The content is all about me and the applications that fulfill that need and then provide me with the ability to further refine the content are the ones that interest me the most. What this says about me is, perhaps, the topic of a very different type of blog, but it has got me thinking about the ways in which we all seek to retrieve, process, and distill information in this information-intensive age.

My question, then, to all of you who read this blog and who are consumers of the content on Sine Charta, is simple: if you were able to design your perfect Sine Charta experience, how would it work? Would you have an “app” for each section of the online magazine? Would you want to incorporate parts of the print magazine into your “app” experience? What areas interest you the most? Is there an “app” that emulates the functionality and experience that you would like to have with Sine Charta? As I am fond of saying, if this were all for me it would look very different. It’s your magazine, let me know what you want from it.