Are personal media portals the future? According to San Francisco's Plum, which is releasing the beta format of this very service later this week, they just might be. The service's basic concept is that it not only allows you to "mash" your desktop favorites (be it word documents, e-mails, music, etc.) with the interesting items you find online in one place, but it also allows you to share that mixture of mediums with your friends and family. Think of it as a working scrapbook of your life – all the information and items that you want to remember/keep tabs on, in one place. Or alternatively, choose a subject, passion, or upcoming event, such as a wedding, and use the plum page as a repository of knowledge and fodder for planning for the future. Like personal blogs, the success of this concept depends heavily on individual's commitment and lasting interest in building their "plum page" over time…whether that will come to pass remains to be seen.
-----