Jon Udell comments on instantly shared outliners:

"It's not about XML, or HTTP, or outlining. It's about people evolving to the point where they publish what they're doing, and subscribe to what other people are doing, in just the right proportions, so that there's maximum awareness of shared purpose but minimal demand on the scarce resource of attention."

They seem to be a cool team productivity tool, but I'm afraid many people are just too lazy and mentally unstructured to adopt them. There's still a strong need to cure the problems brought by e-mail though.

04/02/02 update: Jon Udell: Instant Outlining, Instant Gratification.