From my “Apps I’d Like to See” folder. Begin by letting Blab-o-meter sample your voice by recording a short paragraph. The audio is analyzed up in the cloud and sent back to your device.

As you and a friend settle in at your local coffee shop, you turn on Blab-o-meter and it begins monitoring how much you are talking. You can set the app to alert you by vibrating and or playing a sound (a throat clearing; “shhhhh!” etc) when you exceed some predetermined level. 50 percent might be reasonable or, if you’re trying to listen more, set it lower.

I spend a couple of hours in a coffee shop, six days a week. Usually by myself. I’m usually absorbed in what I’m reading or doing but I sometimes become aware of how much some people dominate a conversation (if you can even call it a conversation when one person is talking continuously and the other person doesn’t say a word. I’m being literal, here).

Let me hasten to add, this might be a very acceptable arrangement for both parties. One likes to talk, one likes to listen.

Until the Blab-o-meter becomes a reality, I’d like to ask my friends and acquaintences to give me some sort of visual cue when I start running off at the mouth. Perhaps two quick tugs of your earlobe (repeated as needed). Or, you might simply reference this post, “Hey, I thought your Blab-o-meter app was a great idea!”