This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Launched in October, Gabble is an online community that seeks to bring together people from every corner of the world in a conversation using pictures instead of words. Conceived by one of my favorite musicians, Peter Gabriel, and developed by his Real World Studios, Gabble aims to traverse the traditional boundaries of language. The free Gabble gives everyone the opportunity to chat with friends old and new by creating whole sentences from a huge library of images, animations and illustrations."I'm convinced we will soon learn to use multimedia as a basic tool for person-to-person communication," says Peter, "which is why our idea was to create a universal visual language that replaces words and phrases."

The Gabble website is now live at http://www.gabble.com and the "So…Gabble" app is available for free through iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/so...gabble/id571337491?mt=8 Every Gabble user – or Gabbler – has access to a central library of still and moving images to use in conversations and get their message across.

"I'm sure Gabble will initially be used to make funny, irreverent and downright rude communications," adds Peter in a press release, "but there are many potential serious applications that will follow. Imagine you're on holiday in China, fall ill and need a doctor urgently. Just load your phone's Gabble app, speak into it and your words will translate into simple pictures anyone can understand, no matter the language they speak." Alongside the launch of Gabble, Peter is releasing the 25th anniversary edition of his iconic album "So" in remastered form and with previously unreleased content. Fans will be able to listen to "So" through an app where lyrics are represented in Gabble form. A competition will run during the launch of the app giving Gabblers the opportunity to win a signed "So" box set. To take part in the competition users will have to download the free "So…Gabble" app, which comes with "Big Time" included. Users will then need to select and edit their chosen track and share to Gabble.com. Details of the competition can be found on http://www.gabble.com/competition and the winners will be those users who receive the most likes for their Gabbles.

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