connectivity Archives - TheWayoftheWeb

I’ve been meaning to blog about Mobilizy‘s awesome Wikitude AR Travel Guide for Google’s G1 Android mobile since I saw the video demo embedded below (You might need to click through for a big enough display).

It reminded me of the chapters in Howard Rheingold‘s Smart Mobs where he discusses examples of wearable computing and real-life cyborgs – it seemed a bit of a stretch even as recently as 2002 when the book was written – the word cyborg instantly conjures Terminator and Robocop – but in the intervening seven years, it’s become incredibly obvious that the mobile device is essentially the wearable computer in all but attachment (bluetooth headsets?).

And Moore’s Law (strictly speaking: doubling transistors on a circuit every two years, but adopted by many to be about the exponential improvements in technology) seems to be applying particularly to the mobile space at the moment, with the rise of the Smartphone.

Although my mobile is infamous for being a much-abused antique, I’ve been looking at the mobile space for years with regards to social networking, applications, and which phone I’ll pick when I think it’s the right time for capabilities vs price.

18 months ago, my choice was simple, as the Nokia N95 was able to offer connectivity, wifi and the right tools for content creation – and I’ve continued to monitor pirce tariffs for it ever since, even with the release of the iPhone which I consider is for content consumption, not creation.

But now things are changing ever more rapidly. There are new possibilities, like the essentially open G1. And cheaper options for connectivity, like the INQ1 from Hutchinson, with ‘unlimited texts and internet‘ (actually 1GB according to Ts and Cs), plus integration with Facebook, Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Last.fm.

The Samsung Pixon seems to offer amazing video creation. And the LG Cookie is a more affordable touch screen mobile with handwriting recognition and motions sensor.

Personally, the one mobile connection that I would consider essential is Twitter, but the idea of fully augmented reality for location-based services is pretty enticing.

Imagine never needing a brochure or guide book because you can just point your phone and find all the information you need automatically. Forget browsing directories or searching – we could soon be told what we’re looking at in any museum, which of the restaurants in plain sight does the best food, or any number of possibilities.

Forget cyborgs – we’re MoBorgs.

Proof? Nokia was the biggest computer maker in 2008. (More on Nokia via Communities Dominate Brands).

MoBorgs get the connectivity, creativity, etc of the wearable computer cyborg, but with one major difference – you don’t look like a tit or an extra from a scifi film. It’s concealable if you wish, and upgradable. And sharable.

The next evolution will be towards services which augment reality in numerous ways via mobile, adding to what is already around us, and improving our connections/social networks. It’s where I’m looking for genius ideas.

It can be easy to get caught up in social media, and there are some obvious reasons why. For starters, making a connection via social networks can be as exciting as flirting with someone you fancy (Why dating sites do well!), or drinking all night with a new friend, and discovering how much you have in common. It’s easy to see the value and excitement in just one connection, and forget that it doesn’t apply to everyone you meet online – just the same as in real life.

It’s also human nature to gather together, whether in family units, by location, or by area of interest. Loners are generally confined to outlaws, psychopaths and artists (Generally similar things!). So the prospect of having constant access to one or more of these groups, regardless of time or geography, is incredibly appealing. And it’s why it can be so frustrating if your group happens to all be offline for some reason when you’re dying to connect!

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t get excited, or promote these aspects of social media, but it’s important as it matures as a technology, and as a tool for greater communication between people, companies, and even governments, that we look at why it’s so enticing, and whether sometimes we fall into the trap of ignoring the downsides (How do you scale one relationship to 100 relationships? Or 150,000?), when we’re doing the vitally important work of sharing this new connectivity with friends, family and colleagues.