Digital in the real world or the internet of things, Augmented Reality, RFID and Mobile

I’ve been doing a series of Augmented Reality meets RFID meets mobile workshops and seminars recently and thought I’d share the slides.

The good thing about this type of work and technology is that it slowly gets us away from the idea of “digital” being a distinct or separate medium. I think the problem is that once again we have allowed a useful encapsulation term – digital, social media, networking, UGC or earned media etc. – that we can use to explain a philosophy to clients to hijack the agenda. We labelled ourselves in the early days as a way of selling our services but the legacy is that we have encouraged people to think of it as a channel.

The new technologies are almost unrecognisable to the old 800×600 microsites that were a product of those cool, first generation “digital new media agencies”. Just like no-one thinks we are operating in a world of “new media” any more, we should stop thinking we are operating in a channel/sector called digital or social media.

It is just the reality of experience and marketing. It is what real people are doing now.

6. On is off/Off is on (2009 Trends)

• Dirt cheap, lightening fast & “always on” internet. An unconnected device is odd, this offers a potential for a social element to be added to objects creating an “Internet of things”.

• Flex, AIR and Silverlight, Google Docs & the new MS Office function on your desktop and on the web, this is an extension of the principle of Clouds & Crowds.

• RFID makes physical products into communication channels. It enables Instant feedback about prices and sizes available/instant win/instant tracking. Objects become part of the internet and the technology is not expensive, Violet’s Mir:ror device is a great way to start experimenting without the need for a large R&D team. The objects themselves can be used to extend the implementation of the social periphery trend beyond traditional mobile devices by collecting data about their usage or movements. 

• What can we do with the data that a connected object generates? It offers a potential for greater immersion in sports – where people love statistics – where the whole game and every movement can  be modeled and reported. This has already been implemented to leverage Guinness’ Rugby sponsorship.

• If everything is connected and talking then the problem becomes one of digital noise and filtering. Could lead to the creation of an attention economy with “Switch-off” holidays recommended by your doctor (or girlfriend) if every device is connected.

Next…7. Augmented Reality/Digital Magic

Back to…2009 Interactive Trends