let's get digital/physical

One of the interesting things about the trend for physical things becoming digital and vice versa is how different everything is. It's all part of the same culture, but it's becoming more and more divergent as new tools get created. I've written a bit about what I call active remembering, which has a lot to do with what someone cleverer than me has called the data shadow. There's a loop there, which is about creating and recording something, passing it and consuming the information later. And maybe tagging or commenting, layering up a bit of individual and social history. That's quite interesting. And lots of things seem to work like that. But one of the things I like about augmented reality stuff is the constant feedback loop that goes from digital thing to life thing back to digital thing. It reacts to you reacts to it.
levelHead v1.0, 3 cube speed-run (spoiler!) from Julian Oliver on Vimeo. Found this augmented reality game, levelHead, via a tweet from @mikearauz via @BBHLabs. For probably obvious shape and function reasons, it reminds me of Siftables, another great example of a constant digital-life-digital loop. Maybe it's to do with the fact that these are games, and they talk back to you. Whereas active remembering seems more of a social activity. I think it'd be brilliant if someone mashed up an active remembering tool with an AR or Siftables-type game. Somewhere people connect and say something interesting about who they are to themselves and each other. But that could also somehow take the multiplayer principle out of the screen and onto people's tables. A socially networked augmented reality game. I don't know how that would work.

predictions and resolutions for 2009

I've come over all fuzzy and hopeful what with it being New Year's Day. So here are a few predictions for the coming year: 1. Augmented reality will be in lots more places. 2. More campaign sites will cease to bear the trace of their calendar-driven marketing budgets. That is, they will wear in, not out. 3. There will be no more think, only feel and do. Am I just being too optimistic? Oh well...here are some resolutions: 1. Do and think more on invisible writing. 2. Do more extra-curricular things and make sure more slow projects are seen through to fruition. 3. Don't take any shortcuts - when necessary, rip it up and start again. Hope 2009 rocks for you. (Pic courtesy of this person.)

augmented reality ad for mini

Picked this up just now via PSFK whilst listening to this - it's Milo's last feed of the day. Like it as a sort of future-of-the-print-and-digital-relationship kinda thing - although I think there's a killer creative idea out there that's still waiting to be found for it.

augmented reality rocks my world

Crack Unit posted a lot a while ago about augmented reality. That was the first time I'd heard of it. But I've loved it ever since. Emma at work found this stuff, which is great. First off, Lego. And here's a deeply cool case study for Adidas. Check out the DIY augmented reality avatar.