IanSchafer.com

Reality Mining

MIT's Technology Review just published it's list of 10 Emerging Technologies for 2008. The one piece that resonated with me is Sandy Pentland's exploration into Reality Mining especially in relation to social networking, new media and interactive.

Reality mining "is all about paying attention to patterns in life and using that information to help [with] things like setting privacy patterns, sharing things with people, notifying people–basically, to help you live your life."

This becomes a hot topic for a few reasons. First and foremost is, once again, privacy issues. Data capture is part of our daily lives – credit card usage, cookies on sites, social network profiles, company swipe cards – and as technology continues to slowly infiltrate more of our lives, we become more tolerant and accepting of what information is divulged and distributed. Everyone has see the movies with the FBI trying to trace the criminals phone call with the criminal hanging up just before being caught. However, most people don't think about that even with mobile phones being on all the time A simple Google search on his/her name would surprise a lot of people.


Reality Mining has been a reality for years. And as mobile phones become more prevalent with WI-FI, Bluetooth and GPS-type systems (ala iPhone,) in addition to the laptops we carry around and use, the continual social network is our daily life. And as mobile technology advances, our blip on the grid becomes more prominent. The Human Cyborg ideal continues to press forward. Professor Kevin Warwick first started research into this in 1998 by planting microchips in his arm for recognition of systems in his lab.


The major benefit of Reality Mining is from an anthropological standpoint. How people interact, where they are and when they are. Tying this information into disease outbreaks, advertising models (when a person sees an ad, what do they do right afterwards?) and general healthcare and "human maintenance." Smartex in Italy is working on clothing that does just that.


It's a bit of the God factor (being omnipotent and omniscient) that is also fascinating. Knowing where your friends are at any time, knowing what they're doing, where to get the food your phone knows your craving. It's bringing the idea of Facebook, Google Maps, Dodgeball and other sites into the physical space. The ultimate social network. Maybe even a step closer to SkyNet.


Real-time in real-time. Very meta.

4thSpace

A fellow co-worker and myself were discussing various social aspects and the new trend of how people use space. As in, where they spend most of their time. The topic was very interesting where we initially narrowed it down into three areas. Home, work and the ThirdSpace (or Being Space as TrendWatching points out)

commercial living-room-like settings, where catering and entertainment aren't just the main attraction, but are there to facilitate small office/living room activities like watching a movie, reading a book, meeting friends and colleagues, or doing your admin.

BEING SPACES charge us for eating, drinking, playing, listening, surfing, working, or meeting, just as we would at home or in the office, while successfully reintegrating us into city life 

An all too common example is the way Starbucks has made the coffeeshop into a living room type setting.


I also believe that in addition to these three spaces, there is a 4thSpace - online and social networks. A place where people go as a virtual home, from their landing page on Facebook to iGoogle. People dwell in one or two of these spaces at any one time. Usually one is physical with the second being virtual (ex: sitting at home playing Xbox Live, in Starbucks surfing Facebook, etc.)

The Four Spaces
1 - Home
2 - Work/Office
3 - Being Space (Starbucks, Borders Books, Panera Bread)
4 - Virtual Space (Facebook, iGoogle, MySpace) 

The intriguing aspect of 4thSpace is that it continues to exist without us after we place our identity into that realm. With MySpace, there are pages of deceased members that still garner visits and posted comments. So much so in fact that those that have passed now warrant their own sites like MyDeathSpace.com. The virtual identity becomes, or takes the place of, a real presence. Granted, social networks also allow users to be someone (or something) other than themselves, but the 4thSpace allows comfort in a setting where the other three spaces may not.


People unfamiliar, and even the familiar, become known by their page or avatar. Xbox Live, Facebook or when SecondLife was viable allows users to drop in for a visit and say hello. No one home? Leave a message and they'll get back to you.


It’s a fascinating topic that is vast in it's research potential, especially with user trends and emerging technologies with the additional social aspects and implications. As we get drawn into The Matrix a bit more, it’ll be nice to know how cozy it will be. Or when a Starbucks opens a Starbucks in it. Trust me, NYC is close already.

The Identity of FakeSteveJobs is Revealed!

Who's Daniel Lyons? Well, just the editor of Forbes. Actually, not just the editor of Forbes, but he's also the Fake Steve Jobs, who's been keeping one of the most entertaining blogs on the intertubes.

Kudos go to the NY Times for finally putting an end to the speculation. And to Valleywag for following this story so, so determinedly.

Not familiar with FSJ? Get to reading. It's worth it.

Disney Buys ClubPenguin

My head's exploding.

So Disney, who is one of those companies that actually hasn't been handing out money to independently-owned/VC-backed web properties lately has purchased hot kids' virtual world/social networking site ClubPenguin.

Great fit. Probably a better virtual world than the one they launched themselves.

Here's an open letter from the founders of ClubPenguin about the deal.

Now it's up to Disney Online to figure out how to continue to monetize the property through integrated ad offerings (Club Penguin was doing a pretty good job, operating at a 50% profit margin).

ARGNet Hearts JohnMonad.com

Check out ARGNet's review of the Deep Focus-created online experience to support HBO's John From Cincinnati.

From the post:

Via Game Tip, ARGNet received word that HBO was doing something interesting with a promo site, johnmonad.com. Clicking repeatedly on the "Help" button generates an increasing number of search terms and objects floating around your screen until you're told, "That's all the help you're going to get. There's more out there. Start Searching." However, the interface seems pretty intelligent -- entering your own search terms nets results that usually seem on-target.

UGO to be Acquired by Hearst

More acquisition news...

Popular site UGO, also according to TechCrunch, will be acquired by Hearst for around $100 million.

UGO has been around for a long time. They've built their property through small site acquisitions, then by growing them editorially. They hopped on the widget bandwagon early, but it's still young men and gaming that has fueled and sustained their growth.

CondeNast got their Wired & Reddit, Hearst got its UGO.

Delta Twitters?

If Joe Jaffe has the kind of influence that can all of sudden make Delta, an airline straight outta bakruptcy, develop a Twitter strategy, set up an account, and start posting messages, than I'm a monkey's uncle.

Actually, as of 4am this morning, I am an uncle. My sister just had a baby boy, Sam. 6lbs, 9oz.

Regardless, if Delta is, in fact, testing Twitter usage in the wild, BRAVO. I'm glad someone is trying. I just hope companies (including Delta) learn from this experiment, and the reactions to it.

After all, as Douglas Adams once wrote, ""Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

MySpace buying Photobucket???(!!!)

According to various reports, MySpace is acquiring Photobucket, the #1 site for hosting images on the web.

MySpace has repeatedly shut down users' access to Photobucket embedded apps throughout the network, but now it seems that MySpace is betting around $300 million that its something they need to own, not just let mooch off its success.

Full Disclosure: Deep Focus was the first agency to advertise on Photobucket's homepage.

**UPDATE**
Apparently, this is confirmed. The price is about $250 million.

It ’ s Like YouTube, But in Reverse.

It's official, according to this press release. Read all you want, but here are the important takeaways:

There will be a site at the center of all this, but it's unnamed as of yet.

What's the rush in announcing then? Name the thing, hotshots.

AOL, MSN, Yahoo, and MySpace will be the new site's initial distribution partners. The 4 properties have a combined reach of 96% of the internet audience.
This is of no consequence here other than letting us know that those sites are very very big.

Peter Chernin, COO NewsCorp: "...for the first time, consumers will get what they want -- professionally produced video delivered on the sites where they live."

You left out the "with commercials" part. Now I know people like clips from TV shows and all, but ad-supported clips cut by someone else? I need to see it to believe that mass adoption will take hold. If done right, however, it's certainly possible.

"Each distribution partner will feature the site's content in an embedded player customized with a look and feel consistent with each site, making the offering organic to each destination. The new company will offer innovative advertising sales propositions by being able to sell cross-platform -- on-air and on-line."

Read: Lots and lots of pre-roll, and even more of the same :30 spots we're already ignoring on television. I hope there are plans to explore other, more integrated forms of advertising into these players and videos.

What's going to be interesting here is to see how not only Google/YouTube responds, but how the other big media companies not involved in this play respond as well. What does Disney do? What does Time Warner (who currently owns AOL, one of this new site's distribution partners) do?

Any guesses?