Plugging into Reality: APIs to connect the physical world
27th July 09
Posted in culture, mobile, social media, technology
Author: Richard Schatzberger, Director of Creative Technology, BBH New York
This weekend saw the first Town Holler, a meeting (and pub crawl) of foursquare Mayors in New York City. From the photos, it may just look like another fun Saturday evening, but what’s special about Town Holler is that it’s whole reason for being is to create a direct physical world connection using digital platform. Organized by Conrad Lisco (@conradlisco) and myself (@schatz), our goal was to use an existing digital platform to facilitate and enhance a physical world experience, in real time, which, to be frank, should be the goal of any great digital creation.
With so many checkins we had to bring our own power supply
Imagine five years ago, where a party organizer would, perhaps, illegally take over a warehouse in Brooklyn and throw a rave. Well, using foursquare, we (playfully) squatted on a social platform and threw the party on top of their digital service. We didn’t have to build any software, spend any money, ask permission (the foursquare creators did come along for the journey), or risk being arrested! We hooked into a passionate group of people who had the tools to connect in their pockets–on their iPhones–leveraging someone else’s software and data to curate an event which blended the digital and physical worlds.
Who stole the Mayor this time?
As the number of new services, applications and volume of data grow, we need to stop thinking about how we can create another thing for people to install and launch, but how we start using the mobile device as a human API into the digital world to curate tangible interactions which collide with the twitter/facebook/foursquare/newyorktimes/sphere. That we were on to something was evidenced in everyone’s smiles all afternoon, as FourSquare became and even more fluid and dynamic real time tool for connecting.
Why Foursquare?
Foursquare is a location based service which lets friends know where friends are, you simply check into a place when you arrive and foursquare notifies your foursquare friends and/or twitter followers. It’s a very simple idea, but it goes much further than that. Foursquare has built in a killer competition feature giving people a reason to use it constantly throughout their day. In a world of disposable iPhone applications, this is where new services should be heading. The more you check in, the more points you get. You compete against your friends and everyone else in your city. If you check in the most times at one place you become the Mayor, and as you progress around the city, you unlock badges. As The New York Times noted, describing the event, ‘it’s as much about competing as about meeting’.
Checking in always rewards you with points, and you may just become Mayor
This model of micro-rewards makes the application more vibrant, and the fact that is based in the moment, not the past made FourSquare the perfect platform to hijack. For an in-depth look into foursquare check out the Mashable report ‘Foursquare: Why It May Be the Next Twitter.’
Don’t look down.
Don't miss the conversation while you tweet
For those at the event checking in, competing for Mayorship was only the start of how their conversations and networks expanded in real time. Each of us has a digital aura emitting live data. It’s this data which excites me most, removing the idea of an offline world. Conversations spilled out into Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr with responses coming back during the the same conversation. (Serendipitously, foursquare became a trending topic on Twitter’s homepage at our second stop). This made the spoken conversations much more enjoyable as we were all plugged into the world’s largest amplifier.
The key here though is not to interrupt the conversation with the technology, which happened every time someone went heads down, unlocked their phone and launched an app to push the conversation out to their network. The iPhone was the device of choice, but we may have been better with Palm Pre’s or Android based devices which have put much more focus on their home screens and notification systems.
Here you can see all the services running on the homescreen of the HTC Hero
This is one of the most under utilized and most valuable pieces of real estate on mobile devices, and is the gateway to creating interactions which become much less intrusive in social settings. So as we all race to make the next mobile application and service let’s really think about the need for a full blown applications, can we find new ways to expose information so someone can continue their activity without having to dig deep inside their device to fetch it?
Town Holler NYC is just the start of experiments hijacking digital platforms and putting them in face to face situations, so follow @townholler to hear about what’s coming next. And a huge thanks to Dennis (@dens) and Naveen (@naveen) for creating my new favorite service, foursquare …
Contact
If you’re involved in anything that brings the physical and digital worlds together, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at BBH Labs (see below).
richard.schatzberger@bbh-usa.com; @schatz
conrad.lisco@gmail.com; Strategy Director, 5th Finger; @conradlisco
23 comments on “Plugging into Reality: APIs to connect the physical world”
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Ben Malbon
Awesome. Have always feared a quasi-Phillip K Dick future where everyone lives individually in bathroom type-tiled rooms that are essentially hot tubs, an entertainment screen on the ceiling, and two sets of tubes — one to bring in the nourishment and the other…well, you can figure that out. Everyone exists and works remotely, everyone is 400 lbs because they never leave the house or even rally move. Cars and clothing industries cease to exist.
I actually worry that this as an unavoidable reality (albeit far off) as we all become more independent and less social in a reality-based way. I’m so happy about the town holler and how it is bringing digital connections into the physical world. Sorry to paint the scary picture, but it has kept me up late a few nights, and I’m a writer, so I can see it in my mind, painfully clear.
“Each of us has a digital aura emitting live data.”
So true. The footprints we leave across the web provide an enormous amount of data about us, and from many different sources. Looking at your netflix queue tells me something about you. Checking out your flickr stream, something else. Each source a different perspective on the individual.
When we combine and aggregate these sources in a place like facebook (or with an API), we get a deeper understanding of each other. And a greater chance that we’ll find shared interests and/or purposes.
To me, the role technology can play as we build out this new digital world is to enhance real world interactions and give them greater depth in realtime. Seamlessly. That’s the challenge … and the opportunity.
Michael, thanks for your comment. I think the magic of all these streams of data we get from services like Netflix and Flickr will really show when we overlay the situation you are in. Knowing that you watched the movie on your queue with your girlfriend (you both foursquare checked in at your house) and you had been out to a romantic restaurant earlier (you booked on open table and the system looked up data from Yelp) would truly help the predictions of what’s next. Also your memories will be so much richer as you will be able to see the context of the photos your posted to Flickr from your phone as you walked home. The more services which open up their data the more context we can infer.
You are right about the intersections of people, most services just take a single data point such as movies, shared friends, location or shopping habits when you can pull all these points of data together you really will be able to find shared commonalities and not just from your profile but what you actually do.
We were in a world where content aggregation was the big thing now I think its personal context aggregation which will be the shift in how we use digital services. Have a look at http://www.siri.com as a great example of how using APIs can streamline the use of multiple data services.
Thanks for the great post @schatz + @BBHLabs. Town Holler was truly an amazing experience and a testament to how important mobile is becoming within the new media mix.
As Richard mentioned, we did this with nearly zero costs (the most expensive thing….Sharpies and “Hello name is” stickers, which added up to a cool $9.38). We created an event on Facebook (free) to give friends a chance to RSVP and spread the word. We used Foursquare (free) to check-in and put ourselves on the map. We used Twitter (free) to recruit and broadcast our Foursquare location. And we used Tumblr (free) to create a central location for sharing information and content.
What’s more, every single one of those platforms has an application that sits on an iPhone. Throughout the night, we updated all four with little effort…posting pictures, updating locations and connecting folks at each check in. Early in the evening, one person asked if we had someone at home sitting on the Internet helping us to coordinate…to which I replied “why? I can do everything from right here, right now.” Net Net, we can no longer assume that digital = computers…unless of course you’re referring to my iPhone.
As we edge closer and closer to a mature mobile market, one where nearly all phones are smart, one can’t help but get supremely excited.
Stay tuned for #TownHoller San Francisco.
Great post & a great time. Kudos to @conradlisco & @schatz for putting the first TownHoller together. It’s the first time I recall a meet up where a mobile experience played a key role in the evening. people checking in, tracking the events of the night and letting the stragglers know where the next stop was.
The first time I used the app a month or so ago I found that I when I checked in there were already some folks checked in at the venue - I found the people clutching iphones and immediately we struck up a conversation about the application. In a digital age where people are slipping deeper into their own personal space it was a refreshing break.
>>Early in the evening, one person asked if we had someone at home sitting on the Internet helping us to coordinate…to which I replied “why? I can do everything from right here, right now.” <<
I’m that person. Surprisingly, as I clutched both my blackberry and iPhone, and asked you this, it didn’t strike me that indeed the media from the entire event could essentially be handled from a handset. Once you have a small network of people following each other the propagation of whatever data becomes quite fluid.
“Foursquare has built in a killer competition feature giving people a reason to use it constantly throughout their day”
I agree - it is the game aspect that partially keeps me engaged and playing - and the crowd sourcing of new data via user entries allows the user to feel like they are also contributing to making the application better (plus, bumping up their score)
I look forward to Town Holler NYC 2.0!
Mike, thanks for coming and for commenting. You called out a really important point about the night - that people joined us at stops along the way by tracking our Foursquare check-ins. Though the initial turnout was phenomenal, as the night went on, we grew in size. The location-based nature of the platform coupled with a broadcast mechanism (both Foursquare and Twitter) made coordination really simple and seamless.
Conrad had asked me to weigh in on this.
Excellent use of social network to pull together a real life meet-up: too often people don’t realize how frequently that transition is made in smaller, one-on-one meetings.
Also good to see you guys thinking about the effect that dozens of people staring at their screens has on real life social interactions. That’s a tough one to crack as many people definitely use that ploy as a crutch to avoid actually having to interact or engage with others.
Finally, given the numerous proclamations (Mashable’s being the latest) that FourSquare is the new twitter, I have to say that I find its use compelling mainly to single urban 20something professionals of the type who attended your party. That’s a cohort that is very much interested in what bars, restaurants, clubs, etc. their friends are at and for whom FourSquare is a valuable addition to their social lives.
For my cohort of 30 and 40something married parents, there’s less glitter to FourSquare. We’re rarely anyplace all that interesting and we’re no longer that concerned with the whereabouts of our peer group. We’re home, we’re at the office, we’re at the soccer game. Not a whole lot of action there.
Which is not to write off FourSquare: I think that there’s plenty of value in a niche platform, especially one that’s aimed at so large a niche.
But your original aim here: using social networks to bring people together in real life, is a really great goal and I hope you guys continue to explore ways to do this.
Re appealing to an urban niche of cool 20-somethings (both @schatz and @conradlisco fit that description, annoyingly), couldn’t agree more. I’m currently the Mayor of my own Apartment (I’m not kidding). Which is - as you say - not to take away the power & potential of foursquare, just to note that the technology & platform are in an early adopter phase of evolution. Ben
There is definitely some crossover here with your thoughts on art versus the algorithm. Mobile devices and applications like Foursquare allow us to, as you say, “leave traces of ourselves on this planet” in new and exciting ways.
It’s precisely because I’m married, a parent and in my 30s that I’m ridiculously attracted to the idea of foursquare and a town holler. Why? Because foursquare has just given me the means & the motivation to organise myself and my equally technophile-sad-married-parent-friends into action. Here’s to #Town Holler London, I say (when foursquare finally makes it here…c’mon Londoners! Get voting!)
Mel, you’re not the only one feeling empowered…we’ve heard from a host of people who joined Foursquare after reading about this weekend’s events. They realize that it can add real value, connecting them with friends in real-time and with a contextual superiority to other platforms.
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Great post. I really believe in the thesis that the best digital applications are the ones that augment our offline existence in one way or another.
The problem with offering any application for free is that there is almost no user loyalty - users are more than willing to jump to another service once a better one comes along (how fast did you ditch Yahoo once Google showed up?). As I see it - the best way to maintain user loyalty with free apps is through sticky features and offline benefits - and foursquare has mastered both.
Foursquare is one of the few apps that really thrives as a stand-alone mobile application - many existing web-to-mobile adaptations simply miss the mark.
Though now it may only be appealing to a select 20-something niche, if they find a way to rope in local offers in a compelling way the appeal will spread across a wider deomographic.
We are starting to see more and more interesting work being done in this direction, and not just platforms like foursquare aimed at young urbanites. The Hidden Park ( http://www.thehiddenpark.com/ ) is a location based iPhone game aimed at families with young children. My kids and I had a blast running around Central Park photographing dragons and other magical creatures last Saturday!
I believe connecting digital and physical worlds is powerful, and it’s not just about APIs and social platforms. Almost everything we’ve done at Campfire has had significant connections to the physical world because it adds meaning and context to both, and drives emotional involvement.
I love The Hidden Park, the fact that it is tightly integrated with a single location but doesn’t interrupt any other service is the beauty of the digital aura which not only surrounds people but places. We have all watched the real estate tycoons fight for physical space and the often negative effects, but in this ’space’ anyone can own the digital real estate. There’s no planning commission or deeds to sign, you just take it by putting in or emitting your data and service. It’s then (hopefully) open for other services to intertwine with their data.
I think we will start to see a new type of mashup here (way beyond geo-wikipedia), never before could a company simply go in to a space and place their brand and service inside inside it with no permission. I think great things will happen when it’s complimentary and really interesting things when it’s competitive.
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Michael, I would love to hear more about what you and your kids liked about The Hidden Park (I played with it without kids) especially how one device worked for the whole family in a time and location sensitive game.
Richard,
It was just myself and my two daughters, so the iPhone worked well. I had brought along headphones, but we didn’t need them. My kids were totally into the story. We covered a lot of ground and usually they want to stop and rest or get a snack, but while we were playing the game they were completely focused on it. They loved interacting with the creatures most, especially the dragon.
The pace was easy. We didn’t run into any issues on that end, but I believe it’s entirely location-based rather than time. We stopped along the path to smell the flowers which didn’t affect the game in any way. My older daughter (6) was into the puzzles such as the word scramble, but I can see that aspect not working out so well with two older children and only one device.
And they loved telling my wife the story and showing her the pictures when we returned.
Ovaerall it was a great afternoon in Central Park.
It’s very cool to see the real world working as an extension of digital experiences. We used to see just the opposite. This makes the thesis of no difference between [on/off]line life even stronger.
I haven’t produced anything myself but I do love this Mobile Augmented Reality Browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b64_16K2e08&feature=player_embedded
and I love the game that Area/Code made that attached GPS devices to real shark fins: http://playareacode.com/work/sharkrunners/
Great post RIchard. Your point about the ability to overlay context on the various data streams we generate is a fascinating one and yet another way of bridging the gap between art and the algorithm-the ability to apply smart and nuanced context to the algorithm.
@farley - In the past, digital and real-world experiences felt mutually exclusive because we were tethered to desktop and even laptop computers in order to access the Web. Today’s mobile devices have cut the digital umbilical cord, making Web-enabled experiences possible nearly any place, any time.
@griffin - like you, I’m excited about Augmented Reality. The link you provided to Layar shows how mobile + AR enhances our understanding of our environment. Now, think about Town Holler + AR…what if we added Augmented ID by TAT? Basically, Augmented ID visualizes the digital identities of people you meet in real life using a mobile device. Users select the content and social links that they want to share with others. (LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb0pMeg1UN0). Essentially, mobile AR will not only enhance our understanding of our environment, but also of each other.
mobile devices really brought interactions to another level, the perfect complement for human web - inserting us as an entity in the ‘internet of things’. browsing was the main problem for mobile, but iphone taught manufacturers how to do that. in times like theses where *share* is the default option in most of the things we do, opting-out technology = opting-out socially.
Can’t stop thinking about how this might create different group shopping dynamics. Or how a tourism destination like NYC might use something like this to create micro-incentivization to drive visitors to different parts of the City. Hmmm…
Fantastic time. AND, deomstrative of what it really means to be a success in social media. More on that here:
http://bit.ly/5sutF
Thanks for bringing such a great concept to life guys!