Insider Blog: Physical Place Meets Cyber Space

Physical Place Meets Cyber Space Our relationship to the things we own is changing. Here we explore how technology is opening up new opportunities for how we interact with the objects around us.

Here we talk to two experts, Antonio Kaplan, CEO of Innovent and Dori Graff, founder of Itizen about how location-based media will transform our relationship to stuff, facilitate the sharing of real-world experiences and enhance Collaborative Consumption marketplaces.

Antonio Kaplan, CEO Innovent

Tell us a bit about Tag.Ignitor?
Tag.Ignitor is a platform that enables location-based media sharing via NFC (Near Field Communication) tags and devices. With Tag-Ignitor, you can attach multimedia stories to a specific place or object using an NFC tag. To retrieve, share or add to the story you simply activate it by waving an NFC-enabled device such as a smartphone or tablet close to the tag.

We often refer to Tag-Ignitor as ‘the looking-glass experience’. This is because the technology enables you to experience an object, event or destination through the eyes of someone you know or want to know.

For example, when staying at a hotel, visiting a new city or buying/renting a new or second-hand object, you can use Tag-Ignitor to activate any stories, tips or photos left for you by friends, family or people who’ve come before you.

How do you think location-based story-telling enhances the user experience?
Storytelling has been at the heart of every culture throughout time, and ours is no different. The need to tell stories is one of the basic characteristics defining humanity. It is the basis of all art and culture including photography, film, art and even cave dwelling drawings - all a means of communicating experience. NFC is a new immersive and interactive way to continue this tradition.

Can you give examples from Tag.Ignitor?
Last year the founders of Innovent took part in a project at Sundance film festival, called Pandemic 1 - where audiences were actually part of the film. The film was about an epidemic and to prevent infection, audience members were invited to interact with the film through ‘reality gaming’ play. Participants had to use their mobile devices to find and scan clues to reveal cure locations within park city.

We also recently used Tag.Ignitor during a launch at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, whereby audiences with NFC enabled devices were able to discover history of the center’s construction and record geo-located data.

At the Kickstarter party for ‘Always in Season’, a documentary film about historic violence to African-Americans, we rigged-up an NFC-enabled bottle tree (which is thought to trap evil spirits) so that passers-by could leave a “message” of healing.

How can location-based media foster real world relationships?
The past decade has seen an explosion in channels of communication. And with this, we are we are starting to feel the burden of an over-connected society, whereby we feel an obligation to be connected online 24/7.

With Tag.Ignitor, we want to draw the focus away from heavy social obligation and emphasize the enjoyment of sharing an experience, not in the digital world, but in the real world. Tag-Ignitor allows us to make face-to-face connections in the physical world, while still fulfilling our desire to tell stories, pass on knowledge, share experiences and document moments in the digital world.

What are some of your favorite examples of how different types of location-based media have been used to create stories around the world?
Instagram has taken location-based photography to the masses, allowing people to share the stories of their lives. And you can now also buy an Instaprint box, a location-based photo booth, which print photos tagged to certain location or hashtag.

Can you imagine ways location-based story-telling could be used to enhance collaborative consumption experiences?
It provides a unique opportunity to tell stories, build community and improve the customer experience. NFC tags are a unique way to attach multimedia stories to shared items. This could include anything from instructions for use to a running history of the different people who’ve enjoyed the item. This is different from other geo-location-based media as users can contribute as well as experience.

For books or films the community could add their own multimedia crib notes. Within peer-to-peer travel marketplaces like Airbnb, travellers could share tips and experiences in the neighbourhood. And with collectors’ items, people could share their passion via digital storytelling.

Dori Graff, Co-Founder Itizen

Tell us a little bit about Itizen?
Itizen is a place to share about the things you have and love with others who share your interests. The mobile app makes it easy for enthusiasts, collectors, and hobbyists to quickly post photos and tips, and continually discover contextual and valuable info from other like-minded people. This all takes place within niche communities, sparking conversations and exchanging stories based on the shared love of certain valued things in peoples’ lives.

How do you think story-telling enhances the user experience?
For Itizen, storytelling is at the core of the user experience. The app provides a way for users to capture a personal narrative about their experiences with the things they love. It’s these real-world experiences that bring people together, both off and online. The content for these stories can be easily collected over time as users add information such as photos, location, tips, notes and other details. As other users add to it, the story essentially becomes co-authored by the community.

How does location-based online media foster real world relationships?
The simple addition of location-based information opens up many doors for how users connect with others both on and offline. Information on location plus personal interests, in particular, is a powerful combination.

The online experience makes it easy to find like-minded individuals in the same location so that offline gatherings, both small and large, can be easily facilitated. When location-based info is attached to specific things, people are also able to form more niche groups offline. For example, owners of a specific bread of dog can meet-up at a local park or people who ride a specific type of bike can get together for a ride.

What are some of your favorite examples of how different types of location-based media have been used to create stories around the world?
I’m particularly fond of any services that combine storytelling with travel. Travelling, assuming it’s for pleasure, is often about exploring and there is the desire to hear about others’ stories and adventures. Hyperpublic is capturing a lot of great location specific info. It will be interesting to see how their API (application planning interface) gets used. Gowalla is now focused on creating city-specific travel guides with content provided by locals, experts, as well as your friends. Blurb Mobile allows you to create video, audio, image-based stories and attach geo-tags. In addition, I’ve always been fascinated by how people are using Layar.

Have you seen any good examples of location-based media being used by Collaborative Consumption companies?
There are a number of Collaborative Consumption companies that use location-based media, particularly those that have a local focus. For example, there are those that help users find things or other people locally, and/or take advantage of the existing resources that are around them as an alternative to purchasing something new. The first company comes to mind is Local Dirt (with its Locavore mobile app), a service that helps you find, buy, and sell local food. Car and ride sharing such as Zimride and Zipcar require location-based information to locate the cars and/or drivers. And peer-to-peer rental services such as Neighborgoods and Rentalic also benefit from location-based information.

Can you imagine ways location-based story-telling could be used to enhance Collaborative Consumption experiences?
Collaborative Consumption experiences that include in-person events, in particular, have the opportunity to leverage storytelling both before and after the event takes place. For example, swap organizers can preview items that will be at the event as a way to build anticipation. If provided with the tools, swap participants can also show off their finds and continue the story after the event. Itizen plans to provide the tools needed for events such as this.

We also plan to enable users to mark the status of the things they post as available for rent, loan, or sale. Our goal will be to drive traffic to other Collaborative Consumption services in order for the transactions to occur.

What do you think is the future of location-based media?
As we know, technology is becoming more seamlessly integrated into our everyday lives and location-based media is one of the key elements of this change. Objects tagged with location specific information will make it easier for us to explore our physical surroundings based on the experiences documented by others.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) will also play a role in integrating digital content into our physical worlds. It essentially works in the reverse of location-based technology. RFID alerts the user that digital content is tied to a thing or location and that there is more to discover digitally. Whereas location-based technology lets the user know that something is around them that may warrant additional physical exploration. Combined, these two technologies provide a powerful way to learn about the world around us based on the experiences of others.

8 Location-based companies to look out for
AskAround -lets you view, join and share in real time conversations happening nearby, and ask questions about your immediate surroundings.
Blockboard - lets you use your mobile phone to leave messages in your neighborhood and see what your neighbors are saying. Use it to ask questions, praise, gripe, report, borrow and trade with your local community.
Broadcastr - a social media platform for location-based stories. Take a GPS-enabled walk as stories about your surroundings stream into your headphones.
Carticipate - location-based ride share platform
Foodspotting - a visual guide to good food and where to find it. Take a picture of your food and tag where you found it.
Layar - recognizes real world objects and displays digital augmented reality experiences on top of them using your iphone, and soon your android phone.
MyTown - popular location-based social game. Check-ins earn you cash to “buy” your favourite real world places. Then you can charge rent to people who visit as in monopoly.
SCVNGR - location-based scavenger hunt, where you earn points for doing quick, fun challenges in certain places.
Tales of Things - allows you to link media to objects via a QR code. A popular example was when Oxfam used QR codes on the tags of clothing to reveal video messages from the celebrity who donated them

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