november 2010
The Transitional Home
Special themed reports by Y Studios Visit us at www.ystudios.com
Cover Image : Technology Everywhere by utappy.com
2010 november
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2010 november www.ystudios.com
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2010 november
INTRODUCTION Transition [noun] • Movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc, to another; change: the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
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Transitional [adjective] • Marked by or during a transition from one state or condition to another. • Characteristic of a period of architectural transition, combining elements of the earlier and later forms or styles between which something is progressing. Home [noun] • A house, apartment, or shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household. • The place in which one’s domestic affections are centered. A principal base of operations or activities. Keywords: • Mobile • Fluid • In-between • Intermediary • Transient • Temporary
Image : Ecosystem of Connectivity, Original Artwork by Y Studios Socio-Cultural Intelligence
INTRODUCTION
2010 november
INTRODUCTION Home is where the heart is - your true home is with the person or place that you love most. In today’s fast-paced world of twitterisms and nomadic lifestyles, will this romantic sentiment still hold true?
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In his book The Global Soul, writer Pico Iyer coined the term “Nowherians” to describe people whose lives are spread across countries and who develop an ambiguous sense of belonging to everywhere and nowhere. This observation resonates with the new digital world that we live in today, where our sense of place, of being and belonging have become more complex and fragmented. In response to new technological experiences that enable us to be on-the-go constantly, our lives have also become more portable and transient. The traditional boundaries of where we live and where we work are also quickly disintegrating. So what is our new perception of “home”? Has our notion of home diminished as a physical entity and become instead a temporal state of being, allowing us to move from one lifestyle domain to another? Is the physical space less important than where our favorite digital content resides? Is home also where we work? And is where we work considered home? In her aptly titled book, “Home Is Where the Heart Is”, British designer Ilse Crawford takes a philosophical perspective on bringing the human element back into our homes. On the basis that “the more virtual our world becomes, the more we need the physical,” Crawford opines about a need for the functionality of technology combined with a sense of humanity. This juxtaposition of values and sensibility will provide an interesting premise for our discussion on the new perception of home – one that will continue to transition and transcend according to new cultural behaviors and experiences that are becoming more mobile and fluid.
Images : (top): Technology World Map (bottom left): Coffee Shop via Catholic.org (bottom right): Smart Home via Shutterstock
INTRODUCTION
2010 november The Transitional Home Image : Ecosystem of Connectivity, Original Artwork by Y Studios Socio-Cultural Intelligence
ECOSYSTEM : From Connected Home, To Connected Me, To Mobile Me In the early 2000s, the idea of the Connected Home was highly appealing to large consumer electronics and technology companies like Philips, Sony, Motorola, Dell and Microsoft. All endeavored to create a vision of the ultimate home experience where multiple devices were interconnected to access and share highly personalized multimedia content at home or in the car. With the increase of easily available and faster broadband, wireless and mobile enabling technologies have proliferated in all areas of our lives and we have come to expect more seamless accessibility to digital content. A new world of possibilities became endless, especially when so much of our digital content resides in a virtual repository within cloud networks. In our hyperconnected world, we are able to access information and services, anytime, anywhere and any way we choose, on demand. As consumers, we are faced with more and more complex decisions everyday. Our experiences have become more central but fragmented at the same time, as we continue to draw from multiple points of reference. Liberated from the need to be in one place, using one device and doing one thing, we are in better control over how and when we want to consume. Overall experience will reign supreme.
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2010 november The Transitional Home Images : (top left): Pink Mobile Phones (top right): Smartphones (bottom left): Kids with Phones Texting (bottom right): Gadget Ownership by Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project 2010
ECOSYSTEM : My Mobile Life Our mobile lifestyle demands that we stay connected to things important to us. Portability is key as mobility becomes a pervasive part of our lives. In the same way we expect to be able to access our digital content anytime and anywhere, our lifestyle product of choice must measure up to be an anything and everything device as well. Here are some facts and figures to put everything into perspective: Five billion wireless accounts The number of wireless service subscriptions reached five billion at the end of September 2010, according to a report from Californian technology researcher iSuppli. Mobile devices on the rise The marketplace is already swamped with an abundance of personal electronic gadgets like inexpensive laptops, mobile phones and e-readers. With the introduction of Apple’s iPad, competition is heating up for the media tablet to be the next musthave product. A recent study by the market research firm Gartner predicts that worldwide media tablet sales will reach 19.5 million units in 2010, with North America accounting for 61% of the purchase.
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ECOSYSTEM : My Mobile Life By 2014, cellular and Wi-Fi media tablets will account for 80% of worldwide sales. Meanwhile, another report released in October 2010 by Pew Research’s Internet & American Life Project showed that the mobile phone is now the number one gadget for Americans. Mobile devices like smartphones and media tablets will soon become the dominant computing platform, significantly overtaking the sales of PCs. “If the importance of an event can be measured by the number of people it affects, then the proliferation of wireless communications stands out as one of the most significant phenomena in the history of technology. Wireless communication now has spread to every nation, every age and every income level, becoming a basic staple like food, clothing and shelter.” - Jagdish Rebello, iSuppli’s senior director and principal analyst for wireless research, in Silicon Valley Mercury News, September 2010 “The iPad is cannibalizing 50% of Best Buy’s laptop sales. People are willing to disproportionately spend for these devices because they are becoming so important to their lives.” - Bnan Dun, CEO of Best Buy, US consumer electronics retail chain, in Business Insider Weblog, September 2010
Images : Various report graphics by Pew Research, Gartner, Forrester, iSuppli and research2 guidance
ECOSYSTEM
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ECOSYSTEM : My Mobile Life “The number of post -PC devices such as tablets, e-readers and Internet-capable mobile phones will eclipse PC devices such as desktops, laptops and netbooks.” Andrew Jaquith, security expert of Forrester, in Gartner Report “Forecast: Connected Mobile Consumer Electronics, Worldwide, 2008-2014”, October 2010
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“Expect to see smartphones accounting for a growing proportion of the wider mobile phone market as they become increasingly affordable to more customers. By 2013, smartphones will grow to represent over 27% of shipments worldwide, with the proportion in some developed markets in Eastern Europe surpassing 60% and 48% in North America.” - Peter Cunningham, senior analyst at Canalys, an independent technology focused analyst firm, in CII4 Weblog, August 2010 “Mobile data traffic is up 5,000 percent over a three-year period. That growth is a perfect example of the fact that more people are choosing to use smartphones and emerging devices, like tablets. Our goal is to mobilize everything to improve customers’ lives. Devices are becoming smaller and more portable, and that’s driven by what consumers want them for.” - Dawn Benton, director of corporate communications, AT&T, in CNN’s Our Mobile Lives, October 2010
Images : (top left and middle): Smartphone Penetration (bottom left): iTunes download totals (right): People on their phones via Flickr and Shutterstock
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ECOSYSTEM : My Mobile Life How smart is your phone? Thanks largely to Google’s Android OS and the ever-increasing popularity of Apple’s iPhones, the worldwide sales of smartphones have doubled in less than a year, as more casual users are upgrading to smartphones. According to a new report from research firm Parks Associates, the potential audience of smartphone users will top one billion by 2014.
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With the instant connectedness of smartphones, more and more people are choosing them over computers and TVs to satisfy all their basic technological needs. For most users, it’s all about the convenience of having everything you need in the palm of your hand. There is also a significant shift in smartphone users beyond young, tech-savvy consumers, which only account for 30% of current smartphone users. Interest in email, social networking applications and games are driving new user segments.
Image : Digital Participation Graphic by Digital Leaders UK
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ECOSYSTEM : My Mobile Life Apps, apps, and more apps According to an Apple press release in June 2010, there are now 100 million iPhone and iPod Touch users worldwide. Meanwhile, Apple has about 150,000 apps available from its App Store and these are downloaded much faster than music on iTunes. In the first week of January 2010, Apple announced that more than three billion applications have been downloaded. In comparison, Google and its partners are now selling over 60,000 Android handsets on a daily basis, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt at a recent Mobile World Congress in March 2010. Moreover, there are approximately 30,000 free and paid apps available on the Android Market. With the iPhone versus Android competition heating up, the forecast for the total app download market is exceedingly bright, with a potential growth of a whopping $15 billion by 2013. “Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months - this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The revolutionary app store offers iphone and ipod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.” - Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, in a prepared statement released on January 5, 2010
Images : (top right): Apple Apps via Appolicious (top right): Smartphone and PC Sales, 2010 (bottom left): iPhone Apps via Pocketnow (bottom right): Take-a-Digital-Break via dumblittleman.com
ECOSYSTEM
2010 november The Transitional Home Images : (top): Eye on Digital via iStock (bottom): Syncoms Connectivity
ENABLERS Always on, always connected, anytime, anywhere The concept of a Digital Age highlights the socio-cultural shifts from an Industrial Age to an Information Age, which is characterized by the instantaneous access to knowledge and information-sharing among peer communities. The ability to share and be connected around the globe, transcending borders and traditional boundaries, has led us to a new cultural sphere of communication and connectivity. Technologically tethered netizens of the world are always on, always connected, anytime, anywhere by multiple means of connectivity. Social networking, mobile communication and intelligent devices are the three most potent emblems of our digital lifestyle.
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2010 november The Transitional Home Image : Infographic by Matt Mahoney and Tommy McCall
ENABLERS : Digisphere The Global Broadband Spectrum In the August 2010 issue of MIT’s Technology Review, Matt Mahoney reported that the US Federal Communications Commission recently announced a ten-year, $15.5 billion plan to improve and expand the country’s broadband infrastructure. The initiative is largely in response to data showing that the United States’s broadband speed lags behind nations like South Korea, the global pacesetter with the fastest broadband connections, followed by Japan, and the Scandinavian countries. This information graphic illustrates the significantly faster connections and higher rates of broadband penetration. The X-axis shows the number of broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants, while the Y-axis shows speeds in megabits per second.
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Image : Super Wi-Fi
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ENABLERS : Digisphere Super WI-FI As recently as September 23, 2010, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to pave the way for the development of supercharged wireless networks, popularly known as “super wi-fi”. The stronger, faster networks will extend broadband signals to bypassed rural areas and allow for smart electric grids, remote health monitoring and, for consumers, wireless Internet without those annoying dead zones. At the heart of super wi-fi is the opening up of white spaces, the unused spectrum that was created when TV stations switched from analog to digital signals in June 2009. Advocates have referred to that spectrum as “wi-fi on steroids”, which regulators would like to open for supercharged mobile broadband applications. The new airwaves are particularly attractive because television signals are low-frequency waves, meaning they can travel farther, with the potential to provide wireless coverage that can penetrate walls and cover large areas, enabling rural broadband networks and smart homes, as well as provide more reliable connections, making the signals ideal for mobile wireless devices.
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Image : ??
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ENABLERS : Digisphere Technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Motorola and HP have embraced the news with great excitement, as super wi-fi could spark a new wave of innovation and the next generation of wireless devices and applications. In anticipation of the vote, Dell has already planned to introduce white space-enabled chips in its notebook computers, while Microsoft believes the enhanced connection range and speeds will help it deliver more e-mail, storage and services from remote servers. Along with creating innovative applications, super wi-fi could bring more jobs by introducing new industries to the tech sector. The UK and French governments have also been examining the release of similar frequencies in Europe. “I m absolutely confident that there will be a huge range of applications we cannot yet predict.” - Dan Reed, corporate vice-president for technology policy and strategy at Microsoft, in the New York Times, September 2010 “What makes the white spaces so exciting is that they’re unlicensed - meaning that innovators and entrepreneurs will be able to build new products and services over them.” Dan Martin, Google spokesperson, in International Business Times, September 13, 2010
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2010 november
ENABLERS : Distribution of Content The evolution of the Internet has dramatically changed the way we access digital information and content, creating the need for new media formats, business models, products and services for the digital age. The significance of authorship diminishes as media content evolves from a solid entity into a more ephemeral output mechanism. With the proliferation and ease of duplicating content among peer-to-peer sharing also comes the need for a good way to manage content.
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As the distributed economy advances, there will be an ad-hoc and fluid way of managing digital content. The repository is infinite and it does not matter where content is as long as it’s easily and instantly accessible. Technology complements but is no longer the focal point. We do not care about how things work, we just expect them to work.
Images : (top): Content Distribution via iStock (bottom): Global Gratitude in a Digital World by Linkedin
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2010 november The Transitional Home
ENABLERS : Distribution of Content Cloud Computing “The Cloud” is often defined as the infinite space where virtual networks reside. It is Internetbased computing, where shared resources and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand. Every aspect of our daily lives have become more digitized by the way we consume, and our changing lifestyles are escalating the growth of cloud networks. With wireless networks such as wi-fi, 3G and 4G become more pervasive, our personal devices are becoming more connected to the Internet. “As more users keep their content in the Cloud, it will eliminate the need for storage on the device. NTT DoCoMo anticipates devices to have very little on-board storage within two to three years.” - Takayuki Hoshuyama, CEO of D2Communications, a marketing company that has received funding from NTT DoCoMo in Japan
Images : (left): Cloud Computing (right): Cloud Access via Techno Tips Blog
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2010 november
ENABLERS : Technology Disappears Meanwhile, we are also constantly producing and sharing digital content and quickly running out of storage space. Storing our content remotely becomes attractive when the repository is infinite and access is instantaneous. We don’t have to worry about where our “stuff” is as long as it can be retrieved and available on any device we choose.
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Mobile phone carriers are utilizing cloud networks in a huge way, most notably Verizon’s Media Manager, a service that allows consumers to access and transfer media content between mobile phones or computers and online storage. Google is also working on providing a music service that would charge consumers approximately $25 per year to store songs that would be accessible on any internetconnected device by either streaming or downloading.
Images : (top left): Creative Tech (top right): Cloud Filesharing via Cloud Fuze (bottom left): Verizon Media Manager (bottom right): Cloud Access Network via dreamstime.com
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Image : Location Awareness
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ENABLERS : Social-based Technology Local Awareness Location is becoming the ever-more popular buzzword among increasingly mobile netizens. With GPS-enabled mobile devices, location awareness has become a hot button issue in the evolution of social networking 2.0. It is also redefining the way we think about where we are and what we do. Over the past three years, numerous location sharing applications, aka geolocation or location-based services (LBS), have popped up in our social sphere. The value of shared location data will only be as strong as the quantity of people sharing locationaware updates. “Imagine a very near future when you don’t forget anything because the computer remembers. You are never lost. You are never lonely.” - Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer, Google, at a conference in Berlin, September 2010, in Bloomberg Businessweek, September 2010
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2010 november The Transitional Home Images : (top): Foursquare Marketing and Advertising Example (bottom): Loopt Social Media, Marketing and Advertising Examples
ENABLERS : Social-based Technology “Location in general is going to become almost ubiquitous to mobile services and ultimately to the Internet. The idea of a location-based service will become redundant. We see Gowalla coming beyond just a declaration of ‘this is where i am’, to ‘this is where i am, these are the people i was with and these are the photographs that were taken’. So i can go in and pull up my buddy who checked into the mavs and spurs game in Dallas last night and see all the photos taken by fans there, and it becomes this snapshot of what happened in that moment.” - Josh Williams, CEO of Gowalla Privacy issues aside, marketing and advertising professionals looking to capitalize on the market for mobile promotions and social marketing are using services such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt and Google Latitude. The value proposition for location services is seductive, as it gives people the ability to share where they are with friends and businesses near them. All big brands are engaging on some level with the hottest players in the field to stay relevant with potential consumers.
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Images : Foursquare
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ENABLERS : Social-based Technology Here are some examples of location-based services: Foursquare www.foursquare.com Foursquare is a mobile application that aims to make cities more interesting to explore. It is a friend-finder, a social city guide and a game that challenges users to experience new things, and rewards them for doing so. Foursquare asks users to “check in” to a location, tell friends where they are and track the history of where they’ve been and who they’ve been there with. Foursquare has recently partnered up with 20 US universities for a programme called Foursquare for Universities, which encourages students to explore their campus and connect with their community. Students can earn points, win “Mayorships” and unlock badges for checking in to places and trying out new activities on campus. As of August 2010, Foursquare’s user base has expanded to three million people worldwide since its launch in March 2009.
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Images : Gowalla
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ENABLERS : Social-based Technology Gowalla www.gowalla.com Gowalla is an app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry that uses GPS triangulation to pinpoint users’ locations, allowing them to use their phones as virtual passports to collect digital souvenirs wherever they go. The current version of Gowalla allows users to add photos to specific GPS coordinates, create temporary venues and comment on others’ check-in activity. Most recently, Gowalla has partnered up with National Geographic and The Washington Post to create niche branded trips designed to help travelers discover attractions and explore destinations all over the world. These trips are in-depth exploratory missions that include destination descriptions, maps, editorial commentary and photographs. Similar to Foursquare’s badge model, users who complete trips also earn a digital pin as a keepsake for their Gowalla Passports. “We want to build gowalla as the best service for recording and sharing your favorite places.” - Josh Williams, CEO of Gowalla
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ENABLERS : Social-based Technology Artificial Intelligence (AI) For the layperson, the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been accessible only through sci-fi novels and movies. Now, thanks to the rising profile of smartphones and media tablets, AI is finally a real entity that can be held in the consumer’s hand.
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Some of the largest technology companies such as Intel, HewlettPackard, Apple, Google and AT&T are investing in AI-related hardware and software that can run on these smart devices and handle complex features. Faster wireless networks also enable AI applications to be delivered to mobile devices. Google is the company at the forefront of these developments and has pumped billions of dollars in research and development into AIfocused applications. With the use of AI, deductions can be made about consumers’ behavior, wants and needs, in order to provide them with more relevant solutions every day.
Images : Examples of Artificial Intelligence
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ENABLERS : Social-based Technology For example, Google Instant, a new search tool launched in early September 2010, uses AI to guess what a person is searching for as they type keywords into a search box. Google Goggles, an early visual search enabled by AI, breaks down images into searchable pieces of information. Released in December 2009, the mobile app enables an Android phone user to snap a picture of text from a magazine, or the brand name on a shirt label, upload it over a wireless network to Google, and watch the AI software identify the image and retrieve related information from the web. The most prominent proponent of AI in reallife experiences is Google, whose position as the dominant Internet search engine gives it a significant edge over its competitors.
Images : Examples of Google Instant and Google Goggles
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2010 november The Transitional Home Images : Examples of Augmented Reality
ENABLERS : Social-based Technology Augmented Reality (AR) The popularity of media-centric, GPS-enhanced mobile phones has contributed immensely towards the evolution of augmented reality, where virtual computer-generated imagery is laid on top of a real world view. Various software developers are creating AR applications and games for smartphones in which a phone’s screen can display the real world overlaid with additional information about the vicinity, such as the location of bus stops, house prices, or food reviews posted about restaurants nearby. “Augmented reality is the ultimate interface to a computer because our lives are becoming more mobile. We re getting more and more away from a desktop, but the information the computer possesses is applicable in the physical world.” Tobias Hollerer, associate professor of computer science, leader of the augmented reality program at the University of California Santa Barbara, in Wired magazine, August 2009
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2010 november The Transitional Home Images : Layar Infographic, website and pictures advertisement
ENABLERS : Social-based Technology For example, Layar, an AR browser for smartphones, enables users to add content layers that display real-time digital information over a camera-generated view of their surroundings. One can easily switch between thousands of layers of data by scrolling through a series of downloadable options. The app was featured in an experimental exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in October 2010, where it was used to make the show visible only to patrons who used the Layar browser on their smartphones to view additional virtual exhibits. Another nifty AR application only available for iPhones is WorkSnug, which uses AR to connect mobile workers to the nearest and best places to work in the city. Nokia is also currently testing an AR app called Point & Find, which allows users to point smartphone cameras at objects and plant virtual information tags on them. Users of the app can view each other’s tags and essentially crowdsource an augmented reality. “This is the first time media, internet and digital information is being combined with reality. You know more, you find more, or you see something you haven t seen before. Some people are even saying that it might be even bigger than the web.” Martin Lens-FitzGerald, co-founder of Layar “With the rise of mobile, the mixing of the web with the physical world seems like the natural evolution of things. Mobile apps that combine location, real-time and social characteristics are in high demand by brands that want to promote their sales and, most of all, give to their physical stores a touch of the social glitter of the web.” - Amalia Agathou, technology editor, Glamour magazine Greece, in fashionablymarketing.me, May 2010
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2010 november The Transitional Home
PEOPLE The Power of Social Tribes Digital Natives, the Twitterati and the technorati Humans have always been very social beings, formalizing interactive structures of co-dependency within tribal communities and clanships since the beginning of mankind. In today’s digital societies, these ancient metaphors of tribes and clans have taken on a more contemporary interpretation, where their significance and influence is not any less compelling. The digisphere is also a paradox of complex relationships, interactions and relevance. On one hand, we have tech-centric communities of hardcore bloggers, hackers, online gamers and social media gurus, counterbalanced by the mainstream accessibility of Facebook and Twitter.
Image : Together Alone by Digital Brand
PEOPLE
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PEOPLE : Digital Netizens Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants Netizens, technorati, Twitterati, Digital Natives‌ call them what you will, but all these monikers are used to describe the digital community of like-minded souls with the need to connect and communicate with their peers on every social level.
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One of the most common expressions given to these users is Digital Native, a term used to describe anyone born after 1982 who grew up in a world where digital technology is a part of life. The other main type of user is the digital immigrant, an individual who was born before the advent of digital technology who has had to adapt to the rapid changes it has brought. Both terms were coined by Marc Prensky in his 2001 article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, published in On the Horizon. These terms have become popular shorthand for the differences between the under-30s, aka The Millennials, and the rest of us. Two recent books, Born Digital and Grown Up Digital have both addressed the role of Digital Natives and their immersive world of digital culture in our future society. The “always on� social attitude of the 21st century is a culmination of the adaptive change and innate cultural behavior of this new generation of tech savvy consumers.
Images : Born Digital by John Palfrey & Urs Gasser and Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott
PEOPLE
2010 november The Transitional Home Images : (top left): Social Media Network Logos (top right): Facebook Newsfeed (bottom left): Ellen DeGeneres’ Twitter Feed (bottom right): Facebook News Feed
PEOPLE : Social Media and Networks Unless you have been living under a rock for the past six years, it is inevitable that you will recognize some of these social network icons. Key players like Facebook, Twitter, RSS, Stumbleupon, Digg, and De.li.ci.ous, have become prerequisite links on every culturally relevant website. On the fickle scale of social relevance, Facebook, the world’s largest social network, is the most formidable of the pack. Facebook has acquired over 500 million users in just six years and the public’s interest in the Facebook phenomenon has been fueled by the release of a film about the company’s beginnings, aptly named The Social Network. Some key official statistics about Facebook (as of July 2010): • More than 500 million active users • 50% of active users log-on to Facebook in any given day • The average user has 130 friends • About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States • More than 150 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices • People who use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users • More than 550,000 active applications are currently on the Facebook platform • More than one million websites have implemented Facebook Connect since it became available in December 2008
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PEOPLE : The Art of Social Curation Filter. Curate. Aggregate. Relate. Everyone is an expert these days, but the opinions of trusted peers and respected authorities are still sought after amidst the clutter of inane ramblings. There is an ever-increasing need to filter, curate and aggregate the overwhelming deluge of data and content available on the web. In the process of bringing order to the chaotic mess of information out there, many innovative ideas have been converted into companies with something to offer those who need guidance and assurance. Flipboard www.flipboard.com Launched in July 2010, Flipboard is a social magazine that aggregates the web postings of a user’s friends on Facebook and Twitter, and displays the content in a highly customizable magazine-style format using Flipboard’s prebuilt “boards”. The result is a powerful and engaging way to keep up with what’s happening in any social circle. Formspring www.formspring.me Formspring is a viral Q&A platform that allows users to set up a profile page on which anyone can ask questions and post comments. Launched in November 2009, the site currently has 16.5 million users and had just hit the milestone of having had one billion questions answered.
Images : (left): Flipboard (right): Formspring
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PEOPLE : The Art of Social Curation Social Search In late 2009, Google released the Social Search experiment, which helps users to find more relevant public content from their social circles, making search more personal.
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Not to be outdone, Microsoft and Facebook have partnered up and announced new search capabilities on Bing that will enable searchers to see results generated by their Facebook friends’ use of the “like” button on the social network. This gives future searches a level of personal credibility and relevance created with the recommendations of known and trusted users.
Images : (top left): Social Search (bottom left): Access via Computer via Internet by CSC Interactive (right): Social Media Graphic
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Image : Graphic by Digital Brand
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PEOPLE : Power of Us The Wisdom of Crowds The “wisdom of crowds” is a popular Web 2.0 phrase popularized by James Surowiecki’s book of the same name. Wikipedia is a prime example of the concept at work, and many other examples have evolved into crowdsourcing, a newer term coined by Jeff Howe in his 2006 article for Wired magazine entitled The Rise of Crowdsourcing. Also known as crowdcasting, open-source, or wikinomics, this concept taps into the power of community, using social media technology to amass ideas and knowledge that can be leveraged to create solutions.
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Images : Gap Critique
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PEOPLE : Power of Us Gap’s decision to revamp its logo is an effective recent example of crowd influence that demonstrated how negative reactions can turn into a crowdsourcing opportunity. “We love the design, but we’re open to other ideas and we want to move forward with the best logo possible. We’re very close to our customers and we listen to what they say every day. We’ve seen the conversations out there and we know that our brand is something people care about. We want to tap into that community.”- Bill Chandler, vice-president of corporate communications at Gap, in Fast Company, October 2010 The makeover of the Gap logo drew a huge amount of criticism and backlash from the online community when the new logo made its stealthy debut on the company’s website. Just minutes after the new logo was discovered, more than 400 people posted on Gap’s Facebook page to express their dislike. The company issued a statement two days later stating that it was soliciting new design ideas from its customers through its Facebook page, calling it a “crowdsourcing project”. “Gap” became a hot trending topic on Twitter, as well as an immediate Internet meme. Manipulation-savvy netizens responded to the backlash in a humorous manner by creating websites like Crap Log Yourself and Your Logo Makes Me Barf to make fun of the debacle. To date, netizens have also created 5000 logos on another impromptu site called Make Your Own Gap Logo.
PEOPLE
2010 november The Transitional Home Images : (left): Illustration by Maarten Janssen (right): Growth of Groupon-like daily deal services
PEOPLE : Power of Us “It shows you the power of social media. What people might have privately said walking into a store they can now actually share with others and rally around a cause to change back the logo.” - Sandra Fathi, president of Affect Strategies, a public relations, strategic marketing and socialmedia firm, in the San Francisco Chronicle, October 2010 “By not asking customers on facebook and twitter for feedback before unveiling the redesign, gap missed an opportunity. If you’re contemplating a rebranding of your company, why wouldn’t you invite those loyal people to be a part of that journey with you, and feel some ownership and pride in that process?” - Debbie DeGabrielle, chief marketing officer of Visible Technologies, a social media monitoring company, in the San Francisco Chronicle, October 2010 Social Buying Thanks to the power of community, more and more people are getting the best deals in town through group shopping. Social buying is one of the hottest trends spreading across major cities around the world, promising consumers steep discounts of 50% to 90% on dining, hotel rooms, spa treatments, travel adventures, and just about anything you can buy. Each of these deals has a “tipping point” that triggers the offer, and is only good if enough people join in before it expires.
PEOPLE
2010 november The Transitional Home Images : (top): Group Buying Programs (bottom left): Groupon website (bottom right): LivingSocial website
PEOPLE : Power of Us Most sites like Groupon, Living Social, BuywithMe, Tippr and SocialBuy encourage users to spread the word by offering extra incentives on top of the discounts they would normally be offered. Groupon www.groupon.com Currently the market leader in the online group buying industry, Groupon offers deals in 150 cities worldwide. The site features a daily deal on the best things to do, see, eat and buy in every city it covers. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon can offer deals that aren’t available elsewhere. LivingSocial www.livingsocial.com LivingSocial is a group buying programme that invites people and their friends to sign up for deals through sharing and recommendations with no minimum number of people needed to make the deal valid. With an extensive user base of more than 85 million, LivingSocial enables people to find out what shops, restaurants, activities and services are popular in their area and offers new promotions every morning via its website, Twitter, Facebook and an iPhone application. Its recent acquisition of Urban Escapes, a company that specialises in social adventures, suggests it is venturing into the travel market and extending its reach beyond local deals into an exclusive, members-only space.
PEOPLE
2010 november
EXPERIENCES : Fluid Connections Cultural blending to form new hybrid ideas In a hyperconnected world, our experiences are multifaceted and interwoven from multiple points of reference. We no longer conform to one ideal, one culture or one geographical location of importance.
The Transitional Home
Traditional boundaries between the physical and digital worlds are also blurring. Sharing of experiences in the physical space is still significant and desirable, even as new digital interfaces permeate into the physical landscape. This confluence of diverse cultural genres will also challenge our established concepts of oppositions: personal-private, stationary-mobile, physical-digital, tangible-intangible and so-on, thereby creating new interaction paradigms and social relationships.
Images : (top left): Social Media via iStock on The Marketing Nutz (top right): Hands Working Together (bottom left): Digital Cloud via Ariba (bottom right): Fluid Connections
EXPERIENCES
2010 november
EXPERIENCES : Beyond Commodity New Product Genres and Dominant Archetypes With the easy accessibility of digital content, new hybrid products are constantly created to enable new levels of mobile multitasking. At the same time, emerging technology has also enabled these products to flourish, creating a more fluid and dynamic environment.
The Transitional Home
Inevitably, competition heats up as each product genre vies to be the dominant archetype, the center of attention and the main hub of activities, either at home, in the office or on the move. However, as our interactions with products become more transient, a central archetype will cease to be important, especially as our association with one product or one function is no longer relevant in today’s convergence of functionalities in devices. The device has become irrelevant as experiences are driven by activities and not by the object. The real differentiator will be the experience that defines its significance.
Images : New Product Genres and Archetypes, Original Artwork by Y Studios Socio-Cultural Intelligence
EXPERIENCES
2010 november
EXPERIENCES : Beyond Commodity Google TV www.google.com/tv In an ambitious effort to extend their dominance in computing to television, Google and Intel have partnered up with Sony to develop a platform called Google TV to bring the Internet into the living room through a new generation of televisions and set-top boxes.
The Transitional Home
With built-in Google Chrome, the Google TV software will make it easy for users to watch TV while performing Internet functions like search, as well as chatting on Facebook, viewing Picasa web photo albums, or watching YouTube videos or TV shows from Hulu. The user can access all of their favorite websites and easily move between television and the web, opening up access to millions of channels of entertainment. For Google, the project is a pre-emptive move to get a foothold in the living room as more consumers start exploring ways to bring web content to their television sets. Google wants to be everywhere the Internet can take them, particularly where its search and advertising systems can play a central role.
Image : Google TV
EXPERIENCES
2010 november The Transitional Home Images : Amazon Remembers
EXPERIENCES : Beyond Commodity Amazon Remembers www.amazon.com/gp/remembers The Amazon app for iPhone and iPod Touch includes an experimental feature called Amazon Remembers. This app helps customers to keep track of items they see in their daily lives. If a user photographs an item, it can be automatically uploaded to Amazon.com, which will look for a match to the same or similar products available on the website. As soon as the customer receives the results, they can then purchase the item immediately or “remember it� for later. Another new feature that Amazon introduced this year, Universal WishList, is a web browser toolbar that allows users to directly add the products they covet to their Amazon account when they see them on other websites.
EXPERIENCES
Images : MyTown
The Transitional Home
november
2010
EXPERIENCES : Hybrid Space MyTown www.booyah.com/products/mytown A widely popular iPhone app, MyTown is a mobile social “check-in” game, where players check in at real destinations such as stores, restaurants, cafes, libraries or the gym to earn points. It combines location-based services and elements of real-estate board games like Monopoly and allows the player to “buy” and “own” a virtual copy of their favorite stores and hangout spots. If a user accumulates enough points, they can also rennovate and collect rent on the property. As with other mobile social apps, users can also “friend” other people and build up a virtual community. MyTown also awards points for logging in to send and receive messages and friend requests. Virtual lottery tickets and prizes can be won and used to play or sell for virtual currency.
EXPERIENCES
2010 november The Transitional Home Images : Examples of Co-working Spaces
EXPERIENCES : Hybrid Space The Third Place Wireless technology and personal mobile devices such as laptops and smartphones have accelerated the possibilities of working from just about anywhere, enabling people to leave the traditional office and work from the comfort of their living rooms or a favorite coffee shop. However, an increasing number of mobile workers are also looking for something in between, a happy medium between the home office, the corporate office and the public space. The concept of the “Third Place”, a reference to a hybrid environment that integrates both social aspects of home and office, has become popularized and embraced by various small businesses. It’s an especially appealing moniker for locally owned coffee shops, as well as co-working facilities. In response to this burgeoning need, office furniture industry giants like Steelcase and Herman Miller are setting up third space centers or co-working facilities where they can learn more about the isolated worker’s habits and requirements. There are currently over 250 operational coworking spaces in the US, a fast-growing trend that is sprouting across other major cities around the world. Citizen Space, The Hub, Hive, New Work City and The Brooklyn Creative League are all part of a growing movement to create a collaborative social environment of independent workers who share values and synergy from working with talented people in the same space.
EXPERIENCES
Images : 645 Croswell
The Transitional Home
november
2010
EXPERIENCES : Hybrid Space Art.Work.Life www.654croswell.com 654 Croswell is a “work cottage” that offers all the comforts of home combined with every modern technology that will help a user get their work done. It provides a large common work area with cafe-style seating, three meeting rooms, lockers, comfy couches and a fireplace, all within a 1,800sq foot space located on the ground floor of a restored cottage. Subsidized by Steelcase as part of its Growth Initiatives, the facility is essentially a research entity that explores new developments in the workplace. Launched in November 2009, 654 Croswell is located in the Gaslight District of East Grand Rapids, a small commercial district surrounded by residential neighborhoods. The organizer equate the space to a physical form of a social network like LinkedIn, where people can share stories, tips, and business ideas. “Historically, it’s only recently that we separated work from life. That was during the industrial revolution. Coworking and telecommuting lets us return to something that’s closing that work-life gap.” - Laate Olukotun, experience designer, Steelcase “One of the big pushes in the growing ‘other office’ space is wireless technology. We have become much more mobile, but at the same time, we’re becoming more connected.” - Cindy Donn, alternative workplace strategies researcher, Herman Miller
EXPERIENCES
2010 november
EXPERIENCES : Home Away Short-Term Homes A growing segment of travellers are redefining the term “home away from home� in their preference for seeking out the added value that comes with short-term apartment rentals. As an attractive alternative to hotels, the vacation rental home business is booming, luring travellers from around the world into residential neighbourhoods where they can have the authentic experience of living like a local.
The Transitional Home
According to PhoCusWright, a travel research firm, alternative lodging options now represent a nearly $25 billion segment of the travel business. A culmination of factors like recession-proof travel needs, social networks and accessible Internet-based listing resources have driven the trend. Booking sites like HomeAway, AirBnB and Roomorama all offer a convenient way to find suitable rentals and a measure of protection in payment options. Some use more of a social vibe to power their search options, relying on peer-to-peer recommendations and reviews. Not to be outdone, hotel chains are also picking up on the trend by offering a new breed of extended-stay lodging designed for budget travelers who do not want to sacrifice comfort and style. AKA hotel chain has sleek, modern suites with a bedroom, living room, and kitchen, but other amenities include a business center, free wi-fi access and a Zipcar account.
Images : AirBnB, Roomarama and Home Away
EXPERIENCES
2010 november
EXPERIENCES : Home Away Traveling Homes A mobile life doesn’t get more portable than a home on wheels. The Recreational Vehicle (RV) culture is very much part of American DNA and once a symbol of the postwar American vacation, the RV is experiencing a second coming, thanks to the nostalgic revival of American heritage in recent years. Retro-chic mobile homes like the Airstream are highly coveted by a new generation of consumers and hordes of RVs still go on the move every year for road-trips.
The Transitional Home
Refurbished and retro-fitted with modern amenities, the RV has become more of a glorified home than a vehicle. Some are decked out with luxurious Italian marble countertops, stainless-steel appliances, Sub Zero refrigerators, and Viking cooking ranges. One of the largest gatherings of RVs occurs in Quartzsite, Arizona, a barren spot in the southwestern desert. Every winter, this small town becomes a Mecca for an estimated one million RVs, creating a giant, temporary city where scores of leisure nomads create a mobile community that is first arranged online. Again, the Internet has played a significant role in connecting virtual and physical lives by providing a more connected level of community to an RV world conventionally linked through formal associations like the Family Motor Coach Association. Traditional groups now have a vibrant online presence, regardless of location and age.
Images : Nate Berg, High Country News, March 2010
EXPERIENCES
2010 november The Transitional Home Images : ?
EXPERIENCES : Home Away “More and more, we mirror the rivers societally as well. We specialize in living without commitment. We live in cities and towns that may have been settled in a particular place for a reason, but in many cases, those original reasons were long forgotten. Our chain stores and strip malls could be anywhere. We revel in our placelessness, working on wall street from a home office on the outskirts of aspen.” - Jonathan Thompson, news editor, in High Country News, March 2010 “These people are leisure nomads. There are different aspects of community that are part of a more personal set of relations that have built up over a long period. And then there’s another community where people are really connecting online.” - Deane Simpson, doctoral researcher on America’s aging RV populations, in Mobile Nation by Nate Berg, March 2010
EXPERIENCES
Image : Graphic by JujBoBh
The Transitional Home
november
2010
SUMMARY We are currently living in a unique moment of flux and interconnectedness, where more and more people are moving and living in between overlapping cultures and experiences. For many of us, home has become more global, more mobile and often fragmented. Our sense of place is challenged by the dissolution of space and reality. The perceived distinction between private and public, tangible and intangible, has also become less conflicted. With so much movement in our lives, home has become a state of mind, a warm and fuzzy feeling that all our favorite things in the world are safe and within easy reach when we need them. Alternatively, home can also be an extension of ourselves by way of what we carry with us, when we take our most prized possessions wherever we go. These can be immaterial content such as photos, music, videos, social communications – in other words, the minutiae of our lives recorded digitally. Jonathan Thompson, a news editor at High Country News*, puts it best when he commented that “we are at home everywhere now,� in an op-ed piece about the ever evolving phenomenon of traveling homes in the US. Indeed, home can be anywhere we choose it to be. In the pervasive mobile culture that we live in today, home is definitely not standing still. *High Country News is a nonprofit media organization that covers the important issues and stories that define the American West.
SUMMARY
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