Digitalism

digitalism //a view by james watson

digitalism //intro

Contents are King

TRENDS What will be the big things that drive digital in 2012?

Ditalism, according to the dictionary, is a someone who suffers from digitalis. Its also two pretty damn cool electronic DJs from Germany. In this case however, its just the title for my brief overview of the digital world in 2012. Enjoy.

WARNINGS Are some things just getting too big and out of control?

AND SOME OTHER STUFF THAT CAUGHT MY EYE RECENTLY Hardware, software and underwater wear

digitalism //trends

digitalism //trends

Major Tom to data control

Zite A personalised magazine for iPhone or iPad that delivers you all the news and features that you (according to your data profile) will enjoy. It also learns as it goes to help further refine and evolve the stories that are most relevant and interesting to you.

Data is a big deal for 2012, and specifically in how we use it. Technologies are now in place that will allow data to be used far more intelligently and efficiently so we can move ever closer towards the ultimate goal of right people, right content, right place, right time.

Hadoop “Hadoop is an open source software used for distributed computing that can be used to query a large set of data and get the results faster using reliable and scalable architecture”…in laymans terms, this basically means using multiple servers simultaneously to retrieve and consolidate results giving a faster and more reliable service. And there endeth the technical lesson.

digitalism //trends

Witness the fitness

Nike+ Kinect Nike have teamed up with Xbox 360 Kinect to produce a piece of software that deliver a personalised fitness program that evolves as you do with virtual personal trainers in the shape of Nike athletes Lebron James and Rafael Nadal.

Up by Jawbone This a wrist band that you wear 24/7 – it monitors your sleep, what you are eating and how much your are exercising – it will even tell you to get up and move about when you have been still for too long!

All tracked, recorded, and of course, shareable.

Logging, recording and sharing your fitness workouts is not a new concept, but this is an area that will grow, evolve and develop yet further in 2012.

#geotagging #lifelogging

digitalism //trends

Baby I got ya money

Square Up A device that plugs into your iPhone or smartphone that allows the user to take secure credit card payments, send pictures and receipts of what has been bought and geotags the location where the transaction took place. Square also allows you to remotely set up a tab in say a bar or restaurant and just charges you as you go. Oh, and Square will charge you 2.97% per transaction for the privilege!

Pingit by Barclays A app that allows you to send or receive money via your smartphone. Once both parties have downloaded the app, you simply enter a passcode, select the mobile number you wish to send/receive cash from, add the amount and press go. All done.

Kiss goodbye to your wallets, because now you can pay by phone. Or, you can take payments on your phone. Security risk you say?

digitalism //trends

Cloud 9,000,000pb

iCloud Apples answer to storage limitations on your iPhone or iPad – simply put your music, photos and apps in the cloud! You can access them for free while connected by Wi-Fi, but it will come out of your data allowance if you need to access it via 3G. Apple also charges you for the privilege of having the service!

Cloudee by Boxee The ability to easily share video content among friends and family. While there are plenty of services that allow you to move content up into the cloud for others too see, Cloudee facilitates the more private, invite-only sharing of files – all accessible from a smartphone app.

As everything starts moving up into the cloud, the storage of information, data and content gets cheaper, quicker and more accessible. And with less of the old local storage problems and expense to worry about, the IT world can now focus on innovation!

digitalism //trends

Moreaugmented Reality

Blippar Moving things on somewhat, Blippar is an app that allows you to embed a code on print creative enabling additional video, images and content to be accessed via your smartphone. PaddyPower recently used this app to great effect by delivering an animated message from the Queen around Euro 2012 betting that was accessed by pointing your phone at the Queens head on a ten pound note.

Project Glass by Google Damn you Google, you have done it again! While the promotional trailer is a bit cheesy, these are high-tech specs that provide the user with a head-up display giving access to and information on the likes of weather, emails, sms, maps, calls, camera, video, diary and geotagging.

Augmented Realty is now longer new, but how we are using it is getting more and more interesting, particularly when accessed through mobile devices.

digitalism //warnings

digitalism //warnings

I cant believe its not clutter…

Social Media Are there just too many social media options out there now, or is variety and the growth of more specialised interest sites a good thing? Oh, and ten points for spotting Pinterest is not (and should be) included on here.

digitalism //warnings

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Sin…

Habbo Hotel Even the kids who played Habbo Hotel knew there were unsavory types that lurked about in their virtual world, but it appears as if Sulake did not take enough steps to prevent them - and their moderation software failed to pick up, or act on, conversations that were blatantly improper. As investors and retailers pulled out on mass, Habbo Hotel may have to check-out itself!

digitalism //warnings

Under pressure?

Google Apart from having the monopolies commission breathing down their shoulder constantly, are Google also in danger of receiving some public backlash soon? It seems they are getting potentially quite close to the tipping point of becoming too big and too powerful and many are starting to question the levels of data they are capturing.

digitalism //and some other stuff that caught my eye recently

digitalism //and some other stuff that caught my eye recently

Omnipresent

OmniTouch Although the contraption itself looks a little clunky still as it sits a awkwardly on your shoulder, OmniTouch have created a really clever portable device that will project a touch-screen surface onto absolutely anything...handy.

digitalism //and some other stuff that caught my eye recently

Peppers Ghost Tupac lives via a really cool holographic illusion that brought him back on stage with Snoop Dogg at The Coachella Festival in April. Apparently some of the more intoxicated festival goers actually though it was the real Tupac resurrected from the grave! There is talk of having whole concerts using holograms of past artists…is that just taking it too far though?

Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Ghost

digitalism //and some other stuff that caught my eye recently

Aye aye Captain

Captain Morgans Brands should always strive to produce branded content that is both interesting and entertaining but also authentic and credible – Captain Morgans believe they have found Captain Morgans actual ship and are documenting an Indiana Jones style dive to retrieve its inner treasures.

digitalism //thanks for reading

So long, and thanks for all the fish

Contact [email protected] http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jarwatson