Everyone knows how uncomfortable it can be speaking to people you don't know. Here are some digital tools in development that might come in handy some day when text messages are preferred over spoken word.
Ego-badge
CONCEIVED by British Telecom's Futurology Unit (yes, oh, yes) and already under development at Philips, it's a device that will radiate an information-rich bubble around people who wear them. It is the next wave in casual encounters - think Craig's List - offline and on the street. These badges will interact with the bubbles of passers-by, alerting users when crossing paths with relevant strangers. People will enter data they are willing to share, as well as queries for others: "Got a second-hand car?" or "Boring geek seeking a funny date." You decide whether to keep on walking.
Virtual post-its
Software firms have begun designing goggles with adherence optical-tracking systems that will enable those who wear them to view programmed images on top of real-world objects, such as directional lines on the street leading to a secret underground party, or perhaps, virtual Post-Its affixed to people that others can read.
Grafedia
An emerging movement, dubbed grafedia, is extending the Internet into the brick and mortar world. Grafedia artists first upload photos, text, or sound files to the grafedia.net server, then paint a hyperlink in outdoor spaces, or wherever they intend their media to be consumed. Pictures showing how places used to look are popular, but there's an anti-corporate vibe, too: Management at one New York City McDonald's scrubbed away a hyperlink to a choking-safety brochure.
Digital labels
Clothing designer and fashion technologist Victor Chu is sitting on Patent No. 6,279,170L: digital labels. Think sneakers with motion graphics that flash a player's stats like a taxicab scoreboard, or a label embedded into your Gucci bag, which can be checked online to confirm authenticity, and will also help track lost or stolen items via global positioning technology. "Branding and labeling literally started as searing graphic marks and hand embroidery," says Chu. "In the future, all data about a product will be available via small, thin, digital labels."
Lingo of the 2010s
REETEE (adj.): Pejorative. Term referring to a situation that is contrived and/or artificially infused with drama. Derived from the archaic 'reality television.'
Usage: 'Although she wanted to communicate her feelings, Hannah had to admit that standing up from the table at Judy to tell Carl that he did not understand her as a person was an awfully reetee thing to do.'
NAUGHTY (adj.): Pejorative. Anything evocative of the first decade of the millennium, commonly referred to as the naughts.
Synonyms: passé, dated.
Usage: 'Arthur thought that going to Underground 5 Bar was great fun, but his 18-year-old date insisted that the old club was pathetically naughty.'
PMDS (abbreviation): Post-Millenial Disappointment Syndrome.
Usage: 'As she sat in her 200-square-foot apartment, Eugene began to lament the total absence of robotic servants, flying automobiles and gratification chambers from her life. Alas, it was her PMDS kicking in.'
This story was first published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 13 December 2008.
