Wells Baum is a Futurist, Creator, and Music Explorer. Always connecting the dots on screen.
![all creatures [great and small] by allcreatures](http://24.media.tumblr.com/avatar_827f13ebf9f5_40.gif){kind=avatar}
“What’s the meanest thing anyone’s ever said to you?”
“Die of AIDS, you cocksucker.”
VISITATION (oil on canvas)
Art Deco on Paper
Made With Paper by manjotjawa
isn’t really mobile anymore, at least in its use.
People use their Smartphones in bed and on the couch just as much as they use it on the go. Mobile is ideal for reclining and is in many ways taking over the television as the primary screen.
The mobile phone is a companion device, untethered to the jean pocket. You probably have it in your hands wherever you are.
To be mobile is actually sedentary. More evidence below.
Tablets now Taking A Greater Global Share of Web Page Views Than Smartphones:
Adobe found that Internet users view 70 per cent more pages per visit when browsing with a tablet compared to a smartphone — so tablet users are doing more leisurely (and presumably leisure time) browsing.
Even more evidence that “PCs are going to be like trucks.”
The biggest threat to Instagram is distraction from apps like Vine.
While some people will choose to capture the moment using both apps, most people will choose to use only one.
Right now, Instagram is top of mind. Vine still has a long ways to go in building its community and getting people excited about telling stories in video snippets.
There are other challenges too: Smartphone video quality is still rough, particularly the sound, and Vine could improve the speed and workability of its app. Uploads take some time and often fail.
I’d be shocked of Instagram isn’t working on its own version of Vine. Recording still imagery and video should be merged into one app. And video filters are inevitable.
Images are powerful, intuitive stories. Video gives images further context. The mediums are complimentary but we’ll often have to choose one over the other or we’ll miss the moment.
“In an environment where we are constantly overstimulated, it’s hard to find ways to engage when the noise shuts down.”
We’re always entertained if we have our Internet connected devices around. There’s intentionally something to do: socialize on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, check email, play a game, view new apps, read, browse the net, SMS, and so on.
We can go in and out of the list above all day because there’s always new content.
The only time we really get bored is when we don’t have our devices. That’s when we get really antsy. We start thinking about all the things we’re missing online and how great it’s going to feel when we can reconnect.
But when we remove the devices and let the mind actually be bored and wander, we actually begin to ponder about our environment. We also realize how fast our mind shifts between different thoughts.
Meditation is a great way to challenge boredom and refocus the mind. The constant bombardment of uncontrollable thoughts during meditation reminds us of how vulnerable our brains are to distraction and how susceptible we are to quick fix attention through addictive technology.
It’s hard to get back to a state of boredom in a hyper-connected world. We can hardly remember what we did in dull moments pre-Internet. Boredom is now something we have to control and make happen deliberately, not the other way around.
The nuclei of the old school scene on Flickr.
My favorite picture of the night. This group of guys were standing on the corner of Broadway in Soho during Fashion’s Night Out.
It brought back all the memories of early 1990s hip hop style: Nas, Rakim, Pete Rock and CL Smooth.
Refreshing.
People displaced the AP. The world’s smartphone bearing citizens capture and distribute news in real time.
The first image to emerge from the London train bombing came from someone trapped inside the train. That’s access the AP can’t plan for.
But the AP still plays a critical and credible role in journalism today. Before publishing a photograph taken by the AP or someone else the AP goes through a series of checks and balances first to insure that the image is unadulterated (in other words, non-photoshopped or Instagrammed). Then it must verify that the image was taken at the event.
AP guidelines:
AP pictures must always tell the truth. We do not alter or digitally manipu- late the content of a photograph in any way. … No element should be digitally added or subtracted from any photograph. The faces or identities of individuals must not be obscured by Photoshop or any other editing tool. Minor adjustments in Photoshop are acceptable. These include cropping, dodging and burning, conversion into grayscale, and normal toning and color adjustments that should be limited to those minimally necessary for clear and accurate reproduction.
So when the London train bombings occurred the user-generated image licensed by AP had to be gleaned to insure there wasn’t any augmentation.
The AP may have lost its exclusivity and access to world breaking events but now it can leverage people living in the events in real-time. Imagery and location will always have to be raw and verified.
Behind every crime scene there’s a mobile phone with important information that will unlock the mystery. We’re traceable in each and every way.
Future crime scenes may be solved through Smart glasses. Apple recently filed patents for its own high-tech glasses.
Ever since I had the Nike Fuel+ band, wearable technology felt like the next wave of innovation for the big guys like Google and Apple.
Despite all the privacy fears, many of us want to be traced. Our life is a walking expression that others find interesting, especially in peak moments like vacation.
One of the things I tried on my trip to Turkey was sharing images in real-time. I thought about creating a Facebook album and sharing them all in bulk. But the best way to tell an adventure is live instead of after the fact. It’s the seamless journey tracking that makes the Internet connected glasses an appealing device.
I expect Apple or Google to take on the watch market as well. Apple could make some beautiful hyper connected watches that are less about images, video, and media consumption and more about checkins and routes, like Path.
Wearable gadget technology is the wave of the future. We live fragmented in apps today, tomorrow could bring visually operated sharing. Say bye to our thumbs and index fingers.
I’ll never understand why some people resist Smartphone technology, claiming the constant connectedness is a waste of time.
It really just depends on use.
If you use the phone primarily for games and social communication then it’s likely you’ll squander 30 minutes of productivity.
But if you treat the phone as a learning and inspirational tool your perspective changes completely.
The Smartphone provides an endless stream of educational content. Books, newspapers, RSS blog feeds, Tweets, and Quora can keep you learning new stuff all day. And the best part is you can then take what you discover and pass it along to others to further the conversation. Or you can write up a blog post and spread the word to anyone in the world.
The Smartphone is also incredibly inspirational. Apps like Instagram open up your eyes to the world around you. You notice cool stuff by paying more attention to the beauty of your surroundings. You could do this before with a camera but it was such a slow and private process. Instagram makes photography fun and photos beautiful and shareable.
People forget that the Smartphone is a pocket sized computer where entertainment, education, and socializing intersect. You could be watching an interesting Vimeo video, learning something brand new, and then telling hour friends about it all at the same time.
You just have to be pragmatic in your Smartphone use. Don’t get caught up in unproductive apps or stupid Facebook conversations. Make time for messing around. Or just get really at good at filtering all the noise. Instead of getting caught up in one thing like gaming, embrace short bursts between educational and entertainment based interactivity.
Resisting the Smartphone is a huge mistake and self-inflicted disadvantage. Why would you stare at the wall when the tool in your pocket can turn it into a creative mirage or a short blog post on how to think. Upgrade, get with it, and get engaged or remain jealous, bored, and even unproductive.
