I wonder how things would differ if same attention was paid to interaction as presentation?
- Bill Buxton (@wasbuxton)
A lot of what we think about mobile has been shaped by the entertainment industry's imaginations, manufacturer's designs and marketing, and the wonderment of of friends and family. In light of that, it almost seems like there's nothing else left for mobile to unveil. I think mobile has a bit left to unveil. This talk will explore what's happened and what's to come, and why its not so far away from your fingertips.
Much of what we learn about mobile devices hasn't come from what we use, but how its been portrayed in media. Whether is commercials, comics, or science fiction, our imagination about mobile has been [in part] shaped for us.
The way manufacturers see the future of mobile (tech and behaviors) usually looks not just a lot different, but is founded on a bit better ideals than near-term market success. Their goals are usually to push something intrinsicly held now into that imagination space. And once its there, to develop on top of it market opportunities to come.
Sensors are instinctive, easy to use
People don't use competing, non-connected devices/services
The magic of mobile isn't what it creates for us in terms of more entertainment or other ways to spend out leisure time (though that these are aspects and indirect consequences). Where the magic happens is when we are able to do things to elevate lives and communities to feeling as if something magical has happened to them.
Education
The magic of mobile isn't what it creates for us in terms of more entertainment or other ways to spend out leisure time (though that these are aspects and indirect consequences). Where the magic happens is when we are able to do things to elevate lives and communities to feeling as if something magical has happened to them.
There are a few ways in which we can look at mobile opportunities through the lens of medical opportunities. One would be in the area of mobile research labs - basically using the power and network connectivity of a mobile to get analysis and answers to on-the-field issues faster than conventional methods. The second would be through the lens of wellness and prevention - what I call Response and Education: in this wise the mobile is used not only to respond to an issue, but to engage some kind of learning-response on both the part of the mobile user and the entity which they want to interact with. MAMA is an excellent example of this.
So, if there are all of these concepts and imaginations, what really is around the corner? Or better, what are the things about mobile we can count on and walk forward into? I think mobile will continue to be a case of contrasts: the things we wish are seen and the things we do inspite of being seen. Here's how I describe the next.
Technology alone is not enough. It's technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing.
