Read on Twitter
I& #39;ve just experimented with writing my first medium article so might as well try out a.. [Thread 1.] https://medium.com/@aaronDfrank/augmented-realitys-killer-app-transforming-how-we-relate-to-physical-places-4506fae0c91c">https://medium.com/@aaronDfr...
The article is a narrative driven argument that AR will not only reshape how we engage with the world (where we go and why we go there), but also how we construct meaning of "spaces" (a point I recognize is not new - and a lot of others articulate well) [2.]
The story is about a small cafe in Amsterdam which saw the entire culture of their restaurant change overnight because of a quirk in the map of Pokémon Go& #39;s landmarks in the city. (also a security guard in South Africa) [3].
Writing this was spurred on by this great twitter thread from @Dusanwriter who makes the convincing argument that AR& #39;s real contribution will be changing how we engage with PLACES and is less about the "visual data" it may one day show to our eyes. [4.] https://twitter.com/Dusanwriter/status/1263107577837207554">https://twitter.com/Dusanwrit...
Like @Dusanwriter I start from the premise that Pokémon Go is a form of augmented reality - even if most players turn off the & #39;AR& #39; and mainly walk around inside a & #39;gamified map& #39;. In this sense (like @nothelga likes to say) - Waze is a form of AR as well. [5.]
@nothelga likes to frame Waze GPS navigation as being a form of superhuman knowledge about the world. It& #39;s not just that the map shows you where to go. It also provides real time information about traffic patterns which can reshape and influence how you move through a city. [6.]
P.S. on the topic of Waze superpowers: I once had a Lyft driver pick me up who had only arrived in San Francisco (for the first time in their life) several hours before. GPS navigation made them an instant expert in driving the streets of a city they& #39;d never visited. [7.]
Consider the way Waze *tries* to reshape how you move through a city by asking if you want to stop at some paid advertisers& #39; location on your way somewhere. (I& #39;ve never actually done that but the idea is there). [8.]
Pokémon Go& #39;s marketing (on the other hand) did actually change where I went and why I went there. I used to walk one street out of my way to pass by a Starbucks (for the spawns) on the way to my gym. In that sense, the game changed how I moved through my neighborhood. [9.]
Some day, Pokémon Go won& #39;t be the primary example, but the game was an early outlier success within the AR landscape and helps point out a key aspect of AR...[10.]
Which is the idea that AR (and it won& #39;t just be games) can transform human activity in meaningful ways (economically, socially, professionally) all without changing anything in the physical world. [11.]
And more significantly, new types of AR content and data (tied to specific locations) can reshape our understanding of that place and change how we construct meaning about it. [12.]
An example I once saw: I was participating in a Pokémon Go raid battle at a landmark near my house. A group of Harry Potter Wizard& #39;s Unite players showed up using the same landmark for something in their entirely different game. [13.]
Here were two vastly different mythologies constructing meaning about the same literal building (and making use of it in entirely different ways). And all of this was occurring inside a digital myth-making universe built by developers at @NianticLabs [14.]
It& #39;s worth noting that locative media scholars and others have been writing about and thinking through these things for a long time. We& #39;re essentially talking about what @souzaesilva has called "hybrid spaces" for a long time. [15.]
And the landmarks in Pokémon Go and Harry Potter (essentially repackaged geographic infrastructure from Ingress) create what @abbuccitelli calls & #39;heritage geography& #39; which enacts a certain power structure in shaping our understanding of a place. [16].
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~culturalanalysis/volume16/pdf/Buccitelli.pdf">https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~cultural...
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~culturalanalysis/volume16/pdf/Buccitelli.pdf">https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~cultural...
One day our AR-enabled devices will become a bigger part of our lives and technologies like the AR Cloud will give them a better understanding about the world. [17.] https://twitter.com/Dusanwriter/status/1263107592064307200">https://twitter.com/Dusanwrit...
When our devices get better at understanding their surroundings (thus improving their ability to & #39;paint the world with data& #39; h/t @CharlieFink ), this will accelerate their ability to shape our & #39;meaning& #39; of a space. And it won& #39;t just be games. [18.]
As the world builds better infrastructure for spatial computing, there are fascinating developments happening all across the technology landscape (and people sharing interesting anecdotes/insights about them) I specifically reference: @mattmiesnieks @TweetEdMiller @comogard [19.]
I hope you& #39;ll read my story about using Pokémon Go to try and impress my girlfriend - and the way it taught me how AR can reshape where we go, why we go there, and how we construct meaning of & #39;place.& #39; [20 end.] https://medium.com/@aaronDfrank/augmented-realitys-killer-app-transforming-how-we-relate-to-physical-places-4506fae0c91c">https://medium.com/@aaronDfr...
