Mobile, social and real-time, these are nowadays the magic words which make geeks dream of new applications and a wonderful new world. Never mind that in many countries decent mobile internet connections are either unavailable or outrageously expensive, that “social” is often limited to exchanging pictures and gossip with people we know already from “the real world” and that the real-time character of let’s say Twitter drives the silent majority completely nuts.
But yes, I do admit, playing around with my iPhone, staring at the real time search results on Google and meeting new and extraordinary people on social networks, that there is reason to be excited, even though between dreams and reality there are lots of financial and technological hurdles.
Maybe it helps to reflect on what we actually mean with “mobile”, “social” and “real-time”. Stephen Downes shares some great insights commenting on a post by Brent Schlenker on Corporate elearning strategies and development.
Downes talks not about just mobile, social and real time, but about ambient, smart and personal:
Tech that’s there when you need it (mobile is only one part of this); that connects with people but knows who, when and where (social is only part of this); and that responds to all your needs and interests (real-time is only part of this).
Allow me to think this over (not necessarily thinking what Stephen thinks):
- Tech that’s there when you need it, and mobile is only one part of this: it could mean something like cloud computing, which enables you to scale your computing capacity in function of your needs for instance, or it could mean more than just computing power en services, but “tech” actually could and should also refer to stuff like energy sources – after all ubiquitous computing has its requirements in terms of energy supplies and distribution. Maybe it could also mean that tech can recede to the background when you don’t need it – freeing ourselves from the “always on” stress.
- Smart, connecting to people knowing who, when, where… Just imagine that in searching for a solution you would not only get search results in terms of sites and online documents, but also in terms of names of actual people you should speak to, who are already somewhere in your social network, even if you’re not immediately aware of them. A system making full use of serendipity instead of shutting it down.
- Responding to all your needs and interests (real time only being part of this…): that seems the hardest one, because the formulation is so extreme: really all my needs and interests? And real time? Instantaneous and complete gratification? I guess I’ll have to read or re-read Stephen’s writings and presentations here. The magic of real time these days is that we’re enabled to participate in an enormous stream of ongoing conversations, as they happen. I’m sure that for each and every interest there is somewhere a conversation going on in which I could participate, but that in itself does not respond to the corresponding needs. The mere fact that I realize there are so many great conversations going on in which I could take place, can cause stress and anxiety.
In fact, each of the three elements, ambient, smart and personal, needs the other two in order to avoid some nasty problems. Just being immersed in mobile, social and real-time systems can lead to burn-out. The challenge is in designing smarter environments which help people to connect in function of their interests and needs with the right people and instances at the right moments. It is about the individual, about when it’s right for her (interests, contacts, time and technological means). At the same time it should be more than just centered on the immediate needs and desires of the individual, but leaving an open door for serendipity, for new encounters and the discovery of new insights, needs and desires.
Roland Legrand
