Social Media and Augmented Reality: Web 2.0 Comes Alive
Ever since the Robert Downey Jr issue of Esquire magazine hit newsstands last month there has been a ton of buzz regarding the advent of augmented reality as an emerging media technology that could revolutionize the advertising industry. The true question is what else does it do? A pretty typical question for the modern American who by many standards could be labeled “tech crazed” attempts to answer this question almost on a daily basis.
Here are three areas where augmented reality will have a significant impact:
1. Arts and Entertainment – Take a look at this video of Marco Tempest doing an augmented reality card trick.
2. Virtual telecommuting – Allowing presenters to be present in the meeting room while working from home.
3. Behavioral Targeting – From a social marketing standpoint, adjustments relative to the metrics will be made on-the-fly.
Despite the initial fascination and novelty of augmented reality, some have argued that the concept is struggling to gain momentum. This situation may be changing though, as Japanese startup Tonchidot recently landed $4 million in funding for augmented reality development. The firm will use mobile technology to display its augmented reality marketing, potentially allowing vendors to sell virtual goods from a real-world retail store front.
As a medium enhancement for art, the new technology could build an even closer personal connection between the artist and the observer. Here is a documentary of an interactive art installation at Symbiosis Gathering 2009, held in Camp Mather, California, Adjacent to Yosemite National Park.
The mural uses augmented reality where digital information is projected onto a real world surface, in this case a painting. The painting is colored with projected light, and using photoshop, vdmx ad particle illusion software, the mural becomes interactive.
For further analysis, take a look at the Digital Information Architecture Visualization of Demographic Statistics in Augmented Reality by Michael Zoellner, a researcher at Fraunhofer IGD in Darmstadt, Germany.
Is AR just another fad like bell-bottoms and the zip drive or does it have lasting power? Let us know what you think.
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By Dustin at
In Advertising, Social Media, Technology, Web 2.0, View Comments