After breaking out of jail around midnight Gonzo ran through the desert whilst being trailed by helicopters full of mutant cyborgs with automatic weapons and deadly aims. Somehow he shook his pursuers and attended one last day of SXSWi, encoding this information and copying to an SD card that was smuggled back up to Minnesota by a mysterious stranger bearing an uncanny resemblance to Gonzo himself.
Okay, actually this first panel was from Day Four, but I forgot to include it so it’s on Day Five now. Deal.
Augmented Reality: Gimmicky Trend or Market-Ready Technology?
Okay, first: What is Augmented Reality (AR)? Well, you’ve probably already seen it. If you’ve ever seen an NFL game you’ve seen it: the yellow first down line that is shown on the field? That’s not really there. It’s virtual. The line is added in real-time to help viewers get a feel for where the first down line is (it’s not 100% accurate either).
AR exists on a continuum:
Augmented Virtuality (AV) is when something (like a video game) is mostly virtual, except that a few “real” things like faces from actors are wrapped ontop of the polygons that make up the virtual world. In the future we’ll see more and more things using different flavors of mixed reality (which would include both AR and AV).
AR is pretty common already; jet fighters have been using it since WWII. Heads up displays in expensive cars are using it for navigation and the new ones even use nightvision to let you see the things on the road you can’t really see because it’s too dark.
Tons of folks are adding augmented reality features to everything from iPhones to…. print magazines! Here are a few of note:
Esquire’s augmented reality issue added a richer experience to a print mag:
AcrossAir Browser overlays data ontop of reality. They even have a Twitter AR app! TwitAround is the same idea; shows tweets in AR.
Yelp has an easter-egg called Monacle in their iPhone app. It combines map data with reviews in AR. This video will show you how to unlock the feature (it’s well-hidden!) as well as how to use it:
It’s probably an easter-egg feature because the technology is not fully baked yet. Hopefully in later iterations it will be more usable and useful. AR works best when it’s not technology for technologys sake. To be useful it must add value for consumers. So is AR just a big gimmick — a solution looking for a problem? Let’s look at some uses of the technology that are actually helpful:
The Lego Digital Box is probably the best or 2nd-best use of AR technology that I’ve seen. When you’re in the store shopping for some Legos, the virtual box shows you what the toy looks like when assembled. This is AR that actually helps drive sales!
The United States Postal Service has a Virtual Box Simulator (that you can try right now!) that helps you choose a box if the right size. Pretty damn useful if ask me! Just hold your item up to the webcam and the VBS will tell you what size of box you need to use for your item. No more trying 3 different sizes at the post office when you’re trying to ship something.
Google SkyMap is another technology that is available now (assuming you have an Android phone). It’s AR for stargazers. It helps you identify constellations and find objects in the sky just by using your phone. Man, no more starmaps for me.
ZugSTAR live video conferencing software brings augmented reality to a space that itself is not really ready for primetime. I guess by the time we’re all using video conferencing it will have AR already baked in. Also features AR-enabled online shopping where you can see how clothes will look on you in real time. Also has potential medical uses.
Building an AR-enabled app is getting cheaper and more practical all the time. Costs $5,000 license for software. The rest of the costs are from 3D modeling; the models tend to be pretty simple because most devices can’t handle anything super-complex yet. Design costs can be as low as $30,000 dollars.
It seems like AR is still in the gimmicky phase, but I think that’s just because people are still experimenting. As the technology matures we’ll see more and more legitimate uses for it. I, for one, welcome our new Augmented Reality overlords.
Music Licensing for Emerging Media: Apps, Widgets, Viral Videos
This panel was pretty depressing because music licensing in America is a total cluster. It’s a gigantic snafu waiting to happen and the panel didn’t really have any easy answers. There are oases of easily licensed tracks but they are all a long way away from having a complete library. For people who want to license “known” songs by mainstream artists, you’re still in for a world of hurt.
The best advice I heard was: In order to find out who controls the rights to a song go to BMI or ASCAP and they will direct you to the rights holder. Band managers are great to contact (if you can) and they can become an advocate and shepherd for you. Going through the licensing maze can be tough if not impossible without a sherpa. A single song could have 50 different rights-holders and you’ll need the sign off from every single one of them. Average turnaround depends; could take a few days or it could take weeks.
Step deals allow you to pay a small amount upfront and have to pay more if your video goes viral. Great for small projects.
Creative Commons licensing is a confusing people because all of the different flavors. ccMixter is a community you should check out. They aren’t easy to search yet though. Not at iStock level yet.
When it comes to infringement rights-holders obviously go after the big guys, not cat videos… but if it goes viral they will be paying attention.
Audio search is getting better which may be good for consumers but the rights holders will use it to scan the web for illicit uses. Make sure you’re legal.
I went to a couple other panels that may not be directly relevant. Be Creative and Get Paid was a good motivational panel for creative types who aren’t keen on making old-school resumes. The Future of Music Delivery Keynote with Daniel Ek was a lot better than the Twitter keynote the prior day. The interviewer, Eliot Van Buskirk clearly learned from the fiasco and encouraged audience engagement. Daniel Ek is the co-founder of Spotify, which has yet to come to America. It was basically a big tease because the software look awesome. The only problem is what I just covered in the music licensing bit; licensing is a complete nightmare in America and that may prevent us from having one of the world’s most innovate music services. It’s basically iTunes + Pandora with a bit of social thrown in. I hope it makes it to America… although I think we’ll be using it regardless… *cough*proxy*cough*!
How to Save Journalism
Moderator is Drew Curtis. Hmm… that probably should’ve been a sign. Drew Curtis is the founder of Fark, the world’s most inane news aggregator. Hah! I have to take potshots like that; I’m a reddit guy.
Is the paywall antithetical to journalism because it denies access? One panelist thought so because of the information imbalance it creates. New sites like HuffPo rely on particpatory journalism so paywalls might choke off growth. A paywall is a partial barrier because it’s easy to copy and paste. Paywalls will probably be used as a value-add rather than a moat. If nobody can sample your comment without paying, why should anybody take the plunge? In this case the copy&pasters might be your best friends. Paywalls may make for strange bedfellows.
AP Gateway idea is a fascinating attempt to extort money out of the platforms in a way similar to the BBC’s TV licesnses in the UK, but without the power to enforce it. I guess they could sue them if partnering didn’t work.
There’s no easy answer for the question of how journalists can continue to work and still get paid. The panelists offered a few examples so sites that are “Doing It Well”:
- Spot.us
- Gotham Gazzette
- Patch
- Pro Publica
- The Local
- HuffPo
- NPR
Dallas Morning News is trying to merge advertising with section editors like sports to find new revenue steams. There are big ethical questions that need to be resolved.
The panelists say most journalists don’t seem to understand analytics. They need to understand where their viewers are coming from or they won’t be able to grow their businesses.
Lastly, I went to StingRay’s panel on The State of Music Blogs in 2010. Greg has already summarized the panel on his blog; go there and read up on the future of music blogs and what that means for those of us in social media and interactive.
So that’s it for my SXSW 2010 adventure! I had a great time (there’s no space to include all the parties… okay, there’s space, but no time and my memory is hazy) and hope to revisit lovely Austin, TX next year for SXSW 2011. I came away from this year’s version feeling more hopeful for humanity than I have in a while. It’s reassuring to meet a bunch of people who are all on the same wavelength. We’re all focused on the future but it’s amazing how far we’ve come and how rapidly things are changing. Technology really is a game-changer and that’s what I love about it. The rules are being rewritten as we speak. What changes will you make to your — our – reality?