The social network of things
Following along the thread of hyperconnectivity, I thought I’d share this somewhat amusing attempt to convey what life might be like in a world where all of our everyday devices were networked together.
http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2011/04/design-fiction-ericsson-social-web-of-things/
Whimsy (and anthropomorphism aside), I think it’s dubious to suggest that machines are capable of social interaction. But would this kind of hyperconnectivity have an effect on how people interact with social media in general? Would the increasing traffic of interaction with networked machines start to use up some of the networking capacity that people previously used to dedicate to their on-line friends? Would hyperconnectivity facilitate interaction between people, and between people and institutions, or would people end up just staying home in front of the TV and ordering takeout?
July 22nd, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Thank you for sharing the video. I found it quite enjoyable, especially when the “things” seem to have a personality of their own. In some ways it is unnerving because normally inanimate objects have become humanised however, I find it quite attractive at the same time. What we see is an ecosystem of things working together which is amazing. I wonder what happens when “home” the master data centre breaks down, would David then not be able to do anything because he never had to?