In Soviet Russia, Media Socializes You

Watch any classic James Bond or Tom Clancy movie and you’ll come across a movie archetype: the cold, menacing, yet always diplomatic Soviet Spy (or, alternatively, the deceptively sexy yet still menacing Soviette Spy). Inevitably Our Hero would have to thwart Soviet Spy’s dastardly plans, and after many close calls and explosions, the Soviet Spy would escape, vowing to never rest until Our Hero is defeated.

These spies are the worst spies ever.

They look evil. They speak in heavy accents. They plan grand schemes and keep popping up in the same places. No, the best spies are your next door neighbor. Your child’s third-grade teacher. Your uncle. The people you see every day; the friends and family you trust with personal information. In other words, your social media network. That’s right: crowdsourcing—in which a large group of individuals contribute towards a single project—has now become a matter of national security.

In early January, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and no, not related to “Lost”… probably) placed 10 red weather balloons on roads across the US and offered a $40,000 prize to the first team to locate them all. It took the winning team at MIT just nine hours to find them. How’d they do it so fast? More crowdsourcing: they offered a portion of the prize money to people who sent in tips on the balloon’s location.

This experiment inspired Jeffery Carr of Intel Fusion to launch the Grey Balloons project, which proposes to use crowdsourcing to analyze national intelligence. Volunteers would sift through information and report security threats to government officials. In other words, every day citizens would have access to information about information about other every day citizens, not to mention the opportunity to dig up more information on friends, family, and enemies, all in the name of national security.

Think for a moment of all the data you are feeding the Internet: pictures, locations, political and religious views, health problems. And think of the things you are not knowingly sharing: federal lawyers are currently seeking to get cell phone location information from providers without a warrant or probable cause. Soviet spies were so effective because you never knew who you could trust, and who would turn you in. The system not only prevented people from thinking or socializing freely, it eroded the entire society’s ability to trust others. Social media can be a powerful tool, but we must take steps now before we become each other’s worst enemies.

Down in the Dumps

These cheerful fellows are standing over a midden, or, as non-archaeological types like to call it, an ancient trash heap. Archaeologists tend to get really excited over them (as you can tell from the photo) because rummaging through old heaps of trash is one of the most truthful and accurate ways of finding out what people ate, used, and valued.

I ran into their modern-day associates a few weeks ago on the streets of New York. You’ll often find people rummaging through trash on the streets in search of bottles and cans to claim the recycling deposit (which is apparently illegal, in case you got any ideas). I happened to overhear a couple of guys chatting as they sorted through a trash can in the park, and one mentioned that people were switching from drinking soda to water, as he was finding so many more water bottles these days. For all the blog following and research I do, these DIY recyclers probably have some of the best insight into what citizens are really doing.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Some of the research I do calls for finding and/or contacting bloggers in foreign countries, and they’re inevitably challenging to find. Not because they’re in other languages, but because often, they don’t exist in the first place. No citizens have quite taken up blogging like Americans. It seems the need to have opinions (and convey them to others) is part of our national character. It reminds me of a famous scene from Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, in which the Grim Reaper cuts a dinner party short. When one of the American guests objects, Death can’t stand it any more (jump to 4:13, or, watch the whole thing but pay particular attention at 4:13):

Our need to express ourselves is undoubtedly related to our democratic traditional and rugged individualism, but between blogs (including mine) and Twitter and site comments, don’t you empathize with Death some days?

File Under “Why Didn’t They Come Up with This Sooner?”

I saw these moveable benches on Governor’s Island and was impressed at how practical and simple their design is. It’s a bit heavy, but that’s definitely outweighed by the fact that you can decide your view and your temperature (to the extent that you can pick sun or shade, windy or calm.) And as it’s on an island, people can’t possibly wheel them off.

The New Materialism

Materialism without the materials

Yesterday Barnes and Noble announced its new e-reader, the Nook. I haven’t been a big fan of e-readers so far (they’re expensive, and I’ve never felt the need to carry more than two books at any given time) but the Nook is so sexy it’s starting to change my mind. It wasn’t the color screen or the ability to “lend” books to a friend that impressed me most. No, it’s the ability to store 1,500 books/magazines on a regular Nook and up to 17,500 with a memory card. 17,500! That’s probably 17,000 more than the average person reads in their lifetime.

Of course, at $259 a pop, Barnes & Noble isn’t targeting the average reader. It’s targeting book lovers and avid collectors, people who use their books as decorations as much as for reading. Bookshelves will rapidly become obsolete; bookworms will never again have to agonize over which books to give away when they move.

This is nothing new to music lovers; the iPod did away with CD cases long ago. But now this storage model is starting to spread to other industries: Disney plans to debut the Keychest, in which users pay a one-time fee for content they can access anywhere—on a computer, on TV, or on a cell phone. Media makes sense, but even transportation models may be moving in this direction. Witness ZipCar, which places different car models at hundreds of places throughout cities and allows members to rent them by hour. You can borrow a truck Tuesday to haul furniture from IKEA and rent a sporty MINI Saturday for a quick getaway.

In other words, we’re witnessing the start of materialism without materials. As people “outsource” their storage and its related costs, they’ll have more money to spend on content and access. It will be interesting to see whether we seek new shiny objects to fulfill our need to collect things or whether having digital version will keep us content.

For the Record

A few weeks ago I attended an impromptu family gathering of over 20 relatives spanning 4 generations who each brought copious amounts of food. (Cuz hey, when you’re here, you’re family.) In addition to 10 pounds of pasta, one set of relative also brought some old records they had come across while cleaning out their parents’ home. My mom’s generation parsed out voices and identities as they listened to their younger selves sing Christmas carols and popular music in between cracks and hisses. Meanwhile, my younger cousins, though quite and seemingly attentive, tapped away on their cell phones.

It really drove home the “digital divide” that generates so much discussion these days. For my older cousins, a recording here, a (soundless!) video there are all that remain. But between texts, emails, Facebook, Twitter, and the like, my generation will never forget the past, as it will be conveniently tagged for instant recall. Our memories are taken for granted, and we’ll never again feel that we’ve salvaged just one small snippet of time from oblivion.

Signs of Life

Cities across the US are attempting to re-energize their downtowns to boost the economy, increase sustainability, and create a generally more livable environment. This is the first in an ongoing series that will examine the development of the urban core, or lack thereof, of Phoenix, Arizona.

Almost looks like a real city, right?

My hometown of Phoenix may be the fifth-largest city in the country, but it doesn’t look like one. Mayors, councils and citizens have been trying to turn its downtown into a true city center for decades, building sporting arenas, redesigning the convention center, and opening a light rail system, the first in Phoenix since the 1940′s. Slowly, in fits and starts, life has started returning to downtown after dark. But this September will mark a true turning point and is the first sign of a vibant city. Yes, that’s right:

Downtown Phoenix is getting its first grocery store.

The Urban Grocery and Wine Store will adjoin the farmer’s market, feature a coffee bar, and be open six days a week. Why is this so remarkable? A grocery store is a chicken-and-the-egg location riddle: a grocery store can’t survive without local customers, but people don’t want to an area without a grocery store. It seems that downtown has attracted enough residents and developed a large enough following at its frequent farmer’s markets to encourage a grocery store to test the waters.

Even though I don’t live there currently, I want downtown Phoenix to succeed. It’ll be interesting to see how this affects further developments. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Some Weather We’re Having

When gray clouds bluster about and make empty threats on gray days like this one, I find myself idly checking the weather report to find out just how cold, or rainy, or windy, it is. Really, though, a glance outside or a weather rock would tell me everything I need to know: most of us, most of the time, don’t have to worry about severe weather or a change of more than a few degrees. We live, work, and commute in climate-controlled environments, where time is measured by alarm clocks and midnight oil, not the sun.

Yet as we’ve relied less and less on weather, that once innocuous conversation starter, the more we record it. Sign on to your Facebook account at any time and you can bet at least one person will have made a comment about the weather. If you’d like to get more specific about your weather, you can get local updates sent to you every six hours on Tweather. And the Weather Channel’s desktop app is the ninth most popular app on the web. While TWC claims this is due to their “focus on delivering the most accurate weather forecasts and critical alerts and creating the best consumer experience,” I think the real reason is that people still want to feel connected to the natural world. We remember, vaguely and innately, a time when a red sky at night or drizzly morning did affect our day-to-day existence. It seems that whether real or digital, the weather will never be far from our minds.

Full of Vibrancy

A few months ago, Coke launched test trails of a Vio, its newest beverage line. But not just any beverage line: this one was based on carbonated milk and infused with fruity flavors.

A lot of people (you included, probably) gagged a little when they heard the term “fizzy” and “milk” together. I was skeptical at first, but then I realized that it’s just a variation on an Italian soda in a can. If you’ve never had an Italian soda, it’s basically seltzer with syrup in it (I like raspberry), and if you add half-and-half and whip cream on top, it’s called a French soda. Sure enough, the main ingredients in the Vio are sparkling water, sugar, skim milk, and cream. Since I love Italian/French sodas, I’ve had my eye out for them around town, as rumor had it New York Whole Foods were the test market.

Though I haven’t seen any at the Whole Foods near me, I made an (unrelated) trip to the Columbus Circle branch this Saturday and was please to see the “world’s first vibrancy drink” popping out at me from the shelf. From a packaging perspective, the Vio is lovely, and the metal can distinguishes it from other drinks. The copy leaves something to be desired: “100% Different”? Really? If you say so…

But what about the taste? Personally, I found that the sugar (all 26 grams of it) was overpowering. And this from a person who loves sugar. It masked the “Tropical Colada” flavor, cut through the creaminess, and even managed to distract me from the fizziness. Halfway through the bottle I was trying to drink it without letting it swish over my tongue. But hey, at least all that sugar is good for you: it’s pure cane sugar, not HFCS, and Vio contains 15% of your daily calcium requirement! My conclusion: interesting concept, still needs some work before becoming palatable to the general population.

I know this is a bit out of character for the blog, but this was just such an unusual beverage experience, I had to share.

Missing Connections

Quick, name something that people carry everywhere, acts as a fashion accessory and status symbol, and is more desirable the smaller its gets. Give up?

While rolling my eyes at one of the many dogs-in-purses you see around Soho, it occurred to me that purse dogs and cell phones share an awful lot in common (unfortunately for the dogs). I suspect that their increased popularity is due to a shared root cause: loneliness. Our desire to connect with others is so strong but often unfulfilled, or misdirected, that we’ll keep a dog or a phone at arm’s reach at all times. Ever been stuck waiting for a friend by yourself? Pulling out that handy accessory, whether mobile or canine, tells everyone (most of all yourself) that you’re connected.  

The irony, of course, is that our friends are also attached to their phones, making it more difficult to connect with them. It’s not surprising that studies on cell phone dependency began to crop up in 2005 while the purse dog trend started in late 2005. Only dogs and phones, it seems, give us their full attention.