~ Always connected ~

Off-late, have been getting into the mode of keeping my occupied w/ my smartphone when I am in a social gathering. Could be Twitter, Whatsapp, Path or Instagram. Observations regarding my behaviour from my fiancé often makes me slide the phone aside & have a conversation. 

I wasn't like that before, but over the recent months the app addiction has increased. Rather than blaming the technology or the device, its time to accept the short coming of myself. I could use the technology / device as a catalyst in making our lives simpler & better than turn me into Zombie. 

We all need to find balance that keep us sane and connected to the real world. We seem to be more interested in snapping moments on camera, sharing status messages, tweeting sporting events or music shows than ever before. Having conversations with people around is more fun than via social media apps. Definitely, the medium can't be blamed for the addiction we create for ourselves. As with every new invention, technology/device/gadget could be boon or bane based on how one adopts it!

Nick Bilton has a good piece in BITS

“Every experience is being mediated and conceived around how it can be captured and augmented by our devices,” said Mathias Crawford, a researcher in human-computer interactions and communications at Stanford University. “No place is this more apparent than our meals, where every portion leading up to, during and after a dining experience is being carved out by particular apps.”

People make dinner reservations on OpenTable; check in on Foursquare when they arrive at the restaurant; take a picture of their food to share on Instagram; post on Twitter a joke they hear during the meal; review the restaurant on Yelp; then, finally, coordinate a ride home using Uber. 

You be the judge & make the necessary changes in your lifestyle.

Additional reading: Information overload in a minute | Social engagement | Offline Paul | Smartphone: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

~ Social Engagement ~

Social engagement these days happen through a diverse stream of channels. Some of the common methods of engagement being messaging {Gtalk | Skype | Whatsapp | SMS}, Emails, Social Networks {Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, G+}. 

Facebook has funded an IDC research on how Smartphones have had an impact on our lives. The report 'Always Connected - How Smartphones And Social Keep Us Engaged' throws up some interesting behavioural patterns, stats & how mobile apps are driving those changes. 

• Half of total US population uses Smartphones i.e 155.1 Million people (2012)
• Primary usage: Text/Message, Talk, Message on FB. All of them are direct communication.
• Highest levels of engagement happens during Friday through Sunday, with the peak on Sunday.
• Top 10 Apps: Email, FB, Web browsing, Games, Maps, Photos, Search, Local Search, News/Sports, TV/Video
• Wake up call: Within the first 15 minutes of waking up, 4 out of 5 smartphone owners are checking their phones.
• 79% of respondents have their phone on or near them for all but up to 2 hours of their waking day.
• Social Apps play a very significant role during Social Events.
• Average daily time spent on Facebook: 32 mins 51 secs
• Average daily time spent communicating on smartphone: 131 mins 43 secs
• Who we are most connected to via Smartphone + Facebook - Friends, Spouse/Parnter/GF/BF, Parents, extended family, colleagues/classmates, children, community.

*Note: The report is based on the online survey of iPhone & Android smartphone users in the U.S. 

I do agree that these tools have helped us connect with friends who are separated by time zones or distance. How about those who live in the same city & yet not meet friends. Most of us claim that we do not have time. Rather than lack of time, I feel we lack at effective Time Management & priorities. Time is just an alibi for our own short coming ;)

Go offline! Plan & meet your friend in the city. Surprise them.

Update 31 Mar 13: 

If you have noticed the Facebook profile picture updates among the circle of friends. The campaign is a for the support of future of same-sex marriage in the United States by HRC. Ever wondered how many people have taken part in this online civil rights movement or what the Big Data tells us. Facebook has the insights into the week long campaign. FastCo Design | Facebook 

~ Next Gen Devices ~

The future of technology is heading towards integrating computing with regular consumer oriented devices, to make the daily chores easy. 

We have been hearing a lot about Smarter Homes & Cities. Smarter Home, is more or a networked world of Refrigerator, Washing machine, Climate control, Lighting control, et al, being controlled the way one wants through a pre-configured settings or via a Smartphone application.

There are many companies who already offer these lifestyle solutions. However, these solutions are still not affordable for most of us. There are companies who are making affordable Next Generation products, some of them have been adopted many people. While some of the products, like Google Glass, is still trying to find the middle ground of how to remain unobtrusive.

Following are some of the products which are interesting, by their own. We could build interesting mashups via integration.

UP

 

MYO

LEAP

GLASS

NEST

Let me know if you are aware of other smart devices out there.