2046 and Naviblog

-- Fresh from the naviblog site!

* Saw the film "2046" the other day again, a saturation of visual data overlaid with memories on a 1960s/2040s flashback / flashforward Hong Kong backdrop. The hotel room no. 2046 replete with memories, the related life of the occupant next door, the characters gravitating between love and loss, between future and past.

* Just imagining what would be possible if these memories were available to all, or even a small group of people depending on location. Because that's what Naviblog will be offering in a couple of weeks from now, a dynamic living history of a small portion of Tokyo, spreading out to encompass all forms of expression, entertainment and experience.

* But we're not just about accumulating data like Nokia's LifeBlog, nor about pushing advertising into your face a-la i-Robot/Minority Report. We're about creating a reflexive environment that acts as a catalyst for - not a refuge from - the real world. One that offers the spice of community and related media info to otherwise dehumanized city blocks.

* Looking back at shaky footage of early 20th century Britain street corners, people are busy bustling along the main street, chatting to people as they pass each other by. What happened to our street corners, where we pass each other in safety-sanctified and techno-rarefied bubbles of Walkman/iPod-generated media? What happened to sharing and community? It is a sad statement to say that we will need to use data to mediate our communications with one another in the future. Communications between people are diversifying into non-direct communication with email/vmail, non-immediate interaction through phone/vphone, or interposited by territorial data (location blogs). We will regain a sense of community through a new and collaborative network-enhanced definition of collective identity. It is no longer a question of if, but how fast we will transit to this data-enhanced culture. My bet is that we're already halfway there, at the very least.