Augmented Reality on the Big(ger) Screen

iPad 4.0?  I'm ready now!  Gary Hayes sent me the link to his video on YouTube illustrating the augmented reality (AR) experience would be on an iPad-sized screen. It is a great video; it really captures a sense of the potential of AR across a gamut of applications.  After you check out the video, go to Gary's website and read the blog entry  "Where Industry and Academia Fear to Tread – StoryLabs Launch" on the need for storytelling in effective message construction and delivery--and the conundrum of finding someone who knows how to speak "transmedia."  As someone who teaches digital storytelling and emerging technologies, it was exciting to see his take on it.  The world is no longer linear.  Well, it never was, but before it moved slow enough so our inability to see it wasn't such a problem.  Now, it is.  And we have to learn to be nonlinear, multidimensional storytellers.  To do this, we need to become nonlinear thinkers.  This isn't just about storytelling.  … [Read more...]

Who Wants More Reality?

NFL uses augmented reality to mark the down lines

Previously published on Psychology Today.com "Positively Media" ---------- Sometimes when new technology is introduced, you get a glimpse of the future. The iPad was like that for me. Now Samsung is introducing the Galaxy Tab (tablet) on September 2. This time, the glimpse of the future comes from their marketing pitch not their product. The top item the Galaxy Tab offers those who want “more”? Augmented reality. Samsung's Galaxy is an interesting and slick entrant in the tablet field. Size-wise, it's halfway between the size of a cell phone and an iPad with a screen big enough to see things without squinting. (I’ve heard the iPad called an iPhone for old people.) Personally, I really didn't expect to like the iPad as much as I do, but I carry it everywhere. It's pretty hard to be an Apple-killer these days, but Samsung got a couple of things right that Apple missed in the first generation: the camera/video function. It is those added features that … [Read more...]

Research Survey Launched: Social Media and Influence of Photos on Body Image

Social media has changed how people get information and communicate in many ways. We are not just consumers of media. With social media and new technology and tools, we also can easily make, change, and share media. There are images everywhere generated by commercial activity and a wealth of research looking at the impact of mass media on body image of men and women.  Since the advent of social media, however, we now have access to a wealth of images that are predominantly not professionally produced.  There are over 2 billion YouTube videos, 500 million Facebook profile photos, and 70 million LinkedIn profiles and that doesn't include the images you see on Twitter, Flickr, and a host of other social network sites. One of the tenets of social media is that you can't control your message, you can only participate in the conversation.  Has the flood of "real" images from social media influenced the conversation about body image and what we view as social norms?  Help us find … [Read more...]