courtesy aturkus/flickr

Google Wallet May Be Lame…

Many of Google’s projects have earth-shaking potential (see here and here), but at first glance, Google Wallet doesn’t seem to fit the bill.  Here’s a news article if you need to catch up. The short version is, it replaces all your credit cards with a smartphone.  You load your bank accounts into the app, and then pay by tapping your phone at the checkout (assuming your smartphone has a near-field chip inside – so far only a handful do).

It’s lame, because credit cards are already just about the most convenient thing I own.  Tiny, flat, nearly weightless and I can pay for my burrito with just a swipe and a smile.  Not a lot of room for improvement there.

… But It’s a Portal to a New Digital Era

How?  By popularizing the underlying technology, namely those near-field chips (NFCs) I mentioned.  NFCs are short-range, wireless transmitters.  The “tags” they interact with need not be powered, and no syncing is necessary.  As such, they carry vast implications for the way we interact with the world.  Some are alluded to in the article above, but let’s really dig in and imagine that NFCs become a standard feature.  What would you do if you could tap your mobile phone anywhere?  Here are a few simple applications:

• Grab information on the spot.  Get ingredients and nutrition info, technical specs and instructions, or access product news and recommendations.
• Location-dependent social networking.  Check-ins, as with Foursquare, or posting reviews, as on Yelp.
• Direct user-to-user connection.  Share photos and files with your friends, or tap to join a multiplayer game.

courtesy grafixar/morguefile

Another Dimension

Many of the effects above can be duplicated by existing tools, like barcode scanners and tap-to-share.  But by using NFCs to create a consistent architecture for all of them, an entire “locative” ecosystem will spring up, allowing for even more novel applications.  Eventually, the future (urban) landscape will have a full-on parallel dimension: every location, object and display of interest in the real world will have a digital counterpart, perhaps even connected to the internet (à la the internet of things).

This parallel dimension will intersect with the real world in many ways:

• Caches.  Imagine leaving advice for future hikers at the head of a mountain trail, or signing a virtual guestbook on your way out and leaving some photos.
• Distributed information.  A grocery store could offer recipes with their vegetables, personalized deals near your favorite products, or allow you to check items off your virtual shopping list.
• Seamless media interaction.  Imagine that passing through Times Square, you’re intrigued by a video display but don’t have time to stop.  Just tap to start streaming it on your phone, and take it with you onto the subway.
• Private Communication.  Say, tap at an ATM to see your account balance, or tap at a bulletin board to leave a private message for a particular group or individual.

Whew, that’s enough wild speculation for one day.  What do you think – have I fallen off the deep end here, or is the digital world about to seep into the physical one in a major way?  And would that really be a good thing?  Take a stand in the comment section below.