Augmented Citizen's posterous

 After Augmented Reality Event, one of the best Event in 2011, all the people asked: "Could help us Augmented Reality to gain traction without a extrem big budget or behind a quality brand?" 

 Forrester points out, web and kiosk based AR executions are much further along in terms of consumer adoption and you'll likely see more of these executions in 2011 than others: "According to Mr. Husson, mobile augmented reality applications are not delivering. There are more significant short-term opportunities to tap into with Web-based and kiosk-based augmented reality solutions and there is great potential for the technology in ecommerce."

 Here I want to argue against Mr. Husson with some real example from the mobile world. Mobile Augmented Reality is the natural ambience to explore and deploy augmented reality application and services.

 Today we are confronted in our decision with two aspects: speed and complexity. This two aspects of our live have completely different patterns and will never converge to a sweet point. We need a glue to help us to merge speed and complexity and this is Augmented Reality.

 Will start with my first real fact: 25.000 people in more then 162 countries on a period of one month have a very clear answer to our question - "Yes, Augmented Reality can!!" 

 streetARt 

 street/Urban art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to art of an illicit nature, as opposed  to government sponsored initiatives.

 The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheatpasting and street poster art, video projection, art intervention, guerrilla art, flash mobbing and street installations.

Now we see on streetARt more the 130.000 engaged people from 194 countries, and this with just one App. But is not about the App, is about the complet ecosystem build around the Social Object - street art. And of course the answer to the question is : "Yes, Augmented Reality can!!" 

iButterfly

The second impressive Augmented Reality concept that I appreciate very much is iButterfly. The iButterfly app, created in Japan by “Mobile Art Lab” a  virtual unit produced by Dentsu, lets you track and find digital butterflies using your iPhone GPS and camera. Hold your iPhone camera up at appointed spots and when you look at your surroundings through the camera, you’ll see animated butterflies flapping by. Each iButterfly contains coupons for nearby businesses. 

 Present just in Japan, the iButterfly has a global potential and see in a very short time a explosion on virtual Butterfly in our Augmented spaces.

 One of the first try in Europe will be at mLove. mLove ConFestival the out-of-the box mobile festival brings together leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs from across multiple disciplines to share, learn and cross-pollinate ideas with an array of scientists, artists and other thought leaders. The event exposes the mobile industry to the best minds outside of mobile to maximize the opportunity of creating life-changing services and applications that can impact us all for the better.

 Thanks to my friend Harald, brilliant mobile visionar and chairman of mLove ConFestival Advisory Board to have the great Idea to butterflyze our reality.

 On the next editions of "Gain Traction with AR" we will present more and more Augmented Reality facts. 

"Try not to become a man of success but a man of value" Albert Einstein

ARE 2010 The next Event where I will participate like Augmented Citizen Advocate

Gracefully thanks you: speakers, participants, crew team, sponsors ( Ericsson  , Madvertise , Vito , Metaio  , Tic-Mobile , Smaato ), streaming team from Aurea , Location Management LEH, partners and media partners

I want to relate in this short ;-) story, the 24 hours experience of our 1st European Augmented Reality Conference, from my perspective :-)
Start on 22.04 Evening :-)

8:30 p.m. meeting with Kwela and Willi
10:00 p.m. Test the skype connection and take the movies from Max Celko   for the presentation
11:00 Chetan Damani is definitevely blocked in India :-(
12:00 in Bed, try to sleep...
2:00 a.m. Check the last time the list of the speakers that will come and who is blocked. NY people, oha... Think about a solution, skype and beamer - ah!! organize a beamer. 
3:00 a.m. Write new emails to be sure. Good news Alex Oldwal  will come, Pia Vuohelainen  not...
4:00 a.m. write the last twitts, facebook arbcon site
5:00 a.m. Matthew Szymczyk  told me that a live presentation will be very difficult to do, I need on my side AVS components, find a new speaker or improvize
8:00 a.m. From Gesundbrunnen to the Ludwig Erhart Haus, the way with S-Bahn
7:05 a.m. I am in the Haus, Sacha and Anja are waiting - very precise and punctual work, i love them. Start the organisation - technical think my improvisation with the skype calls is working.
Klaus Löw  and his team start to install the transmission hardware. Very professional, for the next time I have a some Idea how to make more interactive the event, but now constructive stress.
8:00 a.m. The first members of crew are coming. Oh, oh  I have forget completly to send someone to take the beamer, quick send Stefan Hampel - great that you were here :-)
8:40 a.m. The first participant!! and where are the Lanyards??
Harald Neidhardt  where are you?
Carsten  Szameitat  is the first to the exhibition area, he help me with very good information about the workflow of an Event. I remember for 4-5 years when we meet first time in Cologne, M-Days was just born :-).
8:45 a.m. OH, Oh Harald is coming with the Lanyards :-) Patience Dan, will be everything OK, said Kwela Hermanns , it's for me like a swister for all the day.
Sacha and Anja have finished to arrange the badges, people are coming, they are open to show or to learn something new. Willi call me, he is printing the schedule, we have one mobile but seems that people not to have enough devices to look on mobile. I hate paper, is very good for writing history but not for real-time information...

9:00 a.m. Beamer is here, start to install the remote part of the conference - I call this "Volcano Solution" I do not know how many conferences where organized this week, but I must to start a meet-up group  to chage information how we have managed this crisys context.
Alex  send me an email that his machine was canceled OHOOO!!!. But he will try to catch another. Now is to take a decision, take his speak out - I decided to wait, change with Christian slot, and let Alex to perform at the end. Hope will work. Sabine  have started to manage the press part, we meet first time face2face, but she is very professional. Stories based on experience, I like his Idea because this what I want to make with Augmented Citizen.

The story will continue next days, stay tuned... 

ARBcon.europe just started, stay tuned for new announcements