By Brigette Flood
The buzz pours out of the SXSW Interactive conference every March, and this year’s big winner of hipster/geek mindshare hails from the hardware category. Although the conference is less of a launch pad for new start-ups than it was previously, it’s definitely the cultural epicenter of the digital ecosystem.
Innovative behemoth Google took top spot in dominating the conversation by capitalizing on the opportunity to reveal more about Google Glass, those mysteriously nerdy cool eyeglass frames they’ve been taunting us with for a year or so.
Glass is an augmented reality wearable computer in development at Google labs. The breaking news is its integration with products from several already-favorite apps, including Path, Evernote, Gmail and The New York Times. Which means this hardware of the future is one step closer to augmenting our realities, one Warby Parker or Ray-Ban frame at a time. The apps feature simple, customized designs that fit on the tiny screen. Super exciting stuff. Maybe I can get one to match my Nike Fuel Band?
Hardware’s made a comeback and wearable computing seems to have made its mark on fashion. Google’s innovation has been hogging the spotlight flip side, but hype from other interactive categories is slowing down. Once surefooted on the digital landscape, location-based apps and social media have stumbled in the recent year. App fatigue is high and social media burnout is rampant. Celebs and even us regular users have taken vacations or quit platforms entirely.
Companies and users interested in digital innovation are changing focus to the long-view. Whether the daily grind of social media or the noise of never-ending new apps makes it harder to keep up or to stand out, hopefully our collective fatigue will end when a big change takes the focus away from the short-term gratification (or dissatisfaction). The only constant in digital is change. SXSW this year might have been relatively calm on hype, but I bet something will come along before long that wakes us again.
