Making Locative Mainstream (final paper)

Imagine traveling through an area you know nothing about, and being able to get information fed to your cell phone, or even the dashboard in your car. Imagine these features as standard as a car radio. I can imagine locative media becoming a mainstream feature in the future, as our mobile devices become increasingly advanced with integrated GPS systems.

In order for this to happen, we must examine the possible uses for this technology, as well as potential objections or reasons for disinterest. The usefulness must be both practical and interesting to a large majority, not just the tech savvy or media minded artist. With these technologies, the artist can benefit greatly from the advancement of the tools. There is a need for a large consumer interest in order to generate enough revenue to grow the technology effectively. With growth, the barriers between the artist and the technology will begin to break down. Software interfaces with GPS could improve accuracy, and the feature set of the software could be broadened. As the artist gains more control over the tools, the work produced will benefit greatly.

What kinds of features would need to be emphasized to get attention as a key feature for consumers? What objections could the general public have to the technology? What reasons would consumers have for being disinterested in the technology, and in what ways could the technology be made to become more interesting to the mass public?

...more to come...