Augmented reality (AR) is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time.

A First Glimpse at What is to Come

In a recent piece I wrote for Mashable, I blogged about how to make the most out of Google Maps. In doing research for mobile tools, I found the first application that actually has me jealous of Android phones—Wikitude AR Travel Guide, an AR mobile app for Android.

It’s dead simple and yet oh so powerful. Phones with the Android OS can use their camera as a lens to see beyond the surface of the real-wold view. When you point your camera in any direction, you’ll see the actual view with a layer of Wikipedia location-based content specific to your view of the world. The video below demonstrates just how cool (and powerful) the app really is.

This is Going to be Huge

This is just the beginning for AR. As more AR-ready devices are released to the public, you’ll begin to see a whole new view of the world—virtual data in actual life. Just image having your camera, camera phone, video device, or AR enabled sunglasses (that would be kinda neat) combine the actual world with a custom view of your already established online presence. You could be walking around seeing your social graph as an added visual layer to the phsyical world you already know and love. At the very least, AR could solve the relativley new problem of never being able to remember someone’s Twitter name. Think SecondLife, but substitute your real physical world—a true merging of your online and offline identities. Exciting…and a tad scary.

1. Sign up with Notify.me. They’re in private beta, but Wieland gave me this link to share with StartupSD readers and you.

2. Go to the Account tab and select “Destinations.” Follow the steps to configure IM as a desitination.

3. Use FreeMyFeed to get an RSS feed for your Twitter updates. Enter – http://twitter.com/statuses/friends_timeline.rss into the feed url text box. Also enter your Twitter username and password.

4. Copy the output URL.

5. Navigate back to Notify.me and select “Sources” from the Account options.

6. Paste the URL in the Feed textbox and click “Add Feed.”

If you do nothing else, you’ll receive all your Twitter friends’ updates via IM, but if you’d like to filter the tweets you receive you can either exclude keywords (like twitter usernames) or include keywords (like jbruin, sdtweetup, and “san diego” to track a filtered subset of tweets. It works really well and it’s about 1 – 2 minutes faster per notification than the TwitterSpy/GoogleTalk work around. So go have fun!

There are some things that require a little bit more than 12 seconds, but now with 12seconds.tv vlogging doesn’t have to be one of them. 12seconds.tv is like Twitter for video. You’ve got 12 seconds to create a video post and update the world (yes, it crossposts to Twitter) on anything. You’ve probably read many a tweet or even seen a few 12 second videos, but in case you’re not totally sold on the concept, here’s my list of great 12 second video categories or topics.

• Reviews – a 12 second review forces you to forgo the bullshit and get straight to the point, check out my review of Tropic Thunder below. There’s a million things I could say about this movie, but 12 seconds should be enough for you to get the jist.
• The Best of Twitter – even though I pride myself on using Twitter for more than just status updates, I’ve been told that some of my tweets are actually quite hilarious. In 140 characters or less, I’ve never felt it impossible to convey something of interest, or visually paint the scene of being on the bad side of a horrible pick up line. I see 12seconds.tv as an opportunity for me to take those jewel-like moments and share them through video. Hopefully I’ll be able to consume the videos in much the same way that I consume tweets – online, though my phone, and/or courtesy of a desktop client.
• Bios – I challenge you to create a 12 second bio. If you can do that, you’ve found a great way to tell other people about you all the while being respectful of their time.
• Jokes – should a joke really be longer than 12 seconds?
• Pick Up Lines
• Fill in the blank

12 Second Review of Tropic Thunder on 12seconds.tv

It’s the Networking

We’re all still figuring out to how to use Twitter, and we’re all using it differently, but there’s no denying that Twitter is the most effective networking web tool available. Don’t believe me? Then, you’re either not using Twitter or you’re not living up to your Twitter potential.

Here’s a crash course, with examples, on how to network on Twitter.

Twitter Networking for Beginners

1. Follow the people you want to meet. The easiest way to introduce yourself to someone important at an event, is to say, “Hi I’m XXXX. We’ve never met, but I’m following you on Twitter.” It’s such an easy conversation starter and an excellent way to get a new follower. I’ve personally used this approach several times and it’s always successful; a mutual appreciation for Twitter is an immediate bond and instant way to make yourself relevant.
2. Use Twitter as a substitute for email when connecting with a new contact. First, make sure you talk with someone long enough that they’ll remember you (that’s a basic rule for all networking). Second, ask them if they’re on Twitter. Third, whip out your cell and send an SMS message to Twitter with “follow [twitter name]“. It’s fast, simple, and less intrusive than following up with email. If done right you’ll get an immediate new follower, and you can solidify the professional connection through replies or DMs, especially if you’re attending the same sessions or events later in the day/week.
3. Put your Twitter name everywhere, especially your name tag. Most people on Twitter know me as “jbruin.” I never want to miss an opportunity to connect with fellow twitter users and I find this tactic to be a conversation opener (either “oh you’re on twitter,” “what’s jbruin?” or “oh hey I follow you”), and a way to reinforce my online identity in offline settings.
4. If you’re hanging out with recognizable Twitter names, you should be tweeting about it. Chances are you’ll get some immediate street cred, and/or new followers.

Twitter Networking for Rockstars

1. The DM feature is powerful; use it! If you’re following someone and they’re following you back, you really should take advantage of direct messages (DMs). Most people have their DMs sent directly to their phone (or via email at the very least), this means that when you DM someone they’re likely to get an immediate notification. Speaking from experience, DMs are way more effective in getting an immediate response than email. Maybe it’s the 140 character limit (you’re respecting someone’s time by being succinct) or the novelty of getting a private message, either way you’ll connect with someone faster and more efficiently through Twitter. Now that I blog for StartupSD, I use DMs to reach out to the people I want to interview. So far I’ve always received an immediate response.
2. Use your Twitter network to get a job. You can do this multiple ways. You can tweet that you’re looking for a new career opportunity (and ask your friends to retweet), you can create keyword RSS feeds specific to your job search via Summize or TweetScan, or you can simply wait for job notifications to show up in the public timeline.

So what’s your take? Do you use Twitter to network, and if so what are you doing?

I recently wrote an article on Brightkite, a location-based social networking service, for StartupSD. You should read it; I interviewed Martin May about his recently released private beta website and got the scoop about GPS support, iPhone app creation, and API release info. All good stuff. For the quick and dirty on Brightkite read the excerpts below.

clipped from www.startupsd.net

As a member of Brightkite, I can accomplish three specific tasks associated with my locations. I can “check-in” by sending Brightkite my location via SMS to the shortcode 80289, or I can enter my location directly on the website. I can add a message, called a “post,” and add photos as well. All of my submissions can be through SMS, email, or via the web interface. The abbreviated list of commands (similar to Twitter commands) can be seen here. All of the information I’m submitting to Brightkite is then made available to the public, to my friends, and to my trusted friends, with the message filtered based on the privacy settings that I have established. The beauty is in the privacy settings. Brightkite pretty much lets me remain as anonymous as I’d like to be. So if I only want my trusted friends to know my exact location, then I can choose to show my friends and the public limited information about my location, ie. just city/state.

and…

clipped from www.startupsd.net

With Brightkite the power of information and connection is limitless. I lied earlier — the real beauty is in using the service to get updates via SMS or email about the whereabouts of friends or strangers in my area. I see this serving a very critical need for us, San Diegans, who are still very fragmented. We could potentially be in the same coffee house downtown at the exact same time and never know it. If we’re both using Brightkite, however, and you update your location, I’ll receive a text message letting me know that you’re in my area (or at the same location). I can also view the history of all check-ins at a particular location, including photos and posts about that place.

The Experiment

Brightkite has the potential to be a hugely invaluable resource, especially when you’re attending an event or conference like the Web 2.0 Expo. So here’s the deal. I’ve got 100 invites courtesy of Martin May, Co-Founder of Brightkite, and I’d like to give them out to everyone and anyone who’s attending the Web 2.0 Expo. We’ve already got a pretty great crew of San Diego people excited and actively using Brightkite (I know where you guys are right now btw), so I’ll be able to find them, the best sessions, and the great parties if they check-in while they’re in San Francisco.

I’d really love to get some of the Social Media Elite (think Chris Brogan, Robert Scoble, Jeremiah Owyang) using Brightkite as well, because the more people using Brightkite at the event, the more we’ll all be able to actually connect (and stalk each other). Plus, think of it this way. I’ve got 100 invites. If each of the 100 people then uses the 5 invites they get when they sign-up, then there’s already 500 people using Brightkite at Web 2.0, but of course it doesn’t stop there because each of those new members gets 5 additional invites. Seriously this could be huge…think about it in terms of Twitter at SXSW in 2007, except add in the fact that all check-ins, photos, and posts will be captured on the Brightkite site, creating a mini electronic scrapbook of the event, filtered by location. UPDATE – Brightkite created a public placemark so anyone can check-in using @web20expo via SMS or the web (instead of using the Moscone Center or bothering with the address).

If you want an invite, send an email to jvangrove [at] gmail [dot] com and give me a little info about yourself to include whether or not you’re going to be at the Web 2.0 Expo.

Oh and if you want to use Brightkite without signing up, you can use Brightkite entirely through SMS, without ever having to register.

Commands You Need to Know

Don’t forget about the SMS commands (text to 80289), until the API is released and we can all go nuts building applications off of Brightkite, the commands are going to keep us connected when we’re disconnected. Here are a few to get you started [italics indicate that some text is required here].

COMMANDS – have the SMS commands sent to your phone as a reference

? business name – get a list of all locations (with addresses) near your last check-in. You can then use the results to check-in.

@ address [address, city, zip, or placemark] – check-in quickly from your phone.

WHO – get a list of other people who have checked-in at your last check-in point.

! message – post a note/message to your last check-in point.

Example of Moscone Center Placestream

Note: I am in no way affiliated with Brightkite, nor are they (or anyone else) paying me to do any of this – I’m just infatuated by the idea and the potential, seriously.