Masculine Parade

And so the iphone.

Now some of you are going to say that its only ‘envy’, and yes there is a certain level of lusting involved, but did anyone else find Apple’s launch of the iphone a tad over-masculinised?

I appreciate that as a Girl Geek, I am rather a rare creature compared to my male counterparts. Just take a look at the iphone queue; male geek, male geek, male geek, male… And I do hate to divide things along girl n boy lines; but runs through the store, high-fives, cheers and body slams does this not smack of testosterone over kill?

Where if I was queuing was my token Apple massage for example, free goody bag with say Burberry’s perfect accessory for the savvy and protective minded geek chic this season an iphone studded phone cover.

It doesn’t have to be everything for the boys, us Girl Geeks want in on the action too! Not least as my (male) friends’ iphone cover is well such a thing of horror that its encasement immediately transforms his most proud ‘appendage’ into something so unsightly that Ms Ugly Betty herself would be hard pressed not to gag at its vulgarity. Still there’s method in his bad taste inspired madness as his device is less than likely to be stolen, or drooled over for that matter. Apart from by me.

Too shallow? I hear you cry. Girls and boys this is the iphone, a gadget that (surprisingly for Apple) is not at the top of its innovation tree in terms of spec, but a device designed and destined for the beauty hall of fame of most desirable gadgets. Where ownership is about the ‘experience’ of the object and means a glazed look of satisfaction just by sending a text. I never thought SMSing could be so sensual. Mmm yummy. Plus if as my Silicon Valley contacts would have me believe for the first few days of iphone (pre)release lets just say there was a lust influx of above average male geek success in the courting department. Or maybe that just says something more about a lack of technique rather than any real ‘super’ powers of the iphone.

In terms of device appeal the iphone holds a high level of pure beauty fluidity, exquisite and feminine traits indeed. And yet on an unscientific account via The Guardian reporting only 7% of the queue were female. Does this mean that this device holds less Girl Geek appeal? Or did we all send our boyfriends down to sit in the queue and cold for us? Maybe we’ve already got ours via the States, unlocked it and marvelled at its key strokes. Whatever our reasons I hope we weren’t put off the crowds of male geek noise and parade of consumerism that Mr Apple sought to expertly concoct on a cold November morning.

Another version of this post appears on the Girly Geek blog, but I thought it particularly potent that it deserved exposure here too.

A glimpse into the juicy future - can we trust it?

In the same week that Steve Job has ensured more £’s in his already bulging back pocket and a juicier bite of the Apple with the launch of Leopard O/S, I thought that it would be pertinent to think about the possible futurological effects of technology.

We have seen leaps and bounds in the capacity for fast, networked, ‘clever’ and ultimately fun communicative appendages. The effect of which leaves us breathless at the pace of change and impact of new cultural codes, etiquette and social arenas that was only imagined a few years, months, weeks, days, even hours ago.

Who knew that telling the world I am drinking my nth cup of tea of the day whilst swivelling round in my new office chair would be so much Twitter-tastic fun! More surprising is that anyone is actually interested in following this, but follow they do as ‘mazphd’ spins round the office and realises that hot tea, spinning and new chairs do not mix. Lesson learnt.

Now we have a multitude of complex modes of engagement, digital interfaces, and social spaces – all of which ‘demand’ and vie for our attention across a network of links, images and objects, or are we the social objects now? Ok so I’m exhausted just trying to think about it and develop a high-brow and social theoretical response to it all.

So I was asked this week what’s next? Well social networks, forums, user contribution and shared knowledge are the protocol of today that will shape the social experience of tomorrow. What lies at the heart of these contexts is the notion of TRUST.

Don’t trust the network that you are supposedly a part of, well then your level of engagement wanes and you will not continue to cultivate it. It, and you become 'untrustworthy' and hence you disengage as a disconnected social absence. Deliberate and intentional in its action, this has high impact on personal networks and new media tools that you use.

Trust on a more commercial level is very revealing. Which is why websites such as TrustedPlaces, YourSafePlanet and YourRoadTrip.org cleverly work off of such a premise. Nothing says quality and trust like peer-to-peer acclaims and endorsements; whether that new restaurant to try out, trip to take or resources for your travels - because information and advice are a premium and you wouldn't, nor should you, trust anything else.

To turn to the future trends of the ‘hardware’ our current propensity for imaging, recording and broadcasting ourselves to one another will be facilitated by devices fixed on-person that captures every aspect of life. Then you’ll be able to go with your friends when they make their cups of tea, see and maybe even feel the consequences of hot tea/spinning chair action. For now this remains the point finger and laugh domain of YouTube only. So in a way ‘new’ media is just another remit of the same old, and provides new ways procrastination.

In terms of social implications the connected and immersed communication at all times and about relating everything is staggering. Only this week the BBC's consumer programme Watchdog did a ‘report’ (or rather an over-patronising insight) into some of the more negative and abuse-able aspects of SNS that centred around identity theft. However, the report did provide an interesting snapshot into the privacy issues and social surveillance that we as media savvy individuals need to be aware.

As far as the Steve Jobs of the world go, whilst technology does enable society, it is up to the individual the kinds of devices they buy and use, and it is these that will determine our next stage of digital culture.

Lucky for Mr Jobs that Apple looking so juicy and so I’m off to purchase my to be trusted, or rather trusty copy of Leopard tomorrow.

A Body of Networks

Where we are beginning to get used to be being channeled as part of networks of differing quality and ‘attachment’, and to the degradation of our own culture on Web 2.0 (see Andrew Keen) – it seems we are about to become part of an immersed, techno-ambient and fashion conscious world.

Whilst it is nothing new that supposedly ‘inanimate’ objects interact with us, just take a trot round Tesco and their video screens, the handheld price scanners and checkers at Waitrose, and even in York where I reside ‘helpful’ tourist information totems will start to ‘talk’ to you just as you walk past (yes thank you I do know that I am indeed on Parliament Street for the 9th time that day). What IS new will be how these WILL start to interact with us. We will become surrounded by technology that wants to think for us, that is a part of our homes, cars, appliances and even bodies.

What next a smart moisturiser that knows to increase the SPF when the sun’s out? Not such a stupid idea.

These observations have been prompted by the recent BBC news item about ‘Smart Fabrics’. Amongst the show-cased collection is the solar panelled bikini that allows its wearers to charge mobiles, MP3 players etc. Shame about the lack of actual swimming possibilities, but who cares when your strutting your battery charged, and MP3 plugged-in self by the poolside right?

So forget about those drab and static local area networks – this is about your body of networks.

Some of the fabric innovations are of a ‘smarter’ profile. One such garment are the eco-conscious accessories that charge themselves by day (as a handbag, fan, purse etc) and become a unique and stylish light by night with which to adorn yourself, or your home.

So it seems a new vision of fashion, functionality and aesthetics is taking place. And it is easy to envisage how for example MPS players, cameras and mobile phones will converge, and even become integrated into clothing; open to new levels of wear and tear.

Imagine for example, where that pesky MP3 takes up room in your handbag/causes unsightly bulges in your Levis, these devices will be integrated into the fabric. Picture it; its not an iPod, but an iBag, nay iGarment – how do you like them Apples?

However, as much as the future of technology permits an even more personalised integration of ‘man and machine’, this does raise some interesting questions in terms of ethics, surveillance, privacy and identity. Does this mean that I will be able to access others favourite playlists and contact information by wearing the same jeans? or will our own genes provide the key for boundaries between interfaces? and ultimately do we want this level of ‘cyborg’ mechanics attached to our organic selves.

Well we may be a longer way off from that level of techno-human integration. In the meantime I shall be coveting the latest iBag from Apple and hoping they do a Chloe version that can sort my emails. Nifty, not thrifty technology!