Socialight is a virtual sticky notes service that allows you to mark a physical location with an electronic message.  People who enter into the area you’ve marked with sticky notes receive your messages as they travel in and through the area.  You may designate whether the note is available to just your friends or you may make it public so everyone is aware of it.

It works with your mobile phone.  Get close to a virtual sticky and your mobile phone notifies you.  Since the notes are multimedia, you may leave photo, text or even audio and video notes.

Socialight, and similar services, are built upon social networks - this one, enables people to connect with others using mobile phones.  It links virtual networks of people to the physical environment. It is a system of public authoring super-imposed over places and things.

Socialight plays on two of the essential trends for modern communications – social networking and mobile media.

What Does It Mean?

Anything that connects people to each other is modern communications.

Communications was once about carefully crafting clear and general messages and sending them down the pipeline. Networks are becoming more and more ubiquitous – which means the “pipeline” is no longer a straight line from a central source, but is a web of people (nodes) all talking to each other with narrow and personal messages.

Technology is accelerating our ability to connect to anyone and everyone; everywhere and conceivably, beyond our lifetime.  Keeping pace is our capability to both limit and expand which contacts and content reach us. 

Your opportunities lie not in trying to get around this, but in creating communications (or services) that adapt to, service, enhance, enable, respond to and/or use these social capabilities. 

What is it Good For?

These types of mobile services using GPS systems allow connections based on present location and what I call “frame of mind.”  It has enormous opportunities for everything from lifetime learning to historical recording and way-finding;  from fun interaction to significant information channels.

Here’s a few examples:

• Robert Pietri, a 37-year old filmmaker, used Socialight to mark where he was arrested in New York during the Republican National Convention.  He then moved on to marking where Malcolm X was killed and a long-gone shantytown that is the now Great Lawn in Central Park. (New York Times)

• Teletaxi is an art exhibition displaying the artwork of eleven artists on touchscreens in taxis.  The multimedia artwork changes depending upon where the taxi is in Montreal, Canada.

• Cutlass has created Touch Tone Tours – instant personal guides available on any wireless device.

• Murmur is an audio archival project that collects stories set in specific locations in Toronto and are played by dialing a special phone number on your mobile phone.

• Newt Games  created an “item hunt” game layered over the city of Tokyo.  As players move through the city they find items they can collect by checking maps on their mobile phones.  They also see other players they can meet or trade with.

Here's a few practical ideas of how to use virtual sticky notes in your business:

• Knowledge map a corporate building or campus for new employees
• Offer opt-in guides for readers of your travel, entertainment, food or photography publication
• Initiate a public “focus group” to improve space planning - gather information about how individuals use space (malls, museums, parking structure, entertainment venues, etc.)
• Create hyper-local promotions, services or permanent information tags for customers or members
• Augment your video program, podcast or web site with real world sticky-notes
• Create a volunteer way-finding program for new residents of your neighborhood or city (integrate Google Maps while you are at it)

And to those who dread jumping on the “new technology” communication bandwagon, or think it is a passing fad, let me say - this drive to connect to each other isn’t new because of mobile networks, technology or the Internet.  We’ve had it since the dawn of humankind – our methods are just evolving and more available.  You don’t think twice about having a telephone as part of your business, public relations or marketing.  Start thinking modern connections.  Trust me, you’ll find innovation.