RFID ikTags

Julia is a freelance designer who lives and works in Utrecht. She heard about a new media conference that sounded relevant to her work and might be a good place to network - she knows some of the speakers - so she decided to go. Last week, she visited the event site and she registers for the event. She followed the site directions and purchased a ticket for the event.

When she arrives for the meeting, she sees a registration booth. She goes up to someone and gives her name. She is handed a name badge on a cord to go around her neck that has a little tag dangling off of it. She is told it is an iktag and it’s for use at the event to post her opinions and take pictures. She thinks it just looks cute.

Back Channel

She enters the theater and takes a seat. In the event itself, the speakers is on stage with slides behind them. Flanking the slides there is a subtle but readable display of a back channel. Someone next to her tweets about the event and Julia sees it appear on the back channel to the right and left of the speaker. There are also some pictures in the feed of people who are in the lobby. The pictures are linked to their names.

Networking and taking photos with the RFID IkTags

During the first break in the mid morning, Julia approaches one of the speakers, Daniel. He gave an interesting talk about mapping applications and she would like to know more about his project. They talk and she asks if they could discuss it more at a later date - he says yes. As they walk into the lobby, they walk by a monitor with a logo on it and see other people taking a picture there. As the other people walk away, Julia approaches the monitor. It instructs her to place the tag near the monitor to take a picture. She and Daniel both do so, then it says it will take one. It counts down and takes a picture. The picture is presented back to them and then asks if they would like to keep it. They do. Julia is happy to see the picture will be saved and linked to both of their names and accounts. She now has a way to easily remember the discussion with Daniel and follow up on their conversation. A week later when Julia is on the event site, she sees the picture on her profile. She remembers her plan, follows the link between their pictures to Daniel and then sends him a message through the site.

Polling

After the lunch break, is the pitch section of the meeting where the audience can vote on which of 5 grant finalists will be awarded a grant to support their efforts. 5 different groups stand up and give a short pitch for their idea. When they all have gone, it's time for the audience to vote. Julia has a clear favorite - one group working on sustainability. She sees the five stations where she can vote and a graph on the screen in the theater. She walks up to the station representing her choice and raises her tag to a small sensor. Her vote is registered and she sees the count for her chosen group count up one.