One of the ideas that quite a few companies seem to be looking at is the ability to leave virtual notes, readable via your mobile, for other people to find when they arrive at a defined location.
In other words, you may want to leave a note for a friend (and only discoverable by them alone) that you’ve changed the venue for a meeting from under the clock in the station to a local bar - though you’d probably just send them an sms in real life or call them. Or another use case is attaching a message for all and sundry to discover, that reviews the restaurant you’ve “attached” it to.
I have to say, that I love this whole concept, where people can use their mobiles as a way of linking the real world with digital space. But I haven’t really come across a scenario where it makes a compelling application, let alone a business model. Perhaps a real world Wikipedia is the nearest my thinking has come to a possible scenario.
As far as localised messaging is concerned though, I thought this was interesting, as re-discovered by Pasta and Vinegar - I present to you, the Notificator
This was a coin operated machine from the 1930’s, where (many years before mobiles were dreamed of) you could leave a message for a friend to pick up later. The machines were placed in stations and highly trafficked areas and on leaving your message and paying a small fee, your localised note would be displayed for a few hours. How ingenious.
And no, this didn’t take off either. A case of the wrong technology or a case of an unwanted application? I suspect the latter, but happy to be proved wrong.
This reminds me of the much-missed ThirdVoice.com website where it was possible to leave graffiti all over websites - visible only to other ThirdVoice users. They couldn’t make it pay and of course the lawyers were queuing up to sue them for defamation.
i wonder if any of these boxes still exist! that would be the funnest..
man, if they put one of these up now.. i would still use it..
but then again, i still write letters with pen and paper..
If there is one out there someone needs to figure out how to automate the message posting process and put it on a webcam.
Viola … steampunk BBS.
Not to say that it didn’t exist but as a Tube bore and lover of London’s history I have genuinely never heard of this, and it looks like the sort of thing that the Museum of London or the London Transport Museum would have in its stores. My guess is that there might have been one set up as a demo somewhere, perhaps in the West End, but that it wasn’t adopted by the Underground, the railways or whoever wanted to put street furniture out in London.