Technology Supporting Social Interaction: From The Smartphone To The Social Pack

When it comes to being social in today’s world, apparently there is no limit in having the possibility to stay in touch with friends from abroad, make new friends based on common preferences or share with everybody whatever you feel like sharing, from a short sentence describing your day, to photos and videos. Back in the day you had to write letters and e-mails or make long distance phone calls to relatives to check up on them. Now you are a click away from everybody and space between people seems to have disappeared. Not a bad thing, once you realize that new and more innovative social networks rise every day with the tendency of becoming more and more specifically addressed to certain content or certain people.

The issue regarding the smartphone as being the most efficient and reliable piece of technology supporting social interaction is somehow the subject of controversy, as some studies show the great benefits of using such devices in maintaining and growing one’s social interactivity, while others draw attention over a danger that threatens us all of becoming couch potatoes who only interact in virtual environments, in the detriment of physical, natural, meaningful real life socialization (a study on WebMD is quite eloquent in this regard). The debate doesn’t make the purpose of this discussion, but the other less known devices that are said to support social interaction do.

Smartphones and tablets are the best mobile devices that can allow a person to interact on a global scale, to post on whatever social network, to comment on other’s content, to share pictures, music and videos and even meet new people of interest by using specific-targeted applications. But people want more. Some of them want to stream YouTube videos directly on their TV, others want to share high-resolution photos, while others just want to meet in person and have a chat. Luckily for them, technology is here to help all of them.

# Smartphone versus camera

Taking pictures and sharing them online has never been easier if you have a smartphone and some models are built with very powerful, very efficient cameras. But it isn’t enough, apparently, as there is a growing need of sharing pictures and a growing interest in the phenomena of “social pictures” – which may be worth more than a thousand words if you consider the fast rise of Pinterest or Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram. Socializing through photos is an expanding trend and equipment manufacturers took things a step forward: why have a phones that acts like a camera, when you can have a camera that can act like a smartphone? Nikon and Samsung jumped on the idea and created digital cameras with extensive social features, allowing users to take a high-quality photo and instantly share it on dedicated social mediums such as Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Picasa or Photobucket. In a fast paced world, sharing a photo can have more of an impact than sharing written words, right? Will these new cameras find their consumers’ niche? Maybe. They’re here and they are here to stay.

# Virtual encounters versus personal encounters based on common preferences

Facebook may be the best device to find people with common interest such as yours. Actually it is based on the principle that two people with common taste can become virtual buddies forever and with the new Infographic system, they can expand their personal friends’ networks. But how about live human interactions? How about finding people with common interests in a nearby area, a few meters away even? One of the most spectacular social devices that support face to face social interaction is the Blu Social Pack. Electroniccigarette manufacturers understood that vapers grow in number and become a strong community.

This is easy to verify if checking dedicated sites for beginners, modders and reviewers, so it’s only natural that these people would like to meet some day and talk live about their common e-cig experience or exchange information and ideas. So BLU came up with the Social Pack, an e-cig pack provided with a recognition system that alerts the holder when another social pack (and consequently a BLU vaper) is in the immediate space. Granted, this is a social mechanism with a very narrow target, but who says others won’t find the idea interesting enough and build similar social devices for people to recognize among themselves as being part of the same interest group?

Other similar innovative pieces of equipment that support social interactions are the set-top boxes which allow users to stream their favorite videos and TV shows directly on their TV’s or, better yet, share their favorite videos and playlists with the social network of their choice. Nintendo also understood the fascination of people being part of a social network and the latest WiiU allows gamers not only to play together with others just like them from all around the planet, but also interact, chat, post statuses and share screenshots during the game. Technology at the next level? Why not? After all, people are different and they want to be together with those who resemble them the best.