I'm not going to dwell on the UI issues: i'm sure they are obvious by now and can be overcome.

Generally I thought that the use of high details maps was very good, and I was suprised at how well the user defined placement was (as opposed to the device knowing where it is).

Some functionality seemed unecessary: for instance the links between annotations (the lines), I'm not sure what they were there for. I wonder of thread is the right metaphor. It's easy to see that filters will be very useful.

Most of all I wonder about content: why will people do this in the "real" world? I think more of a reason need sto be created than the thrill of location based blogging, which appeals to those with lots to say. What about those with less to say? Should a system like this be pre-populated?

Empty pockets are very annoying - a high level sense of depth of content would be very useful.

If I leave a message - could the system tell me when it is added to? The sense of conversation is not quite there yet.

Thanks for the trial - its fascinating.

Interested from professional poiont of view, work at British Museum, this sort of technology might work as a constantly updated museum guide with comments from the public.

I was able to create a thread but the early technology and the cold weather did not make it easy.

I felt a bit self concious using the device but I felt same when first using a mabile phone.

Technololgy needs to be very accurate geographically maybe using GPS, maybe satellite comms? Iridium?

Was not able to add my comments to other peoples pockets but this may have been my lack of expertise with the system.

I think public authoring on a wide scale may be 10 yrs away. Must ensure it is truly public and not controlled by corporate interests, in other words rather like the internet today.

Actually, I really agree with Mark here. I'm not sure that the threads metaphor is really right here at all. In 99% of cases the threads aren't showing any kind of interesting linearity of thought or ideas - they're just forming extra data which confuses people and seems to slow the system down.

I think that the threads should be off as default, and they should only really be available as an option, either for the person creating the pockets, or for the user who wants to know where other people wandered. Bear in mind that in a classic sense, the /real/ threads here are going to be vertical - lots of issues in single geographic points. Perhaps you need to add a 3rd dimension and show where ideas are piled high...

This system offers an intriguing new avenue to community created content. It has a number of rough edges but further development will surely sort these out.

Understanding the technology was easy - you grasp the concept quickly, it really isnt complex once you get your head round it. So understanding how to use it wasn't nearly as difficult as the technology allowing you to use iot at thinking speed, which is hard! It's easy to see how much fun this will be when it works at braion speed.

The map could do with street names - call me old fashioned but if I was in paris and didn't know my way around like I do in bloomsbury I might have needed that.

You do feel a little strange staning around trying to type - talking would be better - maybe voice recongintion would be the way to go to get written accounts of journeys.

Other people seem to have written much lijke I did more experimental stuff - didn't feel like I read anything serious.

I was at college around here (Central School of Art) and run a comedy club in the area so would ahve had lots to say given the technology behaving itself.

It was really cold today -- it'd be lovely to float around on a summer's afternoon to author a pub crawl or something like that!

Thanks

I thought this was a really interesting trial - I'd not heard of public authoring before.

I thought the technology was easy to understand, but I had loads of crashes and other glitches so didn't really get the feeling of anything being very responsive, which I'm sure will change in the future. (I would also have got on a bit better I think if there had been street names on the map as I don't know this area very well - eg. wasn't sure whether Covent Garden was somewhere on the map over to the side or not...)

I can see there are loads of possible uses for this type of technology in the future. I think an audio version would be more interesting for me at least, as then you're able to look around while hearing about things, rather than having to read text.

Thank you!

This felt a bit like using the internet back in about 1995 - much promised but the technology not quite there.

Shame about the cold too.

What did I hope to be able to do?
Wander round London adding post-its to buildings; so your physical map and post-it stage looked very exciting.

I suppose I hoped either for a keypad or to be able to leave voice notes.

Perhaps it also reminded me of the Domesday project back in 1986 with memories of various maps and knocking on the doors of neighbours asking how many oxen they had.

If wifi were more extensive (particularly in pubs) it might have been more productive.

However, it still seems exciting and very promising and I look forward to seeing the work in progress.

Thanks

This was a great chance to play with a technology in the wild. I saw a presentation yesterday on similar applications for mobile devices, and couldn't resist.

Following other peoples threads was easy, but a numbering scheme would help so you can find the beginning and the end. The map is amazingly detailed. the interface is slow and the access dodgy, but its a trial so hey...

I created a thread entitled CCTV Soap Opera. It's an exhibitionists guide to Bloomsbury, which suggests performative sites that are in front of public and private CCTV devices. Each 'pocket' in the thread tells the filmmaker who teh audience might be, what props are available at the location and suggests a theme based on the local environs. It's a call to encourage people to recognise and respond to the fact that they are being surveilled in public places in everyday life.

If I used the technology again I'd involve third parties and get them to talk and suggest things on site. Or record observations of habits and practices that people exhibit that are encouraged by the affordances of that space. But it was too cold to observe others much today and no one was lingering.

Thanks for letting me play, good luck with the project,

R

I so often arrive at events and presentations finding too little time to both investigate the detail and chat with those present or indeed as in this case with the protagonists.

There is much to discuss here not least the technical ambition vs practical application. Our 'pocket mediators' are being attuned to these emerging environments but fall short under contextual load and UI scrutiny. In the interim those with the will to proceed with these tools in hand must navigate the muddle, so it is here.

The 'geocashing' mechanism presented here glimpses the surface of an imminent info topography that we will all experience on a regular basis before long, so I was keen to find out more.

With so many potential avenues for exploration not least the technical and contextual to devour, it seems progress here is obstructed by the very literal OS engagement (also the technical overhead), which anchors it to formal/literal vernacular rather than to more impressionistic articulations of space and flavour.. gestural records of contact and comment, perhaps these would arise in use over time as in any system.. I'd be seeking the significant residual codes, natural signals and shorthand..filters, layers..moods

The admirable ambition here is to illustrate how currently available methods of ad-hock and low cost infrastructure, consumer technology and corporate interests can be orchestrated to present public provision an insight on aspects of developments in commercial and public space.

There are more questions asked here than answered which is no surprise, so I would make a return trip for more info if possible. The commercial profiling and involvement of name vendors at these early stages does suggest how seriously this space will be contested in your area soon enough.

pay attention !

i am a local and so i was intrigued to see how people were approaching spaces i am familiar with. i found the narrative aspect fascinating and compelling however the threads were pretty intertangled and the system frustratingly slow which meant untangling them was difficult.

these points about usability may well have been made but i will add them none the less:
- the system was very slow
- scalability of the map would be great and helpful.
- richer media input will really add flesh to the skeleton and it is easy to see how this can be accomodated into the existing interface.
- threads need sorting - although i can see that this is a next stage and is complex.
- i would like to see GPS locating a user so that the map centres around you - for security this could be optional and toggle on/off.
- the mix of personal/public info is really interesting if misguiding/subjective. it is interesting in terms of psychgeographic mapping of urban spaces but ultimately for the application to be useful there should probably also be a more practical layer of information. eg. holborn tube's opening hours and which line runs from it or which news agents sell congestion charge tabs - these threads could be keyword searchable. this is prosaic but i think it would be more interesting for the application to work on different levels.