Elevated reality.

I have an idea for a realtime utility/application/brand/service.

Instead of augmented reality, it offers something that I call elevated reality. It enables any place, relationship, or experience to become an opportunity to learn. To be truer to your real self.

Instead of offering mere information, it offers inspiration. But not any kind of inspiration. Not generic self-improvement stuff that you can find at Waterstones or on Amazon. It offers inspiration that will be uniquely motivating TO YOU.

In other words, as you let this service get to know you, it personalizes what it does for you. Take some people I know, for example. For Mark, it might mean helping him make purchasing decisions that are in synch with his personal values. For Chris, it might involve some nudging to take a particular photograph in a way he hadn't considered before. For Roberta it might mean tasting a strange new dish that's just been concocted around the corner. For Claudie it might mean exploring new (or ancient) forms of sacred movement. For Matthew it might involve time-shifting his own brilliance so he can experience it the way others do, for Kate it's steady encouragement, for Sam it's pointing to new sources of challenge, for Eivor it might involve connecting with someone who misunderstands an author she loves. And so on.

Imagine if the continual school that is life were enhanced by realtime connections to ideas, things, places, people -- just when we would most benefit from that connection. It's not a friend-finder or an interesting-experiences guide -- it's more like a coach, a teacher, an agent-companion that makes your journey more personally and emotionally productive. It makes your real life a school. In realtime.

This is what elevated reality would be.

Anyone interested?

5 Good Fights

One of the things I have come to appreciate about living in London is that here, more than anywhere else I've ever been or lived, the past and the future are in constant debate with one another. They wrestle, sometimes constrain each another, and the tension between the two can be exasperating. Because it's a fight between well-matched opponents. And the result is an environment and a citizenry that's dynamically open, stubbornly opinionated, brash and gently polite all at once.

So I've been thinking about the value of the "good fight." And I've come up with 5 well-matched opponents that particularly interest me.

Transformation and Tradition

Intuition and Evidence

Transience and Permanence

Humanity and Technology

Individuality and Community

Interesting stuff lies in the ambivalent spaces between these pairs of seeming opposites. Opportunity emerges from the creative abrasion that happens when you force them into the boxing ring together. I'm not talking harmonious yin and yang here. I'm talking about messy arguments, heated challenge, a fight to the finish that may or may not end in a tie.

I wonder what other good fights we might instigate. Any thoughts?

Slipping in Realtime

I just had lunch at one of my favorite places for comfort food in London. It wasn't as good as it always was. And funnily enough, I was at its sister restaurant for dinner last night which also wasn't quite as good as it was last time. Has the recession taken its toll on the kitchen, the servers, and the overall experience? Is corporate management cutting the wrong costs?

Or was it just a coincidence?

I thought about posting something in realtime. To Yelp, to Tweet my disappointment. But then I wondered: is there any margin for error anymore? In realtime, must business be absolutely perfect, all of the time? Would the right people read my post? If management were monitoring the stream, my opinion might create an opportunity for improvement. But other customers might turn away, and the downward spiral of quality deterioration could continue.

In realtime, what's the right thing to do?