Why people will geo-annotate physical space

I recently had the experience of creating content to simulate a future of ubiquitous geo-located information. The area in question was a part of San Francisco rich in history, which provided about half of the information, but we also wanted to envision the various ways everyday people will annotate physical space (once the infrastructure, tools, and interfaces make this is easy to do). The best way to predict the future, if you can't create it, is to put yourself in the shoes of those who will live in it. Here's what I learned:

Everyone one of these personal geo-annotations boils down to "I was here" or "You are here". People will take the time to compose a message and tag that message to a place because they want you to know that they were there, or because they have information that will be relevant to you later when you're in the same location, or some combination of both. As I look back at the annotations I composed, the "I was here" motivation will be largely emotionally driven. Examples: 'This is the place where he proposed'; 'I needed to mark the spot where occurred'; 'I'm a tourist and really having a great time'; even 'I lost a bet, as part of my payoff I have to mark the spot where..'. Ultimately, these types of annotations are still meant for other people -- what is the sound of an unread geo-annotation? -- but the value for the viewer will largely be to participate in someone else's experience and get a sense of the unrecorded history of a place.

The "You are here" motivation for leaving physically-tagged messages would seem to offer more utility for both person tagging and person viewing. Examples: geo-personals ('if you're in this location, you might be my type'); geo-classifieds ('if you're here on this bike trail, you might want to buy the bike I'm selling'); announcements ('if you're here, you might want to come to my event'); community organizing ('we're often here...if you are too, join us next time'); tips/assistance/warnings ('if you're here at night, be extra careful', or 'here's what worked for me...'); lost&found ('if you're here, do you see the bracelet I lost?'); temporary notes ('if you're here, we were here...an hour ago! now we're at the party'); gaming and scavenger hunts (even incorporating features of the location -- imagine GeoEverQuest in Central Park); and filling in gaps left by other annotations ('Did you know that this spot will be the site of Starfleet Headquarters? I bet *that* isn't on the official geo-tour!').

What's most crucial for this future to thrive? Interface. Simple, convenient interfaces for inputting annotations, and uncluttered, filtered interfaces for receiving annotations. Trust systems, social networks, and personal profiles & preferences will be necessary tools for survival when every urban street corner may have hundreds of annotations. And my biggest takeaway from this exercise? The future of geo-tagged content doesn't just belong to the coffee shops that will beam unwanted coupons as you walk by (this will inevitably be done, and let's hope it dies a quick death) . This new medium will be most fully realized by people -- they'll use this forthcoming infrastructure, just as they have others in the past, to communicate, connect, and live life in new ways.

Do any other types of geo-annotations come to mind? Has anyone had experience with Yellow Arrow? If so, what are people saying in their annotations?

Comments

[Korakot Chaovavanich]

Your article reminds me of this projects.

http://www.confluence.org/

Many people go to these 'degree confluence' place.

And geo-tag it with some stories.