Text100 was at Social Media Week London to lead a discussion about mixed reality, and what comes next. Mixed (or Augmented) Reality is set to re-write the rule book for human-computer interaction over the next 12 months. Think you’re exempt? Some people doubted we’d order pizza over the internet. Now look where we are.

Beating the Hype Machine: A Useful Guide to Mixed Reality gave a crash course in what works, what doesn’t, and how to position yourself for the wave of disruption that’s about to come crashing down on all of our heads. The panel was chaired by James Holland, Text100’s VP of Creative Technology, featuring representatives from Google, Wareable and Tata Communications.

The speakers showed the endless possibilities for AR, whilst keen to stress that we are past the stage of AR’s ‘potential’.

The audience walked away with a better understanding of:

• Unexpected applications for Mixed Reality and how they can complement marketing programs
• Technologists’ perspective on the next wave for Mixed Reality and how marketers can think ahead
• The human side of Mixed Reality and how to make this technology resonate with your audience

SPEAKERS

James Holland, Managing Consultant and Head of Creative Technology, Text100

David Blanaro, Brand Partnership Specialist, Google

Sophie Charara, Features Editor, Wareable

Amit Sharma, Associate VP, Tata Communications

Key take outs:

• Not just virtual. David Blanaro warned against attempting to shoehorn VR and AR into any story, instead advising that mixed reality be used to bring a moment to life, rather than trying to drive a user down a linear narrative path.
• Not just visual. When we think of Augmented Reality, we imagine an overlay of the virtual onto what we see around us, says Sophie Charara, Features Editor at Wareable. But this doesn’t have to be the case – in fact Augmented Reality doesn’t have to involve visual elements at all.
• Not just advertising. Mixed Reality can be a potent tool when it comes to telling the hidden stories of Tech. Using lots of headsets, Amit Sharma showed over 8,000 people in his company how their work contributes toward exciting outcomes.
• Not just exciting. According to James Holland, as the technology in our pocket improves, AR will become just another everyday tool. And this is very much a good thing. People don’t live extraordinary lives, they live everyday lives. For Mixed Reality to be a success, it needs to boring, ordinary because this is of most use to the everyday consumer.

CONTACT

Harry Gould, EMEA Content Marketing Consultant, Text100, [email protected]