Over the last fifty years, communication technologies have turned our world into a “Global Village” where place no longer seems to matter.
We now have a potential antidote to this initial, ungrounded foray into cyberspace – in the form of mobile computing technologies. This new generation of communications technology will help us reconnect with and possibly even deepen our connections to the places where we live, work and explore.
Place-based software exposes us to a deeper understanding of what is going on around us, and therefore must be handled with great care. If done correctly, however, it could help us understand once again that place does matter. Â It matters to our connections with the planet, with our communities, and even with ourselves.
 Featured Articles on Place-Based Software:
Place is a Tag: How Your Phone Should Work
Get ready for the geo-tag – and a revolution in the way you use your phone to search the places around you!
Place-Based Networks: A New Kind of Social Network
Place-Based Networks are mobile social networks that help you connect with other people based on your shared interest in a place.
Will Mobile Devices Usher in a Renaissance in Local News?
Mobile devices will usher in a renaissance in local news. With Google, Facebook, Yelp and others building services to help us buy more local goods and services, there will be natural pressure for other kinds of location-based information and news as we layer millions of small posts, tags and comments onto our physical surroundings.
Social Networks and the Renaissance of Local News
The new economics of local news distribution rests on linking and networking behavior, and that requires a whole new type of relationship with readers – one that treats them less like passive consumers and more like proactive partners in disseminating news.
The “Local Tail†Exposes What’s Hidden Right Next to Us
Chris Anderson’s concept of the “Long Tail” offers an interesting analogy to what I’ll call the “Local Tail” – which is how the mobile web connects people back with the places they live.
Latest Articles on Place-Based Software:
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Image manipulated and based off great shot by Ed Yourdon. Thank you.