“Screens are needy” was a tasty soundbite from Russell Davies at last Friday’s Playful09 conference. It was a quote that stuck with me. Thinking about screens as needy seems like a good starting point from where to ask what digital interaction points do we have apart from screens?

On a daily basis I carry around at least a couple of different sensors, such as a RFID chip in my subway card and a GPS with a microphone (iPhone). Both with the potential to record and document activities in a passive form. Demanding only a few seconds of my attention, such as a Gowalla check-in or a WideNoise stamp.

Our time with screens is often severely more scarce than our time without one. Contradictionary in one sense, but our time in front of a screens suffers from serious attention scarcity since we for one thing is in constant browsing mode, always on to the next thing and also we are supposed to be, you know, working.

Products adapted to a post digital environment seems to be sensor-based rather than screen-based. The increasing number of potential data driven excursions about myself, my city or my devices are depending on sensors collecting data. Often done in a passive mode, while walking through the park or riding the bus. They also provide a quite different user experience, that is about sensing and highlight your surroundings rather than what’s on a screen.

Basically I wanted to open up the thought about screens not being the end solution to everything digital. Screens may be part of it but current devices provides a much wider array of tools. For example there might be cases of augmented reality apps that would be a better experience in your earbuds rather than on your screen. Point-and-listen just seems less intrusive than point-and-watch.

Onward and upward.

(Point of no return: This blog just changed it’s primary language to English.)

Image by miss_hg