Clonepointer: Finding (or Avoiding) Proximal Kindred Spirits

Catching up on Anne Galloway’s wonderful blog, I discovered Fusedspace, an international open competition that invites participants who are exploring the nature of the relationship between new technologies and public space, particularly “groundbreaking interventions in the public domain.” A quick perusal reveals many interesting entries in this contest; for now, I’ll focus on one: Clonepointer:

Clonepointer is a coincidence attractor for the tube. With Bluetooth, you can store your appearance as keywords. Scanning lists on incoming trains, it tells you if Clones are around. If you decide to meet your Clone or use it as fashion-alarm is up to you.

The idea is reminiscent of a number of other recent concepts, projects & applications based around Bluetooth mobile phones, e.g., BEDD, Serendipity and the much-ballyhooed, but [I suspect] rarely experienced, “toothing” phenomenon. In this case, a user creates a profile of themselves that consists of visually identifiable features (e.g., clothing or hair style), and can then be alerted when other people with similar features (clones) are nearby. Users can then choose whether to approach, avoid, or simply become aware of (without taking any particular overt action) these kindred spirits.

While the concept may seem to appeal primarily to fashionistas, it is clear that the designers have given a great deal of thought to the larger issues of the [potential] connections between private people in public places:

London, any given day on public transport. Due to the large number of tubetravellers, London’s underground system is a first-class example for everyday collision of private and public space in a modern-day metropolis, where especially our privacy is, according to Jane Jacobs and my own experience, one of the highest values of urban life. Just one of the reasons why people using the underground behave different than in any other public space. The unique combination of restricted space, anonymity, closeness and curiosity produced an emergent set of behaviors, which helps to cope with the unnatural situation in the most social accepted way.