“A supernova of new data over the past decade is shaping everyday lives across the planet.”

“It is perhaps tempting to see this as suggesting that new electronic spaces are being created that transcend the spatial arrangements and constraints of mundane reality. We resist such an interpretation, though. The “technosocial situations” that Ito and Okabe detail are certainly forms of social and cultural practice that rely on information technology for the forms that they currently manifest. Still, they are firmly situated within, motivated by, and shaped in response to everyday life. Mobile-messaging technologies in the examples cited by Ito and Okabe do not create new spaces but rather allow people to encounter and appropriate existing spaces in different ways (see also Ellwood-Clayton 2003, 2005; Prøitz 2005). These new mobile practices, then, transform existing spaces as sites of everyday action. Far from seeing technology as creating a space apart, we view it as being fundamentally a part of how one encounters urban space and how it is shaped through technologically mediated mobility.”

“There’s no other technology in the world that 87% of the world’s population owns. And yet, despite mobile devices’ ubiquity and connectivity, we are only beginning to realize what’s possible. But most organizations, in fact most people, aren’t ready for the massive cultural, health, business and government impacts that these mobile devices are about to deliver. I believe mobile technologies will displace many of the fixed-location technologies that keep people and businesses chained to physical places. Who needs a store when you can point, click and buy a product from Amazon.com? Indeed, who needs to visit a bank branch when you can transfer money anywhere using services like Paypal or Square? According to Price Waterhouse Coopers’ latest Digital IQ survey, 66% of organizations are investing in mobile technologies for their employees. But these businesses are reacting to the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon, most are not preparing for it.”

“The last time your doctor asked how much you exercise, did you tell the truth? Do you even really know the truth—not just how many visits to the gym you’ve made this month, but how many hours you sit or how many calories you burn in a day? What if your doctor had already received the information from a tiny device built into your cell phone, wallet, or undershirt? Sonny Vu believes a device like this could fundamentally change health care. “You can’t just lie to your doctor—it’s all there, recorded,” he says. “You cut right to the chase rather than having to tease out all that information.”