Augmented Reality: A New Mass Media?

When I did my interview last week with Claire Boonstra, co-founder of Layar, she said something that caught my attention. She said that augmented reality (AR) would be the "next mass media." And then she said something even more thought provoking. She said, "And there are, theoretically, as many layers possible as there are currently websites on the Internet. And you can add your own layer to your reality."

If you break down her comment, she is essentially comparing augmented reality to the world wide web and "layers" as websites. So, if you buy into the argument that the web is a mass medium (it is, for sure), and that the gold rush to reserve your URL for each website that occurred during the late 90’s and early 2000’s (and still to this day) was a revolutionary step in delivering information to the masses, then AR is a new information medium and "layers" will enhance information delivery to the consumer or business as websites do today.

Taken a step further, if you believe that mobile phones and tablets will replace desktops and laptops, and the camera on those new portable devices is a new window on the world, then the smart money is on the company that starts to monetize layers and capitalizes on this new mass media bringing more information via mobile computing.

Finally, Boonstra said, "We are in the 1994 of the Internet. It’s very unclear about what the Facebooks of AR will be."

Whoa!

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