The Yellow Arrow (YA) project is coming to DC. This is an exercise in what the project calls a Massively Authored Artistic Publication or MAAP. We at Social Technologies call it annotated reality. The idea behind Yellow Arrow--and all annotated reality--is to link information streams to our physical world, adding utilty, context and (in some cases) meaning. In the case of Yellow Arrow, the project uses small yellow arrow stickers (duh!) with SMS text numbers on them. A YA member slaps the sticker on something he or she finds noteworthy, then texts or logs into the YA website and writes up a description of why the arrow was placed. Viewers can then send a text message to the number on the tag and have the tag info sent to their mobiles.
The YA project in DC will focus on the city's punk music past, tagging sites associated with DC's punk bands and venues.
Art project aside, annotated reality has many practical real-world applications--and they will not have to rely on paper stickers. Using RFID or fully virtual tags, historical sites could relate information to tourists and passers-by; real estate companies could tag their listed homes to furnish features and listing agent data; restaurants could provide information on the menu, specials, and wait times, and stores could let people know about sales and specials.
YA is already expanding the project outside of art. In a joint effort with Lonely Planet travel guides, it is providing stickers for travelers to tag sites they visit; we can hope this won't devolve into the 21st century version of "Kilroy was here." (Image: www.nyc.gov)
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