Ten Years of Social Ten Years of Social

AR goes mainstream

Filters, lenses, games and Pikachu

Bringing 3D content right into our world, augmented reality blew up in 2016. The storming success of Pokémon GO, (over 800 million active users) showed the possibilities and demand for AR. Snapchat also released Lens Studio, a tool for designing and building augmented reality lenses, which have become an intrinsic part of content creation on the platform.

See Behind the Reality

by Dominik Kublan

@societyvisualpunk

Projection

“Everybody has their own perception of reality. To simplify this complex context, multiple three-dimensional cubes were used to indicate different realities. Despite their uniqueness, the cubes overlap. As a result, all pieces unite to build a common reality which underlines the idea that an augmented reality exists as a consequence of human creation and interaction.”

Dominik is an artist, dreamer and professional.

AR goes mainstream

Pokémon GO launched and more of the world than you’d expect signed up to be trainers. Much of this had to do with the game’s mechanics, which brought AR – a technology that until that point had felt underused and unnecessary – into the mainstream.

Huge crowds of grown adults took to the streets, swiping on their phones to catch these digital monsters superimposed onto real-life places, and the power of AR was unleashed. Garnering 800 million downloads, earning $2billion in revenue and creating new opportunities for socialising, like when hundreds of people rushed to Central Park in search of a Vaporeon, it’s fair to say Pokémon GO was a social phenomenon.

With Pokémon GO earning $2 billion in revenue, it’s clear AR is a powerful tool that can change the way we interact with the world. Medicine, transport, education: every single aspect of human life has the possibility of being affected by new developments in augmented reality – and many marketing companies are looking for ways to get in on it.

What else happened in 2016?

NASA tweet from space

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko spend their #YearInSpace, opening people’s eyes to living on ISS.

Politics get petty

Trump Twitter rants, Hilary Clinton memes and celebrity endorsements all add to the social infamy of the 2016 electoral process.

Harambe dies

A video of the shooting of Cincinnati’s resident gorilla after a child falls into his cage goes viral, sparking controversy and memes.

Britain votes leave

Social media and social advertising become the battleground, when Britain suggests leaving the European Union.