Invention: Social Cameras

Thursday, June 14, 2007 by Dave Winer.

Here's an idea that came to me while waiting for a train in a town in Italy. I was standing on a platform, and across a pair of tracks a man was taking a picture of something on my platform. I was in the picture, the camera seemed to be pointed right at me.  

I thought to yell my email address across the tracks asking him to send me a copy of the picture. 

Then I thought my cell phone or camera could do that for me.  

Then I had a better idea -- what if his camera, as it was taking the picture, also broadcast the bits of the picture to every other camera in range. My camera, sitting in my napsack would detect a picture being broadcast, and would capture it.  

Wouldn't this change tourism in a significant way? Now the pictures I'd bring home would include pictures of me. Instead of bringing home just pictures that radiate from my body, I'd bring home all pictures taken around me while I was traveling. 

Of course if you don't want to broadcast pictures you could turn the feature off. Same if you don't want to receive them. 

Of course a standard would be needed, but the first mover would own the market, and there would be an incentive to go first because it would be a viral feature.  

Not sure what technology would work best here. Bluetooth isn't fast enough, I think wifi is overkill. Maybe a low-power radio transmitter? 

When I told this idea to a bunch of friends at breakfast this morning they said they probably already have these cameras in Japan. Do they? 

Personally I think this idea is as good an idea as Checkbox News or HyperCamp, neither of which have been done yet, btw.