Is augmented reality “overblown”?

Chris Dannen of Fast Company argued yesterday that “Augmented Reality Is Overblown”.

Dems fightin words, Chris.

Why AR maps are not overblown:

I think Dannen has seriously underestimated the usefulness of AR maps, and forgotten the alternative that “the masses” are still actually using: paper maps. Remember those? You have to find out where you are on the map before the map can tell you jack.

"business man lost in feild using map" Lol. Stock photos ftw.

Why AR games are not overblown:

Forget back-pain inducing tabletop print-out crap. AR mobile games are no more awkward than any of the trillion or so other mobile games out there now. They will be overlaid on your coworkers, the bus, the plane and the line at the DMV. They will be casual. They will be social. They will be addictive. They will be funny, exciting, innovative – and yes a lot of them will suck. A lot of everything sucks.

Why the potential of AR is not overblown:

Look around you. No seriously, take a second and just give it a glance. Something in your vicinity right now has a question attached to it. “When is that construction site going to be finished?” “When is that library book due?” “How often should I be watering that plant?” “How do you say ‘fork’ in Mandarin?” “Are these people even speaking Mandarin?” “Where can I buy another chair exactly like this one?” “What the hell is that new guy’s name again?” Some of these questions can be answered easily with a quick internet search. Some of them require recognition software. All of them could be instantly answered with AR.

So why aren’t “the masses” excited about AR?

Guess what? “The masses” don’t get excited about tech buzzwords. They never have and they never will. For “the masses” to get excited, it would have to be called “augmented reality of mass destruction” or “swine augmented reality flu”. “The masses” don’t even know what a browser is. All they care about are the parts that are relevant to them. If you want to find out if someone likes TV, you don’t ask their opinion on cathode ray tubes. You ask them what they thought of the season finale of Lost. The same goes for AR: make a program that’s relevant to them (go on, you can do it,) and ask about that.

In the meantime, try offering ideas in addition to criticism.