Would you be upset attending a concert if people around you were sending SMS and camera phone photos rather than watching the performance?
That’s the question inbabble asks in an article about Pocketfuzz (see below), a company that enables performers to sell ringtones and attendees to transmit text messages and photos displayed on giant screens during concerts.
Despite my being a wireless communications geek, at some of the types of concerts I attend I wouldn’t want to be in the same room (or planet) with people at a concert by the group on the Pocketfuzz site (see above) — let alone want people to use their cellular phones in any way except in an emergency.
Purists versus the great unwashed
That said, for many types of concerts — such as those featured on Pocketfuzz — I can certainly see the fun and value of using cellular phones for SMS and photos. Inbabble seems to feel the same way (although it didn’t say anything about my concert-going predilections).
Inbabble says:
“Purists may argue that Pocketfuzz is an unwanted distraction whatever the venue, and that nothing should be allowed to shift people’s focus from the artist and the performance. But such is the devotion that many concert-goers feel towards the artist they have chosen to see, that an opportunity to interact with them is likely to prove very attractive.
“Ultimately, enthusiasm for Pocketfuzz is likely to vary widely depending on the nature of the event and how favorable the artist in question is to the idea. It will undoubtedly annoy quite a few people, but we think that they will be heavily outnumbered by fans who want to feel more connected to the event and the artist by participating in this way.”
Wireless value
Inbabble says the Pocketfuzz application was used at the Denver Post Underground Music Showcase and it was well received by all parties involved — the audience, performers and organizers. Inbabble speculates that smaller concerts might be better for Pocketfuzz because it’s more intimate for audience interaction and not as disruptive compared to larger performances.
Seems logical to me. If you’re attending a concert where great music is played, you’re unlikely to be pleased hearing the clicks and watching the antics of yahoos snapping photos.
However, even with tens of thousands of screaming teens during the execrable “music” of rock/rap/whatever groups, I can see the entertainment value of Pocketfuzz or a similar application. Indeed, I can see creative wireless applications adding an new dimension to concerts.
A wireless extravaganza
Many concerts are less about music (if you have any musical taste at all) and more about the experience. And increasingly the experience is becoming a multimedia extravaganza. Wireless applications with audience interactions seem to be a logical addition to that experience.
What do you think? Encourage SMS and camera phone photos at concerts or try to discourage the practice?
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