Why I think things matter?

Julian Bleecker is a visionary. His piece A manifesto for networked Objects – Cohabitating with pigeons, Arphids, in the Internet of Things, depicts in a very thought provoking manner a fictitious yet very plausible world. This is a world where the connection between humans and Things are redefined; where Things become blogjects or objects that participate in the social web. In this novel view, of the world the current “Internet of Non-Things” is upgraded to an Internet of Things “a network in which socially meaningful exchanges takes place, were culture is made, experience circulated through media sharing—only with objects and human agents.” Ultimately, this communion between human and things will bring a new dimension to both protagonists. On one side, unanimated Things will come to life when plugged into the Internet and participate in the social discourse. On the other side, humans will gain a better understanding of their surrounding world. Bleeker’s example of the blogging pigeon perfectly illustrates this. When flocks of pigeons are equipped with some apparatus to communicate on the Internet wirelessly, GPS devices for tracing where they have been flying, and environmental sensors to log the amount of pollutants in the air they fly through, one can talk about a true species evolution. From their status of public nuisance, they metamorphose into agents in the public sphere engaging discussion on environmental issues. One can also imagine other revolutionary applications of the blogging pigeons for instance, a website would publish in real-time the data sent by the pigeons and vulnerable people would be informed of the quality of the air in their locale and take precautions as required.
Moreover, the Internet of things will introduce objects that can download, upload, distribute, and stream meaningful and meaning-making content. Things and humans will participate side by side to the making of culture. Blogjects will noticeably change social habits, views, and interpretations of the world, as they will provide a new perspective. A telling example is the amount historical footage taken by online surveillance cameras. These cameras have contributed to the making culture.
Furthermore, the integration of objects with informatics capabilities in the networked world, will redefine how humans occupy and move in the physical space. In the “Internet of Things”, object will loose their inertia and gain a certain network mobility. A surveillance camera in front of convenience store that is not online is less likely to affect any human behavior than a battery of networked cameras disseminated in all the parts of a city.
In short, Bleeker’s attractive idea of an “Internet of Things” sounds like science fiction and seems to lack of scientific grounds. However, it is necessarily to remember that “Why things matter” is a manifesto whose pure goal is to present what is there to be done with the possibilities that the Internet has to offer.