I had to leave SAS early today, but before I left, I met with Microsoft’s Gary Flake, who debuted Photosynth at Web 2 last year. He had some cool stuff to show me. I was very keen to learn more about Sea Dragon (which also might be called See Draggin’, you know…), and that did factor into what I saw, but the stuff he showed me was even cooler.
First, one thought on the implications of Sea Dragon. In short, the idea is this: Finite real estate, infinite information (this is a Flake-ism). I want to get pics from the Gates demo to show you what I mean, but imagine the ad as a rabbit hole of sorts. If you go down it, you can explore all of Wonderland without ever really leaving the page you are on.
Much of the other stuff I saw was under NDA, but suffice to say, I was impressed. What I can tell you about has to do with a new model for ads on the web, a sort of mashup between web-based data and virtual representations of familiar tableaus, for example, a typical storefront. It’s sort of hard to explain, it’s best seen. Gary called it “one and a half life…”.
In short, it’s all about a new interface for navigation through commercial space, and honestly, it’s about time we started to see innovation in this space. I’ve asked Gary and co. for some screen shots, and when/if they come in, I’ll post more. I’m a bit tuckered. It’s been a long 24 hours. More when I can…