We are all paparazzi now

Kate Moss was caught by a camera phone apparently using an illicit drug, because of which she lost several large endorsement contracts. She subsequently checked into rehab where, presumably, camera phones are not allowed.

So what?

This story highlights a point my wife often makes: We are all paparazzi now...and we are all stars. The popularity of camera phones in some markets means that any important event (a car accident, a mugging, a wardrobe malfunction, etc.) is increasingly likely to be documented by ordinary people. As phones become more sophisticated, video (rather than still) recordings will become the norm. When UWB cameras are built invisibly into fashion eyewear (I'm speculating here, but it seems reasonable) they'll record to a continuous half-hour buffer--if anything interesting happens you'll just stare at it (a perfectly natural reaction) and then, when it's over, dump the buffer to permanent storage with the touch of a button.

One implication: "Eyewitness" testimony will become "video" testimony. Another: Call centers must prepare for a deluge of imagery from their customers--everything from videos of the washing machine as it shakes itself apart ("Is this covered under the warranty?") to stills of the rash on my daughter's hand ("Is it poison ivy, Doctor?"). Accenture Technology Labs has some thinking around the implications of ubiquitous cameras and what we term (rather blandly) the call center of the future. Check it out.