This post is all my new daughter's fault. Taking her photos and then having to think about what to do with them made these ruminations of many a month come to the surface.

So thanks, Anna.

The central thesis is this: Syncing and sharing will be the focal points of innovation in computing in the next two to five years.

I shouldn't have to think about how to share the photos I've taken with my dedicated digital camera. Shouldn't have to wonder about how to sync them with the devices I use (iPhone, iMac, Cammy's MacBook) and the people I love (friends, family, acquaintances, business friends, relatives, strangers, authorities, fans, followers... enemies). That's why I think the next big leap in computing can't be seen at the device level. You have to start looking at the ecosystem experience. Then things get interesting.

On future phones I'll input my "cloud settings" once at the OS level and then never think about syncing again. Things will just be wherever I am. In fact, I will stop using the word "sync." I will simply enter simple credentials on any device I use (or simply have a device with credentials in proximity to another), and boom.

I will also set my "social settings" at the OS level and not worry about what post-action sharing action I need to take. The word "sharing" will either pass away or give way to a more interactive connotation characterized by parallel, real-time experiences. What I mean by parallel is that we will be able to share experiences via the apps we use much like we currently share the experience of watching TV in the same room from the same screen. That experience will merge with individual-sized devices so that four people in a room can be thumbing through the same pictures at the same time, with either one person serving as host or all capable of navigating the experience. This parallel option is sharing's next step.

So, what will enable the next phases of syncing and sharing?

  1. Deeper integration of existing technologies 
    RFID, wifi, bluetooth, GPS, accelerometer, gyro: in combination there's no much they cant be used for. The problem here is not availability yet, but rather usability. No company has taken the audacious step that allows people to use these things in fruitful combination without having to finagle that combo. I'm hoping that Apple's huge data centers and iOS 5 are going to be a first step (not holding breath), but will otherwise look for Google, HP, or Microsoft to do better at execution of their forward-thinking ideas (no breath here either). 
  2. New Iterations and innovations.
    Better connectivity speeds, near-field communications (NFC), and OS-level smart integrations will play a huge role. Connectivity speed just has to improve before we can fully enjoy "syncing without thinking." NFC is a more aware technology that will enable Devs to more easily program butt-kicking apps that take into account multiple devices and spatial contexts. Integration at the OS level will bring the power of synced and social experiences to a level of granularity previously not possible--not to mention allowing sophisticated algorithms to contribute to the hard work of managing favorite actions, people, places, etc, so we can stop fiddling with settings. 

Being able to push my iPhone photos to an Apple TV is not that cool. Being able to push any phone's photos to any screen at any time, regardless of brand... that's cool.