Future Everything has just finished in Manchester, England. I didn’t manage to get there as I’m buried in marking at the moment but there were quite a few installations, performannces etc. worth visiting. RememberMe (image above, video below) by the TOTem (Tales Of Things and Electronic Memory) project caught my eye in particular. At the Oxfam shop, near Contact Theatre:

a research assistant will be based in the shop and recording brief stories about the donated objects into a microphone: where they acquired it, the memories attached and any associated stories. This audio clip will be linked to an RFID tag and QR code. During FutureEeverything all tagged items will then join the shop’s stock. Customers, including conference delegates, will be invited to use our bespoke RFID readers, or their own smart phone to browse artifacts, displayed amongst the many thousands of other objects. Once triggered, RememberMe labeled objects, will replay the story through speakers located in the shop, evoking ghosts of the past. Tagged objects will be in the public domain for purchase by other members of the community. Our iPhone and Android apps will allow them to access the story for years to come.

Here a write up about the work on Wired.