The Curiosity Stop is a monthly snackable report of all things innovative, aimed to interest, inform, and above all, inspire.

1. Curiosity Stop:
The Social Innovation Roundup
March 2016

2. CURIOSITY STOP
‘Social Thinking’ is understanding how and why people communicate, and using this insight to
provide value for our clients. This understanding is an ongoing passion project for the agency.
Our global team of 550 keep a keen eye out for intriguing changes in the social landscape. We
take the best of these innovations and compile them in the monthly
Curiosity Stop.
You’ll see some examples which prove our social trendspotting, and others which indicate what
might happen next. But if you look really closely, you might catch a glimpse into the future of
how and why we use social.

3. Curiosity Stop >
March
And off we go - here is our March edition of the Curiosity Stop. This
time it’s not simply looking at innovations in the social-digital realm -
for the most part it is actually showing digital solutions that allow us
to be more social in the original sense of the word: Apps, services and
technical gadgets that facilitate communication and being social
between people.
Some of what we show here is on the edge of what you would
currently use, and a few are true outliers. This wouldn’t be the
Curiosity Stop without them.
Some of this may seem creepy to you. But here’s the other side of the
coin: Technology is out there to make our lives better and these
innovations give you a hint of what it can do in years to come. It’s now
up to us to make the best out of it.
Bastian Scherbeck
Managing Director, Germany, We Are Social

4. 1: The Internet of Social Things
The idea of sharing your house, your bed and your
bathroom with a stranger would have been
unimaginable a few years ago. But AirBnB changed
that, and it’s now worth billions. AirBnB gave us the
capacity to share objects that previously we had to
own.
The Internet of Social Things is a trend which is
seeing us becoming happier to share everyday
objects socially through our smartphones. Bikes,
umbrellas - nothing is safe...

5. The Internet of Social Things >
Boostmi
What’s it all about?
Boostmi is an app which has rolled out in Montreal, where
waiting hours in the freezing cold for a jump-start is no fun
at all.
Using Boostmi, you can quickly find a nearby booster
(read: driver with jump leads) to come and jump-start your
car. You pay $25 over the app (so no cash changes hands),
the booster gets $20 and Boostmi gets $5. And you get to
drive away with all your extremities intact. Win-win-win.
The bigger picture
The web always promised to unite society so we could
all help each other out, but we got sidetracked by cats
on skateboards. Airbnb changed all that by showing
us that sharing is caring. Now it’s car batteries - what
next? Save the day AND earn some $ with
@boostmitech, the app connecting you
(and your jump leads) with stranded
drivers.

6. Need someone to pick little Peggy up
from her recorder lesson? Use the Zum
app to send a stranger. Yes, really.
The Internet of Social Things >
Zum
What’s it all about?
Zum is Uber for kids. Or rather, Uber for busy parents. It’s
an app dedicated to providing safe, on-demand car trips
for children.
A Zum driver, or Zumer, must have at least three years of
experience working with kids and have held a driving
license for three years (plus no naughty points, obvs).
When a parent signs up to Zum, they’ll be assigned a pool
of five Zumers - so it won’t be any old stranger picking their
child up from the playground.
The bigger picture
Ten years ago the idea of meeting someone online or
uploading pictures of you in your swimwear to the
internet felt weird. Then we got over it. The same
may well happen with handing over our loved ones
to a stranger.

7. The Internet of Social Things >
OLIO
What’s it all about?
Did you know over one third of all food that’s produced
globally gets thrown away? That’s a whole lot of doughnuts
going to waste.
OLIO is here to sort us. Say you have a loaf of bread going
stale, but you’ve recently given up gluten. Snap a photo,
post it on OLIO, and some lucky individual will come take it
off your hands. Likewise, if you’re feeling broke, check out
what goodies your neighbours are flogging (for free) on
OLIO.
The bigger picture
There’s never been a better time to be broke. Will
OLIO become the Uber of the second-hand food world,
or will a new player emerge? Either way, there’s a huge
supply and a ravenous demand, so someone could
win big.
Help reduce waste by eating your
neighbour’s food, via @OLIO_ex. And
they say there’s no such thing as a free
lunch!

8. TECH
2: Wearable Social
The forecasted wearable device market value
for 2018 is $13Bn. We are entering a world of
“Wearable Social” where movement,
heartbeats and emojis are a new form of
social language.

9. .@AngelSenseGPS lets you keep track
of your child’s whereabouts, so they
stay safe (and you stay calm).
Wearable Social >
AngelSense
What’s it all about?
AngelSense is an app designed for autistic children. The
child wears a small GPS tracker while on the move, which
collects data every 10 seconds. A concerned parent can
then pinpoint the exact location of their child, and let
others (like teachers or childminders) know their
whereabouts easily and quickly.
The device also includes a microphone, so parents can
easily get an idea of the situation their child is in.
The bigger picture
This is an understandable and acceptable form of human
surveillance, but how long until we let our employers and
partners know exactly where we are at all times? If you
think that’s weird just remember you already share this
data with whoever makes your smartphone...

10. 3: Conscious Community
Western society is becoming more conscious
of the effects of our actions on the world
around us. We’re now well informed about
sweatshops and human rights abuses in the
supply chain, which creates a collective feeling
of guilt. Online groups are forming around
interests that actually do something good. This
isn’t hot air, but action.

11. Conscious Community >
TrollAid
What’s it all about?
TrollAid is a Facebook and Twitter campaign by
charity Calais Action, who donate essentials to
refugees. Sadly, the group gets trolled a lot, but it has
found a creative solution to this.
Every time a keyboard warrior gives Calais Action
textual abuse, the group responds with a message
asking people to donate to its crowdfunding page
called ‘TrollAid’. Later it lets the troll know that they’ve
helped raise money for refugees. Bet they love that.
The bigger picture
Twitter is often a self-righteous mob, and it loves
giving a good shoeing to the meanies. If you can
unlock this goodwill, that can be powerful
marketing.
.@calaisaction is raising money for
refugees AND pissing off internet trolls
at the same time. Legends.

12. 4: On The Horizon
These final innovations don’t fit neatly into
our trends (dammit), but we reckon they
are worth a mention. Successful
innovations create expectation, so we’ll be
keeping a keen eye on them. Watch this
space - if they turn into a wider trend, you’ll
be the first to know.

13. The Babypod is a speaker which plays
music from inside your vagina. Best not
use it at your house party, then.
On The Horizon >
Babypod
What’s it all about?
Babypod is a speaker, designed to be inserted into
your inner sanctum (please don’t try if you are an
unpregnant man).
Research done by the Spanish company found that
when you play music (in the regular way) to a foetus,
it doesn’t physically react, because the sound is
muffled by the abdominal walls. If you play it through
a lovely vagina speaker however, your baby’s face will
react to the sound of music. The best (or worst) bit is
that on the other end of the speaker is a pair of
headphones, so you can listen to Biebs with your
babe!
The bigger picture
We knew wearables were going places, but even
we’re surprised by this one. Where next? Don’t ask.

14. Researcher Tom Bieling has developed
a glove which helps deaf-blind people
communicate with just about anyone.
On The Horizon >
Mobile Lorm Glove
What’s it all about?
Lorm is a tactile alphabet spelled out with strokes to
the hand. It’s used by deaf-blind people as a way to
communicate with others. Until recently, you could
only use it when face-to-face with another person
who had learnt Lorm.
Enter, Berlin researcher Tom Bieling. He’s designed
a glove with fabric pressure-sensors, which allows a
deaf-blind person to communicate with anyone.
Online messages are translated directly onto the
glove, and the glove-wearer can reply using Lorm.
The bigger picture
Our smartwatches have vibrating capabilities but
there is no universal language agreed for what each
vibration means. The Lorm Glove could pave the
way for a whole new system of communication for
everyone.

15. On The Horizon >
The Slash Keyboard
What’s it all about?
Slash is here to solve all your first-world problems. If
you find it frustrating having to switch out of your
messaging app to grab a link or contact, then you
NEED download the Slash keyboard.
Slash users can share GIFs, Spotify song links and
Youtube videos, all without leaving their chat. Cue
hours spent sharing cat GIFs. No change there,
then.
The bigger picture
Google is envied for having data on what people
search for, but keyboard apps have all the data on
what people write. It doesn’t take much imagination
to work out how valuable that will be in the future.
Slash is a one stop shop for messaging
with your mates. You’ll never need to
talk out loud again.

16. INTERNET OF SOCIAL THINGS
Boostmi
Zum
Olio
WEARABLE SOCIAL
AngelSense
CONSCIOUS COMMUNITY
TrollAid
ON THE HORIZON
Babypod
Mobile Lorm Glove
The Slash Keyboard

17. WE ARE SOCIAL
We Are Social is a global agency with offices in five continents
(Antarctica is a little too chilly for our liking).
We deliver world-class creative ideas with forward-thinking brands, and have fun doing it. Our
clients include adidas, Google and Netflix.
As an international team of 550+, our passion is people. Our mission is to put social thinking at
the centre of marketing.
Trendspotting might get us unnaturally excited, but what really counts is action. If you'd like to
speak to We Are Social about how to make innovation work for your brand, email us at
talktous@wearesocial.net