Blogjects

Julian Bleecker's paper 'A Manifesto for Networked Objects — Cohabiting with Pigeons, Arphids and Aibos in the Internet of Things' \note: PDF @ 900Kb\-- also known as Why Things Matter -- should be required reading for every reader.

The essay looks at the rise of what Bleecker calls "blogjects" (objects that blog), precursors to Bruce Sterling's more complex "spime" concept.

'Blogjects have some rudimentary characteristics, very much part of the rules of behavior in a Spimey world. These are not definitive features, but rather elements, traits and idiosyncrasies that might be found amongst objects that participate in the social web.

Here are three peculiarities of Blogjects:

• Blogjects track and trace where they are and where they’ve been;
• Blogjects have self-contained (embedded) histories of their encounters and experiences
• Blogjects always have some form of agency — they can foment action and participate; they have an assertive voice within the social web.'