In the new digital world, we are the sum of our trackable behavior. The web sites we read, the items we share, the products we buy, are all elements that contribute to our digital personas. Online marketers desperately want to collect our behavioral data so they can analyze our history, better target their offers, and maybe even predict our next moves. But the question remains, do we want them to have access? Do we trust their intentions? And, more importantly, if we don't, can we stop them from peering over our shoulders as we navigate our digital lives?

At Involution Studios Boston, we've been lucky enough to design crazy, brain-bending, exciting software that changes the way humans work and play. Since 2004, we've been creating software for some of the biggest and best companies, not to mention over 100 different start-ups in various industries. Our alumni have worked for companies like Apple, Facebook, Adobe and IDEO. And we're fortunate to work on important, complex problems in practice areas like healthcare, security, information technology, and engineering.

Here’s what we’re reading online, this week at Involution, on design, tech, and the digital life, in our links round up.

The Internet of Things Will Rise in Boston
With the advent of the mobile revolution, we're now living connected lives, where our day-to-day activities are closely tied to the digital products and services that we carry with us everywhere on our smart phones. The future vision of smart devices networked via an Internet of Things takes this connectedness one step further, to a place where not only our phones, but our cars, our homes, the appliances within them, and any number of other objects can communicate with each other and us. This connected vision may be closer to reality than we realize.

The Mass Technology Leadership Council held its annual Big Data Summit yesterday at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge, MA. The sold out event was attended by a broad cross-section of the Boston tech community with engineers, designers, venture capitalists and business managers all coming together to discuss the future of Big Data in the Bay State. Massachusetts is well positioned to take advantage of the coming boom in big data according to a recent MassTLC white paper that reviews both the current lay of the land and future opportunities.

For Immediate Release
LONDON, England - February 8, 2012 - Marketing innovation software leader, Affinnova Inc., launched Concept Studio, a Web-based application for collaboratively developing new product concepts and designs, at the Online Research Methods conference in London. The software facilitates product innovation by allowing marketing teams to assemble numerous variations on a potential concept. By enabling the exploration of a wide spectrum of ideas, Concept Studio can help users discover genuine breakthroughs that might have otherwise been overlooked. Early adopters of the Concept Studio software include dietary service Nutrisystem, which used the software to help identify product messaging across key demographics.

Last week, the IxDA's Interaction12 conference in Dublin, Ireland brought together the professional interaction design community from around the globe for four days of inspiring talks and workshops.

Is the age of ubiquitous computing is upon us? We may not be living yet in William Gibson's plugged-in future, but there's no doubt that we're absolutely dependent on the digital realm. From tablets to smart phones to laptops to car navigation systems, we always seem to be connected. The digital life is everywhere we go, and software is our intermediary between physical reality and the bits and bytes. Over the past two years, the massive rise in popularity of mobile devices has changed the frequency, duration, and level of engagement of our digital existence. No longer is digital interaction reserved for those specific times when we huddle around the glow of desktop monitors. Mobile has made software integral to and embedded within people's lives, but the convenience and pervasiveness of mobile computing is only part of the story.

Here’s what we’re reading online, this week at Involution, on design, tech, and the digital life, in our links round up.

SOPA: Anatomy of a Public Uprising
As most of us of are aware, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill in the US House of Representatives, while purported to protect content providers, in fact hides within its depths the chilling ability to freeze online businesses and tech innovation through a set of draconian provisions, that would, for instance, force search engines to filter their search results.

Happy new year! Two thousand and twelve is going to be big here at Involution Studios. We're excited, not only by the software we're designing and building for our clients, but also by an internal project, that, after months of operating in stealth mode, is ready to have the wraps taken off. So, as the new year brings with it a cold blast of arctic air, at least in the Boston area, let's warm ourselves up around the glow of the Invo endeavors of the coming months.

Here’s what we’re reading online, this week at Involution, on design, tech, and the digital life, in our links round up.

If You Make Sure You're Kinected, the Xbox is on the Wall
Last week, Microsoft's Kinect turned one year old, and the Redmond giant celebrated the "Kinect Effect" with a video highlighting future applications of the technology from healthcare to music to education.