the social music box

by Erica

The Chüne Smart Speaker.

This springwise.com article appealed to me mainly because I’m fresh out of the creaking movie theater seat after viewing Spike Jonze’s masterpiece, ‘Her.’ A music box that feels the ‘vibe’ of the room for a party. How cool is that? (I’ll tell you – not as cool as an OS1, am I right or am I right?) I’m kidding. Maybe.

With the Chüne Smart Speaker people will be able to connect their phones via app to the music box where it will be able to sort through the various interests of people in the room to create a relevant playlist (throwback!). However, if my friends are any indication, ‘varying interests’ can be a little scary. I’m not saying I have a Wu-Tang addiction to contrast my friends’ obsession of Ke$ha…but I am. To prevent these types of clashes from happening you can adjust the setting on the box from something like ‘low-key’ event to ‘full-on’ party, according to the article. I guess, in this respect, the title of the article was a little misleading. You still essentially have to set the mood of the party. However, you get to eliminate people requesting their favorites, because essentially the music box has already accounted for your guests’ interests. Still cool, I must admit.

I guess what’s more interesting here is the use of an app, and the idea that an app can address a community. Social media, as I understand it at this point, is a way to archive and network. This app takes this to an entirely new level. It’s not like Facebook – let me add you as my friend so we can talk (and stalk your pictures). It’s not like SnapChat – let me send you selfies. And it doesn’t have the quirkiness of Twitter necessarily. It’s using social media in real-time, as a background. The background part is important (Twitter is also real-time, but Twitter as the app is entirely the foreground). The Chüne Smart Speaker takes what you’ve archived about yourself (your musical interest) and allows you to fully engage with people in real-time. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Music is important. Think about movies – what does music do? It enhances your experience in a hyper real way. It sets the tone. It allows you to create visual memories. I would argue it’s the same in real life. With the Smart Speaker’s abilities to set the tone for you, you are able to really network with those around you. I suppose I’m going out on a limb here calling a college keg party (assuming that’s our market here) a chance to network. But at its root – that’s what parties are for, right?

In these respects, and for what it is at its bare product form – the Chüne Smart Speaker is neat. It’s exploring a connection between app and hard product that I haven’t really seen done before. Drawing back to the connection to Spike Jonze’s ‘Her’ that I was making before. This is the type of technology we see permeating through the future. Something that knows us. Something that allows us to focus on being in ‘real time’ and existing. I won’t go into the points made in Jonze’s film, because they’re quite the contrary – but it’s interesting to see where we’re taking technology and how we’re harnessing what it’s doing.

(Thought this was relevant, and kind of funny)