Josh Clark may be the smartest person I know. That’s why I’m proud to have worked for him.

The real benefit is seeing the future of tech that I would have otherwise been oblivious to. This was my second time hearing Josh speak, but he’s great at it, and the audiences love him. Between the free pizza and lights of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges in the background, XO Group provided one of the best spaces I’ve been to for any talk.

Despite a promise to look to the future, we have to all understand where we are now. This opened with sensors.

Why?

Because sensors can literally go anywhere. The key to exploring the use of sensors though, is their innate ability to interpret the environment around them. The best part about the expansion of technology now, is how real everything is becoming, hence “Augmented Reality” coming to life rather than just being a not-so-new tech term.

To wrap up this post, I’ll leave you with some of the fun things that the cameras on our phones and tablets are being used for.

SkinVaders is a fun app that uses the front facing sensor to “plant” alien eggs on your face, and your mission is to avoid becoming an alien.

Word Lens is one of the greatest apps I’ve ever seen. Forget Google Translate, this is going to be our God-send for surviving Japan.

Finally, the geniuses over there in Sweden are outdoing themselves again.

Are we really surprised by IKEA any more? How many times have you sat staring at your computer trying to determine if the furniture you like would look good in your living room? If nothing else, it’s brilliant.

Enjoy that hint of augmented reality on your Friday, and go have some weekend fun with the newest possibilities in mobile tech!