Information Ring Marrys Two Cultures

A producer at G4 must have been awake pretty late at night when they found the Information Ring on the Yanko Design weblog.

The Information Ring is a product designed to look like jewelry but works like an electronic business card. Designer Hideaki Matsui has worked in Japan, China and most recently New York, on a variety of high end design products. He may have really come up with a revolutionary application for wearable technology.

This literal marriage of cultures into a data – storing ring increases opportunities when meeting new people. Unlike in the U.S. where business practices are random and dog eat dog, in Japan customary greetings are of the utmost importance. The Information Ring bridges the culture gap. The bit of bling exchanges basic information just by shaking hands. The rings exchange the users’ information and stores it. The power source originates from human body temperature, and no electricity is needed. Later, a slot in the ring then connects to a digital card that would download and transfer the gathered info to a PC or other device.

Japanese ordinarily give and receive business-cards with both hands. They are called ‘meishi.’ Style is tantamount. The ceremony surrounding it is very important. It is expected to be printed in your home language on one side and Japanese on the other. You would then present the card with the Japanese language side up. That along with a specified type of bow is part of the greeting ritual. You are supposed to take special care in handling cards that are given to you. You can’t write on the card or put it in your pocket or wallet, as either of these actions will be viewed as defacing or disrespecting the business card. In a business situation, nothing can begin until the meishi exchange process is complete. The customary greeting is the bow. However, some Japanese may greet you with a handshake. Shaking hands is a customary U.S. greeting action. With the Information Ring a simple hand shake creates the whole information transfer. Hopefully without committing international faux pas.

It will be great to see this invention go into mass production. But there is still going to be a chicken and egg factor that I foresee. What are the chances of meeting new people that also have the ring? Until wearing info jewelry becomes as common as a wrist watch the effectiveness of having one will be limited. Or if the underlying technology became common in watches, then it would take off.

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