Trigr

Trigr is a project that attempts to get people to think differently about the moments of life they choose to photograph. Most of us only take photos of "special times" like holidays and birthdays. Trigr prompts people via text message at random times during the day to "take a picture" to capture potentially important information that we don't usually document. Trigr is about memory and connecting to others by sharing the ordinary moments of our lives.

When I joined Flickr two years ago, I noticed people occasionally documenting "ordinary" moments of their lives. I found I was connecting to them and getting to know them through these photos. I wanted to push this concept and see if I could get people to capture even more abstract moments. What things would these photos would reveal about people? I wanted to know if people would begin to notice patterns in their lives and in other lives. I was curious if these kind of photos would have any value-- either as a way to connect others now, or reflect many years from now.

Anyone with a camera phone and internet access. Right now my users vary in age from 18yrs old to 60.

A user signs up for "Trigr." They receive between one to four text messages a day at random times instructing them to "shoot" ie-- take a picture with their camera phone of whatever is going on in that moment. These photos are filtered into a web site where they can review their own photos as well as other people who are hit with the same messages.

Ubicomp code - php/perl. Flickr API.