Things that blink: Computationally augmented name tags

The conventional name tag automatically dispenses information at a time when it is useful and relevant. The name of the person wearing the tag is visible in a face-to-face encounter. The information presented on a name tag changes according to who is wearing the name tag, but it does not depend on who is viewing the name tag. This paper presents a computationally augmented name tag-the "Thinking Tag"-that is capable of displaying different information depending on who is viewing it. When two participants at an event face each other, their name tags change to reflect a simple measure of how much they have in common. A goal of the Thinking Tag technology design is to create an augmented name tag that does not interfere with the social mechanisms that normally operate among groups of people. Therefore, the communication and computation technology are hidden within the tag.