Hear and feel your partner or child’s heartbeat, even when thousands of miles apart

• Who is this post for? Everyone with a loved one!
• What does it discuss? Connecting people through heartbeats
• How does it benefit you? Feel connected, even when miles apart

A product that takes its name from shared moments is hoping to bridge that gap between loved ones. Pillow Talk enables you to feel your partner’s presence by sharing heartbeats via a wristband and speaker and is launched mid-December.

While modern technology has allowed people to connect with loved ones through text, video chat and simply talking on the phone, the founders thinks those connections aren’t enough, especially for those separated by long distances. An iOS or Android app pairs you and your partner together. When you go to bed, you both strap on wristbands that contain heart sensors. You can hear and feel each other’s heartbeats through a speaker you place under your pillow or, using the app, you can plug your headphones into your phone and listen.

The product can be used for connections other than the romantic variety . For example, parents who are often home away from their kids can use it to feel more present.

Pillow Talk isn’t the only device connecting people through heartbeats, though. The Apple Watch’s Digital Touch lets you send a heartbeat to someone so they can see and feel it. The watch’s healthcare app uses sensors so parents can listen to their baby’s heartbeat right on their wrist.

What are your thoughts on this method of connection?

Is your phone changing the way you fall in love?

• Who is this post for? Everyone
• What does it discuss? How we are entering and conducting relationships differently due to technology
• How does it benefit you? Fresh perspective on human behaviour

The deep breath before the first nervous approach, perhaps an extra glug from your glass of Dutch courage. The fear of rejection, perhaps public humiliation. If you got past that stage then there was waiting by the landline for a call or perhaps even a letter from one’s new infatuation. Yes, dear reader, that was how one conducted one’s love life before the advent of smartphones.

But it seems technology is changing the way we meet, greet, and fall in love. Deakin University anthropologist Roland Kapferer says that in one generation, phones and apps have spawned a whole new way of dating and mating. We’re witnessing a complete behavioural shift in the way we search for soulmates. Kapferer shares insights on how our love lives are changing in this fascinating, brief article

Do you think smartphones have changed our love lives? Heck, can you even remember? 😉

Mix your technologies to share music like it’s the ’80s

• Who is this post for? Everyone
• What does it discuss? A lovely retro-style product
• How does it benefit you? Increased smiles

Those of us the wrong side of 35 will have grown up sharing mixtapes and what treasured items they were! Just think back to the effort they took to compile and the appreciation of the person who was the recipient of your labour of love.

It’s just not the same sharing your playlist on Spotify is it? I can create a playlist in minutes. It’s efficient and the music is just as good but there’s little emotion involved from a sharing perspective. Thus, we really like the work of Sydney based designer Tiffany Roddis whose rendition of a mixtape is actually a USB that can hold up to 8GB of files and media (hopefully music!). It also has a personal message written on it for those of you planning to give it to someone special.

Easy to buy from anywhere as ships worldwide from the UK at the designer’s Etsy store, Wild Card.

Snacks or…short stories?

• Who is this post for? Everyone
• What does it discuss? A wonderful idea for how commuters and shoppers can fill their spare time
• How does it benefit you? Increased happiness, decreased stress

We love, love, LOVE the work of a new start-up in France. Vending machines in the city of Grenoble are dispensing short stories instead of sugary snacks and drinks.  The publishing start-up company is called Short Édition and it has installed eight such vending machines in the city with the full approval of the mayor.

The company hopes that commuters and bystanders will use these quirky vending machines while around the city instead of reaching for the ever-present smart phone to check Facebook or Twitter (though frankly, if news of their presence is spread via Facebook and Twitter who are we to complain?).

Please someone bring this to the UK. Perhaps you can ask your mayor to do the same?