Cell phones have become ubiquitous in our society and nowhere is that fact more apparent than at concerts. Cell phones have literally revolutionized the concert-going experience, for better and worse.
Cell phones allow us to take photos of ourselves to load up to Facebook when we should be paying attention to the stage, help us reconnect with our friends when they wander off, and make it easy to shoot grainy video to upload to YouTube.
One of the great underappreciated benefits of the smart-phone revolution in cell technology is how it helps us kill time at shows. No longer are we forced to yawn our way through a boring opening act. With just a few taps, we have the whole Internet at our fingertips.
At least that's the theory. If you've ever been to a concert with more than 50 people, you know the unfortunate truth: Cell reception at concerts is pretty hit or miss.
Consider for a moment the iPhone app for the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The app provides a solid collection of information -- directions to the venue, a map of the venue -- but it's basically useless once you get to the show.
Let's say you want to know more about the show itself: Set times, weather updates, etc. All of that is information you'll have to pull off the Internet which would be great if you and a couple thousand of your closest friends weren't all trying to access the same cell towers at the same time.
It's great that venues are starting to be forward thinking when it comes to smartphones. Venue-specific apps can be handy, especially if you're the type who wants to be able to buy concert tickets anywhere you have a data connection. That said, wouldn't it be nicer if venues where also being forward-thinking about how we access data while we're at their place?