Phone check...

Not coat check, but...
An article in USA Today notes that at a Britney Spears party held by Rolling Stone, attendees were required to check their cell phones along with their coats -- to prevent people from taking photos with them during the event. "That has prompted speculation that cell phones could be banned at other social gatherings attended by celebrities," wrote Charisse Jones. Hmmm. For many people (especially journalists), giving up their phone to a stranger is like handing over their wallets; I think we'll see a backlash among phone users against such demands should this trend spread. I also suspect that the privacy scares being raised by photo phones will ease up in time, as the culture gets used to everyone carrying a camera in their pockets at all times. While bans of phone photography in locker rooms and the like should and will endure, other efforts at taking away phones should fade away as living in a world of ubiquitous photography becomes routine.