ASSOCIATING AND RETRIEVING MEMORIES WITH PHYSICAL OBJECTS

1 . One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of creating a digital association with a physical item, the method comprising:

presenting on a display of the computing device a representation of a physical item, wherein the physical item is uniquely identifiable by an identification system;

receiving an indication of a digital asset to be associated with the selected physical item;

associating the digital asset with the physical item, thereby creating a digital link between the digital asset and the physical item; and

storing the link in a datastore accessible by the identification system such that the digital asset is retrievable incident receiving a request to present the digital asset based on a subsequent digital capture of the uniquely identifiable item.

2 . The media of claim 1 , wherein the uniquely identifiable item is wearable artifact, a display device, an electronic device adapted to play an audio or video message, a container.

3 . The media of claim 1 , hats;

wherein the wearable artifact includes jewelry, clothing, accessories, or hats;

wherein the display device includes a picture frame, a figuring, a clock, a wall-hanging item, or a furniture accessory;

wherein the container includes a water bottle, keychain, wallet, lunch box, or cooler.

4 . The media of claim 2 , wherein the piece of jewelry includes an engraving of handwriting.

5 . The media of claim 1 , wherein the physical item includes one or more of the following attributes that are useable to uniquely identify the physical item:

a set of specific geometric characteristics;

a set of specific markings;

a specific color,

one or more custom content items that are physically associated with the item;

a near-field communication (NFC) tag;

a QR code;

6 . The media of claim 1 , wherein the digital asset includes one or more of a picture, video, textual message, or sound.

7 . The media of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a request to present the digital asset; and

presenting the digital asset

8 . The media of claim 7 , wherein presenting the digital asset comprising:

receiving a representation of the physical item at the identification system;

using one or more identifying attributes of the physical item to identify the digital asset stored in a data store;

retrieving the digital asset from the data store.

9 . The media of claim 8 , wherein retrieving the digital asset includes retrieving a link to the digital asset and sending the link to a requesting device.

10 . One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of identifying a digital data item, the method comprising:

presenting via the computing device a scan control that is useable to initiate capturing an image of a physical uniquely identifiable item;

receiving an indication that the scan control has been initiated;

presenting a capture area on the display, wherein the capture area is defined by a capture boundary;

capturing an image of the uniquely identifiable item within the capture boundary, resulting in a captured image;

based on the image, identifying a digital asset associated with the uniquely identifiable item; and

presenting the digital asset via the computing device.

11 . The media of claim 10 , wherein the scan control includes one or more of the following:

a digital button;

a digital link;

a textual command;

a gesture option;

a handwritten message; or

an audio command.

12 . One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of creating a digital association with a physical item, the method comprising:

causing a plurality of representations of physical items to be presented on a computing device, wherein each of the physical items is uniquely identifiable by an identification system;

receiving an indication of a selection of one of the representations of the physical items, thereby resulting in selected physical item;

receiving an indication of a digital asset to be associated with the selected physical item;

associating the digital asset with the selected physical item, thereby creating a digital link between the digital asset and the selected physical items;

storing the link in a datastore accessible by the identification system such that the digital asset is retrievable incident to receiving a scan of the uniquely identifiable physical item.

13 . The media of claim 12 , wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a request to present the digital asset, wherein the request includes a reference to a representation of the physical item; and

utilizing the representation of the physical item to identify the digital asset;

and providing instructions to present the digital asset.

14 . An article of manufacture, comprising:

a rear surface;

a front surface that includes a void defined by a raised edge;

a set of attributes that enable the article to be uniquely identified by a digital scanning process, wherein the set of attributes includes one or more of the following:

geometric characteristics;

one or more colors;

a QR code;

a near-field-communication (NFC) tag;

an insert within the void;

a scent marker;

molecular make-up; or

a handwritten message.