Communication & Cyberspace

What is cyberspace? When I think of cyberspace, I think of the part of the internet we can't see. An abstract area that houses our messages and online activity and communication. This book seems to highlight the varying definitions and misconceptions that are often associated with cyberspace."Over the centuries there has been a basic human desire for some kind of invisible mental or spiritual atmosphere that connects in some mystic way all the minds and hearts of mankind" (p.54). I believe the text makes the point that cyberspace is more concrete than we actually think. It includes not only communication but the hardware that makes it possible. I found chapter three to be very interesting. The cyberspace breakdown into areas such as conceptual space, control, it's vulnerabilities, etc were really appealling. In particular, the lack of personal relationships is noted. "We might have a great reange or great effectiveness of communication, but very rarely both, at least not with the same message". The internet is awesome because we are able to reach masses of people but communication loses is genuineness. Emotions are not easily transferrable through cyberspace. The chapter ends off with it's initial underlying theme Who Shall Control Cyberspace?.

 

I can relate to the messages in Chapter 4 because I use to blog for Funk Master Flex. When I started I was told that if I copied and pasted someone else's article  I needed to give credit, which I always did. However, in my position I had the freedom to create my own content based on prior research. While searching for a previous story of mine, I realized that my original story had been copied and posted to someone else's webste word for word. It was kind of heartbreaking. Although, the guy's site didn't seem as popular as Funk Flex's I was still upset that someone stoled me material. When it was all said and done, I didn't do anything. "The underlying question is whether electronic media has so changed the nautre of publication that a too broad and expansive application of copyright law now denies the public useful access to information by creating excessivly high barriers for entry" (p.72). It's really hard to enforce copyright laws online. Because it is a place for 'sharing', the limitation boundaries are kind of blurry.                               

 

 

Overall, I really liked the length of these chapters. They were short and to the point.  The information was clear and concise. I was scared in the beginning that I wasn't going to be able to understand but the content became increasingly interesting. The last theme that is explained in Chapter 11's is really interesting. Risks that are associated with the internet (and children) are really of major concern. If you like hip-hop, Lupe Fiasco has a song entitled "B*tch Bad"... In the song, he says, "Yeah, now imagine a group of little girls nine through twelve On the internet watchin’ videos listenin’ to songs by themselves It doesn’t really matter if they have parental clearance They understand the internet better than their parents. Now being the interent, the content’s probably uncensored. They’re young, so they’re maleable and probably unmentored....". The song is themed around the word "b*tch" but this specific line  talks about the misconceptions that children may pick up because they have access to the internet and all it's public information. Listen to it, if you want to find out more about what I mean.

 

 

 

 

 

Windows and Mirrors Chapter 4-5-6

Chapter 4 has brought to light and aspect that many of us may not be familiar with and that is the fact that we are so used to doing things one way that in order for a new idea to be successful it must be either a copy or follow the steps of what it is replacing.  An example of this is nytimes.com  This website is the virtual version of one of the most successful newspapers in the world.  However if we look at this website we can see that it looks almost exactly the same as the printed version of the newspaper.  This clearly defeats the purpose of those web developers that surely have spent countless hours trying to make the website look identical to the printed version.  This is a clear example of how we must continue to follow old ideas in order for new ideas to be successful.

Chapter 5 has some very concise points in that Media is now present everywhere.  It is present throughout our houses, cars and even our pockets with the plethora of smart phones that are available.  We have now come to the point were some of the smart refrigerators are capable of being set up to send the user a text message when the milk and eggs are running low.  This is clear example of a media escape.  Most of us now have more computational power on our cellphones then did any computer a decade ago.  Convergence in media is the reality.  Youtube, vimeo and hulu are clear examples of how television shows are now available online.

Chapter 6 goes on about the importance of how websites are ever so present in out lives in the 21st century.  There is no better example to see this then with the recent events of hurricane Sandy.  We as a nation showed that we are so dependent on technology that if we don't have it, we can't function the same as if we did.  I too was one of the ones affected by this tragedy and while standing on a line to get gas, many of the comments were how can we continue to live without the internet; never-mind the fact that we had no power nor heat, but internet?  How much can we really do with the internet when we don't have some necessary things like heat and power?

A Personal Experience

The final chapters of Windows and Mirrors assured me with this idea: the combination of technology and art is making communication a highly personal and individualized experience. Art galleries are no longer just a static space where people wonder about and evaluate the same content. The T-garden, described in Chapter 7, for example, is a perfect example of how moldable an art space today can be.

Here's a video I found about the room (the third room of Siggraph 2000 galleries) so that we can see it visually.

TGarden Summary (2001) from Topological Media Lab on Vimeo.

This idea reminded me of a theatrical performance I went to. It's called Modern Odyssey by Playing with Reality Company. At each performance, the audience would volunteer to be the hero of the story (which they choose from different settings including the wild west, future, mystical land, etc). As the volunteer actor/actress enters the world of the story, the rest of the audience would observe from the screen while the actor steps into another room where the play happens. The idea of the production is to create personalized experience of the stories, which is similar to what new media aim to achieve. Interactive media enable people to become a part of the creative process of the final products rather than just being on the other side, accepting information.
I can conclude from what we've learned from the book that the current communication methods especially in art world is going towards two trends: personalization and globalization. As we can see, the audience is becoming more and more individualized as opposed to being categorized according to their ethnicity, age, gender, etc. making the communications between the presenters and the audiences more specific towards each individual, actually makes the exhibition more accessible and comprehensible in a global scale.
Terminal time is an inspiring project in that it makes us think about how limited one person, or even one group of people's view and knowledge of the world can be, and how differently we focus (on problems, issues of the world). Sometimes we don't realize that our life is just one small aspect of what humanity encompass. As I was listening to the rehearsal of a symphony the other day during a tour around Lincoln Center Theatres, I cannot help but think about how people are living in parallel universes although they meet face to face each day. The information we receive or retrieve, the media we use to access to news, the way we interact with the environment and our society make our lived multi-facet. There's an unseen dimension created by media: what we know, what we choose to know put us in completely different worlds.

Final Chapters

Terminal Time to me is reflective like wooden mirror. It makes you give an immediate response by applauding to answer a questionnaire; it plays on the prejudices that people bring to the media. Terminal Time is an interactive experience, simulating voice activity to get a result.

I feel the gallery is all interaction. I mean you get out of it what you put in it. The gallery is meant to make the viewer become fully engaged in each piece. The viewer has to act transparent of reflective for them to get the max out of each piece. The dark curtains and lighting made viewers have to be engaged. Giving them a sense that something new was coming. The trick with the lighting is giving a dark sense of fulfillment and then the neon lights taking you to a new experience. That’s the purpose of the gallery is the experience. The end of the book really goes into detail describing the layout of the facility that terminal is. 

Windows and Mirrors Finale

The final chapters in this book describe several concept designs for future technology. All developed products of art and design derive from something, and this book mentioned so many interesting concepts. Terminal Time was an interactive experience, simulating voice activity to a certain extent to reveal an outcome, in this case it revealed a short historical film. Voice activation has advanced so much since the beginning that now a days we can communicate with our vehicles to dial a certain number in our phones or lead us to a certain place with GPS. It was interesting to see how this all started with an audience and volume detection, and how in today's world actual words can determine functions in games, phones, and computers. 

In that video voice activation allows the gamer to choose plays and make audibles in madden 13. 

The final chapters after 7 describe the layout of the facility mainly noting how the gallery was a negative space. They described it as a gallery that gives meaning to the exhibits by enveloping, contextualizing, and relating them to each other (Bolter, 144). The gallery had black curtains absorbing light and it made the guest feel intrigued as if something new would soon appear. It sounded like a set from a mystery or horror movie (without the gore of course). As you walk down the hall way you know your experiencing something new and original. It was all about contrasting light and dark. Though darkness can be frightening, it can also be intriguing. The darkness also allows the bright neon lights to pop out and catch your eye. This style of lighting makes it look less like a museum and more like an actual show. As noted in the text, "The visitor is meant to experience the gallery, almost like a medieval cathedral, as a vertical space (Bolter, 145)." 

I also liked how they compared the experience to film by using the term rack focus. This process was completed by several forms of design inspiring a unique experience. It was simply going from one to the other and having a completely different appreciation for it. I enjoyed this read a lot, simply because it was relatable to future products that I now use and enjoy today. 

-Final Chapters-Bolter and Gromola--A Reiteration of the Experience and Remediation

Once again in the final chapters of Bolter and Gromola there is a reiteration of the digial art experience that we are witnessing while it emerges from remediation and the existence of other technologies that have influenced the computer to evolve up until this point.  Through the various examples of digital art that are mentioned we are reminded once again that the computer and it's windows and mirrors must offer us up some kind of experience that we go through while integrating with it.  The evolution of the computer through other past technologies we refer to as remediation has once again shown that the machines of the future will continue to evolve in such a way that we are able to extend all of our senses through it allowing us to reshape and create new ways to harness computers in ways we could never imagine.  The concluding chapters emphasize the need for complete transparency when creating applications making it clear to all of the technophytes of the future that new ideas must be easy to understand while providing us with an experience that is second to none.  We are reminded of how the computer has certainly provided us with all of the transparent extensions of man through a new electronic medium that heightens all of our senses and helps us extend our minds into areas that are innovative and new in ways we view text and images.  Let's just all hope that a hurricane like Sandy won't interfere with our ability to grow as it reminds us how dependent we will continue to be not just on fossil fuels but on electricity itself.  Ben Franklin would be proud.

JFN

The Last Chapters of Bolter & Gromala

Firstly, I hope everyone is safe and sound from the super storm Sandy! My power was recently restored and I am a happy camper. But my heart goes out to those who are still living in the dark. Moving forward…

Terminal Time is another form of media that requires the viewer to participate but in an unconventional way. Terminal time requires a immediate response in which the viewer indicates their preferences by applauding to answer the questionnaire. This media form is a cultural context and expresses how the viewer defines history. The role the viewers play isn't unfamiliar because it’s similar to what viewers do when they visit the World Wide Web, play a CD or DVD, the viewer is registering their choices by clicking or pressing buttons. The experience offered is reflective which is similar to Wooden Mirror and Nosce. The viewers have a task in both forms of media.  The discovery in the Terminal Time is one of cultural assumptions. It makes the point that we bring a network of beliefs and prejudices to any form of media we experience.  The Terminal Time is meant to expose those assumptions (Bolter, Gromala , 137).

After examining several pieces in the gallery it’s time to examine the gallery as a whole. Each individual piece is designed and programmed to be an experience (Bolter, Gromala, 144). The concept of the gallery is based on the visitor’s experience. Rather than viewing an exhibit the visitor should perform the design, as they would an instrument. Digital designs are said to allow the audience to produce unpredictable results by the artist. Such as text rain, wooden mirror, Magic book and fakeshop, these pieces are series of performances. The visitor should feel alone with the pieces in the gallery. They should be fully engaged with the design.  It’s a compelling technique because it makes the viewer aware of the elements in the exhibit. The success of the gallery and the work inside depends on the ability of the viewer to act transparent and/or reflective. This can be seen with a consumer and a new innovative product, it’s what you make of it and your interaction with the interface.

Transparency and reflective go together just like the two groups of structuralists and designers. It’s becoming evident that these two groups need to work together to design web pages. Both groups have a different way of viewing the page. Designers make the site look attractive and appealing to the eye, where the structuralists ensure it functions and is easy to navigate. It’s essential the site provides the user with a fascinating experience. What the viewer may see in its interface may be reflective of the individual’s cultural background.  New media is a mirror! Digital media ultimately reveals the viewers to themselves or others. 

This book was definitely a better read and was very compelling! I hope everyone else feels the same.