New Media Reader Chapters 31 - 35

Chapter 31

Timeline:

• 1982: Bill Viola publishes "Will There Be Condominiums in Data Space?"

Summary:

• 1960's - artists start experimenting with video as a medium
• "artists' video reconfigured public and industrial conceptions of the video image - via means ranging from site-specific installations to "music video" form" (463)
• Bill Viola = popular video artist, created "70 millimeter" video art which lacks grittiness and rough production associated traditionally with video
• Viola used poetic approach to video

Chapter 32

Timeline:

• 1982: Ben Bagdikian's The Media Monopoly is published
• 1997: Disney/ABC Deal

Summary:

• Are old and new media becoming increasingly compatible and similar? (ex. ESPN Online)
• New Media as big business
• 6 top media firms: AOL/Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, News Corp, Bertelsmann, and General Electric
• Where does this leave New Media?

Chapter 33

Timeline:

• 1983: Ben Shneiderman publishes "Direct Manipulation"

Summary:

• Jonathan Swift: writes about project where words are erased from language - bringing the physical into discourse
• direct manipulation = data processed by a computer located geographically versus a coded language
• Shneiderman talks about how arcade interface (visual) can be applied to other computer systems

Chapter 34

Timeline:

• 1984: Sherry Turkle publishes "Video Games and Computer Holding Power"

Summary:

• Turkle writes about how children, teens and adults interact with computers via their use of video games
• Turkle approaches computing from a background in psychoanalysis
• Computer enters our individual and social lives

Chapter 35

Timeline:

• 1985: Donna Haraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto" is published

Summary:

• socialist-feminist mythology
• Haraway argues for "pleasure in the confusion of boundaries and for responsibility in their construction"
• Disruption of binary systems

New Media Reader chapters 26 - 30

Chapter 26.
Timeline:

• 1977: Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg write essay Personal Dynamic Media about use of PC/notebooks

Summary:

• Ideas about notebook computing developed in group directed by Alan Kay at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
• Predicted the versatility of Dynabook - a notebook computer. Previously, notebooks were seen as only tools for engineers or businesspeople
• Dynabook vision led to the development of Star which supported graphical user interface for PCs and helped make Ethernet, the mouse, and laser printer
• Kay and Goldberg emphasized the creative uses of the computer and the usability for children

Chapter 27

Timeline:

• 1980: Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari write A Thousand Plateaus

Summary:

• Rhizomatic writing - used to describe hypertext or the properties of a hypertext system
• Delueze and Guattari challenge dualisms in the piece
• Delueze and Guattari previously wrote Anti-Oedipus together
• "the rhizome connects any point to any other point, and its traits are not necessarily linked to traits of the same nature; it brings into play very different regimes of signs, and even nonsign states.

Chapter 28

Timeline:

• 1967: Papert begins developing LOGO a computer programming language for children
• 1980: Seymour Papert publishes Mindstorms

Summary:

• 1980's - populist ideas enter mainstream of home computer era
• Seymour Papert worked in the 1980s on encouraging children to learn via the process of programming
• Papert argues that programming supports a learning which is self-directed and self-motivated

Chapter 29

Timeline:

• July 1980: Richard A. Bolt publishes "Put-That-There" Voice and Gesture at the Graphics Interface

Summary:

• multimodal interfaces - combine speech and gesture input were inspired by Bolts essay
• today, data is represented spatially on graphic computers
• The New Media Room - described in Bolt's essay was developed by Nicholas Negroponte at MIT's Architecture Machine Group. Used 2-D screens to provide a simulated 3-D space.
• multimodal interface allows a person to communicate with a computer by using speech, gesture, gaze and facial expression

Chapter 30

Timeline:

• 1981: Theodor H. Nelson publishes Proposal for a Universal Electronic Publishing System and Archive

Summary:

• Xanadu = Ted Nelson's idea for a hypermedia network that relies on hyperconnectivity
• Xanadu = ultimate media archive
• Problem with Xanadu - security, morality, privacy, content control
• Xanadu - like an interactive electric library

Gallery Hopping

POSTMASTERS

I really enjoyed this gallery and Spencer Finch's line of work. There were two particular piece I was especially impressed with. The first was The Shield of Achilles which is a data visualization piece that is supposed to illustrate a constellation as if viewed historically from the Trojan War. Everything about this piece was appealing to me. It incorporated a new media technique and implemented it in a simplistic yet absolutely stunning way. Please, please check out the piece here.

Another cool thing Finch did was a digital visualization piece that incorporated Emily Dickens poems. This, to me was awesome just because I'm a huge fan of anything that fuses together unexpected mediums. Emily Dickens Poems + Candles + Data Visualization = a steampunk mentality with eerie modern aesthetics.

Bitforms and EYEBEAM

Out of all the art we explored Thursday, I was least impressed by Bitforms. The art was interesting and thoughtful but I think because we came while the exhibit was still being set up, it was a little chaotic and an ill-informed explanation of the pieces. Our guide seemed a little flustered so I think it hindered my enjoyment of the exhibit.

Eyebeam on the other hand, I loved. Absolutely loved. I have been raving about it since our tour on Thursday and have sent out links to co-workers and professors. I would have really enjoyed seeing extreme 'tubing in action, but sadly had to babysit Friday night. I could honestly see some of my peers participating in the YouTube Tournament and was also really amazed by the tablet technology they used for the game set up.

Data Visualization, Gehry Building, Highline

Data Visualization

I really enjoyed the article on data visualization because it fused together a lot of different things I have focused on lately digitally. In terms of physically visualizing data, there are tons of web apps out there right now that let you track twitter trends and graph/illustrate them for analytic purposes. Wordnik uses data visualization (check out "bacon" for example) to help illustrate how frequently a word is being used on Twitter.

I think for larger consumer companies, especially, data visualization can be a great tool for understanding consumer behavior patterns in a new way.

Another thing Tanneeru mentioned is a trend towards hyperlocal news and how data visualization is contributing to that. Rachel Sterne, CEO of Groundreport founded a company based on the democratization of journalism via the Internet and hyperlocal news. With tons of hyperlocal online companies emerging (even the New York Times has hyperlocal blogs), I'm curious to see if data visualization will play a role in shaping these news sources.

Gehry Building and Highline

The Highline has to be one of my favorite new spots in Manhattan. Prior to our trip, I had only visited the Highline at night so I'm glad we got to check it out during the day time. The aesthetics in day light seem different and I think the landscaping was particularly stunning when it was bright enough outside for me to appreciate it.

The Gehry Building adds extra grandeur to the already breathtaking piece of art/history/architecture/public park that is The Highline. Looking over the Hudson, the building is typical of Gehry's work and actually is reminiscent for me, of a ring I have in sterling silver that he designed for Tiffany and Co. The ring has the same sharp, contrasted, geometric shape and if multiple were stacked, the structure would create a miniature sterling silver structure. This is part of what makes Gehry's work so fascinating and aesthetically pleasing, it is both unique and ubiquitous.

New Media Reader Chapter 21 - 25

Chapter 21

Timeline:

• 1974: Theodor H Nelson publishes Computer Lib/Dream Machines - predicted the effects of the first personal computer kit.

Summary:

• Computer Lib/Dream Machines two books conjoined and in the middle, the two texts meet.
• Computer Lib: predicts the impact of the personal computer, challenged what a computer was for.
• Dream Machines: Nelson recognizes the comptuer, as a new form of media
• Computer = media to be designed. Therefore, it should be both creative and acknowlge its audience (the user)
• Nelson suggested new media experiences be published in a public network --> Internet

Chapter 22

Timeline:

• 1974: Theater of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal is published in Brazil
• 1992: Augusto Boal runs for public office as a political/theatrical act - surprisingly he becomes elected in Brazil

Summary:

• Augusto Boal = went to jail for practicing his interactive techniques and was eventually exiled from Latin America to Europe
• Boal = one of the first to consider the physical body in conjunction with new media

Chapter 23

Timeline:

• 1967: Negroponte founded the Architecture Machine Group at MIT- developed methods of managing data spatially
• 1975: Negroponte publishes "Soft Architecture Machines"
• 1985: Negroponte opens MIT Media Lab with help of MIT President Jerome Weisner

Summary:

• Structures for human activity = basis for architecture and human computer interaction (example: virtual reality applied to architecture)
• Nicholas Negropnte = a user should be empowered by a computer
• MIT Media Lab - researches future applications of technologies via academic disciplines
• Negroponte = co-founder of Wired Magazine ("sought to chronicle the digital revolution and promote it as a concept" pg 353)

Chapter 24

Timeline:

• 1964-1966: Weizenbaum invents Eliza - system which can interact and respond to humans via a script called Doctor

Summary:

• Joseph Weizenbaum - criticizes the dangers of new media
• Weizenbaum = computer programmer who invents a chatterbox system, Eliza
• Weizenbaum - the influence computing has had on how we use language

Chapter 25

Timeline:

• 1977: Myron W. Krueger publishes "Responsive Environments" about virtual reality

Summary:

• Myron Krueger - worked on virtual reality concepts and was both praised and rejected by the art community. "Father of Virtual Reality"
• The technology Krueger invented gained a lot of critical response for its lack of humanism
• Critical Technical Practices (CTP) - coined by Phil Agre of MIT - creating technology within the traditions of art & studies of culture

Microcosmos, Burroughs and Cage

Microcosmos

Other than the uber-graphic snail copulation scene, I was utterly enchanted by Microcosmos. Growing up, the only "late-night" TV I was ever allowed to watch was on the Discovery Channel. Needless to say, this was right up my alley.

The imagery was whimsical and playful and the soundtrack suited the piece. It took me a few minutes in to realize what I was watching actually was real and not fabricated. I think because we're so accustomed to digital, I had assumed the images of the insects were fake, again adding another layer of amazement to Mircrocosmos. The attention to detail in the film was unreal. The film itself took over three years of shooting and then an additional six months in post-production to edit.

While watching, I was reminded of Disney films of my childhood, particularly "Alice in Wonderland." In one particular scene of the film, Alice becomes smaller than the insects crawling around on the ground. With Microcosmos, we (the audience) are taken back to that moment when insects become life-like and fantastic. Check out the film's trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76R2EKEnoJQ


William S. Burroughs

Okay, so I think like most of the class, I have previously encountered Burroughs. For me, the first time I interacted with him and his work was in my sophmore english class in high school when we did a unit on beat poets. From there, I went on to read "Naked Lunch" and half of "Junkie" (the text was a little intense for my liking at sixteen, I need to try it a second time).

The video itself, for me, was a bit intense. The poems that emerged were also intense, however, I understand that wasn't the purpose of writing them. The goal of the project was to shake things up, simple as that. To play with narrative and text in new ways and experiment language. This, of course I liked.

Although I do not consider myself by any means an artist or writer, I appreciated the way in which new technique was applied to the creation of poetry and language. Via this method, Burroughs invented new words, which he then used in his writing. I wonder if Erin McKean knew about Burrough's experimentation with word play....


Cage

I have been engaged with classical music since I was five so I really appreciated John Cage's prepared piano. In high school, I had a quartet leader who was all about shaking things up. We played "bohemian rhapsody" on our violins and she was always experimenting with new kinds of composing and ways to play our instruments. She would often augment her cello in various ways and now I know her muse.

Cage is relevant for us now because of the omnipresence of remix culture. He was the inventor of the original mash-up. I just wish the video we saw focused more on Cage, his life, his inspirations, and some of the music he has influenced.

New Media Reader, Chapters 16-20

Chapter 16

Timeline:

• 1968: Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco, "mother of all demos." Demonstrated Augmented Research Center (ARC)'s work to date

Summary:

• Demonstration = important within the world of tech for success in order for the public to understand new technologies --> "demo or die."
• Douglas Engelbart - demonstrates ARC technology with Bill English
• Live demos in public of interactive tech never occured before
• ARC eventually sold by Stanford Research Institution
• ARCs team eventually went to PARC --> Xerox/Apple/Microsoft ideas we currently have today about computing --> "user friendly" interface
• Engelbart's goal = multiple people working on problems simultaneously. Engelbart thought network was necessary (his ideas appreciated later on creation of Internet)

Chapter 17

Timeline:

• 1970: Software exhibition at the Jewish Museum in NYC organized by Jack Burnham. Visitors invited to demo computers
• 1970: Labyrinth: An Interactive Catalogue - Ned Woodman/Theodor H. Nelson
• 1969-70: Seek - The Architecture Machine Group, MIT - human interaction w/ computers using Gerbils
• 1969: Systems Burn-off X Residual Software - Les Levine

Summary:

• Computers at Software exhibition were buggy however, the exhibit was the first of its kind, and therefore a landmark in tech
• Exhibition had a catalog titled "Labyrinth" by Ted Nelson - first publicly accessible hypertext
• Goal of exhibit = focus on information processing systems
• "Burnham laid out a vision of new media art much more in line with how it is viewed today - neither a celebration of technology nor a condemnation, but an investigation, through implementation, of new shapes for the processes brought into the culture via computation." (248)

Chapter 18

Timeline:

• 1970: "Constituents of a Theory of the Media" - Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Summary:

• Theory of Media + New Left socialism - media without "intellectual property" and "heritage"
• Base = forces and relations of production, Superstructure = institutions (political systems, media etc.)
• Enzensberger - medias as "consciousness" industry. In order to promote positive change, he suggest we work with the media, as opposed to against it
• Enzensberger proposed a NEW kind of organization of media in order to create change

Chapter 19

Timeline:

• 1972: "Requiem for the Media" - Jean Baudrillard

Summary:

• Jean Baudrillard responds to Enzensberger's "Consituents of a Theory of the Media" - media serves a social function --> similar to McLuhan's "the medium is the message"
• true potential for change = refusing to a accept a model of producers and consumers

Chapter 20

Timeline:

• 1990's on: US overnment involved in privatizing the Internet in order to promote competition - the opposite happened

Summary:

• Flow - combination of commercials, programs, etc that make up the experience of watching tv - Raymond Williams
• Technological determinism - framing of tech's impact on culture (McLuhan)
• Doug Engelbart - "bootstrapping" = users constantly participate in in the definition and consturction of tools they as community use
• ICANN = "world trade org. of internet" - involves primarily corporate interests

Scott McCloud's TED talk and Marshall McCluhan DVD

Scott McCloud

Yes! I am very supportive of TED and all of the awesome projects/individuals/ideas that are fostered via this conference. (Admittedly, I am biased) However, I think the committee at TED does a stellar job of picking out individuals that are both entertaining and innovative. The lectures are always accessible, even if you're not a tech-oriented person and I think Scott's lecture was yet another representation of this.

The thing about TED, and the people who lecture, is that regardless of the topic, your interest is held. I don't know anything about comics beyond the illustrated picture-book versions I read to the kids I babysit for and the one graphic novel I read (Fun ) over winter break last year. That's it. Yet Scott's narrative and engagement with the topic allowed me to understand/appreciate it. I seriously have a major crush on all things TED and am always willing to consume more TED lectures. Keep em' coming.


Marshall Mcluhan

To be frank, although I appreciate Mcluhan, his ideas, and his contributions to new media and contemporary mediated contexts, I did not at all like/enjoy the way the first thirty minutes of the documentary was set up. Call me old school, but I honestly perfer hyper-traditional style documentaries and was more interested in Mcluhan, his biographical life story and the contributions he made to the way we understand media.

What I really was interested in that they addressed fairly well was his influence and figure as an academic within the mainstream media. Now within various forms of media, we often see professors/academic figures/theorists used as a source of commentary to interject/interpret various happenings occuring in contemporary culture but it seemed like Mcluhan was one of the first to do so. I mean, you know you've made it when you get a cameo in a Woody Allen film...

Lasers at Landmarks, Life-Logs

Lasers at Landmarks

I am a big fan of projects like these. This is particularly relevant because it (in some ways) addresses some of the issues we talked about last week during Eric's lecture about preservation of culture. The landmark project is yet another way for us to document our own anthropology and create a legacy and remembrance for the future. What may be problematic about it is that like everything else digital or recorded, it has the potential for being lost.

I think the most fascinating aspect of a project like this though, is the multi-dimensionality of it. Kimmelman notes that the laser not only creates an exceptionally accurate representation of the monument/landmark, but also can be used to help prepare for natural disaster and destruction of the monument. Additionally, in Scotland it is being utilized as an urban planning device to create more accurate representations of urban space and (hopefully) lead to more successful, and consequently more economic buildings. Architecture, especially large public works projects is exceptionally expensive and having the ability to implement technology like this can drastically alter the cost of these kinds of projects.

Life-Logging

Like many of the technologies/gadgets we have examined in this class, life-logging has the potential for criticism. I think a lot of people will be weary of this because it is yet another digital removal from physical life experiences and a filter through which we examine ourselves and lifestyles. Another concern with this technology is privacy. Figuring out who controls these mediated digitalized diaries and what they will/can be used for is an issue that is being constantly grappled with and asessed within the realm of this class.

I do, however, think this can be used with positive outcomes. I think analyzing data via Twitter is exceptionally useful/interesting and I think examining individual behavior like this can be yet another way in which we perserve and document ourselves anthropologically for the future.

Rosenthal, Piano Stairs, McKean

Eric Rosenthal

Okay, not to overly criticize but Eric is certainly a super-bright individual but most of his lecture went wayyy over my head and was far too technical for me. Not to mention it was far too long. I'm sure it would be impossible for Eric to demonstrate some of the photography innovation he did but if the class could see the outcome of all of his hard work, I think it would have made the presentation a little more engaging.

What did interest me though, was how Eric brought in our data systems and method of storage into the presentation at the very end. I think this engaged the class exponentially more and led to a productive discussion towards the end of the class, and, evidently got everyone thinking about what would happen to all of our data. This is such an anthropological question but Eric tied in technology, namely the Internet into the issue. The discussion made me nostalgic for the time capsules I used to make with my siblings growing up that we would bury in the back yard. And raises the question of how will the future remember us? Too heavy of a question for me tonight but something to think about moving forward.

Piano Stairs

I think more initiatives like this should be implemented to make Americans more active. Wasn't this a video from an experiment done in Europe? In New York, we don't really have this problem as much because we're all forced to walk often but I know that in high school, I drove everywhere and I think this gives individuals some incentives. Also, if implemented in large consumer spaces (a mall is the first thing that comes to mind) it may encourage children to stop being so lazy. Piano stairs sort of has the reverse Project Natal effect...I'm a fan.

Erin McKean

Okay, so first off although we no longer work with Erin McKean I chose to send this to Cynthia because I think it's a really interesting fusion of old/new media.

In a few days, when everyone is finished with their blogs I am going to check out everyones thoughts/ideas/criticisms. Obviously, Wordnik is a startup and the technology is nowhere near perfect but I think Erin has a pretty good idea of where she wants to take the service.

I REALLY appreciate everyone's feedback on this and also hope that some of you implement Wordnik into your studying/online habits. *I know I'm gushing, but this is a major passion project for me so I'm glad everyone (seemed) engaged while watching Erin's video and enjoyed her talk. MOST IMPORTANTLY I urge you all to get in touch with your inner word-nerd!

wordnik.com

New Media Reader Chapter 13-14

Chapter 13

Timeline:

• 1962: "The Galaxy Reconfigured" is published by Marshall McLuhan
• 1964: "The Medium is the Message" and "Understanding Media" are published by Marshall McLuhan

Summary:

• "the medium is the message" term coined by Marshall Mcluhan in 1960's. "That media themselves overwhelm the importance of their content"
• Some of McLuhan's main concepts: How media extends human abilities/body, difference between hot/cold media, and that culture moving back towards tribal configuration
• Jean Baudrillard = critic of McLuhan
• McLuhan = celebrity academic - made a cameo in Annie Hall
• McLuhan plays with old/new model eg. uses William Blake in "The Galaxy Reconfigured"
• McLuhan says of literature, "The vision will be tribal and collective, the expression private and marketable"
• Role of literature into consumer commodity
• Not content of of media but medium (McLuhan uses example of electric light)

Chapter 14

Timeline:

• 1960: EAT (Experiments in Art and Technology) begins, though unofficially. Fosters movement between artists and engineers.
• 1960: Kulver, engineer at Bell Labs helps Jean Tinguely to create "Homage to NY" a performance sculpture that self-destructed
• 1966: Billy Kluver, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Whitman and Fred Waldhauer officially form EAT
• 1968: "The Garden Party" by Billy Kluver published

Summary:

• EAT started with performance art, also made newsletters, competitions, discussions, etc. and at had 4,000 members (half artists, half engineers)
• Kluver gathers group of Bell Labs engineers and downtown NYC artists in early 1960's
• Kluver - machine as a spectacle
• John Cage & Cecil Coker: Variations VII - piece of music composed via performance of household items and communication items (telephones, microphones)
• Lucinda Childs & Peter Hirsch: Vehicle - Dance performance using animate, inanimate and air supported materials
• Yvonne Ranier & Per Biorn: Carriage Discreteness - dance performance controlled by mechanical elements
• Robert Rauschenberg & Jim McGee: Open Score - implementing tennis game and timing motions to tennis racket and lights to create visual simulation performance

K. Perlin's Where The Wild Things Are

I have yet to see Where the Wild Things Are yet (I know, I am sooo culturally behind right now!) so Ken's treatment of the subject has further inspired me to get tickets this weekend.

Per usual, Ken does an awesome job on his blog of making hyper-technical language accessible to everyone (although I admit, I was lost a little during the middle). I really enjoyed the history/background of Pixar and how some of the animation techniques used in Toy Story came about through his work with John Lassefer.

Ken mentioned that via a restructuring at Disney, John was cut from the team and moved over to the company that would eventually become Pixar. I feel like often, in areas of technology innovation this kind of thing happens frequently. For me, the dot com failures of the late 90's come to mind, which for some, transformed into amazing opportunities and led to incredible developments in technology.

I feel like within the next few years, with all of the failed businesses and layoffs still occurring from the recession, this may happen again with a new restructuring of positions. If anything positive has come out of this recession it is that it's forcing businesses to think creatively. I digress, I know but I just took a marketing midterm and my mind is stuck in business-land.

Ken's Lecture + Novel Contest

Ken Perlin

The New Media Center we visited in the Gallatin building was yet ANOTHER amazing facet of NYU which I had not been previously exposed to. I take classes in Gallatin every semester and I had no idea there was a lab on the 12th floor of the building. Incredible. This seems to be a repetitive motif in my blogging, but I am still frustrated with the segregation between schools and departments within NYU and our lack of exposure to them as students. But I digress...

I think I can safely say that Ken impressed every student in the class. Ken's involvement in everything from Microsoft to Disney amazed me and gave me a sense of pride for our resources at NYU. Ken's talk was accessible and entertaining and I appreciate the time he took to visually narrate his process as a computer scientist. His step by step analysis of the creation process made it easy to grasp.

I really liked hearing about Ken's involvement in the Game Center for Learning. One of the client's we work with at Brew is Grockit a startup currently in Beta that implements online gaming into standardized test prep. Although Grockit has an older target audience, the principles behind the site are the same. Check it out here: http://grockit.com/

Novel Contest

I wish I was driven enough to attempt to complete something like this. Although writing a novel a month seems daunting for me personally, I think it's a really cool concept to engage the public with. Ken's co-authorship of a novel makes the task seem (slightly) less labor-intensive but I think in order to accomplish something like that, someone would need to be exceptionally linguistically gifted (which I am not).

Ken stressed that the writing that is produced from the contest isn't supposed to be mind blowing, it's the process that's important. This constant narrative and persistence reminds me of Ken's insistence on writing for his blog every day, something which I also, personally, know I wouldn't enjoy. Even as a kid, I never kept a journal and for me, the writing always ended up being too forced.

What does interest me is this continuous narrative that is less edited and sculpted but more stream of conscious-esque. Already with the advent of social media, a new fabric of narrative seems to be emerging from the web and I think this contest is in response to that, so I'm eager to see how the contest pans out.

Google Wave + Digital Dirt

Google Wave

I've been hearing buzz about Google Wave for awhile now so was excited to examine this within the context of the classroom. "Real-Time" anything is super trendy right now in digital media/technology so I think Wave is riding (no pun intended) on this trend and hoping to capitalize on the intense interest in real-time. Right now, the system is really buggy in beta and when a coworker tried to use it, she was frustrated with the system so I don't think it's ready for the masses just yet.

What Wave (conceptually) gives users the option to do is collaborate on documents "live" which I think is really cool. A system like Wave would make doing any kind of group work WAY easier. Think about any time you've pressed reply all to more than 2 people, it becomes a pain to respond to individuals in email chains and then have to pick out the important stuff (from a sharing of information/documents perspective). So I think this product should be released in two forms: one for corporate purposes so businesses can use them (I feel like this is where the product would truly shine) and a second edition that is for personal use. Maybe I should email Eric Schmidt...

Digital Dirt

I think this is something that was good to bring to light for the purposes of class but I think that anyone who has a presence online and is actively working, is fully aware of the repercussions of a digital trail. With this said, I would like to point out that at my job, I am sometimes encouraged to utilize social networking (particularly facebook and twitter) to build a presence online and adequately represent clients and their media coverage. I am on twitter or Facebook every day at work and use it constantly to communicate ideas about projects we're working on.

I think students our age often think that Facebook is made purely for socializing, which, was true five years ago when the site launched but Zuckerberg has long abandoned the basic social aspects of the site to create and develop a platform that runs applications to service a community in various ways. There are plenty of ways in which you can use these sites to help you professionally, and I also think that although there is a definitive line between your professional and private life, your online presence should reflect both of these things in a positive way.

New Media Reader Chapters 10-12

10. The Construction of Change
Timeline:
1964: Roy Ascott's "The Construction of Change" is published. Comments on New Media Art.

Summary:

• Roy Ascott = London-based artist. One of the first essays to create a link between cybernetics and art.
• Frank Popper = author of "Art of the Electronic Age." Popper distinguishes between participation and interaction in New Media Art.
• Popper defines participation as "a relationship between a spectator and an already existing open-ended art work" (127) and interaction as a exchange between a person and an AI system.
• Telematic art = communication between people in different locations. Ascott was a pioneer in the field.
• Ascott states that art is an intersection of the behavior of the artist's and the spectator's.
• Cybernetics = communication between man and machine via art

11. A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing and the Indeterminate

Summary:

• Ted Nelson coined the term "hypertext" and created the concept that accompanies it.
• Chunk style hypertext (using links to move to new pages on the web) is a subtext of hypertext.
• For Nelson, hypertext was a way information was connected complexly in means not representable on paper

12. Six Sections by the Oulipo

Introduction:

• Workshop for Potential Literature (Oulipo) = group of writers working on experimental literature and ways of manipulating text
• Techniques include: lipogram (one letter of the alphabet can't be used) palindromes, algorithms (choose-your-own-adventure books)
• Key individuals: John Crombie "Yours for the Telling," Warren Motte "Story as You Like it," George Perec's La Disparation, Italo Calvino If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, Stanley Chapman A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems
• Computer-meditated textuality

A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems:

• Similar method to cut and paste, relies on serendipity
• In both French and English
• Creates a sonnet

"Yours for the Telling":

• Example of choose-your-own-adventure story
• Queneau = self proclaimed co founder of Oulipo
• Focuses on experimental literature - the group recorded and collected a history of experimental writing techniques to use and study
• Used these methods on some already existing texts
• Goal was more abstract than creating literature - to think about literature, language and the stories within a theoretical way.

Computer and Writer, The Centre Pompidou Experiment:

• Paul Braffort = logician, computer scientist and writer. Commissioned to educate public and other writers about a fusion of computer science and literature
• Combinatory Literature = Queneau's sonnet experiment
• Algorithm Literature = Queneau's create-your-own-adventure story

Prose and Anticombinatorics, Italo Calvino

• anticombinatory = among a large sample of options, a computer chooses the few possibilities that are compatible with corresponding constraints
• Order in Crime = example of anticombinatory
• Calvino walks through the options the methodology would map out therefore, alluding to multiple plot possibilities

Ken Perlin

Ken's Website

A few comments about this site, and again more criticism for NYU. Ken's site is pretty lame aesthetically speaking. I really appreciate all the applications on it but visually, it's not particularly engaging. Then I realized Ken's site is part of the nyu.edu which means that the University, not Ken probably designed and sponsored the site. NYU needs to work on this because I feel like the design of the site make Ken look less credible as a graphic designer than he actually is! NYU: get on it.

Also, did anyone happen to check out the easter bunny application Ken did for Google last easter? It's one of his demo games on the site and I would just like to say kudos!

And, additionally, thumbs down to NYU for not publicizing this information. This was an issue I previously have had with the University. I feel like I get junk email all the time from the University but never know about all these resources we have. I still vote PR revamp!

Ken's Blog

I appreciate Ken's blog (and site) a lot for the sheer accessibility of it. Most of us in class aren't familiar with the computer science that goes into these technologies but Ken, like Noah and Rich all put their thoughts into language that was colloquial and useful. Individuals like Ken who make efforts to link technology to other things (example, Ken's poetry on his blog and Noah's fictional narratives) make the field more lucrative to those not initially interested.

Ken's Inventions: NOISE-TURBULENCE and PAD

First off, Noise-Turbulence is one of those technologies that resonates with me just because I can visually recognize moments and when this technology was used, so for me, it becomes easier for me to make connections and recognize the importance of technology when I feel a personal tie to it. I l-o-v-e Toy Story (and most Pixar films) so was thrilled when I found out Ken contributed.

PAD is something I would actually use and use frequently. I know he has this patented but I feel like there's something similar to it out there...I think I keep thinking of multiple iphone/cloud computing technologies combined so I'm probably off on that hunch. I wonder if this can be applied to websites and create a personally annotated online open source interface? Even just using this for notes for class or storing personal information (of literally any kind). Has Ken been approached by anyone about using these technologies in software? I feel like he should, again maybe this is a lack of marketing on NYU's part for not getting Ken's ideas out there.

New Media Reader Chapters 5-9

Chapter 5
Timeline:
1962: Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider promoted to head of DARPA
- Had a background in engineering and behavioral science
- Became involved in promoting computing for millitary and gave funding $ to Universities instead of companies
1968: Licklider writes "The Computer as a Communication Device" with Robert W. Taylor
1969: October - Doug Engelbart connects second node for DARPA
- Eventually this network became the internet
Summary:

• Vannevar Bush steered millitary towards tech research --> the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Organized for millitary's space program
• Licklider's work developed PhD Computer Science programs at MIT, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford
• Licklider & Taylor introduce "Oliver" (on-line interactive vicarious expediter and responder) --> Idea of Personal Network Agent

Chapter 6

Summary:

• "Happening" = used to describe events/performances organized by Allen Kaprow (and others) in 1950s-60s
• Karpow - associates the idea of interaction with Happenings
• Karpow places emphasis on the responsibility of the observer
• Connection (for New Media purposes) between Kaprow's anti-hierarchical creation of art and Nelson's anti-hierarchical computing
• "Happenings" = relatable to Myron Krueguer's "responsive envirornments" a fusion of tech/art

Chapter 7

Timeline:

1961-1978: Burroughs works on cut-up method with Brion Gysin

Summary:

• Cut up method - used by beat poet William Burroughs, inspired by Surrealist artists
• Burroughs suggests that entropy can lead to new composition in literarary work

The Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin by William S. Burroughs:

• Man (Tristan Tzara) creates poem by pulling words out of a hat; riot ensues
• 1959: Brion Gysin painter/writer cuts newspaper articles and random pastes them together --> collage for writers
• All writings, are cut-ups (technically) and the method can be applied to other things ex. military strategy, computer science

Chapter 8

Timeline:

1962: Engelbart files first report for FLASH-3

1988: Engelbart publishes A History of Personal Workstations (Engelbart explains unfulfilled visions)

Summary:

• Douglas Engelbart invented computer interfaces such as: mouse, the window, word processor. He helped establish the Internet, independently invented hyperlink
• Engelbart = misrepresented in media
• Engelbart envisions that: 1) humankind's problems are approaching faster than we can deal with them 2) this is a good way for tech to "make a difference" 3) mixed graphic and text visions on CRT
• Engelbart quits job, works at Stanford Research Institute and tries to get funding

Chapter 9

Summary:

• Sketchpad system = graphic ancestor of computer graphics created by Ivan Sutherland
• Sketchpad = first direct-manipulation interface and first conversational interface

Sketchpad: A Man-Machine Graphical Communication System by Ivan E. Sutherland

• Sketchpad - lets man and computer communicate via line drawings
• Eliminates typing things in favor of line drawing
• Info on how drawing is composed is stored in computer , also stores structure of subpictures used
• "Construction of a drawing with Sketchpad is itself a model of the design process" (113)
• Can be used to: Store and update drawings, gaining scientific or engineering understanding of operations that can be described graphically, as a topological input device for circuit simulators, AND for highly repetitive drawings

Internet Documentary

The most memorable part of the documentary was, for me, hearing about Marc Andreessen. Marc is a great figure when studying the web and I often forget that he was the creator of Netscape, the first tool that allowed us to easily access the internet. What makes him such a cool figure in Silicon Valley is his presence. He is one of the few people in the Valley to survive, rebound and still remain profitable after the dot com boom. I think with web 2.0 a lot of young, entreprenurs have taken over the Silicon Valley scene (Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Rose, etc.) so it's great to see someone still impact technology.

Andreeseen, co-founder of Ning also currently serves on the boards at eBay, Facebook, and HP AND as of this summer, has his own Venture Capital Firm.

Here's a Wikipedia site on Andreeseen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen

Also, if anyone's interested in the transition from the dot com boom to web 2.0 in Silicon Valley I suggest reading Sarah Lacey's "Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0" It's not very technical/dry at all and is easy for anyone to read, even if you're not very knowledgeable about the Silicon Valley scene.

Steam Punk: Part Deux

Derivation of PUNK in Steampunk, Cyperpunk, etc.

First off, I didn't realize this genre went this deep in terms of classification and sub genres. I wish there were some more visuals included in this article/more descriptions because I'm not really sure I understood what differentiated each of the movements from one another. I also am not into Science Fiction too much so I don't think I picked up on a lot of the literary references mentioned in the piece. Cyberpunk made me think of Clockwork Orange (I've never seen the film but realllly want to) although it was written earlier than the movement occurred.

Also, just wanted to throw out there I like the term cyberprep - having a more positive outlook on technology - because although I wouldn't associate myself with any of these genres, I think that we need to recognize that whether we are active or passive in creating technological change, it happens regardless so we might as well embrace it and utilize it.

http://www.answers.com/topic/postcyberpunk

Steampunk Month

I had no idea this gained so much mainstream attention! I was browsing the Brooklyn Indie Market site devoted to the Steampunk day and was impressed/intrigued to see that New York Magazine covered the event last year in one of their fashion blogs. Because I'm not sure if I can relate to the ideology surrounding steampunk I think I appreciate the aesthetic of it the most. If you're interested (I know we have some fashion-mongers in class) please check out the blog and the visually delicious slide show that accompanies it:
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/10/steampunk.html

Per usual, NY Mag does not disappoint!

Augmented Earth & Online Music

Augmented Earth

We discussed this in class and I think a lot of people will think this is a HUGE infringement on privacy but with the Internet, and Google Earth and security cameras on every corner in NYC I feel like it is what it is. I personally don't feel like there's anything wrong with it. I think Augmented Earth can be used to help monitor illegal activities in a more efficient manor. I think the term privacy is totally subjective so for me, I just don't see any difference between this and Google Earth or Security Cameras. They have them in stadiums, parks in many urban areas anyhow so I don't think this is harmful. I feel like there will be a large part of the population that will be outraged if this is implemented nationally. Yes, it is sort of big-brother ish but I think the Internet is in ways too so it's definitely a double edge sword at times.

Decide for yourself here:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/10/01/nr.augmented.earth.cnn

10 Sites to Help You Navigate the New World of Music

I'm surprised this appeared on CNN and I have a hunch if it was featured in a more tech-savy or online pub like Gizmodo, CNET or TechCrunch it would have a different perception on what sites to use/the fate of the music industry.

See this TechCrunch post by Michael Arrington about the downfall of the music industry. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/10/01/nr.augmented.earth.cnn

I am really pro free music online. I always stream my music and (yes, I admit it) illegally have been downloading music for years. I don't think I've used iTunes since I was 14. Bad, illegal, I know, but I think that free content is where the web is taking us so I'm going with the flow on this one.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pandora and have the mobile application downloaded and use it every where I go. I hardly ever use my ipod. Another cool site - if anyone's interested is Indaba Music
http://www.indabamusic.com/ It's really awesome from the a dj/remix/composition perspective of music. It allows you to "remix" aspects of a song (piano, bass line, vocal melody etc) and compose other parts to create something new. It works as part social network part music service. Indaba also does promotions with artists (Mariah Carey, Yo-Yo Ma, and Weezer are some popular ones) that allow you to mix parts of their songs with whatever you create via the service.

The site hit mainstream when it was featured on the Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert used the service and recorded an audio clip of him speaking, and challenged viewers to remix his voice into a song and he'd play it on air.

Ladies and gents check it out: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/217342/february-02-2009/dan-zaccagnino

DIY Digital Design

How To Create Your Own Font

Although I personally have no use for this service (i.e. I have chicken scratch handwriting/little artistic skills) I know plenty of people who would really appreciate it. My roommate does graphic design and has been recently doing some freelance work creating invitations for NYC events/parties. She always complains about having to purchase fonts online (she already has a mac and some kind of font package) but from what I understand, the price tag on purchasing new fonts is quite hefty. She recently purchased a package of fonts for a little over $200. I don't know the details of what exactly come with this package but was appalled that she had to pay that much money - INSANE.

The create your own font (she found) particularly useful because she is also interested in studio art so she has the artistic capability to actually utilize something like this and have a final product that's aesthetically pleasing. Did I mention it's free??

Check it out here:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/09/17/chris.pirillo.handwriting.fonts.cnn
to see a CNN Video

To access the site:
http://www.fontcapture.com

Photosketch: Internet Image Montage

This, on the other hand, is something that I think had very little value. Do I appreciate all the time, technology and effort that was put into this? Yes. I understand that it's based on a complex algorithm system and obviously was exceptionally difficult to create. Is it neat? I guess so but I just don't know what anyone would DO with it. Personally, I would not go out of my way to try out this service. I think the kind of computing that went into this, is probably utilitarian some way or another but I'm not quite sure how. Does anyone see any value in this? I know we often have this debate or not (the idea of practicality) and obviously not all things have to be for us to enjoy them but I feel like this has very little use or even entertainment. Opening up the floor for thoughts....

Gizmodo: (Gawker Tech) http://gizmodo.com/5374890/this-is-a-photoshop-and-it-blew-my-mind

YouTube demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW1Epl2LdFM

Steampunk, Brain Scan Tech, CAVE Claymation

Steampunk

I read I think Zach's (if I'm incorrect - my apologies to the rightful muse of this post) blog post about Steampunk and was inspired to further comment/support a love for subcultures without a participatory role in them. The fact that stuff like this exists, and communities thrive via communication, and the spreading of ideas occur through an online medium fascinates me. This has to be one of the most eccentric cultural paradigms I have seen in awhile.

It sort of reminds me of the animated version of Disney's Atlantis which fuses a futuristic, yet simultaneously magical and ancient culture within the confines of a Victorian setting. The story isn't particularly great but Disney does (I think) a beautiful job with the animation and concocting this mystical world underwater. I'm pretty sure the movie came out when most of the class was older (probably early teens) but I'm the oldest of five and being a big Disney animation fan, had the opportunity to see it.

Brain Scan Technology

A-ma-zing. Truly. I understand that people have concerns (religious or otherwise) about the manipulation of the human body, but the 60 Minutes piece can be utilized as a conduit to change minds and give meaning to those who have lost mobility and speech due to paralyzation and disease. It still boggles my mind when I think of that man going to work every day, despite how much time and effort it takes him to speak and communicate. His story is a very powerful one and I hope that this reached a large audience when it aired because I think it is a piece of media that has the ability to persuade, which today can be difficult task to accomplish.

Plato's Cave

The technique used in this traditional claymation reminded me of the style of Gumby, a show I (and I'm sure many of you) saw growing up. The aesthetic style is simple, and clear which I like.

I think something like this could be a great educational tool. At a college level, I don't think it is that effective because students are studying Platonic concepts at a greater depth however, I think the animators clearly shaped, what I perceived in my mind to be a lucid visual representation of Plato's Cave. This can be difficult when the ideas being conveyed are conceptual. I think a series of shorts like this, highlighting philosophy, would be beneficial to young adolescents (9th/10th graders come to mind) who are asked to grasp these concepts but only within the confines of definition memorization and historical context, without considering philisophical notions. A short like this has the potential to visualize to students more abstract ideas that they may not grasp at that age without some sort of visual representation.

Aggregation of Information: Overload?

Augmented Reality - Layar

So this to me, actually doesn't seem too new. I mean it's different in that it combines a bunch of different technologies but there are mobile applications that do similar things - primarily via a location based system in your phone. LBS applications in phones were super popular when the first iPhone came out in 2007. One that comes to my mind particularly is Loopt http://www.loopt.com/ which (I'm pretty sure) was created by an NYU grad. Loopt and other apps like it (dodge ball, limbo) use LBS in a really warped way (albeit again, different than Layar, more simplistic one might say) to locate individuals with the service at any time in a certain radius of you. This allows for communication and connection (like social networks allow) with strangers, and friends. For example apps like Loopt will show you where your friends are (bars, gym etc) based on where they physically are in NYC (or other metropolitan area) at the given moment you request the data or even open the app.

I think Layar is similar to this, and its use of high quality photography remind me of the iphone. I'm sure that with the iPhone you can accomplish the same things, just with a variety of apps, so I guess what's unique about Layar is the ability to aggregate all of that content into one application. I don't have an iPhone but I'm sure there are kids in class who do...do you think Augmented Reality technology is already present on the iPhone or is this something completely different?

Project Natal
Ok so I have heard buzzing in the press about the upcoming launch of this new Microsoft product since (I think) last June and the video made me more skeptical than I already was. I guess hearing about it and conceptualizing about a kind of product that streamlines media in a compact way sounds great but when I saw it on that YouTube link I was really creeped out by it. The video made it look uber corporate and a little too "big brother" for my liking.

I am usually super responsive and interested in this stuff.

I think that Microsoft went about it's demonstrative ad campaign in the wrong way. It's aggressively eager and the video seems overacted and a desperate move by Microsoft to keep up with Nintendo Wii sales. Personally, I'm not a fan. I think if they want the product to sell they need to find a different way to position it to the consumer.

Rich Rodriguez

Rich's presentation was exactly what I was looking for in terms of widening my understanding of video games. Noah's presentation was comprehensible, but still I seemed unable to connect with it. I think Rich was able to articulate ideas in the vernacular of gaming, but still create an outlet and a means in which to communicate them to the class which seems (mostly) comprised of non-hardcore gamers. For this, Rich, I applaud you. I think I'm starting to "get" gaming.

I don't own any gaming systems where Little Big Planet would apply, however, I have two younger brothers (ages 10 and 12) who have Nintendo DS and occasionally ask them to teach me to play during long family road trips. I really enjoy it (granted I'm not talented) but when I asked my 10 year old brother about Scribblenauts he described it as, "mad cool" and "really wants it." So I think the game and the DIY/UGC appeals to a large market. And I think the nice thing about DS is I think it's super popular among the female tween audience and could be great way to achieve a developed segment in that market based on a game that isn't typically "girly" such as pet/fashion oriented games.

The User Generated Content aspect of Scribblnauts to me (glitches aside) seems incredible. Like, unfathomable. I had no idea that this existed, and I mean the concept alone is so simulating and also echoes the idea of infinite possibility, something we encounter frequently within the sphere of digital media. I am now officially making a request to Santa to include Scribblenauts in my brother's stocking this year!

New Media Reader Chapter 3: Computing Machinery and Intelligence

Timeline:
1943: Cambridge mathematician Alan Turing helps build The British Colossus computers
- Decoded coded language. Created mathematical abstraction, "Turing Machine"

1991: Start of annual Loebner Prize Competition for Chatterbots
- Inspired by the Turing test

Summary:

• Early computers were similar to calculators; "number crunchers"
• Wasn't noticed that computers had the capacity to manipulate words
• Shift from numbers to words --> email, word processing, voice recognition, basic commands ("ok")
• Turing develops a theoretical machine that can solve any computable problem --> Turing writes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence"
• Turing asks question, can a computer pass as a human? within a philosphical context (Turing Test)
• Turing anticpates human-computer dialogue occuring, important in that it recognized a computer as a "thinking" machine

New Media Reader Chapter 2: As We May Think

Timeline:

1940: Bush convinces Franklin Delano Roosevelt to fund and support colloborative effort between millitary, industry and academic research

- Grew over 5 years --> "military industrial complex" or "iron triangle" by Dwight Eisenhower

1945: Vannevar Bush publishes "As We May Think" in the Atlantic Montly and Life

- Primary organizer of Manhattan Project

- Felt technology didn't have to be a destructive force in society

- Architecht for computing projects at MIT

Summary:

• 1940 Bush approaches FDR --> "iron triangle" under Eisenhower
• iron triangle = self-perpetuating military, industrial and academic relationships
• "As We Think" published pre and post U.S. nuclear attacks on Japan
• Bush's article describes voice interaction, wearable information devices, and wireless data connections that are imaginable today
• "memex" = Bush's super accurate proposal, a device, similar to modern PCs, a way to share knowledge/information and his goal alludes to the goals of New Media
• Doug Engelbart = radar technician inspired by memex, began work that led to word processor, mouse and hyperlink
• Ted Nelson, came across Bush's essay which was a major influence of his discovery of the hyperlink

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

First off let me express my love for Neil Patrick Harris! And everyone involved in the production and creation of Dr. Horrible because I truly enjoyed it. I haven't enjoyed musicals in awhile. Generally I find them campy. Note: this is most likely due to six years and many mediocre productions of public school musicals playing violin in pit orchestra (although one year I had the honor of being THE fiddler on the roof.) Consequently unless I am wowed by a production, I am usually unmoved.

Dr. Horrible was an exception. Joss Whedon did a phenomenal job of producing a witty, clever and satirical musical that explored themes of love, good vs evil, idealism and even digital media.

Dr. Horrible is an incredibly appealing character. Like Dexter, he reminds us we can sympathize with a "bad" character and that traditional roles of good vs evil within the super hero narrative are never absolute. His blurring of the lines of morality transform what would be a typical heteronormative romance narrative into something dark, comical and smart.

The music is also wonderful. Whedon seems to be playing with the idea of traditional ensemble musical by fusing cinematic editing (superimposing, freezing etc.) with musical motifs that create a different affect than a stage musical has.

Like Ferris Buhler before him, Whedon has Dr. Horrible break the "fourth wall" and acknowledge his audience (within the frame of the film, his blog readers). This engagement creates a strong bond between the protagonist and the viewer, the viewers like voyeurs reading a blog on the computer screen, hearing Dr. Horrible and seeing him on film.

The Guild

I am by no means a hardcore gamer. (Again, let it be known.) Ironically, I spend a lot of my time engulfed in research on the topic. A client I work with at Brew Raptr, ( http://www.raptr.com/ ) requires a great deal of marketing research on a target audience. The characters parodied by Felicia Day in "The Guild" are the market group I spend so much time learning about online.

These are the individuals to which I owe a great deal of respect. The gaming community has brought me praise within the office, and has taught me new and innovative ways in which to articulate something I used to write off as an awkward obsession.

Felicia Day does an excellent job of morphing a subcultural phenomenon into a light, playful and innovative series. What makes it even better is the means through which she not only produces the series but also presents and markets it online. The isolation of her characters are relatable to individuals on all levels and in doing so, she brings exposure to a community in which the mainstream media doesn't spend enough time acknowledging. Although a shift in the media is changing (to recognize the significance both from a sociocultural and economic viewpoint) the gaming community still represents a niche community that in my findings, seems rather isolated from mainstream media.

Chapter 1: (Introduction) The Garden of Forking Paths

Timeline:
1941: Borges writes "The Garden of Forking Paths
- Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian writer, librarian, played with the manipulation of space and time, disillusionment, can be read as hypertext novel, explored the concept of a parallel universe

1963: Jolio Cortazar writes Hopscotch in Paris
- Included "expandable" chapters, another Argentinian writer, Borges was familiar with his work and published his first short story in 1946

1987: Stuart Moulthrop creates a hypertextual version of "The Garden of Forking Paths"
- Also wrote hypertext novel set during Gulf War


Summary:

• Initially, the Web was rejected by the New Media community
• Borges' work can be analogous to concepts of New Media, hypertext, the creation of parallel universes and the manipulation of time and space
• Other texts inspiring writers in the digital age by Borges include, "The Library of Babel" and "The Book of Sand"
• The complex way in which Borges organizes his fiction parallels the way a computer programmer fiddles with codes in order to create things within the digital space

I was secretly thankful when I realized we would look at a Borges story I had already encountered here at NYU. The first time I discovered Borges was the way it should be read, in its vernacular Spanish. Although challenging, we were given Borges poems and stories to dissect in my 11th grade Spanish class. Obviously the task was daunting, and ironically now, looking back it was a lot of decoding. Translating at times, word for word of an idiom into English in order to insure my comprehension. Borges would be laughing at how removed from his original discourse I am right now...I'm reading a translation of a short story in a text book about digital media and blogging about it online...

The second time I encountered this story was in a Post Modern Fiction class I took in Florence. Although Borges does not necessarily fit within the chronological time frame of postmodernism, his ideas certainly do. His incessant flirtation with time and space is almost filmic and at times, very surreal. Again, I was delighted to find that Post Modernism was linked to New Media and New Media to Borges creating a non linear web of relativity that Borges would admire. I would love to see if any of his stories from Ficciones would translate well on film.

Water Printer, Sand Beasts, BINGO and RYAN

I am looking forward to more exposure to viral videos like these. A lot of the ones I have previously been exposed to are either a) not art/science related or b) not animated so I am anticipating exploring out of my comfort/familiarity zone with videos like Water Printer, Sand Beasts, BINGO and RYAN.

There was something very whimsical I found about the Water Printer that attracted me to it - almost like something seen at Walt Disney's Epcot Center. Part of the gimmick/appeal to Epcot Center is the forward-thinking ideals (primarily globalization, science and technology) that are infused into the the actual landscape of the park as well as its attractions. The Water Printer although impressive watching on video, I'm sure would be captivating in person and I could easily imagine something like this being found at an American amusement park such as Disney's Epcot Center.

The fusion of art, innovation, technology and something natural like water created an interesting juxtaposition as a form of "New Media" which is also explored in the Sand Beasts video. The Sand Beasts, which Jansen explains were inspired by dinosaurs and evolution, feed off the energy of wind to power them physically. Watching the Sand Beasts move fluidly on screen in a natural setting evoked in me grandiose prehistoric scenes from Spielberg's Jurassic Park.

I really enjoyed the surrealist imagery and non-traditional narrative of both BINGO and RYAN. Both films induced a feeling of uncomfort, frustration, and sadness for me, which I think speaks volumes about their ability to communicate well with the viewer. Generally, I associate animated films with lightness and comedy (although I think Up and Walle both had some darkness and depth to them, especially for children's films) so it was refreshing to contrast animated short films with (in the case of RYAN) more "adult" topics.

New Media Introduction 2: New Media from Borges to HTML

Timeline:
1989 - 1990: European institutions devoted to support/development of New Media
- ZKM in Karlsruhe (1989). Directed by Jeffrey Shaw and focused on visual media
- New Media Institute in Frankfurt (1990) Directed by Peter Weibel
- ISEA (Intersociety for the Electronic Arts) in the Neterhlands (1990)
1990: Intercommunication Center in Tokyo
- New Media Art
2001: Whitney Museum in NYC and SF Museum of Modern Art mount survey exhibitions of new media
- Bitstreams at Whitney and 010101: Art in Technological Times in SF

Summary:

• Took appx 10 years for New Media to move from underground ("cultural periphery" pg 13) to visibility in the public and academia
• Late 1980's - New Media begins to gain exposure
• 1990's Japan and Europe are the leading locations of the emergence of New Media
• Slow U.S. engagement with this movement for 2 primary reasons: 1) US quickly assimilated due to low cost and easy access. This rapid transition led little time for reflection or academic intrigue. 2) Little appreciation/government funding for New Media Art
• Late 1990's - a shift occurs within US and its acceptence of New Media. This shift began with US Universities and Art Schools (West Coast particularly) and then took hold in Museums like NYC's the Whitney and SF Museum of Modern Art.
• Soon, conferences and workshops create buzz and mainstream publishers start coming out with books on the subject --> establishment of an academic and artistic field
• Historical parallelism (texts by artists and computer scientists) - and intersection art/history/technology
• Parallelism exists not just in ideas but also in form.
• HCI = Human Computer Interaction. Computer Scientists that created HCI should be treated/respected like artists.
• 8 Propositions (What is New Media?):
• 1. New Media vs Cyberculture - Cyber culture focuses on the social aspect of the Internet
• 2. New Media as Computer Technology Used as a Distribution Platform - i.e. Internet, Web sites, computer multimedia, computer games, DVDs etc.
• 3. New Media as Digital Data Controlled by Software - New media reduced to digital data that can be manipulated (multiply, edit, delete etc.) via Software.
• 4. New Media as the Mix between Existing Cultural Conventions and the Conventions of Software - for traditional media to change to digital data it takes time and, like most things, is not linear. Ex: Software is not used to control all aspects of film production, just some. This can be contrasted with Computer Games BOTH use a combination of more mature cultural forms and conventions of computer software.
• 5. New Media as the Aesthetics that Accompanies the Early Stage of Every New Modern Media and Communication Technology - Some authors suggest that New Media shouldn't refer to the current condition of computer-based technologies but rather see New Media as a modern form of technology that media passes through.
• 6. New Media as Faster Execution of Algorithms Previously Executed Manually or through Other Technologies - Algorithms which operate computers can technically be done manually, just slower. Ex digitally sorting files vs physically filing paper.
• 7. New Media as the Encoding of Modernist Avant-Garde; New Media as Metamedia - tracing New Media heritage to 1920s Avant-Garde art movement - qualitatively extension of technique as well as change. Manovich also relates "meta media" to postmodernism in terms of aesthetics as well as ideology.
• 8. New Media as Parallel Articulation of Similar Ideas in Post WWII Art and Modern Computing - 1960s cultural imagination and artwork as an open system

Getting in touch with my inner gamer: Noah Wardrip-Fruin's Lecture

I must honestly admit I'm not a hardcore gamer by any means.

I have never even played any of the games Noah used as examples in his lecture (besides Sims!) However, I think Noah did a good job articulating issues that were relevant to the gaming industry that were relatable.

I really appreciated his use of narrative throughout the lecture and the importance he placed upon it. The merging of both computer science and fictional narrative appealed to (I think) the whole audience by addressing those interested in both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of gaming and the construction of story telling within a digital landscape.

Using (and explaining) historically groundbreaking examples of games and technologies such as Eliza, World of Warcraft, Star Wars Knights of Old Republic and Sim City articulated clearly for those who were not familiar, the gradual transition of video game narration and the technological systems that support them. I think in doing so, he captivated a wider audience range and, also, probably taught just about everyone in that auditorium something they had not already been exposed to.