Thanks for revamped work by Michael and the rest of the K2 theme team, finally this website too enjoys the bliss of the jQuery library for all interface sugar (namely search and interactive archive navigation). Thank you!
Monthly Archive for September, 2007
Why do I blog this?: Aibo and the Nabaztag are definitely two of the most interesting examples of interactive gadgets. Aibos are sensitive to the physical environment and “learn” from it, while Nabaztag focuses on reacting to network events (feeds, email, other Nabaztag statuses) to create instances of peripheral (ambient) knowledge. The idea of these two agents interacting is fascinating, and gives some early hints at the Internet of Things and spime concepts.
The TENORI-ON, Toshio Iwai’s new interactive digital music instrument, was presented last week in soho.
Why do I blog this?: musical instruments are very efficient worlds where to test interactions, which are intrinsecally social. They also create intimate game spaces, where the reward bounds the player (as in both music player and game player) to a learning experience. I think the Tenori-On is a very interesting exploration of the boundaries and overlaps between toys, musical instruments, intimacy and social spaces.
Almost on a whim, after watching Serenity a couple of weeks ago, I spent the last day or so going through the 14 episodes of Firefly.
Now, I’m usually immune to tv series but I’m starting to see a pattern: sci-fi gets me. Battlestar Galactica first, Firefly now (well we should mention Star Trek too, but that’s somehow part of the classics, that layer of shared cultural texture and thus doesn’t really count ;) ).
Weird thing is that they don’t share much, those two series: dark, claustrophobic, conspiracy driven the first, solar, fast paced, more light hearted and reassuring the second.
They don’t share much, I was saying, but starships and a certain fascinating retrò flavour.
So maybe it’s the idea of a somehow simpler life, where the “global village” and the social dance are actually constrained to the decks of a ship in the middle of cosmic void, or maybe it’s the charme of a life always on the move (possibly at faster-than-light speed), or even the theme of exploration of unknown places and cultures, echoes of a more adventurous, younger humanity, still striving to get itself acquanited with its own home planet.
Fact is, stars & ships make my mind spin.
or, as Tennyson puts it:
“[..] Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die. [...]“
Going through a few months worth of feeds, noticed Anu’s post about him leaving Headshift. Of course I’ve been knowing the fact for a while, but still, seeing his feed there in the same page where the voices of other friends and now-ex-colleagues are collected and aggregated, makes me think of this whole crazy spinning merry-go-around that is the social media “world”. People join for a round or two, then leave, others stay for some more time, new faces jump in the wagon, and so it goes, on and on… Still, everybody is somehow changed by the experience and share something with those who, even if for a little time, were part of the same “spin”. It’s not just a matter of memories, it’s like resonance.
Let’s face it: it’s one hell of a good time to be out in the open, offering skills to the best (or most remunerative, depending on your ethics) cause, and the thrill of self employment, or of thorough changes (oh, sweet memories of the early dot-com era) is surely tempting.
Nevertheless, I came to believe a while ago that the days of pure free lancing are gone for me, at least in this chapter of my life: if a change is going to happen, I’d probably rather go back to enterpreneurship… oh my, forgive me, this is another story, one for which too many elements are still missing (a good setting and a decent raison d’être above all else).
So coming back to the here and now, I found that Headshift has the most peculiar characteristic of being a constantly challenging (not always because of exciting projects, but that’s what life’s like) environment, and that’s - after all- what I always asked for; furthermore, I foresee some very interesting developments on the horizon, and I’m just too curious to find out what’s the shape of things to come…
but I’m letting thoughts run free once again, I guess it’s time to go to bed.
I think the whole point in this post (if one has to be) is that I’m glad and proud to have met and worked with all the headshift team members (past and present), clever human beings, and I’d like to get this chance to say thanks to all of you. And good luck with your current and future adventures!
I’m sure there must be some kind of odd cosmic alignment going on today, whose most unfortunate side effects on planet Earth have undoubtly manifested as the sudden unavailability of Twitter and extreme slugginesh of services like Flickr and de.licio.us.
If you add to this the apocalyptic amount of white noise generated by yesterday’s release of the latest Apple gadgets, what you get is an eerie, almost numb feeling, like the whole internet instantly fell silent.
Blogs are still there, of course, as are Facebook, myspace and other self contained experiences… but they suddenly seem to me like quickly aging pictures hung on the walls of our mindscape: they stay there, silently displaying their more or less colorful message to those who take the effort of taking a glance at (i.e. devote their attention to) them, but without filling up the air…
Some, like Facebook for instance, are like hatchlings of new media to come, info-caterpillar waiting to fully grow up and explode into a cognitive epiphany. Others, like personal blogs, seem like aristocratic statements of stubborn individuality: piercing, precise, if somehow slow.
Amazing, isn’t it? If only somebody told me, just two years ago, that I’ll ever call blogs a “slow media”… go figure.
And, by the way, this is just a snapshot of my current, intimate feeling, so don’t take it personally: I’m sure other people (maybe less exposed to networks or, on the other hand, more immersed in new communication experiences, or just taking a different approach to them) will have different perceptions and therefore opinions…
but the lines above describe where I stay now, contemplating how fascinating is that by gradually loosing structure and seriousness, we’re also recovering (more and more) the aural form of communication over the visual: once again, and (maybe more surprisingly) despite written words being still the main vessel of content.
P.S.: the photo above is from a wonderful workshop on Dead Media by Thomas Purves I attended at LIFT 07, where we discussed some of these same concept from a different perspective.
My Oxfordian exile ended on saturday. It’s been quite sweet, especially thanks to Victoria’s hospitality, a very patient couch-guest, I must say. I owe you a big one.
So I’m in London again, although still practically homeless, even if technically I’m not. A long story, indeed, worth a longer post as soon as the dust will settle. Stories need a proper beginning and end, to be told and enjoyed ;)
So for now I’m enjoying this quiet evening in Croydon instead, in the very place where this whole british adventure started, exactly 20 months ago.
Meanwhile, I cast a half lazy and half excited thought at the next weeks, looking forward to get back in sync with the crazy and lively soundtrack of London’s daily dance.
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