foggy

It's literally foggy this morning here in Clemson, and that's perfect for my foggy jet-lagged brain, too. I'm back, folks, and happy to be home for good for a long while. Will be catching up on reading you and re-mixing you and the readings! See you Wednesday night, if not before.

Appendix I

www.papertiger.org
Quick comment on Drew: It is interesting to see how Paper Tiger turned a theoretical design into an living, breathing network. The low-tech aesthetic seems to have been appropriated by mainstream networks, most notably MTV. Now shaky camera movements and bad lighting are used for stylization, low-tech becomes high-aesthetic.

This article reminded me of Jefferey Sconce's book Haunted Media, in which he traces the history of radio broadcast back to early use short wave radio among hobbyists. It seems that every media technology has roots in low-tech tinkering, before of course, being given wholesale over to private companies.

Internet Verite

Braun's discussion of "openess" and "lack of completion" makes me think of the difference between so-called reality television and what could be called documentary or even ehnographic media. Although Bechtold says that "everything on TV is reality" it is the presence of the modes of representation that provoke a particular kind of realism, which is, most of the time, disavowed. Documentary (and especially cinema verite), however, attempts to reveal the mode of production and tries desperately to find some truth behind what unfolds. I'm thinking specifically of the Seven-Up series which seems open and resists completion (as long as the participants remain alive and willing), but what bothers me is the distance that the films place between participants, producers, and audience. I think Braun is advocating, at least in part, a way to close this gap with conceptual designs that hold make producers out of spectators and, in turn, partcipants.
I do think (and you can argue this) that in addition to, as Braun states, engage a Utopian non-space of dialogue, the annonymity of the Internet encourages a kind of morbid voyeaurism. I don't think that it is passive, to the contrary, it is an active engagement in the sense that voting for American Idol is active. So while we wait for new conceptual models of how we can use the Internet, it feels more like an extended reality show (maybe even [gasp]... one of those awful dating reality shows that you know you shouldn't watch, but you do anyway. Or is that just me?)

Ab/Using Ethnography

I thought I would respond a little to Plowman's use of ethnography within the corporate realm. Although I see the benefit of methods like participant observation in business settings, I'm not quite sure how far the comparison to native cultures can go. To some extent de Certeau's work about blurring the lines between high/low culture does appear to give popular culture more design power (in the case of "readymade" objects). I guess what I'm getting at is an understanding of what these methods are after. I imagine there must be some amount of "responsibility" (in the way we discussed this) by those involved toward their subjects. But in practice these methods seem more of an attempt to recuperate objects lost to social redesign back into a more manageable (and profitable) form. It makes me think of the obsessive scramble to control the Internet and digital copyrights. Will more participant observation help design a better way to sell music to a generation that feels entitled to it? It seems that the goals have to change before companies can design objects that, in Plowman's summary, "radiate the degrees of freedom necessary to enhance... self-invention". Unless the companies can figure out a way not to pay for those inventions. Now I'm not sure... do I have an actual question in there?

In the mix

Josh,
I am surprised this is your first blog ever. Oh well, there is always a first time, right?

I had the misfortune to take a Technologies of meaning making class my last semester at the University of New Mexico with Susan Romano, in which she not only required us to blog but to Myspace as well. Obviously, I used an alias in Myspace. Wouldn't want my students to access my page and assume all sorts now, would I? It wasn't all bad.

I am both looking forward to learning so much in this class, as I am dreading the projects. My invention capabilities are going to be taxed to the max. And then of course there is the teaching. It's always a balancing act, this GTA thing.

Hmm!


I

here at last

Hi all....I just arrived in Copenhagen, a day late and a dollar short (as they say)! My luggage made it, too.

Read some interesting stuff on the plane and saw 3 movies. Makes the time pass quickly. Now to prepare for this defense tomorrow! Some day it will be defenses for all of you! More soon!

Virgin Territory

Okay, so here is my first ever post to a blog. That makes me sound really lame, but you have to start somewhere. I don't have much to post... just wanted to re-introduce myself to those that care. My undergraduate and master's degrees are both in media arts from Brigham Young University and the University of Arizona respectively. I love movies, but I'm not a movie buff, so don't try that film trivia on me, I will lose. My wife, Kristin, and I just passed the seven year itch and we have two rambunctious boys, Garret (3 yrs), and Jonas (11 mos). Like I said in class--most of my expertise is in old technology film and television, so I look forward to stretching those limits, if that's what they could be considered. Now... let's see if this worked.

ReMixing it up

Welcome to ReMIX, where RCID 805 'serious design' interz the relogos/phere. Some of you know me, others of you will soon enough. Please introduce yourselves and start reMIXing it up. Details are welcome.