Is this the future of books?

Have you ever thought about the future of books? This repurposed book made me stop and think a moment. The screenshot is taken from Kyle Bean’s site who describes herself as a illustrator, designer and maker of ‘things’. Pop over as there is some great stuff to see there.

 

The Powerhouse is on Flickr Commons

The Powerhouse Museum has joined the Commons on Flickr. Drawing on images from the Tyrrell Collection the museum have put a couple of hundred early photographs online. These are significant examples of early Australian photography so its great to see them out in the open. The Powerhouse on Flickr managed to sidetrack me wonderfully for an hour or so! I could not resist this early image of Darling Harbour in Sydney. It’s interesting to see the landscape yet to be dressed in some of much loved national icons.

Thanks to Fresh and Newer for the news and doing the work which you can read about here

 

Information Literacy and the Google Generation

New British research (PDF) commissioned by the British Library and JISC, aims to look past stereotypes and examines how the “Google generation” (those born after 1993) are searching for, and researching content, asking if their behaviour is different and if so in what ways. Based on their study the report explodes a number of myths about students today. Although people of this generation are usually competent with technology, it is not true that they are “expert searchers.”
Key findings are :
“The information literacy of young people, has not improved with the widening access to technology:
in fact, their apparent facility with computers disguises some worrying problems
Internet research shows that the speed of young people’s web searching means that little time is spent in evaluating information, either for relevance, accuracy or authority
Young people have a poor understanding of their information needs and thus find it difficult to develop effective search strategies
As a result, they exhibit a strong preference for expressing themselves in natural language rather than analysing which key words might be more effective
Faced with a long list of search hits, young people find it difficult to assess the relevance of the materials presented and often print off pages with no more than a perfunctory glance at them
These points relate both to the current use of the internet by young people and, a technology generation earlier, to their use of early online systems and CDROMs. There is little direct evidence that young people’s information literacy is any better or worse than before. However, the ubiquitous use of highly branded search engines raises other issues12:
Young people have unsophisticated mental maps of what the internet is, often failing to appreciate that it is a collection of networked resources from different providers
As a result, the search engine, be that Yahoo or Google, becomes the primary brand that they associate with the internet
Many young people do not find library-sponsored resources intuitive and therefore prefer to use Google or Yahoo instead: these offer a familiar, if simplistic solution, for their study need”

Thanks for the link from  ArsTechnica The “Google generation” not so hot at Googling, after all by Nate Anderson

 

Collections on Flickr

Flickr Commons aims at being a secondary point of access to some of the out-of-Copyright historical photo collections held in the US Library of Congress. The Library has a photo collection of over a million photos and they have chosen about 1,500 photos to show on Flickr.

When institutions place images on sites such as Flickr it not only allows them to reach a broader audience but also that audience can help classify and tag a collection. That is what this Flickr Commons experiment is also about. You can read about this project on the flickr blog.

Allowing people to classify reference material as they need to, rather than have a classification system imposed on them holds some very interesting implications that are not just the obvious shift in the way we classify information.  Traditionally classification systems also imply power as inherent in the activity is the structures that influence  how informatin is accessed, shared, used, and understood.

Cultural artifacts, such as photographs, can be items that the viewer either identifies with. For instance as an Aussie a photograph of the Sydney Opera House would hold a different meaning for me  than say a photograph of Big Ben. Photographs of vegemite or a hills hoist clothes line would hold different meanings again. I would recognise these things and they would trigger in part personal memories. They would not only be part of a larger story but also be part of my story. In other words as images, I would relate to, recognise their shared cultural and identify with such images in some manner.

Classifying images, also creates shared meanings. When people as well as experts classify images the process can shift the value of the image, not only in the viewers mind but in the society that uses, shares, and creates meanings around that image.

I am rambling this morning but it is an interesting project!

 

MIT podcasts

I recently discovered the MIT podcast archive which is well worth browsing and listening to while working in the studio. The program is cast monthly  and usually contains an interview with one of their authors.

 

SceneCaster

The idea of a 3D web creeps closer everyday. Robert Scoble recently interviewed Mark Zohar, founder of SceneCaster. In a 35 minute interview Mark explains what SceneCaster is, and its advantages over current 3D worlds such as Secondlife.

SceneCaster is aimed at the average user and allows them to build a room or scene in 3D and accomplish this in a browser. They can then furnish it from SceneCaster’s rich database of objects or 3D objects that already online by simply importing and placing them in a scene. Because 3D objects can be sourced from existing 3D object libraries this means that learning curve for average users is not so steep.

For those who are already using 3D software you can create and import objects to your scene but it was obvious to me that the main strength of this service is the fact that people do not have to be 3D software experts to create a scene. So users personalise a scene rather than building a scene

SceneCaster connects objects to large eCommerce sites such as eBay and Amazon. Mark Zohar also explained how there would be product catalogs from leading manufacturers and retailers added as the site matured.

I have not been able to try it as at the moment it is only available for those who use a PC. Mark Zohar said that a Mac version was being worked on so I my impressions of this service are based on the interview.

I can see uses for it as a visualisation tool. For instance if you were decorating your home or if you are an interior designer you could layout and work out what it would look like and get a feel for what works before committing big dollars to a new look. I can see virtual shopping being a big thing too because you can see a model of the product before you buy. As I watched the interview my mind was running through possible self contained art projects that could be created. So there are plenty of applications that this service can be used for.

SceneCaster is also connected to social network sites such as FaceBook and Flickr but you can not have in-scene avatars. In other words you can not meet your friends for a chat and to socialise. I think this is the big downfall as it is fine being able to create a scene but most people will want to share and socialise in that scene.

A 3D scene is fine to look at but it will not hold people if the world simply contains objects. Even if they a very interesting objects an empty room is just that empty. For me without people ie avatars the immersive experience that is so addictive in virtual worlds is simply not there. Life online for me is about that ie life (other people) not things online particularly things online to buy. Although I do shop online it would only be a 2 or 3% of my time spent online. For me the net has always been a communication tool first. It is like this very important aspect of virtual worlds has been forgotten by SceneCaster.

For me without people a 3D scene is empty and for the majority of average users fairly pointless. What do you think? Check out the interview and let me know.

Thanks goes to an email received from Gilbert of Virtual Territory

 

What is the future of the web?

I always admire those who either attempt to predict the future or try place in an historical context contemporary developments in techonology. Adam Howell of Vitamin has asked 16 top designers what current web developments would be seen in the future as important

“What’s one thing about today’s web (company, technology, movement, etc.) that you think we’ll look back on in 10 years and say ‘that was important’ or ‘that was really a turning point in the history of the web’?”

The answers make for an interesting read to mull over while having a morning cuppa. Answers range from seeing the rise of broadband as important and the rise of mobile technologies even more so. Seeing the discussion/definition of Web2.0 as amusing, and the spread of the social web as important. Sharing resources, the rise of open source, user-driven content, the trend towards mashups and experiments was also mentioned. Microformats and harnessing the web to function as a viable real world alternative to traditional apps and media, was another point made.

For me I am watching virtual worlds such as Second Life. I know there is much hype being written about virtual worlds at the moment. But I am interested because spaces like Second Life contain the possibility of a 3D web. It is not what they are today or even tomorrow but what they may be in 5 or 10 years time that sparks my imagination.

 

A presentation by Brad Kligerman on ABC Island

Last night was a stimulating evening in Second Life as, the Australia Council for the Arts, in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), hosted an in-world forum with Paris-based artist and architect Brad Kligerman. The event was moderated by ABC’s Sunday Arts reporter/producer Fenella Kernebone

The event went off generally well. I always approach these ‘firsts’ knowing that since the technology is new the whole thing may just fall in a heap! Well I am pleased to say that as Brad presented his work and discussed his ideas the technology did not fail. (There were a few problems with some slides but that was it)

My problem was that my sound kept dropping in and out or was of such bad quality that I could barely make out what was being said. It was incredibly frustrating to be listening to some key concept to have the sound disappear on me! Brad, is an architect and teacher, who is one of the first artists in Second Life to complete an in-world 11-week residency with US-based Ars Virtua, where he questioned the concept of materiality in the rendered environment in other words the nature of residence, residency and representation. It was a frustratingly interesting talk. We were told a vodcast of the event will also be available on the ABC Sunday Arts website but I hope a transcript will be published somewhere soon!

 

Metaverse musings

There is a lot of hype and often rubbish currently being written about virtual worlds but in the July issue of MIT’s Technology Review Wade Roush’s Second Earth comprehensively describes the state of research into the 3D web.

Also recently released is the Metaverse Roadmap (available as PDF document) a 28 page report which considers the implications in detail of possible metaverse scenarios, from augmented reality to mirror worlds.

Both had me musing over possible directions this technology could take over the next 10-20 years and it was a relief to read something of substance on the topic.

 

The Metacrasher Project

You never know if something will spark the imagination of people but a project like Metacrasher is just the type of initiative that will push the idea of a 3D web a little further.

The Metacrasher Project is a 3 phase project to initiate the connecting of all virtual worlds for commerce, content development, software development, and the creation of large networks of p2p and 3d web spaces that will communicate with the growing number of virtual worlds, MMOPG and any other kind of digital social network, allowing virtual content, services and goods providers the means to present themselves to millions of consumers and potential customers immediately.

Found with thanks via Metaversed