Locative Media

So this has ended up being my first actual assigned blog post.

I've tried valiantly to blog about our other assignments after reading them - in many cases sitting down and writing for an hour or more. In fact, I've generated countless words - hundreds of sentences - but every time I go to click the post button I come to the inevitable realization that I'm really not saying anything at all.

I'm sure somewhere my 11th grade self is cursing me for saying this now considering how much BS writing I did in highschool. I can just hear myself saying, "JUST TURN IT IN, ED!" But as I've grown I have come to realize that writing that doesn't go anywhere or say something really substantial is just a waste of paper, ink, bytes and other people's time. That's not to say it's not useful from a writing development or brainstorming stand point, but it's definitely not appropriate for blogging IMHO. So bottom line is that I haven't posted any of my reactions thus far in the course.

FINALLY, however, I think I've connected with a topic to some greater extent than "this is cool because" or "this is dumb because". The discussions and readings surrounding Locative Media have really caught my attention because I think that we're looking at something here that is about to break in a very, very big way.

So lets get down to it: I firmly believe that Locative Media is poised to be a very influential force in the coming years and is very likely to become the primary way we experience life and physical/metaphysical spaces in the very near future. With the increasing number of web and GPS-capable mobile devices and the ever more flexible means of creation and content sharing through web 2.0 technologies, technically anything that is posted to the web could be tagged to a specific location and compiled. The technology is available and ready to go but the true power is only just starting to be realized. The few projects we looked at in class were novel in their time, but just don't really seem to really embrace the big picture. Fortunately I think a few companies are starting to get it.

Already, Google is paving the way with their mapping of... well... EVERYTHING. They're going to be the kings of Locative Media because everyone will end up having to use their data to tie anything to a specific locale. This is already happening through Google Maps and Google Earth interactions with wildlife research centers and other entities. Other recent web 2.0 startups such as Flickr and Twitter (through their flexible API) seem to be catching on as well by providing users with the ability to associate GPS coordinates with their posts. People are beginning to realize that while "content is king" without meaningful metadata that can tie the content to other relevant sources you quickly become lost in the web. We have become a world of networking and Locative Media seeks to network ideas, concepts and content (very metaphysical entities) with the physical world - essentially it is an extension of virtual reality that we recently discussed after the reading of "Connecting Bodies in Space".

Attaching the metadata to the content and opening up databases with API integrations are really the only missing links here, but they're developing every day. The functionality exists already, but privacy, Intellectual property concerns, and widespread adoption are the only barriers to enabling this rich and vibrant experience.

We talked in class a bit about how Locative Media is a lot like a tour. The more I think about it the more I come to realize it really is a tour in the fullest sense - basically it's what a real tour should be - going to a place and being able to know anything about it or related to it with the touch of a button. Every day places have countless thoughts, ideas, images, states of motion attached to them every instant that goes by. Locative media keys into the idea that these aspects can be captured and recalled at will to create a unique experience and understanding of a physical space that can span ideologies, senses, and time. This is the best kind of tour - you don't just get told about it, you can experience it to a greater degree.

A few newspapers have already opened their archives up with APIs allowing programmers and developers to manipulate and mashup their articles and research in new ways and experience the idea of Newspaper as a Platform. This is the next step towards advancing locative media, which essentially is just a small aspect of what I like to think of as Media Universiality. Everything is connected and Locative Media is just one way of connecting two or more seeming separate things through the use of the web.

It's not that the idea of Locative Media is brilliantly unexpected or earth shattering in it's concept - but the results definitely have the potential to be groundbreaking.

psychogeogaphy

The reading on psychogeography is good in that it is a break down of our current assignment. If you are having some trouble getting going on this project you might want to read the article. It gives a list of questions to ask yourself about the neighborhood you are observing and also a list of things/places/ideas to consider as possible topics. The article also brings up a good point that the idea of locative art and psychogeography can be used to not only educate but to improve the neighborhood or city that you are in. It is also interesting to think about the mental effects of living in a certain area/neighborhood. I think delving into how an area's geography affects the psyche of the people who live there would be an interesting idea for a locative art web page.

Chris Gladitz

"Mapping"

Hey everybody.

After hearing about the new assignment on Thursday, I thought of an episode of the radio show This American Life on NPR. It's called "Mapping," and in it they try to map the world in five different ways, according to the five senses. It's pretty interesting, and I don't know - maybe it could help some people think of different ways to go about this next assignment.

You can stream the episode here:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1211

Also, this show is awesome, and you should all subscribe to the podcast. I'm just saying...

Emily Neary

Stuff I used for my project

Documentation on Simile Timeline

JQuery - Javascript library for user inerfaces and event handling

Thoughts on Views from Above

I have a couple of thoughts about the article Views from Above. While the idea of locative media is interesting it seems like this type of “Art” has been going on for years. I went to Alcatraz many years ago and even then you could take an audio tour with commentary from actual guards and prisoners. The advances in technology have now allowed us to add the visual elements. Also, like so many supposed interactive media projects the participant is still only able to experience what the creator puts in the program. You may be able to go in a different order than someone else, but in the end you will still receive the same information. I admit I can’t think of a way around this problem but until someone does I don’t feel you can call these interactive projects they are just tours of places. The one idea I thought was interesting was the Carrizo Parkfield, the idea that you could remix the natural functions of the earth such as the tectonic data, erosion patterns, and water movements opens up some interesting possibilities.


Chris Gladitz

Bodies In Space-Yusef Dingle

While the Cyborg Manifesto was interesting, it was also very long and confusing. I sort of got lost along the way. The article did make some good points. The next article, Connecting Bodies In Space, gave some interesting and good ideas on different ways humans can connect through a virtual world. I enjoyed reading it, and plan to look more into it.

Yusef Dingle