The Art of Remix

Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy

Remixing political images with popular songs, blending  Japanese cartoons with contemporary movie trailers indicate the art of remixing. These creations often “go viral” revealing the remix to fans and casting aside intellectual property rights of the source material. So what makes an image remix powerful? The meaning doesn’t come from the content itself – but rather the reference, which is only expressible if the image is used, according to Lawrence Lessig in his book, “Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy.”

Lessig’s book provides a framework of understanding about “remix culture” based on historic origins dating back to the early 1900s. The book offers a linear discussion moving through time and innovation cycles as it and proceeds forth through a discussion regarding the rise of new technologies and the impact on our society as a “Read/Only” culture or a “Read/Write” Culture.  

He cites John Philip’s Sousa’s 1906 critique of the lax United States copyright system and his urging that “infernal machines (i.e., the phonograph) would change our relationship with culture, as we would become cultural consumers, not culture producers. This fear of a loss of culture production became what Lessig refers to as the loss of the Read/Write (RW) culture in favor of the Read/Only Culture. The read only culture is one that is less practiced in performance and more comfortable with media consumption. In a turnabout of events, the “infernal machines” that Sousa once feared are now enabling the Read/Write culture as computer technologies place digital creation in the hands of individual producers of all ages.

In an analysis of early “Read Only culture, Lessig points to records and other forms of media that were limited by analog technology.  The advent of digital technology has changed the nature of the Read Only culture as we now do not have to watch network television at prescribed times, but are instead “freed” by the fact that television segments can be taped.

And the concept that we will not be forced to pay for many multimedia experiences will continue to evolve as well. “My sense is that digital technology will enable market support for a much wider range of “free” content than anyone expects now.”  Even today, while writing this blog entry, I too participate in content creation for the digital age as part of the Read/Write culture.  

As the community of “remixers” continues to grow, Lessig projects more active, richer content created and shared across the digital format. Further, he anticipates more “interest-based learning.   From Sousa’s concern over the phonograph to digital file sharing today, we continue to grapple with issue regarding content creation, rights and collaboration.

Sketching Innovation: Aiding Thinking From Concept to Cocktail Napkin To Creation

Sketching Innovation: Aiding Thinking from Concept to Cocktail Napkin to Creation

It all may starts with the sketch! Having worked side by side with various graphic designers at advertising agencies, interactive design firms, and public relations firms, I have personally observed how creative players digest information and and conceive of new ideas in a graphic way. These conceptualizations often end up in a preliminary sketch. In his book, “Sketching User Experiences,” author Bill Buxton calls sketching an “aid to thought.” These initial concepts provide timely, inexpensive expressions of an idea, concept or product and give collaborative teams a rallying point for discussions. Future discussions, centered around the sketch, may ultimately advance the product development. During the course of 805, I too have used sketching as an “aid to thinking” with the creation of the wine label, the animated poem and the website.

Many stories have been told of venture capitalists meeting with entrepreneurs in coffee shop and bars, to leave with a “cocktail napkin” sketch of a technology or business model.   Product developers and interactive designers use a number of techniques in creating innovative products. For example, today we witness a movement from interface design to “experience design” with websites and technology products. Author Buxton points to the advent of “interaction” experiences such as creating an orange juicer to usability testing. I am reminded of a 1999 experience that I had with a dot-com company seeking to perform retail sales on their website. The advertising agency representing the company chose to perform a focus group of people actually navigating the website to poll their reaction, the patterns and find obstacles for retail behavior. Today we focus on maximizing the user experience with technology. Yet I wonder if this experience is designed to save time, thus giving us more time to experience more technologies. Nevertheless, as humans we do seek positive interactions with the tools and technologies around us to complete our daily tasks. Yet, sometimes our experiences may not be as authentic as we believe.   

One of the interesting aspects of the Buxton book was the “Wizard of Ox technique” that showcases how innovators often use conjured artificial systems to provide users with preliminary experiences before the “real” system exists. The book cites an airline ticket kiosk that was created in 1971, allowing travelers to access boarding passes via a kiosk – that was actually staffed by a real person behind the wall. So 40 years ago, we witnessed the “puppeteering” of innovative concepts while technology caught up. Today, technologists are imagining new frontiers as technology innovations quadruple their pace with microchip miniaturization, data processing and storage, telecommunications and satellite capabilities. The Wizard of Oz effect may still exist as new technology products emerge and customers experience things that are a patchwork of human intervention and technology.

From the preliminary sketch to the authentic user experience, human beings are grasping new technologies and mastering new ways of completing various tasks. Design’s integral role will continue to play out in sketches and creative concepts, bringing innovation from the cocktail napkin to reality.

A Performance of the Written Word: Online Content

        In the book, Evolving Perspectives on Computers and Composition Studies, authors Nancy Kaplan of Cornell and Patricia Sullivan of Purdue, explore issues related to emerging computer  technologies and the traditional “written word.” In Chapter 1, Kaplan explores the pedagogical implications of emerging media. Citing renowned media theorists such as McLuhan, Goody and Ong, Kaplan states that, “The conventions of the book have organized not simply the text but the world: what we can know and how that knowledge is organized for retrieval.” Advancing that concept further, online databases and digitizing of information takes that to the next level. Kaplan asserts, “the computing revolution is above all else, a writing revolution… as it expands the reach that a text can attain.” I was interested in the insights of the author regarding intellectual property. She stated that the printed word: “Is fixed and stable and can acquire economic value; it can be copyrighted and owned by its producer or publisher.” Today, the intellectual property rights of new media forms remain in flux with the case law associated with privacy, data mining and trademarks remaining  ever-changing. When it comes to education, Kaplan states that while a book can “represent” content, it cannot perform it. As the digital age advances, we do in fact see more initiatives associated with the performances of digital content and educational materials for online course delivery. Degree programs, trade programs and certifications are now offered online.  

The second  chapter by Sullivan, “Taking Control of the Page: Electronic Writing and Word Publishing,” explores the relationship between electronic publishing and theories of writings. Sullivan cites Walter Ong who states: “technology constantly remakes the way in which we communicate and even think.” While dated as it ties back o the late 1980s, to 1990s it provides a solid overview of the advent of desktop publishing tools and its accompanying impact on education, business and perceptions. In the final analysis, Sullivan states that the “control” that writers gain is temporary, situational and heuristic rather than all-encompassing and thus lends itself to a need for rhetorical theory. She posits various areas of further discussion including the role of the author the interaction of the author with the technology and the pedagogy of electronic writing.

These chapters, while dated, provide perspectives for future educators of technology-enabled writing.  As we advance beyond the textbook to interactive communications, we truly adapt to a new way of thinking and perceiving. Contemporary and future scholars must continue to monitor and document adaptation of the written word and its impact on the education, business and human communications.    

Pass the Tissue Box ... It's Another Tear-Jerking Animated Movie

Media, Remediation and More During the Digital Age

As a mother watching Toy Story with my children, sometimes I have to remember that it is “just an movie” as the producers pull at my heartstrings. When the beloved Jessie doll is thrust under the bed as her toy owner grows and no longer appreciate her, tears begin to fall … until I realize that it’s a doll! An Animated doll no less.  Or then there was the time the waterworks turned on again as a I watched the feature-length movie UP!, watching the scenic life of the professor pass by and the grief over the loss of his wife depicted on the animated screen. I was actually choked up about the relationship between two animated characters.

Mission accomplished for Pixar Studios as they deftly removed the vehicle of animation and computer graphics from the equation, providing a rich cultural experience.  “They made the settings, the toys and the human characters look as much as possible like live-action film,” said Bolter and Grusin. And this “stripping away of the digital vehicle” is what makes media scholars, professors, media content producers and students of the contemporary era wonder about the impact of this new content.   

The book by Bolter and Grusin cites Marshal McLuhan’s 1964 book, “Understanding Media,” in which he said: “The content of any medium is always another medium.” This tenet perhaps lies at the core of the contemporary definition of remediation, “the representation of one medium in another.”  

Bolter and Grusin’s book sets forth a multitude of concepts regarding remediation, mediation, immediacy and hypermediacy, drawing on historical art theories and “contemporary” streams of thought. The text was a little troublesome, as it provided some historical (read outdated) examples for CD-ROms and other technology forms that have been radically displaced by the web, streaming audio, streaming video and other technology rich solutions.

Nevertheless, the concepts of remediation, immediacy and hypermediacy remain strong today and merit further discussion and evaluation.  As our media habits have matured, we have gone from a fascination with “photography and cinema” to scratching our itch for immediacy with lie, real-time content generated from the Internet.  

The book cites the advent of Microsoft windows, a graphical user interface that fades into the background. It is a tool that constantly pulls the user between manipulating the windows and examining their context. This lends itself to a dramatic multiplicity that hypermediacy perpetuates.

Further, Bolter and Grusin point to the fact that hypermediacy expresses the tension between regarding the visual space as mediated and as a “real” space that lies beyond mediation. Some, including Lanham have called this the difference between looking “through” and looking “at”.

So, with all of that said, as moviegoers pack the popcorn and candy, the experience of digitally-animated films provide us not only with a fantastic  entertainment, but a journey-ride through remediation in the digital age. Pass the tissue box!  

The Smart Money Finds a Culture of Innovation

Software Innovation Market Trends Apply to …. Everything

Contemporary businesses needs a culture of innovation that drives product development. The days of incremental change and product line extensions are gone, as the diminishing return or new market debuts and consumer attention spans wane. Let’s take a look at how lessons from software innovation invade multiple vertical marketplaces for new product adoption and market sustainability.  Author Bill Buxton  in his book, “Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design,”  cites the trend for software manufacturers to develop new products sometimes known as “n+1” – one with enhanced functionality that appeals to the marketplace. Unfortunately, though the incremental costs of these subsequent releases diminishes profitability. We have seen this many times over with Microsoft products, Quickbooks accounting software and many others. Buxton states that the reasons why the profit drops are four-fold: the products increase in complexity, the installed base grows and disruptive changes are not tolerated, the low handing fruit has been picked with both features and customers and lastly, as the product has grown, the product has gone through “feature bloat” to a point of diminished return.

The aforementioned circumstances occur at a time when the marketplace is shrinking and the attention span of consumers is drifting to another trendy software. Thus, there is always a compelling need to develop and market new products. The lesson in these circumstances – create a culture of ongoing research and development to seek out new innovation with a vengeance for innovation. Research and development groups may at times get bogged down in the n+1, n+2, or n+3 mentality. This is devastating to the organization. While interim product innovation provides a temporary life in sales and market movement, the erosion of innovation and long term sustainability of the company may be falling apart.

Savvy venture capitalists remain wise students of this phenomenon and they actively search for and invest in software companies that have more than a “one trick pony.” A one trick pony may be a good idea for the inventor who may be able to ultimately monetize the invention through a strategic sale, but a company with a culture of innovation that pervades the executive suite, the research and development group, marketing and all branches of the company provide the right investment --- the place for smart VC money.

While Buxton’s book cites numerous software and technology innovations, including an in-depth case study of Apple and the successive iPod debuts, these innovation cycles apply to nearly everything, most notably many consumer products that we touch every day.  Smart business executives, designers, researchers, marketers and professional communicators seek that culture of innovation that goes beyond n+1 to true, “box breaking” innovation because it maintains top line growth and bottom line profitability.

     

A Tale of Transmedia Story Telling

A Further Discussion of Convergence Culture By Henry Jenkins

A Tale of Transmedia Story Telling  

As we continue our discussion of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins, we turn our attention to the phenomenon of transmedia story telling – depicting a theme or story line over multiple media platforms. To illustrate this technique, Jenkins addresses The Matrix – a  movie that aptly crosses over multiple media formats and depicts convergence in one of its truest forms. Jenkins states that “the Matrix is a transmedia story that unfolds across multiple media platforms, each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution in the whole.” He further asserts that transmedia storytelling permits the “best of the best” with each media form capturing storytelling that yields the most rewarding experience for the audience.  “In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling, each medium does what it does best – so that a story might be introduced in film, expanded through television, novels and comics; its world might be explored through game play or experienced as a movie.” As consumers, we seek transmedia storytelling in our lives as it simplifies our pop culture experience and simultaneously gives us a uniform story that we can grasp, appreciate and share with our friends and colleagues. We talk about these “transmedia” stories around the water cooler and they permeate our lives. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Does transmedia storytelling enrich our viewing experience or regurgitate the same story over and over again?”  

While we may appreciate the benefits of transmedia story telling, it should not be overlooked -- or forgotten -- that this phenomenon is the outgrowth of the horizontally-integrated entertainment industry. As Jenkins states, “A good transmedia franchise works to attract multiple constituencies by pitching the content somewhat differently in the different media.” Nevertheless, it is a slight variation on the same theme. So, we must ask, “Are we getting the vanilla version of everything to maximize the profits of media giants?”   

Even Jenkins agrees: “We do not have very good aesthetic criteria for evaluating works that play themselves out across multiple media.” Jenkins cites the fact that to date there are too few transmedia stories to measure. Perhaps that is true, but perhaps it is the story of things to come. As consumes, we mus ask ourselves if we will tolerate transmedia story telling as the re-hashing of a familiar story over and over again to various forms of monotony.

   

The Media Law Notebook

The Media Law Notebook

In the Final Chapter of the book “Design to Thrive: Creating Online Communities and Social Networks to Last,” Dr. Tharon Howard writes:  “Technology Changes Rapidly, Human’s Don’t. ” Dr. Howard  points to four future areas that he states will the “battlefield” of the future:

1.)    Copyrights and intellectual property

2.)    Disciplinary control v. individual creativity

3.)    Visual, technological and new media literacies

4.)    Decision-making context for future markets

As an instructor of Media Law and Ethics, I found Dr. Howard’s analysis of intellectual property and content ownership quite interesting. He stated that “copyright protected publishers.” It can be argued that intellectual property law “protects the system” rather than individual writers. For example, broadcast journalists working for CNN or other mainstream media outlet know and recognize that their content is “owned” by the producer.  However today, with nearly every cellular telephone having the video production capability, millions of people are “armed and ready,” to create content. Where is it “published?”,  Who owns this content? How does the producer monetize the production value?

In a recent lecture at Clemson University, Henry Jenkins, the author of “Convergence Culture” underscored the mainstream media’s failure to successfully monetize the global sensation started by Susan Boyle in Britain’s Got Talent show.  While the networks new they “owned” the content, they could not proceed rapidly enough to monetize downloads of the performance, thus losing a legitimate revenue-generating opportunity. Jenkins talked of the “clogged arteries” of the traditional media production system. These same clogged arteries may be found in intellectual property rights.

Media law and ethics remain at the pivotal time period as new methodologies are defined for content creation, licensing, control and distribution. The Internet has prompted a disruption that will ultimately produce change.  Law scholars, attorneys, judges and entrepreneurs will ultimately face a future tug of war over intellectual property rights as the traditional walls of ownership crumble.

Mass Amateurization Takes Over Content Generation

Citizen Journalism Defined As Mass Amateurization: More Thoughts on Shirky

Clay Shirky’s book, “Here Comes Everybody,” frames the discussion of citizen journalism in the form of “mass amateurization” and makes note of the cataclysmic shift  in traditional gatekeeping theory for Communications Studies students and scholars.   Shirky takes on the fact that the traditional media gatekeeping function is evolving as the gate is “wide open” with millions of new citizen journalists producing content.  Shirky laments that newspapers and other traditional media outlets are caught up in the own paradigm and do not recognize the changing ecosystem that is occurring with the internet media forms.

While professional journalists traditionally filtered the news, now there is “no limit to those who can commit acts of journalism,” Shirky states and thus the paradigm shift is indicating changes for reportial privilege. Further computer-propelled ease of use to create articles, website content, blogs, videos and the like has created a ubiquity of content and in turn is forcing new paradigms in content transactions.  “The absolute abundance” diminishes the specialness of professional publishing. “if everyone can do something, it is no longer rare enough to pay for, even if it is vital.”

Shirky sets for a notion, “publish, then filter,” as a means to further understand the new media atmosphere. He states: “Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.” He states that there is a confusion between broadcasting – one way communications  -- from one to many – and communications media, a form that stimulate a two-way flow of communications.”  While Shirky addresses a multiple of topic s in Chapter 4, I did not leave the chapter with a clear cut definition of how we are to “publish and then filter.”

The original gatekeeping was set for by Kurt Lewin and applied to communications studies by David Manning White. Now, it seems Clay Shirky is bringing the concept forward to the contemporary era and generating a new point of view by bringing the issue into the fore and attempting to reframe it.   I like Shirky’s ideas, analogies and examples. Further, I also see how is trying to weave “citizenship” and good works into his book by discussing on line collaborations and collective action.     

Clay Shirky Urges Positive Action for Cognitive Surplus

In a recent TED presentation, author Clay Shirky advocates for a positive use of the massive cognitive surplus. He states that the world has a trillion hours of brain power each year -- giving individuals time to osity that makes life better. create and participate in community collectives. He urges for a culture of generosity. In citing the civic value of Ushahidi -- a technology for facilititating blog responses and cooperative action, he showcases how people may operate in the digital age.

He states that in society, humans are often driven by social contracts. For example, a day care center has a social contract between the parents and the teachers that the children will be picked up on time. When that social contract is broken, parents feel guilty. However, when a fine was instituted for tardiness, it rid the situation of the social contract and in fact parents were late more often.

Shirky's concept of a "Cognitive Surplus" is an interesting idea. If humans can truly use their brainpower and technical tools for civic responsibility and "good works" society will advance to a more peaceful, thriving place.
 

A Recipe for Creating Social Networks that Last

A Recipe for Creating Social Networks and Online Communities that Last …. Serve RIBS

While many businesses struggle for the best recipe to engage consumers and promote a fertile online community, the book, “Design To Thrive,” by Dr. Theron Howard offers a deluxe meal of R.I.B.S. No, we are not talking about spicy bar-be-cue, we are talking about Remuneration, Influence, Belonging and Significance.

While many may assume that Renumeration translates into financial compensation, Howard frames renumeration as a satisfying user experience, not simply the exchange of money for group participation.  For example, if community participants can get “news they can use” they are more apt to return to the community, actively participate and engage with others. One of the most interesting things that I found in the discussion of remuneration was that Howard advises the integrity of online community content remain “protected.” For example, the book states that to promote the community, the content should not be archived, syndicated to other blogs or postings and in fact should be banned from redistribution to other servers and cross postings. The fact that the content remains fresh and exclusive provides the ongoing reason to return to the site.  Many content websites disregard this approach by sending content to as many sites as possible to promote ubiquity and name awareness. Many consumer product companies want to get their brand message “broadcast” to as many outlets as possible.

The second dimension of the RIBS recipe is Influence. “Influence exists when members believe that they can control, or at least shape the policies, procedures, topics and standards of evidence used to persuade others in an online community or social network,” Howard states.  To promote influence, the author recommends 14 different techniques including the establishment of an advisory council, periodic surveys and giving “group elders” exclusive opportunities within the group.  This influence is analogous to thought leaders in society who set the agenda for discussions on politics, economics, pop culture and the like. Utilizing techniques like these allow members to feel that they are actively participating in the group. I particularly like the concept of surveys because that allows the group facilitator to “poll” the group on areas of interest, suggested conversation topics and forward-looking ideas regarding community management.   

Belonging represents the third dimension of the RIBS recipe. The author points to initiation rituals, stories of origin, the use of mythologies, codes and use of stories to propagate the sense of belonging. These types of tools have worked well offline in corporate environments to build a sense of corporate belonging to the organization. Now, Howard translates them into online tactics to promote a sense of belonging, define the group culture and provide standards for suggested group behaviors.  I particularly like the initiation ritual concept and am reminded of groups that offer the ability to use their logo or other symbol after joining their “group.”

The last dimension of the RIBS recipe is Significance. The presence of online communities gives internet surfers yet another opportunity to join a group in an effort to get information and exercise their own personal “significance.” This chapter delves into a discussion of marketing concepts including new ones set forth by Seth Godin in the Cluetrain Manifesto and Tribes that encourage businesses to build significance with their customers and promote a two-way “conversation.” Howard takes this tenet one step further by talking about social media networks and the objective of finding “connector nodes” that can provide the tipping point for starting trends and propelling consumer adoption.  As a practical matter, Howard recommends techniques including listing the accomplishment of members, providing a story that shares a vision and creating a contest, game or video to promote significance.

I like the RIBS concept for Remuneration, Influence, Belonging and Significance. As new online communities emerge and existing ones contemplate ways to engage participants, this book provides a handbook for involvement. Dr. Howard provides the perfect entree.

A New Era of Participation: Engaging, Acting and Collaborating in the Digital Age

A New Era of Participation: Engaging, Acting and Collaborating in the Digital Age

The first two chapters of “Here Comes Everybody” by Clay Shirky provide insights into the phenomenon of using social networks to organize thoughts, groups and action. Shirky cites the active aftermath of the loss of a telephone in a New York City taxi cab to illustrate how a bystander, Evan, activated the onslaught of social media to not only return the phone to his friend, but also galvanize large scale emotional support for the loss and propel an arrest of the teenager who walked off with the phone. Evan’s antics resulted in nationwide news coverage in more than 60 media outlets and gave a new perspective on organizing in the digital age.

Shirky points to the fact that Evan would not have been able to mobilize such public support ten years prior, without the benefit of the Internet weblogs, mailing lists and electronic discussion groups. This citation is used to typify the fact that technology is changing the way that groups assemble and operate, according to Shirky.

In the new “architecture of participation,” according to publisher Tim O’Reilly, citizens are taking on new roles including detective, journalist and ad hoc police officer. So how does this apply to corporations? Shirky states that management presence articulates the difference between ad hoc groups and corporations.  However, people continue to self assemble without management protocols, providing the foundation for a new era of collaboration.

In a deeper analysis of technology enabled organizational structure, Shirky discusses the schism between traditional organizations and those that reside on a technology. He states that management resources take resources, but management challenges grow faster than organizational size. He points to a “Post Managerial Organization” during which time the cost to run a business is so costly that the it exceeds the profit margin of the business.  He further cites the “Coasean Floor,” where activities are buried because they threaten the profitability of the business as they compete for management time. Today,  social tools provide a mechanism for loosely structured groups to move forward without management intervention – and fee of the profit motive.

There is a new hierarchy of activity occurring with the advent of new media forms:  a new ease of assembly, sharing, cooperation and collective action. Collective action is the most difficult to achieve because it presumes a level of shared responsibility and must have rules for “losing” and guiding the collective action.

As students living and working in the digital environment, we will continue to engage in this evolving era or technology-driving social media communication that is changing the very way that we communicate and collaborate to achieve tasks.

Online Communities

Comments on "Design to Thrive" by Theron Howard

Online Communities

“Design to Thrive” by Theron Howard offers insights into the formation of online communities and discusses key facets of a successful online community: remuneration, influence, belonging and significance. For example, an online community hosted by Count Me In, provides women entrepreneurs with an engaging forum for information sharing and allows community members to appreciate the benefit of the “RIBS” formula.  Women throughout the nation who have generated at least $250,000 in annual revenues for their businesses and have achieved recognition by the Make Mine a Million $ Business program, receive access to the online community, providing a place for collaboration, inspiration and data sharing.   

Online communities are drastically different from social media atmospheres, Howard asserts.  Robust online communities require the there is a common set of interests, values and communication practices. This is certainly true for the Count Me In Community. Further, Howard asserts that secondary social interactions in social media remain weak, while secondary connections in the online communities remain much stronger because online participate in different activities. By citing Clay Shirkey in “Here Comes Everybody,” Howard points to sharing, cooperation and collective action for typical activities. For Count Me In, this rationale is true. It is far stronger to receive a referral inside of the Count Me In community than through a social network such as Linked In or Facebook.

As society continues to embrace social networks and communities, Howard proposes ten reasons why the formation and propagation of these communities are vital:

·         Enhancing and sustaining intellectual capital

·         Increasing creativity and cross fertilization

·         Improving decision-making processes with epistemic communities

·         Preserving institutional  knowledge

·         Providing a higher quality interaction with your organization

·         Improving retention and loyalty

·         Reducing training and support costs

·         Identifying customer needs and new product opportunities

·         Reducing travel costs and addressing problems “just in time”

·         Flattening organizational hierarchies

As a business executive,  I have seen the online communities perform these roles including enhancing creativity and cross fertilization. Further, through elearning programs, businesses have reduced training costs and accelerated government compliance with OSHA regulations.

Online communities will continue to evolve in purposefulness and ubiquity. Howard’s book provides key insights on the rationale for these communities and recommended tips for creating a rich and vital online community.

Computers as Theatre: Lessons For Online Retailers

Computers As Theatre: Lessons For Online Retailers  

By Brenda Laurel

The book, “Computers as Theatre,” explores the analogy of web interface design to dramatic stage, where actors and the audience engage in a meaningful way. To establish the foundation for her argument, Laurel discusses the phenomenon of “direct manipulation,” in which web interaction is designed to facilitate the illusion of instantaneous response. Internet retailers have longed to unlock the key of immediate response to propel top line sales, searching for the web interface that engages and inspires the visitor to take action.   

In an examination of various interface theories, Laurel points to the “Mental Models View,” the
Precognitive Science View” and others to show the nexus between the computer interface and the individual. She discards all of them and advances with her “theatrical based” point of view by initially exploring the concept that a website interface is like a Proscenium theatre with actors engaging in the live action – creating unwieldy confusion. This analogy quickly falls apart as actors ascend to the stage creating chaos. This preliminary theory is replaced by Laurel’s belief that human-computer interaction is like an oval stage. Instead of the Proscenium arch, the oval contains all relevant characters illuminated at the appropriate time to propel the action forward.  I like this analogy better as I can see myself navigating through a digital environment “illuminating” a specific functional area and then having the computer interface respond in kind. For internet retailers, this means that I navigate a website to a particular style of clothing and then drill in on a defining size, then I isolate for a particular color and make a decision to buy with a few clicks of the mouse.

With a quest to define interactivity, Laurel states that interactivity occurs with three variables: frequency, range and significance. Further, she states that human computer activity may be divided into two broad categories: productive and experiential. Today graphic designers continue to navigate the maze to provide highly-purposeful web experiences that advance the brand and meet corporate objectives. In keeping with her analogy to theatre, Laurel cites German dramatist Bertold Brecht who stated that the true post dramatic catharsis does not occur until after the audience has interpreted the work and assimilated it into their lives. For consumers, Brecht’s contemporary catharsis may be the pushing the digital shopping cart through the online store to the final checkout counter with a few simple keystrokes.  

Who is Minding the Gate in Voluntary Knowledge Cultures?

Voluntary Knowledge Cultures: Who Is Minding the Gate?  

The book, “Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide,” by Henry Jenkins discussed the formation of Knowledge Cultures. One of the most fascinating dimensions of this knowledge culture is the way Jenkins chararacterizes them as “voluntary, temporary and tactical affiliations,” achieved through the deft use of multiple technologies. Jenkins asserts that the technologies are used to engage in a new level of “participatory culture.” As we move into these participatory atmospheres,  I ponder where do we gain thought leadership? Additionally, what is the accompanying social result of these knowledge communities?  

Jenkins cites Pierre Levy who states. “People harness their individual expertise toward shared goals and objectives.” This is a positive, somewhat altruistic view of Knowledge Cultures.  With the advent of the new knowledge community, the traditional social community is breaking down., according to Jenkins.  For example, a recent earthquake left me scouring Facebook to see where the rumblings were felt along the East Coast – not moving outside my office to engage with neighbors and friends to share that common experience.

I am particularly interested in Jenkins’ evaluation of “gated” knowledge communities. In the book, he discusses the online formation of braintrusts – or experts associated with a particular topic.  Jenkins uses a  Survivor Spoiler site ChillOne as an example of an emerging brain trust. ChillOne – as an expert thought leader – brought data and ideas to the “spoiler audience” and thus became a trusted resource.  ChillOne and others like him denote an inevitable return of hierarchy to the knowledge culture.  This restoration of hierarchy is particularly interesting to me because of its relevance to David Manning White’s adaptation of Gatekeeping Theory for the mass media.

In an effort to make sense of this phenomenon, Jenkins cites Peter Walsh who states that the traditional expert paradigm is breaking down by the advent of the more open-ended process of communication. Many would argue that citizen journalism is propelling the collapse of the gatekeeping role for news and information. I believe Jenkins would take this even further and say that citizens have trampled the gate for a whole realm of information gathering and interpretation of reality.

  

  

Kolko's Take on Branding

The book, “Thoughts on Interactive Design,” by Jon Kolko offers keen insights into the dynamic world of interaction design. Crossing over between the business world and an academic approach to the use of graphic design principles, Kolko offers an easy read to approach about graphic design's ability to create meaningful experiences for customers. Kolko asserts that interaction design may offer a point of difference for businesses and thus achieve a competitive advantage. Further, by creating a pleasurable design experience for customers, businesses can “lock in” brand loyalty and grow the business through the launch of contiguous product lines. Kolko advocates that interaction designers deconstruct the process of product use to analyze the user experience and provide innovation at tangible points.

In his discussion of brand authenticity, Kolko cites Starbuck’s ability to provide a unique, repeatable customer experience, in essence allowing the coffee shop to become the “home away from home” for customers. This repeatable experience intertwines with the “narrative” of our mobile culture, dictating that we have a place to flip open our laptops, meet with friends or co-workers and engage in social intimacies over a latte.  

These insights provide meaningful context as we consider the articulation of authentic brands in society today. 

  

VISUAL CULTURE

A DISCUSSION OF STURKEN AND CARTWRIGHT,

 “PRACTICES OF LOOKING: AN INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL CULTURE,”

By Kristie Byrum

The first few chapters of the book, “Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture” by Sturken and Cartwright explore how human beings engage in the act of looking in our everyday lives. The pair define visual culture as: “Shared practices of a group, community or society through which meanings are made out of the visual, aural and textual world of representations and the ways that ‘looking’ practices are engaged in symbolic communications activities.” (p.3)

The authors document ways of evaluating visual culture, pointing to the fact post-industrial capitalism has blurred boundaries between culture and social realms to unleash new techniques for measuring how we study images,  evaluate modes of responding to visual modes, and how images and text move from one social media to another.

The book discusses the active role of the viewer and posits that meaning doesn’t reside in images, but it is produced at the moment they are consumed and circulate among the viewers (p6).

In Chapter 1, “Images, Power and Politics,” the authors examine the role of art and photography in society, citing French theorist Roland Barthes concepts of the “stadium” or “truth” function of photography and “punctum,” the emotional dimension of photography that ‘pierces’ one’s heart with emotion(p18). The book states that images influence ideologies and thus visual culture serves an integral role in ideology formation. Through a series of photography examples, Sturken and Cartwright demonstrate society’s use of imagery to reinforce ideologies, including the darkening of OJ Simpson’s skin by Newsweek magazine following his arrest, paying homage to a notion that people with darker skin are predisposed to deviance. (p. 26).

The authors delve into theories regarding how viewers decode images by citing principles of philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce and Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussere. Peirce discussed the role of signs (ie, iconic, indexical and symbolic).  While Saussere indicated that a human’s relationship with a word’s meaning is arbitrary and not fixed, Peirce asserts an “existential” relationship between the sign and the word, demonstrating a relationship between the sign and viewer.

In Chapter 2, “Viewers Make Meaning,” Sturken and Cartwright further probe the role of the audience as a “collective of lookers.”  They describe viewing as a multimodal activity that occurs when images “interpellate” viewers, thus capturing our attention and causing us to ponder the content. Context, original author intent and the role of the critical reader are discussed in this chapter. The authors cite visual clutter as an intervening variable in interpretation, using the visually-stimulating Times Square as an example.

Aesthetics and taste represent two fundamental concepts of value used by viewers, according to the authors. In keeping with Pierre Bourdrieu’s theory that states, “All aspects of life are interconnected and unified into a habitus – a set of dispositions and preferences that are related to our class position, education and social standing,” (p 60), the authors discuss the historical point of view regarding high culture and low culture. Today, pop culture remains part of the dialogue involving culture – a genre once excluded. Art is not always a trickle down from the educated upper class to the lower classes, as evidenced by the 1920s Jazz and the 1980s hip hop music genres.   

 The authors cite Karl Marx and his tenet that ideology was a false consciousness spread by the dominant over the masses and then reveal how Louis Althusser adapted the definition of ideology as the “necessary representational means through which we come to experience and make sense of reality.”

A discussion of encoding and decoding is provided, relying on the work by Stuart Hall that proposes three viewer positions: Dominant hegemonic reading; Negotiated reading; and Oppositional Reading.  Lastly, the chapter discusses appropriation, textual poaching, bricolage and counter-bricolage, citing numerous examples to reveal how society assigns meaning through visual culture.

This book provides both a theoretical framework with multiple, graphic-rich examples  to help the reader better understand the role of visual culture in society today.

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