Round 02 - Shauna

Yesterday I presented two first concepts with illustrative examples within the domains of physical browsing and ritual, what I call library2.0 and mixed slow rituals, respectively. The starting points were again the group vision we developed as a team and the criteria I developed last week. In addition, I was very interested in nostalgia for physical space and interaction induced by historical or knowledge artifacts.

5 Criteria from Round 1

1. Continuity of experience (spatial and temporal)

2. Flexible interaction

3. Interfacing the best of the digital and actual world

4. Durable/sustainable

5. Accommodates sociality

Library2.0

Physical/tangible browsing is much more satisfying and potentially more powerful than WIMP browsing. Computer search lacks the spatial and serendipitous qualities that are offered by physically located information. Additionally, the accessibility/visibility of this information can be improved.

On the other hand information mapped in physical space is limited, for example in a library, information is mapped 1:1 in terms of data and organizational system.

Earlier in this project, we talked about the Art of Memory by Frances Yates. In her book, she explains the memory technique of embedding information (words or thoughts) onto imagined objects housed in imagined architectural spaces in the mind. I was intrigued by the notion that the same mental places could be used again and again to house new thoughts and words:

"The same set of loci can be used again and again for remembering different material...the loci are like wax tablets" - The Art of Memory, Frances Yates

The digital revolution created new paradigms for thinking about data and its organization. I take Yate's statement to a literal level and propose that digital information can be projected on physical artifacts. In the figure below, I extend the analogy of books organized on bookshelves. Not only can different data sets be organized in the same space (not simultaneously), but also the organization/classification systems used to present this data.

For example, the archive video content could be organized by arbitrary classification like amount of red content in the videos, by keywords, it could be smart...utilizing neural networks to learn how users want to search.

Johan from Sound and Vision mentioned that the archive was created through a merger of 5 separate archives with different information classification systems. Could a physical-digital archive be a solution to the problem of unifying information?

Continuing with the library analogy, I thought about what a physical-digital archive could look like. With infinity on my mind, I thought of a rolodex going forward and backwards in information space. Perhaps the physical-digital archive could be made of circular shelves, housing blank physical artifacts and the digital information could be projected on the spines. Moving forward and backwards in information space would require turning the shelves forwards or backwards. The physical relationship between bits of information could reintroduce serendipity or chance into the search process...The information set projected on the shelves can be changed to fit the query and information demands of the users with a blink of the eye, and the desired information can be physically collected.

For an A/V archive, it is also important to be able to visualize or understand the continuum of information. Maybe when examining a program pulled from the shelf, people can scroll through key points or access further information or metadata about that program.

Some other concerns:

- How can information be placed in space so that there is a visible hierarchy? Should certain information be "featured." Should more obsolete information be placed farther away?

- How can the social context of being in a physical space with other people be reintroduced...like awareness of other people as they pass by on the other side of the bookshelf?

- Can viewing artifacts (e.g. glasses, monocles) be used to delve deeper into the information space? Is it satisfying?

- How can the heaviness/age/etc. of content be visualized?

Mixing Slow Rituals

The second concept is about recombining what I call "slow" rituals, such as going to the museum, library, bookstore, cafe, or archive, in new relationships. I am nostalgic for the hours and days spent in the library or bookstore, browsing, reading, and lounging around for free, not spending a cent. Alas, the physical aspect of libraries is slowly disappearing or changing forever.

What will happen to the sexy librarians (or archivists) when libraries/archives go totally digital? I already miss the cute record shop guys and I wonder if students of the future will study in the same cavernous beux arts study rooms I spent so much time in.

New relationships already exist between these places housing the slow experience.

The question is how can archives recombine into the same kind of relationships? I see an opportunity in the archive and, i.e. cafes promoting each other through their recombination. One very literal example I already see is at the Urban Espresso Bar in Rotterdam. There they have a downstairs space with video exhibitions running all the time.

To think further on:

- Who curates the content?

- Can archive services be offered in these places (i.e. dling or requesting clips)

General card game update - Aeshta

Today I have done some research about the Card Collecting idea. The following parts are area which comes up in my mind mapping:

- Social network (the "card" collecting)
- Physical artifact (the device that is the "cards" or can share the "cards")
- Game play (using the "cards" to play)
- Story (think like quests, found in games like WOW only real live)

I took games like magic and WOW as examples. But the game play with the "cards" can still be anything. The form the cards will take is also still very much open, though for visualization I take the siftables in mind.

Next I am going to do some searching about the idea of Archive bomb and what kind of artifacts (physical toys) can be used.

Round 01: Bas

What i've read about archives so far is that digital technologies change the archive in ways that destabilize authority over what should be in the archive and the categorization of what's in the archive. People can now access archives over the internet, creating their own unique and contingent research paths, shaping new relations between different archive artefacts, and adding their own personal metadata. This questions the role of the researcher/user, who seems to be completely free, and about which we think a lot for new concepts. The role of the archivist also fundamentally changes, he seems to be obsolete at first glance, but can probably play a role in filtering all of the personal categorizations and new archiving material. So maybe, besides thinking of new ways of accessing the archive as a user, it's also interesting to look at concepts for the archivist.

Some general remarks about concepts i came up with so far (still only focussed on regular user):
- interaction between physical and virtual world
- social interaction within the archive
- making the audiovisual archive easily accessible and creating incentives for people to use or browse the archive.
- new ways of browsing the archive: physical browsing in a 3D immersive space.

I have a picture in mind of this last idea, it's based on some general futuristic ideas about browsing and disclosing information that appear movies like minority report and some new ways of categorizing archive material as in the example of the software studies lab in san diego (I posted some example movies earlier on this blog). The archive should appear around a person or a group of persons and the browsing should be physical and intuitive. It should be accessible anywhere. The groupversion could be in the form of a game, in which the team-members have to find certain information in the archive to construct a bigger picture. It's just a very general idea and i still have to work out the 'how and why'.

Some things that came up during discussion:
- incentive for browsing in a group: disuccions platform
- bringing the archive to the home (TV?)

Round 01 - Aeshta

These ideas are just things that have popped up in my mind. I still feel that I am not touching the right stuff jet.

Social Network (game)
Here I am looking at the connections between people. Also I want to find out how they would have to work together or share their stories.

- Use the Siftables as an access device. Let people use the rules of game like PackRat. Collection, finding, stealing and trading material that is accessible from the archive. Also having booths or other creative places to find special material.

- Having photo booths spread over the country people can use it to make short stories and watch stories from other people.

- Pirate Broadcasting channel. People can make material and retrieve from the archive and watching it on a "pirate" broadcast. ;)

Physical connection to archive
In this part I am searching for the physical connection with the body and the archive. Using the hands and touch to connect with the archive in some way.

- A space with many books. Each book has his content and a AR layer which is some how projected directly on the pages.
(try to avoid the view technological filter)Perhaps most fun to place such spaces in libraries.

Round 01 - Shauna

To rephrase the meta-statement we developed last Friday, the key goal for this project is to create concepts that connect people to the archive content in a meaningful, experiential, and durable way. From the meeting on Thursday with Johan, the two main insights I got were that:

• BenG (Beeld en Geluid) has the web2.0 aspects of archive already covered.
• There is an opportunity to create meaningful mixed physical-digital experience beyond those for the casual museum visitor (offsite and/or onsite)

Below I elaborate on five points that I find inspiring as a starting point for idea generation. Some first directions for ideas are listed in italics.

1. Continuity of experience (spatial and temporal)

• Provide a storyline/context/ritual/progression of steps that brings logic and structure to the experience, whatever that might be.
• Visitors can connect and reconnect to the archive easily.
• The experience should be immersive in that the technology aspect fades away. This means the usage should be intuitive.
• Link to the other services and experiences already developed by BenG
• INSPIRATION: using rituals facing extinction like going to the library or bookstore for an afternoon as a starting point/analogy for new concepts. For example, link the archive/library/bookstore/café experience in a new way? Get people to go outside of their houses!

2. Flexibility of interaction

• The interaction should be non-deterministic, supporting the needs/desires of individuals in making interpretations, making connections and their natural way of learning or exploration.

3. Interfacing the best of reality with the best of the digital

• What are the strengths, paradigm shifting ideas that each can take from the other? For example:
• Reality is immersive
• Web democratizes information, increases accessibility for all (or does it?)
• INSPIRATION: digitally stored information means that different methods of access can be mapped to the same data unlike a physical archive which is ordered by one system.
• INSPIRATION: embedding data in 3-D space, like the audio project Jan mentioned.

4. Durable/sustainable

• The concepts developed should be durable in the sense that the new ideas/principles can inform future design and design thinking.
• The concepts promote the preservation of cultural heritage and new ways of preserving/thinking of cultural heritage.
• New content creation/curation through users? New-ways of thinking about curation, content, i.e. mashup.

5. Accommodates sociality

• Supports groups as well as individuals. Rather than thinking of groups as homogenous, how do different people within a group play different roles?
• Multi-modal interaction between virtual/physical users
• Collaborative use/access of archive in new ways?

brainstorm, feb 15

Digitized and mildly organized version of the brainstorm/mindmap the team created on the first day. It's a mix of initial ideas, preconceptions, and interests.

Game Inspiration

These two games came up in my mind after all the things we mentioned during the brainstorm.

The Game is interesting because by changing the perspective only you can guide your puppet through the maze. It is a different way to think of interaction, just change the perspective.



Flow is game that has an organic feel to it. Through the many layers you can let your creature eat what you desire. What you eat creates the growth of your creature creating a personal connection to it.
Flow Game

Just some interesting interaction to maybe think about.

Chronology of The Archive

* Cave Paintings
Pictographs- meaning conveyed through resemblance to physical object
Time represented through visual layering (adding/ erasing)

* Oral
Bards and Homers
Knowledge is transferred through physical/social interaction
A unique event that happens in time
Information is not fixed- can be personalized/context-specific

* Written/Recorded Library
Composed of primary or original source material, may be unique
Preservation
- Access is limited (often must request permission to use a specific material)
- Archivist or librarian as gatekeeper
- Behavior code: white gloves, pencils, low lighting, silence
Storage
- There is a limit to what can be 'saved'
Subjectivity of History: What is known is what has persevered
'Aura' to the object/ Artifact- a physical connection to the past
'Holy Grail Quest': History's hidden treasure that could change or reshape the world
Fragility
- Possibility for the material to be destroyed and lost forever (war, flood, fire)
Authority implicit in preserved or source material
Searching the archive requires expertise (ex. knowledge of language) or credentials

* Printed Material Library
Increased Accessibility
The possibility of exploring shelves of books related but not specific to topic
Collection Impulse- documentation of everything that can be 'known'

* Digital Archive/ Library
Examples: Web 2.0, online library collections, Databases
Shifting paradigms as to the 'owner' of the material
Hoarding vs. Sharing
(Copyright, Confidentiality, Intellectual Property, vs Creative Commons, Wiki, Hacking,
Google Books)
Restrictions: Internet Connections, Passwords, Meta-Data
Material is often a reference/copy; context is often lost
Increased ability to erase, manipulate, alter, or copy material
Acquisition comes through ability to learning the correct search algorithm
The art of filtering: User must be able to evaluate the relevance and authenticity of material

Side notes:
Does information decrease in value when it increases in quantity?
Is the destruction of information a form of historical liberation?
How does the digital archive negotiate between the subjective and the objective?
What is the personal archive and what is the public?

Food for Thought

Both Tangible User Interface (TUI) and Augmented Reality (AR) designs seek to move computation beyond the desktop. The primary difference between the two lies in the approach.

TUI seeks to inject computation into the physical world while AR seeks to overlay computation onto the physical world. However, the two approaches are not orthogonal.

From Augmented Reality, Theory and Practice of Tangible User Interfaces

Are we researching possibilities for AR for the archive or also Mixed Reality and Hybrid Space?

Going one step back, we discussed that a good starting point could be creating metaphors for the physical exploration archive(s), the ritual before digitalization, browsing and stumbling on new knowledge...before considering interfaces, technology, etc.