Conor BritainTheory and Audience Analysis

Work Portfolio

Table of ContentsPage 2

5 Steps for Surviving in a Digital World

Page 3

Adapting to the World of Everyware,Augmented Realities and Ubiquitous Computing

Page 27

Design is Personal: Understanding Audiences and ApplyingTheory to Interactive Design

Page 52

Analyzing the Interactive Audience:Understanding Your Con-sumers to Create Meaningful User Experiences

Page 86

Top Tens in Interactive Media

Page 104

Raising Reality to the Mythic ont he Web:The Future of Interactive Documentary

Page 1367

Sample Blog Posts

5 Steps for Surviving in a Digital World

4Listen

People are going to be talking about you, and on the Internet, word spreads fast. Do your best to make that word a positive one by embracing honesty and criticism. By giving people channels to talk about your brand, you can learn what people are saying and leverage that free advice to improve your organiza-tion.

5Adapt

Keeping up with the curve is imperative, and putting yourself one step ahead of it will give your organization a major advantage. Keep up to date with technology and trends, and if you encounter a better way to do something, remain open-minded. Learn from others and experience to alter the plan when it becomes necessary.

1With so much change occurring every day, it’s easy to get caught up in the fray without fully understanding it first. Proper planning will prevent wasted time and resources. Understand your users through User Personas, decide how can you fulfill their needs , and isolate the tools and strate-gies which will best serve your goals.

Have a Plan

2Make the people within your organization visible – there can no longer be a faceless corporation. Give people a reason to like you by being helpful and by giving out free information and services. And forget about control-ling your brand’s image – worry about getting tagged with the right one.

Be Relateable

3Design is possibly one of the most important aspects of interactive communications. Without an approach that appeals to people, your efforts may be wasted. Make sure the user is given choice and control, and make sure your design is intuitive – nothing turns away a user faster than confusion.

Use Smart Design

Have a Plan1 Be Relateable

Use Smart Design3

Listen4

Adapt5

2

IDENTIFYwith user personas

FULFILLthe needs of your users

KNOWwhy you’re doing it

BECOMEpersonable and likeable

GIVE in the gifting tradition of the web

PROVIDEincentives for users to return

INTUITIVEwith choice and control

GUIDED by the needs of your user persona

EFFICIENTin writing and function

make your design

INVITEfeedback

ENGAGEthe groundswell

DON’T HIDEanything - be open and honest

STAY CURRENTon the latest trends and technologies

BE FLEXIBLEif a better option comes along

BE OPENto change, innovation, and criticism

AdaptingtotheWorldofEveryware,AugmentedRealitiesandUbiquitousComputing

ASynthesisPaperbyConorBritain

TableofContents:

SynthesisPaperPages2‐4

“StudyingPast,PresenttoProjecttheFuture”NotesandSynthesisPages5‐7

“FromImaginingtheInternet”NotesandSynthesisPages8‐11

“InteractiveDesignisaNewField”NotesandSynthesisPages11‐17

“LookingAhead150Years”NotesandSynthesisPages17‐18

“FuturesThinking”NotesandSynthesisPages19‐24

Why,ascommunicators,doweinvent?Isittocommunicate?Toshare?Toentertain?Lookingattheprogressionofhumancommunications,fromtheprintingpressallthewaytotheinternet,thereisaclearunderlyingtrendtowards“makingtheworldsmaller,”witheachsuccessivedevicebringingchangeandnewopportunitiestoourworld.Infact,ourreactionstoseeingnewcommunicationstools,whetheritbetheradio,thetelephone,ortheinternet,havereflectedthis,aswelooktonewdevicestoconnecttheworld,bringaboutpeace,changepoliticsandeconomiesandgiveourdemocracy,intelligenceandlivesmoremeaning. However,ourcollectiveachievementsintechnologyhasn’talwaysbeenfullyembraced;refertoanyofthegreatinventionsofourtimeandyou’llsurelyfindmanyexamplesofnaysayersandnonbelievers(eventheRadiopioneerLeeDeForestcondemnedthepursuitoftelevision.)Butgettingpastdoubtersandkeepingexcitementupwhilepursuingnewtrendsisanessentialpartofprogress.Accordingto“futuresthinking,”properlyanalyzingnewtrendsandpossibilitiesrequirescriticalthinking,intuition,research,andcollaborationwithstakeholders,whichincludesconvincingthe20%ofinnovatorswhowillfollowyouandlettingtheirsupportmobilizeotherstogetexcitedaboutitaswell.Progressisasmuchasocialhurdleasitisatechnologicalone.

So,withalloftheprogressinthepastcenturyandahalf,theinevitablequestionbecomes“whereisitallgoing?”Well,inacomplexadaptivesystemsuchasourworld,onecanneverbesure,butoneofourmoreprobablyfutureswillinclude“ubiquitouscomputing”–thenotionthattechnologyandtheinternetwillsoonbeintegratedwithourworld,alwayson,alwaysconnected,andalwaysthere.Whereeachnewmilestoneincommunicationsbringstheworldcloser,theculminationofsuchachainistobeconstantlyconnectedwitheverythingatthesametime,reducinggeographicaldistancetoanon‐issue.Withubiquitouscomputing,thisisareality–alwaysbeingconnectedmeansalwayshavingaccesstotheworld’swealthofinformationandpeoplewithouthavetoleaveyourlivingroom.

However,thepromiseofinvasive,everpresenttechnologymeansanewworldtowhichwe’llhavetoadapt.Learningtonavigatethisworldwillbeamajorissuefacinghumans,andtoaccomplishproperintegrationwithanever‐connectedworldwe’llhavetohavebothanunderstandingofthenetworkinwhichweliveandintuitivedesignandinterfacesthroughwhichweusethetechnology.Autensilwithoutproperdesignisoftenuseless;asaretheinterfacesweusetoconnect.Byweavinggooddesignwithtechnology,wecanmaximizeourabilitytousethesetools.Suchdesignwillincludeaugmentedrealitiesthatblurthelinesbetweenvirtualandrealtothepointwherethey’reindistinguishable;hapticsandhuman‐computerbrainconnectionsthatwilldeepentherelationshipbetweenhumanandmachine;mirrorworldsthatmakeusquestionwherewe’dratherspendourtime–inthevirtualorthereal?Designwillbeacrucialcomponenttomakingthesenewtechnologiesamainstay.

ButWhatdoesthisallmeanforus?HowwillEveryware,ubiquitouscomputing,alternaterealitiesandadvancedartificialintelligencechangetheinner

aspectsofourlives?Onemajorissuewillbewithprivacyvs.convenience:howcanweretainourprivacywhenanambientinternetcan(anddoes)knownearlyeverythingaboutus?WillwetradeprivacyfortheconvenientlifestyleWeb3.0willbringus?Furthermore,howwillEverywarechangeoursocialdynamics?Inaworldwhereeverythingisbrokendownintonumbersandpatterns,includingrelationships,howwillwevaluehumantohumancontact?Willacomputer’sdefinitionoffriendshipsatisfyus?Socialnormswillchange,andaugmentedrealitieswillbeadrivingforcebehindthischange.

However,thereareotherdemandsthatwillbeplacedonusbesidesfiguringoutoursocialidentitiesandvalues.Withartificialintelligencegettingsmarterallthetime,wewilleitherhavetoletitsurpassusoraugmentourownintelligencetokeepup.Being“hyperconnected”issomethingthateveryonewillhavetodealwith(notjustthoseofuswhoareaddictedtoourBlackberries),andinformationoverloadissomethingeveryonewillhavetomanage.(Coulditbepossiblethattherewillbeademandfortherapistswhohelpusstreamlineourlives,likeanadvancedformoflifehack.com?)Asiftheuniverse’swealthofinformationwasn’tenoughtooverwhelmus,augmentedrealitieswillaskustogiveattention(aneverscarcecommodityinthefuture,accordingtotheideaofanEconomyofAttention)tonewplaces,ideasandconcerns.

OneaspectthatIamparticularlyinterestedinishowwewilldefine“lived”experiencesinaugmentedrealities.Ifweseeorattendarepresentationofaneventinamirrorworld(which,thankstotechnology,willbeaperfectlyaccurateportrayaltotherealevent)willwecategorizeitasreal?Ifthisisaccepted,willthedocumentarystillbenecessary?OrwillthedocumentaryberedefinedasguidingsomeonethroughanexperienceinanAR?Afterall,ifthedocumentaryisaboutshowing,observingandteaching,couldn’texperiencesinARsbeamoreintimate,trueformofdocumentary,eveniftheyaren’tbasedinthe“realworld?”

Onthebrinkofsucharadicalnewfuture,oneofthebesttoolswecanincorporateintoourjobsanddailylivesis“futuresthinking.”Byconstantlyscanningthehorizonforemergingtrendsandissues,categorizingthem,discussingthemwithotherstakeholders,andcreatingactionplansdefininghowwe’llpreparefororembracethetrends,wecangiveourselvesacompetitiveadvantageandstayaheadofthecurve.Findingtrendsandemergingissuesrequirescollaboration(remember,changeisasocialhurdleaswell),diligence,criticalthinking,andperseverance.Itisaconstantprocessthatwilltaxthemind,buttherewardsfordoingsoaremany.Tobeaproperscannerofthehorizon,onemustnotonlysubscribetomanyhubsofinformation,butreadandcontributetodiscussionandinsight.Itisnotsomuchapractice,butacompletechangeinhowwethinkandviewthefuture.

Bykeepingupwithtomorrow,wecanridethewaveofprogresssothatwe’realwaysadaptingtochangeinsteadofreactingtoit.WemaynotallbethePhiloFarnsworthsofthenewmillennium,butwecanbetheMatsushitas–thepeoplewholookfor,analyzeandreacttotrendsbeforetheyhitcriticalmass–andbest

prepareourselvestothriveintheworldofthefuture.Likechange,adaptationisinevitableinaworldthatpromisessuchtechnologicaladvancement;thequestionwe’refacedwithansweringishowpreparedwe’llbetoadapt.Fortheindividualorfirmhopingtosucceedinthefuture,thatanswerissimple:morethanenough.

PastandFuture:AndInteractiveMediaChronology

Text=Synthesis

1.StudyingPast,PresenttoProjecttheFuture

‐NicholasNegroponte:wheneverythinggoesdigital,everythingwillchange

‐nomorenation‐states?

‐competew/imaginationratherthanrank

‐“InternetofThings”–everythingwillhaveanIPaddressandgeowebinfo

‐Interfacesaredesignedtogetthejobdone,fromtoolstowebsites

Thefutureisonewheretheinternetisn’tjustsomethingweconnecttowhenwesitdowntoourcomputers;it’sgoingtobeanintegratedaspectofourlives,tothepointwhereitwillbeinseparable,unabletobeturnedoff.Itwillchangeourvalues,relationships,everything.

EarlyComputing

‐ENIAC–firstcomputer,ElectronicNumericalIntegratorandComputer

‐GeorgeBoole–developedtheBooleansystem,alogicalandsymbolicreasoninguponwhichcomputersstillrelytoday

‐VannevarBush–differentialanalyzer(1925)allowedforintegrationanddifferentiationinelectricalcomputation

‐Firstformalizedtheideaoftheinternet,acommonpoolofinfo

“Moore’sLaw”–Developedin1965,sawthatthenumberoftransistorsperchipandperformancewasincreasingataparticularrate,saiditincreasedby35percentevery18months.Holdstruetoday.

Progressseemstostartwithideasandendsinaction;iftheideatofuturethinkingistofindingpatterns,there’smanytobefoundinthehowweprogressalone,asMoore’sLawillustrates

EarlyInternet

‐Eisenhowerinitiates“AdvancedResearchProjectsAgency”(laterDARPA)fornucleardefensereasons,laterbecomesanagencydevotedtoinvestigatingtheideaofnetworkedcomputerswhenJ.C.R.Lickliderarrives

1960’s:

‐Licklider,Kleinrock,Baran,Robertsbeginresearchingaconnectedworldthroughcomputers‐developaninformale‐mail

‐DonaldDavies–proposeideaofpackets

‐1969–SteveCrocker“RequestforComments”(RFCs)laystraditionforadoptingnewstandardsanddemocraticnatureoftheinternet

‐1969ARPANETlauncheswith4machines

1970‐75

‐ARPANETreaches12machines

‐FTPisinvented,allowsmachinestoexchangefiles

‐RayTomlinsonestablesfirste‐mailbetweentwomachinesandintroduces@symbol

‐1974VintonCerfofUCLAandRobertKahn–TranmissionControlProtocolandInternetProtocol(TCP/IP),whichmakesInternetfasterandmoreefficient,lettingmorepeopleparticipateandbringingdownprice

1976‐79

‐RobertMetcalfdevelopsEthernet(1976)

‐JimmyCarter–computerdrivencandidate

1980‐89

‐Morenetworksemerge:BITNET,USENET,UUCP

‐NSFNETallowsregionalnetworkstobeestablishedaroundthecountry

‐TimBerners‐LeeofCERNwritesmemoregardinginventionofaworldwidenetworkforsharinginformation

1990‐95

‐Berners‐LeecreatesthefirstWorld‐Widewebbycreatingfirsthtmlsourcecode.

­ISPsallowpeopletodialuptogetaccesstointernet

‐1992–InternetSocietywasfoundedw/CerfandKahnatthehelm

‐MarkAndreesenlaunchesMosaic,firstGUIinternetbrowser

‐By1995Internethas16millionusers

IttooktheInternetamerefouryearstoreach50millionusers,andonlyafewmoretoreach1billion.

Interestingtonotehowtheinternetstartedwithgovernmentinvolvement,usuallythelastoftheinstitutionsto“catchon”accordingtosection5.However,theinternetstillprogressedwiththefew“radicals”inLicklider,Cerf,Kahn,Berners­Leeandetc.,onlytobecapitalizeduponbytheISPs…butthenagain,theycertainlywereincorporatingfuturethinking,asthemoneyintheirbankaccountssignify.

Top50MomentsinInternetHistoryNotes

‐1987GIFImageintroduced…stillthestandardfortoday

‐1994SSL(SecureSocketLayer)encryptssensitivedata…stillthestandardfortoday

‐1997RSS–feedsbasedonXMLlanguagethatallowwebsubscriptions…podcastingreliantonthis

‐Usenet–essentiallythefirstmessageboard…stillexiststoday

‐TheWell–an“intellectualwateringhole,”respectedfortheconversationsamongstgeeks,futuristsandphilosophers

‐1996–ICQbecomesthefirstglobalGUIbasedinstantmessagingclientandisboughtupbyAIM

‐1993–TheTech,anonlinenewspaperatMIT,becomesthefirstofitskind

‐2000–AOLacquiresTimeWarnerfor$160bn,makingitobviousthattheInternetwasnolongertobejustaplacefortextandgraphics

‐Javascriptinventin1995

Noticingatrendhere…alotofthingsthatarestill“standards”todayhavebeenaroundalongtime.WhileclearlySSLandGIFareindustrystandards,surelytheyaren’twithoutflaws?WilltheysurvivetotheNewInternet?Inanagewhereeverythingisprogressingsofast,it’sreallyawonderthatthesethingsarestillaround.

2.FromImaginingtheInternet

TheSocial,Politicalandeconomicimpactsofnetworks:predictthefuturebasedonthingsthatdonotchange

Innovators–Marconi,Farnsworth,Andreessen,Berners‐Lee

Entrepeneurs–wellconnected,allowinnovationtohappen

EstablishingofRules–governingbodies,laws,structures,etc

ReactiontoinventionsofTelegraph,Telephone,Radio,Television,andInternetallexpresssimilarsentiments:

­Peacemakingfunctionsbyconnectingpeople

­Connectingtheworld,makingitsmaller

­Makepreviousinstitutionsobsolete

­Changepoliticsandeconomics

­Furtherdemocracy,toolforgrassroots,movementoutofcities

­Leadtoanadvancedformoftransmissionintelligence

ItmightbemorepertinenttodescribethesethingsasREASONSweinvent,progress,andaccomplishtheseeminglyimpossible.

WorldChangesDueto:

‐Telegraph:first“instantmessaging”viaMorseCode,geographynolongerlimiting

‐Radio:Broadcastsofchurchservices,programs,newspapertie‐ins,courses;80%ofAmericahadradioby1939

‐Telephone:Broughtpersonalcommunicationtothehome;theissueofprivacycomesintoplay

‐Television:Televisionprogrammingsucceedsduetocompetition,laid‐backgov’t,spiritofinvention;

Noticinganothertrendhereinthedevelopmentoftechnology…worldgettingsmallerandsmalleruntil

it’showsmall?Untilwe’reseamlesslyintegratedwiththerestoftheworld:ubiquitouscomputing!

Thoughtsonreactionstoinventions

­Alwaysabitingcriticismofthedevice,proclaimingit’snotworththemoney–20%ofabstainers,anyone?

­Atthesametime,alwaysaprofoundoptimism,goestoshowwhentheideaisthereoftentimesitcanbedone–20%oftheinnovators,anyone?

­IdeathatAmericadoesn’thavetimefortelevision:veryfunny.Indicativeofhowshortsightedweactuallyaretoourownusesfortechnology

KeyThoughtsontheInternet:

‐Willweallowcomputerstobecomesmarterthanus?Willtheyownus?

‐Willweprefertoliveintheinternetuniverse?

‐Economywillbebasedonrelationship,notpossession;knowledgeiscurrency

‐Who’scontrollingit?

WebGems:Wheredoesindividuallibertyfitintotheinternet?

‐AlvinToffler–MagnaCartafortheInformationAge:Knowledgewilloverthrowpower,makingushavetoredefinebasicconceptssuchasfreedom,self‐government,property,community,etc.

‐Clintonadministration’sClipperChip:bigbrothertriesenteringcyberspace

‐Somebelievebigbrotherisn’tabletoexistwiththefreedomoftheinternet

Theframeworkforindividuallibertywaslaidwhenthefoundersoftheinternetusedopendiscussionstomakedecisions,yetoncewereachubiquitouscomputingwhatwillwebeabletocontrolorkeepprivate?Essentialthatwealwayscan“optout”asGreenfieldstatesandknowwhereinformationiscomingfromandgoing.

FutureofNetworks:

‐Internetismerelyanearlycollectiveconsciousness:godmind

‐Internetisanorganism,acreaturethatiseverevolving,communicatingwithitself;onedaycomputerswillspeaktoeachother

‐Computersmayonedaythinkforus

‐Beabletobuilduponitselfwithnanotechnology

‐Computerswillbesensory,activeinourveryenvironmentsandinteractingwithus

‐Mustunderstandthewaysandmeansofnetworkstosurviveinsuchaworld

Oncecomputerscancommunicateandadapttoeachother,user­interfaceissueswithinternetshouldessentiallycometoanend,astheywillbeabletoself­correct,beintuitive,andbeflexible.Theseimplicationsaloneareenormous.

TheWeb’sAwake:AnIntrototheFieldofScienceandConceptofWebLife”

‐Thewebshouldbeconsideredalivingorganism–asinglemember/unit

‐TheSemanticWeb:aWebthatcanreaditsowndata,whichexistsindataupondataupondata,,sothatitcanreaditsownweaknessesandautomateitself,becomingindependent

‐Society’scollectiveconsciousnessonthewebiswhatkickstartsthenewWeb,butwheredoesitgofromthere?

We’rebuildingthewebrightnowwithoutownknowledgeandintellectuntilwereachapointwheretheinternetcantakeoverforitself,likeaparentteachingakidtorideabike.Oncethatkidisoffandrunning,though,willwebeabletocontrolwhatroadsitgoesdown?Thecrazythingis,itwon’tevenbefollowingtheroadswe’vecreated;itwillmakeitsownpaths,ifitfollowspathsatall.Wejustcan’tknowforsure.

WhatisWeb3.0?

‐Functionslikeahumanbeing,understandshumansandinteraction,canbeintuitiveandresourceful

‐Operatelikeapersonalservant

Can’thelpbutwonderwhyaself­consciousinternetwouldbeinterestedinservingman­kind.

3.InteractiveDesignisanewfield

1990–MitchKapor’sSoftwareDesignManifesto”

‐Saysdesignersneedtobeonthesamelevelasprogrammersinordertocreateaproperinteractiveexperience

‐Believedachievingthiswasdonebycreatingaprofessionaldisciplineandacommunity

InteractionDesign:(MarkRettig)

‐Doestheproductconnectwithgoals

‐Repeatedinteractionandactivitiesareincontext

‐Theinterfaceisusedovertimebydifferentpeople

‐Thepresentationofinformationandcontrols

‐Informationisorganizedandfunctional

InteractionDesignAssociation(IxDA)manifesto:

“Webelievethatthehumanconditionisincreasinglychallengedbypoorconditionbyadvancingthedisciplineofinteractiondesign.Todothis,wefosteracommunityofpeoplewhochoosetocometogethertosupportthisintention.IxDAreliesonindividualinitiative,contribution,sharingandself‐organizationastheprimarymeansforustoachieveourgoals.”

Autensilwithoutproperdesignisoftenuseless;asaretheinterfacesweusetoconnect.Byweavinggooddesignwiththetechnology,wecanmaximizeourabilitytousethesetools.

TheFutureoftheInternetIII:Selection1

TheFutureofAugmentedandVirtualReality

‐MMORPGs:Thefollowingaspectsoftheseprovideinsightonthefutureofleadership,becausethesegamesaresuccessfuldueto:

‐Engagingpeopleinpracticeofusefulpursuits

‐Workinginadhocteams

‐Distributeddecisionmaking

‐Leadershipthroughcollaboration

‐Internethasalwaysbeenaplaceofaugmentedreality

‐Interfaceisimportant

‐Onlinenetworking:self‐actualization,helpingpeoplesatisfyneedstobeeffective,contributing,creative,matureandcapable

‐MirrorWorlds(googleearth,virtualearths,secondlife):ourimmersioninthemwillchangeoursocialnorms

‐Moreinternetmeansmorecrossoverbetweenrealityandaugmentedreality

‐CellPhonesandGPSsgiveusaugmentedrealities,makingusmoresynchronouswithourgeography

‐ARsarebeingutilizedtomakesocialdifference(global‐awarenessoverlaysonGoogleEarth)

‐Aspeoplebegintoleveragevirtualinfotoaugmentreal­worldneeds,thelinebetweenvirtualrealityandtherealwillblur

‐Mobiledeviceswillbeabletomirrorthereal‐world,givingususefuldataatwhat’saroundus

‐VRsandARsaren’twithouttheirproblems:createissuesofnationalsecurity,healthanddangeroussocialtrends

Augmentedrealitiessoundlikethevisorscharactersdoninsci­fimovieswheretheytellthemstatisticsoftheenvironmentaroundthem;essentially,though,that’swhattheyare!

Augmentedrealities–whatpotentialdodocumentarieshaveintheaugmentedreality?Don’ttheseglobal­awarenessoverlaysprovideasortofdocumentaryexperience?

FutureoftheInternetPartII:FutureofHuman­ComputerInterfaces

‐WIMP:Windows,Icons,Menus,andPointing;onlythebeginning

‐TwoTrendsincomputing

1.MobileInternet

2.Embeddednetworks/computing–ubiquitouscomputing

UbiquitousComputing

‐Context‐aware,personalized,anticipatory

‐Willchangeeverythingfromhumanorganizationtobrushingteeth

‐RealandVirtualwillbecomeindistinguishable

‐Alwayson…transparency

‐Computerswilllisten,talk,read

DisplayScreensbecomingflexibleanddynamic

Displayscreensbecomingflexibleseemstobeahugestepintechnology.Couldthissavethenewspaper?

InputDevices:

‐WiiMote–utilizesgyroscopesandaccelerometers

‐LtWvWristVmoteLightglove–allowsonetoremotelyusedevicesbyreadinghandmovements

InputMethods:

­Textbasedinputisnotgoingaway;humanscanreadfasterthan listen

‐Speechrecognition:usesstatisticalinfoaboutwordpatterns,butdifficulttoperfectbecauseoftheimperfectionsinspeech,dialects,andbodymovementsusedtocommunicate

‐Subvocalization:theelectricalimpulsesmaderightbeforespeaking,perhapsthekeytoperfectingvoicerecognition

‐E‐penandE‐paper:handwritingrecognitionismorelikelyduetoflexibility;LiveScribeanalyzeshandwritingwhilematchingaudioinputtopenstrokes;EPDs(e‐paperdisplays)canbereadindaylightanddrawslesspowerthanLCDs

Iwonderifspeechrecognitionwilleventuallyjustbecomethoughtrecognition…ifEmotiv’sheadsetcansenseelectricactivityinthebrain,whyshouldn’twethinktherewillbeatimewherewecanhaveourthoughtsalonetransferredtoe­paper?

‐Thin‐Film‐TransistorTechnology:Allowsforfoldingscreensforcellphonesande‐readers

Haptics

‐touchoutputordeliveryofatactilesensationfromadevicetouser

‐coordinatesensors,actuators,magnets,motors,etctosimulatepressuresandtextures

‐givesphysicalfeedbacktouser,groundbreakingformedicalequipmentandgaminginterfaces

IhadactuallythoughtofhapticswhenIwasyoungerinthecontextofvideogames(ofcourse):whatiftherewasagamewhereyoucouldwhereanoutfitwhereyoucouldfeeltheenvironmentwithinthegame?Feeltextures,temperatures,evenwhereyouwerebeing“shot.”Whileitseemedcoolatthetime,nowIrealizehowimportantthistechnologycouldbe;it’sapowerfulabilitytobeabletofeel,andtheabilitytofeelthingsthataren’treallytherewouldbeanevenmorepowerfultoolindeed.

Human­ComputerBrainConnectionInterfaces

‐EmotivSystems’headsettransmitsignalsfromplayer’sfacialmovementsandelectricalbrainactivitytoeffectavatar’sappearanceingame

‐candetectemotion,expressions,andactionstomanipulatetheVRworld

‐mentallytaggingobjects

‐Anewenergy­efficientchipcouldusehumanbodyheatasanenergysource

FutureoftheInternetPartIII:Hyperconnectivity

Beinghyperconnectedmeansalways­onstateofengagement

‐broughtaboutbyPDAs,socialnetworks,wikis,VoIP,etc.

‐lifestreaming

­16%ofpeoplealreadyfithyperconnectedcriteria:beingreasonabliyhappyandwillingtocommunicatew/workonvacation,frombed,placesofworship,etc.

1trillionconnecteddevicesinnext13­18years(DavidD.Clark)

PeopleseenoboundarybetweenusingInternetconnectionsforpersonalandprofessionalcommunications

HyperconnectedStats:

‐Checkinge‐mailfrommobiledevice100%ofthetime

‐Keepingportabledevicenearbyatnightforincomingmessages(43%)

‐Checkinge‐maileverydayonvacation(83%)

‐Checkinge‐mailinbathroom(37%)

‐CheckingBlackberry85timesadayormore

Issuesinhyperconnectivity

‐Shouldemployeesbepaidfordoingworkovertimeondevices?

‐Doesmultitaskinghelporhurtproductivity?

‐Ishyperconnectivityaformofaddiction?

‐Ishyperconnectivity/multitaskingeffectingfamilylife?

FloodofinformationiscreatinganAttentionEconomy

‐InformationOverload:we’retryingtomultitasksomanythings,butthisisinherentlyimpossible;instead,we’rejustswitchingfromtasktotask

‐Otherssaythatinfooverloadislikesayingthere’stoomuchfoodatabuffet;wesimplyneedtodoabetterjobatchoosingwhatwetakein

CuresforInfoOverload:

‐BETTERDESIGNisthekeytohelpingusnavigateinfooverload

‐“Lifehacker.com”

Soundslikethefuturewillhaveneedfortherapiststhathelppeoplecopewiththeirever­connectedlives.

‐Leveragingubiquitousmobileconnectionsthroughcollectiveintelligence

‐Thereareeventherapeuticeffectsinsharinginfo.

‐ClayShirky:“Thisisn’tthesortofthingsocietygrowsoutof,itissomethingthatsocietygrowsinto.”Whiletimewilltellhowwellwebecomeatmanaginginformationanddivideourattention,Ithinkitinterestingthattechnologyisfloodingourlivesataratewherewedon’tadapttechnologyintoourlifestyle;weadaptourlifestylestotechnology.

Everyware:TheDawningAgeofUbiquitousComputing

‐Everywareistheideathatambient,intelligent,pervasivecomputingwillbecomeintegratedintoourworld

‐AllinfoprocessingwerelyonourphonesandtheWWWforbecomesaccessiblefromanywhere,anytimeincontext‐baseddeliveries

‐Tradingaccesstoourprivacyforincreasedconvenience–andwe’llaccept

‐RFIDandGPSareacceleratingthisconcept

‐Ubiquitouscomputingwillallowfortheconstantinputofdataandmetadata,pushedtoyouwhenyouwantanddependingonwhatyou’redoing;sharingofdatawillleadtonearlimitlessefficiency

‐Clothingcanadjusttoatmosphericinputs,roomstoyourmoods,quantifyyourrelationshipsinnumbersandlevelsof“warmness,”etc.etc.

Whatwillsocialrelationshipsbelikeinthefutureifeverythingisgoingtobequantifiable?Don’trelationshipsworkbecausethere’ssomethingintangibletothem?Wouldn’tsomegreatrelationshipsnotexistifweweretoldthat,mathematically,arelationshipdidn’tmakesense?Thisisgoingtobeaveryinterestinghuman­interestissueasEverywaredevelops.

‐Identificationabilitieswillmakeamockeryofthephrase“Yourpapers,please.”

‐AdamGreenfield:“Informationneverdoesleavetheworld.Itjustkeepsaccumulating,simultaneouslymoreexplicit,moreavailable,andmorepersistentthananythingweoursocietieshaveyetreckonedwith.”

Theultimatestrengthofcomputersandroboticsis/willbethattheycanreviewandmakeconclusionsaboutdatafarfasterthanhumanscould,allowingustoreachplacesorimplementideasfarfasterthanotherwise.Butwhatwillhumansbeabletocontributeatthispoint?Emotions?Contexts?Ifcomputerscananalyzehumanemotionsandactions,though,theycouldessentiallypredictandmimichumanbehavior…doesthismeantheonlythingthatkeepsushumanishavingtheabilitytobeunpredictable?

“TheTechnologist’sResponsibilitiesandSocialChange”twokeyprinciplesforinventors:

1. Builditassafeasyoucan2. Telltheworldatlargethatyouaredoingsomethingdangerous

Greenfield:Usersmustbeabletooptoutatanypoint.

4.LookingAhead150Years

2010­2014

‐2010:Newandimprovedinternet

‐2010:FRID/GPScantrackanything

‐2010:SuperSupercomputers(Petaflopsbaby)

‐2012:Foodasdesignermedicine

‐2012:Intelligentfabrics,respondtoweather,monitorvitalsigns,etc.

2015

‐Teleportationisdeemedpossibleandisindevelopment

‐Geneticprofilingusedtomodifymoreplants,insects,andanimalsinthefoodchainfortherapeuticdrugsandoptimizepollution‐fightingproperties

‐Humancloningtakesplace

‐Autopilotvehiclescommon

‐Smart,AdaptableMaterialsevolve–materialscanchangeshape,self‐repair,changecolor

2016­2025

‐2020:Immersivevirtual‐realityworlds

‐2020:Ubiquitousrobots–willhumansincreasetheirintelligenceorbesurpassedbyAI?

­2025:Paint‐OnPowerGeneration

­2025:HolographicTV

2026­2045

‐2035:BiostasisinSpace:metabolismswillbeslowedsoaginginspacedoesn’toccur

‐2045:Singularity–thepointatwhichthesimultaneousaccelerationofnanotechnology,roboticsandgeneticsduetoself‐improvingintelligencecausesajumpincomprehensiblebyhumans.

‐2045:SpaceElevator/MoonBase

2046­2150

‐2050:MarsColony

‐2050andBeyond:TimeTravel–AmosOrisaysmathematicallytimetravelispossible,requires“closed,time‐likecurve,”possiblycataclysmic

‐2050andBeyond:BrainDownloading–virtualimmortality

Whileinteresting,thesepredictionsarebasedonwhatweknowinthehereandnow.Likefuturesthinkingexplains,thereisalwaysthepossibilityofwildcards,andinacomplexsystemtherewillalwaysbeunseenvariables.Tokeeptheseonourradarisimportant,butwillwereallybedisplacedbycomputersby2045?Likethetextsays,wethoughtwe’dbeatplacesfardifferentfromwherewearebackintheearly1900s…what’stosayourthoughtsonthefutureshouldbeanymoreaccurate?

Chapter5:FuturesThinking

PreparingfortheFuture

‐Goalistorealizepossiblefutures,steertowardsthedesirableone

‐Howwillchangeeffectourlives?Hobbies?Families?Economies?

‐FourToolstoPrepare:

1.IntelligentHorizonScanning

2.ContinuousStrategicThinking

3.DynamicActionPlanning

4.EngaginginCollaborativeThought

StartingFuturing:Ask“whatif”questions

‐StrategicForesight:revealpossibilities,explorewhattheycouldmean

‐TacticalForesight:createstrategiesintheshortterm

‐Todevelopgoodstrategies,mustencouragechallenge:

‐Inspire

­Engage

­Enable

‐Replace“gutfeelings”withsoughtoutresearchofthefuture,usinginformationtoanalyzetrendsandpatterns

‐STEP:political,economic,socialandtechnologicalchangeswheretrendsoccur(Alsoenvironmentalandlegal)

OvercomingRoadblocks:notfullyutilizingteamorresourcesduetolackofresources,concentrationorbeliefintheresearch

FuturesThinkingseemstorequireacombinationofcreativity,intuition,diligence,andteamwork;infact,whatmajorpursuitsinlifedon’trequirethesethings?

Spottingnewtrendsandexploitingthemleadstocompetitiveadvantage

‐Beoriginal,fresh;don’trelyonthemainstreammediaalone

‐Beagile,notreactive;alwaysask:

‐Howarevaluesandopportunitieschanging?

‐Howwillbusinessasusualhavetochange?

‐When?

KeyCognitiveSkills:

‐Trendassessment(mostqualitative)

‐Patternrecognition

‐Systemsperspective(seeingsystemasawhole)

‐Anticipation

‐Analysisandlogic(Mostquantitative)

‐Theimpossibleisusuallynotimpossible,andwecanshapethefuture

FutureOutcomesOutputs:(somekeycomponents)

‐Assessmentoftheissue

‐Definitionofkeyquestions

‐Horizonscanforupcomingchanges/trends

‐Exercisesinbreakoutthinking

‐Scenarioplansofpotentialfutures

‐Competitoranalyses

‐Stakeholdersurveysoftheirdesires,attitudesandbehaviors

‐keyisgettingearlyengagementandsupporttodriveproject

‐Plausibleresponses

‐Actionplansandroadmaps

‐Newhigherorderunderstandingandbetterquestions

Organizationandclearcommunicationseemstoberecurringthemeshere;wheneveryou’retacklingsomethingasunpredictableasthefuture,it’sclearlyimportanttoalwaysvisualizedifferentscenarios,takealookatwhat’sonthehorizon,howotherpeopleareinterpretinginformation,andkeepingengagementandsupportfortheprojectup.

StrategicThinking

‐pointofviewonthelong‐termpositionofanorganizationinthefuture

‐systematicallythinkaboutanddevelopalternativefuturesinordertomakebetterdecisionstoday

‐detectingemergingsignals

‐Lookingat:business,economics,environment,lifestyles,politics,society,etc…

‐whereweare…howwemightgetthere…wheremightwebe?

AssessingandSelectingTrends:

Keypoints:

‐Trendsdon’texistinisolation

‐Trendsarepredictionsbasedonpresentfacts

‐Trendshaveuncertainpaths

SelectingTrends:

‐Fourtiersoftrends

‐QuantitativeAssessmentlooksat:potential,likelihood,urgency,complexity,changetype,andopportunity,motivation,risk,cost,etc.

‐QualitativeAssessmentlooksathistory,currentconditions,datapoints,assumption,supportingdata,drivers&inhibitors,countertrends,triggerevents,nextsteps,etc.

‐Createscenariostofindthemiddlegroundwhichismostlikelytohappen,adaptingavisionwherestrategyisflexibleasthefutureunfolds.

FuturesNetworking–maximizingthebreadthanddepthofallinputstoaprojectandcommunicatingtheoutcomessuccessfullytostakeholders

‐Collaborationisessentialforstrategicthinking,actionplanning,horizonscanningandnetworking

‐Askeverystakeholder“Howwillfuturebedifferent”and“Whatshouldwedoaboutit?”–willrevealdifferentsignalsofchange

Startinglargeandgoingsmall–makessense,butthissystemisalsoniceinthatitdoesn’tdiscardthe

lessimportanttrends,itjustkeepsthemonthebackburner,readytorollincasethattrendpicksup.It’sflexibleandadaptive–justlikethefuture.

ActionPlanning:

‐definesstrategybasedoffofhorizonscanningandstrategicthinkingandmakingdecisionsinordertopursueit

D.E.C.I.D.E.

‐Defineprogram

‐Explorechoices

‐Chosestrategy

‐I.D.consequencesofchoice

‐Do

‐Evaluate

‐Comprisesoffuturebriefing,breakoutthinking,scenarioplanning,agreedstrategy,andactionplan

‐FutureBriefings–summarizeresearchundertakensofartorevealtrends,uncertainties,wildcards,anddriversofchange

‐Importanttoeliminateunduebias

‐EditorialReview–copyediting,peerreview,crowdreview

‐Recognizingdisfunctionality–beingabletorecognizeinterpersonalproblemsandbeingabletoprevent/stopthem

‐Overcomingresistant–turningnegativeenergyintoexcitedoptimism

‐20%adventurers,60%adopters,20%abstainers;encourageadventurersandlettheminspiretheothers,whilelisteningtoabstainerscritiques

Everyinventionleadinguptotheinternetwasmetwithcriticismbypowerfulvoices,eventhosefrominventorsofprevioustechnologies;tobeabletogetpastthedoubtsofothersisclearlyavaluable

HorizonScanning

Theartofsystematicallyexploringtheexternalenvironmentinorderto

1. Betterunderstandnatureandpaceofchange2. Identifypotentialopportunities,challengesanddevelopments

Detecttrends,situationsandevents

Identifypotentialopportunitiesorthreats

Determineorganization’sstrengthsandlimitations

Provideabasisforfutureanalysis

‐Requiresformalsearchingforinfoacrossmediumsandqualitativeandquantitativesources

‐Perceivedenvironment(onewenoticeandtalkabout)andPertinentenvironment(belowtheradar,requiringanalysisandcriticalthinking)

Pertinentlooksatwhatcauseschanges,andwhetherthosecauseswillaffectotherareas,disappearintime,etc.

‐Useastructuredapproachtoscanningtoincreasechanceoffindingsomethinguseful

‐Thinkoutsideofthebox

‐Gettingoutofcomfortzone

‐Exposuretomanysources

Scanningmethodsincludesurveys,collaborativeforesight,search,andscoutingnetworks

Don’tjustsee,seeahead,behind,above,beside,beyond,through,etc.

‐Bookmark,readnewsletters,movebeyondcomfortzones,scanthescanners,varyroutine,searchpatents,booksandetc.

‐Exploreallsidestogetacompletepicture,usemultiplelenses,explorebeyondjustwhatyouneed,usemultipletechniques

‐Scanningtakestimeandpractice,useSTEEPasastartingpointandusemanypeopletodeepenresultsandperspective

DiscoveringTrends

‐Trendsarefirstnoticedbysmallgroups(scientists,artists,radicals)andaremostprevalentwhenthegovernmentisbeginningtotakenotice

‐Identifyemergingissues,becausebythetimeatrendhitsitisalreadyaffectingyou

‐Exploreitsimpactonyourorganizationandwhatpeoplearecurrentlysayingaboutit

‐Can’talwaysaccountforwildcardsorblackswans,butcanalwaysutilize“whatif”scenarios

Scanningchallenges:

‐Lookingforcrediblesources

‐Stretchyourthinking

‐Shareinfotoothersandletthemshareback

‐Ourworldisacomplexadaptivesystem:impossibletopredict

‐Answerliesinconductinghorizonscanningcontinuouslytohelpusbestkeepupwiththechangeswithinit

‐Can’teverunderestimatethesystem,becauseitiscomplexandadaptive;mustalwaysseemanyeventsandsynthesizethemintotrends

‐"Theinternalinformationandcontrolmechanismsofalivingorsocialsystemmustbeasvariedastheenvironmentinwhichitistryingtosurvive.ASystemwiththerequisitecontrolvarietycandealwiththecomplexityandchallengesofitsenvironment.”–LawofRequisiteVariety(Ashby1956)

Again,findingtrendsandemergingissuesrequirescollaboration,diligence,criticalthinking,andperseverance.Itisaconstantprocessthatwilltaxthemind,buttherewardsofdoingsoaremany.Tobeaproperscannerofthehorizon,youmustnotonlysubscribetomanyhubsofinformation,butreadandcontributetodiscussionandinsight.Itisnotsomuchapractice,butawayofthinking.

DesignisPersonal:

UnderstandingAudiencesandApplyingTheorytoInteractiveDesign

ASynthesisPaperbyConorBritain

TableofContents:

SynthesisPaperPages2‐3

“DefiningInteractivity”NotesandSynthesisPages4‐8

“TheoriesandInteractivity”NotesandSynthesisPages8‐11“OtherTheoriesinCommunications”NotesandSynthesisPages13‐22“NewMediaTimeline”NotesandSynthesisPages22‐25

Asinteractivedesigners,weshouldbeconstantlyaskingourselvesquestionsaboutouraudience.Oneofthemostessentialquestionsweneedtoanswerhastodowiththemediumitself:Whatdoesinteractivitysaysaboutusasconsumersofmedia?Ifnothingelse,interactivemediahasshownusthatpeoplelikehavingcontrol,andtheylikehavingcustomization.Peoplelikehavinginputinwhatthey’reconsumingandthesenseofempowermentthataccompaniesthatvoice. Yetjustknowingwhatdrawspeopletointeractivemediaisnotenough:wehavetoaskourselveswhy.Whatthesetraitspointtoissomethingmoreimportantandfundamentaltointeractivedesign–thatinteractivemediaispersonal.Assuch,wemustbe(amongthemyriadoftraitsaninteractivedesignershouldpossess)people,cognizantofwhatwe’relookingforashumanbeingsandhowinteractivemediacanprovidethat.Weneedtounderstandhowouraudiencethinksandfeelsbyrelatingtothemonahumanisticlevel.Wemustempathizewiththemandlearnwhatmakesthemhappysowemayknowwhatserviceswecanbestprovidethroughourpractice.Thisiswhatinteractivetheoryattemptstouncover.

However,thenumberoftheoriesincommunicationsismany,andtheirapplicationtointeractivemediaoftenstillremainstobeseen.Ourbestweaponasinteractivedesignersistolisten:consumersareconstantlygivingfeedbackwiththeironlinechoices,givingusendlesssetsofdatafromwhichwecanfindpatternsandpredictwhereouraudiencewantstogo.Ourjobistomakesureprogressisallowedtohappeninanefficient,functionalandpleasingway,andsincewe’redrivenbytechnologywehavetobeasfastasthenextdevelopmentintheITlab.Ifwecanprovideouraudiencewithwhatitwantsandneedsatthepointrightbeforetheyneedit,we’llhavesucceededasinteractivedesigners.Acombinationofresearchandknowledgeofcommunicationstheorywillbestaidusinaccomplishingthisgoal.

UsesandGratificationstheorytellsusthatpeoplelooktothemediatoprovidethemwithopportunitiestoreachasenseofself‐actualization,andperhapsthat’smadeevenmoresowithinteractivemedia.Atthesametime,however,wemustkeepinmindthatweneedouraudiencejustasmuchastheyneedus,ifnotmore.Understandingouraudiencemeansknowingwhatthey’relookingforustoprovide,andaudiencesarelookingtobeprovidedwithcontentmorethanever.JustacknowledginghowfasttheWorldWideWebhasexpandedshouldtellusthatpeoplewanttohaveinteractiveexperiencesandarewillingtohaveusprovidethem;wejustneedtomakesurewecreatetheexperiencethatsatisfiesthem.(Refertothelistofmilestonesininteractivemediatogetasenseofthegrowththemediumhasundergoneacrossaspanofamere40years.)

Gooddesignispersonal.Interactivemediagivestheindividualapowertochoose,andwemustrespondtothisintimatelevelofcommunicationsbyconnectingwithouraudienceonanintellectual,emotional,and/orsociallevel.We’renolongerdealingwith“lowestcommondenominator”stuff;ourdesignshavetosuitthosewhowe’retryingtoreach,orelsethey’regoingtogoelsewhere.AstheCluetrainManifesto(anindustrystandardforbusinessintheageofinteractive

communications)states,ouraudienceswanttobetreatedlikepeople,andifwetakeanythingforgrantedtheycanandwillturnthemselvesofftous,makingourmessagemeaningless.

However,intheworldofinteractivemedia,ifwecangetourmessagetohithomewithouraudiencewehaveanopportunitytogetourmessageouttoalotofpeople.SocialNetworktheorysaysthattheInternetismakingtheworldsmaller,andthenumberofstepsneededtoconnectanyonepersontoanotherisshrinking.Atthesametime,theDiffusionofInnovationstheorylooksathowideasgetspreadinasystem,startingwithinnovatorsandearlyadoptersandendingwiththelaggards.Withtheshrinkingofthegapbetweenanytwopeopleandthe,thisdiffusionwillultimatelybecomeafasterprocess.TheInternetiscreatingvirtualcommunitiesandonlinecirclesthatmirrorsocialgroupsintherealworld,andonethingthattheseusershaveshownisthattheyliketosharethings(justlookatYouTube).Ifwecangetourmessagetostrikeachordwithopinionleadersintheonlinecommunity,ourmessagewillgetspread,anditcangetspreadfast.

Ultimately,ourjobistotakethefunctionoftechnologyandgiveitform.We’reguidesintheworldofinteractivemedia,bridgesbetweentheintenseworldofcodinganddevelopmentandthepublicatlarge.Ourskillslayintranslatingthemechanicalintothepersonal,takingwhatinteractivityhastoofferanddesigningitinthemostcompellingway.Forourdesigntobecompelling,though,wemustknowwhatouraudienceneeds,wants,thinksandfeels.Goodinteractivedesignispersonal,soinaworldwheremachinesandtechnologyarebecomingincreasinglyubiquitous,wemustremainjustthat:people.

AnIntroductiontoInteractiveTheory

Text=Synthesis

Chapter1:Defining“Interactivity”

Whatisinteractivity,anyway?

1. DownesandMcMillan:Onlyrealtimecommunication?2. Steur:Userscanmodifyformandcontentinrealtime3. Rheingold:Wait,listservsande‐mailareinteractive,too!

DownesandMcMillan:Twocategoriestoassessinteractivity:MessageDimensionsandParticipantDimensionsMessageDimensions: ParticipantDimensions:Time ControlPlace ResponsivenessDirection PerceivedGoalsHighValueInteractivity:Moreusercontrol,moretwo‐waydirection,moretime‐sensitiveKoolstraandBos:“Interactivityisthedegreetowhichtwoormorecommunicationparties(humanorcomputer)actoneachotherinaninterrelatedmanner. ‐CreatedchecklistforinteractivityThemain themehere is thatpeoplewhatCONTROL.Whenthey’re given more control over what they’re using andtaking in, they inherently become more invested in it. Bymaking things more immediate and responsive, themessage can be delivered to the participant in a formthey’vehadsomesayover,thusgivingitahighervalue.

Whatarepeoplesaying?

Interactivityisproventoincreaseengagement(info‐seeking).Welldesignedinteractivitygenerallyincreasesparticipationandaudienceloyalty.

NathanShedroff:

Producersgivedataandinformation,consumerstakeinformationandtheirknowledgetocreatewisdom

Ifexperienceisn’tacompellingone,you’llneverhavealargeaudience.

This is an important point, that you can have all the bestdesign elements in the world but it doesn’t mean much ifthere isn’t anything inherently compelling in yourmessage.Thisgoesback to the idea that form(design)exists to servethefunction.Asdesigners,ourjobistoguidetheusertotheintendedmessageorgoal inaway thatmaximizes theuserexperience. We have total control over the method, but wehavetomakesurethecontentiscompellingtoo.

Also, with interactive media, its no longer the producersgiving data and information. Consumer are giving feedbackand information through their choices with interactivemedia,data that isactually essential forproducers inordertoadapttoconsumertrends.

Enhanceinteractivitywith:Feedback,control,creativity,productivity,communications,adaptivity

LevManovich:FivePrinciplesofNewMedia

NumericalRepresentation:newmediaobjectsarealldigitalcode

Modularity:Independentelements(i.e.pixels)combinetoformanobject

Automation:Elementsaresequencedbyauthor

Variability:Newmediaobject,beingnotstatic,canexistininfiniteversions

Transcoding:Computerizationofculture

Let’sdefineinteractiondesign

BillVerplankandBillMoggridge:Interactiondesignersworkw/Internet,interfacesandsystemsandincorporategraphicdesign,programming,psychology,andproductdesign

Wikipedia:IxDersfindsolutionstointerfaceproblems,thenbuildthemtotesttheories.

SixStepsinIxD:

1. Designresearch–learnaboutaudienceforbestdesign

2. ResearchAnalysisandconceptgeneration–creatingconcepts,high‐levelsummaries,andvisionstatements

3. Alternativedesignandevaluation–combiningvariousalternativestoaccommodateasmanyuserrequirementsaspossible

4. Prototypingandusability–testingaspectsofidea5. Implementation–overseeingdevelopmentandmaking

necessarychanges6. SystemTesting–Testingandbugcatching

Interactive designers need to fill many differentshoes. The most important skills one can have, Ibelieve,especially inaneverchangingfieldsuchasinteractivedesign,istobeflexibleandopenminded.It’s also important to remember that interactivedesign is a personal thing – individuals will beconnecting toyour interactivemediapersonally, soit’s essential that we understand each other ashumans. Remember, our job is to find solutions toproblemsinusinginteractivemedia,sokeepinmindthat the people we’re problem solving for are justthat – people. We have to be aware of social andcognitive sciences just as much as we are of ourcraft.

SocialIxD:Pullsmorefromsocialsciencesthancognitivescience

Makepeoplefeelhappywhenexperiencingyourdesign

DonNorman–EmotionalDesignModel:Gooddesign=goodquality;gooddesignaddressesthevisceral,behavioralandreflective

PatrickJordon–HumanFactors–gooddesignreflectspeople’svalues,aspirations,hopes,fearsanddreams

JohnMcCarthyandPeterWright–Wemustlookatthesensual,emotionalandintellectualpropertiesofourdesignstounderstandtheirimpact

Again,designispersonal.Forpeopletohavepositiveinteractiveexperiencesthatkeepthemengagedandour message clear, we have to approach IxD on ahumanistic level…make people happy. What does itmean to reflect people’s values, hopes and dreams?Wemust findouthowouraudience feelsandthinks

and incorporate that into our design, going beyondusability.Gooddesignispersonal.

TheInteractiveDesigner(IxDer)

AgoodIxDercan:

a. Observetargetaudienceneed’sandcultureb. leadc. communicated. prioritizee. translateneedsintofunctionalaspectsofdesignf. understandcodelanguages

anddisplaysthefollowingskills

g. Writing/speakingskillsh. Timemanagement/projectmanagementi. Designskills–usingprogramsandknowingelementsofdesignj. Usingtechnologyandsoftwarek. Identifywithpeopleasapersonyourself

Reimann:IxDersMUST:

i. Becreativeandanalyticalinproblemsolving,whilealwayslearning

ii. Visualizeandsimplifyiii. Empathizeiv. Understandlimitations…bothhumanandtechnologicalv. Haveapassionforlearningandimprovingourworld

throughdesign

Ifdesignispersonal,thatmeanswealsohavetobepeople.Wehavetoempathizeandknowwhenit’stimetosay“enough.”AnotherthingaboutInteractiveDesign(anddesigningeneral)isthattherealwaysseemstobeaseparationbetweenthetechnicalandthecreativesideofthings:youhaveyourartdirectors,andthenyourprogrammers,andtheyrarelymix.However,withInteractiveDesign,it’sessentialthatweunderstandthetechnologyandtheprocessbehindcreatinginteractivemediasothatwecanknowwhatthelimitationsareandarticulateourneedsmorethoroughly–that’swhyhavingbothcreativeandanalyticalskillsissoclutch,sowecannot

onlyconceptualizeourdesigns,butcommunicatethemtoothersandmodifythembasedonourcurrentconstraints.

Chapter2:TheoriesandInteractivity

WhyTheories?

Theoriesallowustohaveaneducatedapproachtoouraudience;sometimesresearchvalidatesordebunksourthoughtsonhowouraudiencebehaves,butregardless,havinganunderstandingofthetheoriesatlargeallowsustohaveadegreeofknowledgeandexpertisethatcanaidusinapproachingourgoalsasinteractivedesigners

QuantitativeResearch–basedinmathematicalmodels,empiricalresults,measurabletheories

QualitativeResearch–investigative;ethnographic;contentanalysis;basedinobservationandpersonalexperience,butoftenoffersintimatedetails

SomeoftheMainTheories

HaroldLasswell(1948)–Communicationstheoryisthestudyof“Whosayswhat?Towhom?Inwhatchannel?Withwhateffect?

RobertCraig(1999)–Wecommunicateforthefollowingpurposes:rhetorical(artoftalking),semiotic(givesignals),phenomenological(havenewexperience),cybernetic(informationalsystems),sociopsychological(interaction),sociocultural(reflectsocialranking).

Crilly,Maier,Clarkson:createdmetatheorybystudyingallcommunicationstheoriesupuntil2008.Someofthecategoriesoftheoriesfallinto:

a. Basicstructure(designmediatesdesignerandconsumer)b. reflectiverepresentations(designersreflectideas,receive

feedbackfromrepresentationc. Contextandcharacteristics(designerandconsumeroperatein

labels)d. Interactiveinterpretation(consumerreactstodesignbasedon

environmentwithinwhichit’sseen)e. Mutualawareness(Designerandconsumersareawareofeach

otherandvisualizingeachother)

InformationTheory‐fundamentalissueincommunicationsisreplicatingthesamemessageontheotherendoftheline;givesamathematicaltinttocomm.Theory

Whensendingamessage,thereisnoisewhichrepresentsanythingthatgetsinthewayoftheproperdecodingofthemessage.Noiseisoffsetbyredundancy,whichistechnicallyunnecessaryandcanreducetheentropyofamessage,whichisameasureofthedegreeofclarityofamessage.Bothnoiseandredundancycandilutethemessage’sentropy,butgoodcommunicatorscanbalanceentropyandredundancytodeliveramessagethatreducesthechanceofamisinterpretedmessage.

Communicationsnetworks(correspondingcommunicationssystems,suchastheair,wire,oreventhehumanopticnerve)

InformationTheorybringsupsomeinterestingpoints.Noiseis everywhere, and in an area such as interactive design,something as simple as a misunderstanding of the userinterface can lead to the user opting out of the experiencealtogether, completely negating how well crafted yourmessagewas.At thesametime,nobody likesbeinghitoverthe head with the samemessage over and over again, butwithinteractivedesign,maybeyoudon’thaveto.Instead,wecan creative interfaces that have a degree of familiarityacrosstheboard–suchasalittle“x”usuallyalwaysreferstoaclosingfunction–sothatwecanminimizenoiseinrelationtouserinterfaceproblems.

ActivityTheory–basedinphilosophy,saysthatpeopleactivelychangethesocialandmaterialworldinordertoachievetheirgoals.Arguesthatpeoplefromtargetcommunityshouldbeinvolvedwhendesigningcomputer‐mediatedartifacts.Whenyoudesignsomething,youmustaskquestionsrelatedtoneedsofthecommunity,itsrules,itsdivisionoflabor,itsmotives,andthepatronsthemselves

SymbolicInteractionism–Blumer,Mead:peopleinteractw/eachother,constantlydefiningandinterpretingtheother’sactions,andit’stheinterpretedmeaningoftheseactionsthatpeoplebasetheirinteractionson.

‐Peopleactastheydobecauseofhowtheydefinesituations;theconstructionofselfissomethingthatismuchstudiedandapplicabletoidentitiescreatedinchat,e‐mail,andgames.

SocialNetworkTheory–Looksathowtiesinsocialnetworkseffectsthenormsofourrelationships

‐MarkGranovetter–intimatenetworkswithstrongtiesnotasusefulaslargernetworksw/weakties,likeonfacebook–manyweaktiesopensupmanymoreopportunitiesfornewideas

‐SmallWorldHypothesis–peoplecanbelinkedtoeachwithinsixdegreesofseparation;everywebsiteiswithin19clicksofeveryotherwebsite

‐Watts:byunderstandinghowconnectedweareandthebehaviorwithinournetworks,howthingsspreadthroughthem,wecanunderstandourworldbetter.

‐EverettRogers–DiffusionofInnovationsisasocialnetworktheory,lookingathowfastorslowtrendsarediffusedthroughasystem

‐Memes–aunitofself‐perpetuatingculturalevolution;anevolvingculturaltraitthatgetspassedoninasimilarfashiontogenes;intheinternetworld,thiscanmeaninternetphenomenon’s

‐BarryWellman–Anetworkconsistsofnodes(groupofcommunicators)connectedbyties(reasonforworkingtogether)thatformpatternswherestructuralpropertiesaremorethanthesumofitsparts.

Theseareallinterestingpoints.In“TheTippingPoint,”MalcolmGladwelltalksabout“connectors,”peoplewhoseemtoknoweverybody.Heposestheideathatifyouweretoexamineyourgroupoffriendsandconstructadiagramastohowyou’reconnectedtoeachofthem,you’llrealizethatmostofyourfriendscanbetracedtooneparticularperson.Thispersoniscalledaconnector,andtheyfunctionasthepeoplewhotieeveryoneelseinsocietytogether.It’sthroughthesepeoplethatfadshelpedgetstarted,becausetheyspreadideastosomanydifferentsocialcircles.I’msurethesameappliestoonlinetrendsaswell,andasdesignersit’dbewisetotryandreachouttothesewell­connectedpeopletohelpgetourideasofftheground.

OnlineCommunitiesTheory–Looksatmotivationsforvirtualcommunities.

PeterKollock–explainsthreenon‐altruisticbehaviorsthatexplainonlinecommunityinvolvement

1. Anticipatedreciprocity–ahopetoreceiveinformationinthefuture

2. IncreasedRecognition–Desireforprestige3. SenseofEfficacy–Abilitytoinfluenceenvironmentin

whichtheyoperate,toshapeyourvirtualworld.4. SenseofCommunity–Receivingfeedbackencouragesmore

feedback

Computerhackersreluctanttochangepseudonymsbecauseofthestatusassociatedwithit

Pareto’sLaw–20%ofpeopledo80%ofpostingonline

‐Lurkersarealsogettingsomethingfromonlinecommunities,suchasgettingwhattheyneedwithoutposting,observingacommunitysilently,orwillfulexclusionduetonotlikingtheirobservations.

Theideathatinteractivedesignfulfillsanindividual’sneedstoberecognizedandfeelasenseofworthisappealingindeed,butIthinkit’simportanttorealizethattheydon’tneedusasmuchasweneedthem…we’resimplyprovidingaservicethatotherpeoplewillfulfillifwedon’tsucceed.Instead,weshouldlookatinteractivemedia’sabilitytofulfillcertainpsychologicalneedsandmakesureweapplythoseprincipalswherewecan.

Whatitcomesdowntoispeopleseemtowantasenseofaccomplishment,andtheabilityofiMediatogivethemcontrol,inputandsayoverthefinalproductisahugechangeinhowpeoplerelatetothemedia.Thisisakeyopportunityforthemediatoplayanintegralroleintheindividual’sverybeing

Chapter3:OtherMajorTheoriesfromCommunicationsScholars

Mostcommunicationstheoriesaddresspushcommunicationsofthe20thcentury,butwhatabouttheoriesforthenewmedia?Howwillweadaptoldtheoriestofittheageofinteractivity?Andwhatarethenewones?

UsesandGratifications

MainIdea:Saysthatindividualsapproachcommunicationstoservetheirownneedsashumans;inordertoachieveself‐actualization,theyadapttheirmediausagetofittheirneeds.Theorymakestheindividualanactivepartoftheprocessinsteadofpassive,whichmanytheoriesdonotdo.

SupportingTheories:

l. Maslow’sHierarchyofNeeds:Physiological,SafteyandSecurity,LoveandBelonging,Self‐Esteem,Self‐Actualization–weusemediatofillinthesecategories

2. Lasswell(1948)–mediafunctionsas“surveillance,correlation,entertainmentandculturaltransmission”

3. Mendelsohn(1964)–useradiotocounteractboredom/loneliness,providenews

4. Katz,Gurevitch,Haas–usemediafor

a. Cognitiveneeds–relatedtoneedinginfoandunderstandingworld

b. AffectiveNeeds–strengtheningemotionalandaestheticexperiences

c. PersonalIntegrativeNeeds–fortifycredibilityandconfidence

d. SocialIntegrativeNeeds–fortifyrelationshipse. EscapistNeeds–needingto“getaway”fromtheworldat

large

5. BryantandZillman(1984)–usageofmediumisaresponsetoourmood,i.e.we’llwatchexcitingprogrammingwhenwe’rebored,andourmood(orneeds)isinfluencedbypersonality,backgroundandsocialroles.

6. McQuail(1987):Fouruses–Information,Identity,SocialInteraction,andEntertainment

Nomatterhowyousliceit,usesandgratificationshasanexplanationforprettymuchanymotivationforusingthemedia.IthinkKatz,FurevitchandHaashavesomeofthemorelogicalreasonsformediaconsumption,andwithinteractivemediaIthinkthesocialintegrativeneedsreallycomeintoplaymoreheavily.

TheoryrelatedtoInteractiveMedia:

Whatisthepotentialparticipantlookingfor?Whatanswerdotheyneedtomakesenseoftheworld?

Withinteractivity,individualsarepresentedwithmorechoices,freedomtochoosethetimewhentheyusethemedia,andhavemorecontrol.

1.HaandJames–Fivedimensionsofinteractivity

i. Playfulness–“self‐indulgers,”lowerinteractivityii. Choice‐“self‐indulgers,”lowerinteractivityiii. Connectedness–“task‐oriented”(today,high

interactivity)iv. InformationCollection–“expressives”,higher

interactivity

v. ReciprocalCommunications–“expressives,”higherinteractivity

2.U&Gtypicallycategorizesmediaintermsofit’susesasfordiversion,socialutility,personalidentity,andsurveillance.

3.Keytomediaplannersistoconstantlylookathowtechnologyischangingpeople’smotivationsforusingthemedia.Creatingandupdatingnewmodelsforhowpeopleareusingmediaisagoodwaytostayupwithcurrenttrends.

‐Hoorigan’sstudyofpeople’sattitudestowardsinternetandcellphone–revealshowpeopleuseinternet,howoften,andtheirattitudestowardsit.

One of the most important things we can know as mediaprofessionals is what exactly it is that people look to themediatoaccomplish for them. Ifweknowwhat that is,wecan provide it for them, but again, unless we know whatfunctionwe’reserving,evenourgreatestdesignswillfalter(and,on thatnote, IxDwouldsaywecan’t createaproperdesign without knowing what the user is looking toaccomplishinthefirstplace.)

Ha and James five dimensions of interactivity categorizesplayfulness and choice as low­interactivity, but does thatstill hold true today? There seems to be some high levelinteractivitybetweenpeopleingameslikesecondlifethesedays…perhaps all methods of interactivity are movingtowards“highinteractivity.”

KnowledgeGapTheory

MainIdea:Newtechnologyandmedia,whileaddingknowledgetobothhighstatusandlowstatuspopulations,actuallyincreasesthegapofknowledgebetweenthetwogroupsashighstatusgroupscanusetechnologytoincreaseknowledgeatahigherrate.

RelatedtoiMediaTheory:Mediashouldusedifferentplatformstoreachdifferentaudiencesectorsandpresentinfosothatittouchesuponacommonsocialconcernsoit’llgetspreadfrompeopletopeoplemoreeasily.

Thedigitaldivideisthetermforthegapbetweenpeoplewhohaveaccesstointernetandthosewhodonot.

The digital dividemay be one of themost pressing issueswe’llhavetofaceininteractivemedia.Ifwearetoliveina

truly connected world, we have to get to a point wherenobody is excluded. Comparing our world of super­fasttechnology to a country that doesn’t even have unilateralaccess to the internet really illustrates how far behindwecan leave each other if we’re not cognizant of theimportance of keeping everyone evolving together.Hopefullytechnologywillmakeiteasierforothercountriestosetupaninfrastructure,butuntilthen,thedigitaldividethreatensadangerousrealityformanycountries.

SocialConstructionvs.TechnologicalConstruction

SocialConstruction–AdoniandMane(1984):Ourworldviewismadeupofthreeparts:

1. ObjectiveReality–basedinfact2. SymbolicReality–symbolicexpressionofobjectivereality3. SubjectiveReality–constructedbyindividualonbasisofobjective

andsubjective

Ideaistoconstructasubjectiverealitybasedoninfofromobjectiveandsymbolicrealities.Ifperceivedrealityofsubjectiverealityisgreatenough,itwillbeincorporatedintoworldview

Inherently, this is the goal of the documentary. Thedocumentarian observes an objective reality and,throughediting the film, constructsa subjective realitythat mimics the objective and symbolic realities of thesubject. If the documentary leaves the viewer with alasting impression,wecansaythe filmhassuccessfullymadeanimpactonthatindividual’sworldview.

Intermsof interactivedocumentary, thesamecanholdtrue.Adocumentarythattakesplaceinavirtualworld,for example, would be a subjective reconstruction ofreality, but the message would strive to capture theobjectiverealityitrepresents.Theinteractiveexperiencemight even enhance the perceived reality of theindividual.

CultivationTheory–weconstructoursocialrealitybasedonwhatweareexposedtointhemedia

TechnologicalDeterminism–technologicaladvancescausesocialchange

MarshallMcluhan–“MediumistheMessage”–atechnology’sstructuredetermineshowitwillbeused.

i.e.democracy,capitalism,nationalismwerearesultofprintmedia

In terms of the interactivity, this could mean that theinternet allows for interactivity, therefore we use it forinteractivity.

Ifwearetosubscribetothistheory,wemustbemindfulofdesigningourinterfacesandinteractivedevicessothattheyreflecthowweintendouraudiencetousethem.

DiffusionofInnovations

MainIdea:Studyofthesocialprocessesthatdeterminehowanideaortechnologyisspreadthroughoutasystem

SupportingIdeas:

Rogers–fourcharacteristicsofaninnovationthataffectrateofadoption:

1. Relativeadvantage–whatmakesthisbetterthanwhatwehave

2. Compatibility–Isthisconsistentwithourcurrentvaluesandneeds

3. Complexity–howdifficultisthisinnovationtouse4. Observability–aretheresultsvisibletoothers?Canwesee

othersusingit?

Rogers–Fiveadoptercategories

1. Innovators–eagertotrynewthings2. EarlyAdopters3. EarlyMajority4. LateMajority5. Laggards–pointofreferenceisinthepast,needthemost

convincing

OpinionLeadersareinstrumentalininfluencingadoption;igniteenthusiasmamongthisgrouptohelpyourideaorproductspread

Opinion leaders are like a catalyst to the diffusion ofinnovations. The soonerwe canget our ideas to them, thesoonerourinnovatorsandearlyadopterswillgetaholdofthemandstarttheprocess.

Roger’s four characteristics of innovation fits it with usesandgratifications,toadegree.Itsuggeststhatinorderforadoption to occur the innovation needs to be better thanwhatwehave,consistentwithourvalues,andeasyenoughtouse.Onemightargueeffectivelythatwhenweaproductdoesn’t getadopted, the cost of adopting it simply ismorethanthepotentialusewemighthaveforit.

SpiralofSilence

MainIdea:Willingnesstoweighindependsontheopinionsone’speerswouldhaveonthecontribution;massmedia,bybeingsowidespread,createseffectofsilencingindividualsoutoffearofsocialconsequence.

Interactive Media, with its social aspects and personallevelofconversation,mayactuallybreakthis.Thetheoryofselectiveexposuremightarguethatpeopleareabletoseek out message boards (for example) that echo theiridealsandfeelfreetospeakout,whiledissenterscangototheir own boards. Even still, there are plenty of boardswhere debate and discourse are encouraged, which alsosuggests a breaking of the spiral of silence. At the sametime,flamingmayfunctiontosilencecertainpeoplewho’drather not be the subject of insult. However, where theInternet provides peoplewith an anonymous voice, theirabilitytobreaktheirsilenceisgreatlyenhanced.

PowerfulEffects

MainIdea:Themediahaslarge‐scaleeffectsofpeople’sopinions(liketheSpiralofSilence)

SupportingIdeas:

inconsistenciesinthem.

‐Viewerswhowatch“TheGreatAmericanValuesTest”foruninterruptedperiodsoftimegavemoremoneytocharitableorganizations

RelatedtoInteractiveMedia

Findingsshowthatthemorelevelsofinteractivityusedtoreachparticipantswillbemoreeffectiveinteaching,reinforcing,andmaintainingkeypoints

Interactivemediagivesmorecontrolwhilealsomoreeffectivelyreinforcingkeypoints.Ifpeoplewantmorecontrolandarewillingtosubjectthemselvestothisincreaseddegreeofinfluence,doesthissuggestthatpeoplearewillingtobesubjectedtonewideasandthoughtsaslongastheexperienceisengagingandmalleable?Ordoestheabilitytocontroltheenvironmentgiveasenseofcontrolthatmakesitseemliketheindividualislesssubjecttoinfluence(whileactuallybeingmoresubjecttoit)?

PowerLaweffect–ideathatthingsatthetoparekepttherebecausepeopleclickonthe“mostviewed”or“mostclicked”items;whiletheymightnormallyhavefallenbythewayside,bykeepingthematthetopbecausethey’rethe“mostclicked,”theystaythere,evenifthey’renotthebestresource.

Agenda­SettingandMediaFraming

MainIdea:Mediadoesn’ttelluswhattothink,butwhatwethinkaboutandhowwethinkaboutit.

SupportingIdeas:

Frames–mediaframesthestories,suchasunderstandingIranandIraqintermsofterroristthreats;helporganizeinformationandcanplayoffofschemasandassociationspeoplehold;anothergoodexampleisthemediaframingeventswithinpresidentialterms,associatedfaultandfixestocertainpeopleratherthansocietyasawhole

RelationtoInteractiveMedia

Notsureofhowagendasettingworksonline,aspublichasinfluenceovercontent

Before,mainstreammediaaffectedwhatwetalkaboutonline,butnowMainstreammedianowsometimesreactstoTwitterandblogposts

Mainstreammedia’sagenda‐settingeffectisnowdiluted,butwestillmustidentifythekeyissuestotryandsettheproperagenda

Interactive media has diluted the mainstreammedia’s ability to set the agenda, but is thatnecessarilyagoodthing?Iflefttothemselves,wouldpeoplestillseekoutordemandinformationonsocialproblemsandglobalissues,orwouldtheyratherfind

the latest flash games to play? Cynicism aside, themedia has always had the responsibility ofnarrowing down what is important to know, butwheremore celebrity news takes the place of otherdiscourse,canyoublamepeopleforwantingtoheardirectly from the Iranian people through TwitterthanCNN?

Ibelievepeoplearesmartand intelligentenoughtoseek out the important issues, but the professionalmedia will always have an advantage in the newsgathering department. The future may have theseorganizations playing more of an information rolewithlessanalysis,wherepeopleareabletogetmorefrom discussion on message boards than they arefrompunditson thenews.Or,punditsmayget theirtopicsofconversationfromtheworldofsocialmediaitselfratherthanviceversa.

PerceptionTheory

MainIdea:Theprocessforinterpretingmessagesiscomplex;peopleselect,analyzeandinterpretsensorystimulationtomakesenseoftheworld

‐Gettingpeopletotaketherightconclusionfromourmessage,therefore,isdifficult

SupportingIdeas

Twofactorsthatdetermineourperception:physicalnatureofthestimuliandthepsychologicalfactorsthatdecidehowweinterpretthem

FourRingsofDefense

SelectivePerception–wedecodemessagesbasedonourwants,needsandpsychologicalfactorssothatthesamemessagecanyieldentirelydifferentconclusionsbasedontheindividual

SelectiveExposure–Wedecidewhatweexposeourselvesto

SelectiveAttention‐Weonlypayattentiontopartsofthemessagethatareconsistentwithourbeliefs

SelectiveRetention–Onlycanrecallinformationinfluencedbyoursneedsandpsychologicalfactors

Thiscanhappenwithinteractivemediaaswellwithoutmucheffortbyonlyfindingblogsthatreinforceourworldview,forexample.

SchemaTheory

MainIdea:Peopleformulatefiltersbasedonpastsituationsandindividualsthathelpprocessnewinformation(suchaslabelingnewcandidatesbasedonpastcandidates)

SupportingIdeas

FiskeandKinder–cognitivemisers–todealwiththewealthofinformationofeverydaylife,peoplemakesimplifiedmentalmodelsforthesakeofcognitiveeconomy

Graber–schemasarebasedoffofconclusionsdrawnfromevidenceratherthantheevidencethemselves

Howcanweuseschemastoouradvantage?Ifpeoplehave developed schemas that have certainconnotations associatedwith them, perhapswe cantap into those so as to help us achieve a positiveemotion with the interactive experience we’reproviding,likewementionedatthebeginningofthesynthesis.

ImagePerceptionTheory

MainIdea:Imagesareusedtoillustrateideasorissuesinauniquewaytobreakthroughtheclutter;visualrhetoricsuggestswecanuseimagestoconstructargumentssubtly

SupportingIdeas

LindaScott(1994):Imagesusedasrepresentationsofreality,conveyingemotionalappeals,andacombinationofsymbolstoformarhetoricalargument

I think this is one of the strengths of documentaryand film, combining images with arguments toachieve an emotional appeal to the audience.Interactivedocumentarywillmakeeven furtheruseofthistheory,breakingthroughtheclutterbothwithimageandinteractivty.

PropagandaTheory

MainIdea:Oncethoughttohavegreatpower,butnowconsideredonlyeffectiveonsomepeople.Worksoncertainpeoplesomeofthetime,ratherthaninvariably

SupportingIdeas:

AlfredLeeandElizabethLee(1939):Sevendevices

1. Namecalling–givinganegativelabel2. GlitteringGenerality–Associatingwithageneric,positive

statement3. Transfer–associatingauthorityandprestigedobjectwith

issueathand4. Testimonial–usingapowerfulfiguretoendorsemessage5. PlainFolks–arguingideasaregoodbecauseit’sthewayof

thepeople6. CardStacking–representingdataorcontentinawayto

yourfavor(worksbestonlowereducatedandpeoplewhoalreadyagreewithyou)

7. BandWagon–“everybody’sdoingit”(strongestwhenthereisaunanimousmajorityagainstoneperson)

PersuasionTheories

MainIdea:Youcanchange/alterattitudesbasedonexposuretoinformationfromothers.(Propagandabeingjustoneexample.)

SupportingIdeas:

Hovland–LearningTheory:attitudesarelearned;theyonlychangebytheindividualundergoingthesameprocessesthatoccurredwhenlearningoriginallytookplace

FearAppeal–Usingthreattoarousefear,andthusaction

JanisandFeshbachfoundthatlowandhighlevelsoffearproducelittlechange,butmoderateamountsoffearproducesmostchange

Katz–Attitudesservedifferentfunctionsfordifferentpeople,sotheconditionsforattitudechangewilldiffer;peoplearerationalandirration;Therearefourfunctionsattitudesgenerallyserve:

1. Instrumental,adjustive,utilitarian:peopleholdattitudestomaximizerewardsandminimizepenalties(taxestakemoneyfromme,soI’mgoingtobeagainsttaxes)

2. Ego­defensive:peopleholdattitudestoprotectego3. Value­expressive:givespositiveexpressionstocore

valuesthattheindividualthinkmakesthemwhotheyare(I’maniceperson,soIthinknicenessisimportant)

4. Knowledge:attitudessatisfyadesireforknowledgeandprovidestructure

Ifwedon’tknowthefunctionanattitudeisserving,ourattemptsatchangingitwillbackfire

TechniquesofPersuasion

1. Visuals–attractattention,positiveemotionalresponsestoimagereflectonmessage

2. Humor–createpositivemood,moreeffectiveinattractingattentionthanproducingattitudechange

3. SexualAppeals–Increaseattention,increasearousalandpleasantnesswhichtransferstomessage,“sexualcharge”makesmessagemoreacceptable.

4. Repetition–advertisingisquicklyforgottenifnotcontinuouslyexposed

McGuire’sInformation­ProcessingTheory:eightstepprocess(exposure,perception,comprehension,agreement,retention,retrieval,decisionmaking,andaction),inordertopersuadewehavetoaccomplishthedesiredeffectofeachstep.Stepofagreementisthemostfocusedonsincethisisacomplicatedprocess.

MediaRichnessTheory

MainIdea:Morepersonalmeansofcommunicationaregenerallymoreeffectiveingettingfeedbackandemotionalresponsebecausefacetofaceinteractiongivesoffmorecues(suchasbodilycuesandfacialexpressions)

RelatedtoInteractiveMedia:

RichMediareferstomediathatismorepersonal,interactive,andincludesaudio,videoandhi‐resgraphics

Interactivemediaistrulychanginghowwedefinerichmedia.Cisco’sTelepresenceisextremelyrichmedia,displayingpeopleinhighdefinitionfromanywhereintheworld,allowingforthepersonallevelofinteractionwithoutphysicallybeinginthesame

place.Infact,mediawillbecomesorich,thatwewillnotbeabletotellrealfromfake.Thisisthefutureofinteractivemedia.

HumanActionCycle

MainIdea:Asetoftaskshumansundergowhentryingtoaccomplishagoalthroughtheuseofcomputing

1. FormingaGoal2. Translatinggoalintoatask3. Planninganaction4. Executingactionsequence5. Perceivingwhathappened6. Interpretingtheoutcomeaccordingtoexpectations7. Evaluatingwhathappensagainstwhatwasintended

Whenevaluatinguserinterfaces,askiftheUIallowstheusertoaccomplisheachstep.

MediaEcology

MainIdea:NeilPostman‐MediaEcologystudieshowpeople’sinteractionwithmedia“facilitatesorimpedesourchangesofsurvival;”treatingcommunicationssystemsasenvironmentandarrangingdifferentmediasothattheydon’tcanceleachotheroutduetohowpeopleusethem.

Allinall,theoriesareonlyjustthat:theories,notlaws.Inordertostayengagedasmediaprofessionals,wehave tokeepup todateon the latest audience trends, but this also means the latestaudience theories. Especially in an age where technology andaudience are changing so rapidly, adapting our theories to thelatesttrendswillbeanextremelyimportanttool.

Chapter4:NewMediaTimeline

Hereisalistofsomeofthemoreimportanteventsandmilestonesthathaveledtotheinteractiveworldweliveintoday.Highlightedare firsts in personal computing, public internet use, and thedevelopmentofindustrystandards.Bynomeansacomprehensivelist of the important events in the history of the Internet, it does

giveasenseoftheextremegrowthinteractivityhasundergoneinlessthanhalfadecade.

ImportantEventsintheHistoryofInteractiveMedia:

1970:Firstwirelesscomputernetworkingsystem,Alohanet,usingapacketradionetworksystem

1971:RayTomlinsonsendsfirstARPANETe‐mail

1972:Computersbeginreplacingtypewritersinthenewsroom

1974:Telenet,acommercialversionofARPANET,isoffered

1974:VintonCerfandRobertKahnwriteapaperwhichleadstotheinternetprotocolTCP/IP

1975:MITSreleasesfirstpersonalcomputer,theAltair8080

1976:AppleIisintroduced

1978:SerfandKhan’sIP/TCPbecomesareality

1979:FirstJapanesecellularnetworkisstarted

1979:Interactivevideotexsystem,Prestel,introduced

1980‐1:IBMdevelopsfirstsuccessfulpersonalcomputerwithMicrosofthiredtocreatetheOS.MS‐DOSiscreated.

1980:OnOct.27avirusspreadsthroughoutARPANET,highlighttheneedfornetworksecurity

1980:Firstonlinenewspaper,theColumbusDispatch

1982:5.5MillionPCsinofficesandhomes

1983:Tandyintroducesfirstlaptopcomputer

1984:Macfirstpopularcomputertointroduced3½”drive,amouse,andaGUI

1985:50newspapersareofferingfulltextservices

1986:KnightRidderendsitsViewtronproject(Viewtronwasaninteractivevideotexsystemforhomeuse,someconsideraprecursortotheWeb)

1989:TimBerners‐LeewritesproposalfortheWorldWideWeb

1989:ARPANETreplacedbyNSFNET(whichisfaster)

1990:WWWprototypecreatedatCERN,takesBerners‐Leeideaofmergingnetworkedinformationandhypertext

1991:GopherInternetnavigationsystemreleased,firstinternetnavigatortosimplytheprocessforthepublic

1991:WWWprogramisreleased

1991:Videotexisbeingleftbehindinplaceofdial‐upservices

1992:Delphidial‐up,oneofthefirsttoprovideeasytouse,text‐onlyaccesstotheinternet,isnowprovidingfullaccesstotheinternet

1992:AOLhas200,000subscribers

1993:Mosaic,thefirstgraphicalwebbrowser,isreleased.CreditedforallowedtheWWWtotakeoff

1994:Netscapereleasesfirstversionoftheirbrowser

1994:Whitehousecreatesofficialwebsite

1994:AOLreaches1,000,000

Late1990s:AdobeandMacromediabeginreleasingprogramsthatallowforthecreationofcontent‐richmedia.

1997:TiVoisfounded

1997:Firstweblogsarestarted

1998:CharlotteobserverusesaweblogtoreportHurricaneBonnie

1998:WorldWideWebConsortiumsuggestsXMLbecomeageneral‐purposermarkuplanguage

1998:Googleopensitsdoors

1999:Berners‐LeedeclarestheWWWamassmediumforthe21stcenturty

2004:FacebookstartedatHarvardbyMarkZuckerberg.SocialnetworkingsiteshighlighttheWWW’sabilitytoprovidesocialinteraction.

2006:PBSrunsstoryonhowlaptopsmayofferhopetodevelopingcountries

Visualization:NumberofAOLSubscribersSinceFirstServicesOffered(InThousands)

AnalyzingtheInteractiveAudience:UnderstandingYourConsumerstoCreateMeaningfulUserExperiences

ASynthesisPaperbyConorBritain

TableofContents:

SynthesisPaperPages2‐4

“ApproachesforReachingAudiencethroughInteractiveMedia”NotesandSynthesisPages5‐22

“KnowingYourInteractiveAudienceandWhatMakesEffectiveUserExperienceDesign”NotesandSynthesisPages22‐35

Theuserexperiencedesignerhasamyriadofresponsibilities:data

collection,ethnographicresearch,interpretingwebanalytics,prototyping,anddesigninginteractiveinterfacesarejustafewofthem.Yetforalloftheseresponsibilities,auserexperiencedesignerhasbutonejob:creatingdynamicandemotionalinteractiveexperiences.

Ofcourse,therearemanyfactorsthatgointogreatuserdesign–usability,forone,isessential–butifyourprojectdoesn’tmovetheuser,ifitdoesn’tmakethemfeelgoodwhiletheyuseit,it’sfunctionwon’thaveanylastingimpact.Forthisreason,it’softheutmostimportancethatuserexperience(UX)designersknowtheiraudience–whattheirneedsare,whattheirvaluesare,andwhattheywanttoaccomplish.Ifwecanunderstandwhatouraudiencewantsofus,wecanknowwhatitisexactlyweshouldbeproviding.

Yet,it’snotenoughtojustknowwhattoprovide.ThekeytocreatingagreatUXistogetfeedbackonyourdesignsandprototypes.Thus,user‐centerdesignisanimportantmethodtopractice,definingyourtargetaudience,identifyinguser’sgoalsandneeds,testingprototypeswithrealusers,andincorporatingtheirfeedbackintoyourrevisions.Keepingtheuserinthedevelopmentprocesswillallowthedesignertoknowwhat’sworkingandwhat’snot–ahugeadvantageincreatingaproductthatwillworkfortheInternetmasses.

Buthowexactlydowecreateaproductthatwillworkforthemasses?Youfirsthavetodefinewhoyourmassesare.Ahelpfultoolfordoingthatiscreatingpersonas:representationsofthedifferentgroupsinyourtargetaudiencesthroughfictionalcharacterprofiles.ThisallowsyoutofocusonthedetailsofanindividualthatrepresentsthemotivesandgoalsofaparticulargroupsothatyoucanmoreaccuratelycreateaUXthatwillworkforthem.Adesignthatworksforeveryoneisrare,sobuildingpersonasandcateringtothemwillhelpmaximizetheeffectivenessofone’sdesigninreachingtherightpeople.

Thereinliesanotherimportantpoint,though–whileyoucan’tdesignsomethingthatwillspeaktoeveryone,youcandesignsomethingthatcanbeviewed,sharedandalteredsothatitadoptsanewsetofmeaningsdependingonwho’ssharingit.Thisistheideaofspreadablemedia,andthefirsthalfofthissynthesispaperisonthistopicalone.It’stheideathatbygivingupsomecontrol,functionalityandexplicitmeaningofyourmessage,usersareabletotaketheirownmeaningfromthemthatsuitstheirneedsandvalues.Whenthishappens,peoplespreadthemessagearoundtheirrespectiveonlinecommunities,andthisishowInternetfadsarestarted.Theydon’thappenbecauseproducersareabletocreateamessagethatinfectstheuserwithacompellingurgetoshareit–rather,peopledecideforthemselvesifamessageisusefulornotand,ifitis,theypassitontoothers,operatingunderthegifteconomythatissoprevalentontheInternet(anotherimportantthingtounderstand).Whilewecan’tcreatemessagesthatdeliverthesamemeaningtoeveryone,spreadablemediaallowsustohaveourcore

messagereachmanydifferentplacesinwaysthatactuallyaremoremeaningfulthananythingwecouldprovidesincethey’retheoneswhoaredecidingthemeaning.

Knowingwhypeoplesharecertainmessagesandnotothersisthekeytocreatingspreadablemedia,andbytailoringourmessagessothattheyaremoreapttoprovidevaryingmeaningsandusestovaryingusersoftheInternet,ourmessageisgiventhechancetonotonlygrowandexpand,butfinditswaytosmallnichecommunitiesthatwewouldn’totherwisebeabletoreach.Spreadablemediahasthepowertoincreasecustomerawareness,transformperceptionstowardsourbrand,expandpotentialmarkets,intensifycustomerloyalty,andexpandtheshelflifeofexistingmediacontentbygivingitachancetohaveasecondlifeontheinternet–allformillionsofdollarslessthancreatingatelevisioncampaign.

Thesecondhalfofthissynthesispaperaddressesmethodsusedtounderstandouraudienceandcreatestrategiestobestsuittheirneeds.Asuserexperiencedesigners,wehavemanytoolsatourdisposal,suchaswebmetrics,surveys,ethnographicstudies,prototyping,focusgroups,andanumberofotherdata‐gatheringoptions.Whileeachhavetheirownsetofprosandcons,it’simportanttorememberthatthemainideaisgaininganintimatelevelofknowledgeofthepeoplewhofitwithinourpersonas.Afterall,ourjobistocreateemotionalexperiencesandmakeourdesignsaestheticallypleasing,andknowingwhatmakesforanenjoyableexperienceforouraudienceandwhattheyregardasvisuallyappealingissomethingwecanonlygatherthroughaskingquestionsandobservation.

Thejoboftheuserexperienceisabalancingact–we’retoldtogiveuserschoice,butstillhaveestablishedboundariestomaketheexperiencemanageable;we’retoapplyconsistencywithinourdesigns,yetknowwhentobeinconsistentinordertosignifyachangeforourusers–butbyknowinghowouraudienceactuallyusesourdesignshelpsustofindthatmiddleground.Techniquessuchasconsideringtheefficiencyoftheuserwhenengagingwithourdesignsrevealsurprisingyetimportantfactsaboutouruserexperiences.Whenconsideringtheusageofamicrowave,forexample,itturnsoutthatitisfasterforausertoheatsomethingfor1:11than1:10.Why?Becausepunchinginthelattertimerequiresthefindingandpressingofasecondbutton:zero.Thetimeittakestodothis,itturnsout,takesmorethanasecond,thusmaking1:11amoretime‐efficientwayofheatingsomethinginthemicrowave.Thesearethediscoverieswecanmake–andmustmake–whendevelopingourUXdesigns.

Userexperiencedesignerswieldagreatpower.Theabilitytocreatedesignsthatmakepeoplefeel,think,anddoputsanenormousresponsibilityonus.AsJesseJamesGarrettargues,ourjobofsynthesizingandorganizingthemyriadofelementsthatgointomakingagreatuserexperiencemakesourworkgobeyondjustcreatingvaluetobusinesses–whenourworkgetsspreadaroundtheInternet,affectingpeople’semotionsandthoughts,ourworkbeginstomakeitswaybeyondtheindividualsandshapesourcultureitself.Suchisthepowerofgreatuserexperiencedesign,butitrequiresresearch,re‐dosand,perhapsmostimportantly,

personability,fordespitetheuserexperiencedesigner’smanyroles,creatingmeaningfulemotionalexperiencesrequiresthattheybeonethingaboveallelse:people.

ApproachesforReachingAudienceThroughInteractiveMediaAsExplainedby“SpreadableMediainaDigitalAge”byJenkins,LiandKrauskopfText=SynthesisA.SpreadableMedia–Whatisit?

Jenkins,Li,andKrauskopf:Spreadablemediameansallowingyourmediacontenttobeshapedandcirculatedbyconsumers,expandingpotentialmeaningsfoundinsaidcontentandopeningupnewmarketstoit.

WhatSpreadableMediaisnot:SpreadableMediaisnotthesamethingasmemesanddoesnotmeanviral

‐Thetermsviralandmemesuggestthedistributor’scontentgetsrecycledandit’scontainedmessagesreplicatedasitgetspassedaroundasystem;thisignoresthefactthatideasgetchangedandrepurposedastheymovefromonepersontothenext

­Thetermviralinvokesa“biological”modeltothepassingofcontentthroughasystem.Itgivestheproducerpowerthatitdoesn’tactuallyhave.Rushkoff’sModel:

Thedangerinthismetaphoristhatitistoo“fuzzy,”itdoesn'thaveaclearenoughsetofpracticestogowiththemetaphor,sowecan’tunderstandwhyitworksifit’snotclearenoughtobeginwith.

‐Memesisatermusedinexplainingculturalevolution,aunitequivalenttothegene.Thememe(Brodie)isapieceofinformationinamindwhoseexistenceinfluencesotherevents,creatingmorecopiesofitselfinothermindsandisusedtodescribehowtrendshappen.Theyhavethefollowingcharacteristics:

1.Fidelity–theyretaintheirinformationastheyspread

2.Fecundity–havethepowertomakecopiesofthemselves

ProteinShell:Event,invention,

technology,style,video,anyattentioncatchingdevice

Virus:thehiddenagendabehindthe

shell

Host:Theindividualinterestedintheattentioncatchingdevice(shell)but

unawareofthevirus

3.Longevity–thelongeramemesurvives,thebetterchanceithasofbeingcopied.

‐WiredMagazine:“webtrendsarenothingmorethanmediasnacks,”devoidofvalueandsubstance.

Theproblemwiththesemodelsisthattheymakepeopleaninactivepartoftheprocessofthespreadingofmedia;intruth,theyplayaveryactiveroleinit.Peopleactivelychoosewhattopassonbasedonthemeaningspeoplefindinthem.Todismissthesetrendsas“snacks”ismissingthepoint.

Someadvertiserswouldliketothinkthathavingthepowertomakepeoplespreadtheirmessageforthemisfreeofconsequenceandeveryonewilltakethesamemessageawayfromthecontent.Thisisnotthecase.Ratherthanjust“injecting”themessageintoanyonewhoisexposedtoyour“virus,”theuserisactivelyrespondingwiththe“virus”andtakingtheirownmeaningsoutofthemessage.Onlyiftheindividualfindsvalueinthatmessagewilltheypassiton,and,indoingso,theychangethemessageitself.Youcan’texpectamessagetostaythesamewhenitmovesaroundasystem,justlikeinthegameoftelephone.

“Peopledon’tacquireideas,ideasacquirepeople”

‐Culturestemsfromtheworldcultivation;peopleplayactiverolesinthecreationofculture

‐Peoplesortthroughthemyriadofphrases,concepts,imagesandstorieseveryday,selectingwhichonestheygivevalueto,willreferenceinthefuture,andsharewithothers,allbasedonapersonalagendathatextendsbeyondtheideaitself

‐Ideascirculatedifferentlythroughdifferentmedia:someallowmoredirecttransmissionofanoriginalmessage,whileothersaremoresusceptibletotheirmessagesundergoingrapidchangeasitgetspassedalong(likethegame“telephone”);therefore,memescan’tbethoughtofasanall­purposeunitofthoughtwithoutregardstothemedium

­Replicability:KnobelandLankshear‐adaptationiskeytothepropagationofmemes;conceptsmustbeabletoberemixedandmodifiedtocatchon:

EXAMPLE:LOLcats

‐Thememeisn’tinthepictures,it’sinthehumor,LOLspeak,andjuxtaposition–thesearereplicableandmeaningful,morethanjust“snacks”

Weallcomefromdifferentbackgrounds,havevaryingopinions,anduniquepersonalitytraits.Everysmallthingthatwevalueandcareaboutgoesintomakinguswhoweareasindividuals,andassuchwebringthosethingsintowhateverweinteractwith.Therefore,wearenaturallygoingtoclingtothosethingsthatspeaktous,havemeaningtous.Thisiswhat’sgoingonwhenmemescatchon–inotherwords,there’sareasonthataparticularvideogetscirculatedbeyondjust“becauseitwascool.”

B.Stickyvs.SpreadableThemetaphorsofviralmediaandmemesemergedatatimeoftransition,whentheInternetwasallowingpeopletopullcontentinsteadofhavingitpushedontothem.Soonafter,however,socialnetworkschangedthedynamicofhowpeoplerelatedtotheWeb,andthesetermsbecamenolongerhelpfulinthevagueness.

Sonowweseethesourceoftheproblemindescribinginternettrendsas“viralmedia”–companies’wantingtokeepcontrol.Thesetermsgiveafalsesenseofsecurity,keepingpowerinthehandsoftheproducerbasedoffofanice“scientific”modelthatexplainshowyoucancontrolyourmessagewhilegettingittomorepeople.Insteadofrecognizingincreasedpoweroftheconsumer,companiesignoredit,andintheprocesslimitedtheirownabilitytoreachouttothemthroughtheconfusingtermsofmemesandviruses.

Insteadofviralmedia,wemustthinkofitasspreadablemedia:aconceptthattext,audiences,andbusinessmodelsworktogethertoeasilyspreadmeaningfulcontentwithinanetworkedculture.Thisraisesfourquestions:

1. Whataspectsofthecontemporarymediaenvironmentsupportthespreadofmediaacrossdifferentcommunities?

2. Howdoconsumerscreatevalueforboththemselvesandcompaniesthroughthespreadingofmedia?

3. Whatmakescontentmorelikelytobespread4. Howdocompaniesbenefitfromspreadofcontent

Youcan’tstressitenough:successininteractivemediameansbeingpersonal.Companieshavetopayclose

attentiontoconsumer’smotivationsandinterests;keeppeoplemotivatedtospreadstuff.

GrantMcCracken:Consumerasamultiplier

‐Asspreadablemediagetsspreadaroundcommunities,itscontentgetschanged,alteredandreframed.Thisallowscontenttoreachnewplacesandexpanditspotentialmeaningsbasedonwhatpeoplegivetothem.

‐Successinthehandsofconsumer,notproducer;consumershaveanactiveroleinshapingmeaning;theycompletethework

‐whatisthatrole?Theindividualdecideswhatcutsthroughthecluttertospreadideasacrossthefragmentedmarketplacehelpsfacilitateflowacrossthemarketplace.

Sticky:referstoasite’sabilitytokeeptheholdofanindividualconsumer’sattention;pre­structuredinteractivityratherthanopen‐ended

‐Reflectsproducer’sanxietyaboutholdingconsumer’sattention,resultsinchargingforaccesstoinformation,thethoughtchargingcreatesvalue

Theideaof“stickiness”isamodelthat,again,triestokeepsomepowerintheproducer’shands.Itexcludesword­of­mouth,thegroundswellatlarge.Andyet,it’susefulnessisstillunsure–Amazon,althoughinitiallyoperatingonastickymodel,usedgroundswelltechniquesinallowingpeopletorecommendtheirpurchasestoothers…peopleweremorelikelytobuybooksthathadbeenrecommendedtothem.Thisshowsthatuserexchangecanaffectthebottomline,andisactuallymorepowerfulthanhavingafacelesswebsitetrytolureyouintoitwithit’s“stickiness.”

Mustknowwhichmodelyou’rechoosingandwhy.

C.GiftEconomyvs.CommodityCulture• Review:Howdopeoplerelatetoyourmessage?Theyselect,

transform,andcirculateitinunpredicteddirections

• Peopledon’tjustbuyculturalgoods,butbuyintoaculturaleconomythatrecognizescontributionandparticipation.Unlessyourgoodengagesandservesbothconsumer’sandproducer’sinterest,itwon’tspread

Thekeyhereistofindthemiddlegroundwhereyourproductisspreadbecausepeoplearefulfillingadesiretoshare(thegifteconomy)whilestillaccomplishingthegoalsoftheproducer(otherwiseitscirculationwillgetblockedbytheproducer.Theremustbeaknowledgeofthatrelationshipandhowtocultivateit.

Stickiness

•  Focusesonattractingandholdingattentionofvisitor

• Concentratesattentionofallinterestedpartiestoaspecigicsite

• Dependsoncreatingaunigiedconsumerexperienceinbrandedspaces

• Prestructuredinteractivitytoshapeandcontrolviewerexperiences

• Tracksmigrationsofindividualconsumerswithinasite

•  Salesforcemarketstoconsumers

•  producers,marketers,andconsumersareallseparateintheirroles

• Dependsonaginitenumberofchannelsforcommunicatingw/consumers

Spreadablity

• Motivatesandfacilitatesfanstospreadtheword

• Expandsconsumerawarenessbydispersingcontentacrossmanypointsofcontact

• Dependsoncreatingadiversigiedexperienceasbrandsenterconsumerspaces

• Open‐endedparticipationthatengagedconsumersretrogittotheircommunities

• Mapstheglowofideasthroughsocialnetworks

• Grassrootsintermedieariesbecomeadvoctesforbrands

• Dependsonincreasedcollaborationandtheblurringoflinesacrossroles

•  takesforgrantedtheinginiteamountoflocalizedandtemporarynetworksthroughwhichmediacirculates

THEWRONGIDEA:“Wehavetocreatecommunitiesaroundourproductsandservices”

THERIGHTIDEA:“Wehavetocreateproductsthatcoalescewiththevaluesandaspirationsofthecommunitythatwillcausethemtoshowloyaltytous.”

Fartoooftenwethinkingofwhatmediadoestopeopleinsteadofwhatpeoplearedoingwithit

Anotherimportantexampleofshiftingthefocusawayfromwhattheproducerdoestowhattheconsumerdoes.Theproducerisstilltryingtohitonkeyvaluesandemotionswiththeirproductthatwillattractpeople,butthisthinkingallowsyoutounderstandthatyou’renotcreatingaproductthatwillbringacommunitytoyou,you’rejustcreatingaproductthattapsintowhatanexistingcommunityalreadywants;you’rejustinvitingyourselftotheirparty.

Usesandgratificationstellusthatpeopleusethemediatofulfillcertainneeds,butthegroundswellisallowingthemtogetwhattheywantfromeachother.Wemustdetermineouruser’sneedsandfigureouthowwecanfitintothemandsolvetheirproblems,creatingresourcesforthembeyondjustourproducts(beinggirl.com,forexample).Youcan’tmakethemtalkaboutyourproduct,butyoucanprovideopportunitiesforthemtotalktoeachotherthroughyourdoing,whichopensupanopportunityforthemtocareaboutnotjustyourproduct,butyourbrand.

MoralEconomy:thesetofsocialnormsandunderstandingsthatmaketwopartiesdobusiness

• Sofar,newtechnologyhaschangedthemoraleconomybetweenconsumerandproducer(musicsharing,forexample),leadingtoamutualdistrustbetweenproducersandconsumers,becausebothhaveadifferentsetofvalues:one,thegifteconomy,theother,thecommodityculture

GiftEconomy:Operatesundertheideaofreciprocity;ifeveryonegivesalittlebit,everyonegetsalittlesomethingextrainreturn;thisishowsocialsphereamongtheweboperate

• TheInternetwasoriginallybuiltofftheideaasatoolforsharingscienceandresearch;companiesenteredthegameMUCHlater

• CompaniesmustbuildupgoodwillonlinethroughgivingawaycontentthatisusefultothecommunitieswithintheWeb.

CommodityCulture GiftEconomyAcquisition Goodsaretradedas

wagesforlabororpurchasesdirectly

Giftsarebestoweduponus;wecannotacquirethemthrough

anactofwillCirculation Economically

motivatedSociallymotivated;transactionsvalidate

relationshipsA“successfultrade:”

Leavespeopleunconnected

Tiespeopletogether,requiresthe

connectionbetweentwopeople

PrimaryDrivers

Cashrenumeration Status,prestige,esteem;profitingbecomesanegative

thingMeasuredby Value‐exchange Worth‐sentimentalAssociatedwith

Alientationandfreedom

Communityandobligationtoothers

Hyde:“Wedon’tdealwithcommoditieswhenwewishtointiateorpreservetiesofaffection…emotionalconnectionscomesbeforequantitativeevaluation…butsometimeswhathasbeenearnedinthemarketplacecanbegivenasgifts…giftwealthcanberationalizedandmarketwealtheroticized(gainsemotionalintensity)”

Ourgoal,therefore,mustbetobridgetheworldsofcommodityandgifteconomies.Wheretheinternetisdrivenbythegifteconomy,wemustmakeourcommodity’sintopotentialgifts.How?Byaddingvaluebeyondtheproductitself,whetherit’sincapturinganemotion,havingsomeusefulness,sparkingconversation;inotherwords,MAKINGITSPREADABLE.

D.Spreadablemediaiscontentthatnavigatestheroadbetweencommodityandgifteconomy

Peoplespreadcontentwhen:contenthitsonapersonalorsociallevelPeopledon’tspreadcontentwhen:ithastoomuchvalue(becausepeoplewanttoretainitforthemselves,elsethey’lldiminishit’svalue)ortoolittleworth(becausethere’snothingthatwouldcommunicateanysharedvaluesorideasinthecontent).

McCracken:Goodsareanopportunitytoattachsymbolicmeaningtophysicalobjects

Saysthatwearealwaysengagedinself‐creation,tryingtocreateanimageforourselves,especiallyinanagewhereonlinecontentcanbeduplicatedinfinitely…thisiswherethecommodityculturefitsinwithitsemphasisonindividuality

Somethingswedon’tshare,liketrinketsorlittlethingsthatsaysomethinguniqueaboutus.Wearebothexpressiveindividualsandsocialbeings,tryingtopersonalizeandshareatthesametime.Ascommunities,weevaluateandrankculturalgoodsindeterminingwhethertosharethem,butasindividuals,werankthingsbasedonwhattheysayaboutus.Gifteconomyandcommodityculture,therefore,bothhaveaplaceinthemarket,aspeoplewillhaveuseforcommoditiesaslongastheyexpresssomethingabouttheirindividuality.Thisisthevalueofcommodities,thattheypromiseafreedomfromtheassociatedtraditionsandmeaningsbehindgifts.Theyallowustosaysomethingaboutourselvesinthattheyonlybelongtous.

Beyond“Audience”:whatshouldwecalltheconsumerwhohasanactiveroleintheprocess?

Loyals,media­actives,prosumers,inspirationalconsumers,connectors,influencers?

AndrewLockhart–allowtheusertodefinetherelationshipheorshewantstohave,asitwouldindicatehowtheuserwantstoengagewiththem.

Benkler:Whydopeopleengageinnetworks?

1. Improvesindividualcapacitytodoforandbythemselves2. Enhancescapacitytodomorewithloosetiestoothers3. Improvescapacityofindividualstodomoreinformal

organizationsoutsideofthemarketsphere

Thesecapabilitiesandthedesiretobesocialiswhatallowsspreadablemediatoexist.

Networksprovideindividualsmoresayindefiningtheirindividuality,becausebyseeingwhattheyengageintheycanpititupagainsteverythingthattheydon’t.Beinginacommunityofpunkrockers,forexample,sayssomethingaboutthatindividualinthattheychosetobeapartofthatgroupovereveryothergroup.

Beyond“Communities”:PaulGeesuggestswecalltheseaffinityspaces,wherewegotofulfillcertaincommongoals

Relationshipsareoftennon‐exclusive

Ourinterestsarevariedandthereforewegotoavarietyofthemthroughouttheday;affinityspacesaremobileunlikesomethingofanexclusivemembership

Allowcontenttobespreadquickly,fromonespacetothenext

TypesofAffinityspaces(Lee):

Poolsattractsharedactivities,whilewebsattractactivitiesthatsustainsocialconnectionsTypeofEntry(Lee):

1. Open:noregistrationrequired;membersfeellittleornoemotionaltieswithinthem

2. FreeRegistration:commonmodel;allowssitestogetinformationfromusersinordertocustomizeitselftofittheirneeds;thisiswherespreadablemediahappensmostsuccessfully

3. Purchase:Operateunderthestickymodel:ifyoupayyourwayin,youstay;tendtobehubswithverylittleinteractionbetweenusers;skepticismexistsduetotheirlackofsocialties

4. OutsideSelection:Valueisintheirexclusivity;don’tencouragethespreadofmediabutcangeneratebuzz

Remember:“Communitiesaren’tcreated,they’recourted.”Thismeansyou’recateringtoanexistinggroupthathasacertainset

• looseassociations,strongassociationw/commonendeavororw/valuesofcommunity• brandcommunities,politicalorganizationsPools• organizedthroughindividualsocialconnections• tiesarestrongeranddecentralizedWebs• looseassociationsformedaroundacentralgigure• Example:fanclubsHubs

ofvaluesthatdrivetheirinteractionsandchoices,notcreatingitwithyourproduct.

Howdoyoureacharangeofcommunities?TheScattershotApproach(Weiler):makeitaseasyandasenjoyableaspossibleforconsumerstofindandcommunicatewithyou;allowpeopletobeabletotakeyourcontentandretrofitittofittheirneedsandinterests

Basically,ifyougowiththestickyapproach,you’remissingout.Youmustseekoutandengagecommunitiesandconvincethemtoengagewithyourcontent.Youcan’twaitforittohappen.

E.WhatmakesSpreadableContentSpreadableKeyQuestion:Whatistherelationshipbetweenthecommunityandthematerialsitcirculates?

TheAnswerwillallowustodeterminewhatcharacteristicsourcontentmusthave.

Remember:

• Notallcontentisgoodforsharing…giftswesharesaysomethingaboutourperceptionsofthepersonwearepassingthemonto

• Communitymemberscirculatestoriestoaffirmtheircommonality

Whatmotivatespeopletoshareinformation?

1. Bolstercamaraderieandbolstervalueswhichidentifythecommunity

2. Gatherinformationandexplainthings

3. Establishboundariesofanin‐group

Thesearethesamereasonsforwhypeopleadvocateforfranchisesorbrands:itexpressessomethingaboutthem,ithassomevaluedsocialfunction,andresponseshelpsortoutwhodoesordoesn’tbelong.

Whenadvertisingspreads,it’sbecauseithasacquiredworth;thecommunityhasembraceditasaresource,forreasonsthatvaryfromcommunitytocommunity.

Thisiswherethecommoditycanbleedintothegifteconomy.Whenatextcanbetakenandbrokendownonmanydifferentlevelsfordifferentcommunities,yourtextisbeingusedtocommunicatesomethingbetweenthosewhoshareit.Onetextcanbeusedtoexpressdifferentthingstodifferentcommunities,however.Forexample,theleakedVFWcarbombingadwasusedbysomecommunitiestobothexpressdisgust,whileinothersshowsupportforAmerica’sfightagainstterrorism.Inbothcases,however,thetextwasusedtoreflectandreinforcesomesetofvalueswithinthatcommunity.Allowingyourtexttodothisallowsyourtexttobecomespreadable.

TheCompany’sMeaningvs.TheConsumer’s

• Whentextsgetspread,theirmeaningsareinthehandsofthecommunity;thecontrolisoutofthehandsoftheproducer

• Themessagemorphsasittravels(likethegametelephone)• Contentwillonlyspreadifitcanservedifferentcommunitiesina

varietyofways,butonlycommunitymemberscandeterminewhatthosewaysare

o Therefore,companiesmustsituatethemselvestoboth

motivateconsumerstotalkabouttheirbrandandtalkthroughtheirbrand

o Whileadvertisingmayconvinceusthattheirproductsmight

makegoodgiftsthroughthevaluestheyconvey,itsspreadablemediathatmakesthemgoodgiftstopassaround

Tostateitsimply,oncetheproducerunleashesthetexttothemasses,theproducerlosesallcontroloverwhatthemessageofthattextis.Peopledeterminethemessageandchangethatmessageastheypassitaroundthesystem,addingnewmeaningtoitastheydoso.Theproducercanmerelysuggestwhatvaluethetexthas,astheconsumersaretheoneswhodecidethat.Infact,bytryingtogiveyourtextaparticularmeaning,youlimitthepotentialmeaningsotherscanfindinit.

ToMakeContentSpreadable

• MessagevsMeaning:amessageissomethingweencodeinatext,butameaningiswhat’stakenoutofitbytheconsumer

• Atextbecomespartofpopularculturewhenconsumersmakeittheirown,embraceitspotentialtosaysomethingaboutthemselves.Thisiswhereacommoditybecomesagift.

CulturalCommodities(Fiske)–therawmaterialsthatgointotheproductionofpopculture

ProducerlyTexts–whentheculturalcommoditybecomesaculturalresourceusedtoexpress,define,orunderstandsocialandculturalrelationship

• Thisrequiresabottom­upapproachtocreatingpopularculture,wheretheconsumersdefinethecreativeinteractionwiththecommodities,anegotiationbetweenconsumerandproducer.

• Thisrequiresthetexttohavelooseendsthatcanbegrabbedholdof,interpreted,reproduced,etc.THISISHOWINDIVIDUALSCONVEYSOMETHINGOFTHEMSELVESASTHEYPASSALONGTHECONTENT

• Themoreclearlydefinedthemessage’suseis,themoreitlimitsitspotentialcirculation

• Aproducerlyvideoisonethatcanbeaccessedonmultiplelevels

Thisisthewayinwhichartworks.Goodartissobecauseiteffectspeopleinvaryingdegrees.Onepersonmaybeabletofindanemotionalconnectionwithapieceofartthatmaysurpassanotherperson’s,butthatlatterpersonmaystillfindvalueintheart,justdifferently.Inaworldwhereeveryonehasadifferentworldviewbasedontheirlivedexperiencesandvalues,anyonethingcanbeinterpretedinaninfinitenumberofways.Goodartiscraftedtothedegreethattherearemultiplepointsofentry;it’sdeepenoughtoallowforsimultaneousandvaryingdegreesofaccessibility.Thisopennessshouldbesomethingthatourtextshouldaimforinordertobecomespreadable.

Remember:

• Acompanycannotproduceculturalresources,onlyculturalcommoditiesthatmaybeturnedintoculturalresourcesbytheconsumer’schoicetogiftit

• Forthoseworriedaboutlossofcontroloverbrandmessage:it’salreadylost.Themoreyoufightit,thelesspotentialyourtexthasforhaving“worth”intheeyeoftheconsumer

• Therefore,adsmustsacrificesomedegreeoffunctionalpurpose–ifthere’snoambiguity,there’slessroomforspreadability,lessroomfornewmeaningstogrow

• Lastly,thisdoesn’tmeanthebrand’smessagedisappears.Itgetsreintroducedtoeachpersonthatseesit,butitalsogainsnewmeaning.

AgreatexampleofthisistheMacVs.PCads.Theyhaveadistinctrecognizablestyle,butthey’representedinaveryopenendedway–itleavesroomtogrowandexpand.PeoplehavebeenabletotaketheideaofMacVs.PCandspoofitbyusinganytwocompetingentities;inthisway,Applehaslostcontroloverthemessage,butthebrand’smessageisstillthere:anytimeyouseeoneofthosespoofs,itonlyreinforcestheoriginalideaofMacVs.PC.TheoriginalAppleadgainsnewmeaningthroughthewayspeopleinterpretandchangethem,butitalwaysleadsbacktotheoriginalmessageandleadsthepeoplewatchingthespoofbacktoApple

F.AestheticandStructuralStrategiesKeyIdea:Whileopennessinatextsmeaningsandusesincreasethechancesofanadtobecomespreadableasagift,itstillhastocommunicatesomethingsociallymeaningful.Itmusthavesomethingcompellingaboutit.

1.Humor:whenwespreadsomethingfunny,wearealsosharingitintheveinthatwearearticulatingandvalidatingourculturallimitsintaste

• Parody• Absurditythroughshock/surprise

MessageofHumorousAds:Iftheadvertisersdon’ttakethemselvestooseriously,itcreatesasettingwhereusersare

encouragedtohavefuntoo,thus,mashups,remixes,etc.AKAspreadability

Becarefulwithparody,however,asyourunthisriskofexclusionandalienationofaudience…includedifferentlevelsofaccessibility

2.InformationSeeking:Whentheambiguityor“oddness”ofavideoencouragespeopletotalktoeachotheraboutitto“figureitout”

• Theactofbringingcommunitiestogetherasacollectiveintelligence

• Jenkins:successfulmediafranchisenotonlydrawslike‐mindedpeopletogethertoformanaudience,butgivesthemsomethingtodo

• Whenpeoplesearchforauthenticity,origins,orpurposeinyourtext,theyareactivelyconstructingameaning,anotherformofproducerlyengagement

3.UnfinishedContent:Whilethepriortwoexampleshavetheusersfillinthegapsinmeaningofthecontent,thisformofengagementliterallyincludestheconsumerinthecreationprocess,havinganopenendedsystemthattheuserinteractswith.

• Textisapartialworkwithincompletecomponentsthattheusertakesparticipationinputtingtogether

• Incitesuserstodebateaboutthetext’sinnermechanisms,testthelimitsofthedevice,reinterpretitsmeaning.

• Incitesteamworkto“figureitout”

4.NostalgiaandCommunity:Thefantasiesofacommodityculturearethoseoftransformationwhilethoseinagifteconomyarenostalgic

• Whenwewanttobreakfreeofsocialconstraintsweturntocommoditytoshiftourstatus/idenity

• Whenwewanttoreaffirmexistingvalues,weturntothegifteconomy

Jenkins(1992):Fanmediaproduction/circulation(gifteconomy)centersaroundnostalgicthemes,suchasromance,friendshipandcommunity.

• BabyBoomerslovewatchingoldcommercials,collectoldtoys,etc.

• Thisnewinteresthasre‐launchedoldbrandsthroughretromarketing

• Solidaritystillkey;brandmustinspireamongitsusersasenseofbelonging

Themaintakeawayfromthesefourmethodsisthatspreadablemediaevokesemotions,conversation,collaboration,criticalthinking,andfurtheraction.Ifyourtextcanaccomplishthis,thenitopensitselfupforpeopletoplacevalueinit,whichmakesitspreadable.

Makeitinteresting,different,unique…givethemsomethingtotalkabout!Whenyourvideoengagestheuser,itmakestheminterestedinyoubeyondyourproductandgivesyouvaluableattention.Allowsthemtoassertcontrolovertheinformationofadsothatthey’llactivelyconstructmeaninginit.Ifthey’retheone’screatingthemeaning,itwillspreadandcreateworth.

G.TheValueofSpreadableMedia SpreadableMediavs.TelevisionAdvertising:

Televisionisgoodfor“justintime”information;reachMANYmorepeopleatonetime

Spreadablemediaisgoodforslowercirculationofinformation,betterchancefordeepersaturation,andismuchcheaper,butismoreofarisk

CadburyGorilla:8weeks,5millionviews,30%abovetheindustryaverage,increasedsalesby7%.

However,nosurethingthatyourcontentwillcatchon.

WhatisSpreadableMediagoodfor?Longertermbenefitsratherthanshortterm.

Generateactivecommitmentfromaudience Empoweraudience,includetheminthesuccessoftheproduct Onlineword‐of‐mouth Reachingniche,highlyinterconnectedconsumers Reachingouttoaudience,goingtowheretheyare,and

reachingoutinawaytheyvalue.

It’safunnyparadoxthattheInternetisthefastestwaytofindstuff,yettheslowesttospreadaproduct.Ofcourse,that’sbecauseit’sgettingmodifiedandchanged,whichtakestime,butendsupreachingalotofdifferentaudiencesintheend.Ifyoucanmakepeoplebeapartofthesuccessofyourproduct,it’sgoingtoestablishanidentitywiththatproduct.Everyonelikesbeingassociatedwithawinner–ifyouraudiencefeelslikethey’veplayedanactiveroleinmakingyouawinner,you’vejustaccomplishedtwohugeaccomplishmentsinonemove.

WhatcanSpreadableMediado?

1. Expandandintensifycustomerawareness,transformperceptions,andreaffirmabrand’splaceinconsumer’slives

2. Expandrangeofpotentialmarketsbyhittingnichemarkets

3. Intensifycustomerloyaltybyincreasingemotionalattachment

4. Expandshelflifeofexistingmediacontent(likeinthecaseofretrobrands)

WhohasthemosttogainfromSpreadableMedia?Thosecompanieswho:

Havelowpromotionalbudgets Wanttoreachthenicheaudiences Wanttohitthe“LongTail”withtheirmessage Wanttobuildstrongemotionalconnections Don’thavewellestablishedbrandmessages Aren’tconcernedaboutlosingcontrolovertheirintellectual

property

Basically,whatitlookslikeisthatupstartshavethemosttogainfromspreadablemediaastheydon’thaveasmuchtolose.It’sdangerousinthatthere’snoguaranteeyourmessagewillbespread,asit’suptotheconsumertodeemanyworththereisinit.However,ifyoucandoitright,youcanreachalotofpeopleinameaningfulwayforafractionofthecostofanexpensiveTVcampaign.Creativityandunderstandingofyouraudienceiskey.

Sowhat’sright?StickyorSpreadableMedia?

Ultimately,someofthemostsuccessstoriesarecomingfromahybridofthesetwoworlds:someformofmarketinginadistributednetwork

o MeYoucellphonemediasharing:userscanreceivecertaincontentfromMeYouandfriendsforfree,butothercontentrequiresdirectpayment

o SonyBMGisnowoptingforasystemthatembracesprofitsharingandbuildingstrongercollaborationswithfans…peoplecanpostmusicofcopyrightedcontent,butalinkmustgototheoriginalsiteanditcan’tbe“embeddable”

o ThesecompromiseshaveincreasedtraffictoSony‐BMGsiteswhilenolongertreatingfansascriminals

MarkPesce:BritishandAmericanTVisenjoyinginternationalcommercialsuccessbecauseofmassiveonlinecirculation…itendsuppromotingcontent,increasinginterest.

“Wehavetodealwiththeworldasitis,notaswe’dlikeittobe”…whereanyprogramormediacontentcanbeinfinitelyandimmediatelyavailableanywhereintheworld,theonlyedgecompanieshavecomesinentrepreneurshipandinnovation

Peoplewanttohaveactiverolesandarehavingthemwithorwithoutcompanies’involvement–that’stheGroundswell–sobygivingthepeopleopportunitiestouseandshapeourtexts,weareinsertingourselvesintotheGroundswell.

FinalThought:“Companiesarelosingcontroloverdistribution,butaregainingthevalueofeachuser’spersonalties”

Whatitcomesdowntoisthatspreadablemediaistheacknowledgementofthecompanythattheycan’tforceamessageintoanaudience,andthey’dbebetteroffembracingtheconsumer’sabilitytodeterminewhat’sworthwhilebyprimingtheirmaterialtobefoundtobeworthwhile.Becreative,giveyourcontentreasonstobecaredabout,andletpeopletalkaboutandspreadyourproduct.Yourbrandwillbereachmorepeopleand,byallowingpeopletointeractivewithit,itwillhaveabetterchanceofbuildingemotionalattachmentandloyalty.

KnowingYourInteractiveAudienceandWhatMakesEffectiveUserExperienceDesign

SECTION1Samplingaudienceapproachesbyexpert

Takeaway:Lookingatexpertanalysisisagreatwaytolearnaboutthedevelopingfield.Hereareafewexamplesofwhatthoseexpertsaresaying.

Competitivebenchmarking–Studyingworkofothersinyourfield;selectpeopletofollowandreadwhatthey’resaying.Thekeyistoalwaysadapttotheevolutionofusesandgratificationsofusersandhowtheycanbereached

PowerLawofParticipation

Participation in communities plotsalong a power law that starts at lowthreshold participation (reading,tagging) and ends in high thresholdparticipation (moderating, collab‐orating); the higher the threshold, themore it engages with the communityandcreatesacollectiveintelligence.

RuderFinn:Theintentindex–lunderscoresthatpeople’sonlinebehaviorisbetterexplained and understood by similatrities in intent rather than bydemographicdifferencesbetweenthem.Thismeanslookingatwhypeopleusetheinternetandkeepinguptodatewiththesereasons.Ifweknowthesethings,thenwecanknowwhattoprovideouraudiencewith.

Maki(aphilosophystudentfromablogcalled“DoshDosh”):

• In marketing and advertising, we must proactively define our targetaudience.

• Constructing a general profile of you audience allows you to betterunderstandwhatthescopeofyourcontentshouldbe,thesite’susability,marketingcampaigns,etc.

Twomethods:

1. StasticalAnalysis• Visitorloyalty,bouncerate,receny,timeonsite–givea

senseofavisitor’slevelofengagement,gaugeenthusiasm• VisitorLocation–allowsyoutomakeculturalassumptionsof

yourvisitors• Visitorsearchterms/keyworks–showswhatpeopleare

lookingfor,whatisbringingthemtoyoursite• Trafficsource–wherearepeoplecomingfrom?Showsyou

what’sworkingintermsofbringingpeopletoyoursite.

2. DataCollection• Polls• Surveys• On‐siteUserFeatures–allowuserstocreateprofilesor

favorite/rateblogposts• AudienceFeedback–monitorfeedbackchannelssuchas

comments,emails,icomingbloglinks

Remember:segmentandcompareyourfindingsoveraperiodoftime.Thiswillallowyoutoconstructabetterunderstandingofyouraudiencesoyoucanbetteraddresstheirneeds!

SteveBaty–Personas

Personasarearchetypalrepresentationsofaudiencesegmentsthatdescribesgeneralcharacteristicsthatleadtothatsegment’sneedsandbehaviors.Theyareusuallyrepresentedbyadetailedprofileofamadeuppersonfromthatgroup.

Whyshouldweusethem?

1. Theyallowustodeterminewhataproductshoulddo2. Allowustocommunicatewithstakeholdersanddesigners3. Theyallowustobuildconsensusandcommitmenttothe

design4. Theallowustomeasurethedesign’seffectiveness5. Theyallowustocontributetootherproduct­relatedefforts

(marketing,salesplans)

Howdowedeterminethem?

1. Surveys–quick,cheap,butoftentimesnotenoughtogiveanoverallaccurateassessment

2. EthnographicResearch–akaobservationalresearchtechniques;timeintensive,butallowsforrealinsightintoanaudienceforaproductorservicewe’redesigning

3. Interviews–allowsflexibilitytoexploreideasandmotivationsthataren’taccessibletoanobserver

4. ContextualInquiries–participantsexplaintheiractionsandthoughtsastheyworkthroughataskoractivity

5. WebAnalytics–letsuslookatwhathappenswhenpeoplevisitoursite;tellsusonlyaboutthosewhoarealreadyusingoursite,though.

Tip:ToddZakiWarfel‐Allowsomeoneyouknowpersonallyasanexampleforeachpersona,someoneyoucancallandaskquestions;makeseachpersonamorerealandapproachablefortheteam

Sowhat’sthepoint?Bycreatingpersonas,wecanaddresstheneedsandbehaviorsofdifferentgroupsofusers,ultimatelycreatingagreatuserexperienceforthem–thekeyisgettingaproperunderstandingofwhothoseusersarebasedontheabove.

TheriseofInformationvisualization

AsUXdesigners,wemustknowmorethanjustdesign;inordertocreateproperinformationvisualization,wemustknowstatistics,dothingsprogrammatically,andbeabletofindmeaningindata.Thisisthedatascientist,andbeingonewillgiveusalegup.Inotherwords:

Skill1:Statistics

Skill2:DataMunging(parsingthroughone’sdatabeforeit’ssuitableforanalysis)

Skill3:Visualization

AvinashKaushik:TheUltimateAnalyticsDataReconciliationChecklist

Whentryingtogainaccuratedataonthevisitorscomingtoyoursite,usingonewebanalyticstoolisbest,becausemultipletoolscanhavingdifferingdataresultsduetominutedifferencesindefinitions.However,ifyouhavetohavetwoormoretools,Kaushikhasalistoftroubleshootingmethodstogetthedifferentreadingscloserandthusamoreaccuraterepresentationofdata.

http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2008/11/ultimate-web-analytics-data-reconciliationchecklist.html

EricShoenfeld–hotareaofsearchrightnowisreal­timesearch

• Realtimesearch“tapsintoconsciousness”whileregularsearch“tapsintomemory”–EdoSegal

• Realtimesearchpullsupresultsthataredeemedrelevantbasedontimeliness;ideaisthatitwillsearchtrendsandwhat’simportantinthepublic’seyeatthattime

SECTION2CollectingValuableDataWebAnalytics–theprocessofstudyingdatatounderstandtheinfluenceandpotentialimpactofone’scommunicationsusingsoftwaretoolsthatcollectandassessInternetdata

• On‐siteanalytics–assessmentofwhatpeoplearedoingonyourwebsite• Off‐siteanalytics–measurementofasite’spotentialaudience

Whiletherearemanydifferentcompaniesthatofferanalyticssoftware,therearesomecommontermsamongstthemthatgiveuscrucialinformation.Herearejustafew:

• Hit–anytimeauserrequeststodownloadafilefromyoursite;NOTtheequivalentofapagevisit,aspagesconsistofmultiplefilesthatgetloaded.

• Pageview–requestforafilewhosetypeisdefinedasapageinloganalysis

• Visit/Session–Seriesofrequestfromthesamevisitor• Visitor/UniqueVisitor/UniqueUser–Auniquelyidentified

clientthatrequestsfilesfromyourpage• Impression–Eachtimeanadvertisementloadsonauser’sscreen• BounceRate–Percentageofvisitswherethevisitorentersand

existsthesamepagewithoutvisitinganyotherpagesonthesite• %Exit–Thepercentageofuserswhoexitfromaparticularpage.• Clickpath‐thesequenceofmovementausermakesthrough

yoursiteTokeepuptodateonchanging/emergingtrendsanddata,keepwatchofJoinIndustryCommitteeforWebStandards(Jicwebs)andotherorganizationstolearnofthemastheyaredeveloped.

SECTION3

ConductingUsabilityResearchValidationorVerificationTests–conductedlateindevelopmentcyclestomeasurehowearlyproblemswereremedied,howusabletheproductisagainstestablishedparameters,andwhethertherearenewproblems.

• Mustmeetstandardscreatedthroughprevioususabilitytests,surveys,andinterviewswithusersAmatrixtestdesignletsyoutestaproductacrossarangeofrolesaccordingtodifferentvariables

Testatleastfourorfivepeoplepertypeormatrixcell,eightisprobablyidealforbestresults

Haveusersundergoascreeningquestionnairesoyoucanfindtherighttypeofpeople

Whenconductingobservations:

• Whenconductingobservations,neverdoanythingorindicate

anythingthatwillgivefeedbacktotheuser.Togetaccurateresultsofhowusableyourproductis,it’simportantthatusershaveanunalteredopportunitytofigureitoutontheirown.

• Alwaysmaintainprofessionalconductsothatuserstakethetestseriously

• Havenondisclosureandrecordingconsentformsready

Afterobservation,compileareportreflectingontheresults.

• Groupsimilarproblemsorsuccessesacrossthedifferentusers,notingwhichuserthecommentstemsfrom

• Takenoteofwhereproblemsoccurredandwheretheydidn’t–afterall,thisisthekeytodiscoveringwhataspectsofyourUXareworkingornot

SECTION4Onaudience,participants,andcreator­consumersKeypointsonUX:

• Theemotionheorshefeelsduringtheexperienceisjustasimportantastheproductorservice’susability.

• Ifaproductisaestheticallyunappealing,peoplewillbelesslikelytouseit,nomatterhowuserfriendlyitis;findabalancebetweenaestheticsand

usability• Ifyouelicitanemotionalresponsefromtheuser,yourdesignisdoingits

job.Makeitfeelgoodandpeoplewilllikelycomeback.IntroductiontoUser­CenterDesignProcessThisprocessplacesendusersinthemiddleofthedevelopmentprocess,withthegoalbeingtodiscoverwhattheywantandifyourdesignisfulfillingtheirneeds.Makesureyoursubjectsfitinwiththeprofilesofthetargetgroupyou’veestablished.

1. Defineyourtargetaudience–thisiswhereyoudevelopyourpersonas

2. Usertaskanalysis–identifyandunderstandtheusers’goalsbyestablishingthecurrenttoolstheyareusing,limitationsalternatives,andchangesthatmayenhancetheexperience.Gatherthisdatabasedonyourknowledgeoftargetaudienceandthroughfeedbackfromrealusersandobservationofthem.

3. Createaprototype–anearlyworkingmodelthatdefineshowthesystemwillworkandcanbetestedonusers;abstractonesmaybecheapbutconfusing,whilehighlydevelopedonesmaybeexpensiveandalotofworkforjustatestphase

4. Testprototypeswithrealusers–fiveusersareusuallyenoughtoidentifyabout80%ofproblems;bothconverseANDobserve;lettheuser’sexperiencebeyourdata,NOTwhatyouexpecttohappen

• Savestimeandmoney• Usersaremoreforthrightincriticism• Interactiondesignersmorecreativeinproblemsolving

whenchangescanbemadequickly• Oncedesignsgetfirmedup,thegraphicdesigncanbe

workedon5. BetaRelease–apre‐releaserestrictedtoanumberofusersto

givefeedbackon6. Ongoingevaluation–Afterapporwebsiteislaunched,keep

refiningitbasedoncustomerservicereports,usercomments,etc.

Focusgroups:Strengths–greatforgettingideasonlookandfeelofwebsite;yieldsgooddataonemotiveissues;gatheringuserrequirementsandexpetations

Weaknesses–peopleoftensaythingsthatdon’tmatchwhattheyactuallydo;groupthinkcanleadtoconclusionsthatarenotquitetrueforthewholegroup

Moraeeyetracking–systemthatrecordsuser’smouseclicksandpage

viewstotheuser’sexpressionsthroughoutthetest;alsofeaturesPIPsothatresearchcanconveytheresultsalongwiththeactualclipoftheuser’sonscreenactivity.AlternativeUser­TestingTechniques:broadensthebaseoftheinquiry,movesbeyondtheperformanceofpre‐definedcommontasks.Thisopenendedtestingasksuserstobeasfreeaspossiblethroughoutthetest,navigatingtowhatevertheywant,whenevertheywant.Thisallowsyoutoseerealworlduserbehaviorinrelationtoyourapplicationorwebsite

SECTION5ApplicationusagetrendsStateoftheAppsReport–areportissuedbyWakoopa,aresearchservicethathasanapplicationinstalledonparticipantscomputersthatmonitorwhatthey’redoingawhenontheircomputer.Someinterestingtrends:

• Socialnetworkingusagepeaksbetween9and10PM,exceptforFacebook,whichisconstantallday

• GoogleChromeisquicklygrowing,past15%usageacrossWakoopausers

• Wakoopausersarelikelyearlyadoptersoftechnologyandcouldbeanearlyindicatorofwherethingsaregoing

SECTION6VisualDesignfortheModernWebAsalludedtoearlier,oneofthemostimportantfactorsindeterminingcredibilityofauserexperienceisthevisualdesign.Thefourthingsthatpromoteaudienceengagement:

1. Self­evidence–easytouse,intuitiveinterface,bigrewardforminimalinvestment

2. Speed–mustloadquickly,concisenavigation3. Feedback–giveaudienceoperabilitythatrespondstotheiruse4. Accuracy–projectfreeoferrors

DuringAnalysis,considerthefollowing:

• Clarifygoals• Identifythetargetaudience• Identifygoalsforinteractivity• Determineconstraints• Determinecontent

• Analyzearchitecture

Addressthefollowingcharacteristics:• Physicaldemographics• Culturaldemographics• Computerexperience(knowledgeoftech,favoritesites,surfing

patterns)• Findability(howwillyouraudiencefindyou?)• Computerequipmentprofile(whataretheuser’scapacitiesfor

experiencingyoursite?)• Frequencyofvisits(thosewhoareinfrequentmustbe

approacheddifferently)• Locationofaccess• Competingsites(whathaveothersdoneandwhy?)• Longtermrelationship–findwaystoestablishoneand

maintainitbasedontheneedsofyouraudienceandhowtheywantthemfulfilled

• Planforalternativenavigationsthroughyourwebsites

MoreInteractiondesigntips

• AnticipationDon’texpectuserstogatheralloftheinformation;anticipatewhattheuserwantstodoandgivethemtheinformationandtoolstoaccomplisheachstep

• Giveusersautonomy

Maketheinterfaceopen,givinguserscontrol,butdon’tabandonboundariesaltogether;peoplelikehaveanideaofasenseofrulessothatwecanbemorecomfortableandunderstandthescopeofwhatwe’reengagingwith

• KeepusersawareofstatusandinformationDon’tkeepusersinthedark–givecuestoindicatewhattheusershouldbetakingawayfromtheiraction/theenvironment(trashcanexample–ifoneitemintrashcanmakesitlookedstuff,peoplewillthinkitshouldconstantlybeemptied)

• KeepyourdesignconsistentKeepingaconsistentflowofvisualsandsetofrulesallowuserstomoreeasilyinteractwithyourinterface

• KnowwhentobeinconsistentBevisuallyinconsistentsouserscanknowwhentoexpectthingstoactdifferently

• Alwaysconsidertheefficiencyoftheuser

Theuser’stimeisthemostimportantthingtohim/her.Alwaysconsiderwhatwouldseemtotakemoretimeandenergyversuswhatactuallydoes.Microwaveexample:Heatingsomethingat1:11isquickerthanheatingsomethingat1:10,as1:10requiretheadditionaltimeittakestofindthe0key

• KeeptheusersoccupiedIftheyhavetowaittoolong,you’rewastingtheirtimeandmoney

• ExplorableinterfacesOfferapathofleastresistance,butallowuserstonavigateyourlandscapeinwhateverwaytheywanttoexplore“what‐if”scenarios

• Allowsuserstogoback,undo,andescapeThisencouragesuserstoengage,experiment,andexploreastheyknowtheydon’thavetobesocarefulwitheachstep

• Don’tmakestayinginachore,eitherIfaninterfaceistooconfusing,it’sgoingtohinderuserengagementtobeginwith

• UsabilityandlearnabilityaredifferentthingsInaperfectworld,therewouldbenolearningcurves,butinreality,thereare;infact,wemusthavelearningcurvesnomatterhowusableoursiteis.Youmustdecidewhat’smostimportant,speedofadoptionordepthofusability,butstrikeabalancebetweenthetworegardless.DonNorman:ThreelevelsofprocessingNormalclaimsthatpeopleprocessinputatthreelevels:

o Theviscerallevel(preconsciousness,whereappearancemattersandfirstimpressionsaremade)

o Thebehaviorallevel(thefunction,performanceandusabilityofaproduct)

o Thereflectivelevel(wherethefullimpactofthoughtandemotionsareexperienced)TheidealUXhitsonallthree

SECTION7TaggingTaggingisimportantbecauseitisawaypeoplearecommunicatingonline.Tags

helpguideusasweseekoutinformationandthenshareit;theyhelpusfindnewtopicsthatwe’reinterestedin.EveryonefrombloggerstoUXdesignersusethem,soit’simportanttounderstandtheirfunction. Threefunctions:

1. Informationarchitecture–toorganizeinformationsootherscanfindit

2. Socialsoftware–computer‐mediatedcollaborationandsharing3. PersonalInformationmanagement–organizeone’sown

informationtogetthingsdone

GeneSmith:Taggingworksbecausetagsaresimple,flexible,extensible;theycanalwaysbeaddedandtheycanbeaggregated.RashmiSinha:Taggingoffersanalternativetofolders–insteadofjustorganizingdocumentsbyafoldersubject,youcanaddtagstodescribeinmoredetailwherethatdocumentfitsinwiththerestofyourdocuments.Re‐organizationisassimpleaschangingtags.

Taggingcanalso…

• Organizepeople–peopleinterestedinaparticularsubjectcantagobjectswithaparticularwordthatotherinterestedpeoplerecognizeasrepresentingthatsubject

• Bringabout“socialproofs”–whenusersstartadoptingatagstartedbyearlyusers(suchasonTwitterwhenusersparticipateintrendtopicswiththe#beforetagwords)

• Makepoliticalstatements–I.E.theFreeSoftwareFoundationadvocatingthetaggingofAmazon.comproductswithdigitalrightsmanagementsoftwarewith“defectivebydesign”

Typesoftags:

• Descriptive–whatthetaggedobjectisrelatedto• Resource–i.e.book,video,photo• Ownership/Source–wheretheresourcecomesfrom• Opinion–adjectivebasedtags• Self­reference–i.e.mine,mystuff• TaskOrganizing–i.e.todo,work,forpresentation• PlayandPerformance–trendsandfadsconnectedviathetags

thatdescribethem

Tagscreatefolksonomies–usergeneratedhierarchiesbetweenobjects;thosewhotagdeterminewhatisimportantabouttheobjectratherthanathirdparty.

SECTION8SearchengineoptimizationTwochallengesofSEO:

1. Attractvisitors–yoursitemustprovidehigh‐qualityregularlyupdated

contenttokeeppeoplecomingbackandtoencouragepeopletorecommendyoursite

2. Attractlinksfromothersites–Sitesthatprovideextensiveresourcesattracttheattentionofothers,includingpeoplewhowanttolinktoyoursite.

ImportantbasicstoSEO:

• PageTitle–akawhatdoesinthetitletag,makeituniquetoeachpage;titleshouldcontainbusinessnameandexplainwhatthepageisabout

• MetaDescription–givessearchenginesanideaofwhatthepageisabout;usethistagtosummarizethecontentofyourwebpagewithin160characters.

• URLStructure–createappropriatefilenamesandcategoriesonyoursitesothatit’seasiertoindex

• Navigation–Solidanderror‐freenavigationofyourwebsiteisbothhelpfulforusersandsearchengineindexers.Includeasitemaptoensureevenmoreappropriateindexingofyourpages.

• UniqueContent–Keepkeyworddensityinyoursitearound2.75%‐3.21%

• AnchorText–linkswithinyourwebsite;helpspidersunderstandwhatthepageisaboutbywhatitlinksto

• AltTagOptimization–importantforescribingimagesbecauseimagescan’tbereadbyspiders

SECTION9ImportantthoughtsonUXfromJesseJamesGarrett

• Wearenotinformationarchitectsorinteractiondesigners;weareuserexperiencedesigners

• It’snottheinformationthat’simportant,buttheinteraction.Theexperience.

• Wecreatethingsthatpeopleuse,whichmeanssomethingpeopleengage

with.Therefore,engagementiswhatwe’restrivingfor.Ifnobodyengageswithit,itdoesn’texist.

• Wecanaffectpeople’s:

o Perceptionsbyengagingthesenseso Cognitionbyengagingthemindo Emotionbyengagingthehearto Actionbyengagingthebody(anythingassimpleasmaking

peopleclick)Thisisincrediblypowerful.

• OtherfactorsaffectingUX:o Capabilities–theindividual’scapacityforbeingmoved,ortheir

sharpnessandflexibilityo Constraints–hindrancesthatlimitourabilities,suchasa

learningdisabilityoraninabilityfocusduetorecentemotionaltrauma

o Context–theenvironmentthattheexperienceisbeingengagedin;containsallofthepersonalvariablesthatmakeupwhoweare:personalhistory,personalitytraits,etc.

• Ourroleistosynthesizeandorchestrateelementsinthesevarious

areastocreateaholistic,cohesive,engagingexperience.

• Wemustembraceourroleasaculturalforce:ourjobisrelatingtohowourdesignsmakepeoplefeel,makethemthink;itgoesbeyonddeliveringvaluetoabusiness

• Asshapersweshapethetools,andthenthosetoolscreateexperiences

thatshapehumanity.PutsahugedegreeofresponsibilityontheUXdesigner.

SECTION10Excellingasaninteractiveprofessional

• It’snecessarytobestrongwithtechnologyandwriting,havingapositivepersonality,andtheabilitytobecreative.

• Whatwillmakeyoustandout:

o InterviewingandEthnographyskills–beananthropologistofsortstounderstandandbuildyourpersonas

o QuantitativeWisdom–applyingnumbersthroughaknowledgeof

statisticsandotheranalysistechniqueso Cognitivebiases–understandingwhatdrivespeople’schoicesand

theirworldviewo Constantlyscanningthehorizon–maintainingup‐to‐date

knowledgeandevaluatingnewtechnologiesastheyemergeisveryimportant

• Maintainyourbrand;putyourknowledgeandcreativetalentondisplay.

Makeyourselfstandoutthroughyourownindividualityandimage.Startbuildingitnow.

SECTION11AfewrandomthoughtsonUXdesign

• WebsiteaccessibilityisarequirementYouraudienceisgoingtobeawideranginggroup.Producingatrulyusablesitethatsupportsallofthosedifferentusergroupstoachieveacommongoalrequiresmuchconsiderationtothevariousneedsandrequirementsfromtheget‐go.Thismeansconsideringthosewithvisual,learning,cognitive,auditoryorphysicaldisabilities.

• JohnOwenonTwitterandtheRuleofEffectiveReach

“WhileTwitteristrivalandindulgentformany,it’svitalandrevolutionaryforothers.”TwitterisaperfectreminderoftheruleofEffectiveReach:

Thecontent,audienceandtheabilitytogetthemessagetotheaudiencedictatesthevalueofanycommunication.

Youraudiencemustreceiveyourmessageandperceivevalueinit.

Youmustdeliveryourmessage

• Whereyouraudiencewantsit• Whenyouraudiencewantsit• Intheformyouraudiencewantsit

Inawaythatallowsyouraudiencetoparticipateorrespond

1. HenryJenkinsJenkinsisaleaderintheconvergenceofmediaandcultureandtheauthorofConvergenceCultureandco‐authorofthewhitepaperIfItDoesn’tSpread,It’sDead.HeiscurrentlyProvost'sProfessorofCommunication,JournalismandCinematicArtsatUSC.http://henryjenkins.org/

2. SethGodinAmarketer,bloggerandauthorwhocoinedtheconceptof“permissionmarketing,”whichisaskingauserforpermissionbeforepresentinghimorherwithanad(asopposedtointerruptionmarketing).Hiscontinuousinsightsmakehimagoodpersonforthoughtsonthemarketing/businessworldinadigitalage.http://www.sethgodin.com/

3. BrianSolisSolishasdistinguishedhimselfasapublicrelationsexpertintheworldofsocialmediaandwasoneoftheoriginalthoughtleadersinthecrossoverbetweentraditionalandsocialmedias.HisvisualizationsoftheworldofsocialmediahassolidifiedhimasarenownedfigureinthecommunityofWeb2.0thinkers.http://www.briansolis.com/

4. SteveRubelRubelisanexpertonemergingtrendsandtechnologies,andhisblogisanexcellentresourceforgaininginciteonwhat’sonthehorizon.He’sagreatpersontolearnhowtostayaheadofthecurvefrom.http://www.steverubel.com/

5. JesseJamesGarret

Top 10 Interactive Media Thinkers

AuthoroftheinfluentialElementsofUserExperiencewhichconceptualizedtheexceedinglyimportantideaofuser‐centereddesign.http://blog.jjg.net/

6. MitchKaporKapor,thefounderofLotus,wasoneofthefirsttodecreethatsoftware(andbyextensioninteractivemedia)mustcutacrossdisciplinesofprogramming,design,anduserexperience.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Kapor

7. ClayShirkyShirkyisaleadingthinkeronthesocialandeconomiceffectsoftheInternetandWeb2.0toolsandtrends.Heisoftenwritingorpresentingonimportantdevelopmentsinthisarea.http://www.shirky.com/http://www.ted.com/speakers/clay_shirky.html

8. BenSchneiderman

Ahuman‐computerinterfaceexpertwellknowforhisbookDesigningtheUserInterface:StrategiesforEffectiveHuman‐ComputerInteraction.His8rulesofinteractivityareagreatresourceforcreatinguserexperiences.http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/

9. CindyChastainChastain’stheoriesonuserexperience–specifically,thatadesignhastangibleelements(thosewhichrelatetotheuseofthedesign)andintangibleelements(thosewhichrelatetoemotionalresponseoftheuserandmeaningfoundintheexperience)–areessentialtoaproperframeworkforinteractivedesign.http://www.theuxworkshop.tv/cindy‐chastain‐experience‐themes/

10. JoshBernoffandCharleneLi

BernoffandLiareexecutivesatForresterResearchandwrotetheseminalworkGroundswell.ThereargumentsforembracingthecollectivepowerofInternetusersisanessentialconcepttoWeb2.0marketing.http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/10/winners‐of‐the‐2009‐forrester‐groundswell‐awards.html

1. Groundswell

Aseminalworkinthefieldofsocialmediamarketing,Groundswellpointsoutthecollectivepowerandinfluenceofwebusersandhowcompaniesmustchangetheirapproachtosurviveinthenew,potentiallyhostileenvironmentofWeb2.0.http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/index.html

2. IfitDoesn’tSpreadIt’sDeadThiswhitepaperbyHenryJenkinsandXiaochangLi,AnaDombKrauskopfandJoshuaGreenaddressedtheproblemswiththenotionofviralandhowtoharnessthepowerof“spreadablemedia.”http://www.onlinefandom.com/archives/if‐it‐doesnt‐spread‐its‐dead/

3. TheLongTail:WhytheFutureofBusinessisSellingLessofMoreInthisinnovativebook,authorandWiredmagazineeditorChrisAndersonwrotethisbookadvocatesthatdetailsthebenefitsofamarketingstrategythataimstohitanicheaudienceinsteadoftryingtomarkettoalargerquantityofpeople.http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html

4. HereComesEverybodyClayShirky’s2008bookongroupdynamicsontheInternetexplores,inhiswords,"whathappenswhenpeoplearegiventhetoolstodothingstogether,withoutneedingtraditionalorganizationalstructures"http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybody/

5. Socialnomics

Top 10 Interactive Media Readings

ThisbookbyErikQualmantakesaresearch‐basedlookonhowsocialmediahasimpactedtheworldofbusiness.Qualmanisconsideredaleadingthinkerinthistopicandhisblogcontinuestoaddinsightsonthetopic.http://socialnomics.net/

6. MarketingtotheSocialWebLarryWebber’sbookisagreatintroductiontocommunicatingwithInternetusersthroughsocialmediamarketing,engagingusersandbuildingcommunities.http://www.marketingtothesocialweb.com/

7. InformationDesignHandbookThisextremelyhandyguideintroducesimportantconceptsintheaestheticsandprinciplestoinformationdesign.Thehandbookincludesthoroughcasestudiesandbeautifuldesigns,allwhicharegreatforinspiration.http://www.enspacedesign.com/

8. TheElementsofUserExperienceJesseJamesGarrett’slandmarkbookbreaksdownthevariouselementsthatgointocreatingauserexperience–useability,informationarchitecture,interactiondesign,etc.–andofferslucidadviceonhowtotacklethemallwithoutgettinglostinitscomplexity.http://www.jjg.net/elements/

9. ZeFrank’sblogZeFrank(HoseaJanFrank)isawebpersonalityandhumoristwhoprovidesinterestingobservationsonsocialmediaandexperimentsthatapplytheideasbehinditincleverways.He’sworthknowingjustasmuchforthequirkygoings‐onathiswebsiteasheisforhisentertainmentvalue.http://www.zefrank.com/

10. SethGodin’sblog

Godin’sinsightsareworthenoughtoincludehiminthiscompilationtwice.Histhoughtsonbusinessinthedigitalagearealwaysinterestingandnoteworthy,andheblogsnearlyeveryday.He’sagreatresourceforanyoneinterestedinbusinessandmarketingintoday’sWeb2.0environment.http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

User­centeredIssues

1. User­controlOneofthemostimportantthingstorememberistoalwaysgivetheusercontroloverhisorherexperience.Withoutthisfactor,theuserexperienceisseverelylimitedandhindersthetransferofanylastingvaluefromone’sproductormessagetotheuser.

2. Spreadability/stickinessOneofthemostaskedquestionsofmarketersintheworldofWeb2.0ishowtomakesomethingstickyorviral.Asexplainedin“IfitDoesn’tSpread,it’sDead,”thequestionpeopleshouldbeaskingishowtomakesomethingspreadfromwebcommunitytowebcommunity,asthisishowtruelastingvaluecanbeachievedwithmanydemographicsthatone’sstrategymayotherwiseneverhavereached.

3. UsergeneratedcontentWeb2.0ishighlydependentofusergeneratedcontent:blogs,podcasts,reviews,videos,mashups;allofthesecanaddvalueandleveragetheuniquevoiceofeveryindividualontheweb.Theideaisthatnobodyknowseverything,buteveryoneknowssomething.Ifeveryonesharesthatsomething,theworldbecomessmarter.

4. EaseofUseWhenplanninguser‐experiences,easeofusemustalwaysbeattheforefrontofthedesigner’smind.Ifausercan’tfigureouthowtouseaproductorwebsite,ithasnovalue.Forthisreason,designsshouldbeintuitiveandeasytouse.

5. User­centeredtestingThere’snobetterwaytolearnabouthowone’sinteractivedesignworksthanbytestingitonone’stargetaudience(agroupcalledauserpersona).Theuser‐

Top 10 Interactive Media Issues

experiencecanbestbeconfiguringbykeepingtheend‐user’sneedsandabilitiesfrontandcenterthroughhouteachphaseofdesign.

Industry­centeredissues

1. OpennessInthedigitalagewhereinformationspreadssoquickly,howopenshouldcompanies?Manyclaimthatthere’snouseintryingtohidefromthemassesanymore,asmostlikelyanythingattemptingtobehiddenwillbeuncoveredandmagnifiedbythegroundswell.Atthesametime,theremustbelimitstohowopenacompanycanbetocontinueoperating.Thisbalanceisoneofthebigissuesbeingdiscussedinthefield,butmanycanagreethatopennesstoinformationandofnetworksisessentialtoourmodernwayoflife–andnowthatwehaveit,there’snogoingback.

2. TheDigitalDivideWhiletheworldgrowstechnologicallymoreadvancedeveryday,thereremainsahugeportionoftheglobalcommunitywithoutaccesstotheInternet.Thesepeopleareatriskofbeingentirelyleftbehind,anditgoesbeyondjusthavingaccesstotheInternet;withoutpropercomputertrainingandaccessibleinterfacedesign,thedevelopedworldwillcontinuetomoveforwardswhilethosewithoutadevelopedinfrastructurewillbecomeincreasinglydisadvantaged.

3. AccessibilityAnothermajorissueininteractivemediaisthatofaccessibility.Keepingchannelsopenisabsolutelyimperative,andtheissueofnetneutrality–makinguseraccessfreeofrestrictionsoncontent,sitesandplatforms–fallswithinthiscategory.

4. Beingalways­onHyperconnectivityisamajorbuzzwordintoday’sworkenvironment,butrightfullyso.Wealreadyarehavingtoadjustourlivestoconstante‐mail,textandphonecalls–whatwillwedowhenwehavesomanygadgetsthatareonallofthetimethatourattentionisconstantlybeingdemandedindifferentdirections?Managinghyperconnectivityinan“alwayson”worldisgoingtobeachallengeandmajorissueforeveryoneinvolvedintheweb.

5. Ethicaluseofinteractivemedia

Interactiveandsocialmediaareprovidingcompanieswithalotofgreatopportunitiesforreachingouttopotentialcustomersandcommunities,butthisalsoopensupchancesforunethicalbehaviorinthisinteractivesphere.Posingasusers,deletingnegativecomments,unethicaladvertisingmethods;thereareplentyofplacesforcompaniestogowrong.BeingaresponsibleuseroftheWeb2.0spaceshouldbeoneofthetopgoalsofanycompanyengaginginsocialmedia.

1. Uxmag.com

Thiswebsiteisalwaysagreatsourceforindustryrelatedarticlesandinsights,andtheirwebsiteisprettygoodcasestudyinuser‐experienceaswell.http://www.uxmag.com/

2. Lynda.comNomatterhowmuchtheorywemasterasinteractivedesignprofessionals,therewerealwaysbetoolsthatweneedtolearnandmasterinordertoapplyit.Lyndaisfullofexpertlytaughttutorialsandisagreatresourceforanyone’songoingtechnicaleducation.http://www.lynda.com

3. TEDTherearen’tmanyplacesbetterthanTEDforfindingconsistentlyfascinatingandrelevanttalksontechnology,entertainment,science,design,andworldissues.ThesitefocusesonbringingpresentationsbyfascinatingspeakerstotheInternetforeveryonetowatchandlearnfrom.http://www.ted.com

4. TechCrunchTechCrunchisagreatblogthatdiscussestechnology,social/interactivemedia,andallthingsInternet.It’sagreatblogforkeepingcurrentonindustrynewsandopinions.http://www.techcrunch.com

5. TwitterThepopularmicrobloggingsitealsohappenstobeagreatresourceforinteractivemediaprofessionals,makingiteasiertoconnecttofellowindustryfigures,discovernewideasandkeepupwithtrends.

Top 10 Interactive Media Resources

http://www.twitter.com

6. StumbleUponSometimesinspirationfordesignishardtocomeby,andintimesliketheseithelpstohavearandomslewofvisualstojobone’srightbrain.StumbleUponissucharesource,providingtheuserwitharandomwebsite(guidedwithuserpreferences,ofcourse)withjusttheclickofabutton.http://www.stumbleupon.com

7. “101ThingsILearnedfromIxDSchool”BlogThisblog,operatedbyanex‐interactivedesignstudent,providesquick,easilydigestibletipsthatserveasniceremindersoropportunitiesfordiscoveryforanyinteractivedesigner,rightoutofschoolornot.http://www.ixd101.com/

8. Gizmodo.comGizmodoisagreatsiteforkeepingupwiththelatestgadgetscurrentlyonthemarketandthoseonthehorizon–atechno‐geeksdreamblog.http://www.gizmodo.com/

9. Wired.comWiredmagazinehonesinonhowtechnologyaffectsculture,economics,andsocietyatlarge,andwired.comoffersmuchofthesame.Whiletheirarticlesrangefromtheentertainingtotheinsightful,Wiredalwayspromisesaninterestinglookattechnologythroughaslightlypopculturefilter.http://www.wired.com

10. GoogleAnalyticsThispowerfultoolfromGooglecomeshighlyrecommendedbymanyexistingindustryprofessionals,andatapricetagoffree,it’shardtoignoreGoogleAnalyticsasaseriousoptionforone’swebmetricssolution.Theyevenhavea

comprehensivetutoriallibrarythatexplainshowtousetheirparticulartoolaswellasbestpracticesforusinganalytics.http://www.google.com/analytics/

1. Uses/gratificationstheory

Thispopularmediatheoryhasbeenaroundforawhile,butit’sbeengivenawholenewcontextthroughinteractivemedia.Whenpeoplehavetheabilitytofreelychoose,wecangainnewinciteintowhatpeoplearetryingtosatisfythroughtheirmediachoicesand,inturn,determinehowtobetterfulfillthoseneeds.http://www.jiad.org/article22

2. SpreadableMediaThetheorybehindspreadablemediaisthatthesocialpracticesgoingonthroughoutwebcommunitiesarecreatingnewdistributionmodesforonlinecontent.Whensomeonelikessomething,theytendtoshareitwithafriendiftheyfeelthatthatsomethingcommunicatesasharedvaluebetweenthem.However,ifonecanprovidesomethingthatcanmeanmanydifferentthingstodifferentgroups,onehasspreadablemediaandcanreachbroadandnicheaudiencesforafractionofthecostofanormaladcampaign.http://www.onlinefandom.com/archives/if‐it‐doesnt‐spread‐its‐dead/

3. DonNorman’sEmotionalDesignModelNorman’stheoryisoneofthosethatfollowsthemodeofthinkingthatoneshouldstrivetomakepeoplefeelhappywhenexperiencingyourdesign.ForNorman,agooddesignaddressesthevisceral(whereappearancematters),behavioral(wherethefunctionandusabilityisprocessed),andreflective(wherethefullimpactofthoughtandemotionsareexperienced).http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2005/11/personas‐goals‐and‐emotional‐design.php

4. OnlineCommunitiesTheoryThistheorytriestoexplainthemotivationbehindvirtualcommunities,includingPareto’slaw(thatsaws20%ofpeopleto80%ofposting)andPeterKollock’sthreenon‐altruisticbehaviors–theideathatparticipationisjustasmuchrewardingfortheindividualasitisbeneficialforthegroup.

Top 10 Interactive Media Theories

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_participation

5. SocialNetworkTheorySocialNetworkTheorylooksathowtiesinsocialnetworksaffectthenormsofourrelationships.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_theory

6. InformationTheoryWhilesomeonecomplicated,InformationTheoryisconcernedwithwhoamessageisreplicatedattheotherendofasystem.Ittriestoaccountforsuchconceptsasnoise,redundancyandentropyofamessage.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theory

7. KnowledgeGapTheoryKnowledgeGapTheorystatesthatnewtechnologyandmediaisactuallyincreasingthegapofknowledgebetweenbothhighstatusandlowstatuspopulations,ashighstatusgroupscanusetechnologytoincreaseknowledgeatahigherrate.Theissueofthedigitaldividefallswithinthistheory.http://www.cw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Mass%20Media/knowledge_gap.doc/

8. DiffusionofInnovationsThediffusionofinnovationstheorystatesthatinasystemtherearedifferenttypesofconsumers–thosewhoarequicktoadoptnewthingsandthosewhoarenot.Theideaisthatthosewhoadoptnewthingsquicklyaretheoneswhobeginthespreadofthatthingthroughoutthesystem,sothosepeopleshouldbetargeted.Anothertargetgroupshouldbeopinionleaders,thosepeopleinasystemthathaveparticularinfluenceoverwhatgetsadoptedornot.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations

9. PerceptionTheory

PerceptionTheorybelievesthattheprocessforinterpretingmessagesiscomplextothepointwherepeopleselectivelyanalyzeandinterpretsensorystimulationtomakesenseoftheworld.ThistheoryincludestheFourRingsofDefense,whichstatesthattherefourwaysthatpeopleactivelyalterhowtheyinterpretinformation(selectiveperception,selectiveattention,etc.).http://jjppnetto.blogspot.com/2009/06/communication‐theories‐perception.html

10. TheFunTheoryTheFunTheoryisprettysimple.Itstatesthatbymakingmundanetasksmorefun,youmakepeoplemorelikelytoundergothem.Oneofthisgroupoftheorists’bestexamplesofthisiswheretheyturnedastaircasesituatednexttoanescalatorintoapiano,witheachstepmakingadifferentnotewhensteppedupon.Sureenough,morepeopletookthestairsthantheescalators.http://www.thefuntheory.com/

VisualizationsoftheField

1. WebTrendsMapThiscreativevisualizationturnstheleaderInternetnamesintoasubwaymapbasedontheTokyosubwaysystem.Eachstopisrepresentedbyacompanyorwebsite,andthelinesthatconnectthevariousstopscreateanassociationbetweenthem.ThisvisualizationprovidesanewlookontheworldofWeb2.0.http://informationarchitects.jp/web‐trend‐map‐4‐final‐beta/

2. TheConversationPrismTheConversationPrismorganizesthemyriadofWeb2.0utilitiesandservicesthatarehelpingdrivesocialmediaintoaconvenient,colorfulchart.ThevisualizationwascreatedbyBrianSolis,apioneerofsocialmedia.http://theconversationprism.com/

3. TheElementsofUserExperienceThisfantasticvisualizationbreaksdownthevariousdesignelementsofuserexperience,providingausefulanalysisofhowtheseelementsworkindividuallytocreatetheoveralluserexperience.http://www.jjg.net/elements/pdf/elements.pdf

4. Web2.0ApplicationWorldMosaicTheWeb2.0WorldMosaictakesthelogosof1001differentsocialmediawebsitesandturnsthemintoanimpressivevisualizationoftheglobe.http://www.appappeal.com/web‐2‐0‐application‐world‐mosaic/

5. TheIntentIndex

Top 10 Interactive Media Visualizations

ThisinteractivechartpresentstheresultsofastudythataskedaudienceswhytheyusetheInternet.Thegraphicsuggeststhatonlinebehaviorisbetterunderstoodinuserintentratherthanuserdemographics.http://www.ruderfinn.com/rfrelate/intent/intent‐index.html

GreatExamplesofVisualizations

1. NewsmapAcontinuallyupdatedvisualizationoftheday’snewsthatmakeseachstory’sboxwithintheoverallspacesizedaccordingtoitspopularity.http://newsmap.jp/

2. GoogleEarthJustasmuchavirtualworldasitisavisualization,GoogleEarthhasbeautifullyrecreatedourworldthroughSatelliteimagerytogiveusnewmethodsforusingmaps,findinglocations,andunderstandingspatialrelationshipsinourglobalcommunity.It’staggingandoverlaysabilitiesallowusercustomizationofthevirtualspace,combiningsocialmediaandvisualizationtoprovidenewopportunitiesforunderstandingourworld.http://earth.google.com/

3. NYTFacesoftheDeadThisclassicNewYorkTimesvisualizationpaystributetothosewho’vediedintheIraqWarbycreatingadigitalmosaicofeachsoldier’sfaceoutoftiles–eachtilerepresentingadifferentsoldier.Theresultisasomber,tastefulandelegantvisualizationthatisgreatexampleofhowformandfunctioncanbeautifullycometogether.http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20061228_3000FACES_TAB1.html

4. InternetMemesTimelineThisfun,sometimesnostalgicinteractivetimelinemapseverymajorInternetfaddatingbacktotheweb’sverycreation.Agoodexampleofalotofdatabeingfitwithinasmallspace.

http://www.dipity.com/tatercakes/Internet_Memes

5. “Leftvs.Right”VisualizationInfographicsarenoteasytocreate,especiallywhenthegoalistodepictthedifferencesbetweenleftandrightwingideology,whichmakesthisvisualizationallthemoreimpressive.Beautifullyrealizedandexpertlycrafted,“Leftvs.Right”givesatonofinformationinamanageablespace,makingitagreatexampleofasuccessfulinfographic.http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/left‐vs‐right/

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RaisingRealitytotheMythicontheWeb:

TheFutureofInteractiveDocumentaryFilm

ConorBritain

ElonUniversity

ProfessorJannaAnderson

8/28/09

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Introduction

Thedocumentaryfilmisoneofthemostpowerfulnon‐fictionstorytellingtechniques,witharepertoireforteaching,spreadingpropaganda,andprovidingentertainment.Thedocumentary’smanyapplicationshavehelpeditbecomeamainstayinthefilmindustryeversincethefirstdocumentaryfilm,“NanookoftheNorth”(1922),broughtusintotheexotic,icecoveredlandoftheCanadianInuitEskimos,demonstratingthemedium’spenchantforpowerfullyimmersingaudiencesinthelivesofotherpeopleandplaces.Tothisday,thedocumentarycontinuestogiveaudiencesunique,life‐likeexperiencesthroughfilmwhilemakingprofoundobservationsonculture,politics,ideologiesandpeople.

However,interactivemedia,virtualworldsandvideogameshavebeguntoredefinedocumentaryexperiencesoutsidethecontextoffilm.Interactive,non‐fictionnarrativessuchasthosefoundonNewYorkTimesInteractiveletusersexplorestoriesinanon‐linearfashion,allowingtheusertomovelaterallythroughoutthestoryanddigdeeperwhenheorshewishes.Onemaysaythattheseexperiencesaredocumentary‐likeinnature,providinginformationonreal‐lifeissuesandsubjects,yet,unliketraditionaldocumentaries,theyallowuserstohaveauniqueexperiencebygivingthemchoiceandcontroloverthedocumentary.

Thisconceptofchoiceandcontrolisoftenincontrastwiththegoalsofthedocumentaryfilmmaker;afterall,asfilmmakerSandraDicksonofWakeForest’sdocumentaryprogramstates,adocumentaryfilmmakerisconcernedwiththe“telling”aspectofstorytelling,constructingapowerfulnarrativethroughthecarefultreatmentofhisorhersubject(Interview,SandraDickson,Oct.8,2009).Whenthatpowerishandedovertotheuser–asisthecasewithinteractivemedia,wheretheuserisdirectingtheexperience–theauthor’sroleofstoryteller–and,consequently,theauthor’sviewofthestory–isdiminished.

Thiscreatesaninherentobstacleintranslatingthedocumentaryintoaninteractivenarrative.Whilemanyexamplesofinteractivedocumentarycanbecited,thesearerarelydoneinthefilmmakingtradition,insteadcomingfromplacessuchasartinstallationsormuseumexhibits.Thispaperintendstoestablishanunderstandingofthedocumentaryfilmandcontrastthatwithcontemporaryexamplesofinteractivedocumentary,isolatingthekeycomponentsofthelatterandattemptingtointegratethefunctionsofthefilmmakerasanauteurintothisworkingdefinition.Byanalyzingthetwodifferentapproachestodocumentary(interactiveandcinematic)Iwillattempttoestablishacommongroundbetweenthem.

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TheDocumentaryFilm

Definingthedocumentaryfilmisnosimpletask;themostbasicideaofdocumentary,capturingreality,issobroadaconceptthatitcanbetailoredtofitanydefinitionthatthedocumentarianprefers.AsGallowayetal.pointout,everyfilm,bothdocumentaryandfiction,documentssomeaspectofoursociety’sexistence,capturingelementsofstyle,language,orperceptionsonvarioustopics,tonameafew(325).

Onethingthatcontemporaryscholarsagreeupon,however,isthatdocumentaryfilmdoesnot,despiteitshistoricalconnotations,claimtoobjectivelyrepresentreality.Whilerealityandthedepictionthereofmaybeacommonelementinearlydocumentariesespecially,filmmakershavecometounderstandthedocumentaryaswhatBruzzidescribesasanegotiationwithreality,meldingthefilmmaker’sexperiencedrealitywithhisorherattemptsatunderstandingit(2000).Despitethisacknowledgement,non‐filmmakersoftenstilllooktodocumentaryfortruth,ignoringitsuseofdramaticandemotivefilmmakingtechniques.(Galloway,325‐6).WhileChoirecognizesthatadedicationtorealityisindeedamainaspectofthedocumentary,healsonotesthatitsjobistoservealargercontext,citingVertov’snotionthatthedocumentaryismeanttocapturefragmentsofrealityandcombinethemmeaningfully(44).

Ifwerecognizethatthedocumentaryisindeedacreativeconstructofreality,werecognizethatthedocumentaryalsohasapurposeandinherentgoals.Butwhatarethose?Whydodocumentariansfeelcompelledtocapturerealityandreconstructitforothers?Inotherwords,whatisthemotivationforthedocumentary?

Renovarguesthatadocumentaryhasfourfunctions:torecordreality,persuadeaudiences,analyzeinformation,andexpresssomething,whetheritisanopinion,asentiment,orathought(1993).WhileRenov’sworkisabitdated,hisfourfunctionsofdocumentaryfilmholdtruetothepresentandillustratethatthemedium’spenchantforcapturingrealityisonlyoneofthenumberofgoalsofthedocumentarian.Aston,RubyandLancioniillustratethisconceptusingKenBurn’sfilm“TheCivilWar”asanexample.TheydeclarethatwatchingaBurnsfilmisn’tjustachancetobeeducated,buttobemoved;indeed,asBurnsmentionslaterintheirarticle,hebuildshisdocumentariesaroundhispersonalemotionalresponsetothematerialsusedwithinit(21).Inthissense,thedocumentarianistakingarealitythats/heexperienced–inthiscase,Burn’sresearchingoftheCivilWar–andretellingrealitythroughthelensofthatpersonalexperience.

ThisideasupportswhatAston,RubyandLancionideclarearhetoricalmodelofhistory,whichstatesthathistoryisnegotiablebecauseitisaconstructeddiscoursesubjecttocritiqueandrevision(22).Thismakesthedocumentariananauthorofsorts,astorytellerwhoisdeterminingtheviewingexperiencethrougha

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carefulconstructionofvideoclips.Burnssayshimself,“IfIputthispictureupagainstthatpictureanditcollides,somethingisproducedthatisgreaterthanthetotalinformationofbothofthesepictures.That,youcansay,isthetheoryofmontage.Butthat,tome,isthepossibilityofart.”(Aston,Ruby,Lancioni,23)

TheInteractiveDocumentary

Butwhathappenswhenthisabilityisgiventotheviewerofthedocumentary?Betteryet,whathappenswhentheviewerisnolongerjustaviewer,butacreatorofhisorherdocumentaryexperience?Ifhistory–and,asanextension,realityitself–istrulynegotiable,therearemultiple“realities”thatcancomefromasingleevent,dependingonwhoistellingthestory.IfamassofpeoplewereallgiventheabilitytomashupaseriesofresourceslikeBurnsdescribesinhisprocessofmakingafilm,wouldn’ttheyallproduceadifferentsetofassociationsthroughtheirownmontagechoices?

Inherdissertation“InteractiveDocumentary:TowardsanAestheticoftheMultiple,”SandraGaudenziadvocatestheideathatbyleveraginginteractivemedia,adocumentarycancapturetheinfiniterealitiesthatconstituteourworldbygivingeverybodythepowertodocumentit.Thisideaofan“opensourcedocumentary”liessomewhereontheextremeendoftheconceptofinteractivedocumentary,butitsstarkcontrasttothegoalsofdocumentaryfilmhighlightsthedifferencesbetweenthetwoapproaches.

Thesedifferences,accordingtoGaudenzi,mayexplainthelackofofficiallytitled“interactivedocumentaries”thatcurrentlymakeup(orrather,don’tmakeup)thedocu‐sphere:itsnotthattheyaren’toutthere,butratherthey’rebeingcreatedbynon‐filmmakers(suchasartists,exhibitionists,etc.)whosimplyaren’tlabelingtheirworkasinteractivedocumentariesbecausetheydon’tcomefromafilmbackground.AsGaudenzistates,whenfilmmakersapproachaninteractivedocumentary,theytendtojustcreateonlinejourneysthroughtheirfilm’ssubjectinsteadofpushingthegenreinradicalnewdirections(Interview,SandraGaudenzi,Oct.12,2009).

Thegoalsoftheinteractivedocumentaryaremuchsimilartothegoalsofthedocumentaryfilmitself,butinsteadofaskingjustthementalattentionoftheviewer,theinteractivedocumentarydemandsamotorinputfromhimorheraswell(Gaudenzi,8).Byallowingphysicalinteraction,theinteractivedocumentaryhasthepowertobreakdownthelimitedlinearconfigurationofthefilm,givingusersanopen‐endedpathwaythroughwhichtoroamthematerial(Choi,45).

Meadows’4tenantsofinteraction–observation,exploration,modificationandreciprocation–provideagoodillustrationofwhattheinteractivedocumentarycouldbecome.Documentarieshavelongbeenobserved,butwithMeadow’sfourtenantsapplied,theycanalsobeactivelyexplored,alteredandsharedbyaudiences.The30‐minuteto2‐hourtimeblockwouldbecomeathingofthepast,withthe

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documentarykeptaliveindefinitelythroughconstantupdatesoftheproject,eitherbythedocumentarianorthecontributorsofthedocumentary(thisconceptisreferredtobyGaudenziastheautopaieticdocumentary,andwillbediscussedlater),1whichraisesawholenewquestion:wherearetheboundariesbetweenfilmmakerandaudiencewhenbotharecontributingtothefilm?

TheConflictingNaturesofFilmandInteractiveMedia

Itisinthisgrayareathatwefindthemajordifference(andconflict)betweenthegoalsofthedocumentaryfilmandthegoalsoftheinteractivedocumentary.Documentaryfilmexistsforthefilmmakertotellastory;inotherwords,thefilmmakeristheauthor,whichmeans,accordingtoChoi,thats/heisresponsibleforcontextualizingperspectivesandrationalesthroughstorytelling(45).Essentially,theroleofthefilmmakeristocreatemeaningfromreality(Gaudenzi,5).

However,asmentionedearlier,theinteractivedocumentary,byallowinguserstotakecontroloverthetellingofthestory,threatensthedocumentarian’sroleasanauteurandthushisorherabilitytocreatemeaning(Gallowayetal.,335).Forexample,insteadofeditingalinearfilm,adocumentarianmaydecidetocreateadatabaseofvideoclipsandinterviewsthroughwhichauserisabletonavigatewiththeuseofagraphicaluserinterface(GUI),allowingtheusertopursuetopicsofinteresttocreateaverypersonaldocumentaryexperience.Whilehighlyinteractive,thisisunsettlingtosomedocumentariansbecausethisisinstarkcontrasttotheirgoalasafilmmaker,whichistotellastorybasedontheirlivedexperience.AsDicksonstates,itmayevenbeirresponsibleforthefilmmakertorelinquishthiscontrol,becausewithoutanycontexttothefilm(whichthedocumentarianusuallyprovides),there’sthepotentialforacompletemisinterpretationofthematerialitself(Interview,Oct.8,2009).

Forfilmmakerstoleverageinteractivemedia,theyessentiallyhavetoshifttheirapproachtothedocumentaryitself.Gaudenziexplainsthisconceptnicely:

“(Inresponsetowhetherthefilmmaker’sfearoflosingcontrolthroughinteractivedocumentaryisjustified):They’reright.They’rerightbecausethisisthewholepointofinteractivity.Thisiswhydocumentarymakerswillnotbeabletodointeractivestuff,becausetheycomefromalogicthatmakesthemwanttogiveamessage.Theyneedcontrol.Ifyouwanttogiveamessageandyouwanttogiveastory,thentheonlywaytodothatisthroughalineardocumentary.Ifyouraimisnottogiveyourpointofviewbuttocreateanexperience…youcoulddoaninteractivedocumentary.Theinteractivedocumentaryisnottheretoportrayonemeaning.Itonlyworksifthereisacertainleveloflossofcontrol.”(Interview,SandraGaudenzi,Oct.12,2009)

1Ofcourse,thisrequiresreassertingthatthedocumentaryhasneverstrivedtoexistasanobjectivemedium,andthereforesuchsubjectivethingsasmodificationandreciprocationshouldn’tbedeniedfromthedocumentaryworldonthebasisoftheirpotentialinaccuraterepresentationsofreality(Gallowayetal.,328)

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Thedocumentaryisusedtotellonepointofview(thedocumentarian’s),whereastheinteractivedocumentaryhasthepotentialtotellmany.Toaddinteractivityistolosecontroloverthefilm’smeaning,andformanyfilmmakers,thissimplyisn’ttheirgoal.Authorshipisaninherentgoalofdocumentaryfilmthatdocumentariansarehavingtroublereconsilingwithinteractivemedia.

Whiletheissueofauthorshipisamajorissuethat’spreventingtheInternetfromkeepingdocumentaryfilmandinteractivenarrativefromsyncingup,thisdoesn’tmeanthatfilmmakersaren’tutilizingtheInternetatall.DocumentariesarefindingawholenewmethodfordistributionontheInternetinatimewhentheindustryisfloodedwithcompetition(Interview,BrettIngram,Oct.23,2009),anddocumentariansarefindinginteractivewebsitesagreatwaytoincludecontentthatcouldn’tbefitinthefilm(Interview,SandraDickson,Oct.8,2009).

However,thereareafewtechnicalandbureaucraticproblemswiththisapproachtointegratingtheInternetwiththedocumentary.Onthebureaucraticside,filmmakersoftensacrificetheabilitytoscreenfilmsatfestivalsiftheyhosttheirfilmonline,forcingthemtomakeadecisionbetweenrunningthelucrativefestivalcircuitorallowingthefilmtoexistonline.Asaresult,theInternetisusuallyalastresortforfilmsasaplacefordistributiononcetheyarenolongereligibleforthefestivalcircuit(Interview,SadieTillery,Oct.22,2009).

Meanwhile,onthetechnicalside,themainproblemisthatthislimiteduseof

theInternettriestoputapassivemediumintoaninteractiveplatform.TherearedifferencesinhowpeopleusetheInternetandhowtheywatchfilms:asfilmmakerBrettIngramstates,“it'sdifficulttopreservethetruefilm‐likeexperienceontheWeb.Thetinyscreenandcompressedimageisnowherenearaspowerfulasthelargerscreenexperience,andseeingfilmswithanaudienceisevenmorepowerful.”(Interview,Oct.23,2009).Assuch,Internetusersaregoingtohavedifferentattentionspansthanpeoplewhoareknowinglygoingtothetheatertowatchanhourandahalffilm(Interview,SadieTillery,Oct.22,2009).

Theseemingconsequenceofthesefactorsisthattheinteractive

documentaryisinastalemate.FilmmakershavelittleincentivetoturntheirfilmintoaninteractiveprojectasdoingsowouldlimititsdistributiontotheInternet,wouldrelinquishauthorialcontrol,andmaylessentheimpactofthefilmduetothesmallscreenexperience,allofwhichgoagainstthenatureofthefilmmaker.Furthermore,documentaryfilmsaren’tlikelytoholdaudienceattentionaswellduetothenatureofhowpeopleusetheInternet.Unlessthere’ssomedegreeofinteractivity,itsimplydoesn’tmakesensefromtheInternetuser’spointofviewtowatchalineardocumentaryonline(unless,ofcourse,they’reactivelyseekingthatfilmout).Gallowayetal.suggestthatmuchofthefailureinthepartofinteractivefilmingeneralcanbeappointedtohighaudienceexpectationsofthemediumthatareunfulfilledduetolimitedtechnicallycapabilitiesandaspirations;fortheinteractivedocumentarytosucceed,audiencesneedabettermeldingof“interactive”and“film”(336).

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Butwhyshouldwebesoconcernedwithintegratingthedocumentaryfilm

withinteractivemedia?Iftheyreallyaresoconflicting,whyshouldn’tweleavethemtoleadtheirseparatelivesintheirrespectivemediums?Inshort:becausetheyneedeachother.TheCaseforAuthorship

InablogpostcriticalofSecondLife,AlanGrahampointstoamajorprobleminherenttothevirtualworld:it’sincrediblyboring.

“AlotofpeopleaskmewhatIthinkaboutSecondLife.I'mnotgoingtopullanypunches.It'sboring.Really…really…boring...Whilethereareno"rules"andtheworldislargelycapableofanythingtheuserswishittobeordo…itisthatlackofstructurethatmakesmenotcare.Itsimplyisn'tenoughtobuyapieceofvirtuallandandputsomethingonit.Withoutstory,withoutmythology,withoutalivingandprogressingnarrative…withoutgoalsanddreams…what'sthepoint?”(Graham,“WhatSecondLifeShouldLearnfromMyst”)

Graham’sobservationperfectlyillustratestheneedforperspectiveinaninteractiveexperience.Withoutit,theusermayquestionwhyheorsheshouldbeinteractingwithitinthefirstplace.ThisideaissimilartoacriticismGaudenzihasofinteractivedocumentariesthatrelytharrelytomuchontheuser’swillingnesstoexploreforlearning’ssake.Simplyput,withoutaperspectiveornarrative,theexperienceisboring,whetherthedocumentaryisinteractiveornot.

Agoodexampleofthisconceptcanbefoundbylookingattwoearlyinteractivedocumentaries,“BlackFriday”and“BecomingHuman.”TheformertellsthestoryofadevastatingseriesofbrushfiresinVictoria,Australia,whilethelatterexplorestheoriginsofthehumanspecies.Whilebothincorporatesimilarlevelsofinteractivity,allowingtheusertoclickaroundthespaceandexploreinformationofinterest,“BecomingHuman”buildsupanarrativearoundthetopicitself,completewithavideointroductionandincorporatesparticularperspectivesonthesubject.“BlackFriday,”meanwhile,merelyexplainstheeventsfromanhistoricalperspectiveandlacksanoverallperspectiveonthesubject.Itprimarilyusestexttoconveyinformation,leavingoutthecompellingstorytellingabilitiesofsoundandvideo,andthevariousinteractiveelementsonthesitefeeldisjointedinsteadofunifiedbyanoverallnarrative.AsGaudenziwouldwarn,ifsomeoneweren’textremelyinterestedinlearningabouttheVictorianbrushfires,onelikelywouldn’tfeelcompelledtostaywiththedocumentaryforlong.

Thedocumentaryfilm,afterall,worksbecauseofitsabilitytoorganizeastoryinsuchawaythatitisbothinformationalandentertainingatthesametime(Interview,SandraDickson,Oct.8,2009).Gibneynotesthatthepowerofthedocumentaryfilmliesinitsabilitytoharnessthecinematictechniquestoleavecompellingimagesthatpropelpeopletokeepthinkingaboutasubjectafterthefilmends.“Thiscan’tbeexpressedinapaperorinanessay,whichisthebeautyofthe

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documentary,”saysGibney.“It’sanarrativeaccountofreallife.It’srealitythatrisestothemythic.”(Interview,Oct.21,2009).

Meanwhile,theinteractivedocumentaryexistsinamediumwhoseusersarereportedtospendanaverageof56secondsonanyonepage(Nielsen),meaningthatholdingusersattentionisnoeasyfeat.In“BlackFriday,”thereisfactualinformationabound,buttherearenocharacterstorelateto;thereisnocombinationofnarrativeandimagetocompeltheusertostayandleavehimorherwithanylastingimpression.Thepowerofthefilmtotellcompellingstoriesandsendresoundingmessagesisanessentialtodocumentary,asarethegoalsofdocumentingreality,andassuchitiscrucialtothesuccessofthegenreinaninteractivemediumjustasitisasonlinearfilm.

Inthislight,authorshipisnotjustsomethingdocumentaryfilmmakerswanttokeepholdofbecauseoftheirjobtotellstories,butbecauseitiswhatmakesdocumentariessocompellingtobeginwith.Whileinteractivitycanprovideengagingexperiences,unlessthere’sacompellingperspectiveitmayfallshortofitsgoalsasadocumentary.Ifthemediumisgoingtobecomesomethingthatattractswidespreadaudiences,itmusthaveadegreeofauthorshipandperspectivesothatauser’sexperiencewillresultinadeeperandmorepowerfullevelofunderstandingofthetopic.

Sodothemediums’differencesmeantheycan’tbereconciled?Notnecessarily.Infact,manyfilmsareleveraginginteractivemediatohelpprolongthelifeoftheirfilm,creatingwebsitesthatdon’tjustfunctionasinformationalandpromotionalhubsforthefilmbutasaresourceforadditionalcontent,userinput,andcallstoaction(suchasafilmaboutworldhungeraskingfordonationstotheWorldFoodProgram).ThismethodretainsahighdegreeofauthorshipwhileintroducingelementsofinteractivitymoresuitedfortheWeb.Whilesomemaydeemthisaverylimiteddefinitionofinteractivedocumentary,itatleastshowsthatthereispotentialforoverlapbetweentheinteractivemediumandthedocumentaryfilmitself,anditisinthisoverlapthattheremaybehopeforanexcitingfutureforinteractivedocumentaryfilm.

Therestofthispaperwillattempttodeterminethoseveryareasofoverlap,whereinteractivedocumentarycanretainsomeoftheformalelementsofauthorshipwhilealsomakingthedocumentarytrulyinteractive.Inthisway,thedocumentaryfilmisn’tjustabletoexistinaninteractivemedium,butcanbeimprovedbyleveragingit.Thisanalysiswillbeginbyexaminingpriorscholarship’smodelsofinteractivedocumentary.

PriorModelsoftheInteractiveDocumentary

DatabaseSystems

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Along‐standingconceptionoftheinteractivedocumentarycanbefoundinthedatabasesystemmodel.Thefocusofthismodelisontheuser’snavigationthroughaseriesofresourcesorganizedinadatabase.Eachassetistaggedwithmetadatathathelpsconnectassociatedcontentsothattheusercandynamicallytraversethedatabaseinalogicalprogression.Thesesystemsoftentrytotakeinuserfeedbacktohelpcreateon‐the‐goassociationsbetweenassetsinordertocreateatrulyadaptablesystem.

OneoftheearlieriterationsofthisconceptwascalledCyberBELT.Anearlytechnologyinthefieldofinteractivedocumentary(1995),theCyberBELTwasdesignedtoreaduser’seyemovements,reacttovoicecommands,andrespondtousercontrolthroughdatagloves.Thesystemwouldliterallybewornbyviewers,andafteravideoclipwouldendtheviewerwouldbegivenachancetoselectwhats/heviewednext.Thesystemalsokepttrackofpatternsinuserselectionandtrackedeyemovementtoseewhatuserswerepayingattentionto,whichhadaneffectonwhichoptionsweresubsequentlypresentedtothevieweraftereachclip.(Astonetal.,333).

Anambitiousexperimentfromatechnologystandpoint,CyberBELTemployedsometechniquesthatarestillusedinmodernconceptionsofdatabasesystems.Thecombinationoftheuserchoosingtheirpaththroughthedatabasewhilethesystemactivelysuggestssubsequentcontentallowsforauniquecombinationofauthorshipanduserexploration.Additionally,thesystemalloweduserstowatchthedocumentarythroughthepathsthatotherpeoplehadtaken,addinganewlayerofmeaningfortheindividualviewer(Astonetal,333).

Choisuggestsamoremodernexampleofadatabasesystem.Hismodelusesanopensystemthatgathersmaterialintoanever‐expandingdatabase,whereontologicaldatadesignunifiesdifferentmediasourcesintothesamedatabaseofmetadata,essentiallyallowingrandommediaelementstoberecognizedunderasimilarsetoftags.HeusestheexampleofanexplorationthroughapartofBrooklynintime:auserstartsoutonastreetinoneyear,andthroughtheaccumulationofmediaelementstheusercanseechangeacrosstime,focusinonaparticularbuilding,hearwhatBrooklynmightsoundlikein1950,etc.Theflexiblesystemusesmetadatatoconnectdifferentresources,muchlikeCyberBELT,butuserscanalsoredefinemetadatainthemiddleofuse,allowingthemtocreateentirelynewconceptsastheygo.(Choi,51‐53)

ThesystemusesaGUItorepresentrelevantpathwayoptionstheusermaydecidetotake,wherenodesofvaryingsize(relatedtotheirrelevance)representpossiblepathways.LikeCyberBELT,Choi’ssystemallowsfordynamicadaptationoftherelationshipsbetweenmediaelementsbasedonobservationsoftheuser’spriordecisions.InChoi’ssystem,theauthoringprocesscomesinsettinguptheconnectionsandlinesoflogicbetweenmediaelements.(Choi,47‐49)

Theunderlyingideaofthedatabasesystemmodelisthatauserisgivenachancetotraversethedocumentarythroughexploration.Theresultisfarremoved

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fromafilm,buttheuserreceivesanintimate,personalizedjourneythroughasubjectthatmightresonateonacloserlevelbecauseoftheexplorativenatureofthemodel.IntheBrooklynexample,ifauserisabletotrackthechangeofhisorherapartmentbuildingthroughouttime,theresultingexperiencemaybesomethingthatadocumentaryfilmcouldn’temulate.Whilethedocumentarianmaylosehisorherabilitytoshapethedocumentary’smessage,heorsheisabletodecidehowcontentisassociatedwithinitandbecomeacreatorandshaperratherthanastoryteller.

Gaudenzi’sFourModesofInteractivity

Inherclassificationofinteractivedocumentary,GaudenzirecallsNichols’documentarycategories,whicharebasedonhowafilmcreatesmeaningratherthanwhatkindsofmeaningitcreates.Gaudenziappliesthisconcepttointeractivedocumentary,creatingfourmodesofinteractivitythatcategorizethedocumentarybasedonhowitsinteractivityfunctionsratherthanwhatformittakes(Gaudenzi,2‐3).

Overall,Gaudenzibelievesthatthelinearfilmmakerisastorytellerandneedscontrol,buttheinteractivedocumentarymakerismoreakintoagod‐likefigurewhowantstocreatetheworldofthedocumentarybutnotinfluenceit(Interview,Oct.12,2009).SheusesCyberneticTheorytoexpounduponthismetaphorofthedocumentaryasalivingthing,wherethedocumentariangivesthefilmlifebutthedocumentaryitselfissustainedthroughoutsideusers’contributions.Shereferstothisconceptasanautopaieticdocumentary,meaningitisalwaysadaptingitselftofitthechangesinthesystemwithinwhichitexists,allowingittosurvivechangesintechnologyandchangingculturalperceptions(Interview,Oct.12,2009).ForGaudenzi,thisistheidealversionofaninteractivedocumentaryasitcanachieveabetterrepresentationof“truth”byallowinginfiniteviewsofrealitytoexistwithinit.However,whiletheautopaieticdocumentarydoesn’tyetexist,herfourmodesofinteractivityaccountfortheinteractivedocumentariesthatcurrentlycanbefoundinthedocu‐sphere.

HerfirstmodelistheConversationalMode.Inthismode,theinteractivityplacestheuserintoasituationorinteractivespacewheretheuserhasanopen‐ended“conversation”withthedocumentary,continuallydoingsomethingtowhichthesystemreacts.Oneexamplesheusesisaprojectcalledthe“AspenMoviemap,”whichwasnotbilledasadocumentarybutservesasanearlyexamplenonetheless.InthisvirtualrealitysimulationtheusersatinaseatwithasetofcontrolswhichallowedhimorhertodrivearoundavirtualrepresentationofthecityofAspen.Whileasimpleconcept,itillustratestheideaofhavingaconversationwiththedocumentaryasuserswereabletomakechoiceswithintherealmofthedocumentarytowhichitrespondedimmediately,smoothly,andunpredictably(11).Justlikearealconversationisunpredictable,potentiallyinfinite,andflexible,sois

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thedocumentaryinthismode,simulatinginfinitenessinitsabilitytoemulateaconversation(10).

GaudenziincludessimulationslikeTheSimsandotherdocu‐gamesinthismode,pointingtotheseasexamplesofusersbeingabletorepresentrealityandlifeinanewcontextandallowingplayerstogaininsightinwaysnormallyunavailabletothemthroughtheirconversationswiththesystem(12).Intheconversationalmode,realityismeanttobeexperiencedratherthanwatched,wheretheuserbecomesaroleplayerandconfigurerwhiletheauthorbecomesacreatorandfacilitator(Gaudenzi,14).

Gaudenzi’ssecondmodelisthatoftheHitchhikingmode.Theinteractivityinthismodeoperatesasaseriesofhyperlinks,allowingtheusertojumpbackandforth(hitchhike)betweenpre‐determinedcontentathisorherdiscretion.Althoughitisinteresting,Gaudenzipointsoutthatthismodelisessentiallyaclosedcomputation,wheretheuserbecomesmoreofaguesttotheauthor’screatedscenariosratherthanonewhoishavingaconversationwiththesystem(16).Hermainissuewiththismodeisthatitslackofnarrativestructureassumesthattheuserismotivatedbylearningalone,andthattheuser’scuriositywillkeephimorherexploringthroughthecontent(16).

ThethirdmodelistheParticipativemode.Inthismode,thedatabaseisopentochange:viewersdon’tjustchangethestory,buthowthestoryistold(18).Shecomparesthismodewiththatofaone‐sidedconversation:theusercanpassivelyviewthedocumentaryandintervenewhenevers/hewantstodoso.Participationcaninvolve(butisn’tlimitedto)individualshooting,editing,retrievalofvideo,annotatingvideo,commentingonvideo,orratingvideoandcreatingplaylists;interactivityisnolongerjustamethodformovingthroughcontentbutameansforbuildingit.Usersactindividuallybuttheendresultiscollaboration(20).

ThelastmodelisreferredtoastheExperientialmode,wheretheinteractioninthismodeloccursandadaptsinrealtime(22).Gaudenziusesthesocialproject“Riderspoke”toillustratethismodel.“Riderspoke”presentsawayofexperiencingreallife,wheretheuserisn’twatchingarepresentationofrealitybutisactivelynegotiatingitinrealtime.TheuserreceivesaGPSdeviceandabicycleandisdirectedtoridearoundthecityofLondontocertainlandmarksdesignatedontheGPS.Oncethere,theuserisdirectedtorecordhisorherthoughtsonwhatheorsheisthinkinginthatmomentandhowheorshefeelsinrelationtothecityitself.Participantscanthenhearrecordingsofpriorriders,allowinguserstobothexperienceandseetheircurrentsurroundingsthroughtheeyesofsomeoneelse.Throughimmersion,selfawarenessandawarenessofothers,RiderspokeallowsuserstocreatetheirownunderstandingofwhatitmeanstoliveinthecityofLondoninawaythatnolinearfilmcouldeverhopetorepresent(23‐25).IntheExperientialmode,usersactivelyexperienceandcreatethedocumentary.

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Gallowayetal.’sFourCategoriesofInteractiveDocumentary

NottobeconfusedwithGaudenzi’sfourmodesofinteractivity,Gallowayetal.developedfourcategoriesofinteractivedocumentaryaswell.Theirfourcategoriesarethepassiveadaptive,activeadaptive,immersive,andexpansiveinteractivedocumentary.

ThepassiveadaptivedocumentaryissimilartotheconceptoftheCyberBELTsystem,wheretheuserwatchesthedocumentaryandthedocchangesbasedonuserresponsestothematerial(usingtechnologytosensesuchresponses).Theactiveadaptivecategorygivestheusertheabilitytoconsciouslyaffectthenavigationofthedocumentary(similartoGaudenzi’sHitchhikingmodel).Theimmersivecategorymakesuserinputandfeedbackfullyparticipatory,puttingtheuserinsideoftheportrayedworldsothatheorshecanexperiencetheeventsfirsthand(similartotheConversationalmodel).Thisconceptemploystheideaofgamesandvirtualworldsasdocumentaryexperiences,whichwillbediscussedinthenextsection.Lastly,theexpansivecategoryemploysamethodofmass‐interactiontodeliveracommunity‐baseddocumentaryexperience(similartotheParticipatorymodel);inotherwords,awiki‐documentary.(Gallowayetal,331‐335).

Thesefourcategoriesofinteractivedocumentaryarelargelyconcernedwithleveragingvirtualenvironmentstocreatedocumentaryexperiences.Videogameshavebegunleveragingthepotentialforsophisticatedsimulationsallowedbytoday’stechnologyand,indoingso,arecreatingapotentialnewfuturefordocumentaryexperiences.Thislastsectionofinteractivedocumentarymodelswillexplorethemeritsandissuesoftheuseofvideogamestocreatedocumentaryexperiences.

TheDocumentaryGame

Therapidgrowthofthevideogameindustryhasledtothecreationofanumberofnichegenres,butfewmaybemorecontroversialthantheadventofdocumentarycomputergames,called“seriousgames.”Thepurposeofthesesimulations,unlikemostvideogames,isfirstandforemostineducation,training,orpoliticsthatgobeyondentertainmentpurposes(Raessens,215).

Theprimarygoalofthe“docu‐game,”asit’softencalled,istoexposeplayerstopasteventsandstrivefor“facticity”–therealmwheresomethingis“realenough”thatusersallowthemselvestotakeawaymeaningfromthegameandapplyittotheirownreality.(Raessens,215).Butcanavideogametrulyprovidemeaningfulinsightonreal‐lifeevents?Proponentspointtothedocu‐game’sdedicationtorebuildingthecomplexityofreal‐lifeexperiencesbysimulating“feel,moraldecisionsandthesensory,”leavingtheplayerwithasenseofasituationthats/heotherwisewouldn’thavehadachancetoexperience(Raessens,215‐216).Gallowayetal.arguethatthereareenoughparallelsbetweendocumentaryandthegoalsof

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thedocumentarygametoconstituteafaircomparison,andwherethevideogamehasaninnateabilitytobuildengagingstoriesandcharacters,itlendsitselftoeasilyimmersingtheplayerinthesimulation(329).

Oneofthemostcontroversialexamplesofthedocumentarygameoccurredwiththereleaseof“JFKReloaded,”agamethatputtheplayerintheroleofLeeHarveyOswaldwiththetaskofassassinatingthepresident.Ascruelasthisdescriptionsounds,themakersvehementlydefendedtheirgame,claimingtheirgoalwastolettheplayereitherproveordisprovethelonegunmantheorybyhavingthemtrytorecreateOswald’ssupposedshotsperfectly.ThemakersstatedthatthevideogametreatmentwasamereextensionofpriorlooksattheKennedyassassinationinthemedia,evenclaimingthatwhileOliverStone’sacclaimedfilmversionofthesituationexploitedthetruthbyobfuscatingitwithaconspiracytheory,theirgamemerelyaimedtoexplorethesituationbyusingtechnologytotryandreenacttheWarrenCommission’saccountofwhathappened(Gallowayetal.,329;Raessens,214).Inhisattempttodefendsuchdocu‐gamesashavinglegitimateplacesintheworldofdocumentary,Raessensarguesthat,ifnothingelse,gameslikeJFKReloadedopenupdiscussionandgetpeopletalkingabouttheissue,and,heasks,isthisnotoneofthegoalsofdocumentary(223)?

Yetmanypeoplefindissuewiththedocu‐game,proclaimingthatasimulationcan’tpossibilityrepresentrealityandthatthere’snoaccuracyintheinteractive–thathistorycan’tbehistoryifplayerscanhaveachoiceinconstructingit(Raessens,219).Raessenscounterstheseargumentsbypointingoutthatdocumentaryhasalwaysbeenacreativetreatmentofreality,arguingthatthere’sneverbeena“real”objectivehistory(221).

However,thisopensupaseriousdiscussionaboutwhatis“real”indocumentary.Peopleareoftenconcernedwithansweringwhatisrealornot,butAston,RubyandLancionipointoutthatwhilehistoryisoftenaconstructionbasedinsubjectivity,ourquestionofthedocumentaryshouldn’tbe“wasitreal”but“couldithavebeenreal?”SadieTilleryoffersasimilarstatement:

“Ithinkpeoplegethunguponthisideathatdocumentaryhastobereal;Idon’tknowwhatrealis;onceit’shitsomeone’slensandespeciallyonceithitstheeditingtable,it’sallformulated;it’sallbeenprocessedthroughanopinion…insomecasesthesegamesareprojectingwhatmighthappen,suchasinadocumentarygameonglobalwarmingthatshowswhatmighthappenoverfouryears,theremightbefootagethat’sincludedandalsofootagethat’sfakedtoshowwhatmighthappen,butI’msurethatit’srootedinresearchthatwouldalsogointothemakingofadocumentaryfilm.”(Interview,SadieTillery,Oct22,2009).

Thus,ifonecanbecomfortablewiththefactthatdocumentaryfilmhasalwayshadadegreeofbias,interactivedocumentaryshouldn’tbeanymoreconcerningthanadirector’screativetreatmentofreality(Gallowayetal.,335).

Thisdoesnotmeanthatthedocu‐gameshouldberegardedwithoutahealthydegreeofskepticism,however.Raessensadmitsthatdocu‐gamesmusthavesomedegreeofentertainmentvaluetobeeffective(223),sowhathappensifthe

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entertainmentvaluesupersedesthedocumentingvalue?AsDicksonwarns,there’saninherentdangerinvirtualworldsinthatthereisapreoccupationwiththeentertainmentvalueoftheexperience,andtomakethatengagingalotoflibertiesontruthmaybetaken.Iftheentertainmentvaluesupercedesthegoalsofthedocumentary,thegamehasundergoneatotallydifferentmissionthanthatofthedocumentaryfilmandentersasevereethicalgrayarea(Interview,Oct.8,2009).

Ifwecanaccept,though,thattherecanbelegitimatedocumentaryexperiencestobehadinvirtualreality,therearesuddenlyanumberofdoorsthatareopeneduptothedocumentarian.TheeducationalusesofSecondLifehavebeenchronicledbefore([Videofile],“EducationalUsesofSecondLife”)buthasthedocumentarianevertriedtoleveragethevirtualworldtocreateinteractivedocumentaryexperiences?Or,ifasAprilWaltonoftheDukeCenterforDocumentaryStudiespointsout,themediumisstilltooobscuretothepointthatitwouldgetinthewayofthemessage(Interview,Sept.30,2009),whataboutinavirtualworldenvironmentwherethelinesbetweenrealandfakeareblurredbeyondthepointofdistinction?

ThisisalreadystartingtooccurwithGoogleEarthAwarenessOverlays([VideoFile],“AwarenesswithGoogleEarth”),whereuserscandrawattentiontoissuesbycreatingmultimedialayersoverthegeographiclocationinGoogleEarthwheretheissueisgoingonintheworld.Thisfeatureallowsusersto“traverse”theissuein3Dspace,givingthemaperspectiveonthesubjectthatcanonlybeprovidedthroughexploration.Astechnologycontinuestoimprovetherealismofsimulations,thepossibilitiesforsimilarprojectsareenticing.

TheGapBetweenTheRealandtheDocumentary

Butthisinitselfraisesanotherquestionaboutthenatureofthedocumentary.Whyisthereacompellinginterestinmakingasimulationseemreal?Ifwe’veestablishedthatweknowadocumentaryisnotnecessarily“real”butcanstilloffervaluetoourunderstandingoftheworld,whyisitimportantthatitatleastappearso?Afterall,wewouldbehard‐pressedtoviewacartoonasadocumentary,evenifitdidclaimtodocumentsomething.Raessenssuggeststhatwhileadocumentarygamemightnotbereal,byseemingsoitcanstillprovidesomeformoftherapeuticreliefbyrelievingthetensionofthedocumentedconflictwithinsightandtheseeminglyrealexperienceofthegame(222).

However,Iwouldarguethatinanydocumentary,regardlessofthemedium,theviewer’sexperienceisalwaysonestepremovedfromtherealitythatthedocumentarianexperienced.Ofcourse,thisisinherenttothemedium,foriftherewerenodistancebetweenthetwo,thenitwouldsimplybealivedexperiencewithoutanydocumentedperspective.However,Ibelievethatthesmallerthegapbetweenaudiencerealityanddocumentarianreality,themore“real”thedocumentaryexperiencebecomes.Choiarguesthatinteractivitycanreducethegap

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betweenthesetwopolesindocumentaryculture,betweenuserandproducer,productionandreproduction,andauthoringandactofinquiry(44).Ifthisisso,interactivityitselfhasthepowertoincreasetheperceptionofrealnessinthedocumentary,which,inturn,wouldleadtoanincreasedeffectivenessinengagingtheuserwithone’sproject.

Forexample,ifadocu‐gamehadverypoorgraphics,physics,andreal‐worldmechanics,thegapbetweenrealityandaudiencemaybetoolargeforpeopletotakethegameseriouslyasadocumentary.However,ifthatgamehadhighlyrealisticportrayalofthesethings,audiencesmaybemorelikelytotranslatesomeofthatgame’smessageintoreal‐worldknowledge.Similarly,ifadocumentaryfilmusedscriptedscenesandinauthenticdialogue,theviewerisgoingtodisengagehimorherselffromtheexperience.Shorteningthisgapthroughthesimulationofrealitywouldbeapowerfulauthoringtoolfordocumentarians.2

Butit’snotjustapplicabletodocu‐games.Theideaofinteractivemediabeingabletoshortenthegapbetweenproduceranduserispromisingforanydocumentarianlookingtoincreasetheengagementoftheirstorytelling.Butwhathappensifthegapisdecreasedtoomuch?Isitpossiblethatthedocumentarycouldlosevalueifitgoestoofarinachievingrealism?

Whilethedocumentaryattemptstodecreasethegapbetweenthefilmandreality,togetridofthegapentirelywouldbetoeliminatethecontextualizingnatureofthemedium.AsSandraGaudenzipointsout,ifthemedia’spurposeistohelpmediatereality,whenallperspectiveiserasedfromthedocumentary(aswouldbethecasewheretherewasnogapbetweenrealityandthedocumentary)thepurposeofthedocumentaryislost(Interview,Oct.12,2009).Inotherwords,asthe“perceivedreality”ofthedocumentaryapproaches“reality,”itsmessageincreasesinimpact,butassoonasitcrossesthethresholdintobeing“tooreal,”itnolongercarriesanymessageatall.

Thiscreatesasituationwheredocumentaryfilmmakinghastwopotentiallyconflictinggoals:tobothheightentherealityofthedocumentarythroughobjectiveobservationandtocommentuponrealitytomakecontextualsenseofit.However,asdocumentarianAlexGibneyargues,thisiswhatmakesdocumentarysuchapowerfulmedium:

2ThisisnottomeanthatI’madvocatingtryingtofoolone’saudiencebyportrayinginauthenticmaterialasreality.Isimplyamsayingthatwheredocumentaryfilmisasubjectiveconstructofreality,itdoesn’tneedtoprove“thishappened”butrather“thishappenedasIsawitthroughmycameralens,”andifanythingisfaked,itwon’tsatisfythatlastrequirementfromanethicalstandpoint.I’msimplysayingthatinteractivemediamayinfactbringtheaudienceclosertothedocumentarymaterialinawaythatlinearfilmcannot,andinthiswaythegapbetweentheperceivedrealityandthedocumentarian’srealityisshortened.

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“Asdocumentarians,there’sabeautifultensionbetweenthosetwoimpulses[tosimplyportrayrealityandtocommentuponit].Youdon’twanttocontrolthedocumentarybecausetherealityissomagnificentbut,atthesametime,[documentarians]arenotjustobservers.There’sanangleonthematerial…thatrichtensionsisgreat.AlfredHitchcockoncesaid,“InfeaturefilmsthedirectorisGod;indocumentaryfilmsGodisthedirector.”Whenyouwrestlebetweenthetwotensions,that’swhereyougetsomething.”(Interview,AlexGibney,Oct.21,2009).

Findingthemiddlegroundwheremeaningcanbemaximizedandtheaudienceismostengagedistheroleofthedocumentaryfilmmaker,anditisinthismiddlegroundthatdocumentaryfilmandinteractivemediacancoexist.Bycombiningthefilmmedium’spowerforprovidingperspectiveandinteractivity’sabilitytoimproveuserengagementwiththematerial,theinteractivedocumentaryfilmcanprovidemoremeaningfuldocumentaryexperiences.

PreservingtheRoleofAuteurintheInteractiveDocumentary

Inordertodeterminehowtheinteractivedocumentaryfilmcanincorporateamixtureofauthorialandinteractiveelements,itmaybebesttoanalyzethecurrentinteractivedocu‐sphereintermsofhowexistingprojectsmeasureupintermsoftypeofdocumentaryexperienceanddegreeofopenness.

Figure1:Thischartcategorizesthevariousmodelsandexamplesointeractivedocumentarydiscussedinthepaperbasedontheirdegreesofopennessandhowthedocumentaryisusedbytheaudience.

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Theabovechartbreaksdowntheinteractivedocumentaryintotwomainfactorsthatdeterminethedocumentarian’scontroloverthepiece.Thex‐axismeasuresthedegreetowhichthedocumentaryiseitherpassivelywatched(ontheleft)orexperienced(ontheright).They‐axismeasuresthedegreetowhichadocumentaryisaclosedsystem(bottom)oranopen‐ended(top).

Onthebottomleftcornerofthechart,thedocumentarianhasthemostcontrol,asthesystemisbothclosedandviewedbytheaudience.Thedocumentaryfilmrepresentsthis,astheauthorhastotalcontroloverthemessageandhowthedataispresented.Conversely,thehigherupandtotherightonetravelsalongthechart,themorechoiceandcontroltheuserexertsoverthedocumentary’smessage.However,asmentionedabove,ifthegapbetweendocumentedrealityandrealityitselfissosmallthatnoperspectiveornarrativeexistsinthedocumentaryexperience,weareleftwithanunmediatedreality.Thetoprightcorneristhereforerepresentedbyreallife,astheauthor’sabilitytocontrolthedocumentary’smessageisdiminishedasonetravelsupandtotherightonthechart.Whenthatabilityisaltogetherabsent,theuserisleftwithnothingbutanobjectiveobservationofreality.

Bybreakingdowntheinteractivedocumentaryintothesetwoparameters–adocumentary’sstorytellingcomponentsversusitsmalleablecomponents–weareforcedtoanalyzehowthedocumentary’scontentfunctionsintermsofauthorship.Thedegreetowhichthedocumentarianortheaudienceholdsinfluenceoverthedocumentaryistheareaofconcern,andthechartgivesavisualtowhereadocumentaryexistsinthisspectrum.

ThechartindicatesthatanythinginquadrantIIIwillhaveahighdegreeofdocumentariancontrol,asitismorelikelytohavelessuserinputandinteractivity.However,ifourconcerniswithhowthedocumentaryfilmcanleveragetheusesofinteractivemedia,ourfocuswillhavetoshiftupand/ortotheright,wherethedocumentaryislessofaclosedfilmandmoreofanavigateduserexperience.Therefore,forthepurposesofthispaper,we’llwanttoexamineprojectsthatarelocatedclosertoquadrantsIIandIV.3

CaseStudies

WhatHaveYouLeftBehind?

3ThisisthebenefitoftheInteractiveDocumentarychart;itallowsustoeasilycategorizeaninteractivedocumentaryinbroadbutdistinctivetermsofhowitsusedandhowitcanbeinfluenced,andthenallowsustosurveythoseprojectsinourparticularareaofinterest.Ifwewereconcernedwithopen‐sourcedocumentarieswecouldanalyzethetechniquesofdocumentariesthatfallwithinthatparticularareaofthechart.Thechartdoesn’tclaimtobeexact,butitcanbehelpfulincategorizingthebroadfieldofinteractivedocumentaries.

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ThepremisebehindMarianaMota’swebdocumentary“WhatHaveYouLeftBehind,”isprettysimple;accordingtothewebsite,theprojectwasbornoutofMota’sbeliefthateverybody,insomeway,canbeconsiderednomads,constantlymovingthroughoutourworldandleavingcertainthingsbehind.Toillustratethisconcept,shesentout22notebooksthroughouttheworld,askingpeopletosharetheirstoriesofwhatthey’veleftbehindatsomepointintheirlivesbeforepassingthenotebookalong.Afteramonth,thenotebooksweretobereturnedtoMota,whereshethendigitizedthejournalsandcreatedawebsitewherepeoplecouldexploreallofthejournalentriesandcontributetheirownstoriesofwhattheyhadleftbehind.

Mota’sprojectturnsouttobeastrongexampleofpreservingauthorshipinaninteractivesetting.Thedocumentaryitselfisquiteopen‐ended,bothinhowthematerialwasgatheredandhowtheuserinteractswiththematerial,andyetMotaherselflargelycraftsthemessagethattheuserendsupbeingleftwith.Shehasestablishedaframeworkwithinwhichthematerialisviewedsothatanycontentcollectedinthenotebooksandanysubsequentcontentsubmittedbyotherusersisstilldirectingusersbacktoheroriginalthesisstatementthatpeopleleavethingsbehindinmanydifferentways.Ifausergoestothesite,readsafewentries,andlearnssomethingabouthimorherselfbasedonwhatheorshehasread,Mota’sgoalhasbeenaccomplishedwithoutheractuallyhavingnarratedorcreatedanyofthecontent.

ThisispreciselywhatGallowayetal.meanwhentheysuggestthattheinteractivedocumentarianmaymakeupforinhisorherlossofauthorialpowerthroughamoreomnipotentpresence,establishinguniversalparametersforhisorhercontentandtheproceduresfortheuser’sexperience(336).Theauthornowhaslessdirectcontroloverthecontentthatgetsincluded,butbyestablishingaframeworkandtherulesfortheprojectasawholes/hemayretainsomeaspectoftheoverallmessage.

Fromaninteractivestandpoint,thewebsiteitselfisdevoidofanyeditedvideosegmentsandreliesoninteractivenavigationthroughthenotebooks’contents.Inthissense,itisquiteunlikeadocumentaryfilm,andyetitoperatesquitesuccessfullyasaninteractivedocumentary.Peoplecaneasilyenterorexitthesystemwithoutthepenaltyofhavingto“startover”whentheycomeback,yetallowsuserstodigdeepintothecontentshouldtheysochoose.ThismethodsuitstheInternetaudiencewell,andservesasagoodexampleoftranslatingadocumentaryexperiencetothewebwiththeaverageInternetuserinmind.

“WhatHaveYouLeftBehind”isagreatcaseofemployingdocumentaryfilm‐likeauthorshipandcuriositytoaninteractiveprojectthatremainsopenandinteractive,withoutsacrificingthegoalsorvoiceofthedocumentarian.Theresultissomethingthatcouldneverbereplicatedbyafilmdocumentary,butstillfunctionsasthoughitwereanarrative.Itsucceedsbecausetheuserisgiventheperspectiveofotherpeople–facelessstrangers,noless–andisdirectedbyMota(whetherexplicitlyorimplicitly)toturnthesesharedstoriesinwardsandreflectuponthem.

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Thisgoalisascentraltodocumentaryfilmmakingasany,andthefactthatMotaisabletoachieveitsosuccinctlymakesherprojectaprimeexampleofhowinteractivedocumentarycanbebothdirectandopen‐ended.

FilmmakerinResidence

Ontheoppositesideofthechartexistsaprojectthatapproachestheinteractivedocumentaryinmuchmoreofafilmtradition.KaterinaCizek’s“FilmmakerinResidence”documentary,aprojectbornfromtheFilmBoardofCanada,takesamuchdifferentapproachtothedocumentarythanthatofmostfilmmakers.Thegoalofthedocumentarywastocreateamorecollaborativerelationshipbetweensubjectandfilmmaker,makingthedocumentary“participate”withinthesubjectmatterratherthanjustrecordit.

CizekwasstationedatSt.Michael’shospitalinTorontotodocumenttheinnovativepracticesatworkthere,withtheideathatbyhavingafilmmakerdedicatedtoathatparticularcommunity,thatgroupcouldleveragethepowerofthemediumtocreaterealchange.ThisisarecurringthemethattheFilmBoardofCanadahaspursuedwithprojectsinthepast,butnow,withtheexistenceofcheapervideocamerasandeditingequipment,thefilmmakerinresidenceprogramcanleaveitscommunitiesequippedtocontinuemakingchangethroughmedialongafterthefilmmakerhasleft

Thisuniqueapproachtofilmmakingandsomewhatunorthodoxconceptofthefilmmaker/subjectrelationshipresultedinanopenandcreativeapproachtotheproject,asafilmwouldn’taptlyachievethegoalsoftheproject.Instead,“FilmmakerinResidence”becameaninteractivedocumentary,simultaneouslytellingthestoriesofSt.Michael’shospitalwhileadvocatingtheveryideaofthisnewapproachtodocumentaryfilm.

Theresultingprojectisastrongexampleofadocumentaryprovidingafilm‐likeexperienceonaninteractiveplatform.Theviewerisledthroughaseriesofstoriesabouttheinnovativepracticesatthehospital.Theprojectcombinesvideo,audio,textandphotographyinahighlyauthoredwaythatcapitalizesonthedramaticqualitiesoffilmwhilestillallowingforaninteractiveexperience.Thedocumentaryitselfisquiteclosed;there’snoopportunityfortheusertoaddinputorchangethestory.Theonlyinteractiveelementsarethenonlinearnavigationthroughcontent,andeventhenthisislimited,asonceauserchoosesastorylinetheyareforcedtonavigateitinastraightforwardmanner,simplyhittinga“next”buttononcetheyaredonewiththecurrentsegmenttomoveonwiththenarrative.

However,whiletheprojectitselflacksincomplexinteractivity,thedocumentaryutilizestheinteractivemediumquitewell,usingstorytellingtechniquesthatdistinguishitfromadocumentaryfilm.Itschaptersareshortandarecomprisedofvariousmediaelements,withstoriestoldprimarilythroughtextbutlayeredwithaudio,videoandphotographyatthesametime.Theresultisa

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compellingnarrativethatsimplywouldn’tworkasafilm,astheinteractivedocumentaryallowstheviewertomovethroughthepieceathisorherownpace,givingusanewunderstandingofthe“fly‐on‐the‐wall”documentarystyle.

Itisherethattheprojectfindsitsstrengthasaninteractivedocumentary.Bycarefullyconstructingthestoryindigestible“scenes,”theviewerisledthroughacompellingnarrativebutathisorherownleisure.Theinteractivityissimple,butit’sinthissimplicitythatthedocumentaryismorecompellingthanafilmversionofthesamestorywouldbe.Itdoesn’tneedacomplexlevelofinteractivitytoengagetheviewer;thesimpleabilitytoseethesubjectupclosethroughvideoandstillimageandexploreitattheviewer’sownpacemakestheexperiencethatmuchmoreintimate.Theendresultisacompellingnarrativethatisabletoretainahighlyauthoredmessagewhilestillsucceedingasaninteractivedocumentary.Ithasanidentitythatisentirelyseparatefromalinearfilm,andwhileitessentiallyonlyemployswhatGaudenziwouldcallaHitchhikingmodeofinteractivity,itstillpushestheconceptofaninteractivedocumentaryinitscreativemixtureofmediaelementsandstorytelling.

Furtherpossibilities

“WhatHaveYouLeftBehind”and“FilmmakerinResidence”giveustwoverydifferentapproachestosuccessfulinteractivedocumentaryfilmmaking.Theformerreliesverylittleonconstructednarrative,allowinguserstoexplorethecontentandbuildapersonalexperiencefromwhat’stherewhilestillimpartinganauthoredmessage.Meanwhile,thelatterishighlynarrative‐focusedbut,throughitsminimalisticapproachtointeractivity,achievesamodelthatholdsaninteractiveaudience’sattention.

Butwhataresomefurtherwaysthatauthorshipandinteractivitycancoexisttocreatefilm‐likeexperiencesonaninteractiveplatform?Thewebdocumentary“DiamondRoad”attemptstotaketheconceptofnon‐linearnavigationtoanewlevelbyhavingacollectionofshort,editedsegmentsofadocumentarymixedupinadatabaseandallowingviewerstochoosehowtonavigatethroughthem.Afteravideoclipends,thesystemsuggestsafewpathsfortheviewertotakebasedonthetopicofthelastclipviewed,andthisprocesskeepsrepeatinguntiltheviewerisfinished.

Inthismodel,theauthorisabletokeepahighdegreeofcontroloverthemessage,asviewerscan’tchangethecontentofthevideoclips,onlytheorderinwhichtheyviewthem.Italsoavoidstheissuementionedearlierofinteractivedocumentaryrelyingtoomuchontheuserexploringitjustforthesakeoflearning,becausethesystem’ssuggestionshelpprovideanoriginalnarrativethat’suniquetotheuser.Atthesametime,usersareabletouploadtheirownparticularpathsthroughthedocumentarytoadatabaseandwatchthedocumentaryfromtheperspectiveofotherswho’vedonethesame.Inthisway,“DiamondRoad”allows

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userstocomeawaywithmultipleperspectivesonasinglesubjectbyseeinghowothersvaluedandnavigatedthroughthematerial.Newunderstandings,connections,andmeaningscancomefromthesamematerialthroughthesharingofperspectives.

Inasimilarfashion,thebandRadioheadprovidedaninteractivedocumentaryexperiencefortheirfansbyuploadingfootagefromasinglesongplayedataconcertshotfrom12differentcameras.Usershadtheabilitytoswitchcameraanglesasthesongplayedattheirleisure,withthesystemkeepingtrackofwhichangleswereusedateverymoment.Attheendofthesong,userscouldagainuploadtheirparticulartrackandviewthetracksofothers.Byincludinga“mostpopular”categoryoftracks,itraisedthequestionastowhetherornottherewasa“best”waytoviewtheconcert,orifthereweredifferentmeaningswithintheconcertthatcouldbetakenawaybasedonhowtheuserviewedit.Theanswerisuptotheviewer,butbyaddingthiscollaborativeoptionforsharingexperienceswiththeprogram,peopleagainreceivedtheopportunitytogaininsightontheirownperspectivebasedonhowothersperceivedthesameevent.

Intheselasttwoexamples,theauthorsarecreatingthemedia,providingafairlystructuredexperienceandsimplyallowinguserstoexplorewithintheconstructsoftheircreationtoeventuallysharewhattheydiscover.Yetthiscollaborationisapowerfultoolthatopensupthepossibilityfordiscoveringnewmeaningswithintheauthoredmaterial,anditisinthesecollaborativeeffortsthatIthinkdocumentarycanreallyleverageinteractivitytoturnauthoredexperiencesintosourcesforopendiscussionandfurtherunderstanding.

Onesuchexamplecouldbeachievedthroughtheuseoftagging.Taggingallowspeopletoassociatethoughtsandconceptswithobjects,whichcouldbeapowerfultoolforinteractivedocumentary.Beforeexploringthisideafurther,however,IfirstneedtoexplaintheoriginofthescenariowithwhichIwillillustratethisidea.

Inthenarrativefilm“Carousel,”madeaspartofapromotionforaPhillipstelevision,theviewerreceivestheopportunitytoexploreahighlycinematic“copsandrobbers”heistscene.Thesceneitselfisfrozenintime,withalloftheactorscaughtinasinglemomentoftheaction,andtheusercantraversethescenebyfollowingacameraasitdolliesthroughoutthescene,thelastframeendingintheexactsamespotasthefirst.It’sreallyanimpressivetechnicalfeat,butwhat’sstoppingadocumentarianfromtakingthisideaandturningitintoaninteractivedocumentary?

Forexample,ifadocumentarianwantedtomakehisorheraudienceunderstandwhatit’sliketoliveinavillageinDarfurwhereraidsareacommonoccurrence,heorshecouldleverage“Carousel’s”ideaand,withtheaidoftechnology,createahighlycinematic,traversablesceneofthevillagefrozenintime.Byestablishingthepathwayuserscangodown,theauthorisabletomaintainwhatitisthattheviewerisexposedto,whichwouldfunctiontomaintainfocusonthe

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author’sdesiredmessagefortheproject.Atthesametime,ifuserscould,forexample,tagobjectsinthescene,thedocumentarycouldharborcollaborationontheunderstandingofthesceneitself.Peoplecouldtagobjectswithinthescene,askingquestionsabouttheiruse,towhichotheruserswithknowledgeonthesubjectorthefilmmakerhim/herselfcouldchimein.Orperhapsuserscouldsharetheirthoughts,opinionsorreactionsthroughthetaggingofcertainpartsofthescene.Userscouldevenincludetheirownvideoandphotosintheirtags,expandingthereachoftheproject.Ultimately,throughinteractivity,theprojectwouldshowhowonescenefromasmallvillageDarfurisrelatedtogenocideissuesthroughoutthecountryand,furtherstill,theworld.Ifcombinedwithaudioandvideo,thismethodofinteractivedocumentary,whileverytechnical,couldbeevenmorepowerful.

Theextremeendofthisideaofincorporatingcollaborationintoone’sdocumentarywouldbetocompletelyopenupyourfilmtothepublic,showingyourversionofthefilmandgivingusersaccesstoallofyourmaterialstoseehowothersbuildanarrativefromthesameresources.Theprobleminthisidea,however,isthatviewerswouldn’thavetheexperienceofhavinglivedthedocumentaryasthedocumentariandid.Theemotionalandexperientialperspectivewouldbemissingfromthedocumentary.However,itdoesopenupaninterestingthoughtexperiment,andtheresultswouldcertainlybefascinating.Howwouldthisevenbemappedonthechartofinteractivedocumentaries?

Hypotheticalsaside,thepotentialforauthorshipandinteractivitytocomplementeachotherclearlyexists.Whilesomecurrentinteractivedocumentarieshavefoundwaystonavigatethismiddlegroundbetweenhavingauthorshipoverone’sprojectandhavingnone,manymorepossibilitiesexist.Byunderstandinghowcurrentinteractivedocumentariesaremaintainingfilm‐likequalities,wecanbetterpositionourselvesasdocumentarianstofindnewwaysofdoingsoinourownprojects.

KnowingYourGoalsasaDocumentarian

Overall,thekeytosuccessfullycreatinganinteractivedocumentaryliesinunderstandingthegoalsofone’sprojectandknowinghowone’saudiencewillwanttouseit.TheInternetisaninfiniteresourceandthereareaninfinitenumberofpossibilitiesforemployinginteractivityintoaproject.Byknowingone’saudience,onecandeterminehowthegoalsofhisorherprojectwillbestbeservedandinturnhowtobestincorporateinteractivityintoadocumentaryproject.

Taketwoverydifferentapproachestocreatinganinteractiveethnographicdocumentaryasanexample.4Asanthropologistsinterestedinexploringnewways

4Anethnographyisananthropologicalstudywheretheanthropologistimmerseshimorherselfwithinacultureinordertobetterunderstandit.

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toaccuratelyportraytheirethnographicfindings,AstonandRubybothturnedtointeractivemediatoenhancetheportrayalsoftheirsubjects.

However,whileRubytookaminimalistapproachtointeractivity,simplyusingawebsitetocombinevideoclipswithhistextualanalysisandcategorizehisvariousfindingsinanon‐linearfashion,Astonincorporatedinteractivemediatorevealethnographictruthsinsteadofjustusingitasamediumtoexpressthem.Aston,whoseresearchwascenteredaroundhowthewaytheAfricanUdukpeople“uselanguagetoshapeeventsandexperienceintomemoryinordertobuildexpectationsforthefuture”(44),wantedtocreateamulti‐layerednarrativewhereuserscouldviewjuxtaposedaudiovisualmaterialsofUdukpeopletellingstories.Bybeingabletochoosethosematerialsjuxtaposed,startandstopindividualclips,andexaminethewaytheUdukpeopletoldstoriesattheuser’sownpace,Astonbelievedthattheusercouldcomeawaywithanunderstandingofherclaimsinawaythattextcouldnotconvey(45‐47).

Forbothanthropologists,interactivemediawasbettersuitedforethnographicstudybecauseitalloweduserstoexploresubjectsthatinterestedthemmoreindeepercontextsthanalineartextcouldconvey(Aston,48,Ruby10).However,theirvaryinggoalsfortheirrespectiveethnographiesresultedindifferentapplicationsofinteractivitytosuitthem.ForRuby,whobelievedethnographicfilmsacrificedanthropologicvaluesbyconformingtotheconstraintsofthefilmmedium,interactivemediaallowedhimtousevideoinanunrestrained,minimalisticfashionwhich,accordingtohim,ultimatelyallowedhimtoportrayhissubjectsmoreaccurately(Ruby,7,11).Meanwhile,Aston,whowasinterestedinhowvideocouldbeusedtorevealtruthsthattextcouldn’teasilyexplain,usedinteractivemediatoputthepowerofobservationintothehandsoftheuser.Eachanthropologisthadtheirownaimsintheiruseofdocumentaryandallowedinteractivitytohelpservethosegoalsindifferentways.5

Themaingoalofthispaperwastofindhowauthorshipandinteractivitycouldcoexist,andIthereforefocusedonareasinthechartwheresuchprojectscould(anddo)exist.However,ifone’sgoalistodeterminehowtouseinteractiveelementstoenhanceanethnographicstudy,onecanusethischarttodeterminehowheorshewantspeopletoexperienceit.Bythinkingaboutaninteractivedocumentaryintermsofhowitisauthoredandhowitcanbemanipulated,wecanbestdeterminewhatelementsofinteractivitywillmakeourgoalsforthedocumentarysuccessful.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

“Theideaofdocumenting–there’sazilliondifferentideasofwhatthatmeans.Doesthatmeanjustshootingsomethingforpeopletoseeortakingdifferentimagesandputtingthemtogethersothattheymeansomethingdifferent?...That’soneofthegreatthingsabouttheweb.Thewebisagreatforumforunmediatedexpression,

5Notethatwhilebothusesofinteractivemediaarefairlyrudimentary,theyhelpillustratethepointnonetheless.

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whichistheexpressionofanartist,whetheritbeablogorashortfilm,andIdon’tthinkthat’severgoingtogoaway.”(Interview,AlexGibney,Oct.212009)

Theabovequoteadequatelysumsupthepossibilitiesforthefutureofthedocumentary.WheretheInternetallowsforaninfinitenumberofpossibilitiesforexpression,thedocumentarianhasjustasmanyinterpretationsofwhatconstitutesadocumentaryandwhatitcanorshouldbe.Inthissense,theinteractiveforumandthedocumentaryarewellsuitedtobejoinedtogether,astheirlimitlesspotentialscomplementeachother.

However,theinteractivedocumentaryshouldnotbeseenasareplacementforthedocumentaryfilm,butratherasanextensionofit.Bycombiningtheeffectsofauthoredmediawithinteractiveexperiences,theinteractivedocumentarycanbecomeapowerfulnewmediumforexploringthehumanconditionandtheworldaroundus.6

Interactivemediaiscreatingnewopportunitiesforoldmediums,andperhapsnoothermediagenreisbeingreinvigoratedmorethandocumentary.Thegenre’sabilitytoteach,entertain,askandoccasionallyanswerquestionsaboutthehumandramahasalwayscapturedtheattentionofaudiences,andnowthatthebarrierofentrytotechnologyissolow,therearemillionsofpeoplewhoarefindingavoiceintheirownattemptstodocumenttheirworld.Whileinteractivemediaisliterallychanginghowweperceiveourrelationshipwithmedia,theinteractivedocumentaryisprovidingnewopportunitiesforhowtoperceivetheworld.Documentariansnowhavemanyoptionsforhowtheyportraytheirdocumentarybeyondfilm,andthefuturewillprovidemanymore.Butdespitethemanyoptions,oneconstantcanbetrustedtoholdtrueintheworldofinteractivedocumentary:bykeepinganemphasisonthebalancebetweenauthorship,perspectiveandinteractivitybasedonthegoalsofone’sproject,documentarianscanensurethattheirworkwillremainengaging,informativeand,perhapsmostimportantly,powerfulobservationsofourworld.

6Inprovidinganoverviewofthemanydifferentmanifestationsofinteractivedocumentary,

thispaperhasattemptedtopointoutwheredocumentaryfilmandinteractivedocumentaryasawholedifferinordertooffersomesolutionsformakingthetwomediumsmorecompatible.Thisisnottosuggestthatsuchdocumentaryprojectsascollaborativewiki‐documentariesarenotinterestingorimportant;onthecontrary,thispaperhasattemptedtohighlightthebenefitsofacollectiveefforttowardsinteractivedocumentaryandIampersonallyquiteinterestedintheconcept.However,thepaperhasalsoattemptedtoexplainwhyauthorshipisimportanttointeractivedocumentary,andsincethedocumentaryfilmhasshownthemostdifficultyintranslatingtotheinteractivemedium,thistopichasbeenthefocus.

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ANNOTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books and Journal Articles

Raessens,J.(2006).Realityplay:Documentarycomputergamesbeyondfactandfiction.PopularCommunication,4(3),213‐224.

Oneofthemorecontroversialformsseriousgamesisthatofthedocu‐game.Theintentofthesegamesistoprovideanimmersivelearningexperiencethatcombinesboththedocumentarystyleandtheplayofgames.However,gamessuchas“JFKReloaded”and“Survivor9/11”havetouchednerveswithmanypeople,puttingtheintegrityofthegenreinquestion.Thisarticleaddressestheissuesfacingdocu‐gamestodayandformsanargumentfortheirmerit,claimingthattheyachievethegoalsofdocumentarytopreserve,persuade,analyze,andexpress.Additionally,whilemanyclaimadocu‐gamecannotrepresentanyrealworldtruthsinceitisinherentlyasimulation,theauthorarguesthattheserepresentationsofrealityarenodifferentthanthefilmmaker’sreconstructionsofrealityindocumentaryfilmthroughthechoiceofshots,edits,music,voiceover’sandetc.Theseargumentsforwhatconstitutestruthindocumentaryandthediscourseondocu‐gamesitselfwillbeessentialinmyowndiscussionofdocu‐gamesandwheretheymayleadthedocumentary.

Lancioni,J.(2008).TheCivilWar:Abattlegroundofmeaning.Film&History,38(1),21‐30.

ThisarticleusesKenBurn’sdocumentaryontheCivilWarasadevicefordiscussingthevariouswaystointerprethistoricalevents.Intheauthor’sanalysishedefinesthreemodels:TheDocumentarymodel,whichsayshistoryisbasedonobjectivefacts;theRhetoricalModel,whichsayshistorytoisbasedondocumentswhichweresubjectivetothetimeperiod;andtheInteractiveModel,acombinationofthetwo.Thissourcewillbehelpfulforillustratingthevariousinterpretationsofhowdocumentarycanfunctionasamedium.

Aston,J.(2008).VoicesfromtheBlueNile:Usingdigitalmediatocreateamultilayeredassociativenarrative.JournalofMediaPractice,9(1),43‐51.

Thedocumentaryfilmaswehavecometounderstanditisfairlystraightforward:ithasabeginning,middleandanendlikeanynarrativefilm,witharisingaction,buildupoftensionandrelease.However,asthisarticle

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pointsout,sometimesthisrigidmodeloffilmmakingislimiting,especiallyforethnographicfilmmakerswhoaretryingtorelayanthropologicalfindingsthatmustbeexploredatvaryinglevelsofdepthtofullycomprehend.Thisarticleproposesamethodforexploringculturesthroughinteractivedocumentarywheretheindividualnavigatesaseriesofjuxtapositionsofimage,soundandvideotocreateamorepersonalunderstandingofthedocumentary’scontent.

Galloway,D.,McAlpine,K.B.,&Harris,P.(2007).FromMichaelMooretoJFKReloaded:Towardsaworkingmodelofinteractivedocumentary.JournalofMediaPractice,8(3),325‐339.

Thisarticlebeginsexplaininghow,throughoutdocumentary’shistory,thegenrehasalwayshadadegreeofsubjectivitydespiteitsperceptionasadeviceforcapturingobjectivereality.Becauseofthis,theauthorargues,interactivedocumentarythatexpandupontheideaofdocu‐gamessuchas“JFKReloaded”areessentiallyjustanexpansionofthealreadyexceptedpracticeofreconstructingtheobjectivefordramaticandpersuasivepurposes.Theauthorthenexplainsfourpossibleinteractivedocumentarymodels:thePassiveAdaptive,wherethedocumentary(throughmechanicalobservation)changesthedocumentarycontentbasedonhowtheviewerisreactingtomaterial;theActiveAdaptive,wheretheviewerisincontrolofthedocumentary’sprogression;theImmersiveModel,wheretheuserisexploringthedocumentarythroughavirtualworldoraugmentedreality;and,lastly,theExpansiveModel,whereviewersareactuallyabletocontributetothedocumentaryitself,makingitanorganic,evergrowingcreation.

Bruzzi,S.(2000).Newdocumentary:acriticalintroduction.NewYork:Routledge.

Bruzzi’sbookcanbeconsideredthemodernviewofthedocumentary,highlightingsomeofthemajortrendsandinnovationsindocumentaryfilmmakingthroughoutthelatterquarterofthe20thcentury.Inadditiontotakingnoteofthesignificantfilmsoftheperiod,shealsodelvesintotechniquesandpractices.Thiswillbeusefulinestablishingthedocumentary’scurrentrole(s)inourcultureaspartofthepaper’sdeconstructionofthedocumentary.

Gaudenzi,S.(2009)InteractiveDocumentary:towardsanaestheticofthemultiple(Doctoraldissertation,CentreforCulturalStudiesofGoldsmithsinLondon,2009).http://www.interactivedocumentary.net/’

Gaudenzi’sdissertationarguesthatdigitalmediaisallowingthedocumentarytobecomemoreofan“enactive”documentationofreality

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ratherthanarepresentationofit,whereuser’sparticipationbecomesamethodforperceivingthedocumentaryonanenhancedlevel.Interactivemediaisallowingpeopletocreateknowledgeandrealitywithuser‐generatedcontent,acollectiverealitythatweareabletosortthroughforourselves.Thedocumentaryisn’tjustsomethingthatafilmmakerconstructsforus–itisthecumulativecontributionsofYouTubepostersandWikipediaeditorsthataredocumentingourworldandwhatwechoosetoparticipatein,whatshecallsthe“multiplereality.”Inadditiontolayingoutaframeworkfortheinteractivedocumentary–includingdelvingintoCybernetictheory–Guarezattemptstocreateamodelforhowinteractivedocumentariescantapintothemultiplereality.

Choi,I.(2009).Interactivedocumentary:Aproductionmodelfornonfictionmultimedianarratives.InA.Nijohlt,D.Reidsma&H.Hondorp(Eds.),IntelligentTechnologiesforInteractiveEntertainment(44‐55).Berlin:Springer.

Thispapertakesatechnicallookattheconstructionofnonfictioninteractivenarratives.Afterintroducingtheconceptofaninteractivedocumentary,itoffersaproductionmodelforthegenreincludingaprototypeGUIthatallowsfor“concept‐basednavigation,whichenablesqueriesacrossmediaresourcesofdiversetypes.”Thearticleexplainsthatsuchamodelgiveseachuserauniqueexperiencewhereintheycreatetheirownpersonalnarrativethroughtheinteractivedocumentary.

Bers,J.,Elo,S.,Lassiter,S.,Tamés,D.(1995).CyberBELT:Multi‐modalinteractionwithamulti‐threadeddocumentary.ConferenceonHumanFactorsinComputingSystems.322‐323

Anearlytechnologyinthefieldofinteractivedocumentary,theCyberBELTwasdesignedtoreaduser’seyemovements,reacttovoicecommands,andbecontrolledthroughdatagloves.Thesystemwasliterallydonnedbyviewers,andafteraclipwouldendtheviewerwouldbegivenachancetoselectwhats/heviewednext.Thesystemalsokepttrackofpatternsinuserselectionandtrackedeyemovementtoseewhatuserswerepayingattentionto,whichhadanaffectonwhichoptionsweresubsequentlypresentedtothevieweraftereachclip.Whileanearlyandlargelyoutdatedinnovationintheworldofinteractivedocumentary,itgivesanicehistoricalperspectiveonwhatinteractivitywastryingtoaccomplishjustover10yearsagoandtiesintosomeoftheconceptsdefinedinGalloway’s(etal)articleonthefutureofthegenre.

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Meadows,M.S.(2003),TheArtofInteractiveNarrative,Indianapolis:NewRiders.

Meadowsbookfocusesonprinciplesofthenarrativeandappliesthemtointeractivegames,storytellingandart.Thecontent,whileabitdated,usesimportantcasestudiestoillustratehisargumentsandwillbeagoodsourcefordefiningwhatgoesintoasuccessfulinteractivenarrativeexperience.Sincethedocumentaryisineffectanarrative,principlesfromthisbookwillbeusedtoestablishthedifferentformsofinteractivedocumentaryinthepaper.

Ruby,J.(2008).Afutureforethnographicfilm?.JournalofFilm&Video,60(2),5‐14.

Inthisarticle,TempleUniversityprofessorandanthropologistJayRubydiscussestheemploymentofinteractivemediatocreateethnographicdocumentaries.Afterdescribingwhythebulkofethnographicfilmsarelargelynotsuitableforthetheoreticaldialogueofanthropology,Rubysuggeststhatinteractivemediacancombineimage,soundandvideotodelveintocomplexaspectsofculturesofascopethatthetraditionalfilmmediumcan’toftencapture.Hethenusesanexampleofsuchadocumentaryfromhisownworkbeforeconcludingthatfilmisapowerfulmediumforethnographicstudies,butitmustbeemployedproperlyinorderforittofunctionasone.

Renov,M.(1993).Theorizingdocumentary.NewYork:Routledge.

Renovprovidesawealthofknowledgeondocumentarytheoryinhiscomprehensive(ifnotdated)book.IreferenceRenov’sfourfunctionsofdocumentaryinmypaper.

NielsonOnline.(2009).NielsononlineprovidestoplineU.S.dataforMarch2009.NewYork,NY:MichelleMcGiboney.Retrievedfrom:http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/average‐american‐surfed‐2554‐pages‐in‐march‐8743/

AsetofusefulstatisticsonhowpeopleareusingtheInternetfromthetrendanalysiscompanyNielsenOnline.

ArticlesfromBlogsandtheMedia

Ashcraft,B.(2009,April8).Konami'sIraqWarGameBrouhaha.Retrievedfromhttp://kotaku.com/5204550/konamis‐iraq‐war‐game‐brouhaha

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Thisarticlediscussesthecontroversysurroundingthegame“SixDaysinFallujah,”adocu‐gamebasedontheactualeventsofthepivotalbattleintheIraqWar.Thearticle(andtheensuinguserdiscussion)touchesupontheappropriatenessofthegame,butmoreimportantlyhowsuchgamescouldpossiblygiveusersamorethoroughunderstandingofsuchimpossibleideastoconceptualizeasmilitarydecisionmakingonthebattlefield.

Graham,Alan.(2007,March23).WhatSecondLifeshouldlearnfromMyst.Retrievedfromhttp://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=343

AblogpostdiscussingthepotentialforboredominSecondLifewithitslackofanoverarchingnarrative.MypaperwillbeusingthispostasajumpingpointfordiscussinghowSecondLifecanbeusedtocreatenarratives(morespecifically,documentary‐esquenarratives)thathavereal‐worldvalue,despiteoccurringinavirtual‐worldenvironment.

(2007,August10)EducationalUsesofSecondLife[Videofile].Videopostedtohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOFU9oUF2HA

AYouTubevideothatadeptlycoversthemyriadofusesSecondLifecanhaveasateachingtool,manyofwhichcanbeusedasexamplesofinteractivedocumentary.Forexample,avirtualtourofarepresentationofaRomanhouseinSecondLifecanbeconsideredadocumentary,wheretheuserisabletoexploreandlearnaboutaconceptthatotherwise,throughatraditionaldocumentary,s/hewouldhaveonlybeenabletoexperiencebasedonhowthefilmmakerportrayedthesubjectmatter.

(2008,November26)AwarenesswithGoogleEarth[Videofile].Videopostedtohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sVgxxIETxU

AYouTubevideochroniclingthepotentialusesfortheSocialIssueslayerfunctionofGoogleEarth.ThisfeatureinGoogleEarthallowsuserstoputaphysicalrepresentationoftheplacetotheissue,apowerfulinteractivefeature.Iwillusethisideaasanexampleofa“VirtualWorldDocumentaryExperience”andwillexpandupontheideatoillustrateapotentialimmersivedocumentarywheretheuserisapartofthevirtualworld,experiencingthedocumentaryinareal‐timesimulationofthesubjectmatter.

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ExamplesofInteractiveNarratives/Documentary

Fahy,M.(2004).BlackFriday.Retrievedfromhttp://www.abc.net.au/blackfriday/home/default.htm

Anonlinedocumentaryofthehistorical1939bushfiresthatkilled71peopleinVictoria,Australia,thispieceisanearlyexampleofhowtheinteractivedocumentarywasimagined.Segmentedintovariousinteractivesections,suchasaninteractivetimeline,aninteractivemap,audioandvideo,BlackFridayisagoodillustrationofthe“multi‐media”projectconcept.Therigidsegmentationandlimitedinteractivitymaybeabitdated,butmakesforanicefoundationforunderstandingtheevolutionoftheinteractivedocumentary.

Marable,B.(2008).Becominghuman.Retrievedfromhttp://www.becominghuman.org/node/interactive‐documentary

SimilartoBlackFriday,BecomingHumancombinesmanyformsofmediatocreateasleek,functionalinteractivelearningexperience.Theuseofnavigabletimelinesforeachsectionallowuserstoquicklyjumptosubjectsofinterestand,designwise,theinterfaceencouragevisitorstoexplorethecontentwithrelativeease.Agoodexampleofearlyinteractivedocumentaryatwork.

Phillips.(2009).Carousel:ACinema21:9production.Retrievedfromhttp://www.cinema.philips.com/

Acompellinginteractivefilmthatisasinterestingasitistechnicallyimpressive.Iusethisasanexampleofcompellinginteractivenarrativeandchallengewhetherthissortofproductioncouldbeusedininteractivedocumentary.

Lang,R.(2009).DiamondRoadonline.Retrievedfromhttp://www.diamondroad.tv/dro.php

DiamondRoadOnlineisaninteractivedocumentarythatallowstheviewertonavigatethefilminhisorherownway.Aftereachsegment,thedocumentarysuggestsclipstowatchnext,buttheviewerisfreetogotowhicheverclips/hewishes.Thesitealsoincorporatesasocialaspectbyallowingyoutosaveyour“pathway”throughthedocumentarysothatothers

31

mayfollowyoursamepath.Inthisway,thedocumentarymayevenoperateatasociallevelasusersmayfindsimilarinterestswithotherusersbywatchingtheirpaths.Aninterestingapplicationofnon‐linearnavigation.

NationalGeographic(2009).Inside9/11.Retrievedfromhttp://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/inside‐911#tab‐Interactive

ThissitewasintendedtobeacompaniontoNationalGeographic’stelevisionprogramofthesamename.Aslickdesignandpresentationallowstheusertonavigateawealthofinterviewsbyisolatingclipsbasedoncontent,soifthere’saparticularareaofinteresttheviewercaninstantlyaccessanumberofinterviewsonthesubjectanddownloadthetranscriptaswell.Agoodexampleoffunctionalitywhilegivinguserschoiceandcontrol.

Radiohead(2009):12cams,createyourrainbow.Retrievedfromhttp://www.wowow.co.jp/music/radiohead/special/

Acreativeexampleofallowinguserstodeterminethepaththeytakethroughanarrative,thisonlinevideooffersviewers12cameraanglesofaRadioheadconcerttowatchthevideofrom.Usersarefreetoswitchcamerasanytimethroughoutthevideobyclickingontheangleofchoice,andasanaddedtwistatimelineonthebottomofthescreenkeepstrackofwhatcamerayouwerewatchingandwhenthroughcolorcoding.Afterthevideoiscomplete,youcanuploadyourseriesofcameraanglestothewebsite’sdatabaseandwatchhowotherpeopleviewedthesamevideo.LiketheDiamondRoadOnlineprojectmentionedabove,thissocialaspectaddsalevelofinteractivitythatmakestheexperiencemuchdeeperthanjustchoosingfromvariouscameraanglesusedtofilmaconcert.

NewYorkTimes(2009):Aculdesacofclosures.Retrievedfromhttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/08/21/us/200908‐beth‐court.html

TheNewYorkTimeshasmanyexamplesoffantasticinteractivenarratives,butthisoneisaparticulargoodexampleofaninteractivedocumentary.Theinterfaceallowsusersto“stroll”aroundaCaliforniancul‐de‐sacandclickonparticularhousestohearthecorrespondingfamily’sstory.Thecombinationofdataandpersonalizationofanationalissuemakesthecontentveryrich,andtheaddedabilityoftheusertonavigatetowhattheywanttolearnaboutaddsadynamiclayertothepiece.

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Mota,M.(2009):Whathaveyouleftbehind?.Retrievedfromhttp://www.whathaveyouleftbehind.com/

Thisdocumentaryisabeautifulexampleofleveragingsocialpresenceinanonlinedocumentary.Thefilmmakersentjournalsthroughouttheworldaskingpeopletoanswerthequestion:“Whathaveyouleftbehind?”Theinteractivedocumentaryissimplythecollectionofresponsesthefilmmakerreceived,withthewebsitemappingtheresponsestotheirlocationintheworld.Thesitealsoallowsvisitorstoaddtheirownanswerstothequestion“Whathaveyouleftbehind?”sothattheprojectisalwaysgrowing–thismaybealongthelinesofwhatGallowayetalwerereferringtobyanexpansivedocumentary.

Cizek,K.(2009):Filmmakerinresidence.Retrievedfromhttp://filmmakerinresidence.nfb.ca/

Thisonlinedocumentarytriestomaintainacinematicfeelinitspresentationbyfollowingamorestricttimeline,butallowinguserstonavigatethroughtheseriesofmovieclips,soundsbytes,andtextattheirownpace.It’snotasopenended,butdoestellitsstorywellwhileincorporatinginteractivity.Forfilmmakersinterestedinmaintainingadegreeof“film”intheirinteractivedocumentary,FilmmakerinResidenceisagoodplacetodrawinspirationfrom.

UnitedStatesHolocaustMemorialMuseum(2009):Mappinginitiatives:CrisisinDarfur.Retrievedfromhttp://www.ushmm.org/maps/projects/darfur/

Google’steamingupwiththeHolocaustmuseumhasyieldedanexcellentexampleofwhatinteractivedocumentariescouldbecome.ExistinginthevirtualworldofGoogleEarth,thisfeatureallowssocialissuestohaveavisualpresenceintheprogrambyhavingtagsandoverlaysontheareaswheretheissueistakingplace.Thisideawillbeexpandeduponinthepaperbyimaginingavirtualworldwheresocialissuescanbesimulatedinaperfectrepresentationofreality,allowingpeopletohavefirstpersondocumentaryexperiences.

Interviews

Tillery,Sadie.Programmer,FullFrameFilmFestival.InterviewconductedThursday,Oct22nd,2009.

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Ingram,Brett.Filmmaker.InterviewconductedFriday,Oct.23rd,2009.Dickson,Sandra.Filmmakeranddocumentaryprofessor,WakeForestUniversity.InterviewconductedThursday,Oct.8th,2009.Walton,April.DirectoroftheCenterforDocumentaryStudiesatDukeUniversity. InterviewconductedonWednesday,September30th,2009.Gaudenzi,Sandra.Professor,LondonCollegeofMedia’sMaster’sinInteractive

Mediaprogram.InterviewconductedMonday,October12th,2009.

Gibney,Alex.Filmmaker,JigsawProductions.InterviewconductedWednesday,October21st,2009.

Select Blog Posts

Learning from the Pros: Sapient Interactive

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/learning‐from‐the‐pros‐sapient‐interactive/

Learning from the Pros: Red Interactive

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/learning‐from‐the‐pros‐red‐interactive/

Web Design Wednesdays #2: Font Selection

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/web‐design‐wednesdays‐2‐font‐selection/

When Good Groundswells Go Bad

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/when‐good‐groundswells‐go‐bad/

When Good Groundswells Go Bad – Part 2: The Pitfalls of Citizen Journalism

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/when‐good‐groundswells‐go‐bad‐the‐sequel/

Make Like Google and Don’t be Evil

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/make‐like‐google‐and‐dont‐be‐evil/

5 Blog Tips for Increasing Readership

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/5‐tips‐for‐increasing‐blog‐readership/

Apple and Google – the End of a Beautiful Relationship?

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/apple‐and‐google‐the‐end‐of‐a‐beautiful‐relationship/

Introducing The Expanding Bubble Theory

http://conorbritain.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/introducing‐the‐expanding‐bubble‐theory/

Coming Together: E-Readers and E Ink May

Save Newspapers

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