Check out my final project for Producing Participatory Media (its awesome!)
This is where I am trying stuff out with javascript and iframes in Wordpress.
Shawn Van Every rocks.
Click to Watch
| Step 1: Send an email inviting people to Diego’s death: |
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| Step 2: Learn a little bit of PHP and MySql. Set stage for Diego to die. Below is a screen shot. It’s also here. |
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| Step 3: At 7:30, have Diego assume his position on the rooftop. Step 4: Give onlookers 2 minutes to persuade him either to jump or not. Step 5: Post video of his death. |
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| R.I.P Diego. Streaming is cruel. |
This week I spend a rediculous amount of time planning for and coding an interface which allowed people to watch a live stream of a paper cutout-man jumping off of the side of a building. The people had two buttons to click: “jump!” or “don’t do it , Diego!” I crafted a strategy for enticing them to tune in at a specific time to see what would happen based on their participation. It didn’t quite go according to plan. First, I didn’t invite that many people because I was rather shy about the whole thing. I figured that if I was cryptic and sensational, I might get a few people to participate in my experiment purely out of curiosity. But, only one or two people seems to have actually managed to witness my stream of Diego’s death. The project has really got me thinking more about ARGs and how to craft a whole experience that brings people in– if I had sent letters in the style of ransom notes, for example, would I have gotten more people to actually see what it was about? Regardless of the fact that Die Diego failed to be the particiaptory experiment I had envisioned, I really gained a lot from staging it in terms of thinking about how streaming and “live” content can really become part of a wider experience if one is willing to be creative about it and has the time to do it right.
The other post for today (see below) was supposed to be a video I shot of the view outside my window. But, the QT embed code never works because Wordpress persists in adding line breaks every time I click “save.” Instead of wasitng more of my life on this absurdity, I have used Shawn’s code exactly (with his video). Even giving this explanation within the post was impossible. Wordpress is really annoying sometimes. I can’t figure out how to prevent it from adding line breaks no matter how many times I go back in and delete them.
My idea for a use of streaming (and one of the reasons why I decided to take Producing Participatory Media) is to connect people to tell stories. I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about ways that I can get my grandpa–and other people with remarkable stories– to tell them in a way that is simple. It’s really hard to enable those who don’t understand technology to have a place within it– but that doesn’t mean ithat it’s not worthwhile. It’s not a universal problem, but I think that one of the reasons that our current “posting” paradigm is exactly that everything happens “post.” I put up a video, and people may or may not watch it. After they do, they can comment. I make comments to their comments. I’m interested in streaming as a way of dynamically involving individuals and groups in the production of media. So, for example, my idea would be to create some plaece on the web where I could arrange a time to meet with my grandfather virtually. Then, he can tell me a story about his life which is simultaneouly streamed to others who also tune in. Somewhat related to this is my idea to use streaming to connect lonely people– people in nursing homes for instance— would perhaps feel more connected to their families if they could see what was happening in their lives in real time.
I’m going to start by talking about the old: in this case, radio, which is very old indeed. I no longer own one. For the most part, all of the content that I would seek from the radio–mostly NPR type programs– can be found online through podcasts, and listened to at my own convenience. But, similarly to the elusive goodness of channel flipping on TV, sometimes I miss the random, merciless channeling of content I may not e expecting, or even want. The stumble-upon quality of broadcast media is something which still has a certain charm. And then there still exists the elusive content, which for some reason or another can’t be found online. When I used to be a more disorganized, car driving-person, I listened to conventional radio quite a bit more. If I want to, right now, I can download a pls from my old radio station in TX, click on it, and it will open in Itunes. There are shows there which I may never find on the internet otherwise. In this case, streaming is certainly better than nothing. The process couldn’t be simpler. In reality, though, the odds that I “tune in” on my laptop at the time of, say for example, New Dimensions, are pretty low. On a device t like a laptop that offers so many other things to do, consuming time-based media on a schedule apart from my own choosing is probably not going to happen.
TV on the internet? I’m talking about literal TV– on the internet. Check out WWiTV. I did. The quality is horrible, it takes forever to load some of them, and sometimes there isn’t anything when you click on a particular channel–but for me it’s the idea. I spent about 15 minutes watching a muslim religion channel from Pakistan. I’d never go here to chill out and be entertained– but there is something that makes me glad this site exists. I can watch television from the Congo, from Armenia. In terms of using the internet to make the world smaller, I think that this streaming site works–Cubavision? If I am curious about another culture from now on, starting with what they themselves watch may be a great place to start.
Qik-- the internet site that allows you to steam video from your phone– is the future of streaming. It takes the biggest barrier out of streaming (the technology) and allows people to broadcast whatever they are doing from anywhere at any time. The site is awesome for allowing people an easy way to share and aggregate their mobile streams. I think, though, that it will only be a mater of time before sites full of “Quikkers” are rendered unnecessary– because everyone will be streaming directly from mobile devices to whatever web location they prefer. Then again, we still go to You Tube– I could be underestimating the power of community. Let’s say they will exist in tandem. The benefit of Qik is it’s contextualization. Along with the live stream, I can see a Google map of where the video is being streamed from, as well as leave comments and chat live with the producer.