“…mapping art still is the result of an artistic process, including the choices of which data are to be mapped and the decision of how to visualize them” (Simanowski 175)

In Flight Patterns, UCLA artist Aaron Koblin has taken data provided by the FAA and mapped it into an electronic visualization using Adobe After Effects and/or Maya, motion graphics and animation software programs respectively. These flight patterns are represented in lines of color, superimposed over a black background. Depending on the user’s preference, the data can be viewed by altitudes, model, or manufacturer. The lines begin and end in cities around all over America, and in each view the outline of the United States can be made out, as well as educated guesses about where each of the major cities are located depending on the concentration of light in certain areas.

More interesting than the static screen shots is the YouTube video depicting flight patterns, and the number of airplanes from 5 pm eastern time to 8 pm eastern time the following day (27 hours worth of data). During this 57 second video, the multi-colored flight lines move according to the schedules of domestic and international travel. Around 1:30 am EST, the map is quiet and dark, with only 4000+ airplanes in the air. Soon, between 2 am and 5 am EST flights begin to take-off from the west coast towards the east (appropriately symbolically red, since many of these flights are named “red-eye” flights). As these flights stream over to the east and land around 6 am EST, suddenly the east coast lights up as thousands of flights take-off west, south, and north. Around midday the transatlantic flights are beginning their arrivals onto the eastern seaboard. A spray of blue flight lines pour from the right of the screen where Europe is obviously located.

The 57 seconds of activity is not only visually mesmerizing, but elucidating as well. This is simple data content in a breath-taking form. With the satellite-eye’s view of the transactions taking place in just over 24 hours (likely repeating itself every 24 hours), the sheer magnitude of planes in the air – 19200+ at its peak at 4 pm EST – gives the viewer an appreciation off all the activity managed by the FAA, for example, as well as a take on how many human bodies are thousands of feet in the air at any given moment! When the viewer takes into consideration the individual life-narratives of each passenger and multiplies that by X passengers in X planes on X flights…the data is overwhelming. What an effective interface to make that kind of information accessible and appreciable.

So, thisisnottomdotcom is essentially a series of really complex riddles that slowly reveals the pages to a novella. Both are written by author/youtube vlogger John Green and, as of this writing, is still unfinished. I wouldn’t classify it quite as an ARG because the story never quite bleeds into reality. However, it does have a lot of elements of an ARG in that it requires a group of people to crowdsource solutions to almost impossibly hard riddles in order to get a common goal, usually related to some common interest they have. In a lot of ways, where finding something in an ARG usually is a reward in and of itself, for thisisnottom the reward is another piece of a novel. It seems more forgiving and encouraging to its players/interactors than an ARG usually is. ARGs, as mentioned in class, have a high drop out rate, which thisisnottom shares, though I’m fairly certain not as high of one.

Another interesting aspect of thisisnottim is that like an ARG, the novella was written in real time as the riddles progressed. Of course, this screwed over the author when he stop writing, but the idea of readers directly influencing a novella as it is written due to online interference is definitely a new idea. ARGs also have this user/creater interactions, something that video games and interactive fiction traditionally lack. Really, I’m not sure how to classify thisisnottom. It’s definitely not an ARG, it’s definitely not a pure novella, and it’s definitely not interactive fiction. It seems to be a genre in and of itself. I would be interested in seeing if there is anything similar to it on the internet, but the closest thing I can find are the beginning stages of an ARG, before everything goes crazy hardcore.

Check out this blog post about collaborative database art: http://www.labnol.org/software/turn-images-into-pixel-art/12978/.  Download the Excel portraits of painter Vincent van Gogh and play around with it. 

I work for the military, so I deal with spreadsheets every day.  We use them to measure and analyze data, and we share them with one another as a way of backing up assertions regarding the meaning of the numbers.  The wonderful thing about storing data this way, and the reason the military loves it, is that you can use Excel’s tools to sort the data in multiple ways, to drill down to the data that’s relevant to your command, to hide/ignore the data elements that won’t affect your decisions, and to add or delete data at will. 

With this in mind, I examined the van Gogh portrait.  It can’t be sorted and you can’t drill down, because there is no text associated with the cell color.  That could easily be rectified by going in to each cell and typing a code in the same color as the background.  What you can do is rearrange, add, or delete data.  You can stretch or shrink the columns and rows.  In the end, the only resemblance you picture will have to the original is its color scheme.

The utility of this kind of art, as described by the manufacturer of a software that develops software to automate this process, is the ability to customize spreadsheets with logos.  Really?  I kind of think it’s just a toy.  It reminds me of the found poem web sites we’ve looked at, because it allows the use of new media to re-imagine something.  And yes, maybe sometimes something poignant happens, but most of the time, it’s just a party trick. 

I’ve been much more impressed with databases such as the whale hunt, but this pixel art certainly shows that databases aren’t just for the military anymore. 

Go to https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_R-bIhtow3OSmViU25tNTlxa1E/preview for my version of van Gogh.

Kate Pullinger and Babel’s “Inanimate Alice: Episode One: China” acts as both a database and a narrative of an eight year old girl’s journey through life in the twenty-first century. This project functions as a database in that it is a collection of a young girl’s life through a compilation of images and text. Additionally, this creative work acts as a narrative due to the fact that there is a main character whose story is being relayed to an audience. The purpose of this piece is to expose the potential dangers of living in a digital era where communication, interactivity, and recreation take place solely in digital form or through technology. Pullinger and Babel utilize various rhetorical techniques of incorporating discordant sounds, fast-moving pictures, and disruption of the text in order to disclose the impending problems of using technology as the only source of interaction, communication, and pleasure.

The story begins with text revealing that the girl’s father is missing and the family—the girl and her mother and brother—set out to look for him. A cacophony of sounds emerges from the background as the audience attempts to read the text provided; sounds of yelling, beeping, and Asian music are dissonantly played together while the reader attempts to make meaning of the story, illustrating the various distractions provided by technology. In addition to the distraction of sound, the text begins to disappear and reappear on the screen as if there is a technological interruption or malfunction. The narration is influenced by the technology through which the text is displayed as well as by the author’s use of purposeful technological distractions to illustrate the various problems that arise with a reliance on technology. Images move quickly across the screen and even pile up on top of one another throughout the story, symbolizing the fast-moving pace of society and the resulting inability of technological users to focus on one task at a time.

Throughout the narration, the text shifts from real life problems—trying to find the father—and the girl’s use of technology—as if the two worlds cannot peacefully coexist together. The young girl is constantly interacting with her cell phone—which the users can also interact with as well—throughout the drive. Pullinger and Babel slowly reveal that the girl is reliant on technology when her mother instructs her to turn off her phone, yet she constantly thinks about how she would rather be using her phone than looking out the window where she believes nothing exciting will happen—as if entertainment can only be provided through the technological world and not the real world. As the girl uses her cell phone, internet dial up sounds and other various noises permeate the space and make the users feel as if they are interacting with the technology. The authors succeed in creating rhetoric through cacophonous and distracting sounds, fast-moving pictures, and other various interruptions to make the audience feel slightly frustrated by the many distractions, further demonstrating the meaning that technology often provides disruptions that hinder users from connecting with the outside world. However, it is ironic that the authors chose to demonstrate this principle—that the digital world imposes upon the real world—through a form of digital and participatory media with which the audience must interact to grasp the meaning. Although the irony is clearly presented, the significance of this piece would not be as effective in print or other mediums as the dissonant sounds, pictures, and distractions clearly exemplify the potential harm caused by technology.

Kate Pullinger and Babel’s “Inanimate Alice: Episode One: China” acts as both a database and a narrative of an eight year old girl’s journey through life in the twenty-first century. This project functions as a database in that it is a collection of a young girl’s life through a compilation of images and text. Additionally, this creative work acts as a narrative due to the fact that there is a main character whose story is being relayed to an audience. The purpose of this piece is to expose the potential dangers of living in a digital era where communication, interactivity, and recreation take place solely in digital form or through technology. Pullinger and Babel utilize various rhetorical techniques of incorporating discordant sounds, fast-moving pictures, and disruption of the text in order to disclose the impending problems of using technology as the only source of interaction, communication, and pleasure. The story begins with text revealing that the girl’s father is missing and the family—the girl and her mother and brother—set out to look for him. A cacophony of sounds emerges from the background as the audience attempts to read the text provided; sounds of yelling, beeping, and Asian music are dissonantly played together while the reader attempts to make meaning of the story, illustrating the various distractions provided by technology. In addition to the distraction of sound, the text begins to disappear and reappear on the screen as if there is a technological interruption or malfunction. The narration is influenced by the technology through which the text is displayed as well as by the author’s use of purposeful technological distractions to illustrate the various problems that arise with a reliance on technology. Images move quickly across the screen and even pile up on top of one another throughout the story, symbolizing the fast-moving pace of society and the resulting inability of technological users to focus on one task at a time. Throughout the narration, the text shifts from real life problems—trying to find the father—and the girl’s use of technology—as if the two worlds cannot peacefully coexist together. The young girl is constantly interacting with her cell phone—which the users can also interact with as well—throughout the drive. Pullinger and Babel slowly reveal that the girl is reliant on technology when her mother instructs her to turn off her phone, yet she constantly thinks about how she would rather be using her phone than looking out the window where she believes nothing exciting will happen—as if entertainment can only be provided through the technological world and not the real world. As the girl uses her cell phone, internet dial up sounds and other various noises permeate the space and make the users feel as if they are interacting with the technology. The authors succeed in creating rhetoric through cacophonous and distracting sounds, fast-moving pictures, and other various interruptions to make the audience feel slightly frustrated by the many distractions, further demonstrating the meaning that technology often provides disruptions that hinder users from connecting with the outside world. However, it is ironic that the authors chose to demonstrate this principle—that the digital world imposes upon the real world—through a form of digital and participatory media with which the audience must interact to grasp the meaning. Although the irony is clearly presented, the significance of this piece would not be as effective in print or other mediums as the dissonant sounds, pictures, and distractions clearly exemplify the potential harm caused by technology.

For the alternate reality game or “reality game”, speculat1on.net, I was surprised with how confusing it was to me. Besides the interactive narratives we’ve looked at in class or video games, I have never participated in an alternate reality game. Upon reading the text on the homepage, I had a feeling I would not be able to get too far in this game. In the brief description of the game, there is a part that states that knowledge of basic “internet protocols….hypertext markup language”, etc. is required to progress further in this game. Because I have very little knowledge on computers I did not have much faith that I would get too far, but I did continue on because I was curious as to how far I could get. I registered for the site and waited to receive an email with my password so that I could log-in and open up different aspects of the site.  I did not receive an email so I assumed that in order to get the password I had to unlock the 8 passwords on the homepage. I got through the first 3, which were very easy. They all had clues as to what the site would entail later on. Once I got to the fourth password which stated that “sometimes I would have to hunt and highlight” I had no idea what to do. I highlighted a couple of things and tried to paste them into the field, but it was not working. I skipped the fourth password and went to the fifth one which stated that sometimes you would have to repeat past actions. Again I was stuck. As I went on to the eighth password, I just got more and more lost. I then explored the site as much as I could. I clicked on the “YOU” and “WE”. I listened to the audio for “YOU”, which I thought was interesting and also read some of the posts from the “WE” section. Overall, the idea of the interactive game seemed interesting to me, however I do wish I was more knowledgeable of computers so that I could get further.

As I have started to play speculat1on, I find myself rather confused. I’m not entirely sure what I expected, especially considering that I have never played an ARG, but this is certainly not what I thought it would be like. I wasn’t entirely shocked when I came across the page of eight passwords needed, but I certainly had not predicted that. As I started to find my way through the passwords, I became increasingly proud of myself as I solved them. I got sucked into it rather quickly and began to think that I was on a great track. As I came upon the eighth password, however, I got stuck. I downloaded the Audacity audio editor and managed to input the audio file into it, but from there, I couldn’t proceed. I could not figure out how to do anything with the file. I guessed that I needed to either speed the file up or slow it down, but I could do neither. I spent quite a while on it and never made any progress on it.

As I said, I’m not entirely sure what I expected but this was not it. I understood things (such as looking at the source code) that I would not have understood apart from this class, but I (apparently) do not know enough to get through, or even into, this game. I don’t know whether these passwords are even a part of the game. I kept thinking that perhaps this is just how to begin, or enter, the game. I got excited when I began to see connections with our readings and this game, and then I felt utterly lost and aggravated when I couldn’t proceed. I wanted to succeed and talk about different aspects of the game. But here I am: lost and confused. Perhaps that is the point. Tedious, slow progress could be the point of this game. Perhaps this game is supposed to be confusing and something to get lost in. Perhaps I am exactly where I should be.

I was intrigued by the concept of Alternate Reality Games and simultaneously bewildered.  As I understood it, the ARG designer leads the blind participant through intersections of the physical and digital worlds.  The unspoken agreement between the two is trust: the participant has faith that the journey will be safe and the end-goal will be rewarding, while the designer believes in the faith of the participant to lead him there.  Although Speculat1on.net claims to not be an ARG, it explicitly pleads for faith between the designer and participant and motivates with incentive:

“We need your trust.  We need your belief.  We will reward you in time.”

However, ARG designer is not physically present in this interaction, but is a spectator and observer of his creation: a system of fixed processes and interactions.  He has set the controls and variables and destination of this singular path and therefore is all-pervading in its direction.  He is the deity of this world and a spirit in its shadows.

This relationship between the creator and the follower is the fragile core of the ARG experience.  In addition to trust, it requires willingness on the behalf of the participant.  So how can an indirect, constant force maintain this relationship?  Through the power of intrigue and challenge.  (After all, not to sound trite but: satisfaction did bring the cat back!)

Speculat1on.net’s perimeters are strikingly similar—expect that its hybridization of the virtual and material is almost exclusively the latter.  The foot it sets in reality is a mere reflection: words and ideas that represent historic actuality.  The postcard advertisement / announcement illustrates this foundation in pictures: a photograph of the trading room of Wall Street, circa the 1980s overlaid by a figure 8 decorated by screenshots of the Speculat1on.net “passcode frames.”  One opening of the 8 encapsulates a group of people and the other the computers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange—which additionally highlights the relationship between follower and creator; person and the computer; organic and the mechanic; physical and digital; realistic and fanciful.  Furthermore, the number 8 represents perpetuity (or the symbol of infinity when portrayed horizontally); and therefore suggesting a chain of virtual and actual events interconnected within this relationship which cannot be broken—if the participant desires satisfaction!