iFidelity: mating for life with your iPod

Ian Green — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:13:02 +0000

iFidelity: view the presentation (best viewed in iTunes)

The whole world, just about, is in love with the iPod. That much we know, at least in general. But how do people, as individuals, relate to their iPods? How do they feel and think about them, what kind of loyalties and affections do they show to them, and how fickle are their fascinations for them? And why are these worthwhile and interesting questions to pursue? Is there something about the iPod itself that sets it apart from the ordinary array of objects that we use in our day-to-day lives?

Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott, from the School of Design at the Queensland University of Technology, has been investigating these issues. Over the past two years Andrew has been tracing how his chosen subjects, some 20 people, use and feel about their iPods. And this is no fanzine study. It’s the core research work for his PhD, is based on solid qualitative methodology, and sits within the broader field of ‘object biography’ – the study of the way in which social interactions between people and objects create particular meanings, and how those meanings are renegotiated over time. (Hey, there’s a new term maybe – iPography – the study of iPods in their social context.)

In this interview Andrew talks to Ian Green about the emerging results of his study. People love their iPods, it seems, seeing them almost as part of themselves, and with some very interesting rituals of fidelity, loss and separation. (Kind of like the rituals you have for human relationships, though I haven’t yet heard of anyone cheating on their iPod.) Listen to this interview to find out more. And you can also view the slides and audio of the Create World presentation, which Andrew has very kindly made available.

Ian Green

Day 1 Bedded … and a couple of thoughts

Kate Foy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:18:57 +0000

: Image by Dramagirl via Flickr

… but not forgotten. Create World 09 kicked off to a very good start on Monday. Personally, I feel the conference has moved up a notch. There are more in attendance, and, if today was anything to go by, the quality of presentations and engagement are already way ahead of much of former years. Perhaps it’s a timing issue – the development and diversity of digital arts practice, its theorising and scholarship have reached that ‘critical mass‘ stage where there’s more of higher quality to offer. As one presenter said to me yesterday, ‘Create World is where I want to share my research and practice … musicians just yawn!’

The interaction this team has been working on for a couple of years is gathering momentum through the Twitter stream. We saw commentary and questions flow during the keynote, paper sessions, and workshop yesterday. Laptops (when the wireless chose not to drop out) and especially iPhones provided the platform for spontaneous feedback and commentary and quotes. It’s all still there for later reference – hashtagged #cw09 A couple of times it felt to me as though the hive mind were pouncing on key elements in a presentation and annotating. Food for further thought here on the nature of presentation and interactivity.

Audioboo on the iPhone is a boon for us podcasters. It’s quick and easy with none of the angst of post-production that bedevilled us last year. We got the interviews up within seconds of their completion, and they flowed beautifully through to this page. The latest will continue to be over there on the right. So far no vodcasts, but I daresay they will start to appear. Allan and Ian can do those as I was to have Athoman’s 3GS iPhone till it hit the deck yesterday morning (not me, not me!) Yes some iPods do die … I’m hoping Stephen’s won’t go into the bottom drawer of discarded things and bleed out all the psychic energy he’s endowed it with.

So maybe the success of this conference right here right now is the creative mobility thing … and perhaps it is a device. As Clay Shirky notes of the use of digital technology, it is only when a device is so ubiquitous that it is taken for granted, that it begins to have real traction in the world. Is the now-ubiquitous iPod the missing link in the resulting quality of presentations and conference engagement so far? Perhaps I’m drawing a long bow here but I think there’s some credence in my thinking. Your thoughts?

Kate Foy

AUC Create World » IPod

iFidelity: mating for life with your iPod

Day 1 Bedded … and a couple of thoughts