Rachel

There are many amazing theories in Adam Greenfield’s book, Everywhere: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing, I have chosen to outline the theories that I found most pertinent. This book is about ubiquitous computing, also known as pervasive computing, physical computing, tangible media, or what Greenfield refers to as “everyware.” He is theorizing on a paradigm shift, in which we will all have to “…make sense of the wave of change even now bearing down on use (p. 3).”

Thesis 2: The many forms of ubiquitous computing are indistinguishable from the user’s perspective and will appear to a user as aspects of a single paradigm: Everywhere.

There are so many different pieces of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) that it is difficult to imagine that they are all one whole. The experience of ubicomp involves “…a diverse ecology of devices and platforms, most of which have nothing to do with ‘computers’ as we’ve understood them (p. 16).” “…When we consider the difference between our experience of PCs and the thing that is coming, it is clear that … (p. 16),” there is a new age dawning, something that is too difficult, scattered and large for us to understand.

Thesis 7: Everyware isn’t so much a particular kind of hardware or software as it is a situation.

There are so many objects embedded with technology right now that it is difficult to comprehend the world in terms of hardware. Instead, “…everyware isn’t so much a particular kind of hardware, philosophy of software design, or a set of interface conventions as it is a situation—a set of circumstances (p. 31).” It is in this theory that Greenfield best describes the intangible qualities of everyware. “…there is in fact a coherent ‘it’ to be considered, something that appears whenever there are multiple computing devices devoted to each human user; when this processing power is deployed throughout local physical reality instead of being locked up in a single general purpose box…(p. 31).” This “it” is something no one can ignore, and it is creeping into our lives at all angles whether we like it (or even notice it), or not.

Thesis 8: The project of everyware is nothing less than the colonization of everyday life by information technology.

A scary theory indeed, yet the introduction of technology to the monotony of everyday life is meant as a convenience. No longer would you have to ask yourself where you hid the remote control, or why there was nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon. Greenfield argues that this does have the potential to be scary, though, as we must all wake up and take control of the direction everyware will take our lives.

Thesis 9: Everyware has profoundly different implications for the user experience than previous paradigms.

Typically, a user sits down to a computer, types in commands and gets what he or she wants. With everyware, your wants are inferred by embedded software. You no longer give commands, objects just act around you and for you.

Thesis 16: Everyware can be engaged inadvertently, unknowingly, or even unwillingly.

Put very simplistically, engaging inadvertently can be described as, “I didn’t mean to hit that button, I wanted to hit a different one;” unknowingly can be described as, “I didn’t know that hitting that button would have such an effect,” and unwillingly can be described as, “What just happened? I didn’t push any buttons!” People will interact with technology they don’t know exists. Or they may interact with it knowingly, but comply anyway for convenience.

Thesis 19: Everyware is always situated in a particular context.

In the PC world, interaction and immersion are easy to do, we can take our laptops anywhere, and be connected to the Internet at all times. Everyware is different, though, everyware takes immersion to an all-new level. “By instrumenting the actual world, though, as opposed to immersing a user in an information-space that never was, everyware is something akin to virtual reality turned inside out (p. 73).” Everyware will change the user experience by taking them off of a computer screen and into the real world.

Thesis 31: Everyware is a strategy for the reduction of cognitive overload.
With the excesses of information streaming at the users at all times, there is a fear within ubiquitous computing that more computers will directly cause more stress. In other words, “If computers are everywhere, they better stay out of the way (p. 111).” With ubiquitous computing, however, computers can be everywhere without being in the way, “…the total cognitive burden imposed by a poorly designed ubicomp on the average, civilian user would be intolerable (p.111).” Computers can be put in the periphery and only used when needed, they will not necessarily need to be called upon, and they will just do what they do without human input.

Posted by Rachel at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become, Peter Morville accomplishes the lofty goal of discerning what wayfinding and findability on the Internet really mean. He asks the reader to join him in asking questions about findability and the Internet. Can you really find everything on the Internet? What kind of implications does this have for the user? Why is findability so important, and what can be done to make finding information on the Internet easier?
First, to be able to find things on the Internet, one must be skilled in keywords and categories, the two most important factors in finding what you need. The ability to find vital information is a new type of literacy that is becoming increasingly important as the Internet gains more and more information. Morville writes, “In the information age, transmedia information literacy is a core life skill (p. 7).” The ALA’s definition of information literacy is, “a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information (p. 8).” Morville explained the progression of wayfinding through tools and evolutionary adaptations throughout time. These facts gelled together with the Internet. However, “Architects and graphic designers have tended to see the user of their settings as a stereotyped, physically fit, attentive individual with only one perception—to explore and enjoy the settings they have created (p. 28).” Understanding wayfinding is important for web-designers and web users, because of the difficulty in navigating the vast amount of information found on the Internet. Web-designers and other wayfinding creators must keep in mind empathy for the user, because without it users will find it nearly impossible to find what they’re looking for.
Morville looks at the amount of information on the Internet as daunting and foreboding. He writes that we no longer need to produce information, we should instead focus on how to look at it. In fact, “Half a million libraries the size of the Library of Congress. That’s how much information we create in a year—92% of it stored on magnetic media (p. 44).” Is this amount of information really useful? Do people really need to make use of all of the types of information that are found on the Internet? Morville knows that “Its time we shifted our focus from creating a wealth of information to addressing the ensuing poverty of attention (p.45).” How much of this information is being ignored, and what can people do to give the Information that they found important enough to put on the Internet more attention? As always, “…the challenges of communication are part of the human condition, unsusceptible to the eager advances of technology (p. 15).”
What is information, and what is it about the information age that makes findability so important? He sees “the power of the Internet to engage people as participants in the collaborative, productive enterprise of knowledge creation and dissemination. For information is ultimately about communication (p. 15).” Findability is of vital importance in knowledge dissemination because it “…invests freedom in the individual. As the web challenges mass media with a media of the masses, we will enjoy an unprecedented ability to select our sources and choose our news (p. 7).”
This book helps to understand the importance of navigability on the Internet. As more and more information comes along there is a need for both comprehension and appreciation for the information age.

Posted by Rachel at 02:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Henry Jenkins theorizes on the concept of “Convergence Culture,” which is a way of making sense of the trends in media and the Internet that have been changing the way society looks at itself, politics, and entertainment. Convergence culture is the convergence, not only of media technologies, but also of society and media technologies.
An important part of convergence of media technologies to remember is, “Printed words did not kill spoken words. Cinema did not kill theater (p. 14).” New media never replaces old media, the old media converges and co-exists with the new. Jenkins also argues that media never dies, only the ways in which media is delivered, which he calls “delivery technologies.” For example, while the 8-track may be obsolete, its media—music has evolved. Convergence of technologies has been occurring for decades. This decade the computer is converging with the television in the same way that cars converged with horses and word processors converged with typewriters. “Convergence does not depend on any specific delivery mechanism. Rather, convergence represents a paradigm shit—a move from media specific content toward content that flows across multiple media channels, toward the increased interdependence of communication systems, toward multiple ways of accessing media content, and toward ever more complex relations between top-down corporate media and bottom-up participatory culture (p. 243).”
Another part of convergence culture is that consumers are taking media into their own hands like never before, “The water-cooler has gone digital…media convergence enables communal, rather than individualistic modes of reception (p. 26).” Collective intelligence is an important part of participatory, convergence culture. Blogs, you-tube, message boards, and even role-playing games are an important part of participatory culture, each participant offers a knew piece of knowledge until the group as a whole knows everything. “…consumers are using new media technologies to engage with old media content, seeing the Internet as a vehicle for collective problem solving, public deliberation and grassroots creativity (p. 169).”
Jenkins gave a list of skills needed for participants in convergence culture on page 176. Many of these were for specific examples he gave throughout the book, but they can also be seen as real skills needed to actively participate in this new digital world, skills that will be needed by all within the next few years:

-The ability to pool knowledge in a collaborative exercise
-the ability to share and compare value systems by evaluating ethical dramas
-the ability to make connections across scattered pieces of information
-the ability to express your interpretations and feelings toward popular fictions through your own folk culture
-the ability to circulate what you create via the Internet so that it can be shared with others
-role-playing both as a means of exploring a fictional realm and as a means of developing a richer understanding of yourself and the culture around you.

All in all, this book was a decent attempt to discern the ever-evolving media-driven world around us.
Next weeks book: Ambient Findability.

Posted by Rachel at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)