Sputniko! DIY Cyborgss Workshop
6 December 2009 11am-6pm Khoj Association, Delhi, India
Sputniko! will be doing a workshop on DIY Cyborgs in India exploring how future technology may evolve with the rich Indian popular culture.
More Info
releases
Parakonpe 3000
(2009/360DVD2) ¥2625 (£16) Sputniko!'s 1st dvd release from 360°records. Order Now! Visit Site
Android Music: Earth, Even though it sounds unfamiliar to us
(2009/360DVD1) ¥1890(£11) an audiovisual project in collaboration with artist Taro Nijikama, 360°records.
Order Now! Visit Site
In [knowledge_object_id:4]s diagram I described Open_Sailing as a Playground hosting Directed Experiments. Open_Sailing, a project in collaboration with my colleague Cesar Harada, is an open source, collaborative framework for producing design, technology and actual construction for living at sea. Open_Sailing’s research is done in several labs which include: Instinctive_Architecture, Nomadic_Ecosystem, Swarm_Operating_System, Energy_Animals and Ocean_Cookbook which have mostly initiated from contributors or emerged from online discussions. Similar to SourceForge or Instructables (examples of other ‘Playgrounds hosting Directed Experiments’) Open_Sailing contributors are free to initiate a lab at any time – some labs gather contributors and prosper, and other labs fizzle out.
An interesting observation in Open_Sailing is how the power of vision has an important role in making a particular lab thrive. It is not necessarily the most rational vision but the vision which inspires and leaves enough space for contributors to engage in the contemplative process and add to, which attracts the most contribution, snowballing into a larger, more complex outcome. I believe this is also the case in Adhocratic systems like SourceForge or Instructables.
In summary, Playgrounds hosting Directed Experiments can be described to share the following characteristics:
1. Open, sometimes Even: anything could exist, some experiments become directed projects.
2. Vision-lead: the agenda is to host multiple agendas. An inspiring vision which gives enough space for contributors to engage in the contemplative process and add to, tends to expand and thrive.
Here I’d like to explain the ‘Playground hosting Directed Experiment models’ in [knowledge_object_id:4]’s diagram. Examples of Playgrounds hosting Directed Experiments would be SourceForge.net and Instructables.com, which are platforms hosting multiple open source programs and DIY hardware projects. These platforms are essentially a Playground platform : any kind of contributions can exist (Just to give an idea, you can find a “program your Open Source Boyfriend” project in SourceForge and you’ll find numerous projects like “How to make a mini USB fridge” or “How to make a sports bra out of men’s underwear” in Instructables) If a contribution gathers enough collaborators and momentum, it turns itself into a directed experiment. Even though the platforms offer a lot of freedom in what is contributed, both Sourceforge and Instructables have been successful at producing many valuable Open Source software and hardware. These platforms can be described to have an Adhocratic system where participants remain loose, dynamic and playful, but can quickly gather to capture opportunities, solving problems and getting results.
Left diagram: a Directed organization : Right diagram: an Adhocratic organization
In [knowledge_object_id:5] I explained the Directed Experiments model in [knowldge_object_id:4]s diagram. On the other end of the spectrum there are collaborative frameworks that follow more of a playground approach, which in the diagram includes: Nico Nico Douga, Youtube, Facebook, Ning, MySpace, Twitter or 2channel. The crucial difference between Playgrounds and Directed Experiments is that absolutely any kind of contribution can exist in the Playground as long as they don’t violate the basic guidelines such as explicit content or copyrights, encouraging contributions of an extremely diverse range to co-exist. Compared to frameworks of Directed Experiments, Playgrounds can be described to be more ‘Open’ to participation, since contributors of all skill levels and agendas can contribute content to the framework.
Playgrounds don’t have a single, directed agenda but are designed to incorporate and network multiple, emerging agendas. In comparison to Wikipedia or Open Source Programming (Directed Experiments) the Playgroundsmay be far less efficient in producing functional, pre-determined outputs but their very freedom leads to producing some large-scale, unexpected social phenomenons such as Iran’s Twitter Journalism and Japan’s Virtual Idol Miku Hatsune craze.
In summary, the Playground collaborative frameworks are :
1. Open : any contributions can exist
2. Playful: hosts multiple agendas, from small to large, rational to irrational.
If you look at the diagram in [knowledge_object_id:4], collaborative frameworks such as Wikipedia and Open Source Programming are categorized in Directed Experiments. The door to participation in Wikipedia or Open Source Programming is undoubtedly ‘Open’ (the content is open for anyone to access and contribute to) but contributions without value (faulty programs or inaccurate articles) are quickly removed. Since only valuable contributions which fit the agenda of the framework (e.g. create a bug-free program, create an accurate encyclopedia) are welcomed, these platforms have more of an ‘Even’ participation framework rather than ‘Open’. In terms of ‘generating content’, these frameworks are more designed to facilitate collaboration between contributors capable of producing a certain amount of value (e.g. capable of writing computer programs, capable of writing accurate, well-cited articles) and the frameworks usually have a single, directed agenda (e.g. to create a fast browser, to create an accurate encyclopedia) which makes it easier to assign value to the contributions. So in summary, collaborative frameworks ofDirected Experiments are:
1. Even Participation, more than Open Participation : contributions which add value and fit the purpose of the organization survive and thrive: it follows a Meritocratic system.
2. Directed: collaborative efforts are usually directed toward a single agenda.
[/hiromi]
[/collection]
#collection [id:5, creator = "Hiromi Ozaki", time:2009-08-31T15.20.00.0Z, tag:"Directed Experiments, Wikipedia, Open Source Programming, Meritocratic, Even Participation, Collaborative Frameworks"]
#hiromi [creator = "Hiromi Ozaki", time:2009-08-31T15.20.00.0Z, tag:"Directed Experiments, Wikipedia, Open Source Programming, Meritocratic, Even Participation, Collaborative Frameworks"]
1. Open Participation : anyone is able to participate.
2. Mass Production : contents are seen as produced through mass, collaborative effort
3. Consumer = Producer : the producer of the content is usually also the consumer.
There are various online platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, MySpace or Twitter which share the above characteristics. I find these platforms often bundled into one category as [oreilly]web 2.0[/oreilly] or Collaborative Frameworks, but in this knowledge object I’d like to further divide these into three models: the Playground model, the Directed Experiments model and the Playground hosting Directed Experiments model to better analyze their process of content generation. Below is the diagram of the models compiled with my colleague Cesar Harada for the Open_Sailing presentation we gave at the Barbican Gallery on the 27th August, 2009.
[/hiromi]
[/collection]
#collection[id:4, creator:"Hiromi Ozaki", tag:"Playground Model, Directed Experiments Model, Open Participation, Even Participation, Wikipedia, Open Source Programming" time:"2009-08-31T10.11.00.0z", lat:48.31, lon:14.285]
#hiromi [creator:"Hiromi Ozaki", tag:"Playground Model, Directed Experiments Model, Open Participation, Even Participation, Wikipedia, Open Source Programming" time:"2009-08-31T10.11.00.0z", lat:48.31, lon:14.285]
#oreilly[creator:"Tim O'Reilly", title:"What is Web 2.0", tag:"Web 2.0, Internet", time:"2005-09-30T00.00.00.0z", url:"http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html"]
We just finished talking at the Barbican. The English version of the Barbican article can be found in the Open_Sailing blog (I was too lazy to write in both languages today… sorry!!)
I’m now temporarily back in grey, wet London with Cesar, we’ll be giving a presentation on Open_Sailing at the Barbican Gallery starting at 7.30pm 27 August (tonight!). The presentation will be part of the talk series for Radical Nature Exhibition currently at Barbican. The exhibition features works that are inspired by nature and environmental issues, it’s pretty good, I think you should go while it’s still on! (I posted the picture above!)
We’re preparing the talk at the moment (emergency design, as always..!) and we’re very excited to share some recent progress and ideas we’ve had while building/discussing/working on dissertation, etc etc. We might ask a few odd questions to the audience too, let them talk…!
We’ll be flying back to sunny Linz tomorrow, YATTA!
The Barbican details are below, I think you can buy tickets at the venue too.
Aqua-tecture
27 August 2009
Redgrave Suite, Level 4
Tickets: £5
Time: 7.30pm
Discover extraordinary examples of architecture designed for and inspired by the sea. With Cesar Harada and Hiromi Ozaki of the Open_Sailing project, along with Frank Gutzeit, who worked with visionary architect Wolf Hilbertz and his Biorock coral structures.
Book tickets
Diagram: Extreme Programming
Borrowing words from Programming, the content production process in many online collaborative frameworks (for example, Open Source Programming, Wikipedia, Instructables or Nico Nico Douga) operates like an XP [Extreme Programming], where the content produced is immediately made public, consumed, and frequently modified to produce the next version. Such Extreme Programming platforms are ‘alive’ and ‘evolving’, its content grows like moulds, crystals or warts around the consumers’ interests, or [hamono]in media theorist Satoshi Hamano’s words, ‘Tags’[/hamano]
#hamano [creator = "Satoshi Hamano", title:"Architecture no seitaikei - how the information environment has been designed (NTT Press, 2008)", tag:"Architecture, Open Source, Nico Nico Douga, Satoshi Hamano", time:"2008-10-31T00.00.00T0z"]
Ars Electronica Center’s lighting system suddenly bugged up, and the city of Linz was completely neo-rave! Great music video opportunity.
☆Spu!☆
P.S.
関西テレビ用の日本語インタビューの答え、頑張ってやっと書けたんで公開します。これがアルスエレクトロニカでThe Next Idea Awardを受賞したOpen_Sailingについて、初めて日本語で説明した文になると思います。ちなみに最近Sweet Vacationという素晴らしいポップバンドをやっている早川大地さんとオープンなフレームワークの可能性について少し話したんだけど、インタビュー中の「これから本当に大事になるものは、高度な技術とパワーを持った天才ではなく、人を繋げ、知識を共有し、モチベーションを最大限に活かす様な環境かも．．．」と言っている部分では大地さんの言葉をカナリ借りさせて頂きました。大地さん、貴重な意見をどうもありがとう！
I finally wrote up the Japanese interview article for Kansai Television, so I’ll make it public here. This is the first time we explain Open_Sailing in depth, in Japanese. I recently had a very interesting discussion on open participation with Daichi Hayakawa, who runs a great pop band called Sweet Vacation which experiments heavily with social media (as well as making perfect, beautiful pop music). I borrowed a lot of his words when I wrote some comments about the way social media is about to change the way people perceive culture – culture is no longer built by the few geniuses. Thanks so much Daichi for sharing many thoughts.
Anyhow…if you fortunately read Japanese, give me a shout if anything is difficult to understand or sounds a little bit like a religious cult :p
① お写真
② プロフィール
尾崎ヒロミ (http://sputniko.com)
アーティスト／プログラマー。ロンドン大学インペリアルカレッジで数学と情報工学を学び、現在ロイヤル・カレッジ・オブ・アート（RCA)デザイン・インタラクション修士課程に在籍。在学中より原田セザール実とOpen_Sailingの活動を続けている。個人ではアーティスト「スプツニ子」としてテクノロジー、ジェンダー、ポップカルチャーの交差を批評するデバイス、音楽、映像作品などを制作、発表している。
Born 1985, Tokyo. Since 2007, Sputniko! (Hiromi Ozaki) has produced music, films and electronic devices exploring themes such as trans-humanism, vengeful cyborgs and open-source boyfriends, and has performed worldwide with the likes of Japanese pop legends Shonen Knife and Damo Suzuki. More Info
Sputniko! DIY Cyborgss Workshop
Born 1985, Tokyo. Since 2007, 