Hopefully, this new site will be launching relatively soon, currently the design is complete I’m just in the process of finalising content.

UPDATE: I’m incredibly busy at the moment with my thesis, the new site design will be live at the end of September, Thank You!

- Kyle

Synopsis

“In his student flat in Colchester, Jack Howe is staring intently into his computer screen. He is picking the team for Ebbsfleet United’s FA Trophy Semi-Final match against Aldershot . Around the world 35,000 other fans are doing the same thing, because together, they own and manage the football club. If distributed networks of people can run complex organisations such as football clubs, what else can they do? Us Now takes a look at how this type of participation could transform the way that countries are governed. It tells the stories of the online networks whose radical self-organising structures threaten to change the fabric of government forever. Us Now follows the fate of Ebbsfleet United, a football club owned and run by its fans; Zopa, a bank in which everyone is the manager; and Couch Surfing, a vast online network whose members share their homes with strangers. The founding principles of these projects — transparency, self-selection, open participation — are coming closer and closer to the mainstream of our social and political lives. Us Now describes this transition and confronts politicians George Osborne and Ed Milliband with the possibilities for participative government as described by Don Tapscott and Clay Shirky amongst others.”

CONTRIBUTORS: Don Tapscott, Ed Miliband, William Heath, Martin Sticksl, Lee Bryant, Tom Steinberg, Charles Leadbeater, George Osborne, Saul Albert, Mikey Weinkove, Sunny Hundal, Sophia Parker, JP Rangaswami, Paul Miller, Becky Hogge, Matthew Taylor, MT Rainy, Giles Andrews, Clay Shirky, Paul Miller, Sane Kelly, Liam Daish

- Kyle

I woke up to find the message in my left hand. It had me trembling. It wasn’t a fax, telegram, memo or the usual sort of missive bringing disturbing new. In fact my hand held nothing at all. The trembling was the message. 

Any ideas? Answers on a postcard.

- Kyle

The Brief

To successfully enhance the visitor experience within a museum environment, that has particular emphasis on solving navigation and learning issues. Other constraints that are considered include interpretation, interaction and contribution.

Where to start?

Before initially sketching ideas (in the end I had roughly 30) I thought it would be a good starting point (in a high level way) to look at existing forms of navigation within a museum environment.

Here is a quick outline of my observations;

This image really got my brain cells thinking, together with research into looking at the best forms of learning in this environment (cooperatively or solitary) I started producing ideas. In my case I never produce great design concepts straight away (well when I’m sitting at my desk anyway). I find designing is an iterative process consistently building on smaller ideas and sometimes even merging ideas together that gets you to the end product. That’s why I find sketching so important, it does not matter how wacky an idea is, just get it down on paper! 

The Museum Guide Metaphor

Your own personal virtual guide;

Advantages

Media rich, using sound and video (gives a platform). Doesn’t require the user to watch the display. Removes any social connotations, from having a real person. Guides and supports learning allowing you to roam, but also plan a root. Allows exploration. Allows learning through interactivity > Speaking to you, taking the interactive quiz > Future research for home (different outlets for learning). Quiz > Scoreboard – Where did I come? Respectful form of learning (man in a coat). It was designed for any portable device not necessarily a mobile phone.

Disadvantages

Single user device, Requires the user to wear headphones,  Will it annoy? – Microsoft paperclip syndrome. 

A mobile communication device (bring ya’ own)

Use your personal device to interact with the environment;

Advantages

Provides further information to what currently exists in the environment. Allows exploration. Good platform for navigation. Interactive aspect with friends, leave notes and comments (contribution). Find friends and family on the map. Allows learning, it just doesn’t simply present information. Interactively, playing games using the mobile device. Make learning fun and enjoyable.

Disadvantages

Small display and reduces oral communication between visitors.

The Magic Lens (Augmented Reality)

Imagine your looking through an empty picture frame;

Advantages

Allows interactive learning, it just doesn’t simply present information. – A platform for playing videos and audio. Allows contribution through discussing artwork/pieces. All this content is virtual no need to alter the museum environment. The user gets the device when they attend, they aren’t required to bring additional hardware. Allows 2 types of navigation, but also a platform to see more about places.

Disadvantages

Requires the user to keep pointing the device. Requires users to wear headphones

Conclusion

In the end the Museum Guide system was chosen. What do you think of it? Was it the right choice? – Looking back you may find some of these sketches ambiguous, as they were part of a presentation, some information is missing but I hope there enough there to understand the main concepts. The advantages and disadvantages are quickly copied notes from my notebook so hopefully you can understand them too.

- Kyle

Remember : To draw straight lines maintain a medium pitch, lower/raise your voice to draw curves.

I’ve wasted half my morning!

- Kyle

Merry Christmas to you all!

- Kyle

Entire show (250+ mb)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R98G47S0
Part 1 (discs 1 and 2)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LZWRZEJ8
Part 2 (disc 3)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GRF5Z91Y

Set List: Badlands / Streets Of Fire / Spirit In The Night / Darkness On The Edge Of Town / Factory / Promised Land / Prove It All Night / Racing In The Streets / Thunder Road / Jungleland / The Ties That Bind / Santa Claus / Fever / Fire / Candy’s Room / Because The Night / Point Blank / Mona – She’s The One / Backstreets / Rosalita / Born To Run / Detroit Medley / 10th Avenue Freeze Out / Raise Your Hand / Quarter To Three

Notes about the show: Broadcast on KSAN in San Francisco, CA. The stretch run of the Darkness tour featured several differences from early in the tour, most notably Bruce’s regular inclusion of "The Fever" and "Point Blank," as well as opening the second set with "The Ties That Bind." This show is another nomination for greatest show of all time, and another show with which you should start your collection. The performances of "Prove It All Night," "The Promised Land," and "Backstreets" are some of the best of all time. It was first released on CD by Great Dane Records as "Live in the Promised Land," and then Crystal Cat released their version called "Winterland Night," and the remasterer extraordinaire Prodigal Son released his version called "Prodigal Son at Winterland." It should also be noted that this show was another of the early vinyl bootlegs, also called "Live in the Promised Land," but the source tape was from the broadcast and does not include the last two songs. By this time, Bruce knows that radio broadcasts really help the bootleg industry, and he dedicates "Racing in the Street" to all the guys on Kingsley and Ocean Avenues (along the Jersey Shore) who will hear this show "through the magic of bootlegging." This was Bruce’s last radio broadcast until July 3, 1988.

Thanks,

- Kyle

(link) I wanted to find the weather in ‘South Shields’, but what page does ‘S’ begin on? Page 5? Who knows? The numerical list above is giving the user no indication, which is highly annoying. Why aren’t they utilising a alphabetical list instead?

i.e. a,b,c,d,e…

I got all the way to page 32, to find South Shields was not on the list

Come on BBC!

- Kyle

How much of this do I really care about? – Not much, but I do care about the Springsteen track being played in the background of the trailer. I heard the track about 2 months ago, cracking stuff, watch the trailer and listen to the song.

This song ‘The Wrestler’ will appear as a bonus track on the new Springsteen album ‘Working On A Dream’, released in January ‘09.

- Kyle

The work of Jon Burgerman interests me, I’ve often wondered about wasting a few quid on buying a piece of his work. So today I asked myself why? why do I like it? I seriously can’t say! Rationally it doesn’t make sense, it certainly doesn’t go with my décor, or do I have an emotional connection, I just, well, like it. People say your décor defines you, maybe having one piece of his work on one wall in my house would define me? – Look at his work, you’ll understand or maybe you wont, maybe your not meant too?

Jon I’m just waiting on the correct piece now.

UPDATE : Just as I finished this post, I found this;

By Jon Burgerman this wallpaper is actually a colouring book. This wallpaper can be filled with your own colours as you can see in the picture, so what was I saying about my own décor? This reminds me of what Randy Pausch said about letting your children draw on their walls, I couldn’t see any children that wouldn’t be intrigued with this;

The wallpaper is available now from this store in East Sussex at £40.00 per roll.

- Kyle