ShayMFA Presence

Virtual Choir

Shaina Allison Lurie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:18:00 +0000

185 Voices
12 Countries
Created by Eric Whitacre
Music:’Lux Aurumque’

“Thin-Slicing”

Shaina Allison Lurie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:35:30 +0000

After reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, I am beginning to realize how essential moments of experience, what he refers to as, “thin-slicing”, are to how we think about innovation and online relationships.

He states, that humans could never have survived as a species without the ability to make very quick decisions based on very little information. Thinking about this statement in relationship to our digital media culture we have adapted to the world wide web of information. We often choose to have multiple screens open simultaneously listening and playing multiple forms of media in one slice of time. How have our instincts as a species grown to understand and utilize these experiences? Are we training our brains to absorb multiple sources and small bites of information as a singular glance? If so, then we need to create, design and innovate around the notion of rapid cognition. We need to brand our ideas in the simplest of terms assuming that our customers will have even less than 30 seconds to establish an impression. One example is DVR, we are a fast-forward society, but what if we create advertisements that while you fast-forward flash one singular word, image, or message. It would seem to appear that your fast-forward is in slow motion but in fact it would be a lasting blink of an impression.

“Louis Cheskin, a marketing pioneer of the early 20th century, developed the theory of Sensation Transference essentially that consumers didn’t just consume a product, but the totality of the product, including the packaging. Through this phenomenon, consumers would transfer the emotions generated by product packaging to the product itself, literally ‘tasting’ a product the instant they saw it.” We need to think and test the power of experiencing sensation transference in relationships to online media, products and innovations. How might we package our innovations online with the goal that our customers feel the experiences of our design?

“Good improvisers seems telepathic everything looks pre-arranged.” Johnstone writes, “This is because they accept all offers made – which is something no “normal” person would do.” p.116

This acceptance of all offers made is exactly how creatives use collaborative brainstorming. We lay every single ideas on the table with the hope that one idea will be sticky. But, what if we brought an outside voice into the room every 15 minutes to take a glance at the table? How might their snap judgements of our ideas without any context influence our creative decisions?

“Our unconscious reactions come out of a locked room, and we cant look inside that room. But with experience we become expert at using our behavior and our training to interpret – and decode – what lies behind our snap judgements and first impressions.” p.183

According to Match.com, 1 out of 5 relationships start online. How has our ability to “thin-slice” influenced our online relationships?

For example, if you met someone face-to-face, even for a brief moment you would instinctively make snap judgments. You would base them on their appearance, body language, facial expression and tone of voice. But, if you only have a photo of a face online and words on a screen to establish an impression, than, how have our experiences online influenced our relationship decisions? If you had spoken directly to this person than you would better interpret their use of language and pick up on tonal cues. But, if you never heard this persons voice and only read their descriptive language on the screen then it might be difficult to understand their context. So, when we think about developing relationships online for business or pleasure, we should consider Malcolm Gladwell’s notion of “thin-slicing”. We should establish our identities online with our tone of voice, use of body language, images and words as simplistic, direct and in context as possible. Because you never know how one blink might influence your life.

“This is the gift of training and expertise – the ability to extract an enormous amount of meaningful information from the very thinnest slice of experience. To a novice, that incident would have gone by in a blur. But it wasn’t a blur at all. Every moment – every blink – is composed of a series of discrete moving parts, and every one of those parts offers an opportunity for intervention, for reform, and for correction.” p.241

Sources:
http://www.gladwell.com/blink/
http://karimgargum.com/harness-the-power-of-sensation-transference-to-boost-your-brand

4 Artists 1 Collaborative Canvas

Shaina Allison Lurie — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 03:15:52 +0000

An evolving painting created by four artists working simultaneously on the same digital canvas. The painting process was unplanned and free form. The artists took cues from each others actions and interpretation of various shapes/colors. Communication was made possible by text chat. The total elapsed time was 4 hours.

The Human Spark

Shaina Allison Lurie — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:52:07 +0000

Part of our human condition is experiencing “ideas” within our mind when we simply aren’t doing anything at all. I would imagine that this part of the brain would light up when I am going for a walk, taking a shower, driving my car, brushing my teeth or even in my daydreams. What about these simple task experiences makes them unique for generating a spark of creativity? What if we could determine which experiences in our everyday lives hold this magical power? Could it be possible that each individual person has their own source of event that fuels this fire? Maybe, it is not even within a daydream or a relaxing shower, maybe, the spark thrives within words, shapes or colors. Think about that. What if we could pin point specific actions, movements or memories within our mind that push our imaginations. The PBS series describes how our sequence in language is a key characteristic that separates us from animals. I wonder if anyone has studied a sequence of events or movements that cultivate these types of sparks. If we use tools as extensions of our body then most certainly movement would be a source of inspirational power. If we could detect an individuals “Human Spark” as being a walk in the park, perhaps, we could build teams and relationships with business models that utilize idle moments.

If we understand that humans can think about what other people are thinking to the 5th order (Heavy computing) then can we teach and harness this ability for education? We should be development educational simulated experiences that transport us into another environment where we view their world through the minds of their people. WOW. Now that would be a transformative community.

Source
Check it out: http://video.pbs.org/video/1390247671

The language of the soul

Shaina Allison Lurie — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 01:18:37 +0000

When art and technology breathe together in motion

Impossible to Disengage

Shaina Allison Lurie — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:56:35 +0000

The interplay of technology has had a tremendous impact not only in our daily lives, but essentially every aspect of our daily experiences. In our earliest days of technological achievement, communication by telegraph, and subsequently the use of computers for data storage and retrieval, seemed fantastic. Today, interplay is merging all methods of our network society by impacting education, individual relationships, business, and cultural exchanges globally. As recent as two generations ago it was common in our society for families to live together and work in close proximity. Today, families retain close ties and business is conducted through the interplay of technology despite being geographically dispersed. Telecommuting to work from home or distant locations is commonplace. This interplay expands access to markets and builds bridges with people culturally and globally. It is virtually impossible to disengage ourselves from it. Interplay is an ever-evolving, dynamic aspect of our existence and will continue to develop, merging evermore greatly all facets of our lives.

Interplay Unites All Media

Shaina Allison Lurie — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:42:41 +0000

We are experiencing a transition to a new world. A world where technology and people come together. This multi-dimensional connection is essentially one organism. According to Kevin Kelly’s predictions this one entity will touch all aspects of our lives. Media educates us with over 31 billion searches on Google every month. At a rate of 600 words a minute, twenty-four hours a day, a person could read nearly 27,000,000 words in a month. Media knows who we are with over 500 million active users on Facebook. Whether it’s a ring, buzz, text or tweet, media reminds us of our daily tasks. Media has become a child in our pocket. According to the A.C. Nielson Co., the average American watches more than four hour of TV each day. Meanwhile, 56 million Americans are playing social games. We are constantly connected to media. This interplay relationship is shaping our education, job success, and interpersonal relationships. 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online. The top 10 jobs in demand in 2010 did not even exist in 2004. “1 in 4 employees prefer to communicate via email rather than face to face. In 2020 that figure will be 3 out of 4.” “Half of what a student learns in their first year is outdated by the time they are in their 3rd year.” “Predictions are than by 2049, a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species.”

Sources:
Wikipedia, didyouknow.org, mashable

Metamorphosis between old and new media

Shaina Allison Lurie — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:27:39 +0000

Technology permeates our everyday lives. “The media, just like any other evolutionary and revolutionary advances and developments, seems to be in process of cascading and overtaking the new from the old fashioned.” Interplay combines the Five Cs, communication, collaboration, community, creativity, and convergence. The purpose of communication throughout history is to share and pass on stories to the next generation. A major development from old to new media is leaving behind a digital footprint. New media can be copied, changed and shared instantly. This term we refer to as, “new media”, is meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, networked information and communication technologies. From the invention of the telegraph to the virtual world, we have gone from questions of functionality to faster, lighter, smaller design. We have gone from one way communication to a network of shared social experiences. We have shifted from an industrial society to an information society overlapping between producer and user. Today, the pivotal turning point of media technology is how it has an impact on our daily lives.

Sources:
How media shapes our world

Brainstorming

Shaina Allison Lurie — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:28:36 +0000

WHAT IS BRAINSTORMING?
WHO IS INVOLVED?
STEPS TO TAKE.
5 RULES.

WHAT IS BRAINSTORMING?

“I love to hear a choir. I love the humanity to see the faces of real people devoting themselves to a piece of music. I like the teamwork. It makes me feel optimistic about the human race when I see them cooperating like that.”
-Paul McCartney (Enchantment, Coverphon)

A successful work of art is not one which resolves contradictions in a spurious harmony, but one which expresses the idea of harmony negatively by embodying the contradictions, pure and uncompromised, in its innermost structure.
- Theodore Adorno

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world!
- Joel Arther Barker

WHO IS INVOLVED?

PEOPLE WHO…

Are diverse
Strive for goals
Are open-minded
Participate without fear
Are great listeners
Learn to trust

STEPS TO TAKE.

Capture process while in motion
Express all ideas in the moment
Welcome creative collisions
Generate conversation
Feed off of the energy
Reach for the stars

“Generally the more forms of media you use, the more enchanting you’ll be.”

(Enchantment, p.114)

“When your boss looks good, you look good.”

(Enchantment, p.165)

“Show and Broadcast progress”

(Enchantment, p.168)

5 RULES.

1) Positive Energy
2) Facilitator
3) Capture ideas
4) Keep moving towards goals
5) No judgment

Sources:
http://www.guykawasaki.com/enchantment/

People, Place & Community Ideation

Shaina Allison Lurie — Wed, 25 May 2011 00:18:42 +0000

I am considering several ideas for a performing arts organization for one of my MFA projects in a course called People, Place & Community.

I am visioning a structured system that organizes media tools. It would be categorized in an intuitive format and potentially customizable. Imagine a bucket system for organizing video, audio, pictures, blogs etc. for that organization. Staff could easily upload and drag and drop their content into this portal. Then marketing could use this as a tool to view what is their strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps, the system could make suggestions for which media content could go into which social media avenues. For example, a video of Wizard of Oz children could go on Facebook, Tumblr and Youtube. An interview with a professional artist could go on Vimeo, Website blog and both could be mentioned on Twitter. This system would help aggregate and organize a home plate for created media. It would hopefully be sustainable and possibly statistical for their IT and Marketing departments. It would help enhance their objective of creating more content to develop ownership and participatory relationships with their online communities.

Thoughts?