KIT: Kisses, Interaction, Technology

2005-12-12T00:40:00.001-05:00

KIT: Kisses, Interaction, Technology (communication in a mediated society) from Shannon South on Vimeo.

PRATT/ID Thesis Defense
Friday, December 9th
prattid.blogspot.com

K.I.T. *Kisses, Interaction, Technology
communication in a mediated society
This thesis is an attempt to understand the social consequences of extreme reliance on digitally mediated interaction tools. As the 'third place' becomes virtual and a significant portion of communication is mediated, one might wonder if and how social norms in the real world will change. Comparing communication interfaces and trying to understand their effect on interactions has led me to question how people's face-to-face social skills are evolving. Perhaps there may be a need for instruments that promote direct communication or provide social rehabilitation to digitally-overdosed people?

2005-12-11T20:54:00.000-05:00

COMFORT ZONE BENCH
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Creates awareness of comfort zones and personal space.
• Allows flexibility in seating distance and movement.
Looking at furniture and studying how it controls the placement of the human body, this bench is intended to be completely free of barriers, creating awareness to the social distances chosen by the user- AFTER having already seated.
Using the space measurements determined by social scientists, this bench delineates the seated distances for SOCIAL, PERSONAL, and INTIMATE zones through its text.

2005-12-11T20:49:00.000-05:00

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR TABLECLOTH
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Promote interaction and ethical understanding.
• Texts from 12 of the world’s religions, all preaching peace.
• Circular design forces the user into their neighbor’s personal space in order to be read.
Little face-to-face contact and interaction with people who are different from you, leads to ignorance. When all of our news comes from sources that sensationalize- fear and hatred are bred. Comparing how reality is shifting with technological advances on a large scale, this tablecloth promotes ethical and cultural understanding.

2005-12-11T20:34:00.000-05:00

COMMUNICATIVE COFFEE COZY
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Promote new meetings in group settings.
• Be ‘online’ or ‘offline’ in the real world.
Meeting people is easier when we are all wearing name tags. There are TWO VERSIONS of these ice breaking tools.
There is the traditional ‘HELLO MY NAME IS’ version... (which you all have) and there is The “HELLO, MY SCREEN NAME IS” version which is intended for use in WiFi cafe’s... Both of them allow one to go ‘OFF-LINE’ by simply turning the DO NOT DISTURB side outward.

2005-12-11T20:25:00.000-05:00

FIRST DATE WINE GLASSES
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Helps couples to get to know one another face-to-face.
• ‘Helper’ questions on the wine glass prompt users in topics of conversation.
When meeting online, there is definitely a disconnect and an unnatural flow to the relationship. Perhaps there will be a need for ‘helper’ topics of conversation. Like handwritten notes or a cheat-sheet, one can naturally glance down to bring a topic into conversation. As the wine level drops, the questions become more intimate. The last being: "May I kiss you?"

2005-12-11T20:11:00.000-05:00

LAPTOP REARVIEW MIRROR
CONCEPT BY SHANNON SOUTH
With WIFI available practically everywhere, there are noticeable changes in cafe culture today. I wonder how many opportunities for chance encounters in the real world we missing out on due to our tunnel vision into our digital worlds? This laptop accessory is intended to help bring awareness to the surroundings of the public space.

2005-12-11T20:08:00.000-05:00

TOUCH MOUSE
CONCEPT BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Add another level of connection by bringing a human element of touch to the chat environment.
• Squeezable computer mouse allows you to feel touch from the person you are chatting with.

2005-12-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

FLIRTSTATION, bench for two
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
The intention of this furniture piece is to promote person-to-person communication and interaction. Narrowing this down, I have chosen to focus on the act of flirting. Two can share this bench that will naturally allow connection to occur by keeping one focused on the other through the window that connects, yet separates them.

2005-11-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

Project PlaceSite introduces a new way to use wireless networks -- to create a local information service by, for and about people who are in the same place together. Through PlaceSite we explore issues of community-building and technology tied to specific places in the city, starting with cafés.

www.placesite.com

2005-10-27T23:12:00.000-04:00

Flock…The Social Browser
Web browser.
Creating the tools for the participatory web.
www.flock.com

2005-10-25T23:50:00.000-04:00

K.I.T. *Kisses, Interaction, Technology

Keep In Touch... we are moving further and further from Touch.
In an attempt to understand the space where live, human interaction merges with digitally mediated interaction, I ask myself...
How have new communication technologies changed social norms and the way in which people in society interact with one another?
How can communication be altered with furniture and spaces?
What role do digital communication tools play on the evolution of ones social skills? How can digital interfaces be humanized to allow for more natural communication, thus lessening barriers?

I'll get back to you on this one...

2005-10-14T22:03:00.000-04:00

Neighbornodes are group message boards on wireless nodes, placed in residential areas and open to the public. These nodes transmit signal for around 300 feet, so everyone within that range has access to the board and can read and post to it. This means that with a Neighbornode you can broadcast a message to roughly everyone whose apartment window is within 300 feet of yours (and has line of sight), and they can broadcast messages back to you. Boards are only accessible from computers that go through the local node.

Additionally, Neighbornodes are linked together, making up a node network to enable the passing of news and information on a street-by-street basis throughout the wider community.

With access to your local Neighbornode, you can post messages to your local group board, as well as forward messages to other nodes in your vicinity. These other nodes can in turn forward messages to your node, resulting in a network of neighborhood message boards.

www.neighbornode.com

2005-10-12T21:01:00.000-04:00

Serendipity is an application for mobile phones that can instigate interactions between you and people you don't know, but probably should. All you have to do is create a Mobule profile containing the information you feel comfortable sharing with potential friends and colleagues. This profile, along with your mobile phone, immediately provides a connection to an exciting community of people around you whom you have yet to meet. Looking for a date? A new client? An expert? Or maybe just a good conversation... Let Serendipity help you turn the strangers around you into friends.

www.mobule.com

2005-10-03T18:45:00.000-04:00

Online Survey on Electronic Communication Media
I've received about 100 responses to my survey.
The written questions are as follows:
How do you feel about the social aspect of these new mediums? Does it help or hinder your social skills in face-to-face interactions ? Please explain.
Do you have any thoughts on how this increased usage of digital tools is changing society?

Read the Results: www.TissuesforIssues.com

2005-10-01T20:03:00.000-04:00

Interaction and Society
Social interaction is an essential element to human existence. E-mail and instant messaging are replacing telephone calls and many people work an entire day without opening their mouths to communicate. There is no denying that technology is on its way to involving itself in every aspect of people’s lives and, as our world becomes more digitized and efficient, the frequency of face-to-face interaction in society is decreasing. Though we are staying connected, I believe we are losing an extremely important component to life - live, human interaction. I expect this decrease in live communication will create a need for balance, perhaps causing a desire in people to get out and interact more in public.

How is technology harming social development and how can technology be used to enhance social development? The irony is that the more people use and rely on new technology, the more it is relied upon as an interface to enhance social interactions. We keep moving farther away from the physical. How healthy is this for society? “What about carnal needs?” asks William Morris, as cited by architectural historian, Robin Evans in an essay on architectural floorplan and their effect on interactivity.

I am interested in understanding how the fundamental design of a space and the furnishings of the space can promote social interaction and what effect new technologies can have on that space. What will a real-world chat room look like? How would it differ from a traditional bar or café? How must we think about designing public spaces in order to seamlessly merge new technologies and physical structures in our environments? How will pervasive computing change our interactions in spaces? How will integrated technology be used to promote or obstruct interactions among people?

My extreme vision of the future, if social interaction levels continue on the path they are on, is that people will gradually lose the skills required to meet in public spaces, both personally and professionally. I believe that due to the increasing reliance on non-verbal, digital communication, people will need assistance socializing in person. There may be a need for places or products that are designed to facilitate real-world face-to-face meetings.

I would like to gain a greater understanding of how humans interact in spaces, both real and virtual and to eliminate barriers between people. I do this by studying and creating scenarios that promote human connection and instigating communication between people.

Life and experiences work best when shared with other people. My hope is to create new ways of promoting and maintaining valuable shared experiences.

“Where do [you] want to be in five or ten years? Do [you] want to die with the most toys, or do [you] want to die with the best life and experiences?” -Tibor Kalman