On Connections

June 28, 2011 | 2 Comments

In a lot of ways the New Media Lab has become a throwback form of social networking. Many of us in the lab are on Twitter, we have blogs,  and are very much present on the web; however, the primary type of networking that occurs with the lab is personal. We talk about projects in person, we have face-to-face meetings. We don’t really have a lot of conversations back and forth about projects on Twitter. But we do in person in the lab. So what does that say about a technology lab? Are we too “old school?” Are we not as high tech as we would like to believe?

I believe it’s neither of these things, and if you let me have a few paragraphs I’ll try to tie make some sense of it and at the same time reaffirm that the world isn’t falling apart due to social networking. I know, big claims for a short blog entry.

On Being a Curated Space
For those of you that have read my rambles previously, you know that I’ve spoke at length about expertise and curation as the next iteration of the web.  In some sense that is what we have here. Like many quasi-public spaces, there is an application process where we discuss with students their plans, goals, technologies and commitment. We then are able to situate students within the lab based on these criteria (note: I make this whole process sound much more rigorous than it really is).

On Oral History and Deep Memory
The space though is further curated through conversations that myself, and other faculty, staff and students involved with the lab have with one another. This is a big way in which connections are made and established which differ significantly from a tag based system like Facebook, LinkedIn or even the Interests here on the CUNY Commons.

For us to list a “skill” or “interest,” we need to see the skill within ourselves and simultaneously choose to advertise it and market ourselves as having this ability. There’s a sense of self-curation in this, as we choose who we want to be on the internet. Its much less insidious than it sounds. Think of it as curating 15 years of experience into a one page CV. These self-declared skills or abilities are then how we are found. Its self-deterministic. We choose what we are good at and how we want people to find us. For better or worse, the New Media Lab has become a place where the interactions transcend self-declared skills.

The inter-disciplinary of the space means that people from different backgrounds are able to see different patterns. Whereas some scholars will see patterns emerging out of disciplines (we have several theater and environmental psychology students for example), and some technologists will see tools (interest in Omeka, programming language skills), others might see place (several students doing work in Turkey) and yet others will see theoretical frameworks (two students from two very different fields using audio manipulation techniques  using very different vocabularies to describe the removal of certain frequencies from audio)

This kind of intersection is unlikely where a critical mass of different disciplines hasn’t been reached. The more students that work in the lab, the more connections that arise. The lab in some senses is a space where our expertise in different fields has helped each other see similarities in work and theory where none may have been self evident. When an Anthropologist, a Historian and a Social Activist walk into a bar, the answer isn’t a punch line to a joke.

On How do we Represent these Connections
Many of the connections we uncover in the lab are complex and not necessarily self-declared. Still, one wonders how we may come to visualize these patterns. Many have suggested a tag system on the NML site, so at a glance a new researcher looking to use Omeka and Final Cut Pro could find out who in the lab has worked with those technologies. I’m struck with Phylo as one model (and a former New Media Lab project) of how connections may be visualized. Could a complex series of Venn diagrams visualize the connections within the lab? Or is it best that these connections continue to reside in the minds of all those who pass through here?

This presents itself as one example of the kind of connections that are most possible outside of traditional  web social networking. And despite the fact that we are all necessarily engaged in these media, there exists spaces where other interactions are necessary and more revelatory.

So perhaps I’m overstating the conclusion of this blog post. But I think there’s some interesting connections within here to the struggles of what it means to be a digital humanist. Perhaps that is a thought for another post.


Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Footenotes » Blog Archive » Round Up! 6/24 – 7/1 on July 1, 2011 5:38 am

    […] where Web culture might be headed there were some thoughts on ‘connections’ and how they emerge and can be developed in the socially networked world.  We talk about connections on the Commons […]

  2. The End of the Year Round-Up! : Footenotes on December 31, 2011 9:01 pm

    […] had some doubts.  Aaron’s blog has always been a must read for those of us interested in social media and adventures in technology ethics, so it was nice to see (so far) his instincts prove true on […]

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  • A little about me

    My name is Aaron Knoll (as per the title and URL) and I work in the New Media Lab as an advisor of sorts. I assist students working on digital media projects by being available to discuss technology, options, best practices and modern approaches to digital scholarship, as well as the applications and alternatives that are available. I use my 10+ years of experience, having worked in nearly ever IT role that has ever been dreamed up, to offer expertise, advice, and support for the directions they choose to take in their projects.

    I have fulfilled this role in the New Media Lab for over three years and look forward to continue supporting students as they ambitiously look towards the future with their digital work.

  • Disclaimer

    The views expressed here are my own and they do not represent an official stance of the New Media Lab or any of my colleagues affiliated with the New Media Lab.

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