murmur Activity for Social Tagging in a Physical Space
I still haven't gotten to a site, but I hope to. I did go to the Spadina page and was impressed at how many ears there were, and I find myself wondering at the accumulated wisdom in all those ears - and feel that on e limitation here is that its not really easy to get that wisdom out, in any way. I'm happy that the wisdom is there, because its not lost to all time, now. But like the library - I find myself wondering how I can find the bits of wisdom that I need, or the synthesis, gestalt, etc. - Jim
Naomi asks: What if I wanted certain kinds of stories? What if I wanted to know where all the haunted houses are? Or all the ear stories about fashion district?
It's intriguing to think about how tagging works in 3D. I had only ever thought about it as an online activity, but particularly with the murmur experiment, you are given the 'power' to attach importance to a space--any space. The idea of importance is what is interesting here. Whether you are an expert, i.e. a historian placing a historical marker on a battlefield, or a non-expert, i.e. a store owner from Spadina and College telling a story of how the space looked 50 years ago, you are attaching some level of importance to the space by drawing attention to it with a sign, whether it is the blue or brown province sanctioned sign, or a lime green colored ear. -Jes
Take a look at the Google Image Labeler
http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/
(or its original version: ESP: http://www.espgame.org/ )
a fun way to collaboratively tag images while playing a game. Its
mechanism also addresses some problems raised in the readings such as
poor or repetitive tags.
Enjoy,
Xiang
This is cool, Xiang. I wonder, particularly in this case, if the pressure associated with game forces an individual to random guess in the hopes that their anonymous partner will do so. I found myself more concerned with the game aspect than tagging "accurately", whatever that means. You're absolutely right that it raises all the issues mentioned in the readings. I'm particularly intrigued by the "high scorers". They become the 'experts' in this exercise it seems. -Jes
My partner Jon and I got into murmur when we moved to the Kensington area last fall. We didn't have a cell phone, but we did have an internet connection-- and one night, we clicked our way through the map, listening and learning about our new neighbourhood.
My favourite murmur site is '213601: 285 Spadina Ave.'-- the corner of Dundas and Spadina, and the current home of the Hung Wan Dollar Store and a Royal Bank.
Eight audio memories form a rich, varied (and most definitely odd) history of this corner-- once home (at various stages) to a Shopsy's Deli, a Yiddish theater, the Victory Burlesque, and the Golden Harvest Chinese Cinema.
Sometimes when I go banking there, I think about these stories-- about Iggy Pop and Bruce Lee, about those strippers, and that long-ago corned beef competition. I think about how spaces change, and don't change, over time. I think about the layers upon layers of stories there-- and it sets me imagining in a way a brass plaque never has. - jen barratt
Star Log 10022007....Murmur.....If these walls could talk... wait now they can....
This idea, and its connection to the larger topic of history, makes me think of the idea of the role of authorship in history. That being, history is written through the eyes of those in power. This would appear to challenge that idea in some respects. The idea of providing a platform for individuals to contribute to the documentation of history lends itself to a more local and oral interpretation of geography and in the case of Murmur gives the landscape a personal depth that is missed if the only experience in the environment is through a car window. This idea makes me wish that Toronto would have the gusto to limit or eliminate traffice in specific areas of the downtown core so that commuters might be motivated to form a more intimate relationship with the cities they work in.
On a conflicting note...greater minds have suggested ....
"History is a novel for which the people is the author." ~Alfred de Vigny, Réflexions sur la Vérité dans l'Art
"Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters." ~African Proverb
Shawn
I was really impressed with the project. I visited the online sites and found really familiar murmur sites down Spadina – Casa Loma, some of which I walk by everyday. Somehow, as an international student, I naturally became more interested in stories that contain elements of history or culture records. Shawn puts it really well, I think the uniqueness of this murmur experience is so vivid to me because I never thought such historical and cultural insights could take shape through a bottom-up approach.
The question of accuracy did flash across my mind and I wished there were more sources available in the site to substantiate the recordings. However, I was not too concern with it because they are, afterall, a conception of the whole community not of an individual. Which I think speaks so much about the power of social tagging.
Thanks, Naomi and Jes for such an interesting introduction to the session.
ChewLee
I went to Harthouse and found one murmur. It was about the debate room and how in one session the discussion got so heated that one of the participants threw the "Mace" at one of the attendants. The mace was taken to the RCMP!
I quite liked the murmuring experience because it just adds a human layer to buildings and places. At least I will look for the green ears in the places that I visit from now on. One point, however, was that I expected to hear more murmurs in one place. The debate room sounds like a very active place but there was only one murmur. I wonder how much students know about it...
Hedieh
Less than enamored with Murmur after my first experience with it. I found the Spadina-Bloor spot and called the number and punched in the code, all that got me were two stories from other people who had already recorded theirs', so there is no way to record a story right from the spot! In order to record a story, you have to log on the website, send them a message detailing your story, then Murmur will get in touch with you about recording it! Eliminating the spontaneity to me robs about 85% of the charm of the concept right from the get-go. I understand that this is done for security reasons because of the numerous prank messages that would no doubt be generated, but that's why they have the screening system. Even after I logged on to the website to share my story by sending murmur a message I got numerous server errors. So Murmur gets an 'A' for conception, and about a C- for execution.
Arif
<andrew> I agree with Arif about the lack of spontaneity. I found that the project overall cried out for more layers: more ways to expand participation both in terms of breadth (more people) and depth (more intense involvement). I'd love to see them expand the concept so that it could embrace a larger range of locations that might be interesting to people. What about if they sold the ears, and maybe the installation services? Then, anyone who wanted to define a location of interest to them could do so, and encourage their friends to create stories around that ear. Also, I think that the stories themselves should have a collaborative infrastructure for editing, and maybe even transcribing them. All in all, I think it needs a broader range of opportunities for participation. </andrew>