TANDOT

We were invited to present one of the opening talks at Unconference Sheffield 09, a 20/20 Ignite-style talk as part of the “Stimulus” strand. 20 seconds per slide limits the depth it’s possible to go in to, but this is a brief (some would say, hectic) to how we see the world and the basis of our practice.

In broad terms, we look at how the old top-down message culture (particularly in terms of organisations reliant on PR and marketing) is breaking down, and even being actively undermined, by the shift that online communication has ushered in. A look at Ryanair Vs. Jason Roe reminds us that this democratic environment is also two-way, and as such large organisations do not nescessarily benefit from their scale.

We move on to look at how the architectures of the web are causing a cultural shift towards opennness and more egalitarian communication. We look at the ideas of discoverability, wayfinding and how organisations can create paths and signposts to work with their visitor base, and reinforce those paths for the future.

Finally we remind ourselves that conversation and language are themselves technologies; basic frameworks that underpin the most advanced systems that define our cultural identity and mediate our lives. Jürgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action is built on the ideal of a free public sphere, without external pressures influencing discourse, which empowers participants and leads to an freeer, more informed and consensual society.

Unsheffield

We’d like to thank Jag Gill, the team, and sponsors for organising such an excellent event -  always a thankless task. If you were there, we hope you got something from our presentation and the other delegates.

Contact Dave X Dave
(Also at tandot.co.uk/)
After publishing his first game in his teens, Dave had an eclectic career in arts and technology, as a journalist, designer and strategist. After successfully launching the UK's largest web-based EPG service in the late 90s, Dave earned his Master of Arst in interactive media from the University of Sussex. His thesis project looked at spatial data, bridging physical space with electronic resources using mobile devices. Subsequently he has spoken at a number of conferences, started a Media Arts collective in London, and now heads up the non-visual design department at TANDOT, helping partners anticipate and employ the near future spaces where technology and society meet.Click for all posts by Dave regarding this article.

• 3rd Sector
• communication
• community
• discourse
• engagement
• Lightning Talk
• paths
• Presentation
• Unsheffield 09
• wayfinding