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FUTURE SOCIAL MEDIA developments are among the subjects being considered at Science Gallery Dublin’s latest exhibition, ‘Lifelogging: Do You Count?’.
Lifelogging concerns the tracking of human existence. It’s not a new phenomenon though with the rapid evolution of technology in recent years it has taken some very interesting directions, not least in the aggressive data-marketing of social media companies.
Most of the many pieces on display lean strongly towards performance art, with the social media tombstone by Karl Toomey immediately catching the eye.
The macabre grave-marker lists your vital statistics on various social networks (and your clubcard data too) at the exact time you slipped the mortal coil.
One might expect a scrolling digital ticker on that kind of headstone, but as a helpful Science Gallery guide points out ‘it’s not like the numbers are going to change’. Fair point.
The headstone is part of a ‘future of lifelogging’ exhibit. Accompanying it is a walkie-talkie-esque ‘Celebrity Tracker’ (a handset that tracks your favourite celebrity’s data, assuming they’re willing to sell it, which let’s face it they probably would be) and 2019′s ‘Confession Cross’, a gps camera in the shape of a crucifix that ‘streams everything you do to your local parish priest’. Hmmm.
Sell your own life data?
An interesting take on the exhibit’s concept is that of American Jennifer Lyn Morone.
Many of us complain about the Big Brother nature of contemporary data mining; Morone has taken the power back and is suggesting that we sell our own logged activity.
‘Controlling the personal data economy’ has seen the artist logging all aspects of her life for economic exploitation. And the going rate for one year of a person’s data? €8,000 apparently.
The true value of the idea comes if people band together in order to sell their data as a collective. Interesting. Take that Facebook.
Volcano-jumping
A company performing a resident lab at the exhibition is Belfast’s Sensum. They’re relatively unique among the exhibits in that they function as a going concern rather than as artists, with ‘emotion based software solutions for the market research and marketing industries’ their mantra.
While that may seem a slightly abstract concept, one of the company’s case studies is awe-inspiring, tracking the emotional and physical responses of San Francisco extremist Sam Cossman as he climbed into one of the world’s most inaccessible volcanoes at the Pacific Ring of Fire.
And if further recommendation is needed, Sensum CEO Gawain Morrison has one of the greatest beards known to man, a sort of Viking-cum-Obelix braid that looks very complicated indeed.
And the rest…
There’s plenty more to see and do at the exhibition: a residency with Facebook timeline designer (and probably the world’s foremost lifelogger) Nicholas Felton, a tea party that physically responds – i.e. your tea-bag jumps about – to your body’s data outputs (such as your heart-rate), and a portrait-exhibit of celebrity lifeloggers such as Irish rugby star Jamie Heaslip to name but three.
There’s also ‘Bad Trip’, a virtual reality exploration of one man’s memories via an Xbox controller, but we’ll have more on that tomorrow. Trust us, it’ll be worth reading.
Greed.
@Moses: You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’
To see you again…
@Moses: It’s perfectly reasonable. You can’t be going around looking at stuff for free. I live in quite a scenic area and the other day I saw some fella looking at some lovely things, bold as brass. I was having none of it. Stood in front of him until he left, so I did. Cheeky git.
We have done this lovely walk many times.(And contributed to the local economy by staying in a bnb and purchasing locally). I would not pay to walk again.
@Fiona Liston: Plenty that will. We don’t need ya
@Luma plex: I’m assuming you’re joking. If not, you think it’s ok to charge people to walk in the fresh air ? And people give out about expensive Dublin ? Clare will become the new rip off place to visit.
Very surprised the comments are open on this article…..the articles for commenting on are getting fewer by the day for some reason !
@Jb Walshe: After seeing some of the comments that were deleted before closing the comments on the article about the memorial to national soldiers I can understand why comments are not being open on all articles.
@Roy Dowling: Example?
@I’m Far Right: the most notable one was using Veradkers sexuality to attack him instead of just saying he shouldn’t have been there. No need for it and probably the reason comments were closed
@Roy Dowling: That sounds awful. Hopefully Leo didn’t see it. Poor wee lad.
@Jb Walshe: those debunked articles are hilarious, usually overlook plenty of facts to suit the explanation and comments are closed in case they’re rumbled.
@I’m Far Right: Ah so you are one of those. Don’t know who I’m surprised
@Fintan Stack: this is the real reason. Talk about how much you like Coldplay all you like, but don’t come here to discuss serious topics and expect not get censored at some stage by the blatantly biased Journal.
They must be in trouble if they’re asking for handouts in the middle of an article.
@Journal Snowflake: …and without so much as a reach-around.
@Fintan Stack: Well don’t read it if you don’t like it! There are plenty of other Irish news sources if you don’t like The Journal’s values. It’s free. What’s the problem? You pay for what you get.
@Journal Snowflake: yes, we’re the fourth richest country in the world, our worst off are 60% better off than the worst off in the UK, and somebody with four dependent kids who chooses never to work can get state supports including housing that equate to a salary of more than 50k before tax. Our medical care and education are free, older people get a pension even if they never contributed to one, along with free travel.
So yes, we’re being screwed, we should kick out our centrist governments and replace them with the IRA.
(Or the weird lad with all the gold bars).
Greed, greed and more ******k8n greed. What a sham of a country we have become.
@Charles Mc Carthy: It is not the ordinary people who are greedy but it is those few fat Greedy Councilors who firmly believe that it is their job to relieve people of their hard earned money. I haven’t visited the Cliffs since the council began charging for parking. None of my children have never visited the Cliffs. How many people who live within ten miles of the Cliffs will never visit the them?
@Seán Ó Maoildeirg: your kids are missing out. Park in Doolin old village for free, it’s 5 mins walk from walk to Cliffs of Moher, spectacular views along the way – although probably takes 90 mins at least to get to O’Brien’s Tower
I remember when there was just a car park at the Cliffs of Moher. No charge……. no bother at all. Then the greed started to kick in. I haven’t been back since
@Johannes Baader: you had a car back then? And you’re still driving? Respect!
Yeay capitalism !
@Alex Kane: You don’t understand what capitalism is.
@Alex Kane: Capitalism was the farmers who decided to use their own property as carparks and undercut the council one in price by a huge percentage. That was kind of cool huh? That’s the free market approach but the government doesn’t like the free market competing like that, so they shut down the competition. In short, capitalism was providing a good solution here and the quasi socialist government stopped it.
Boycott these activities and let’s see what happens when no money is getting in.
Comments closed for the protest at Cork City Library. What are you afraid of, Journal? Free speech?
The boom is back baby……greed is good
And what about Lahinch and Lehinch
All these objections are falling on deaf ears. It’s a long long way from Clare to hear
Well done to the protesters in cork
They’ll be charging to get in to O’Connors or McGanns next.
Nothing wild about the wild Atlantic way
@eoin fitzpatrick: It’s wilder than your one bed flat in dcc
Maybe they could raise the local property tax instead?
Clare locals should stick to farming and stop moaning. They’re our cliffs now.
@Luma plex: Your cheque is in the post.
Thieving c$$ts
Questions….
Surely stopping to drop someone off is not a parking violation…?
Can the double yellow lines be appealled ..positive action is needed.
I was one of the fools that had to pay e12 a person as there was 4 of us in car . To walk along in the rain with the THOUSANDS of others . 1% of them IRISH . 99% TOURISTS. They won’t let u stop the car anywhere near to let people out . As marshalls out moving traffic and ticketing ppl. They even charge u to go into the tower now . So basically rip off ireland at its best . 2 hrs at the cliffs . E48 entrance . 4 Coffees e16 . The rain free , definitely a Mastercard movement.
No one should be charged to walk on a cliff.
No one should be charged to drop someone off.
And there should be a legal maximum to charge people to park their cars.
How absolutely ridiculous.
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