This is the research diary of researcher Lisbeth
Klastrup, since february 2001 sharing her thoughts on life, universe, persistent online
worlds, games, interactive stories and internet oddities with you on the www.
I am currently on leave from the IT University
of Copenhagen, and from aug. 2006 - aug. 2007 working as Associate Research Professor at the Center for Design Research Copenhagen, an independant center situated at the School of Architecture. During this year, I will be working on a book about the development of aesthetics, design and interaction on the WWW, together with colleague Ida Engholm.
My blog often reflects how busy I am in general, so posting may be pretty irregular, as well as my potential response to comments. But I read them!
My list of publications.
My official homepage at ITU.
Contact:
lisbethATklastrupDOTdk
February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001 November 2001 December 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007
Fellow research bloggers
-Denmark
Jesper Juul
Gonzalo Frasca
Martin Sønderlev Christensen
Jonas Heide Smith
Miguel Sicart
Mads Bødker
ITU blogs
-Norway
Jill Walker
Torill Mortensen
Hilde Corneliussen
Anders Fagerjord
-The World
Terra Nova (misc, joint)
GrandTextAuto (US, joint)
Mirjam Paalosari-Eladhari (SE)
Jane McGonigal (US)
Patrik Svensson (SE)
Elin Sjursen (NO)
Adrian Miles' Vog blog (AUSTR.)
Other Related Blogs
Mediehack
Hovedet på Bloggen
Bookish
Tempus Tommy
Flickwerk
Jacob Bøtter
Corporate Blogging
Fellow Researchers, non-blog
-Denmark
Susana Tosca
T.L. Taylor
Espen Aarseth
Soeren Pold
Ida Engholm
Troels Degn Johansson
-Norway
Ragnhild Tronstad
-Sweden
Anna Gunder
Jenny Sunden
Mikael Jacobsson
-Finland
Aki Jarvinen
Markku Eskelinen
Raine Koskimaa
©Lisbeth Klastrup 2001-2007
BLOGS AND BLOG GENRES TO TALK ABOUT IN CLASS TODAY
Personal "diary" blogs
Randises
My boyfriend is a twat
- Brightly coloured blog with running news band
- A "remediating" blog
Academic blogs/Research networks
Netwoman
"Professional" blogs (people blogging about their trade/as part of their work
Dave Winer's Scripting News
Hip Clicks
Variety's topic blogs:
Journalists' blogs
The Cyberjournalist list
Blogging for money
Back to Iraq - readers pay for warblogging
Blogs on the move
The *homeless* guy blog
She's a Flight Risk + article w. interview
The people blogs (behind the scenes)
Where is Raed?
+ Forbes' Best (war) blogs
"Mock-blogs"
The Dullest Blog in the world
Blogs and "liveness": moblogs
Moblog site at TV2
Fiction blogs
plan b - a blog novel
The Future of Blogs?
All news will be posted blog-style
Bloggers take on Politicians + (Nyrup, a Danish example)
Personal "diary" blogs
Randises
My boyfriend is a twat
- Brightly coloured blog with running news band
- A "remediating" blog
Academic blogs/Research networks
Netwoman
"Professional" blogs (people blogging about their trade/as part of their work
Dave Winer's Scripting News
Hip Clicks
Variety's topic blogs:
Journalists' blogs
The Cyberjournalist list
Blogging for money
Back to Iraq - readers pay for warblogging
Blogs on the move
The *homeless* guy blog
She's a Flight Risk + article w. interview
The people blogs (behind the scenes)
Where is Raed?
+ Forbes' Best (war) blogs
"Mock-blogs"
The Dullest Blog in the world
Blogs and "liveness": moblogs
Moblog site at TV2
Fiction blogs
plan b - a blog novel
The Future of Blogs?
All news will be posted blog-style
Bloggers take on Politicians + (Nyrup, a Danish example)
The "perfect" girl site?
I spent most of the afternoon giving a guest lecture for a closed party consisting of four lecturers working at the graphics department at The Technical School of Copenhagen. They teach web, flash, new media design (Director etc) and 3D. We had a lot of interesting discussions along the way - and they challenged some of my more theoretical assumptions with some good arguments from the point-of-view of somebody actually working concretely with the design of interactive narratives, informative websites, small games etc.
We briefly discussed the interactive story Anders & Henriette, a web story in eight parts, which was active last year, as part of a commercial move to make people use a certain Danish financial institution. It tells a pretty straight forward lovestory, with a number of choices on behalf of the protagonist integrated. I think it is a good example of a more traditional use of storytelling, combined with simple choice interaction, which however works well because the choices made have clear implications for events happening later in the story (or so it seems).
However, the web design lecturer told me that his students hated the story, when he referred them to it. "Come on, it is a bank site", they declared. And apparently thought that more important than the story itself. I told him that I at least "as a woman" liked it. He told me that he prefers to refer his students to this site, the Danish section of Libresse.com. It is a perfect girl - teenage site, he said, because you can ask questions to and chat with other people your age. Looking at it, it appears to be a highly personalised site and has a lot going for it in terms of choices of interaction, language etc. I need to include it in my teaching portfolio - but still feel a bit iffy about the fact that the "good" girl sites always appear to be the "talk" and chat sites. Is this how it always is?
I spent most of the afternoon giving a guest lecture for a closed party consisting of four lecturers working at the graphics department at The Technical School of Copenhagen. They teach web, flash, new media design (Director etc) and 3D. We had a lot of interesting discussions along the way - and they challenged some of my more theoretical assumptions with some good arguments from the point-of-view of somebody actually working concretely with the design of interactive narratives, informative websites, small games etc.
We briefly discussed the interactive story Anders & Henriette, a web story in eight parts, which was active last year, as part of a commercial move to make people use a certain Danish financial institution. It tells a pretty straight forward lovestory, with a number of choices on behalf of the protagonist integrated. I think it is a good example of a more traditional use of storytelling, combined with simple choice interaction, which however works well because the choices made have clear implications for events happening later in the story (or so it seems).
However, the web design lecturer told me that his students hated the story, when he referred them to it. "Come on, it is a bank site", they declared. And apparently thought that more important than the story itself. I told him that I at least "as a woman" liked it. He told me that he prefers to refer his students to this site, the Danish section of Libresse.com. It is a perfect girl - teenage site, he said, because you can ask questions to and chat with other people your age. Looking at it, it appears to be a highly personalised site and has a lot going for it in terms of choices of interaction, language etc. I need to include it in my teaching portfolio - but still feel a bit iffy about the fact that the "good" girl sites always appear to be the "talk" and chat sites. Is this how it always is?
Net addict on the couch..
He he he....I'm grinning broadly as I'm writing this from my little couch in front of the tv. The co-op house in which I live has recently installed a shared internet connection, which means that I'm now online 24-7 for a price of 60 kr. (less than 10 Euro) a month. We are sharing a 4 MB connection and a not a lot of people are using it right now, so this is the fastest I have ever surfed. The socket is installed in my living room and I just bought a very long network cable which effectively means I can blog almost everywhere in the apartment. Yes, I know it is not the same as a wireless connection, but it works!.
I'm not sure it will help cure my growing internet addiction. I'm considering putting myself on a chaste diet consisting of no netsurfing and emailing on Sundays ;).
He he he....I'm grinning broadly as I'm writing this from my little couch in front of the tv. The co-op house in which I live has recently installed a shared internet connection, which means that I'm now online 24-7 for a price of 60 kr. (less than 10 Euro) a month. We are sharing a 4 MB connection and a not a lot of people are using it right now, so this is the fastest I have ever surfed. The socket is installed in my living room and I just bought a very long network cable which effectively means I can blog almost everywhere in the apartment. Yes, I know it is not the same as a wireless connection, but it works!.
I'm not sure it will help cure my growing internet addiction. I'm considering putting myself on a chaste diet consisting of no netsurfing and emailing on Sundays ;).
You can actually find some good links at Bartle´s site for his book Designing Virtual Worlds (which sadly hit the bookstores after I handed in the ph.d.thesis): Designing Virtual Worlds - News and Updates. He's not too happy about a recent remark on the book by my colleague Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen.
Funky voyeur webdesign
If you go to the Disinformation website, these days you will find a pair of binoculars "on top of" the site, which allows you to see glimpses of a picture, who only exists when you move and look through the binoculars. When you have peeped for a little while, a new window opens and launches the entrance to the DIESEL SOCIETY OF NATURE LOVERS - complete with four obviously Hieronymus Bosch-inspired scenarios. In each scenario, you can zoom in on small details in the scenery with a magnifying glass cursor.
- And with the danger of being slightly sexist, you sure can find some nice male butts in tight jeans in there;).
If you go to the Disinformation website, these days you will find a pair of binoculars "on top of" the site, which allows you to see glimpses of a picture, who only exists when you move and look through the binoculars. When you have peeped for a little while, a new window opens and launches the entrance to the DIESEL SOCIETY OF NATURE LOVERS - complete with four obviously Hieronymus Bosch-inspired scenarios. In each scenario, you can zoom in on small details in the scenery with a magnifying glass cursor.
- And with the danger of being slightly sexist, you sure can find some nice male butts in tight jeans in there;).
Book out on blogs
Thomas Burg of Randgaenge.net has edited a print-on-demand book called BlogTalks with lots of interesting papers on weblogs as phenomena. Looks like most of them are papers from last years BlogTalk conference :). Beautiful.
Thomas Burg of Randgaenge.net has edited a print-on-demand book called BlogTalks with lots of interesting papers on weblogs as phenomena. Looks like most of them are papers from last years BlogTalk conference :). Beautiful.
The book that never was?
Beyond Usability - Web Design, Digital Theory and the Humanities is the title of a book for which papers were called in 2002. It has a website (the linked), but I can't find any traces of the book online. I'd like to hear what happened to it/with it...Do you know?
- But there is some good links at the bottom of the site.
Beyond Usability - Web Design, Digital Theory and the Humanities is the title of a book for which papers were called in 2002. It has a website (the linked), but I can't find any traces of the book online. I'd like to hear what happened to it/with it...Do you know?
- But there is some good links at the bottom of the site.
Via Jill/txt: ThePing Pong Matrix-Styleeee. An excellent example of the fact that sometimes you get more fun out of watching/knowing how the 'fiction' is produced rather than getting the alleged emotional kick out of being 'immersed' in it....
Mikrofiktion opening day
Over at Monitoring Dalager, you can now find a public entrance to a new online mag/collaborative weblog project: Mikrofiktion - magasin for danske mikrofiktioner. We are a group of people writing small stories (less than 400 words) in our native language and uploading them as they are written. The project is initiated by Christian Dalager, a guy with lots of good ideas whom I happen to know via the place we sing. It has been running "behind the scenes" for a little while so there are some 12 stories there already, including one by me. There is some good writing going on, so if you read Danish, go check it out.
Over at Monitoring Dalager, you can now find a public entrance to a new online mag/collaborative weblog project: Mikrofiktion - magasin for danske mikrofiktioner. We are a group of people writing small stories (less than 400 words) in our native language and uploading them as they are written. The project is initiated by Christian Dalager, a guy with lots of good ideas whom I happen to know via the place we sing. It has been running "behind the scenes" for a little while so there are some 12 stories there already, including one by me. There is some good writing going on, so if you read Danish, go check it out.
BIKER blog
Tv host, extreme sport contestant and documentary hero, BIKER Jens has a blog too. In it, you can read (if you read Danish) - amongst other things - about his fights with Danish media.
Tv host, extreme sport contestant and documentary hero, BIKER Jens has a blog too. In it, you can read (if you read Danish) - amongst other things - about his fights with Danish media.
What I want...
I thought yesterday when going home from another late day at work, what I want is:
* a late nite open fastfood-heaven dating supermarket dedicated to workaholic singles only *
complete with subtle symbols to go with the shopping basket such as I'm a no meat woman or Ecology or forget about marriage or No wine on weekdays or My microwave oven is bigger than yours etc.
At least it would be worth a try - preferably in a supermarket not too far from where this writer lives.... It should be a sure hit for single academics;) and it is actually already happening in Paris , however without the symbols.
I thought yesterday when going home from another late day at work, what I want is:
* a late nite open fastfood-heaven dating supermarket dedicated to workaholic singles only *
complete with subtle symbols to go with the shopping basket such as I'm a no meat woman or Ecology or forget about marriage or No wine on weekdays or My microwave oven is bigger than yours etc.
At least it would be worth a try - preferably in a supermarket not too far from where this writer lives.... It should be a sure hit for single academics;) and it is actually already happening in Paris , however without the symbols.
THE ultimate anthology deadline coming up...
This morning I proofread the proof of the proof of the proof of the proof of the anthology (in the layouted version). Shortly, I'll be proofing the proofs of the proof of the index, and then we are almost ready to go - we just need to decide on the final look of the cover + fill some very last info about some of the authors, and then we are done - and then book will go into print tomorrow - or perhaps early Thursday. Scheduled release is now May 4th, because of problems with the paper for the print.
I NEVER thought that getting from the "final" manuscript to the print-ready version would be this hard work. I spent a major part of the two last weekends proofing proofs too, marking index words etc. I sure hope it pays - but feel relatively confident, it will.
This morning I proofread the proof of the proof of the proof of the proof of the anthology (in the layouted version). Shortly, I'll be proofing the proofs of the proof of the index, and then we are almost ready to go - we just need to decide on the final look of the cover + fill some very last info about some of the authors, and then we are done - and then book will go into print tomorrow - or perhaps early Thursday. Scheduled release is now May 4th, because of problems with the paper for the print.
I NEVER thought that getting from the "final" manuscript to the print-ready version would be this hard work. I spent a major part of the two last weekends proofing proofs too, marking index words etc. I sure hope it pays - but feel relatively confident, it will.
And apparently there is also some Questions about Academic Bloggers circulating. According to Kairosnews.
(yes, tracking your referers can be very educating :))
(yes, tracking your referers can be very educating :))
Gold rush in online world...
The online world Project Entropia has launched a very interesting concept/"game" part of their worldplay: an online world land grap as part of the introduction of a new continent in the world. You have to be member of a society to grab land and once grabbed, the society has to defend it by being constantly online in it for a set amount of hours before it is owned. Later the society can sell parts of the land, deed and all, to individual owners. It has to be "redefended" with regular intervals.
Could be interesting to follow how this turns out! The entire thing reminds me of the stories about the gold rush in the US in the 18th (?) 19th century. Mostly known to me from Hollywood films, I should add.
The online world Project Entropia has launched a very interesting concept/"game" part of their worldplay: an online world land grap as part of the introduction of a new continent in the world. You have to be member of a society to grab land and once grabbed, the society has to defend it by being constantly online in it for a set amount of hours before it is owned. Later the society can sell parts of the land, deed and all, to individual owners. It has to be "redefended" with regular intervals.
Could be interesting to follow how this turns out! The entire thing reminds me of the stories about the gold rush in the US in the 18th (?) 19th century. Mostly known to me from Hollywood films, I should add.
Danish Dictionary of IT terminology and the concept of Weblog
On friday, the new Danish Dictionary of IT Terminology is officially released. But you can search it already now. They have made some interesting choices of presentation; not only do they explain what the "IT word" in question means, they also give a little "sample" of the concrete application of the word (not how it is used in language but what it looks like or does) and links (unlinked) to concrete examples.
So for instance, under weblog, which btw is defined as "a diary available to everybody through the www", you find this sample from an anonymous user's weblog:
Der er ikke nogen undskyldning for at jeg ikke har opdateret min weblog de sidste to uger. Både jeg og min computer er ganske raske og jeg har mere tid til rådighed end nogensinde...
UK: There is no excuse why I haven't updated my weblog for the last two weeks. But me and my computer are doing quite well and I have more time on my hands than ever before...
Hmmh. What image of the 'average' weblogger do you conjure up based on this quote? (...if you haven't read a weblog yourself).
I'm a bit worried about the emphasis on the "diary" aspect - which also emerged from the tv feature in which I recently took part. Is the "a weblog is just like a diary, just online" explanation really the explanation which captures what is most essential to a weblog if you have to phrase it in a popular way? Especially if it is linked to quotes like the above, which sort of signals that weblog writers are people who have lots of time to write and nothing better to do? (argh!) Shouldn't it be possible to come up with a more fitting description in one line - and a more fitting example?
You can actually mail the Dictionary and voice your opinion on their definitions. Perhaps I should. Once I figure out the perfect one line Danish definition of "weblog".
On friday, the new Danish Dictionary of IT Terminology is officially released. But you can search it already now. They have made some interesting choices of presentation; not only do they explain what the "IT word" in question means, they also give a little "sample" of the concrete application of the word (not how it is used in language but what it looks like or does) and links (unlinked) to concrete examples.
So for instance, under weblog, which btw is defined as "a diary available to everybody through the www", you find this sample from an anonymous user's weblog:
Der er ikke nogen undskyldning for at jeg ikke har opdateret min weblog de sidste to uger. Både jeg og min computer er ganske raske og jeg har mere tid til rådighed end nogensinde...
UK: There is no excuse why I haven't updated my weblog for the last two weeks. But me and my computer are doing quite well and I have more time on my hands than ever before...
Hmmh. What image of the 'average' weblogger do you conjure up based on this quote? (...if you haven't read a weblog yourself).
I'm a bit worried about the emphasis on the "diary" aspect - which also emerged from the tv feature in which I recently took part. Is the "a weblog is just like a diary, just online" explanation really the explanation which captures what is most essential to a weblog if you have to phrase it in a popular way? Especially if it is linked to quotes like the above, which sort of signals that weblog writers are people who have lots of time to write and nothing better to do? (argh!) Shouldn't it be possible to come up with a more fitting description in one line - and a more fitting example?
You can actually mail the Dictionary and voice your opinion on their definitions. Perhaps I should. Once I figure out the perfect one line Danish definition of "weblog".
BAFTA winners 2003 - cool interactive stuff on the web
The British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) also gives out prices for best games and best interactive content. Usually it is quite interesting taking a look at their nominees and winners in the interactive category (includes both games and interactive "genres" on- and offline) - they dig out some pretty good web "content". They recently gave out their 2003 prices.
This year so far I have noted/looked at:
Poissionrouge - by clicking on the window, you get to a simple map of a tube rute and you can "stop" at different stations and explore small sites for each. Their Turner Gallery stop is a visit to an art museum where you get to play Mondrian or Warhol etc with colours and patterns. A nice way to teach children art.
Alleph.net is a beautiful graphical exploration of identity - building on the house metaphor.
Starfinder is a fun little window into an astronaut's life; with mad facts (how do astronauts go to the toilet?) and including two addictive games.
Greenwich Millenium Village - for its design: the flying insect gives you a very tactile feeling of "genuine" spatiality.
Oh, and they gave Zelda - The Windwaker the price for best adventure game in 2003...My colleagues gave me a gamecube with this game as a ph.d. graduation gift :). We have nice gift giving habits at the game center!
The British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) also gives out prices for best games and best interactive content. Usually it is quite interesting taking a look at their nominees and winners in the interactive category (includes both games and interactive "genres" on- and offline) - they dig out some pretty good web "content". They recently gave out their 2003 prices.
This year so far I have noted/looked at:
Poissionrouge - by clicking on the window, you get to a simple map of a tube rute and you can "stop" at different stations and explore small sites for each. Their Turner Gallery stop is a visit to an art museum where you get to play Mondrian or Warhol etc with colours and patterns. A nice way to teach children art.
Alleph.net is a beautiful graphical exploration of identity - building on the house metaphor.
Starfinder is a fun little window into an astronaut's life; with mad facts (how do astronauts go to the toilet?) and including two addictive games.
Greenwich Millenium Village - for its design: the flying insect gives you a very tactile feeling of "genuine" spatiality.
Oh, and they gave Zelda - The Windwaker the price for best adventure game in 2003...My colleagues gave me a gamecube with this game as a ph.d. graduation gift :). We have nice gift giving habits at the game center!
Somewhere else
I've wanted to be somewhere else for a while. Somewhere where I could have a slightly different voice and sometimes disguise myself in my own language. So here it is in a version 1.0 - if you happen to be more interested in personal stuff (about me) and longer stories, you might want to check it out. I count on posting new original writing there once in a while, but will most likely not be announcing updates here. Let's see what happens.
I've wanted to be somewhere else for a while. Somewhere where I could have a slightly different voice and sometimes disguise myself in my own language. So here it is in a version 1.0 - if you happen to be more interested in personal stuff (about me) and longer stories, you might want to check it out. I count on posting new original writing there once in a while, but will most likely not be announcing updates here. Let's see what happens.
You can find other stuff by the artist/designer Jakub Dvorsky, designer of Samorot atAmanita Design. Btw, Samorost means "driftwood"....
Stupid Blogger!
Sometimes when I try to go from one blog to the other in my "Blog This" window, everything crashes completely - even if I tried to copy the text before I do it, it is gone, IE closes down etc.
And of course it was one of the posts which actually contained some thoughts and stuff. ARGH!
Sometimes when I try to go from one blog to the other in my "Blog This" window, everything crashes completely - even if I tried to copy the text before I do it, it is gone, IE closes down etc.
And of course it was one of the posts which actually contained some thoughts and stuff. ARGH!
Another beautiful game-puzzle-thingie
TimeHunt, recommended by some of those who also like Samorost - which by the way turns out to be a Czech student (?!) project made by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak.
TimeHunt, recommended by some of those who also like Samorost - which by the way turns out to be a Czech student (?!) project made by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak.
Airplay = googlecred?
When a song gets played a lot on the radio, you say it gets a lot of "airplay". What do you say when a site or an event during a certain period gets to be linked a lot in blogs and therefore rises in google ranking so it comes out in the top 3 when you search on the event. Could you/would you say that "X is getting a lot of googlecred" or that "X is getting a lot of bit-attention?" or that "X is jumping googleranks"? - If you know of any such expression, let me know!
Anyway - this event in Danish Copenhagen blog circles _is_ getting a lot of googlecred currently. If I didn't personally know some of the peoples involved, lots of potential research material to be gotten from this (community formation and development of "in-sider" language in comments, what happens when you go from online to offline and back to online again etc). But as is, I feel slightly disqualified as researcher and as a person just a teeny weeny bit envious that I weren't able to be part of it...
When a song gets played a lot on the radio, you say it gets a lot of "airplay". What do you say when a site or an event during a certain period gets to be linked a lot in blogs and therefore rises in google ranking so it comes out in the top 3 when you search on the event. Could you/would you say that "X is getting a lot of googlecred" or that "X is getting a lot of bit-attention?" or that "X is jumping googleranks"? - If you know of any such expression, let me know!
Anyway - this event in Danish Copenhagen blog circles _is_ getting a lot of googlecred currently. If I didn't personally know some of the peoples involved, lots of potential research material to be gotten from this (community formation and development of "in-sider" language in comments, what happens when you go from online to offline and back to online again etc). But as is, I feel slightly disqualified as researcher and as a person just a teeny weeny bit envious that I weren't able to be part of it...
Some link fairness
Following up on a recent "case" in Danish blog circles, The Danish Anti-Piracy group has now withdrawn their accusations of a criminal act of linking. The 11 homepage owners which linked to a site which linked to The Grey Album cannot be accused of "soliciting" illegal copying and have been given a formal excuse.
Following up on a recent "case" in Danish blog circles, The Danish Anti-Piracy group has now withdrawn their accusations of a criminal act of linking. The 11 homepage owners which linked to a site which linked to The Grey Album cannot be accused of "soliciting" illegal copying and have been given a formal excuse.
Cheap "First Person" at the Bookplace
The Danish site Bogpriser.dk (which compares prices for books) just told me that, living in Denmark, you can get Noah Wardrip Fruin and Pat Harrigan's First Person book (just out!) almost 100 d.kr. cheaper at The Book Pl@ce compared to the price at Amazon.co.uk...
The Danish site Bogpriser.dk (which compares prices for books) just told me that, living in Denmark, you can get Noah Wardrip Fruin and Pat Harrigan's First Person book (just out!) almost 100 d.kr. cheaper at The Book Pl@ce compared to the price at Amazon.co.uk...
A Game For Peace
Check out Gonzalo Frasca's MADRID game/commentary over at Newsgaming.com. Yes, you can make serious games.
Check out Gonzalo Frasca's MADRID game/commentary over at Newsgaming.com. Yes, you can make serious games.
The J-Blog List
CyberJournalist.net- The J-Blog list. A list of professional journalists who blog.
And another place on the same site a view for the future: "All news will be posted blog-style".
CyberJournalist.net- The J-Blog list. A list of professional journalists who blog.
And another place on the same site a view for the future: "All news will be posted blog-style".
Interactivity in a marketing context
The Journal of Interactive Advertising seem to hold some interesting papers.
Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Interactivity: An Exploratory Study, by Jee and Lee & Interactivity in the Context of Designed Experiences by Carrie Heeter.
Jiad also has a call out for a special issue on "interactivity and its relationship to advertising, marketing, and communication". Deadline September 30.
The Journal of Interactive Advertising seem to hold some interesting papers.
Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Interactivity: An Exploratory Study, by Jee and Lee & Interactivity in the Context of Designed Experiences by Carrie Heeter.
Jiad also has a call out for a special issue on "interactivity and its relationship to advertising, marketing, and communication". Deadline September 30.
When you have close colleagues from Spain, this just makes a difference. Suddenly scaringly real and too close for comfort. It's such a crazy world we live in.
Weblogs has had their debut on National Danish tv!/Weblogs debuterer på dansk tv!
They had Jesper Balslev in the studio, blogging live. And they talked to bloggers Randi, Jens W and Poul Nyrup. And yours truly in two brief "expert" (*grin*) soundbites. You can find the interviews online at TV2s webpage for the show as well as the blurp presenting the weblog feature.
It could have been worse. At least they included a little bit of the network+ friends all over the world perspective, rather than just focusing on weblogs as 'electronic diaries about trivial details of life'. They are so much more. And people use them for so many different things. And there is no way you get to explain the complexity of the phenomena in a short feature like this. But if the feature has made more people "out there" in Denmark look at weblogs and recognise the name, it's not that bad I guess.
Btw, both the word "weblog" and "blog" has been registered as new words in the Danish language by the Danish Language Board - unfortunately their news journal isn't online.
List of Danish weblogs/Liste over danske weblogs..
They had Jesper Balslev in the studio, blogging live. And they talked to bloggers Randi, Jens W and Poul Nyrup. And yours truly in two brief "expert" (*grin*) soundbites. You can find the interviews online at TV2s webpage for the show as well as the blurp presenting the weblog feature.
It could have been worse. At least they included a little bit of the network+ friends all over the world perspective, rather than just focusing on weblogs as 'electronic diaries about trivial details of life'. They are so much more. And people use them for so many different things. And there is no way you get to explain the complexity of the phenomena in a short feature like this. But if the feature has made more people "out there" in Denmark look at weblogs and recognise the name, it's not that bad I guess.
Btw, both the word "weblog" and "blog" has been registered as new words in the Danish language by the Danish Language Board - unfortunately their news journal isn't online.
List of Danish weblogs/Liste over danske weblogs..
Wayfinding in virtual worlds
Interesting looking paper from CHI 1996:Wayfinding Strategies and Behaviors in Large Virtual Worlds
Interesting looking paper from CHI 1996:Wayfinding Strategies and Behaviors in Large Virtual Worlds
Write your own Oscar image text
Over at the internetversion of the Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten they have a little competition going. Write a (Danish) text accompagnying a picture of Peter Jackson holding one of his Oscar's and get your text published in the printed paper.
Write your own Oscar image
text.
Over at the internetversion of the Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten they have a little competition going. Write a (Danish) text accompagnying a picture of Peter Jackson holding one of his Oscar's and get your text published in the printed paper.
Write your own Oscar image
text.
16½ minutes of fame....???
Jens Winther, author of the Danish weblog Bound.dk since november 2001, yours truly (cast in the role of the "expert", I believe....hmmh) and most likely a few other webloggers (perhaps even one in the studio??) will feature in the Danish tv program 16½ on TV2 this coming thursday (March 11th).
Winther, btw, has also written a brief and good introduction to weblogging in Danish on the Danish site Kommunikationsforum.
Jens Winther, author of the Danish weblog Bound.dk since november 2001, yours truly (cast in the role of the "expert", I believe....hmmh) and most likely a few other webloggers (perhaps even one in the studio??) will feature in the Danish tv program 16½ on TV2 this coming thursday (March 11th).
Winther, btw, has also written a brief and good introduction to weblogging in Danish on the Danish site Kommunikationsforum.
Subscription blogs - no links?
Interesting. The Variety.com weblogs I just noted includes this one: EEG News, a blog on entertainment and online gaming. From what they write on the general site, it seems like Variety wants people to subscribe to read their blogs, but I can read this one (at least, right now) and reading I immediately noticed one thing: EEG News has the set-up of a regular blog, just one important "mark of the trade" is missing: links to other blogs!! I wonder if this is an indicator of what will happen when news-entertainment sites start using blogs professionally, "at a price". There will be no links out in fear of leading the customers (readers) to better content somewhere else???
(Note however, that a quick skim indicates that EEG is actually pretty serious and worth a read).
Interesting. The Variety.com weblogs I just noted includes this one: EEG News, a blog on entertainment and online gaming. From what they write on the general site, it seems like Variety wants people to subscribe to read their blogs, but I can read this one (at least, right now) and reading I immediately noticed one thing: EEG News has the set-up of a regular blog, just one important "mark of the trade" is missing: links to other blogs!! I wonder if this is an indicator of what will happen when news-entertainment sites start using blogs professionally, "at a price". There will be no links out in fear of leading the customers (readers) to better content somewhere else???
(Note however, that a quick skim indicates that EEG is actually pretty serious and worth a read).
More Games and Films stuff
Game-to-film: Jerry Bruckheimer, Hollywood producer, is negotiating the rights to make Prince of Persia - Sands of Time into an action movie with script written by game designer Jordan Mechner. News leaked from Variety.com (article here, but requires subscription, so try reading this free article or this one instead).
Bruckheimer produced the Pirates of the Caribbean film, apparently inspired by the wellknow Disney World Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride. Of course, the film (or the ride?) also exist as a game now. Mechner is quoted (at xbox.ign.com) for saying about this adaption of PoP: Rather than do a straight beat-for-beat adaptation of the new videogame," [...] "we're taking some cool elements from the game and using them to craft a new story – much as Pirates did with the theme park ride."
Film-just-as-game: Almost at the same time (??), it has been announced that the new James Bond "movie" will only be out as a game! Complete with voice acting by Brosnan and other known actors, a new Bond band (Heidi Klum) and a new title song. See this article at Ananova or this piece in Ekstrabladet online (DK).
NB! Note that Variety.com has a section with a small number of (select? own?) blogs on their frontpage. First time I have seen a "news" (gossip?) site like this use blogs directly as an interface to news on their frontpage.
PS. The Danish Academic Journal Mediekultur (Media Culture) has a special issue out on computer games and film [link to Danish language PDF file].
Game-to-film: Jerry Bruckheimer, Hollywood producer, is negotiating the rights to make Prince of Persia - Sands of Time into an action movie with script written by game designer Jordan Mechner. News leaked from Variety.com (article here, but requires subscription, so try reading this free article or this one instead).
Bruckheimer produced the Pirates of the Caribbean film, apparently inspired by the wellknow Disney World Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride. Of course, the film (or the ride?) also exist as a game now. Mechner is quoted (at xbox.ign.com) for saying about this adaption of PoP: Rather than do a straight beat-for-beat adaptation of the new videogame," [...] "we're taking some cool elements from the game and using them to craft a new story – much as Pirates did with the theme park ride."
Film-just-as-game: Almost at the same time (??), it has been announced that the new James Bond "movie" will only be out as a game! Complete with voice acting by Brosnan and other known actors, a new Bond band (Heidi Klum) and a new title song. See this article at Ananova or this piece in Ekstrabladet online (DK).
NB! Note that Variety.com has a section with a small number of (select? own?) blogs on their frontpage. First time I have seen a "news" (gossip?) site like this use blogs directly as an interface to news on their frontpage.
PS. The Danish Academic Journal Mediekultur (Media Culture) has a special issue out on computer games and film [link to Danish language PDF file].
Illegal linking?
A lot of commotion in Danish blogcircles because a blogger mentioned an album produced by this guy and linked to the site Creative Commons which alledgedly held a copy of the named album of that guy (an accusation which according to named blogger isn't true as the named site did not itself hold a copy). Suddenly the blogger is addressed by a lawyer representing the Danish Anti-Piracy Group (Antipiratgruppen) accusing him of committing a criminal act. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Is the mere act of linking to someone who links to something which may - or may not be violating the copyright of others (it may also be a work of art?) - in itself violating copyright (opretshavloven)? Policing the internet for this kind of "crime" might - and should - turn out to be hard work.
Article in Politiken and one coming up in Information.
The Danish copyright law (Oprethavsloven) has in fact in at least one case been used to ban deep linking and it forbids direct copying of digital material (unless the owner of the material explicitly allows you to do it). It seems that when it comes to copyright issues on the internet, Danish laws and Danish policy are perhaps not quite in tune with the information age, however much I do believe that you should credit your sources and not prey on the content other people have produced. But I'm talking about exact and unmediated copies of original material with no credits. This is not the case here, as far as I understand.
A lot of commotion in Danish blogcircles because a blogger mentioned an album produced by this guy and linked to the site Creative Commons which alledgedly held a copy of the named album of that guy (an accusation which according to named blogger isn't true as the named site did not itself hold a copy). Suddenly the blogger is addressed by a lawyer representing the Danish Anti-Piracy Group (Antipiratgruppen) accusing him of committing a criminal act. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Is the mere act of linking to someone who links to something which may - or may not be violating the copyright of others (it may also be a work of art?) - in itself violating copyright (opretshavloven)? Policing the internet for this kind of "crime" might - and should - turn out to be hard work.
Article in Politiken and one coming up in Information.
The Danish copyright law (Oprethavsloven) has in fact in at least one case been used to ban deep linking and it forbids direct copying of digital material (unless the owner of the material explicitly allows you to do it). It seems that when it comes to copyright issues on the internet, Danish laws and Danish policy are perhaps not quite in tune with the information age, however much I do believe that you should credit your sources and not prey on the content other people have produced. But I'm talking about exact and unmediated copies of original material with no credits. This is not the case here, as far as I understand.
This is what interactive graphics can do for communication on the web
The attacks of September 11 as interactive grafics - in an article in the anthology I'm editing (the final edit!!) Anders Fagerjord writes about the impressive graphics the site elmundo.es produced to explain the events of September 11 2001. Elmundo has now moved the site to the address linked here (couldn't find it for class on wednesday because I used old link, which was rather annoying, also because it is rather difficult to track archived stuff in a Spanish language only website!).
The attacks of September 11 as interactive grafics - in an article in the anthology I'm editing (the final edit!!) Anders Fagerjord writes about the impressive graphics the site elmundo.es produced to explain the events of September 11 2001. Elmundo has now moved the site to the address linked here (couldn't find it for class on wednesday because I used old link, which was rather annoying, also because it is rather difficult to track archived stuff in a Spanish language only website!).
There's an ongoing debate in Danish Media about computer games and violence. I don't have much to say, apart from quoting the 'immoral' writer Oscar Wilde whom I'm currently reading:
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
[Oscar Wilde/The Picture of Dorian Gray]
[Oscar Wilde/The Picture of Dorian Gray]
Another conference evolving around design - gaming (??) - learning:CADE: computers in art & design education. Copenhagen, June 29th-July 1st 2004.
Conversations with the dead: how computer technology has changed my life as a researcher
This March 1st it is exactly 10 years since my father died. He died as a result of the "last resort" operation which removed half of the cancer-infected liver which he had lived and fought with for nearly two years.
My father was a wonderful person. He liked to whistle, to play games, to socialise. He was never afraid of learning something new - he took up playing the piano (actually my piano) at the age of 65.
Born in a decade (the 1920's) in which cars were still a rarity and films had no sound, he left behind him when he died, a computer - the latest example of the many technological advancements he managed to embrace in his lifetime. By current standards it was a pretty decent computer, with a 286 processor and Windows 3.1 installed. It was his first real "personal" computer. He used it for word processing and playing games like Solitaire. But professional number crunching and data storage computers were used at "his" lab from the early 80's.
When I think back on all the things, I have wanted to share with him for last ten years, I think that most of all I have wanted to tell him how much computer technology has changed my life. Sharing the amazement, contemplating how computer technology itself has evolved with a speed and a direction that neither of us would have been able to foresee.
My father was a veterinarian. He never got a ph.d. - but nevertheless you could call what he did for "applied research". He spent most of his professional life figuring out how one could prevent cows from developing mastitis. This included lab research of bacteria as well as for instance studies of how farmers kept their stables clean. For most of my childhood, his work and research had him travel around the world, visiting and/or speaking at a number of international conferences and seminars. As a child I learnt much more about the world through him than what was taught me in geography class. I spent three years in Malawi with him and my mother while he got an animal hospital off the ground. Here I learnt that a wife can be bought for the right number of cows and that elephants, lions and zebras should be allowed to live their lives on the savannah, not in a zoo. Later, back in Denmark, he brought me home small souvenirs from all over the world: US (sticky stribed candy), Russia (a wollen shawl with roses), India (fragant leather sandals) and most of the countries in Europe (including a precious green glass cat from Czechoslovakia). With regular intervals friends and colleagues he had made and met during his journeys and his time in Africa would come to visit our family and the lab he ran, literally next door to our living room. I remember, learning to eat rice with finely laquered chopsticks given to me by an exotic chinese colleague.
My father kept in touch with all the people he met and knew through phonecalls and letters - which, on his part, in the last years were often typed on the computer and printed out. I know he would have liked to see them more and keep in touch more often. Christmas was the information peak of the year: he would get stacks of cards for christmas, updating him with news about families in US, UK and Norway, many of the accompagnying letters still carefully typed on a manual typing machine.
Today, I wish I could show him this weblog. I wish I could show him the weblogs of my friends and colleagues. I wish I could show him how these weblogs and all the emails I exchange with people keeps me almost constantly posted (literally speaking!) on what goes on in theirs and my life. I wish I could show him how you can find almost everything on the internet - such as references to his own publications (2) or a shared knowledge base for veterinarians like Konettet.dk. I wish I could demonstrate how a google search on my name will reveal most of what I have been up to for the last 5 years, tracking most of the conferences I've attended. I wish I could tell him how, when I go to conferences, I can easily find and hook up with my colleagues with the aid of mobile phones and sms'ing. Or how I can take several hundreds of photos of what I do at these conferences and of the countries, in which they take place, with a digital camera - photos which I can then instantly transfer to my computer and show other people as a "slide show". I wish I could show him how technology disminishes the distance between here and there: how a talk in Sweden can now effortlessly be broadcast instantly on the web, so family and friends can watch it on their computers back in Denmark.
I wish I could tell him how I now work with computers, not as a technology, but as a medium, and how, for professional as well as private reasons, I use the computer as a means of expression, to write and sometimes tell the stories I've always wanted to tell.
Perhaps he still listens somewhere.
This March 1st it is exactly 10 years since my father died. He died as a result of the "last resort" operation which removed half of the cancer-infected liver which he had lived and fought with for nearly two years.
My father was a wonderful person. He liked to whistle, to play games, to socialise. He was never afraid of learning something new - he took up playing the piano (actually my piano) at the age of 65.
Born in a decade (the 1920's) in which cars were still a rarity and films had no sound, he left behind him when he died, a computer - the latest example of the many technological advancements he managed to embrace in his lifetime. By current standards it was a pretty decent computer, with a 286 processor and Windows 3.1 installed. It was his first real "personal" computer. He used it for word processing and playing games like Solitaire. But professional number crunching and data storage computers were used at "his" lab from the early 80's.
When I think back on all the things, I have wanted to share with him for last ten years, I think that most of all I have wanted to tell him how much computer technology has changed my life. Sharing the amazement, contemplating how computer technology itself has evolved with a speed and a direction that neither of us would have been able to foresee.
My father was a veterinarian. He never got a ph.d. - but nevertheless you could call what he did for "applied research". He spent most of his professional life figuring out how one could prevent cows from developing mastitis. This included lab research of bacteria as well as for instance studies of how farmers kept their stables clean. For most of my childhood, his work and research had him travel around the world, visiting and/or speaking at a number of international conferences and seminars. As a child I learnt much more about the world through him than what was taught me in geography class. I spent three years in Malawi with him and my mother while he got an animal hospital off the ground. Here I learnt that a wife can be bought for the right number of cows and that elephants, lions and zebras should be allowed to live their lives on the savannah, not in a zoo. Later, back in Denmark, he brought me home small souvenirs from all over the world: US (sticky stribed candy), Russia (a wollen shawl with roses), India (fragant leather sandals) and most of the countries in Europe (including a precious green glass cat from Czechoslovakia). With regular intervals friends and colleagues he had made and met during his journeys and his time in Africa would come to visit our family and the lab he ran, literally next door to our living room. I remember, learning to eat rice with finely laquered chopsticks given to me by an exotic chinese colleague.
My father kept in touch with all the people he met and knew through phonecalls and letters - which, on his part, in the last years were often typed on the computer and printed out. I know he would have liked to see them more and keep in touch more often. Christmas was the information peak of the year: he would get stacks of cards for christmas, updating him with news about families in US, UK and Norway, many of the accompagnying letters still carefully typed on a manual typing machine.
Today, I wish I could show him this weblog. I wish I could show him the weblogs of my friends and colleagues. I wish I could show him how these weblogs and all the emails I exchange with people keeps me almost constantly posted (literally speaking!) on what goes on in theirs and my life. I wish I could show him how you can find almost everything on the internet - such as references to his own publications (2) or a shared knowledge base for veterinarians like Konettet.dk. I wish I could demonstrate how a google search on my name will reveal most of what I have been up to for the last 5 years, tracking most of the conferences I've attended. I wish I could tell him how, when I go to conferences, I can easily find and hook up with my colleagues with the aid of mobile phones and sms'ing. Or how I can take several hundreds of photos of what I do at these conferences and of the countries, in which they take place, with a digital camera - photos which I can then instantly transfer to my computer and show other people as a "slide show". I wish I could show him how technology disminishes the distance between here and there: how a talk in Sweden can now effortlessly be broadcast instantly on the web, so family and friends can watch it on their computers back in Denmark.
I wish I could tell him how I now work with computers, not as a technology, but as a medium, and how, for professional as well as private reasons, I use the computer as a means of expression, to write and sometimes tell the stories I've always wanted to tell.
Perhaps he still listens somewhere.
Death Stories project
Walgblog (DK)
DK forskerblogs (DK)
klast at del.icio.us
Site feed Link (Atom)
Klastrup family?
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Buy our book
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Conferences
ACE 2007
Mobile Media 2007
MobileCHI 07
Perth DAC 2007
DIGRA 2007
AOIR 8.0/2007
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My Ph.D. thesis website:
Towards a Poetics of Virtual Worlds
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Misc
I also used to host & work in a world called StoryMOO.