[-empyre-] audiences

[xDxD.vs.xDxD]

Hi Tamiko

On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 11:11 AM, Tamiko Thiel <tamiko at alum.mit.edu> wrote:

>
> Realistically, PCs only became widespread and cheaper once they became
> "chic" in a broad layer of western society, and cellphones only became
> widespread and therefore cheap enough to permeate to less wealthy parts of
> society and the world once they were "chic" in a broad layer of western
> society.
>
> I do expect the same thing to happen to smartphones, and academics alone
> will never drive down the price point.
>
>
that's not completely true, though.

things become widespread when they synchronize with the cultures, desires
and symbolic domains of people, not when they become "chic".

if you look at the global community, mobile phones have spread like a virus
as soon as people found ways to use them, to integrate them in their daily
lives at multiple levels that are "important" for them.

and if you work with mobile operators (especially in Asia and Africa, where
this is particularly evident) you will know that fringe communities are
*highly* sensible to innovations in technology, and not because they are
chic, but because they allow them to address multiple issues ranging from
ones related to migrations, to freedoms of expression and information, to
drug dealing and we could go on forever.

when imaginaries rise, things change: even the price of smartphones :)

and this is a great role for art (and academics). This is why it makes sense
(it has been making sense for decades now) to work a bit more on tools and
openness than on content.

best,
Salvatore


-- 
Salvatore Iaconesi

Art is Open Source
http://www.artisopensource.net

---
FakePress
http://www.fakepress.it
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