Terri Senft - Two interesting announcements, for those in NYC or interested in distributed creativity

06:32 pm - Two interesting announcements, for those in NYC or interested in distributed creativity

First, the always interesting Trebor Scholz has begun a Center For Distributed Creativity. Check it out, and get involved: http://distributedcreativity.org/

Second, if you are in NYC this weekend, you might want to catch Trebor speaking at Spectropolis-- the annual wireless art festival. NYC Wireless also needs volunteers for this weekend and for their upcoming New User Days. Here's the info, from my lovely former student Jordan Schuster:

The first weekend of October will bring Spectropolis, the annual wireless art festival of NYC, and all of us need pitch-in to help make it happen. Spectropolis: Mobile Media, Art and the City is a three-day event (October 1-3, 2004) in Lower Manhattan that highlights the diverse ways artists, technical innovators and activists are using communication technologies to generate urban experiences and public voice. The increasing presence of mobile communication technologies is transforming the ways we live, construct and move through our built environment. The participants of Spectropolis make obvious or play with this shift, creating new urban perceptions and social interactions with cell phones, laptops, wireless internet, PDAs and radio. In addition to twelve projects presented in City Hall Park, there will be several free hands-on workshops and three panels available to the public.Please read more about Spectropolis at http://www.spectropolis.info and let us know which days and what times you can vollunteer to help us make this event happen. We're looking to have at least 20 vollunteers/day.

Also, we will be hosting New User Days at City Hall park the weekends after Spectropolis. New User Days are our way to go out in the community and help people get comfortable with their wifi-enabled devices and our free-acess hotspots. Its also a chance for us to push the idea that hotspots should be free and that there is a strong community out there to support them (thats us by the way). This summer the New User Days are going to be a little different for two reasons. First Laura Forlano and the Social Impact of Wifi SIG will be with us conducting research and interviews. Each of these events will be fun and creative environments with lots of opportunities to talk with the type of smart, active people who are really exploring the implications of our modern technologies.Plus, all vollunteers will recieve hot Spectropolis t-shirts, milk, and cookies.

Spectropolis and all New User Days will be held on fridays and saturdays on the following dates in October: October 1 (Spectropolis), 2 (Spectropolis), 3 (Spectropolis), 8 (fri), 9 (sat)

Contact Jordan Schuster (jordan@nycwireless.net) mwith the dates that you are available to volunteer and dont hesitate, we will only take a few volunteers per date. Looking forward!