Aaron Swartz #Documentary – The Internet’s Own Boy [#geekgirl]

“Phones face down stacked at the table…” [#geekgirl]

[Via Hellacoolstuff.com]

#Smells Like #Teen Spirit – Kennedy Rose’s #Nirvana Cover [#geekgirl]

I’m sure Kurt Cobain would have loved this: just the right mix of aspergery-focus, extreme talent and fashion-awkward cred.

The #Quirk: Doing It Right [#geekgirl]

For a while now I’ve been lazily developing a theory about a marketing trend I term ‘the quirk’. The quirk = the occasionally annoying [but mostly endearing] use of the whackjob absurd and/or novel in attempts to peddle product or sell services [alliteration #ftw].

[To be fair, the use of the quirk is much older than the Internet: it's been prevalent in promotional bursts since (at least) the advent of broadcast media, though here I'm reffing its deliberate pairing with social networking rather than use in a one-directional platform like cinema, radio, tv etc. Also, the quirk doesn't necessarily equate to viral, though most marketing boffins who attempt to leapfrog off organically formed viral media pray to their unspecified deities that it will].

We’ve witnessed the quirk in great gouts of captioned cat pics/videos, and watched it flourish in social media advertising packages like “The Old Spice Guy” campaign. When used successfully, it captures a target population’s attention through the offbeat presentation of lateral material designed to elicit an off-kilter emotional reaction [that bypasses logic or reason] resulting in high conversion rates. The quirk taps into emotional pockets designed with the novel in mind, a type of side-swiping of the traditional “pander to a consumer’s desires” type deal with an added bonus of immediacy through user-crafted feedback [think: a  Facebook "Like" or a Twitter "RT"].

So what’s my theory regarding the quirk for all you impatient types out there yelling loudly in the background to get the feck on with it? It’s simply this: that alongside the bloated, privacy-killing blight that’s being increasingly perpetuated by popular social networking platforms [you know who you are], we’d better make sure we [as users] are aware of this type of co-optive manipulation bundled in cutez0r form. A hyper-awareness of this method of quirk advertising probably won’t save you from subconsciously falling for the product -or-service-wrapped-in-”lolwut?!”-or-”awww!!”-bait, but at least it might encourage you to selectively support those companies [or individual campaigns] you think are worthy of your time/investment/money.

Prepare Yourselves… #GuestEditorInDaHouse #GeekGirl #YesIAmTotallyUnshiny

So here we are, again: you, me and a flippant-memegenerator.net-produced image that references a slightly outdated [but still highly heh-worthy] meme.  And for those of you asking “Um, what? Who the feck are you and how come you’re net-jacking our beloved geekgirl stream?!” then settle down, take a chill-pill [you should be thankful that I didn't actually type "chillax" instead] + let the lovely staccato tones of my soothing net presence guide you down a slightly stained and always left-of-centre comprehension path.

Back in 2009 our illustrious Editor-in-Chief [Mz @rosiex herself] allowed me to splather your feeds with all things quirky, glitchy and weirdo-beardo-y *ahem*. And now she’s decided to let me at it [ie you] again, only this time I’m coming out from behind my Wizard-of-Oz-ish admin invisibility cloak and have decided to inject several of my net-personas into the mix.

Most of the time I’ll stay outta the way of the wondrous posted content that will shine brighter than any JJ Abrams lens-flare, but sometimes you’ll find “Mez Breeze” raising her artistically-inclined head [watch for the e-lit stuff and more serious social commentary blurbs].  Other times you’ll be graced with Netwurker’s “And not a single f*ck was given that day” presence [with lots of square-brackets, "+"s, warped punctuation and other creatively twisted greeble].

So let’s get down to tin-tacks and do this sheete, shall we?

#code {poems} #book (via @sister0) #geekgirl

Due for release code {poems} is a book edited by Ishac Bertran

“When things get complex, as they may indeed be getting, the distinction between tools and the things that can be made with them begins to dissolve. The medium is not only also a message, it is an essential counter-valence to our own impulses towards the creation of meaning, beauty and knowledge. The tools we think we are using also use us: They push us around, make us think new things, do new things, even be new things. Language is no different, of course, although in its supremacy and ubiquity, it is even more elusive, difficult to perceive. The very words you are looking at right now are like compact little cryptograms—a written convention, talking back at you in codes.

Poetry is language speaking for itself. It is, at its best, where what is being told is coincident with the telling. The words written, or uttered, pop out at us, while in the same moment, constellations of meaning emerge; the components and its composition resonate, vacillate, on the page and in the air. Many of the constraints and styles of poetry we know have developed in order to allow words to express themselves, or show themselves as the mediation of a mental image. Programming languages for computer hardware, no matter how “high level” or abstract they are, are by necessity far less elaborate than traditional forms of writing and speech. But the structure and function of these new languages give them special advantage in clarity: These languages (syntax, sequence) and the results they produce (ideas, ‘executables’) are absolutely inseparable. By design, computing languages are created in order to express specific ideas, creating certain kinds of action or manipulation of other codes (data). In this sense perhaps, software is always, and already, poetic. It is precise description, and pure syntax—the signifier and signified—clearly coincident in the machine.

Ishac Bertran’s code {poems} is an edited book project that exposes the materiality of computer programming languages. Here are presented a small sampling from a compiled book of poetry written by software engineers, artists and other code writers, “exploring the potential of code to communicate at the level of poetry.” (code-poems.com) The project solicited for online, public submissions from code-writers in response to the notion of a poem, written in a software language which is semantically valid (i.e.: it compiles). This solicitation winds up revealing the inner workings, constitutive elements, and styles of both a particular software and its authors. From a large number of submissions, a selection of poems will be printed as a bound volume in 2012.”

Source: in continent. 2.2 (2012): 148–151

The Assembled #Self #Artist Call-Out #Sydney #genotyping #identity #geekgirl

Expressions of Interest for participation due Monday 3 September 2012

The Assembled Self is a project about the experience of genotyping (genetic testing) and how this affects an individual’s sense of self. It is driven by our interest in how genetic testing alters the narratives through which people anchor their own, their families, and their communities’ identities. The project involves a collaboration of researchers and artists conducting a creative research project where artists produce new works (phase 1) to be presented to generate public conversations around genetic testing and identity (phase 2). The Assembled Self is holding a research development workshop on Saturday 22nd September to think through these ideas and find artist collaborators.

Subject to a successful funding application, 8 artist collaborators will be provided with financial and logistical support for their artistic contribution to The Assembled Self. 

This project is conducted by Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, University of Sydney and School of the Arts and Media, University of New South Wales. It is supported by Australia Council for the Arts and PerformanceSpace.

For further information, please contact Estelle Noonan or Julie Mooney-Somers assembled.self@sydney.edu.au.
http://theassembledself.wordpress.com

Pussy Riot – how a balaclava and t-shirt is set to change Russia #pussyriot #news #geekgirl

free_pussy_riot

August 17. Lots of scuffles in Russia outside the court as protestors gathered to express their anger at the two year jail sentence of punk rock band Pussy Riot. Amnesty International calls it a bitter blow for freedom of expression in Russia.

“The judge sentenced them to two years’ imprisonment in a penal colony. The lawyers for the three said they were planning to appeal the decision.

Amnesty International said it believed that the trial of the Pussy Riot defendants – Maria Alekhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova – was politically motivated, and that they were wrongfully prosecuted for what was a legitimate – if potentially offensive – protest action.”

Many agree and as International support for the band continues to grow momentum, those inside Russia are also fueled with indignation.Russia has it,s own stars including chess great Garry Kasparov who as a protestor was detained and (allegedly) beaten for his support.

While newspapers all around the world try valiantly to educate their readers on the history of punk feminism. None are doing it better atm than Wikipedia for a consolidated review of the band’s influences:

cbgb-free-pussy-riot

“The group’s costumes are usually brightly colored dresses and tights, even in bitterly cold weather, with their faces masked by balaclavas, both while performing and giving interviews, for which they always adopt pseudonyms. The collective comprises around 10 performers and about 15 people who handle the technical work of shooting and editing their videos, which are posted on the Internet. The group cites punk rock and Oi! bands Angelic Upstarts, Cockney Rejects, Sham 69 and The 4-Skins as their main musical influences.
The band also cite American punk rock band Bikini Kill and the Riot grrrl movement of the 1990s as inspirations. They have said, “What we have in common is impudence, politically loaded lyrics, the importance of feminist discourse and a non-standard female image.”

Personally, I think it’s a shame poor Malcolm McLaren isn’t still with us to really milk the cash cow of Punk paraphernalia now available. Oh well what the fuck, check it out starting with a great compendium of artist support.

ps: t-shirts out of $tock!! go (con)figure

Rosie X interviews Craig Smith at Agile Australia 2012 #agileaus #agilecoach #geekgirl

Craig Smith

Craig Smith is an expert Agile Coach with Suncorp’s Business Services division. In this warts-and-all interview recorded at Agile Australia 2012, he discusses his personal evolution in Agile software development; -isms in Agile; and books, history, and sources.

Smith has been instrumental in getting Agile acknowledged as a new way of thinking and approaching projects. He is a passionate contributor to the Agile community, with a deep understanding of Agile’s progression over the past decade. He is a regular trainer for the Agile Academy, has presented at a number of international conferences and is also an Agile Editor for InfoQ.  He also produces The Agile Revolution  podcast with mates Tony and Renee.

Twitter: @smithcdau

Interview: http://soundcloud.com/rosiefuture/rosie-x-interviews-craig-smith

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The HTMlles 10 RISKY BUSINESS #Feminist #festival of media arts and digital culture #gender #geekgirl

 The HTMlles 10
 RISKY BUSINESS
 Feminist festival of media arts + digital culture
 10-18 November 2012

 The 10th edition of the HTMlles will take up the notion of risk. To risk: to gain or to lose (it is uncertain), to expose oneself to a possibility… Risk is a potential. Whether used positively or negatively, the idea of risk implies that of evaluation, action and distribution, and thus, power. While the term “risk” evolved with the development of capitalism, the concept of “risk society” is about twenty years old and has been used by scholars to describe how modern society organizes around the idea of risk, that is, in response to a future (which society should be able to manage). By simply invoking or imagining the future, one immediately engages in risky behaviours. Anything and everything can become risky… Indeed, there exists a global economic and industrial complex organized around monitoring and moderating “risk”, from insurance companies to investment products, as well as technologies and approved, standardized methods of risk assessment and risk management. There are also whole sets of techniques of calculation, “optimization” and social control that rely on the presence of a notion of “risk,” from so-called “at-risk populations” to who are considered “vulnerable,” “suspect” or, increasingly so nowadays, “insolvable.”
 
In such a critical moment, it is perhaps crucial to ask (ourselves) some questions. How does the language of risk articulate itself today? What is at risk today? How can one take risks today? What are the different levels of risk in our various (trans)actions? What is the relationship between risk, technology and power? How is risk both managed and created? How is it distributed? Since when does one  “invest” in one’s future and what does it actually mean? Do “crises” serve to pacify the communities being affected by these “crises”? Who are they? What do artists have to say about these so-called risks and crises? How is making art risky today? Who speaks? To whom and in the name of what?
 
The HTMlles 10 welcomes project proposals from self-identified women, trans and gender non-conforming artists of all origins on the theme of risk, as well as proposals for risky projects…
 
The HTMlles is a feminist festival of media arts and digital culture produced in Montreal by Studio XX, a bilingual feminist artist-run centre for technological exploration, creation and critique. Initiated in 1997, the HTMlles is an international platform dedicated to the presentation of women’s, trans and gender non-conforming artists’ independent media artworks from all facets of contemporary technological creation,  including but not limited to: digital storytelling, cyber art, short film and video art, audio and electronic art, radio art, installation, locative media, 3D animation, game art, augmented reality, electronic publishing, design, bio art, public interventions, community-based practices, performance and interdisciplinary practices.
 
The HTMlles 10 will be a multi-sited festival, which includes Studio XX’s new gallery space, the XX Files radio show, .dpi electronic periodical and Matricules online feminist archive. RISKY BUSINESS will be co-presented with several partner artist centres (to be announced) that focus on either (or both) media arts or feminist practices, in
Montreal. Participants receive honoraria.
 
OPPORTUNITY FOR EMERGING CURATORS: The current call is also open to project submissions by self-identified emerging curators.
 
To submit a proposal to the HTMlles 10, please follow the guidelines and email it to: festival (at) htmlles (dot) net
 
*Deadline: Monday, 2 April 2012*
 
Download submission guidelines  http://www.htmlles.net/2012/Call_HTMLLES_2012_EN.pdf