Media Campaigns
Media Projects
Introduction
Locative media refers to media of communication that is based on location. It provides multimedia information directly to people through a mobile device. Location information is delivered through different means such as mobile phone tracking, RFID or Wi-Fi (Tuters & Varnelis 2006, pp. 357-363). Examples of three remarkable locative media projects include the Bio Mapping by Christian Nold in 2004, the Transborder Immigrant Tool developed by the Electronic Disturbance Theater and the Invisible Threads invented by Jeff Crouse and Stephanie Rothenberg. Bio Mapping is an ongoing media research project that focuses on exploring new ways of envisioning the response of people to the external world. Nold developed a device that records a person’s emotional stimulation in a specific geographic location. The emotional stimulation is recorded by a device known as Galvanic Skin Response to collect data and create a map to determine the points of low or high stimulation (Nold 2004). The Transborder Immigrant Tool is a locative media project that focuses on providing safe directions to immigrants attempting to cross the US/Mexico border. This project was developed in 2009 and 2010, which attracted the attention of the global media (Duarte 2011, pp. 113). The Invisible Threads is locative media project that focuses on promoting awareness of sweatshops and just-in-time production. This project took place in 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival (Hafner 2008, pp. 8).
Critical Comparison
The Bio Mapping project, the Tranasborder Tool and the Invisible Threads are the three locative media projects chosen to be discussed in this paper. The Bio Mapping technology has been used in different contexts including science research, political consultations, art, architectural planning and community development. In the past five years, an estimate of about 2000 people participated in the community mapping projects in about 25 countries around the globe (Nold 2004). The introduction of the Transborder Immigrant Tool project caught the attention of the media. It raised a lot of contentious debate on the legality of the project. Since its introduction, the project has been used in different major exhibitions at the Museums of Contemporary Art San Diego. Many immigrants have died during their journey across the U.S/Mexico border due to various factors such as a deserted geography. The Transborder Immigrant Tool has been invented to provide 24 hours surveillance on the immigrants attempting to cross the border (Dominguez & Stalbaum 2007). The Invisible Threads focuses on manufacturing designer jean sweatshop by providing the current modes of global production. It connects a web cam and a microphone to the computer to stream live the orders of customers to the Company and process the customers’ orders. These locative media projects compare in different ways such as their specific characteristics, features, elements and themes (Hafner 2008, pp. 8).
These locative media projects have been used by different artists to create various artistic works, activities and performances. Bio mapping, the Transborder Immigrant Tool and the Invisible Threads are all locative media projects that communicate information in real places and stimulate social interactions. These media technologies have significantly supported communication among mobile users. They allow individuals to interact with each other and know the location of other people. For instance, the Bio Mapping provides individuals with new ways of gathering information concerning their own bodies in different physical location (Nold 2004). The Transborder Immigrant Tool helps to communicate with immigrants trying to cross the US/Mexico border by providing them with survival information such as safe routes to use (Duarte 2011, pp. 113). The Invisible Threads communicates with customers through mobile phones or computing laptops to help workers take and produce the customers’ orders thus enhancing the Company’s productivity and performance (Edquist & Vaughan 2012).
The three locative media projects have technologies that are used that are used to communicate information to users. For instance, the Bio Mapping tool is used measure and enables people to envision their emotional response to specific locations. It consists of a Galvanic Skin Response, which is a tool that a person wears and it is able to record the response of the individual to the external environment in a specific geographic location. This device helps individuals to have information on their own emotional behavior response and be able to interpret the bio data on their own (Perkins 2013, pp. 127-137). The Transborder Immigrant Tool is used for navigation and orientation to allow people to find ways to different destinations. It consists of a Geographic Positioning System (GPS) that is used to ensure safety of the immigrants between the US/Mexico borders. The device is used to provide immigrants with information on security activities in the area, food and water supply and direct them to safer routes. This device thus promotes safe crossing and ensures survival of the immigrants across the US/Mexico border (Marks 2015). The Invisible Thread is used to provide people with physical locations by using digital information. It uses the mobile phones and computing laptops to investigate the increasing connection between the rising fundamental economies, labor and commodities and be able to make designer jeans sweatshop that satisfy customers (Dragona 2014).
The three media projects have function in unique but similar ways. The Bio mapping projects works by collaborating with groups of people in order to effectively interpret and analyze the bio data information and annotating the emotional tracks of each individual. The bio data information is used to create a communal Emotional Maps of different individuals within the community (Szołtysek & Twaróg 2013, pp. 97-111). The Invisible Threads uses audio or video streaming that is projected in the company to allow workers to view customers and take their order. It involves installation of mixed reality performance and promoting manufacturing of designer jeans sweatshop. The audio or video stream has made it possible for the company to meet the needs of the customers and produce the orders on time. Once the order has been taken, the production process starts immediately to process the customers order. The Transborder Immigrant tool functions by using the GPS to track immigrants’ movements at the U.S/Mexico border in order to ensure they are safe. This action contributes to minimization of deaths and other dangers that pose threats to immigrants (Hafner 2008, pp. 8).
The Bio Mapping project, the Transborder Immigrant tool and Invisible Threads have goals that focus on providing convenience to people. The Bio Mapping project aims at allowing people to understand and interpret their own emotional response to external environment without having to depend on security technologies to track their emotional response (Perkins 2013, pp. 127-137). The Transborder Immigrant Tool focuses on providing guidance to immigrants by directing them to safe water/food sites to improve their safety when crossing the border (Duarte 2011, pp. 113). The Invisible Threads project aims at creating awareness to customers about their sweatshops and their immediate production of designer jeans based on the order of customers (Edquist & Vaughan 2012).
The three locative media projects have beneficial outcomes to individuals in the community. The Bio Mapping project helps individuals to conduct personal observations on their emotional behaviors and be able to highlight issues that impact on their emotional response. Through this, individuals are able to have an understanding of the relationship of people with the landscape by providing insights on the direct impacts of personal emotional behavior to the environment (Perkins 2013, pp. 127-137). The Transborder Immigrant Tool saves the lives of people. It is also used a cultural tool to highlight critical issues affecting people in society such as inequality between racial and political classes, which has created hatred between individuals in the US and Mexico. Therefore, it helps to enhance peace in society (Marks 2015). The Invisible Threads benefits customers by allowing them to make orders of their own design of the jean sweatshop and they are produced accordingly thus satisfying their demands. It has allowed the manufacturers to meet with customers through computer-mediated communication and discuss their orders and purchase. Also, customers are able to purchase their jeans directly from the manufacturer through the just-in-time process (Dragona 2014).
Recommendations for Future Developments
The Bio Mapping tool can be used in future to obtain biological data generated from the body. For instance, instead of using finger prints, DNA samples and retina scans, the Bio Mapping tool can used to measure the biological information required. The Bio Mapping tool can be used in medical control industries to detect any abnormalities in the body organs or in police investigation to measure the psychological arousal of the user. The Bio Mapping tool can also use a GPS to record the location of the user. Therefore, the Bio Mapping project provides proper approaches to develop effective biometric technologies in future (Rahman, Abdullah & Hao et al 2015). The Bio Mapping project can also be recommended to focus on promoting production of bio products to enhance environmental protection. Production of bio-based products will promote development of a sustainable economy and reduce dependence of producing products using fossil fuels. Increased production of bio products will promote healthy living among individuals (Szołtysek & Twaróg 2013, pp. 97-111).
The Transborder Immigration Tool is recommended to be used in different other borders around the globe to protect the vulnerable population moving across dangerous routes as they immigrate to other countries. Although, the Transborder Immigrant Tool has only been experimented in the US/Mexico border, its expansion to other areas will be very beneficial to the people. Additionally, it is recommended that the implementation of the Transborder Immigration Tool in future should not be based on the political spectacle of the national border debates but rather should be based on the need to protect the lives of vulnerable immigrants across the borders (Dominguez & Stalbaum 2007).
It is recommended that the Invisible Threads can achieve its continuous delivery of just-in-time productions of designer jeans sweatshop by developing a comprehensive plan to promote its future development. Development of a comprehensive plan involves a combination of technologies, organization, supervision of people and administration. This will provide an effective communication network that would allow the company to meet the needs of its customers. In additional, it is recommended for the Invisible Threads to promote its future developments by identifying and mitigating software delivery risks on time so as not to inconvenience customers. The Invisible Thread project should also use a value driven approach to produce its products by identifying features that are essential to customers (Hudson & Zimmermann 2009, pp. 15).
Conclusion
Locative media plays a crucial role of providing information directly to people through digital platform such as mobile phone tracking, RFID or Wi-Fi. The Bio Mapping project, the Transborder Immigrant Tool and the Invisible Threads are examples of notable locative media projects. The Bio Mapping project explores new ways of determining how the human body reacts to the external environment. The aim of the Bio Mapping project is to measure an individual’s emotional stimulation through use of a Galvanic Skin Response device. The Transborder Immigrant Tool provides immigrants with guidance and directions to safe water sites and safe routes to ensure survival of immigrants when crossing the U.S/Mexico border. It uses a GPS for navigation and orientation to allow people to find ways to different destinations during their journey. The Invisible Threads creates awareness of sweatshops and just-in-time production by using digital information such as mobile phones and computing laptops. The Bio Mapping tool, the Transborder Immigrant Tool and the Invisible Threads share some comparison in their features, characteristics, debates and themes. For instance, these projects communicate information in real places and stimulate social interactions through use of digital devices such as GPS.
Bibliography
Dominguez, R. and Stalbaum, B., 2007. Transborder immigrant tool. URL: http://bang. calit2. net/xb0rder/about. html [July 22, 2012].
Dragona, D., 2014. Artists ad the New Producers of the Common (?). Leonardo Electronic Almanac, 20(1).
Duarte, F., 2011. Transborder Immigrant Tool. Transfers, 1(3), p.113.
Edquist, H. and Vaughan, L. eds., 2012. The Design Collective: An Approach to Practice. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Hafner, K.A.T.I.E., 2008. At Sundance, a Second Life sweatshop is art. New York Times April 30th. http://bits. blogs. nytimes. com/2008/01/25/at-sundance-a-second-life-sweatshop-is-art. Last checked, 9(17), p.08.
Hudson, D. and Zimmermann, P.R., 2009. Taking things apart: locative media, migratory archives, and micropublics. Afterimage, 36(4), p.15.
Marks, A.R., 2015. Art and Negativity: Questioning the Critical Potential of Activist Performance Art through an Adornian Critique of the Transborder Immigrant Tool.
Nold, C., 2004. Bio Mapping/Emotion Mapping. Recuperado de Biomapping. Retreived on 11 August 2016 from: http://www.biomapping.net/
Perkins, C., 2013. Community mapping. The Cartographic Journal, 44, pp. 127–137.
Rahman, S.Z.A., Abdullah, S.N.H.S., Hao, L.E., Abdulameer, M.H., Zamani, N.A. and Darus, M.Z.A., 2015. Mapping 2D to 3D forensic facial recognition via bio-inspired active appearance model. Jurnal Teknologi, 78(2-2).
Szołtysek, J. and Twaróg, S., 2013. Bio Mapping as a Tool for Urban Logistics Projects. Journal of Economics & Management, 11, pp.97-111.
Tuters, M. and Varnelis, K., 2006. Beyond locative media: Giving shape to the internet of things. Leonardo, 39(4), pp.357-363.
