I’ve never thought of websites as rooms or objects, probably because of the ease of access and how they don’t exist physically. Most websites I use were made to complete certain tasks or hold my attention, which seems boring and annoying to me, as a graphic designer. It’s interesting, but also stressful to think of websites as never fully complete.
I like that the artist chose to include hand-painted writing and illustration; it made the work feel like an actual human designed it. Interestingly, computers are thought of as very separate from humans, but the first computers were humans themselves. It’s helpful to think of computers in terms of physical concepts such as day and night, or city design to make them seem less abstract.
It’s fascinating to think that during the early internet age, people thought that everyone would make their own sites. I’ve grown up seeing the popularity of creators YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, and even the popularity of hosting platforms such as Wix and Squarespace. It’s sad to see that creators have to give up control and freedom to make a name for themselves online.
I often get impatient when I see an ellipsis in a conversation, but sometimes I’m happy when it’s there because I know that the person is listening at that exact moment. I’ve also noticed that almost all major content creation apps have taken Tiktok’s short-form video aspect because of its ability to hold your attention
I’ve always been taught that everything on the web “can’t be erased”. In the section, Performing Data, they conducted an acting performance of the data from Github on all the MoMA’s collections. I was also drawn to the other piece in the section, Unicode, which features a stop motion of all the symbols available in Unicode. I also enjoy creating art out of basic letterforms, so it’s always fun to see other takes on this. This page, over all, reminds me of the Data Portrait assignment in Multi Studio, where we have to design a self-portrait out of information about ourselves. It’s interesting to learn about the array of avenues and media that could be used.
People tend to think that we’re “saving the planet” because society is becoming more digital, and less print-based. However, our technology takes immense amounts of energy and structures such as cell towers and data centers, which impede on the environment. Not to mention all the waste that is generated from technology that is discarded.
Reading this, I was reminded of the concept of third places: the places people hang out at regularly, besides their work and home. I appreciate the author noting that we don’t need everything to be commercialized. I agree, having more barriers to entry and more profit motives in physical and online spaces can take away from the experience and strengthen class divides. I often want to stop using social media, but I have the fear of missing out: my friends could be posting about their lives, school clubs could post about events, and there may be trends or news I’m not informed about.