The Internet Playground
A rather provocative pop-up just wrapped in London. The Glass Room was a digital intervention disguised as a tech shop – one where your usual gadgets, such as tablets and wearable fitness devices, are on display but none for sale. Instead, the aim of this exhibition is to pull back the curtain on the way we create and consume data. With the rise of “Digital Detoxes” and “Gadget-Free Getaways,” it’s clearer than ever that consumers have a heightened awareness of their digital habits.
Every time we upload, download, like, tag, share, retweet or follow, we create little bits of personal data coded with our likes and dislikes. Put enough of them together and it’ll paint a pretty accurate picture of who you are.
The brainchild of Mozilla (the non-profit behind the Firefox browser) and Tactical Tech, the exhibition was meant to encourage reflection and experimentation. Alternative apps, the 8-Day Data Detox Kit, and various workshops/events also illuminated the many ways we reveal our most personal selves online, with little knowledge of who has access to this data and the impact it has on both our virtual and real lives.
Of the exhibits on display, visual representations of data breeches felt particularly compelling and relevant. There’s that time iPhones tracked and stored user whereabouts from June 2010 to April 2011 showcased in book Where The F**K Was I? by artist James Bridle, or how 4.6 million passwords were leaked in the LinkedIn hack of 2012 illustrated in the form of eight alphabetized volumes of said passwords by artist Aram Bartholl. Some of the more forward-thinking exhibits include a dating app that matches you to potential suitors based on your olfactory compatibility, to a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-backed microchip that can remotely control female hormones and act as a contraceptive for up to 16 years.
For those who can’t experience The Glass Room in person, there is thankfully (and rather appropriately) a virtual reality 3D showcase you can check out here.
Films Called Ads
Movies, products, brands…
Whatever the format, the strongest content is always that which evokes a feeling. Movies have long held this power: they tell a story and weave emotion into the narrative, and isn’t that exactly what ads (at least the good ones) aim to do?
Structurally, the industries have more in common than not. Both sell through ideas, deal in the currency of creativity, and stack the deck with the best and brightest talent for the job – all while hoping the content lands with audiences in a timely and relevant manner.
Brands can draw so much inspiration from filmmaking. The burden of an ad to accurately portray the brand, deliver the message, and ultimately sell a product becomes much more surmountable with compelling content. Just as you can tell a story a million different ways, you can also show the many facets of a company with various interpretations of the brand through ads.
There is no shortage of the Hollywood-Mad Men crossover. Whether the melding of the two worlds is explicit, as in the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-inspired Visa commercial by Ang Lee, or discreet, as in the Sofia Coppola directed spot for Dior, the love affair between the two art forms is longstanding.
For audiences’ sakes, let’s hope the source of mutual inspiration persists.
Photo credits: theglassroom.org (top post) and Jakob Owens (bottom post)
