Filed under: research
Statement of research topic
I will take an in depth look at how fans judge and view a given band’s MySpace page, focusing on independent bands.
Research question:
How can bands optimize their MySpace pages to maximize their fanbase? What kind of interface would be best suited to helping those bands? How do fans judge a band’s page? Does a potential fan base his/her opinion entirely on the sound of the music, or do other factors count such as: # of song plays, # of profile views, # of song plays today, nature of comments left on comment board, arrangement of widgets, and graphic design?
Why is this important?
In light of technological developments over the last decade or two, many bands are trying become professional purely by “independent” means, that is without the help of a record label. Many of those bands, while perhaps talented, may have trouble acquiring new fans only due to a lack of marketing knowledge.
This research assumes that MySpace is at the forefront of a band’s potential for marketing success or failure. This assumption was based on conversations with numerous industry professionals and the conclusions of a number of articles that will be used as references. More and more bands treat MySpace as a critical tool for their marketing strategies, and would benefit from an easily implemented set of prescriptions for optimizing their page.
Although this research will be limited to the L.A. area, it promises to be applicable to many other geographic areas in the United States.
Research methods for preliminary field research
Ethnographic Research
To answer my research question I will need to conduct immersive ethnographic research on fans. Attending a show is a social event, and so performing research that is social by nature seems more likely to produce meaningful results. Also, one intended consequence of this research would be to learn what led current fans to become fans in the first place, and also explore the possibility of broad bias in the way users encounter a band, and so it seems appropriate to get an idea of what attracts show-goers. To do this I will attend several music shows and talk to fans waiting in line before the show, during the show, and after the show to discuss their use of MySpace. One goal of the research is to find a way for bands to discover and maintain an active fan base. That includes maintaining relationships with fans inclined to attend shows. Thus, this aspect of the research is intended to find people who are interested in live music and see if and how MySpace plays a part in attracting them to come out to a show.
Observation and User Input
I plan on observing a few users in their interaction with MySpace music pages. Since my presence is likely to modify the user’s behavior, in some cases I intend to employ other methods to encourage natural participation. If a user seems comfortable I will simply talk with them about what they are doing and encourage them to explain their actions and decision-making process as they scout for new music they find interesting.
In some situations I intend to ask the user to go to MySpace and listen to a series of bands of his/her determination. Then I will request that at some point, the user generate some sort of artwork in the medium of their choosing (paint, poetry, multi-media, etc…) that reflects the way the experience made them feel and later relate what aspects of the artwork reflected what emotions from which bands. The artwork can then be compared to the pages to see if any consistencies exist between selected bands or unselected bands. Also, I might observe the user through the experience at random to see at which point in the listening experience generates the most response from him/her.
This method will likely generate the most candid look into a user’s MySpace experience since the user will feel most free and comfortable to engage a band on his/her own terms. Also, since the experience of music is indeed so subjective, a subjective medium of expression is an appropriate method to realize this experience into an analyzable piece of work.
Blog
I will harness the power of MySpace Blogs to posit hypothesis, offer insight, and try to generate controversy. This method is organic to the MySpace experience, as shown by the very existence of the MySpace blog. Social forums are a great way to gather information in a social setting, and this method will allow users to give their opinions in a public space. The blog will allow users to argue or collaborate, giving me a better sense of the dynamics at work. I will encourage users to talk about the styles of music they appreciate, and see if any correlations emerge regarding the band’s discussed, what niches appreciate what culture, and how individual fans regard their own identity as “fans.”
The goal of this part of the research process is to get the perspective of another type of fan: the Internet user. Since products such as iTunes give bands a direct platform to sell their music online, this user is potentially very meaningful to a band even though they may never attend a show. Also, this user may be, or has the potential to become a show-goer, and hence become even more meaningful to a band’s fanbase and potential for success.
Foundational readings, research, and assumptions
The idea of how a band can “make it” is a largely elusive concept. But what has become clear to anyone that has downloaded a song is that the industry landscape has irrevocably changed. This change was largely unanticipated by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) which left them pursuing litigation against those allegedly pirating music and thus infringing on their copyrights. Regardless of their efforts, the new digital distribution model has flourished and record sales have fallen. Converse to that decline, attendance at live shows has actually increased steadily, according to one foundational resource for my research, The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution, by David Kuseck and Gerd Leonard.
This new reality reflects what is, quite simply, a new economy. In this new economy, widespread distribution methods are available to anyone with a personal computer. In addition to that, broad social networking technologies have given broad marketing power to individual musicians and bands, making music available to users on a scale never before known. Consequently, the market is flooded with music that is undesirable to users, generating what could be considered “noise.” This “noise” is now the main competition to bands instead of previous industry barriers. How bands can stand out is a question argued many ways and interpreted just as broadly. Kuseck/Leonard’s book focuses in on the new landscape, and is particularly important to gain stable footing in the rocky terrain of the music industry.
One de facto solution has been the social networking space called “MySpace.” The site has given bands a platform that acts as a storefront for their product: themselves. However, as many bands signed up for the platform, the same problem of “noise” surfaced, with seemingly no meaningful solutions. This research intends to address that problem.
To begin to understand the research however, I encourage my audience to read several books to understand the conversation about bands, MySpace, the digital marketing landscape, and the new music economy. One such crucial reading is a must-read by most internet marketing enthusiasts called The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson.
The Long Tail addresses the new economy that all retailers are now subject to. I recommend the entire book for a deep understanding of the economics of our digital age, but note chapter 7 and 11 as particularly relevant to my research. Chapter 7 considers the careers of several musicians as they have taken separate routes to stardom. One takes a more mainstream approach, one an organic uprising to finally becoming signed by a record label, and one entirely independent.
Many of the assumptions and arguments Anderson makes are complimentary to the discussion of internet marketing and music. However, he makes one comparison that is particularly interesting, relevant, and current to my research. To show the success of one band over another, he states, “On MySpace, My Chemical Romance has nearly 450,000 friends; McKee has 9,000. Word of mouth makes all the difference” (Anderson 104).
Using MySpace as a metric for success is not a concept lost on most serious musicians. A good looking MySpace page can attract more fans, attract more industry people, and put bands higher on search queries. One question that arises, though, is out of all of the possible benefits of a MySpace page: what is its goal for a band, and how can that goal be more fully realized through design? How can bands avoid being lost in “the long tail”? My research will attempt to answer those questions.
The third foundational resource for my research is titled Ethnicity, Identity and Music, written by Martin Stokes. This book mostly focuses on music as a broad entity in shaping national and tribal identities in other countries. It seems distant to my own research, which will be largely local. The core discussion of the book, however, focuses on the relationship of music to ethnicity and identity.
This relationship will be rather central to my research, and this book gives great insight into methods of approaching the topic of music and identity, and how culture and music interact. It is an anthropological work, and as such speaks to the anthropological nature of my research, which considers show-goers and internet-users in what could be considered their “enclaves,” and will attempt to decipher how music interacts with them in that respect. The work is conceived in the physical realm while mine will be held in a hybrid of physical and digital. This reading gives legs to my assumption that music is intricately tied in with culture, and that bands must immerse themselves in the culture of a niche to appeal to a niche. I will merely be attempted to answer if that appeal can be nurtured by design.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I am finding that my own bias and expectation is the greatest hurdle in my research process right now. In an attempt to recognize my assumptions, and eventually subdue them, I have compiled a hypothesis list, per the Dorothy Deasy essay “Non-Assumptive Research”. I also made a list of challenges that I will need to undertake to form a more complete research proposal.
Challenge list:
Find out how people approach music online.
Learn about bias.
Find my own bias and tackle it.
Find how a myspace page design might influence bias and to what extent.
Find an effective research method to tackle the design problem.
Discover the specific design problem through research.
Begin a process of discovery to solve design problem.
Learn about the various groups associated with certain genre’s of music.
Keep open the possibility to limit the design problem further and focus more closely on a certain group.
**********
Hypothesis list (all things originally assumed to be true, now to be questioned thoroughly):
People go to myspace to experience music.
A myspace page is important for a band to have and maintain.
The design of a myspace page effects a user’s perception of a band.
People are more inclined to spend time with music they perceive as popular.
People judge a band’s popularity based on various metrics on their myspace page.
A band can judge their own popularity based on important myspace metrics.
Important metrics include profile views, total song plays, song plays today, number of friends, number and quality of comments.
If people like a band they discover on myspace, they will be inclined to attend that band’s show (if local).
Filed under: research
For a pilot study of my research question, I conducted a few one-on-one interviews to get a sense of how a few music lovers I know interact with Myspace. The questioning went entirely differently than planned, and was discouraging for my initial hypothesis. At the same time, the interviews were very encouraging because they did reinforce the idea that Myspace plays a central role in the exploration for new music among, at least, the few people I interviewed.
These interviews were largely open-ended that followed only a loose framework, but largely mirrored something more closely resembling a conversation than a structured interview. There were a few broad questions that I asked consistently, such as “what do you do when you open a band’s Myspace page?” and “do you use Myspace as a main vehicle to discover new music?” However, these questions were merely conversation starters.
The interviews lasted anywhere from ten minutes to forty-five minutes. They could be shorter or longer depending on how much a potential interviewee had to say. Sometimes I would ask suppositional questions, sometimes open-ended, and sometimes yes or no. The suppositional questions allowed me to create hypothetical situations to gauge responses. I believe that this is not an ideal way to gather this information, and I will try to actually observe some subjects as they actually interact with Myspace to see if I might avoid implanting unlikely scenarios into the heads of users.
Overall I was surprised by the diversity of answers I received. In fact, so far not one person has given the same kind of weight to the various aspects of a Myspace page as anybody else, except for the core aspect: music. All respondents gave music the top priority in judging a band. Other factors included: background design, show schedule, headline, number, nature, and quality of comments, daily song plays, and top 8 friends.
So far, no attention or importance has been given to: total song plays, profile views, or total number of friends. In my opinion, the “conversation” approach seems to work well, although I will be interested to see what might come from group interviews and individual observation.
Since this study is being designed for bands to design their pages, I will also try to interview various industry people to get their various opinions.
Filed under: Responsive or not...
Brenda Laurel’s explorations of her career path, value choices, and “culture work” reached out to me in an uncomfortably pervasive way. Never have I read a book that seemed so personal, yet so professional. In fact, I have never thought about professionalism in such a personal way.
The reason why this book touched me so profoundly (and I am still wrapping my head around this) is due in major part to Laurel’s readiness to assume the social responsibility of her profession (something I think the field of design could benefit more from), and her stark defense of her values as they were incorporated in her work.
While embracing failure on a professional level, Laurel never concedes victory on a social level. Her experiences with Purple Moon show that, while failing her specific business context, positive social values are not necessarily a counterweight to capitalist endeavors.
A passage on page ten struck me as particularly jarring. Laurel struggles to end her identity as an artist and political activist. I certainly understand the transition for the purposes of soothing weary investors. However, I think that in the end, Laurel did little to shed the identity. She may have called it another thing, but to find another path around what is already considered safe in order to meet similar ends (in this case, profit) is at the heart of political activism, and art as well. Artists struggle to find new means of expressing a new nuance of a familiar emotion. Activists struggle to find a new means of conducting society to attain the familiar goal of successful and effective government.
Perhaps I am just too starry-eyed and immature to give up that aspect of my identity. Or perhaps people like Laurel have laid the framework so that individuals like myself may not have to surrender it at all.
Filed under: research
Statement of research topic
I will take an in depth look at how fans judge and view a given bands MySpace page, focusing almost entirely, if not entirely, on independent bands.
Research question:
How can bands optimize their MySpace pages (often referred to here as simply a “page” or a “band page”) to maximize fans? What kind of interface would be best suited to helping those bands? How do fans judge a band’s page? Does a potential fan base his/her opinion entirely on the sound of the music, or do other factors count such as: # of song plays, # of profile views, # of song plays today, nature of comments left on comment board?
Why is this important?
In light of technological developments over the last decade or two, many bands are trying become professional purely by “independent” means, that is without the help of a record label. Many of those bands, while perhaps talented, may have trouble acquiring new fans only due to a lack of marketing knowledge.
This research assumes that MySpace is at the forefront of a band’s potential for marketing success or failure. This assumption was based on conversations with numerous industry professionals and the conclusions of a number of articles that will be used as references. Regardless of the extent of truth the assumption made, it is not debatable that many bands treat MySpace as such, and would benefit from an easy way to optimize their page, and for answers to questions they simply do not have the means to answer themselves.
The results of this qualitative research could be applied to the development of a product that would help bands optimize their MySpace pages, and allow a more effective marketing plan to be shaped. This research is likely to revolve around the L.A. area, in which case I will amend the questions to reflect that limitation, although there is a good chance of conducting research in several other cities.
Research methods for preliminary field research
Ethnographic Research
To answer my research question I will need to conduct immersive ethnographic research on fans. Attending a show is a social event, and so performing research that is social by nature seems more likely to produce authentic results for this aspect. Also, one intended consequence of this product would be to encourage more people to act like the people I am interviewing, and so it seems appropriate to get an idea of what these show-goers are like. To do this I will attend several music shows and talk to fans waiting in line before the show, during the show, and after the show. The goal of the research is to find a way for bands to discover and maintain an active fan base that will attend shows. Thus, this aspect of the research is intended to find people who are interested in live music and see what attracts them to shows.
Another goal will be to see what motivations drive a fan to discover more about a band, and perhaps make merchandise purchases such as stickers, t-shirts, and records, and see if any correlation can be drawn between those actions and the design of a given band’s page.
This aspect of the research will be filmed as much as possible, photographed when filming is prohibitive, or otherwise documented when the former means are unavailable or not allowed.
Group interviews
Bands must also be involved in the research process, as they will be actually interfacing with the product. This method is autochthonous to this aspect of the research because gathering information from the band as a whole will reflect the dynamic that the band follows, and thus will more likely reflect the user-behavior of the band.
I will conduct interviews with several bands across several genres to see if:
a.) any differences exist across genres
b.) if bands would be willing to pay for such a service or
c.) if advertising might be an effective source of revenue from the product, which would lead to the need for finding…
d.)certain types of bands are more interested in optimizing their band page than others.
I will conduct group interviews, filmed when possible. I will also be corresponding with some bands via electronic means such as email and MySpace to follow up on interviews, establish new relationships, and, in the case of MySpace correspondence, see how their opinions are reflected on their band page, if at all. These correspondences will be recorded and included in the research.
Surveys
I will harness the power of MySpace bulletins, blogs, and the relationships I have forged with certain bands to create and send out a survey to MySpace users asking them how they interact with a band’s page. This method is organic to the MySpace experience, as demonstrated by the very existence of the MySpace bulletin and the blog. Social forums are an effective way to gather information in a social setting, and these methods will allow users to give their opinions in the private anonymousness that MySpace affords, or in the public space that MySpace boasts. The more public blog will allow users to argue or collaborate, giving me a better sense of the dynamics at work. Meanwhile, the bulletin will give users a chance to give intimate details about their opinions without fear of being disagreed with.
The goal of this part of the research process is to get the perspective of another type of fan: the internet user. Since products such as iTunes give bands a direct platform to sell their music online, this user is potentially very meaningful to a band even though they may never attend a show.
Many questions arise when considering the difference between internet-only users and avid show-goers, which could provide for meaningful design problems in the final product. One such question would look at the differences in appeal from show-goers to internet-only users, such as does one prefer a polished look while the other prefer a more raw look? These results will be compared and contrasted to decide if a design solution could attempt to serve both types of users, if bands would have to choose what kind of user they want to emphasize, or perhaps an unknown third option.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot of information written about marketing on Myspace from a fan’s perspective. I found a number of articles, however, that suggests the current wisdom, which my research might challenge or reinforce.
Here are three examples:
Jupiter Research, “Jupiter Research Finds That MySpace Music Community Activity Far Outpaces Online Music Sites”
Unfortunately, the entire study costs $750.00, which is a bit out of my research budget (about $750 out to be precise). However, the press release gives some insight into the study.
Authority
The company’s URL is a .com address, which suggests that this is a for-profit venture, and immediately raises concern. However, Jupiter research is well known in the industry for providing valuable research. There is a copyright logo at the bottom of the screen, which suggests that the company is taking responsibility for the content.
Accuracy
All information is grammatically correct and the presentation is clear. All links work.
Currency
The research is not very current at almost two years old. Since there does not seem to be any current research, I might infer that little has changed in the scope of the research, although I would be more inclined to simply take the research with a grain of salt.
Objectivity
The site is only selling the idea of the research, which suggests objectivity.
Coverage
The information still seems relevant. Although, judging by the price I am fairly certain the intended audience is a marketing company, not an individual.
Electronic Musician “MySpace for Musicians”
Authority
The company is designed for musicians to come and make the most of their business, so a sense authority would obviously be in the interest of this publication. The article has contact information and a copyright at the bottom. Again, the burl is a .com, suggesting a profit venture, which could be problematic. This magazine only seems to be selling their ideas, however.
Accuracy
All information is grammatically correct and the presentation is clear. All links work.
Currency
Again, this article is from 2006. Once again, I would read this article with a grain of salt.
Objectivity
This site seems to be selling their ideas as valuable tools for musicians, so objectivity would be in their best interest to gather eyeballs and sell ads.
Coverage
The intended audience is the same as my intended audience: bands. However, my research would answer questions that this article merely assumes the answers to.
Suite 101 “MySpace Music Promotion Takes Off”
Authority
This company hires freelancers to write its articles, and so loses a certain amount of authority there. The URL is .com again, raising the same concerns as previously raised. Also, the copyright is given to the author, which suggests even less authority.
Accuracy
All information is grammatically correct, although the presentation could be clearer. All links work.
Currency
The article is almost a year old, which is not optimal. However, it is more recent than the other articles I found.
Objectivity
The article seems perhaps a bit heavy in using a particular site as an example. However, there is nothing to suggest any conflict of interest between the author and the example.
Coverage
The scope of this article is too broad to be entirely relevant to my research. It does make some assertions that might be challenged by my research.
Filed under: Responsive or not...
It was difficult, nay, impossible for me to conjure up a research question and then read about research methods without considering the possibilities that apply to my question.
So naturally, while reading about Stacey Purpura’s thoughts on product testing, I had to apply particular effort in staying focused lest my brain wonder about the product possibilities of my research results. The deeper I read, the more difficult it became. Eventually, I gave up. So my response to the reading basically reflects how I might implement my hypothesis if given funding to do so.
My main interest focused on the concept phase of the reading, mostly because I am in the concept phase of what might become a product.
My research revolves around how Los Angeles fans interact with a local band’s Myspace page. I want to see if all of the metrics that Myspace makes public about a band are taken into consideration. The reason behind this is that if certain metrics are valuable to the process a fan uses to evaluate their interest in a band, than the band can emphasize those metrics. And if a fan sees a certain metric as negative than the band can de-emphasize that metric on the page, or erase it altogether.
So how would this transcribe into a product? This information would certainly be of interest to bands. Perhaps they would pay for it. Perhaps a service that would offer page optimization to bands based on their current metrics would be valuable. At any rate it will be difficult to tell without any concrete data before me.
I try to think, what would be valuable to my band? But at the same time, that may require more research. Would bands pay for such research? What could such an optimization process promise to band’s potential success?
Perhaps that’s a research question on it’s own…
Q) #1: It’s difficult enough for bands to find promoters in a given region, and extremely time consuming to actually reach out, not knowing whether a promoter is effective or not. For promoters, it is difficult to sift through thousands of emails finding bands that are going to be worth the effort of promoting. Even if a band’s music on their myspace page sounds good, it’s difficult to judge whether or not they put on a good show. How can we organize information to allow bands and promoters who don’t know each other to more easily connect and plan shows, tours, etc… and optimize the process?
Q) #2: I notice my cat often likes to watch movies with my girlfriend and I. After a few minutes he gets bored and starts gnawing on something. Is it because his attention span is not long enough or because the media we engage with simple doesn’t interest him? Could a media experience be created that would engage the attention of a cat?
Q) #3: How do L.A. fans judge a band’s myspace page? Does a potential fan base his/her opinion entirely on the sound of the music, or do other factors count such as: # of song plays, # of profile views, # of song plays today, nature of comments left on comment board, etc… The results of this qualitative research would help bands optimize their myspace pages, and allow a more effective marketing plan to be shaped.
Filed under: Responsive or not...
In section two of Brenda Laurel’s Design Research, I had trouble understanding exactly the point of what was going on. The concept of design as research doesn’t necessarily elude me, but I feel like most of the passages focused on something resembling a guess and check method. Part of me for some reason wanted to fight this possibility. It just seemed too simple to spend so much time on. It wasn’t for some time after reading the selection that I began to assemble the concepts in my mind in some enriching way.
Lisa Grocott talks about Studio Anybody as a venture that put client projects on hold in lieu of building a library of new methods by process of speculation and discovery. Then towards the end of the reading, the essays “Sanjuro: The Ronin leaves town” and “Shoot your own Dog” resonated the same principles.
It seems that as of the assembling of this book, designers as a group of professionals have fallen into some sort of prison due to corporate constraints. These passages seem to emphasize the creative individual over the quick buck. The over-arching argument is that creativity unleashed is essential to build up a mental bank that, in turn, will help produce more effective, efficient, and overall more stunning designs.
While reading this I thought of my last job (which was working for an online magazine). I felt a beat of sympathy for the designers there. As far as I knew, they never had the chance to really experiment, to research, and to come to new conclusions. They were simply consumed in day-to-day tasks.
Then, I realized, is the perfect time to implement such design tactics. As designers sink deeper into the day-to-day, it seems that the list of design problems only gets longer and longer. That’s the point to stop and take some time to revise the whole process.
That way a given “grand strategy,” as said by Rob Tow, is seen again with a new light and new excitement. Then the “strategies” can be reorganized, and perhaps the “tactics” can be made more efficient.
Filed under: Responsive or not...
First some questions:
Question #1) How have you personally experienced the concept of “remix,” and was it important to the way you interpret media? Did it occur in a free cultural economy or not? Do you believe that DRM could kill the “remix”?
Question #2) The problem of fitting games into a classroom is an example of design tackling prejudice. What kinds of prejudices do you see shaping our current media ecosystem? Can you think of any assumptions that hold back the progression of media or that stop people from engaging media in a deep and relevant way? What design questions and research methods could engage these assumptions?
*****
Of course there is no way for me to elaborate on the title in any deserving way. But, I want to posit the claim based on some reading I just completed in Brenda Laurel’s Design Research book, and Laurence Lessig’s “The People Own Ideas!” combined with my own experience.
What’s the first thing you think of when thinking of the word “skater”?
Is it punk rock?
Is it Avril Lavigne’s hit “Sk8r Boi”?
Is it something else?
Your answer to this question is likely a result of your own cultural ecology. If you grew up in the suburbs, you might be wondering, “what else is there?”
If you grew up in the “ghetto” of Los Angeles, you might have already assumed that either you are not the intended audience of the questions, or that this writer is completely biased, naïve, or possibly even racist.
Skateboarding started with kids who liked to surf but who were impatient with the fickle beaches, and eventually, as the past time became more marginalized by society, it fell more specifically in the punk niche. Then it expanded rapidly. Now skateboarding is not the pastime of punk rockers so much as it is merely the past time of the stylish youth. And that certainly includes hip-hop culture.
So if you did grow up in central Los Angeles, you might associate skating with Lupe Fiasco and other non-suburban cultural icons. Indeed the music of popular skate videos might very well be an eclectic collection of skate-thrash, hair metal, indie rock, mainstream hip-hop, and underground hip-hop, and sometimes others. It’s really up to the skaters.
I bring this up because skateboarding is a perfect example of the cultural economy that Lessig talks about in his article. There is only one way to learn how to skate, and I will let you in on the secret: You watch people skate, and then try it yourself. In other words, you fall and then fall some more until you fall less. You pay with blood and with pain, but monetarily speaking, learning how to skate is free.
When skaters got involved with media, a new level of engagement was born into the sport. Skaters watched other people skate, learned how to do it, and then added their own twists. If someone ollied 10 stairs, somebody else would try to do it, and then add a kickflip, then somebody else would add a 360, then somebody else would do it all off the rail. In each scenario, the newest attempt was essentially a “remix” of the former.
When skaters started filming each other, a whole new league of skateboarding was born. People could watch and rewind, and they got better more quickly. Slow motion was added so that skaters could more closely examine the techniques. But a side effect of the slow-motion filming technique was that it looked really cool. And then style became part of the equation, and everything from a skater’s dress, to the soundtrack he picked for his part in the video reflected an entire sub-culture of skaters that would emulate their skate-hero.
Notice this entire culture was birthed from the phenomenon that Lessig talks about: a free cultural economy. It’s true that skaters pay for videos, but they also film them themselves and watch them online all for free. That doesn’t stop any of them from spending a good amount of their disposable income on the sport. They merely spent it in a different way. Instead of spending all of their money on the actual media, they spent more on the culture as a whole. Skaters became free to choose who they wanted to be in their niche. The niche did not decide, and the mass media certainly did not decide.
Media ecology from a research perspective
The biggest thing that struck me about the readings in Laurel’s book was the complication in breaking stereotypes (i.e. “Gaming is not for education” or rather, that edutainment makes for something resembling a “spinach sundae,” as the article by Henry Jenkins put it) in media application, and more so that prejudice was really a design problem.
I suppose it’s not uncommon to run into cultural barriers when carrying out design research, but it poses a particular problem in the realm of gaming, where the “intent” of a game is inherently assumed.
Compare gaming with video. One might watch a movie for inspiration, a documentary for instruction, or a short form YouTube clip for low-cult entertainment. What about games? People generally don’t hold the same open mind. Generally speaking, games are for fun and that’s it. We might think of something instructional, like virtual reality simulations for teaching soldiers how to shoot under pressure, as a separate entity from gaming. The actual barrier, historically speaking, would only be the cost of something like Duck Hunt verses the cost of an entire virtual reality machine. With advances in technology however, the ecology of media has changed. An interactive virtual reality medium is well within the reach of an average middle class American.
There’s an interesting way to think about this:
As a designer, eliminate the context in which you understand games right down to your design question. Thus, it is not “How can we get games into the classroom?” That will never happen. Class is not a place for playing games.
Rather think, “How would students benefit from an interactive experience?”
In this way I think the designer is side stepping a troubling and unproductive question. It is not the designer’s scope to tackle prejudice, but rather, to optimize on the media we have. And with technology advancing at the rate it is, and a generation of people growing up never knowing a world without it, the cultural requisites have been met already. The ecosystem exists. We only need to build.
