Futuresonic

THWONK is an online social networking application to be launched at Futuresonic 2009. It is a development of a previous project by Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Bennett called BUMPLIST, a mailing list where every new member would bump the oldest member off the list. THWONK develops this concept further by creating an online platform with the feature set associated with applications such as FaceBook, but going further by offering participants far greater control. THWONK is an exciting and dynamic approach to creating online communities that will allow participants to alter the rule sets of these systems. The project is a web 4.0 application that allows for the full manipulation of the rules of social engagement that these systems normally exhibit. This enables users to see how their behaviour in online communication is determined by the constraints of the medium. It is the intention of the project to motivate people to design their own rules of communication. We intend to use mailing lists to start this experience and plan to further expand the project into other forms of online social networking.

THWONK will be on display on terminals at CUBE and Contact.

Biography

Jonah Brucker-Cohen is a researcher, artist, and Ph.D. candidate in the Disruptive Design Team of the Networking and Telecommunications Research Group (NTRG), Trinity College Dublin. He is an adjunct assistant professor of communications at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). He has worked as a Research Fellow at Eyebeam, Media Lab Europe, and Interval Research NYU-ITP. His work and thesis focuses on the theme of "Deconstructing Networks" which includes projects that attempt to critically challenge and subvert accepted perceptions of network interaction and experience. His writing has appeared in numerous international publications and his work has been shown at a number of major international exhibitions.

www.thwonk.com
www.bumplist.net
www.coin-operated.com/projects

Mike Bennett is a postdoctoral researcher and interaction designer in the CLARITY Centre for Sensor Web Technologies, at the School of Computer Science & Informatics, University College Dublin, Ireland. He was also a Research Associate at Media Lab Europe, in the Palapable Machines Group. His work explores the futuristic implications of an individual centered and adaptive world. In particular he is exploring examples of malleable objects and spaces. His work has been shown at events such as Ars Electronica (04), Transmediale (04), CHI (04, 06), Institute of Contemporary Art in London (04), Whitney Museum of American Art's ArtPort (03), Observatori (03), Microwave Festival (04), and has been written about in The New York Times, Neural, Rhizome.org, and others.

www.thwonk.com
www.stressbunny.com
www.user-designer.com