Are Two Heads Better Than One?

History shows the recorded evolution of humanity and our advancements since writing was first used.  In the Information Age, the majority of information is accessible to anyone anywhere and is recorded instantly.  Technology is evolving faster than most can keep up with.  Yesterday’s invention is tomorrow’s trash.  It is bizarre to think that the next generation will not know what it is like to have dial-up because they were practically born with internet accessible cellphones in their hands.

There is so much information out there that technology seems to be overly sophisticated and almost robotic.  The interface is a chance for multiple people to collaborate on projects, each presenting their own personal ideas and opinions.  I believe this will be a large movement of the digital realm in the near future creating a more ‘human’ cyberspace.  Theoretically, as people work together on different angles of the same project it will create a beautiful arrangement of unique ideas organized by the central goal but it also has the ability to create a huge mess.

Humans are emotional beings.  We are opinionated from birth, which makes us prone to disagree.  As several ideas are presented at the same idea they are doomed to contradict one other and without a central author trying to communicate certain ideas, any intentional meaning will be lost between the contradictions, misconceptions and excess opinions.

I see the benefits in using the interface as a unique way to combine art with data for a specific purpose or to create visuals for easier understanding of a particular system, but I do not see it as a revolutionary idea in society.  What I mean is that I do not see an interface ending a war or solving world hunger or saving our economy.  I see it as an innovative way to organize or design, but its hard for me to imagine any long term changes that would greatly benefit society except being one more way to save paper.

"An interface can be a powerful narrative device. And as we collect more and more personally and socially relevant data, we have an opportunity, and maybe even an obligation, to maintain [our] humanity and tell some amazing stories." I agree that it is interesting to see differing emotions and opinions through a visual such as the Johnny Cash Project, but it lost its intention in my opinion.  This was supposed to be a music video about Johnny Cash.  I noticed many elements that users drew in that were random, distracting, and irrelevant.  I am blown away by the ability to use interface as a new means of telling a story, but I think modern day story telling devices are much more effective.