Monday, January 9, 2012

Collaborate, Distill (A Little Experiment)

I have long since been a fan of the Internet comedian Ze Frank. Ze Frank specializes in bringing people together from different backgrounds having them do various projects with each other online. They could be something like "Pain Pack" where he asked people to call a phone number and leave a voicemail explaining why they felt sad or pain. He then released them as mp3s to DJs who remixed them.

The principle is that diversity of experiences and personalities can create something much more beautiful than one person alone would ever be able to do.

Another example is Eric Whitacre's virtual choir (see below).



As 1,000 people listen to the same song and sing along, they can create something incredible.

Being an Advertising major one of the things that interests me the most is what people associate different things with. For example, studies have shown that for Americans to feel that cheese is good it has to be sealed and put in the refrigerator, regardless of what live mozzarella is like in Italy.

I want to know what people think about when they read my favorite quotes from Shakespeare. I'll contact people in my social networks and possibly even people I've ever met to have them record their impressions, thoughts, and feelings when they read pieces of Shakespeare and come to understand what they mean. What are they reminded of? What do they think of? What do they feel? I have created a wiki where people can post their thoughts (link forthcoming), and I will then try to find a way for each different play to put all of those pieces together.

It might fall on its face and require a pivot, but I think it's worth a shot.

2 comments:

  1. I think that's a really cool idea. It would make for a really interesting class project. (Also, I love that song!)

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  2. So, I really liked your idea of asking people what they think of Shakespeare--maybe I'll try it out on random runners I meet, and then I'll transcribe their responses to your Wiki.

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