Indecent Proposal

I'm trying to get there! How about?

1. Assignment title :

It came from Hypertext!!
The greatest story never sold.
??

2. My critical incident/s is…

The decision to Bundle HyperCard free on all new Apple Macintoshes (and the [w]hole its demise left)

3. I chose this incident/s because… (list at least three reasons)

it led to artists and designers (and not just computer scientists) creating interactive content with the computer as control mechanism, transformation engine and display vehicle.
It gave flesh to the idea that once disparate media types could be integrated and the acceptance of the idea of MULTI-media i.e. using content seamlessly across media types and industries
It led to ideas and paradigms some of which underpin how we interact with our systems today
It allowed for experimentation that would lead to fusion between content, interaction, relationship and interface
Ordinary people were the target audience with a distribution model that evolved rather than being designed
It created a genre of software that allowed for the creation of products and systems that challenged the relationship between the creator and the user

4. I’m going to use the following theory to help explore the incident/s

Technological Determinism? Diffusion of Innovation, Tipping Point, Hegemony

5. These are some of the things I’m going to analyse in the assignment…

The origins of Hypercard
The steps that led to the decision to release it
The uses it was put to and how it spread
the growth of content creation tools?
The relationship between creator and user | art and science
Why it ended
the (false?) idea that its successors (web 2.0?!!) democratises? gives power back? gives real choice?
That new technology which threatens established order and vested interest is quickly mutated and assimilated to make it harmless
That we are no happier

6. The incident has lead to the following change in current practice…

The proliferation of technologies for creating content - interactive or otherwise
The notion of interactive authoring
The rise of the era of engagement, interaction and active teaching
The idea that media itself has no intrinsic form but can be fluidly warped(?) to suit

7. These changes are important to me personally because…

It underpins my view of the world
I'd like to see a new Hypercard develop by some enterprising independent outfit.
The teaching profession is now obsessed with engagement, differentiation, active learning, interactive teaching, distance learning, 360 etc
I feel that modern gaming perhaps owes its evolution more to this than to traditional arcade gaming

8. In January I’m going to hand in…

I'd like to either create some kind of video essay or better still something interactive. I was hoping to spend some time this first unit attempting some Actionscript 3 and Object C but frankly other commitments and illness might have put paid to that.
I can't quite picture what form an interactive piece might take but I'll keep on it.

9. These are the references I'll be drawing upon (books, reports etc)

Currently I have in front of me to read:

A brief history of the future: John Naughton
The media in britain: Jane Stokes
Multimedia & Hypertext: Jakob Nielsen
Understanding media: Marshall Mcluhan
Once you're lucky twice you're good: Sarah Lacy
Key themes in media History: Dan Laughey
Fractal Dreams: Jon Dovey
Multimedia: Richard Wise
Malcolm Gladwell: The Tipping Point

Various TED lectures

I'm trying to get hold of some Barthes and foucault as well but I must confess I still can't get the hang of sifting through the library!

Anyway, that's the latest revision - I know there's not much change but I'm trying to pin this down - albeit slowly