8.13.1 In summer of 1997 I took part of a two day workshop organised by the National Science Foundation on the Human Dimension on Knowledge Networking. [10] I was not only the sole artist participant out of 48, but probably the sole humanist in the crowd. I found the meeting exciting, the topics close to my interests, and I learned about many efforts that are taking place to establish a Knowledge Network. This meeting also gave me a moment of epiphany which is at the core of this thesis: information storage, retrieval, and exchange was consistently discussed not taking into consideration the humans who are the real vessels of data storage, communication exchange, and knowledge development. It seemed such a logical and simple conclusion, and yet when I brought it up, no one really responded in any significant manner. I was stunned at how many scientific experts were mobilised to solve a problem that is inherently about human relations, yet the involvement of humanists was minimal. Just as the ARPANET was initially conceived without considering that perhaps human communication would drive this technology, so now the Internet, which is a direct result of human use, is being considered as a network of disembodied information.

8.13.2 It became very clear to me that this was a task of more than one person, so I proceeded to summon help from Robert Nideffer, whose background in the social sciences and experience with the Alexandria Digital Library [11] proved to be vital. Together, we summoned help from talented programmers and engaged in dialogue with many scholars from various disciplines who helped think through technical, philosophical, and aesthetic issues raised by this project. The following more technical descriptions of the Information Personae, Content Management, Mobile Agent Brokering, andView Generation and Public Space were taken from a proposal for continued funding from the Research Across Disciplines (RAD) initiative at UCSB. It was largely articulated by Robert Nideffer. [12] As a result of the research conducted for this thesis, I was keen on experimenting with some of the mathematical and biological principles discussed in the prior chapter. My focus in the research collaboration has been the tracing and visualisation of the networked social space and the importance of time, which I pick up on at the end of the chapter. [top] Notes:

10. For more on the Human Dimension on Knowledge Networking workshop, see: http://www.alexandria.ucsb.edu/workshops/NSF/ or see CD-ROM. [back]

11. Robert Nideffer was directing the Interface Design team for the Alexandria Digital Library from 1997 to 1998 before moving to a faculty position at UC Irvine. For more on the Alexandria project, see: http://alexandria.ucsb.edu [back]

12. The interdisciplinary research project was titled: Online Public Spaces: Multidisciplinary Explorations in Multiuser Environments (OPS:MEME). See CD-ROM for entire research documentation. [back]