Latitude

Contouring Information to the Way We Think

The Internet has refined how we receive essentially every type of information–in marketing, by feats of branding “synecdoche,” where giant corporations are personified as single individuals (“Trust Agents”) for more connective messaging; in media distribution, by beaming ever-more refined, yet-undiscovered musical recommendations to our iPhones whilst we traverse city streets.

These models build off ways in which we connect with other individuals and contemplate, accredit, and receive information–naturally.

For most people, not all information can be received passively or organically; the presentation of condensed information for work or education purposes is a natural part of life–so why does this critical area lag so far behind when it comes to a more people-centric approach?

The World In My Eyes

Data visualizations and interactive displays are exploding as tools for understanding connected relations in the world and better engaging individuals via more intuitive information exchanges, as trends like The Internet of Things become more prevalent–hopefully to elicit large-scale positive changes in the future. Journalistic initiatives have incorporated more visual and interactive elements into new platforms for storytelling as well.

We’ve noticed that maps have become one motif for externalizing the workings of people’s minds (modeling tools based on the way we naturally understand things). That is, the map becomes a visualization for the non-linearity of human thought processes; with any idea, notion, or memory–there are any number of [neural] pathways to take or connections to be made.

“The canvas of an open mind–well, it makes a good mold.”

The presentation of information should reflect the flow of thought, especially when there are potentialities for discussions amongst many minds (as in a meeting room). “Tangents” from the traditional one-track presentation mode are often relevant, so presented information should be tailored to the interacting audience just as other information has become personalized in this new digital age.

Technologies That Get There

In June at the Lift France ’09 conference, the audience was dazzled by presenter Usman Haque‘s use of the zooming presentation editor, Prezi. (Check out the Prezi site for a free trial.) He gave a stellar talk on Pachube (an Internet of Things web service which facilitates interactions between remote environments), then modestly quipped afterwards about his meta-appropriate mode of presentation that he uses Prezi when he’s “not exactly sure what he’s going to talk about.”

We were also somewhat intrigued by kiwi designer Stas Kulesh’s use of the Google maps API in crafting his site–which is a lot like a highly visual application of Prezi (in essence, Prezi is a blank canvas that you mark up with text and images, then zoom into and navigate around non-linearly as you please).

We think this type of human-centered information delivery is key. Are there any other great instances of this out there we should know about?

Header image courtesy of 15082599@N08′s flickr; oversized quote courtesy of Buckcherry’s “Borderline.”