My method of establishing trust, in this case believability, was to share my own perspectives on the truth found in the oceans beauty. I approached this task not through channels of hard science and excessive facts, but through expression and emotion, simply by telling a Tale. I have attempted to take what I know and, using video as a canvas, paint for the viewer my own story of the sea. For me, trust in an artist is established through inductive connection. The patron relates, the viewer follows. Trust is believing a message, following a doctrine. It is following a manifesto. Trust can also be based on feeling. With that aim I created Tales of the Admiral.
I was introduced to the Internet more than fifteen years ago. At the time there wasn't much to look at. A big accomplishment was to have images that could actually load. As bandwidth, processors and availability has increased so has what is out there. The internet has become a global noospheric network encircling and encasing the entire planet. I would challenge anyone to devise a search that bore no results. Anyone building a website is asked; " What is it about, and what is it for?" At that time a page went out into the ether and hopefully someone would find it. Obviously a lot has changed. Tagging, cross posting and links now enable a fairly accurate discovery ratio within your search engine results. Now it is easy to assume that those who visit your site wanted to be there. That they, the viewer, at the very least are interested in the subject. Once the viewer is there the most ideal scenario would enable them to interact with both the creator and other like minded individuals. This is the fundamental core of social interaction. By creating a network the message transcends the media and connections are made.
In the beginning social networking sites were quite different from what they are today, there was maybe a intranet BBS, and that could be found at a few select Universities. In some cases a social network was maintained solely by an email list. In the past ten years online social networks have become extremely popular. This explosion is attributed to the increasing importance for connectivity, This is the emergent tribal behavior, known in humans since the beginning. In an attempt to respond to this universal desire for connection.
Valdis Krebs, Noah Friedkin and Ron Burt have theorized through their SNA (social network analysis)that personal networks have horizon barriers. It is along this periphery that innovation is possible. Formally these nodes are called Boundary Spanners. By orienting on the periphery these Boundary Spanners have access to information, perspectives and ideas that are found only within the spectrum of their overlapping networks. It is in that periphery that innovation is most common. In network topology however these spanners may in fact be the power users. A spanner is then simply someone who extends beyond. As a boundary spanner myself I have attempted to provide viewers with the ability to have their own Tales of the sea hosted on my website. Though this process remains in it's infancy the bricks are being placed and the mortar applied.
The design of the site spawns from the notion of discovery. One of the most important aspects of the sea is the element of discovery; walking along the shore, even on a sandy beach, there are millions of things to discover, the bubbles from a clam, the contents of a tide pool. Even something as simple as the stratification of sand as the tide departed. The ocean, more so than in terrestrial life, has an other- worldly aspect. This is the launch site. I want the viewer to experience that discovery as aptly, and fully as if they too were walking along the shore, or diving in the water amongst the waves. With this in mind the first page of the site consists of ten blue marbles sampled from the logo, a creation of Dress Code Studio here in New York. Each of these is a link to a specific edition of my process, with no direction, and no order, the discovery is in the hands of the viewer.
What was my goal, and has, for the most part occurred, is the harvesting of the affects this discovery has caused. Upon viewing the segments viewers have been responding, not as reporters or whistle blowers, but as like minded individuals encouraged by the Tales of the Admiral to reflect and share their own personal tales. What is most interesting about this project, and I think most compelling, is that the the simple act of creating what I have done has, even if a small part, compelled others. This, I believe, is the most important aspect of any connection. If, from what I have created, a viewer is inspired than I have succeeded.
The science of the ocean has been around for some time, even if you limit it to the United States, it is nearing a century. Any viewer interested in the sea is bombarded by science, however it is the romantic vision which has been, and will be, the catalyst for change. By providing a look into my own personal connection with the sea, viewers are reminded, or inspired to seek out, or recall their own. This, I believe, is the most important and fundamental first step for making changes in how we as people view the sea.
For as long as we have built boats it is the stories of the sea that have maintained the allure. Interest would have quickly been lost if the reports returned were of nothing. I am fairly certain that Christopher Columbus pursued his adventure based solely on the fact that captains had reported a further and further reach to what was, at that time, the edge of the earth, he would have been far less willing to embark. Through every expedition, first and foremost, it is the retelling of the experience, that has been most profound. It was this maritime tradition that I wanted to convey. It is a tradition in that there is history. This is new concept, but a revitalized old one. In the days of Melville, his words inspired many a farm-boy to become a whaler. In modern culture nothing has been so compelling. In fact, on more than one occasion I have been told how the movie JAWS made people not want to go in the water at all. In modern society more often than not the sea is the antagonist, something that should be feared. It is feared because we do not yet understand. The first step toward understanding is to embrace our fears.
The maritime tradition has degraded at a time when it is more important than ever. Our planet is threading it's future through the eye of a needle and the ocean commands the largest thread. Yet awareness for the most part is very small. In my research I discovered that the harvesting of gulf shrimp is tremendously damaging to the entire ecosystem in the Gulf of mexico due to the "waste" of drift net harvesting. Yet of the few people that I have told, their reaction is disaffected, as though it must be "other" shrimp. Or, admittedly, they had already bought the shrimp, therefore they are somehow exempt? Would that change in the future the hope is yes.
Once creating the site and the adventure. I was thrilled to learn that indeed I had usurped the environmental doctrines of science and appealed to viewer's emotions. Which achieves what I set out to do, but in doing so I realize how very much is still yet accomplished. Over the past month I have been receiving and to the later side, creating, the voice of the network. I have received unsolicited stories of the sea, which is ideal, however in an effort to pollinate the field I have been doing interviews as well. What is important to point out is that I am not creating a social network in the sense of any of the available alternatives, I am creating a community. Perhaps this small village will change the world. No man is an island, and that is what I have proved. In an ocean of interest and opportunity I created a project that has turned out to be compelling. What is most exciting is that the end is no where in sight and in fact the beginning has barely dawned. With each edit, and each new edition I realize points which can be improved upon, which in turn, hopefully, are reflected in time.
I began this project as the one subject that I would never tire of. It was, for me, a passion and a reality that I held dear to my heart, most importantly one that I could see through to the end. What is important to point out here is that the end is not my presentation of a few shots, but a lifelong exploration into the traditions I adore. Will they endure? Are they enduring? I am not one to judge. My act of spanning the boundary has been to illuminate the possibility for expression. Will the narrative traditions survive, for me and my viewers they have.
This brings to mention the publicity I have used to date to spread the word. Which brings into focus much of what I have learned, both at ITP and online in the past two years. MySpace, as I know it now as, circumspectly, a pro-user, is largely comprised of cloaked marketing; be it a band, a web provider for " New" code, or, as is often the case, a cloaked cloak. When I arrived in Myspace a bit over a year ago I was impressed by the seemingly cohesive network that could be created. After a year however my "collection" of friends, as in those I did not know beforehand, are nothing more than what they started as. However this is the current method for widespread low impact promotion. Tila Tequila, who happened to be my "friend" long before her foray as a singer, is evident of this. Tila "befriended" me when she was only in the triple digits, which in MySpace is significant, though I was just a number. However what I gleaned from this environment is something substantial and that is that with relatively little effort widespread promotion can occur. In the last month I have posted two bulletins on MySpace concerning the launch of my website. The first was when it was in fact launched, and the second was when it was in fact worthy. Both events corresponded to a massive surge in my web traffic and without a doubt MySpace is a correlation. What is most exciting is that the traffic is global and for the past four months my visitors have ranged from upwards of twenty different countries, on average.
The one admitted gap, and flaw, in evaluating this group of viewer lies in the fact that there is really no way for me to evaluate the lurkers on the site. The only near method I have been able to use thus far in fact is by visiting referral sites listed in my statistics. One example of this, and could be arguably not only my ideal user, but quite possibly the epitome of my user scenario, and that is, I was bookmarked on a del.isci.ous page by a student in Iowa whose interest, it seems, is the ocean.
The difficulty lies is determining if this is in fact an establishing proof, or a random coincidence. This is made worse, in my view, by the relatively short period the site has been live. For the most part I am looking at less than six weeks of data. I could argue this as being significant in that it occurred in such a short period, or it could be dismissed as too short a trial. I feel that the results are at the very least encouraging that perhaps I may be on the right track.
The intent of this project was to create an environment that provides both the excitement of discovery and the reflective emotion content of a story. It is my feeling that once visiting the site, viewers take away, a piece of the ocean aesthetic. Though I have provided ample resources through which action can be taken, the most important resource is the content. One of the difficulties, and hurdles, of environmental non-profits is that donations carry the very high risk of being a placebo. I have sent my check to Greenpeace therefore I care about the oceans. This is not necessarily the case in practice. Caring about the oceans involves limiting your fish intake, it involves cleaning up beaches, and most importantly it involves most directly an active attempt to lower your carbon emissions, i.e. driving less.
It was reported in the news today that gas prices are projected to rise above four dollars a gallon in the coming months, I could be one of the only people that views this as positive. Will this cause an affect in the driving habits of American's? It certainly should. In families across the country, transportation costs will now rival the cost of food. In an economy under recession the squeeze put on families will be significant. But perhaps this will begin to change behaviors.
Through the many books as well as the many articles put out by the Academy of Sciences I have read over the course of this semester, it is evident that the state of the planet is very much at risk. In fact it is such an immediate and drastic problem that it is difficult to understand what we, as as a race, are waiting for. From so many different angles and levels the survival of our species requires immediate change. Leaving alone the global problem, within this country the danger is substantial. Fifty percent of the population lives both close enough to the shore and in cities that will be affected by global warming.
The many problems and issue at hand are centralized by one common thread and that is the interconnectivity of our global ecosystem. Will we be able to stem the tide of our own destruction? The first step in making this happen is to increase awareness. It is my feeling, and much of what this project has proven, is that by making people aware they are more likely to change their habits. My goal has been to open the eyes and the perceptions of the viewer. There lies in beauty a truth, and it is that truth which I have attempted to convey.
The social network that has been created through this experiment is the result of attaining some semblance of that truth. Viewers feel compelled, either to forward on a link, respond with their own creations, or simply by viewing the project in the first place. This has been my goal.
By increasing awareness the likelihood and opportunity for proactive involvement is increased. This project is not interested in lobbying Congress to ratify Kyoto, though it is shameful that it hasn't, this project is about re-establishing the maritime traditions of respect, awe and wonder that, in our modern technological age have fallen away. The importance of changing our ways has never been more important than right now.
This has been my focus and this has been my goal. In the fall of my first year at ITP I knew that I wanted to create a project involved with the sea. I have always held dear an intense and largely personal relationship with the natural world. For as long as I can remember the sea has been a source of inspiration. Look at the work of the anthropologist Thor Heirdahl and his book Con Tiki; Dr. Heirdahl in an effort to prove hist theory that indigenous people travelled from Africa to the new world, built a reed raft and completed the journey himself. The Tales of the Admiral are far less an adventuresome, but it is with that background that I set out to discover a bit more of the only world we have.