Connecting Communities
Steve Dietz, yProductions
When fused with art and design, technology can connect communities in a way otherwise unimaginable, as long as city infrastructure is people and city based. The ZeroOne festival in San Jose is a way to showcase the city as well as position it as an enjoyable, desirable place to live. As well as presenting the interactive and digital work of numerous artists, it hosted a forum with global representatives showcasing emerging digital installations or city design pieces. The free city-wide wireless service that was in place in San Jose allowed for this creative integration of artistic endeavors and designed experiences to occur. Overall, the festival (and other similar installations) serves to connect people and foster experiences that make individuals feel like an integral part, rather than a passive outside observer, of the resulting piece. [Zero One Festival]
Brad Hokanson, College of Design, University of Minnesota
Looking at wireless coffee shops can inform how this technology will be used and accessed when it goes citywide. Looking at wireless coffee shops can inform how this technology will be used and accessed when it is available citywide. As it turns out, research of local urban and rural coffee shops in the Twin Cities and the surrounding area reveals that people are less interested in the availability of wi-fi at the coffee shop and more interested in getting a change of scenery or being ‘alone in public’. Of those surveyed and interviewed, all had access to broadband and although they were bringing their laptops to the coffee shop, were not always using them. Along with other trends seen from observation and research, it can be implied that coffee shops are quickly becoming another commercialized public space and will likely be only moderately (if at all) impacted by the implementation of a city-wide wi-fi service.