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Computers As Social Performance Instruments



Seems like every time I’m hanging out with a group of friends at somebody’s house now, there is a computer present. Either mp3s will be playing, or videos from YouTube or people will look up random shit on YouTube or something.

And it strikes me just how poorly equipped the modern computer is as far as an entertainment device for a group of people. The person who’s operating the computer gets kind of sucked into it, their back is turned, they have to sit and squint and hunt around for whatever thing they want to show their friends. It’s totally retarded.

Nobody even seems to be addressing this usage of computers: as a tool for people to entertain each other with. We’re too locked into this ridiculous idea of computers as “work-stations”. And the video game platforms “PlayStation” etc don’t really address this either. There are few things I hate more socially than having to watch *other people* play video games. So goddamned boring.

The Wii seems like it’s taking steps to solve this issue a little bit. The iPhone has elements of that as well in that you can use it to show your friends YouTube clips or something. But it’s not enough. None of it is fluid, none of it gets out of your way so you can put on a little show for your friends. None of it helps you look cooler in front of other people. Even though it’s not generally okay to say that, we all know we want to look good, right? Why don’t computers help us do that? They should help us perform the musical of our lives.







8 Reader Responses

  1. Inestimable Says:
    September 30th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

    That sounds like a typical hangout night with my friends as well, so I can definitely sympathize with the annoying “back of the head” show-and-tell moments.

    My first thought was “double-sided monitors.” Obviously, they’d have to make them so you could turn off the other side so you’re not constantly broadcasting your info, but I feel like these should already exist.

    You could probably set up a dual-monitor configuration and duplicate your desktop on the second monitor, having it face away from the computer. Hmm, that gives me an idea…

  2. Tim Boucher Says:
    October 1st, 2007 at 9:06 am

    Nah, I was just playing around with navigating YouTube on the Wii and that was much closer to what I am talking about.

    Made me see a lot already actually, but I’m gonna get into it more soon.

  3. mars Says:
    October 2nd, 2007 at 6:14 pm

    You’re right that most entertainment/electronics/stuff doesn’t facilitate well to social interaction. I wonder how much of that has to do with the prevalence of TV and radio. Have we gotten so used to seeing someone talk at us, that when we’re near anything with speakers and a screen, we kind of “lock down” into “private mode”? Only music and video games come to mind for electronics-media-tainment socializing, music and game playing having already been pretty much staples of human socialization anyway.

    I’m kind of frustrated/fascinated by how I can’t really think of anything around this, beyond turning the TV/computer/PlayStation off, which I’m kind of fond of anyway. But I do vaguely remember this arcade game that required like three or four people to play. Each player would operate a different “Station,” and have a totally different function in the game, and the only way to get anywhere was through cooperation and synchronizing all the different tasks into one aim. Single player games were impossible, so if you didn’t have enough people with you, you’d have to go around trying to convince random strangers to hop on. Maybe I dreamed that, but it doesn’t matter anyway; I like the idea of media that requires other, actual human beings to be there, also participating.

  4. Tim Boucher Says:
    October 2nd, 2007 at 6:19 pm

    I’m also reminded of PKD’s Perky Pat layouts…

  5. mars Says:
    October 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm

    Wouldn’t that be participating in social games to the exclusion of, er, living though? Is there a difference beyond moderation?

  6. Tim Boucher Says:
    October 3rd, 2007 at 11:05 am

    What is living except participating in social games?

  7. mars Says:
    October 3rd, 2007 at 5:35 pm

    You’ve got me there.

    I guess I meant something like, using a particular game to make social life more interesting and fun vs. centering social life around a particular game. One motivates creativity, cooperation and community, and the other limits people to the rules of the game. As long as we can step away and play other games, then it’s still in the first category. I’m thinking of TV for an example of a “bad game.” TV doesn’t require interaction, doesn’t really provoke cooperation and sort of fits the community part if everyone you know watches the same programs. A lot of our media-oriented activities are like that; I think we’re going in the same direction with this, in that maybe the same technology could be used to create something that allows for creative cooperation with other flesh and blood human beings. But maybe not. Maybe there’s no way to make that as fun, creative and interesting as breaking out a guitar for your friends. I don’t know.

  8. Tim Boucher Says:
    October 3rd, 2007 at 5:46 pm

    One motivates creativity, cooperation and community, and the other limits people to the rules of the game. As long as we can step away and play other games, then it’s still in the first category.

    I like this



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