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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Cultivated Play: Farmville
http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/content/cultivated-play-farmville
The secret to Farmville’s popularity is neither gameplay nor aesthetics. Farmville is popular because in entangles users in a web of social obligations. When users log into Facebook, they are reminded that their neighbors have sent them gifts, posted bonuses on their walls, and helped with each others’ farms. In turn, they are obligated to return the courtesies. As the French sociologist Marcel Mauss tells us, gifts are never free: they bind the giver and receiver in a loop of reciprocity. It is rude to refuse a gift, and ruder still to not return the kindness.[11] We play Farmville, then, because we are trying to be good to one another. We play Farmville because we are polite, cultivated people.
One wonders if this is a good thing. It is difficult to imagine Aristotle or Caillois celebrating Farmville as essential to citizenship. Indeed, when one measures Farmville against Roger Caillois’ six criteria for defining games, Farmville fails to satisfy each and every one. Caillois stated that games must be free from obligation, separate from ‘real life,’ uncertain in outcome, an unproductive activity, governed by rules, and make-believe.[12] In comparison:
(1) Farmville is defined by obligation, routine, and responsibility;
(2) Farmville encroaches and depends upon real life, and is never entirely separate from it;
(3) Farmville is always certain in outcome, and involves neither chance nor skill;
(4) Farmville is a productive activity, in that it adds to the social capital upon which Facebook and Zynga depend for their wealth;
(5) Farmville is governed not by rules, but by habits, and simple cause-and-effect;
(6) Farmville is not make-believe, in that it requires neither immersion nor suspension of disbelief.
The secret to Farmville’s popularity is neither gameplay nor aesthetics. Farmville is popular because in entangles users in a web of social obligations. When users log into Facebook, they are reminded that their neighbors have sent them gifts, posted bonuses on their walls, and helped with each others’ farms. In turn, they are obligated to return the courtesies. As the French sociologist Marcel Mauss tells us, gifts are never free: they bind the giver and receiver in a loop of reciprocity. It is rude to refuse a gift, and ruder still to not return the kindness.[11] We play Farmville, then, because we are trying to be good to one another. We play Farmville because we are polite, cultivated people.
One wonders if this is a good thing. It is difficult to imagine Aristotle or Caillois celebrating Farmville as essential to citizenship. Indeed, when one measures Farmville against Roger Caillois’ six criteria for defining games, Farmville fails to satisfy each and every one. Caillois stated that games must be free from obligation, separate from ‘real life,’ uncertain in outcome, an unproductive activity, governed by rules, and make-believe.[12] In comparison:
(1) Farmville is defined by obligation, routine, and responsibility;
(2) Farmville encroaches and depends upon real life, and is never entirely separate from it;
(3) Farmville is always certain in outcome, and involves neither chance nor skill;
(4) Farmville is a productive activity, in that it adds to the social capital upon which Facebook and Zynga depend for their wealth;
(5) Farmville is governed not by rules, but by habits, and simple cause-and-effect;
(6) Farmville is not make-believe, in that it requires neither immersion nor suspension of disbelief.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
WORLD MAP OF TOURISTYNESS
http://maps.google.com/maps/mpl?moduleurl=http://www.bluemoon.ee/~ahti/touristiness-map/touristiness-map.xml
"World map color-coded by level of touristiness, based on analysis of photos on Panoramio. Yellow indicates high touristiness, red medium touristiness, and blue low touristiness. Areas having no Panoramio photos at all are grey."
"World map color-coded by level of touristiness, based on analysis of photos on Panoramio. Yellow indicates high touristiness, red medium touristiness, and blue low touristiness. Areas having no Panoramio photos at all are grey."
DataSF, free raw data for San Francisco
http://datasf.org/story.php?title=crime-incident-data
What is DataSF?
DataSF is a clearinghouse of datasets available from the City & County of San Francisco. Our goal in releasing this site is:
(1) improve access to data
(2) help our community create innovative apps
(3) understand what datasets you'd like to see
(4) get feedback on the quality of our datasets.
What is DataSF?
DataSF is a clearinghouse of datasets available from the City & County of San Francisco. Our goal in releasing this site is:
(1) improve access to data
(2) help our community create innovative apps
(3) understand what datasets you'd like to see
(4) get feedback on the quality of our datasets.
If San Francisco Crime were Elevation
http://dougmccune.com/blog/2010/06/05/if-san-francisco-crime-was-elevation/
"Ahhh... the great outdoors.
It's quite awe-inspiring to stand on the top of Mount Narcotics on a crisp spring day and look down at the shroud-covered bay down below, or wander Assault valley with a nice breeze blowing in from the rolling Larceny hills."
- Beanbonez
"I’ve been playing with different ways of representing data (see my previous night lights example) and I decided to venture into 3D representations. I’ve used a full year of crime data for San Francisco from 2009 to create these maps. The full dataset can be download from the city’s DataSF website."
"Ahhh... the great outdoors.
It's quite awe-inspiring to stand on the top of Mount Narcotics on a crisp spring day and look down at the shroud-covered bay down below, or wander Assault valley with a nice breeze blowing in from the rolling Larceny hills."
- Beanbonez
"I’ve been playing with different ways of representing data (see my previous night lights example) and I decided to venture into 3D representations. I’ve used a full year of crime data for San Francisco from 2009 to create these maps. The full dataset can be download from the city’s DataSF website."
Locals VRS Tourists
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/sets/72157624209158632/
photo Geo-tagging used to map photos taken and uploaded by tourists vrs locals...
"Some people interpreted the Geotaggers' World Atlas maps to be maps of tourism. This set is an attempt to figure out if that is really true. Some cities (for example Las Vegas and Venice) do seem to be photographed almost entirely by tourists. Others seem to have many pictures taken in piaces that tourists don't visit."
photo Geo-tagging used to map photos taken and uploaded by tourists vrs locals...
"Some people interpreted the Geotaggers' World Atlas maps to be maps of tourism. This set is an attempt to figure out if that is really true. Some cities (for example Las Vegas and Venice) do seem to be photographed almost entirely by tourists. Others seem to have many pictures taken in piaces that tourists don't visit."
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