Have a heart, I’m only tweenbot…

One of my favorite sites is Fazed.org; I’m just a lurker in that community and don’t know that I aim for more, but it unceasingly guides me to something that I would not have seen or known about that I find worth my time – which I think is a great compliment.

My most recent find poses some interesting questions related to human/computer interaction – and I could see a deeper connection to our presentation of self through bits (as opposed to atoms)… but the discussion shouldn’t precede the example.

A very thoughtful (and talented, IMHO) NYU graduate student named Kacie Kinzer did an experiment.  You should read about it here; but if you prefer to stick here for the moment, here’s a brief synopsis:

Photo Credit: Kacie Kinzer

Kacie built robots (tweenbots, actually) – small, smiling, rather disposable little robots who were loosed in New York City to find their way to a destination.  These robots did not have navigation or even steering skills – they relied entirely on human assistance, and even moreso, the kindness of strangers.  Ultimately, each of Kacie’s little robots made it to their destination through the help of passersby.

What was it that made people want to reach out and help these little creatures?  I have a sneaking suspicion that a different expression drawn on their little cardboard faces would have made a huge difference, for one.  Also, I wonder if the freedom to help or not help without any retribution were a factor?  And the simplicity of assisting it, most likely, since in Kacie’s description, it seems that most people gave just a moment of their time by redirecting the tweenbot a single time.

What can we take from this, then, in building communities in which people are interacting with other types of computerized, anthropomorphic creatures?  True, there are some serious differences in that our avatars represent real people on the other end – but I have a strong hunch there are some similarities we can also draw.  Perhaps offering opportunities to do small good deeds without real pressure or annoying follow-up?  I believe smiles and eyes are important, so in avatar design, focus on using a face rather than a randomized design?

I’d love to hear opinions on why readers think this project was so successful and what you think I could take away for online community architecture or design.

Old German guys…

Awesome Lego Philosophers; Laotzi, Aspacia, Averroes, Thomas of Aquinas, Decartes and Marx (Thanks to Helico on Flickr for offering this under Creative Commons)

It’s been some time since I’ve had to worry about old German philosopher guys, but since I got back to school this week there was no time wasted in dredging them back up.  In my Thursday class, we mumbled our way through some pretty heavy concepts on two forms of community, which a fun German philosopher named Tonnies contributed to the world.  “Gemeinshaft” and “Gesellshaft” plagued my thoughts for several days following the discussion; should I worry about pressing into use my single semester of college German for pronunciation?

But it all linked up today reading a piece assigned for my Technologies (Wednesday) course by danah boyd (no capitals necessary).  Checking out a piece she wrote on social software, I see links!  Oh yes, oh yes.  Mainly, the fact that a push to return the internet to a social space (as compared to a place for shopping, though I like that, too) is also a push to return to roots of community versus commerce (Gemeinshaft vs. Gesellshaft; ta-dah!).

But what does it mean???  If I distill what I’ve got so far, it’s nothing short of miraculously simple:

Act like a neighbor! Mr. Rogers had it right all along.

Imagine you sell knives for a living (we’re playing pretend, c’mon, just do it!); would you walk over to your neighbor’s house and tell them “I’ll only let you use my portion of the sidewalk if you buy these knives I’m hocking.”

OR would you act friendly, discuss your kids, your dogs, the day’s news and IF they ask “how’s work going” mention needing a new kitchen utensil, well then, you’d throw in a thought or two about your knives and offer them a great deal?  Yeah, I thought so.  Well, that’s what we expect you to do as a corporate citizen in our virtual communities, too.

I’m not alone, here.  Online marketing consultant Pistachio writes a fantastic post about how Twitter is her village; and Mark Gehrke (Mandala Life Media blog) agrees that “We’re all in this neighborhood together.”

It’s a global village out there, and the bazaar is only a tract of land.