Ian Gilman - Blog

Gimme Shiny!

2008-10-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

My latest project is up and running: Gimme Shiny, a slideshow of the happenin' images on the web right now. Give it a whirl, see what you think. Drop me a note here in the comments or over on Get Satisfaction.

Thriving

2008-10-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Christina and Lianna have started a new blog, We See America Thriving, dedicated to collecting people's visions of a positive future. I've just sent them one of mine. What's yours?

Synthopticon & The Art of Photosynth

2008-10-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

For me, the excitement of releasing Photosynth has always been about discovering what people might do with this new art form. It's been out for a month or so, and already people are coming up with some amazing stuff. Kevin Hanes has been digging through the site to discover the gems that he posts to Synthopticon. Check it out, and if you know any good ones he's missed, drop him a link!

Meanwhile, Matthew Runde has started a Flickr group, The Art of Photosynth, for images and videos inspired by Photosynth exploration. As he says, "Photosynth's unintentional capabilities are nearly endless, and just waiting to be discovered and exploited." Check it out and join the group if you've got something interesting to share!

Capitalism 3.0

2008-09-29T23:18:00.001-07:00

I've just finished reading Capitalism 3.0, from Peter Barnes, cofounder of Working Assets. The basic notion is that the negative effects of capitalism as we know it (environmental degradation, exaggerated inequality, etc.) can be fixed within the system by creating a set of property trusts to manage the natural, community and cultural commons. Sounds good to me... now we just have to do it!

Photosynth is live!

2008-08-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

The new version of Photosynth we've been working on, where you can create your own synths, is now live at photosynth.com! It's still Windows-only, but definitely worth checking out if you have the chance. I can't wait to see what people come up with!

Gin, Television, and Social Surplus

2008-07-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Clay Shirky, always insightful, has written a great piece on one of the fundamental social changes the world is seeing today: we have an immense cognitive surplus, and we're starting to realize that might be a good thing. I, for one, am happy whenever I can be part of this shift.

The Nice Jacket Goes to India

2008-05-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Matthew, my apprentice for the last year, has begun his multi-month trip around the world, starting in India. He's posting regular updates to his blog, and, well, it sounds like a lot of fun!

Verbal Regurgitation

2008-05-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Me: "I don't know that word. Is it a word you made up?"
Caitlyn: "No, it's a word the cat threw up."

Seadragon in Silverlight

2008-03-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Our Seadragon technology is now publicly available in the new Silverlight 2 beta (available on Windows and Intel Macs)! It's called Deep Zoom, and people are already doing cool stuff with it. I'm excited to finally have this technology in the hands of the people; I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

MetaSquares!

2008-02-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

Finally, after many years, MetaSquares is rising from the grave! It's now available as an iPhone web app (play against the computer), and they're working on a Mac version as well, where you can play against human opponents. Very exciting!

Enter the Goldfish

2007-10-26T00:31:00.000-07:00

I've been making some progress on one of my projects: a web-based puzzle site with games from Heaven & Earth. Allow me to present the site Clockwork Goldfish and its first game, Figure Ground! So far you can only play the original 48 scenarios, but I'm working on adding creation tools as well. Enjoy, and please forgive the spartan appearance... consider it a work in progress.

Viewing the World through Etymologically-Colored Glasses

2007-10-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today's random project idea: a text reader that color-codes each word by some etymological factor, such as country of origin or how old the word is.

Traffic Calming

2007-10-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

We're discussing speeding in my neighborhood these days. Traffic calming is an important piece of the pedestrian-friendly puzzle. Fortunately, there's been a lot of energy in this area around the world recently. In many cases, conventional wisdom is being turned on its ear.

Some keys to effective traffic calming:

Perceived Danger. People have a safety threshold, and they drive right at the edge of it. Children and toys in the street, parked cars on the side of narrow roads, exuberant foliage that limits visibility, all serve to raise people's perceived danger and slow them down. Of course, this perceived danger can be accompanied by actual danger; we certainly don't want any of these kids to get hit. With this in mind, the question becomes how do we increase perceived danger while simultaneously decreasing actual danger. Fortunately, studies have shown that streets that look dangerous are often quite safe, due to the change in people's behavior. The key is to make the dangers and uncertainties as obvious as possible.

Antagonism vs Cooperation. The trouble with traditional traffic calming techniques such as speed bumps and stop signs is that they only serve to increase the antagonistic relationship between cars and pedestrians. Drivers are resentful of these periodic impositions and so they gun it between devices, wrapped up in their own inconvenience, paying even less attention to the pedestrians. Instead, you want to encourage brotherhood and cooperation between drivers and pedestrians. They need to relate to each other as people. In fact, just making eye contact and a friendly gesture is enough to slow a driver down.

"Going Somewhere" vs "Being Somewhere". We all have two modes, whether on foot or in a car: "going somewhere" on the highway or down a hallway, and "being somewhere" on a quiet residential street or a living room. In the former, our mind isn't really on where we're at; we're already thinking about where we're trying to get to. In the latter, we're present to the moment and responsive to the situation around us. In the case of streets, what mode you're in is greatly effected by the design of the street and the buildings that face it. Residential streets should feel like a living room, like a place you'd like to slow down and enjoy. Of course every city needs a mixture of of both modes; the trick is to make the distinction obvious.

With the above in mind, here are some suggestions for calming our streets:

Decorative "gateways" at the borders between the "going somewhere" streets and the "being somewhere" streets, so people feel like they're entering a special space, rather than just passing through.

Cobblestones at intersections or throughout the street.

City Repair-style murals on the surface of key intersections.

Benches on the side of the road, facing the street, to encourage the visible presence of people.

Paint the edges of the street to reduce perceived lane width.

Prominently displayed children's art, to show that children are present, in a more effective way than "Children At Play" signs.

Roundabouts, which tend to slow people down without the antagonistic effect of speed bumps and stop signs.

Block part of a lane off with planters.

For an interesting take on the subject, I recommend the book Mental Speed Bumps.

PARK(ing) Day

2007-09-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

The folks who brought you the original PARK(ing) are now organizing an international PARK(ing) Day. Take back the streets!

Fade Away

2007-09-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

I've just discovered Shoo Apps and Spirited Away, both of which hide background applications on your Mac to cut down clutter. I dig things like that; simple, thoughtful niceties. Here's my feature request: rather than blinking out of existence, I want the apps to slowly fade away.

Thoughtsam: A blogger's clearinghouse of creativity

2007-04-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

Mónica Guzmán of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has just posted a lovely write-up on Thoughtsam.

Projects

2007-04-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

This year I hope to finally get around to some of the projects I've had on my back burner for a while now (wait - have I said this before?). This includes starting an open source update of Seize the Day, redoing some of the Heaven & Earth puzzles as a website where people can create new ones, expanding Thoughtsam into a community site, developing a Micropatronage aggregator, and spreading the ideas behind the Langley Community Forum to additional neighborhoods.

Wish me luck!

Citizenrē REnU

2007-03-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

Lots of action in the green technology market these days. . . great to see! Check out this innovative solar energy service in the works.

Interview on Port 25

2007-03-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hank Janssen recently interviewed me about the Firefox version of Photosynth. You can find the interview, in audio form, at the top of this post.

Video Contests

2007-03-01T21:38:00.001-08:00

My friend Scott has a video in the On the Lot contest, and my friend Alli has a video in the Convenient Truths contest. They're both worth checking out, and they'd love to have your ratings and/or comments!

UPDATE: My friend Antonio also has a video in the On the Lot contest.

Photosynth Firefox

2007-01-23T23:18:00.000-08:00

I've just completed work on the Firefox version of Photosynth, and now it's live! Still Windows only; one step at a time.

The Social Mirror

2006-12-03T23:13:00.000-08:00

Hugh MacLeod says Sarah Blow says, "The trouble with avatar-based worlds is that appearances are created around how people see themselves, not around how other people see them." Interesting point. It'd be interesting to do an avatar-based world where all your friends got to have a say in your avatar, but you didn't.

Photosynth is Live!

2006-11-09T22:17:00.000-08:00

Take it for a test drive! Windows/IE only, for now.

Thoughtsam

2006-09-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

I've started another project: Thoughtsam. Every day I post something, an idea, a snippet of fiction, a cute turn of phrase. Maybe someday I'll use them as inspiration for bigger writing projects. Maybe somebody else will. Who knows?

Seasons

2006-09-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the last few months, I feel like Summer just flew by. Now the days are cool but sunny, a combination I find I'm really enjoying. You know, Summer and Winter get all the press, but Spring and Autumn are where it's all happening; they're times of change, on the edge.

Just watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, despite its severely pedestrian trailer. Very cool movie; utterly arch yet completely committed.