TECHNOLOGY AS LINGUISTIC METAPHORS
DES 720B Graduate Studio: Technology Project 1: Technology as Rhetoric by Gizem Serifoglu
INTRODUCTORY EXERCISE
As an introduction to the project, each of us was asked to record our interactions with technology for a whole week. There were no restrictions to how we defined technology, it could be something digital like an iPhone or analog like a spoon. In the end of the week, my personal interactions with technology records looked more like diary entires because I wanted to fully explain the context of the interactions as they were a big part of my daily life and added to the story of each day.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
After the initial exercise, the main task was to create a new digital metaphor. The format was open ended and depended on what we wanted to create. Only condition was that we had to utilize some of the data we have gathered. Reviewing the inital exercise again, I realized that I used a lot words to explain certain situations because I was unable to say what I intended with one word especially when describing interactions with digital technologies. Finding this linguistic problem interesting, I decided to focus on it.
Initial exercise: Interaction diary page
PROPOSAL & INTENT
In the end, my intent was to create linguistic metaphors, in form of new words, that would describe certain interactions with digital technologies. Initially, I began this process by looking at Latin language as some of the common words are derivatives of Latin words. However this process turned out to be difficult and irrelevant, in my opinion, as digital technologies are recent discoveries. Due to their contemporary nature, I decided to use more modern language. With these aspects in mind, I started my research and started the design process.
RESEARCH
My research led me to Urban Dictionary as it contain new words made up by the community which gets approved and used if they are found suitable. There were certain new words about technology that interested me and I used those as inspiration when creating my own words. Once I had a few good existing examples, I started writing down scenarios that are, more or less, commonly experienced and use derivative words from those to construct new words
SOME EXAMPLES FROM URBAN DICTIONARY
TECHNOLOGY BASED SCENARIOS
1 To avoid interacting with people by interacting with technology instead (choosing to interact with technology instead of people) 2 G etting flashed in the eyes from the bright light of a smart-phone screen 3 To blame a digital technology for delaying messages received from another person 4 W hen an mp3 player or a smart-phone falls out of one’s pocket but hangs midair instead of crashing to the ground because it is connected to earphones or headphones
5 Texting somebody who lives in the same house because one is too lazy to walk to another room 6 W hen a person gives bad news via text messaging because they are too scared to do it face to face 7 W hen a person walks into an object or a person because they were paying attention to their tech instead of paying attention to the road 8 W hen one of the parties in a conversation use google from their smart-phones instead of generating ideas of their own
TECHNOLOGY BASED SCENARIOS
9 W hen a social media site is not working properly which leads to posting things Online unintentionally and causes irritation, frustration and embarrassment 10 W hen a digital technology malfunctions and causes one to tap the machinery with some force, depending on the frustration level, in an effort to make it function again
PROCESS OF CREATING THE WORDS
Once I had a good enough scenario, I started by making a list of words that relate to that experience. Afterwards the words were combined into a new word with an indication of the emotional or physical aspect of the scenario. For example: 2 To avoid interacting with people by choosing to interact with technology (instead of people) Associated words: Digital, technology, people, organic, interaction, introvert, social, unsocial, avoid, evade, escape, talk, silence Final word: Technovade
Process: Brainstorming & results
LIST OF WORDS CORRESPONDING TO THE SCENARIOS ( SO FAR ) 1 Technovade 2 Screen-blaze 3 Digifake 4 Technojee 5 Inertexting 6 Wimpext 7 Techbump 8 Google-bomb 9 Digirage 10 Techtap
REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS
Once there were a good amount of words, I started uploading the definitions to Urban Dictionary, all of which are pending approval. Second part of this project is to use word of mouth , by introducing these words into my conversations, as well as sending them to classmates and colleagues and ask them to do the same. Next steps of the project would be to introduce an app which would help anyone come up with new words using the same process and then be able to upload it to Urban Dictionary directly from the app.
Technology as Linguistic Metaphors by Gizem Serifoglu | Fall 2015