Cityspeak

Cityspeak is ephemeral graffiti, an exploration into using private modes of communication to drive transient public displays of commentary about a particular location. Participants use their SMS- and web-enabled cellphones or wireless PDAs to send text to a common server. The text is processed using the NextText text visualization software. NextText references real-time data from the location to specify the visual behaviors of the text. The resulting stream of text is layered back onto the location in the form of large-scale projections. Participants can use the display to leave commentary, tell stories, conduct conversations or simply to play with the visual characteristics of text.

Cityspeak is an example p2P (private-to-public) communication which allows participants to use communication technologies we tend to think of as private--cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants--to create public displays.

Cityspeak is a partner in the Mobile Digital Commons Network , a group of artists, university and industry researchers and policy activists that is experimenting with ways in which to bring the ideas of a creative commons to the wireless environment in Canada .

Cityspeak Brochure

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