20 May 2006

Flickr on the Tree of Life

accurate generalisations about
human behavior on the Tree of Life
are hard to come by
because data is limited
superficial and unreliable

but plummeting prices
for public data storage
and for semi-objective
data-capture devices
(cams, mics, etc)

open an unprecedented window on
human behavior now

millions of photographers uploading
hundreds of millions of candid pix
in a raw stream anyone can tap into [rss]

immortalising
instants of gaze

point at a tourist spot
point at a flower
point at a baby
point at a pet
point at a friend

pose them in front of the tourist spot
holding the flowerbabypet
making a crazy face
making a hipster face
making a happy face
making a sane face
a funny gesture
with hand, or tongue
jump wild
dance
flash some skin


or at a party, the mad snapper
making everyone selfconscious
(unless they already were)

human nature occasionally sneaking in
accidental private truth
crypto-ethnography
[rwwl]