People need people

by Inverness Old Town Art, 4 May 2010

As the snow finally disappears and the birds start chirping away again, it’s time to look to the future. With two major public arts projects in the works, there’s as much going on as ever here at Inverness Old TA. However, the in-between times are just as important.

The AmbITion Scotland ‘Getting Digital’ road show came along at just the right time. Centred on the significance of new media for arts organisations, the day was geared towards thinking about the future and how best to utilise it – or should I say IT, for the future really does seem to lie in information technology for really getting yourself out there. The importance of social networking in building relationships was articulated by keynote speaker Bill Thompson, who raised some important points about our digitised future. Most significantly the fact that that is indeed what our future is to be, and that fighting it is as counter productive as going back to the days before telephones – heck, we might as well get out our stone clubs. Fact is, if you’re looking to gain maximum exposure the way forward is to accept the new media storm and harness its energy.

Of course once you put something on the web, you’re placing it straight into the hands of the masses and who knows what can happen then. But if this is the way our future is to be then we must think of the positives. In the real world, the flyers we’ve painstakingly put through people’s letterboxes more often than not get chucked in the bin without a second glance, after all it’s just more bumph and why should you fill up your time and space with it? But in the virtual, once you suss out where people are gathering you’re half way there, all you need is a little time investment and well placed words and images. The key is a gentle beckoning; letting others come to you and subtly giving them the motivation to do so. As Bill emphasised, people like to share, and what better way to generate curiosity and enthusiasm than that which ‘the punters’ have created themselves?

The public realm is a mutable thing, constantly in flux and alive, so it’s little wonder that t’internet, unregulated as it is in our fortunate Western world, is the perfect environment not only for free discussion but for finding out that bit more about our audience that could make all the difference. It allows greater flexibility in the way we send out messages and gives greater scope for responding to the valuable feedback of Facebook fans and Vimeo viewers. However as with any great shifts in the way we live our lives, there are a number of issues that can’t be ignored; if we can download the podcast or watch it on YouTube, will we get up off our sofas and ever experience the real event? Or indeed, what about the significant number of people without web access? Furthermore, what about the boundaries of professional integrity – is creating a Facebook page for your organisation breaking them down?

For those who still suffer shivers of fear from all the tech-talk, the other crucial point of the day was that for these virtual spaces to really work, at least in the context of community, they must have an effect outside themselves in the 3D world. We mustn’t get stuck in the web of hyperreality; the cyber and the real should go hand in hand. It’s about the dynamic relationship between them and the benefits this brings. Since time began we’ve gathered together and revelled in doing so – it’s as natural a human tendency as eating or sleeping and Tweeting isn’t going to change that. People need people, not avatars and profiles. But what it does do is create the right conditions, light the spark and hope something catches. The more info that’s out there, accessible, instantaneous and in the right places, the more readily it may be passed from mouth to mouth and the easier it is to form trusted and meaningful relationships. Those relationships can then be justified through real events and face to face interaction.

There will always be changes in the way we communicate and make sense of ourselves, and as ever it’s about adaptation, renewal, negotiating all these new dimensions and not being afraid of what the future brings. At the very least, it’s all just another outlet for experimentation, an excuse to get creative and, at the end of the day, have a bit of fun in the bargain!