Nomenclature – The New Interactive Thangs
Latin darn near killed me. My mom had convinced me I was going to be a lawyer – a dismal attempt to convert my argumentative nature into a career asset (since I didn’t have any others). Latin at 8A my freshman year at UGA – for three quarters (they didn’t call them semesters then) – trashed my GPA. And it helped me reevaluate my college trajectory. But I walked away with at least one great word that has helped me hang a title on the primary problem confronting the field in which I work and teach. Nomenclature : the naming of things [my definition].
Names are proscriptive. They limit. They tell us what something is by telling us all that it is not. For a field that is dedicated to expansive approaches where boundaries beg to be broached, names chafe. Some of the most heated and fruitless discussions about making the NMI were over the name. Digital media? Interactive media? Multimedia? We chose New Media because it meant nothing and everything at the same time – that made it a terrible name so we chose it.
Lately I have come up against the challenge of nomenclature again. This summer I visited some of the interesting companies growing around Atlanta. One of my first stops was Moxie Interactive (http://www.moxieinteractive.com/), this week’s Digital Brown Bag guest (see below). After touring me around and showing me some of the wild/cool projects they were working on, we sat down to lunch and I asked them “What is Moxie?” The pause said it all – they were uncomfortable locking themselves down with a single title. And as I traveled around visiting other shops I found a consensus discomfort around nomenclature. But I found some common aspects.
Creativity. These new Interactive Thangs run on creativity. Diverse, imaginative, resourceful individuals drilling down on tasks from a range of directions. That’s the way they work. And innovation is always the prize.
Communication. This generation of Thangs differ from the previous one (read iXL for you old-timers out there) in that they put communication at the center of their organization. Sure, Thangs 2.0 are infatuated with the bits and bytes, but only as they help them craft a compelling message.
Energy. There is a very anti-corporate vibe at the new Thangs – even though they are big business. That buzz comes from exploration and experimentation. The New Interactive Thangs have learned that the best way to keep the best people engaged is to keep them trying new things. They have accepted that a bunch of attempts won’t fly – but the ones that do will rocket.
Cool Spaces. OK, they all have neat spaces. Except unlike Thang 1.0, these environments seem to be built around injecting inspiration instead of offering diversion. Before the bubble burst, we had climbing walls (that no one climbed) and foosball tables (where nobody played). Now colors, textures, images focus the energy. And, yeah, they are fun.
All of these companies (Moxie, Schematic, Patrick Davis Partners, SpunLogic, NuRun) have to pay homage to names at some level so they distinguish themselves with nomen-twists – interactive marketing, interactive communications, digital branding, technology ideas. The definitions are slippery so it is always going to be difficult to look them up in the yellow pages. But you will find these new Interactive Thangs behind some of the most effective (and coolest) examples of new media.
Names are proscriptive. They limit. They tell us what something is by telling us all that it is not. For a field that is dedicated to expansive approaches where boundaries beg to be broached, names chafe. Some of the most heated and fruitless discussions about making the NMI were over the name. Digital media? Interactive media? Multimedia? We chose New Media because it meant nothing and everything at the same time – that made it a terrible name so we chose it.
Lately I have come up against the challenge of nomenclature again. This summer I visited some of the interesting companies growing around Atlanta. One of my first stops was Moxie Interactive (http://www.moxieinteractive.com/), this week’s Digital Brown Bag guest (see below). After touring me around and showing me some of the wild/cool projects they were working on, we sat down to lunch and I asked them “What is Moxie?” The pause said it all – they were uncomfortable locking themselves down with a single title. And as I traveled around visiting other shops I found a consensus discomfort around nomenclature. But I found some common aspects.
Creativity. These new Interactive Thangs run on creativity. Diverse, imaginative, resourceful individuals drilling down on tasks from a range of directions. That’s the way they work. And innovation is always the prize.
Communication. This generation of Thangs differ from the previous one (read iXL for you old-timers out there) in that they put communication at the center of their organization. Sure, Thangs 2.0 are infatuated with the bits and bytes, but only as they help them craft a compelling message.
Energy. There is a very anti-corporate vibe at the new Thangs – even though they are big business. That buzz comes from exploration and experimentation. The New Interactive Thangs have learned that the best way to keep the best people engaged is to keep them trying new things. They have accepted that a bunch of attempts won’t fly – but the ones that do will rocket.
Cool Spaces. OK, they all have neat spaces. Except unlike Thang 1.0, these environments seem to be built around injecting inspiration instead of offering diversion. Before the bubble burst, we had climbing walls (that no one climbed) and foosball tables (where nobody played). Now colors, textures, images focus the energy. And, yeah, they are fun.
All of these companies (Moxie, Schematic, Patrick Davis Partners, SpunLogic, NuRun) have to pay homage to names at some level so they distinguish themselves with nomen-twists – interactive marketing, interactive communications, digital branding, technology ideas. The definitions are slippery so it is always going to be difficult to look them up in the yellow pages. But you will find these new Interactive Thangs behind some of the most effective (and coolest) examples of new media.
posted by Grady College /University of Georgia at
4:45 AM
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