The average computer audio player (e.g. iTunes, Real Player, etc.) is the digital equivalent of a Walkman. Given the possibilities inherent in operating on powerful web-ready computers, these programs are oddly content to parrot only the basest functionality of analog technology. They are, as McLuhan would note, the media of the new doing the work of the old.

Music is an inherently social pursuit – we experience concerts together, find out about new music from friends, and discuss specific parts of songs with people while they’re playing. Web 2.0 technology is perfect to enable this type of social interaction with audio, but the that currently exist merely plunder the internet for commercial aims. I started Project Nevins with the charge of making an efficient Web 2.0 audio player. It’s now the leading edge of a system that will enable new ways of interacting with audio content:

Here are the system’s fundamental components:

Playspace – What I refer to as the playspace, or the section the playhead traverses as an audio file is played, has typically been a black hole of audio interface designs. With Project Nevins, the playspace becomes the palette for users to socially annotate audio files.

Comments – Comments are the circles that appear on the playspace. They come in two flavors – administrator comments are added by the creator of the content, and user comments can be added by anyone.

Contextual Menu – How many times have you blindly scrolled through an audio file looking for a specific section of material? Audio needs an inline table of contents – contextual menus are a start.

I see this system as having a few initial applications. Independent musicians could use the interface to directly communicate with their fans about their music, like an interactive track guide. Teachers could use the interface to point out specific sections of an audio piece, and students could respond (far easier than referencing a track by the time elapsed). Bands could trade arrangements back and forth, using the comments to talk about specific things they changed, or parts they feel need work.

I was assisted in this venture by the inordinately gifted Asheville painter Daniel Nevins, whose work might best fall into the ‘magical realist’ genre. The seed content for this interface comes from a radio piece I assembled after a series of interviews with Daniel earlier this year.

Tags: Code, Design, Project Nevins

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Code, Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.