Overview            Thisc            Demo            Credits





- Overview -


This could be better Larry...


In 2015 the multi-billionaire Larry Page published an open letter to the internet euphorically heralding a revised future vision for Alphabet / Google. After outlining numerous ideological benefits the letter ended with Larry asking the entirely rhetorical question: What could be better? The question was answering itself, blindly assuming that indeed NOTHING could be better than Google. But what if we answered Larry's question?







What could be better?






Thisc








- Thisc Could Be Better -



Thisc is a speculative and collective reimagining of a better internet.



If Google's mission statement is to 'organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful' then the Thisc mission statement is to 'organize the world's information better than Google'.

The question of 'what could be better' is central to how we imagine, develop, and use technology. Every future speculation, every new product launch, every version upgrade, every hack, is essentially both asking and answering the question 'what could be better?'.







Plurality

Tolerance

Design for plurality is designing against the polarisation of societies, by dissolving the binarism of 'us vs. them' and questioning other obsolete dualities and false dichotomies dividing everything. Listening to and engaging with those who have different political ideologies, even if we disagree, is essential. Quoting the Caribbean poet and philosopher Edouard Glissant, we need to "look at difference, differently".
Accountability

Solidarity

We should each practice a responsible attitude towards production and consumption, and hold each other accountable. Solidarity requires collective agreement and mutual support making visible the interdependencies between humans and our coexistence with other living beings.
Humbleness

A climate emergency is not something humans can solve but instead something we need to address. The planet is not something we can "save" but it is EVERYTHING we should care about, being aware that humans are just a small part of this living cosmic body.

* 5 key design values taken from the IAM Everything manifesto.








One Search Platform, Multiple Search Algorithms..






** Plural search engine models generated by participants of IAM Weekend 2019 workshop.








From a Probable Future, To Preferable Futures..









- Demo -





The weirdness of interdependencies..





The above speculative search query demonstrations were created specifically for the first public presentation of Thisc at IAM Weekend 2020. The theme of the conference was 'The Weirdness of Interdependencies', and so the search queries present exemplifications of how alternative information retrieval models might bring new perspectives to both the notions of 'weirdness' and 'interdependencies' through the lens of alternative time frames, and alternative cultures.



Alternative Temporal Perspectives on Weirdness:



Alternative Cultural Perspectives on Interdependencies:




- Credits -


Designed in plurality for solidarity...


Thisc was was conceived and created by Ted Hunt +


commissioned by workshopped with produced at made on




Thisc is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International