For this unit I’ll be basing my writing on the positives and negatives of data mining. Asking the question whether or not an invasion of privacy or a potential advantageous technology for the future. As of yet I’m still in the researching stage. Finding points of reference and possible options for case studies. So far i have been looking at the current applications that involve data mining in the product. For example iTunes Genius program. that suggests songs and artists of a similar sound as to the song you might be listening to at that moment. Another program which has obvious negative repercussions is the new feature attached to smart phones with a Facebook app. Facebook Places uses geo tagging technonogly to literally update people on you Facebook friends list of your location within the world.
Other options for case studies i have been looking into are the possible future application of data mining, and the artists and companies that are exploring these possible new grounds. Installation based artists such as Liz Turner and her Iconaut piece. Iconaut is a new way of visualising and browsing time-based data, by exploring relationships between topics in a charming pictographic interface. ANother avenue im considering is the future of the internet. Specifically Tim Berners Lee’s idea of the semantic web, otherwise known as W3.
