How often a given word is used, relative to other words, can convey information about the word’s linguistic utility. Using Google word data for 3 languages over the 209-year period 1800-2008, we found by analyzing word use an anomalous recent change in the birth and death rates of words, which indicates a shift towards increased levels of competition between words as a result of new standardization technology. We demonstrate unexpected analogies between the growth dynamics of word use and the growth dynamics of economic institutions. Our results support the intriguing concept that a language’s lexicon is a generic arena for competition which evolves according to selection laws that are related to social, technological, and political trends. Specifically, the aggregate properties of language show pronounced differences during periods of world conflict, e.g. World War II.
Statistical Laws Governing Fluctuations in Word Use from Word Birth to Word Death
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Spike Lee To Direct Crowdsourced Mobile Phone Movie
Filmmaker Spike Lee has linked up with Nokia to direct a movie made with cell phone footage from everyday people in what he calls the democratization of film.
The film by Nokia Productions will consist of three acts. An “assignment” for each act will be announced online and people will then have four weeks to produce their submission.
Crowdsourcing or collaboratively creating content of any kind becomes dicey very quickly and the odds of creating something greater than the sum of its parts are low. In fact, creating by committee generally leads to utter crap. (When was the last time you read and enjoyed a story written line by line by contributors?) But with collaborative sites and, in my view, a talented orchestrator, it might be possible to create something of quality or, at least, facilitate an interesting experience, regardless of the end product.
Part 8: Collaborative Content Creation; or, Crowdsourcing your way to creativity | co>innovative
Your friendly neighborhood drone?
(via Meet Japan’s spherical reconnaissance drone (Wired UK))
The world of Mimicry is a playful world. Maybe it is best described as a schoolyard, or a digital sandbox. Four players roll around and chase each other in a digital world. They push each other off the tops of mountains and paint in the sand.
But there’s a twist. The digital landscape also exists in real life. There’s a real sandbox which players can use to shape the virtual world in real-time
(Source: vimeo.com)
‘Dust’ is a 1:1 scale replica of one of the most played computer game maps in the world. The idea is to build the 3D model of ‘de_dust’ of the first person shooter game ‘Counter Strike’ as a permanent ‘building’ from concrete, making this map accessible as a large scale public sculpture.
(Source: rhizome.org)
