EXTRACT OF INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTIAN @ PONTON MEDIA LABS
Christian: On this table we are programming on PC's, developing hardware. This is a picture developing system we developed, you can use it to transmit. The viewers can send us their pictures and their sound.
Christian: I think this is a kind of socially responsible usage of media, this is something you can do [that a normal viewer cannot do]. A normal tv viewer is not active, he is just switching things on and off...And so we said ok, what can we do? We have one channel with picture and one with sound, and the the viewer can send information, and then we took newer medium, and we thought about what can we do with a painting program where you can control the curser. So we made an electronic coffee house...these 8 people can chat with each other (He points to the screen and modem banks)...hey you on the second modem line...(he points to another viewer) oh yeah here its raining...or something like this so they can communicate with each other..
Christian: It's a kind of social hacking, its using new technologies in a way that they were never intended to use. The telephone was never intended for this use. It is always some big god handling callers, but they are not allowed to do their own things. We tried the other way, what is happening when we let the user try his own thing?
