Abstract

Subversive Networks is a design methodology for deconstructing accepted and practiced forms of human-networked interaction through the introduction of interference, shifted rule-sets, and disruptive interactive experiences. As the proliferation of networked experiences intensifies worldwide from Internet access in physical locations to wireless and Wi-Fi access points – there is an increasing emphasis on information and networked spaces augmenting their physical counterparts. This shift in focus changes the fundamental architecture of connected spaces into ones that can simultaneously exhibit both permanent and transient states. Subversive Networks aims to challenge the foundations of network interaction in both physical and online spaces, along with the fundamental rules and expectations that exist in these environments. By questioning the increased proliferation of connectivity clichés that are associated with the Internet and emphasizing the aesthetics of the interaction above interface design, this methodology focuses on shifting experiences and perceptions as key elements of networked interaction. This paper will discuss several of my projects that address the theme of network subversion including Alerting Infrastructure, a physical hit counter that destroys a building when one visits its website, BumpList: An Email Community for the Determined, and WiFi-Hog, a personal tool for hijacking publicly accessible wireless network nodes for personal use.

• Jonah Brucker-Cohen works as a Researcher in the Human Connectedness Group at Media Lab Europe in Dublin, Ireland and is a PhD candidate in the Disruptive Design Team of the Networks and Telecommunications Research Group (NTRG) at Trinity College Dublin. His focus is on subverting existing relationships to human/networked interfaces by building new real-world inputs to networks, redefining how information is used and disseminated, and shifting virtual processes into physical forms through networked devices and experiences. His writing has appeared in WIRED Magazine, Rhizome.org and his work has been shown internationally at events such as Ars Electronica (02, 04), The Whitney Museum of American Art: Artport (2003), The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London (2004), DEAF(2003), SIGGRAPH (2000), ISEA2002, Transmediale (02,04), European Media Arts Festival (1999), and the 8th Annual New York Digital Salon (2000).

Full text (PDF) p. 159-160