Network Effect

This interactive collage featuring a never-ending torrent of video clips, messages, figures, lists and other visual noise plays with our natural desire to see and follow everything. A click on one of the keywords at the top of the screen sets off tens of thousands of Internet search results. The word “sing,” for example, triggers a wave of singers and a cacophony of read-aloud Twitter messages about the pleasure of singing. An antagonizing counter indicates how many people are singing at that moment, while graphics illustrate the frequency of the word on the Internet, and a rolling newsfeed announces topical singing-related matters. The sense of urgency we experience is further enhanced by the agitated hubbub of the tweets being read aloud and a background heartbeat. There’s an overwhelming sense that time is running out. The data can only be watched once every 24 hours, and viewing time is limited to around seven minutes – depending on the average life expectancy in our country. But a random piece of trivia still catches our attention, and before we know it we’re trawling through a list of synonyms for “sing.” This is a provocative encounter, with the Internet taking on the role of seducer, and intoxicant.