I just found out about an exciting mobile media project occurring this month in New York City in honour of Earth Day. The project, JUNGLE-IZED: A Conversation with Nature, encourages people to use their mobile device to experience the famous Time Square in a new way to encourage people to reflect on global environment issues.
Through audio pieces related to the Amazon rainforest, NYC's concrete jungle is transformed for users. Users walk around several blocks of Times Square with an Android or Apple mobile app and special headphones. Each street near Times Square represents a different time in the daily life of the Amazon.
Along the lines of a Guy Debord détournement, the dramatic and interactive juxtaposition
seeks to help people reconsider their role and consider linkages in the global environment.
The project was developed using Vancouver company Motive's software platform. The Motive software was used to geolocate the audio tracks of the Amazon around Times Square and to indicate the radius that triggers audio files and for fade points.
I had the chance to meet a cofounder of Motive, Ryan Chapman, last year when I was in Vancouver. Motive provides a hosted platform to ease the development of mobile games and locative media apps. Find out more about Motive through my conversation with Ryan.
I'm excited to see this project as it demonstrate how powerful and innovative mobile media can be.
If you're in NYC check it out or read more about the project here.
