The Communication Studio

Papers

I was one of the first students at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program in 1979. I've scanned some of my old course papers for posterity ... and your viewing pleasure. It's interesting (to me, at least) to realize how many ideas persist over time.

Early Daze: the ITP

The Reading (PA) 2-way "interactive" television project for the elderly was a research model and reference point for the ITP during the early days.

Communications as a Community Service. This paper expresses the underlying principles for my commitment to "user experience".
A major challenge while managing the Municipal Cable Project in Somerville, MA was bureaucracy in the context of an "open system".
The challenge for this paper was to respond to a hypothetical RFP for office automation from NYU. The true focus of the paper - for me - was to demonstrate and understanding of good process and explain how I got there.
This was a follow-up to my initial proposal to the NYU Office Automation RFP. (If you haven't taken a look at the original RFP and proposal, you may want to take a look now.)
This was an exploration of the "cultural" barriers within the emerging new media market.
I applied my emerging understanding of organizational system analysis techniques to my experience managing the Municipal Cable Project in Somerville, MA.
This was my analysis of the Municipal Cable Project, which was a popular theme for me. Community and Communication : "How do you make something good happen?"
This was an exploration of the blurring of the distinction between 1-way (cable) and 2-way (telephone) services. With implications for community and marketplace.
Don't know what this was about, but it is kind of interesting...
This is a 2-page Design Project Proposal with a hidden agenda: "Learn by Playing". 
This appears to be a proposal to create a university-level course focusing on "Mass Communications". 
A Speculative History. Actually kinda prescient, tho premature. It earned a "Felix the Cat" from course instructor Gary Schober. One of my proudest moments.

Context : The Wayback Machine

In the years before I entered the ITP, I was a community cable TV and video activist, working with advocacy and arts groups in both Manhattan and the Boston area. This was the era of New Media Synthesis.

These experiences informed my studies - and my papers - at the Interactive Telecommunications Program.

For a little context, This was what was happening in the interactive arena around that time: