I noted some thoughts while at the Big Tent Festival last weekend, setting up a possible structure for the PhD. ??There's scope to rebuild my 'ideas' document around this, which I'm sure I'll get around to some time.
1. Use of technology at events:
- as put in place by the event's producers/organisers
- as used by the audience, participants, delegates and other attendees
- as a contribution to the act of meeting people, sharing an experience and 'being at an event'
- as exploited by those involved in unplanned/ambush events in working towards their objectives
2. Use of technology around events:
- to expand the reach of an event beyond its standard 'limits': building relationships with audiences before and after the event itself, and with those who don't attend the event at all
- to create a 'back channel(s)' of communication around an event that is beyond the control or even awareness of the event producers
- to provide a foundation on which the event can be built, as applied in unplanned/ambush events for example (see??http://www.ushahidi.com/??in Haiti, Gulf of Mexico, Kenya, Gaza; also??TSF??in Haiti)
3. How this alters relationships with??events:
- for attending audiences and their experiences
- for what we consider to be an event
- for ways that we can learn from this, for the future and for other types of events
This sets up three distinct categories in which to apply the key themes of the research: two which could be quite descriptive at first sight, then a third which seeks to build a psychological/sociological layer. ??It is both explorative and explanatory in its nature, although there's plenty more refinement needed! ??Ultimately however it draws together two main themes which were otherwise distinct in my initial ideas document. ??Speaking of which, that's the next thing to turn my attention to...
??