Entry points

The other day at work I was having trouble with my email and one of the IT guy remoted in to my machine to have a look. Which was great, only he didn't quite give me any warning that this was going to happen, and I had the moment of frozen WTF-now? that you get when you're in a changing room and someone rips the curtains open when you're not expecting it. It's not so much that you have things you want to hide - it's more that you'd like some warning so you can get the house in order before it is shown to the world.

Anyway, at about the same time that happened, a friend (thank you, K!) sent a link through to a 2010/2011 exhibition at the Candian Centre for Architecture, 404 Error: The Object is Not Online, by the graphic design studio Rumors.

The exhibition had one of the most beautiful integrations of physical and digital experiences that I've seen. Consisting of artefacts from the CCA's archives, it centred on a large table laid out with various objects, overhung by a webcam.

Online visitors could move their mouses over the image of the table and receive more information about the items. Simultaneously, visitors to the physical exhibition could see the live mouse movements projected back on to the table. It's simple, non-invasive, smart, and forms the most unexpected connection between visitors. I love it.