Possible Research Topics

Content topics are open to some negotiation and discussion. Teams must consist of at least three people, so if you can find two other class members willing to work on an idea not listed here, I'll consider it up to the point at which assignments become final (beginning of Week 3). I reserve the right to determine group assignments and may insist that some topics be covered.

Below are several strong possibilities; each topic has both a conceptual title (which you may discard) and a more formal description:

Who Gets The Apple Now? (Technology Enhanced Learning)

Topic statement by John Fritz. Please contact him if you would like to work on it.

Sure there's been an information explosion, but beyond mere access to it, does the digital interface present new ways of acquiring, synthesizing and applying knowledge? Beyond web-casting traditional lectures, can new media be used to create richer learning environments or even cater to different learning styles? If so, who will lead in the new market of online education? In March, software billionaire Michael Saylor said he would put up $100 million to create an online university that would deliver free education to anyone who wants it. A month later, his own fortunes fell during the dot.com sell-off that shook out the already-crowded online education market. And recently, the U.S. Army announced it would spend $600 million to create an online education system it hopes will secure new recruits. Will traditional education providers make the investment to perfect the interface or lose the mantle of leadership to for-profit companies on the bleeding edge? Learning as we know it will change either way.

Greatest Bits (Digital Music and Information Commerce)

What does the Napster/Gnutella/MP3 affair mean for the business of selling bits? Has the music industry fundamentally changed? Could other forms of publishing be next? Are mini- or micropayment schemes due for reconsideration? What larger social (ethical) issues are involved here? This group should also survey the technological side of digital music: What systems are used and how are they evolving? What music is available and who are the most significant audiences?

Books Without End (Electronic Books)

What do e-book and print-on-demand technologies mean for book and magazine publishing? What are the major technologies and standards? Which ones are likely to survive? How extensively have current industry leaders bought in to these technologies? Who are the primary players? What business opportunities might exist outside or within the domination of the major multinationals? What would a micropublishing business look like and what could it set out to do? If books need never go out of print anymore, how will the practice of reading -- or book selection! -- change? What about writing and the profession of literature?

The Amazing X-Markup (XML)

What is Extensible Markup Language (XML) and how can Web professionals best learn about it? How does it relate to information architecture? How does it relate to general design practice? What publication or business opportunities might stem from XML applications? What sort of class experience, production work, or portfolio piece would demonstrate understanding of XML?

Don't Go Back to Flatland (3-D)

Experiments in 3-D graphics are almost as old as the Web itself: Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) has been through two generations and has spawned numerous imitations and competitors. Yet except for the game environment (tiny exception!) and some cheesy interface work, 3-D hasn't much caught on as a mainstay of Internet design. The grand vision of Cyberspace or Metaverse got shelved somewhere back in the 90s, the victim of processor lag and bandwidth squeezes. Could it be due for a revival? Are there significant commercial or aesthetic possibilities for 3-D graphics on the Web? Or is the trend setting decidedly away from rich graphics in that domain? What about 3-D technologies in the gaming world? Could developments here re-converge with the Web at some point? Or will new paradigms for 3-D interaction need to be invented before there can be much progress? This group will need to survey the major technologies for distributed 3-D graphics and profile important projects. They might also want to do some demonstration work of their own in an accessible system such as ActiveWorlds.

What Were Personal Computers? (Alternative Platforms)

How much of the current excited discussion of set-top, palmtop, and wireless access devices is hype and how much forecasts a significant future? What does it mean to say the PC is obsolete? What business and publishing opportunities are created by non-PC systems? How significant are the investments in this area? What does "design" mean when you are working with a 20-line screen? What are the major technologies and standards at play in this area?

Have My Agent Call Yours... (Software Agents)

What implications do expert systems, software agents, and Web "bots" hold for Internet publishing? What are the major systems currently in use and what do/can they accomplish? How much can be achieved in application and design of software agents without extensive knowledge of artificial intelligence and advanced computer programming? Are agents the inevitable answer to the increasing sprawl of the Web's document space?

The Old Bitstead (Virtual Communities)

When the Internet boom started up, many people, especially those with counterculture experience, predicted that digital networks would foster immaterial, on-line communities: not just new versions of the WELL but utopias, dystopias, and atopias of all descriptions. Now at the turn of the century the largest virtual community (IF you want to call it that) is AOL... Would it be hasty to write off the communitarian vision of the Internet? What sorts of disembodied communities exist in today's Internet? Should we include those related to multi-player gaming and/or mass entertainment (e.g., the "Xenaverse"?) Are there publishing practices or opportunities related to these communities? What significance might they hold for western or global culture as a whole?

The Empire Strokes Out (Open Source)

Does GNU/Linux represent a significant challenge to Microsoft's global domination of the software market? Is the open-source commercial model viable or just another weird idea championed by a lot of smart, impractical people (like, er, the Web...)? Can ordinary humans live and work in a Linux environment? What should practicing Web designers and information architects know about Linux; or about Open Source?

Cookies and Other Monsters (Privacy)

What problems does the use of the Internet pose for personal privacy? How secure are Web transactions? What technologies and practices can be used to keep sensitive data out of the wrong hands? What business opportunities stem from privacy and data protection? What larger social and ethical issues arise in this area? How should on-line publications deal with personal data?

Hollywood D.O.A. -- or D.I.Y. (Digital Filmmaking)

Are we really approaching the moment where digital editing and computer-generated imagery (CGI) will (heh heh) render Hollywood obsolete? Or is this just tired Wired propaganda? Have phenomena like Blair Witch and Webshows created a new market for independent, low-budget productions? What about the increasing convergence between the computer game market and digital cinema? Can you detect any changes in commercial film culture over the last decade that might be connected, if not attributable, to the rise of digital technologies? What should Internet artists and publishers know about digital video/filmmaking? Or should we chuck out altogether the concept of movies as we have known them?

The Revolution Will Have To Be Translated (Internet Globalism)

Currently, 80% of Web content is in English and the vast majority of Web sites operate out of the United States; but since the Web is truly and increasingly "world-wide," such facts must eventually change. What is the most likely trajectory of international development for the Internet? What business and publishing opportunities might arise from internationalization of the Web? What existing ventures are aimed at this market? What technologies and practices are involved? What political or social questions come into play?

Editors' Notes (Special Option)

I'll need at least one person to act as Managing Editor for the publication. This individual will not have to produce any content but will be responsible for file handling, quality control, and enforcement of overall style and design rules. This person must ensure that we end up with a publication, not a patchwork of inconsistent fragments. The M.E. will also design the entry point and general visual identity of the publication. Let me know if you'd be interested in this weighty assignment.