I love the effectiveness and hate the superficiality. I like the ease and yet dislike the tools. We have gotten so easily used to minimizing our conversations to a chat window – generic SMS messages – receiving e-cards instead of real post. When things come too easy, we tend [...]]]> I love it and I hate it.

I love the effectiveness and hate the superficiality. I like the ease and yet dislike the tools. We have gotten so easily used to minimizing our conversations to a chat window – generic SMS messages – receiving e-cards instead of real post. When things come too easy, we tend to forget their value. Suddenly, easy come easy go does not seem so far from the truth…

By leading an online life we attain a global sense of connectivity to distant people and to remote locations. Ubiquitous technology helps us interact easily with each other, and also with ourselves. Yet the existing methods of digitally representing a person or a place are still a far cry from the corporeal experience.

digital is really good for an efficient, superficial connection, yet it is usually poor when engaging in a more authentic, deep conversation.

A conversation becomes more meaningful when conditions allow for reciprocal relationships to take place. The more synchronous a conversation is, the more attention it requires and the more intense it feels. When performing, an actor receives immediate feedback from the audience – it is essential when leading towards a directed theatrical moment. An actor’s presence is crucial on stage; it feeds from and to the audience presented to. On the other hand, when writing a blog entry, we have no immediate response. We present out our thoughts to an invisible audience. Place them on a busy stage, to be seen by anyone who is interested. Yet we long for reciprocation of some sort. It feels great to get feed back in the form of a comment, trackback or even email.

For me, the efficient is extremely useful, especially when on a specific quest – a question that needs answering or just a short burst of information exchange. It saves time and money. It is clear for both sides that its’ nature is that of a brief conversation. That is precisely why SMS is so useful – it generates an asynchronous conversation, but provides no immediate need for reciprocation – usually, you can take your time to reply.

I notice that I am not as enthusiastic about these services as I once were. Distance has always played a big part in my life – both from home and from loved ones. Tools like skype help me keep in touch with family. I feel it is important to be able to interact on a daily basis with my family or set of online friends, but over a period of time, it gets frustrating. I want to have a more diverse set of tools, and I want them to come outside the screen, and into objects around me.

I wonder what would happen if a facebook poke was more than just some text on a page, and if a kiss sent over IM was not merely an animation. How can we capture intimacy over a distance without ruining its essence? There exists a region of balance, which I find fascinating. A place where the interaction is not heavy, yet not too brief. Where it takes some thought and effort to reply. I believe that by extracting the experience away from a screen and into tangible objects, it is possible to feel an enhanced sense of connectivity and presence for a remote person or place.

Just spreading the love:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â [...]]]> I’ve finally made some edits, and fluffed up a nice page for my thesis paper. I figured that at least the background & research parts could be useful for someone. Just as others were kind enough to place their research online.

Just spreading the love:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â http://giladlotan.com/thesis

Have you ever chosen your seat on a bus, according to where you would be harmed least if a suicide bomber decided to detonate? Ever had [...]]]> My submitted essay to the New York Times – “Win a Trip With Nick Kristof” Competition:

Have you ever chosen your seat on a bus, according to where you would be harmed least if a suicide bomber decided to detonate? Ever had to carry a gas mask on your way to school? Seen your mother hiding her tears as you are taken to serve in the army? No physical object is heavier than the weight of a wasted life hanging over a fallen soldier’s funeral. I go back to my high school for its Memorial Day ceremony to respect those who cannot be there, and I do not feel fear, but acceptance because this situation is regular, therefore normal. I accept not because I agree with it, but because I have no other choice.

Because I want to live a life.

I’ve grown up in a place surrounded by borders and walls. For many years the Israeli media masterfully painted a picture of our enemies from the other side of the borders, as evil, barely human. When presented with numbers and statistics, you forget that real people actually make up the figures. But walls do come down when people get together and discover their common grounds. Then it is possible to minimize the differences and appreciate a shared sense of community.

Current day technologies such as the web and mobile phone networks give us the ability to leap over the walls, penetrate through political boundaries and connect as human beings. These prevalent ways of communication can accommodate the creation and continuation of dialogue. Politicians have always had a stage from which to speak to the world. Now regular people can tell their own powerful stories to a worldwide audience. These tools carry the potential to empower people to choose to make a difference and not to live with the silent acceptance anymore.

It is my generation’s duty to find a way to help get these stories out. This is not just a dream, but reality. Last summer, Israeli and Lebanese bloggers wrote web-posts together, criticizing the war that tore all of their homes to shreds. When enough Palestinians have the ability to post their thoughts online, maybe then both sides of the wall will be able to realize that everyone has similar wishes: a chance to celebrate family dinners or to go for picnics at the beach.

But technology alone is not a solution, it is a tool.

I am an experienced photographer. I capture emotions of visual moments by framing space and time. My technological background allows me to bring these still images into an enhanced context, telling a more intimate story. Standing on this bridge between cultures gives me perspective to see a potential for these walls to come down.

I believe it is essential to get these stories out not via traditional media channels, but with innovative technology based initiatives. Expand the outreach for people who don’t read newspapers, using alternative social networking services like flickr, RSS feeds, myspace, and so on. It is important to put a human face on problems, and not just count numbers. There is a famous Hebrew saying – “for each person there is a name”. It is frequently used in reference to the WWII Holocaust. We say names and not just numbers in search of a more meaningful way to grasp both tragedy and hope.

If I am chosen for this initiative, I will explore ways in which my facility with technology and photography can help make more of these connections possible; direct links between people in the developed and the developing, the first and the third worlds. We need to take advantage of available web tools and mobile phone networks to eliminate intermediary layers, for direct contact to be more simple and affordable. I see this trip as a possibility for change and exchange. I see the potential for local difficulties to be worked through as a result of being shown and known to the world at large. I would feel truly honored if given this opportunity to make a difference.