Difference between revisions of "Making Beyond Social"

From Beyond Social
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Author: André Castro
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{{Article
 +
|Image=website.jpg
 +
|Caption=first Beyond Social website front page
 +
|Summary=On the start of Beyond Social
 +
|Article=Author: André Castro
  
−
When Iris Schutten and Roger Teeuwen approached WdKA's [http://publicationstation.wdka.hro.nl/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Publication Station] to co-develop a web-magazine for the Social Practices program, my first thought was that a web-magazine was something not very exciting.
+
When Iris Schutten and Roger Teeuwen approached WdKA's [http://publicationstation.wdka.hro.nl/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Publication Station] to co-develop a web-magazine for the Social Practices programme, my first thought was that a web-magazine was not very exciting. The image that formed in my head was of those 'web-magazines' that desperately try to resemble their physical counterparts, with clichés such as glossy looks, and turning pages, accompanied by the inevitable 'shhhs' sound.
−
The image that formed in my head was of those ''web-magazines'' that desperately try to resemble their physical counterparts, with clichés such as glossy looks, and turning pages, accompanied by the indissociable "shhhs" sound.
 
  
−
Yet, when Roger and Iris began to describe their ideas for the publication it was clear that they had something quite different in mind.
+
Yet, when Roger and Iris began to describe their ideas for the publication it was clear that they had something quite different in mind. They wanted to create a space for documenting, reflecting, and building upon the work developed in the area of Social Practices, not only within WdKA, but also in collaboration with other institutions currently working in the same field. That got me excited! The vision of a collaborative online editorial space, where content is developed in a collaborative and shared manner, and ideas grow from interpretation, edits, conflicts, disagreements, felt exciting. It sounded much like the way content is developed within wikis, such as Wikipedia or [http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Uncyclopedia:the content-free encyclopedia]. Not quite knowing what was I getting myself into, I said yes and we quickly began working on making it happen.
−
They wanted to create a space for documenting, reflecting, and building upon the work developed in the area of Social Practices, not only within WdKA, but also in collaboration with other institutions, currently working in the same field. That got me excited! The vision of a collaborative online editorial space, where content is developed in a collaborative and shared manner, and ideas grow from interpretation, edits, conflicts, disagreements, felt exciting. It sounded much like the way content is developed within [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wikis], such as Wikipedia or [http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Uncyclopedia:the content-free encyclopedia].
 
−
Not quite knowing what was I getting myself into, I said yes and we quickly began on making it happening.
 
  
  
 
= Tools  =
 
= Tools  =
−
In order to start working we had to agree upon the set tools and protocols, which would help us develop the publication.
+
In order to start working we had to agree upon the set of tools and protocols, which would help us develop the publication. They had to allow the fast development of prototypes, while also permitting extensive experimentation and customisation, in both content creation and publishing processes.
−
They had to allow the fast development of prototypes, while also permitting extensive experimentation and customization, in both content creation and publishing processes.
 
  
−
We organized the work in two spaces: a wiki and a website.
+
We organised the work in two spaces: a wiki and a website.
 
The [http://beyond-social.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page wiki] was established as the editorial space, while the [http://beyond-social.org/ website] turned into an appealing and carefully crafted outlet for the content originated on the wiki (in great part thanks to [http://template01.info/ Template]).
 
The [http://beyond-social.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page wiki] was established as the editorial space, while the [http://beyond-social.org/ website] turned into an appealing and carefully crafted outlet for the content originated on the wiki (in great part thanks to [http://template01.info/ Template]).
−
Connecting these two spaces is the wiki's API – a programming interface, which allows other applications to be build upon it – and a series of [https://gitlab.com/Castro0o/beyond-social scripts] that pull content from the wiki and integrate it arrive on the website.
+
Connecting these two spaces is the wiki's API – a programming interface, which allows other applications to be built upon it – and a series of [https://gitlab.com/Castro0o/beyond-social scripts] pull content from the wiki and integrate it on the website.
  
 
[[File:wiki.jpg|600px|Beyond Social wiki front page]]
 
[[File:wiki.jpg|600px|Beyond Social wiki front page]]
Line 21: Line 21:
 
[[File:website.jpg|600px|Beyond Social website front page]]
 
[[File:website.jpg|600px|Beyond Social website front page]]
  
 +
The choice of a wiki might not seem obvious when more user-friendly approaches, such as content management systems and blogs, abound. However wikis are interesting platforms that can be shaped for very distinct uses, allowing different types of work dynamics, and making possible the publication of content under a variety of forms. It provides the essential infrastructure in which to cast one's own content creation and publishing strategies in a digital online context.
 +
 +
The very first wiki was created in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, and got the name of Wiki Wiki Web.
 +
Wiki Wiki Web ("wiki" in Hawaiian means quick) offered a fast and easy way to write and publish on the Web, a principle which remains true for today's wikis.
 +
 +
<youtube>XqxwwuUdsp4</youtube>
 +
 +
[[File:WikiWikiWeb.png|600px| Wiki Wiki Web]]
 +
 +
By their very nature, wikis foster collaboration. If a user is logged onto a wiki, he or she cannot only create content, but also edit the content that others have written.
 +
Problematic as that might sound, a history log registers all changes which take place within the wiki, making it possible to revert changes to its previous state.
 +
Wikis, at least an "open" wiki such as [http://beyond-social.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Beyond Social's wiki], make the content and its development process visible to anyone who cares to visit, and allows "outsiders" to become collaborators.
 +
 +
It is also worth mentioning that the wiki installation &ndash Mediawiki &ndash; used on Beyond Social is the same software that powers Wikipedia. The fact that a tool which runs one of the most popular sites on the Web is available to a group of students and tutors with no computer engineering degrees, to install, study, and modify, is rather empowering. In addition, the existence of numerous extensions and an API significantly widen the possibilities for creating, structuring and disseminating content.
 +
 +
[http://toneelstof.be/ Toneelstof], a project dedicated to the history of Flemish performing arts, became an essential reference to the development of Beyond Social. Similarly to what happens in Beyond Social, developers and designers [http://automatist.org/kiss/ Michael Murtaugh] and [Femke Snelting] use a [http://toneelstof.be/w/Main_Page wiki] as an editorial space, and the website as the publishing outlet. Within this dynamic, it is striking to see that what appears as fragmented and dissociated information on the wiki, becomes connected and integrated on the website. The branching visual structures unravel and bind fragments of information together.
 +
 +
[[File:toneelstof.jpg|600px|Toneelstof]]
 +
 +
 +
=Workflows=
 +
As the blueprint for Beyond Social became clearer, the team behind it grew. Students, tutors and [http://template01.info/ Template] design studio became actively involved in its development.
 +
 +
[[File:team.jpg|600px|Beyond Social editors and Template]]
 +
 +
At this point the whole team had to make decisions. The essential challenge concerned the way in which content would get published. As important as tools are, they are useless by themselves. They require strategies that make them function together as a system. The whole Beyond Social team had to establish a series of protocols that could turn the adopted infrastructure into a digital publishing workflow, and a resulting publication.
 +
 +
We had to decide "when articles are ready to move to the front-end website?"; "how can editors intervene on an article without disrupting the work of authors?"; "according to what parameters are the articles organised?"; "what visual structure will be adopted for the website? Will it be based on a table of contents or adopt forms like a time-line, a tree-like structure, or an image gallery?"
 +
 +
[[File:website-images.jpg|600px|Beyond Social's image navigation]]
  
−
The choice for a wiki might not seem obvious when more user friendly approaches, such as content management systems and blogs abound. However wikis are interesting platforms, that can be shaped very distinct uses, allowing different types of work dynamics, and making possible the publication of content under a variety of forms. It provides the essential infrastructure, in which to cast one own's content creation and publishing strategies, in a digital online contexts.
+
Most answers to these questions are apparent upon visiting both the [http://beyond-social.org/wiki wiki] and the [http://beyond-social.org/ website] and it's pointless to enumerate them. It seems more relevant to mention that the project's current form and methods were only achieved through a process of constant open dialogue. Experiences, criticism, suggestions, opposing points of view were essential! Without them I doubt Beyond Social would have gotten to this stage, and I am thankful for all of those on the project that kept on pushing it further.
  
−
The very first wiki was created in 1995 by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Cunningham Ward Cunningham], and got the name of Wiki Wiki Web.
+
[[File:open.jpg]]
−
Wiki Wiki Web ("wiki" in Hawaiian means quick) offered a fast and easy way to write and publish on the Web, a principal which remains true for today's wikis.
+
  
−
<youtube>XqxwwuUdsp4</youtube>
+
[[Category:Projects]]
  
−
[[File:WikiWikiWeb.png|600px| Wiki Wiki Web screen-shot]]
+
[[Category:Aesthetics]]
 +
[[Category:Bottom-up]]
 +
[[Category:Failures]]
 +
[[Category:Participation]]
 +
[[Category:Strategies]]
 +
[[Category:Technology]]
 +
[[Category:Transformation]]
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Aesthetics
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Bottom-up
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Graphic Design
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Failures
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Participation
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Strategies
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Technology
 +
}}
 +
{{Category selector
 +
|Category=Transformation
 +
}}
 +
{{Articles more}}
 +
Author: André Castro
  
 +
When Iris Schutten and Roger Teeuwen approached WdKA's [http://publicationstation.wdka.hro.nl/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Publication Station] to co-develop a web-magazine for the Social Practices programme, my first thought was that a web-magazine was not very exciting. The image that formed in my head was of those 'web-magazines' that desperately try to resemble their physical counterparts, with clichés such as glossy looks, and turning pages, accompanied by the inevitable 'shhhs' sound.
  
−
By their very own nature wikis foster collaboration. If a user is logged onto a wiki he or she can not only create content, but edit the content that others have written.  
+
Yet, when Roger and Iris began to describe their ideas for the publication it was clear that they had something quite different in mind. They wanted to create a space for documenting, reflecting, and building upon the work developed in the area of Social Practices, not only within WdKA, but also in collaboration with other institutions currently working in the same field. That got me excited! The vision of a collaborative online editorial space, where content is developed in a collaborative and shared manner, and ideas grow from interpretation, edits, conflicts, disagreements, felt exciting. It sounded much like the way content is developed within wikis, such as Wikipedia or [http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Uncyclopedia:the content-free encyclopedia]. Not quite knowing what was I getting myself into, I said yes and we quickly began working on making it happen.
−
Problematic as that might sound, a history log registers all changes which take place within the wiki, making it possible to revert changes to  previous state.  
 
−
Wikis, at least an "open" wikis, such as [http://beyond-social.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Beyond Social's wiki], make the content and is development process visible to anyone who cares to visit it, and allow "outsiders" to become collaborators.  
 
  
−
It is also worth mentioning that the wiki installation &ndash Mediawiki &ndash; used on Beyond Social is the same software that powers Wikipedia. The fact that a tool which powers one of the most popular sites on the Web, is available to a group of students and tutors with no computer engineering degrees, to install, study, and modify, is rather empowering. In addition, the existence of numerous extensions and an API, widen significantly the possibilities for creating, structuring, and disseminating content.
 
  
−
[http://toneelstof.be/ Toneelstof], a project dedicated to the history of Flemish performing arts, became an essential reference to the development of Beyond Social. Similarly to what happens in Beyond Social, developers and designers [http://automatist.org/kiss/ Michael Murtaugh] and [Femke Snelting] use a [http://toneelstof.be/w/Main_Page wiki] as an editorial space, and the website as the publishing outlet. Within this dynamic, it is striking to see that what appears as fragmented and dissociated information, on the wiki, become connected and integrated on the website.The branching visual structures unravel and bind together information fragments.
+
= Tools  =
 +
In order to start working we had to agree upon the set of tools and protocols, which would help us develop the publication.  They had to allow the fast development of prototypes, while also permitting extensive experimentation and customisation, in both content creation and publishing processes.
  
−
[[File:toneelstof.jpg|600px| Toneelstof screen-shot]]
+
We organised the work in two spaces: a wiki and a website.
 +
The [http://beyond-social.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page wiki] was established as the editorial space, while the [http://beyond-social.org/ website] turned into an appealing and carefully crafted outlet for the content originated on the wiki (in great part thanks to [http://template01.info/ Template]).
 +
Connecting these two spaces is the wiki's API &ndash; a programming interface, which allows other applications to be built upon it &ndash; and a series of [https://gitlab.com/Castro0o/beyond-social scripts] pull content from the wiki and integrate it on the website.
  
 +
[[File:wiki.jpg|600px|Beyond Social wiki front page]]
  
−
==Workflows==
+
[[File:website.jpg|600px|Beyond Social website front page]]
−
As the blueprint for Beyound Social became clearer, the team behind it grew. Students, tutors, and [http://template01.info/ Template] design studio became active involved in its development.
 
  
−
[[File:team.jpg|600px|Beyond Social editors and Template]]
+
The choice of a wiki might not seem obvious when more user-friendly approaches, such as content management systems and blogs, abound. However wikis are interesting platforms that can be shaped for very distinct uses, allowing different types of work dynamics, and making possible the publication of content under a variety of forms. It provides the essential infrastructure in which to cast one's own content creation and publishing strategies in a digital online context.
  
−
At this point the whole team had to make decisions  The essential challenge concerned how would content get published. And to come up with a strategy many smaller questions needed to be answered.
+
The very first wiki was created in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, and got the name of Wiki Wiki Web.
 +
Wiki Wiki Web ("wiki" in Hawaiian means quick) offered a fast and easy way to write and publish on the Web, a principle which remains true for today's wikis.
  
−
As important as Beyond Social's underlaying tools are, they are useless by themselves. They require the strategies, which make them function together, as a system. The whole Beyond Social team had to work on a series of protocols could turn the basic infrastructure into a digital publishing workflow and a resulting publication.
+
<youtube>XqxwwuUdsp4</youtube>
  
−
We had to decide "when are articles ready to move to the front-end website?", "how can editors intervene upon an article without disrupting the work of authors?", "according to what parameters are the articles organized?", "what visual structure will be adopted for the website? Will it be based on a table of contents or adopt forms such as a time-line, a tree-like structure, or an image gallery?"
+
[[File:WikiWikiWeb.png|600px| Wiki Wiki Web]]
  
−
[[File:website-images.jpg| 600px |Beyond Social's image navigation]]
+
By their very nature, wikis foster collaboration. If a user is logged onto a wiki, he or she cannot only create content, but also edit the content that others have written.
 +
Problematic as that might sound, a history log registers all changes which take place within the wiki, making it possible to revert changes to its previous state.
 +
Wikis, at least an "open" wiki such as [http://beyond-social.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Beyond Social's wiki], make the content and its development process visible to anyone who cares to visit, and allows "outsiders" to become collaborators.
  
−
Most answers to these questions are apparent upon visiting both the [http://beyond-social.org/wiki wiki] and the [http://beyond-social.org/ website] and its pointless to enumerate them. It seems more relevant to mention that the project's current form was only achieved through a process of constant dialog and openness. Experiences, criticism, suggestions, opposing points-of-view were essential. Without them I am certain Beyond Social wouldn't have gotten to this stage, and I am thankful for all of those on the project that kept on pushing it further.
+
It is also worth mentioning that the wiki installation &ndash Mediawiki &ndash; used on Beyond Social is the same software that powers Wikipedia. The fact that a tool which runs one of the most popular sites on the Web is available to a group of students and tutors with no computer engineering degrees, to install, study, and modify, is rather empowering. In addition, the existence of numerous extensions and an API significantly widen the possibilities for creating, structuring and disseminating content.
  
−
= Let's get physical=
+
[http://toneelstof.be/ Toneelstof], a project dedicated to the history of Flemish performing arts, became an essential reference to the development of Beyond Social. Similarly to what happens in Beyond Social, developers and designers [http://automatist.org/kiss/ Michael Murtaugh] and [Femke Snelting] use a [http://toneelstof.be/w/Main_Page wiki] as an editorial space, and the website as the publishing outlet. Within this dynamic, it is striking to see that what appears as fragmented and dissociated information on the wiki, becomes connected and integrated on the website. The branching visual structures unravel and bind fragments of information together.
−
Or in more serious terms: How does an born-digital publication like Beyond Social become physical?
 
−
None of us knew exactly to answer this question, and yet Beyond Social had to exist as a physical publication.
 
−
The translation of Web content into a physical form is not as straight forward as it might first appear.
 
  
−
The most obvious solution was to integrate all the content onto an ePub. It is relatively easy process, since ePubs are built upon the same content format - HTML - as websites. Yet this strategy was quickly challenged: "why do you want to have it in another digital format when you can read it online?". Truth is I didn't have an answer for that.
+
[[File:toneelstof.jpg|600px|Toneelstof]]
  
−
It became evident that if there was to be an off-line version of Beyond Social it had to be done on paper. Yet the idea of creating a single, unified, bound publication based Beyond Social's contents seemed forced, if not counter-intuitive.
 
−
The heterogeneous and constantly changing nature of Beyond Social, begged for a different, less heavy, more modular approach.
 
  
−
[http://template01.info/ Template] made an interesting proposal whereby the articles could be printed from a web-browser and re-arranged for the A4 printed page space. In order to produce such result, Template developed a specific CSS style-sheets that is applied when someone decides to print an article from Beyond Social. In order to produce a more whole sense of a publication, than a series of print-outs, Template also designed folders to bundle the print-outs.
+
=Workflows=
 +
As the blueprint for Beyond Social became clearer, the team behind it grew. Students, tutors and [http://template01.info/ Template] design studio became actively involved in its development.
  
−
[[File:printouts.jpg]]
+
[[File:team.jpg|600px|Beyond Social editors and Template]]
  
 +
At this point the whole team had to make decisions. The essential challenge concerned the way in which content would get published. As important as tools are, they are useless by themselves. They require strategies that make them function together as a system. The whole Beyond Social team had to establish a series of protocols that could turn the adopted infrastructure into a digital publishing workflow, and a resulting publication.
  
 +
We had to decide "when articles are ready to move to the front-end website?"; "how can editors intervene on an article without disrupting the work of authors?"; "according to what parameters are the articles organised?"; "what visual structure will be adopted for the website? Will it be based on a table of contents or adopt forms like a time-line, a tree-like structure, or an image gallery?"
  
−
==Future==
+
[[File:website-images.jpg|600px|Beyond Social's image navigation]]
−
It is yet to be seen whether Beyond Social publishing strategy is viable on the long term.
 
−
If future editions can be developed using the same assortment of tools and workflows, without the need for substantial structural changes or fixes. Or if Beyond Social is inviting for those who arrive anew to the project.
 
  
−
I do not know the answers to any of these questions, however I begin to glimpse possibilities for opening up Beyond Social to other uses and explorations. One of these possibilities consists on a project soon to be proposed to WdKA graphic design students.
+
Most answers to these questions are apparent upon visiting both the [http://beyond-social.org/wiki wiki] and the [http://beyond-social.org/ website] and it's pointless to enumerate them. It seems more relevant to mention that the project's current form and methods were only achieved through a process of constant open dialogue. Experiences, criticism, suggestions, opposing points of view were essential! Without them I doubt Beyond Social would have gotten to this stage, and I am thankful for all of those on the project that kept on pushing it further.
−
In the project, students will be encouraged to translate the online content of Beyond Social into a physical publication.
 
−
Instead of taking the same route as Template, students will be asked to work with Beyond Social's HTML structured content within graphic layout software, in order to produce physical version of Beyond Social issue #1. I am curious and eager to witness the directions and forms Beyond Social will take in the future, in the meanwhile let's keep it open.  
 
  
 
[[File:open.jpg]]
 
[[File:open.jpg]]
 +
  
−
[[Category:Issue_1]]
 
 
[[Category:Projects]]
 
[[Category:Projects]]
−
[[Category:02_Edit_Me]]
+
 
 
[[Category:Aesthetics]]
 
[[Category:Aesthetics]]
 
[[Category:Bottom-up]]
 
[[Category:Bottom-up]]

Latest revision as of 17:07, 21 November 2017


first Beyond Social website front page
On the start of Beyond Social

Author: André Castro

When Iris Schutten and Roger Teeuwen approached WdKA's Publication Station to co-develop a web-magazine for the Social Practices programme, my first thought was that a web-magazine was not very exciting. The image that formed in my head was of those 'web-magazines' that desperately try to resemble their physical counterparts, with clichés such as glossy looks, and turning pages, accompanied by the inevitable 'shhhs' sound.

Yet, when Roger and Iris began to describe their ideas for the publication it was clear that they had something quite different in mind. They wanted to create a space for documenting, reflecting, and building upon the work developed in the area of Social Practices, not only within WdKA, but also in collaboration with other institutions currently working in the same field. That got me excited! The vision of a collaborative online editorial space, where content is developed in a collaborative and shared manner, and ideas grow from interpretation, edits, conflicts, disagreements, felt exciting. It sounded much like the way content is developed within wikis, such as Wikipedia or Uncyclopedia:the content-free encyclopedia. Not quite knowing what was I getting myself into, I said yes and we quickly began working on making it happen.


Tools

In order to start working we had to agree upon the set of tools and protocols, which would help us develop the publication. They had to allow the fast development of prototypes, while also permitting extensive experimentation and customisation, in both content creation and publishing processes.

We organised the work in two spaces: a wiki and a website. The wiki was established as the editorial space, while the website turned into an appealing and carefully crafted outlet for the content originated on the wiki (in great part thanks to Template). Connecting these two spaces is the wiki's API – a programming interface, which allows other applications to be built upon it – and a series of scripts pull content from the wiki and integrate it on the website.

Beyond Social wiki front page

Beyond Social website front page

The choice of a wiki might not seem obvious when more user-friendly approaches, such as content management systems and blogs, abound. However wikis are interesting platforms that can be shaped for very distinct uses, allowing different types of work dynamics, and making possible the publication of content under a variety of forms. It provides the essential infrastructure in which to cast one's own content creation and publishing strategies in a digital online context.

The very first wiki was created in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, and got the name of Wiki Wiki Web. Wiki Wiki Web ("wiki" in Hawaiian means quick) offered a fast and easy way to write and publish on the Web, a principle which remains true for today's wikis.

Wiki Wiki Web

By their very nature, wikis foster collaboration. If a user is logged onto a wiki, he or she cannot only create content, but also edit the content that others have written. Problematic as that might sound, a history log registers all changes which take place within the wiki, making it possible to revert changes to its previous state. Wikis, at least an "open" wiki such as Beyond Social's wiki, make the content and its development process visible to anyone who cares to visit, and allows "outsiders" to become collaborators.

It is also worth mentioning that the wiki installation &ndash Mediawiki – used on Beyond Social is the same software that powers Wikipedia. The fact that a tool which runs one of the most popular sites on the Web is available to a group of students and tutors with no computer engineering degrees, to install, study, and modify, is rather empowering. In addition, the existence of numerous extensions and an API significantly widen the possibilities for creating, structuring and disseminating content.

Toneelstof, a project dedicated to the history of Flemish performing arts, became an essential reference to the development of Beyond Social. Similarly to what happens in Beyond Social, developers and designers Michael Murtaugh and [Femke Snelting] use a wiki as an editorial space, and the website as the publishing outlet. Within this dynamic, it is striking to see that what appears as fragmented and dissociated information on the wiki, becomes connected and integrated on the website. The branching visual structures unravel and bind fragments of information together.

Toneelstof


Workflows

As the blueprint for Beyond Social became clearer, the team behind it grew. Students, tutors and Template design studio became actively involved in its development.

Beyond Social editors and Template

At this point the whole team had to make decisions. The essential challenge concerned the way in which content would get published. As important as tools are, they are useless by themselves. They require strategies that make them function together as a system. The whole Beyond Social team had to establish a series of protocols that could turn the adopted infrastructure into a digital publishing workflow, and a resulting publication.

We had to decide "when articles are ready to move to the front-end website?"; "how can editors intervene on an article without disrupting the work of authors?"; "according to what parameters are the articles organised?"; "what visual structure will be adopted for the website? Will it be based on a table of contents or adopt forms like a time-line, a tree-like structure, or an image gallery?"

Beyond Social's image navigation

Most answers to these questions are apparent upon visiting both the wiki and the website and it's pointless to enumerate them. It seems more relevant to mention that the project's current form and methods were only achieved through a process of constant open dialogue. Experiences, criticism, suggestions, opposing points of view were essential! Without them I doubt Beyond Social would have gotten to this stage, and I am thankful for all of those on the project that kept on pushing it further.

Open.jpg

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CONTRIBUTE

Feel free to contribute to Beyond Social.

 

There are four ways to contribute:

Create a new article. Beyond Social is written and edited by its community. Contribute to this online publishing platform with an article (text, photo-essay, video, audio and so on) about your project, theory, event or initiative in the field of Social Art & Design.
Edit this page, or any of the other ones. If there is any missing information or spelling mistakes in this article, please don't hesitate to change it. Other complementing work, such as including media files (images/video's/audio) is also very much appreciated.
Talk with the contributers and others by taking part in one of the discussions on the TALK-page of an article. These pages are the semi-hidden backside of articles, hence ideal for discussions about an article without changing the initial text.
PROPOSE a new editorial. Beyond Social invites guest editor(s) to emphasize a certain issue, topic or theme. Guest editors write an editorial, invite others to create articles by an open call and/or add existing articles.

Author: André Castro

When Iris Schutten and Roger Teeuwen approached WdKA's Publication Station to co-develop a web-magazine for the Social Practices programme, my first thought was that a web-magazine was not very exciting. The image that formed in my head was of those 'web-magazines' that desperately try to resemble their physical counterparts, with clichés such as glossy looks, and turning pages, accompanied by the inevitable 'shhhs' sound.

Yet, when Roger and Iris began to describe their ideas for the publication it was clear that they had something quite different in mind. They wanted to create a space for documenting, reflecting, and building upon the work developed in the area of Social Practices, not only within WdKA, but also in collaboration with other institutions currently working in the same field. That got me excited! The vision of a collaborative online editorial space, where content is developed in a collaborative and shared manner, and ideas grow from interpretation, edits, conflicts, disagreements, felt exciting. It sounded much like the way content is developed within wikis, such as Wikipedia or Uncyclopedia:the content-free encyclopedia. Not quite knowing what was I getting myself into, I said yes and we quickly began working on making it happen.


Tools

In order to start working we had to agree upon the set of tools and protocols, which would help us develop the publication. They had to allow the fast development of prototypes, while also permitting extensive experimentation and customisation, in both content creation and publishing processes.

We organised the work in two spaces: a wiki and a website. The wiki was established as the editorial space, while the website turned into an appealing and carefully crafted outlet for the content originated on the wiki (in great part thanks to Template). Connecting these two spaces is the wiki's API – a programming interface, which allows other applications to be built upon it – and a series of scripts pull content from the wiki and integrate it on the website.

Beyond Social wiki front page

Beyond Social website front page

The choice of a wiki might not seem obvious when more user-friendly approaches, such as content management systems and blogs, abound. However wikis are interesting platforms that can be shaped for very distinct uses, allowing different types of work dynamics, and making possible the publication of content under a variety of forms. It provides the essential infrastructure in which to cast one's own content creation and publishing strategies in a digital online context.

The very first wiki was created in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, and got the name of Wiki Wiki Web. Wiki Wiki Web ("wiki" in Hawaiian means quick) offered a fast and easy way to write and publish on the Web, a principle which remains true for today's wikis.

Wiki Wiki Web

By their very nature, wikis foster collaboration. If a user is logged onto a wiki, he or she cannot only create content, but also edit the content that others have written. Problematic as that might sound, a history log registers all changes which take place within the wiki, making it possible to revert changes to its previous state. Wikis, at least an "open" wiki such as Beyond Social's wiki, make the content and its development process visible to anyone who cares to visit, and allows "outsiders" to become collaborators.

It is also worth mentioning that the wiki installation &ndash Mediawiki – used on Beyond Social is the same software that powers Wikipedia. The fact that a tool which runs one of the most popular sites on the Web is available to a group of students and tutors with no computer engineering degrees, to install, study, and modify, is rather empowering. In addition, the existence of numerous extensions and an API significantly widen the possibilities for creating, structuring and disseminating content.

Toneelstof, a project dedicated to the history of Flemish performing arts, became an essential reference to the development of Beyond Social. Similarly to what happens in Beyond Social, developers and designers Michael Murtaugh and [Femke Snelting] use a wiki as an editorial space, and the website as the publishing outlet. Within this dynamic, it is striking to see that what appears as fragmented and dissociated information on the wiki, becomes connected and integrated on the website. The branching visual structures unravel and bind fragments of information together.

Toneelstof


Workflows

As the blueprint for Beyond Social became clearer, the team behind it grew. Students, tutors and Template design studio became actively involved in its development.

Beyond Social editors and Template

At this point the whole team had to make decisions. The essential challenge concerned the way in which content would get published. As important as tools are, they are useless by themselves. They require strategies that make them function together as a system. The whole Beyond Social team had to establish a series of protocols that could turn the adopted infrastructure into a digital publishing workflow, and a resulting publication.

We had to decide "when articles are ready to move to the front-end website?"; "how can editors intervene on an article without disrupting the work of authors?"; "according to what parameters are the articles organised?"; "what visual structure will be adopted for the website? Will it be based on a table of contents or adopt forms like a time-line, a tree-like structure, or an image gallery?"

Beyond Social's image navigation

Most answers to these questions are apparent upon visiting both the wiki and the website and it's pointless to enumerate them. It seems more relevant to mention that the project's current form and methods were only achieved through a process of constant open dialogue. Experiences, criticism, suggestions, opposing points of view were essential! Without them I doubt Beyond Social would have gotten to this stage, and I am thankful for all of those on the project that kept on pushing it further.

Open.jpg