The Needle Memorial
Made by Kthies, Fallon Creech, spatel and faristiz
A critical view on Facebook's policy for making data immortal.
Created: March 24th, 2019
0
Intention
“Privacy is very important to us.”
-Mark Zuckerberg
Privacy has been a very crucial segment of social media and yet is one of the most overlooked aspect. What happens to our digital data after we leave? Who controls it? Why? We all care about our personal information. As we delete an image from the social media we still have a lingering thought of what if it still exists in the universe of digital data as a trace somewhere? The project aims at starting this conversation amongst larger groups instead of solidary wanderings. It aims at creating awareness amongst the people as well as making agencies realize the importance of our data.
Our central idea is to allow an agency to speculate on the effects of holding onto and releasing private data persistent to a user without their knowledge. We are trying to do this by providing them with a firsthand experience of making their personal digital data available publicly.
The agency we are trying to address this to is the recently most debated social media network: Facebook. We are trying to build a public park/monument that reveals day to day digital transactions of Mark Zuckerberg, including very specific data like how much he spent on a coffee at a specific cafe on a specific day using his GPS location and Credit Card transactions. This monument becomes critical in making these agencies realize how they are impacting our lives and after-lives by making our data immortal.
It also focuses on curation of digital legacy and the formatting of the same to make it more accessible and relate-able to a laymen audience.
Prototype
The prototype is a site specific "Space Needle" that will capture a 360 degree view of California including a cone of vision encompassing the facebook headquaters and Mark Zuckerberg'`s residence. The screen is supposed to be an interactive platform of condensed cloud data from Zuckerberg's life segregated into categories that can be zoomed into depending on users's interest.
The process includes, collecting, curation: segregation and condensation , and linking of various data components.
//PROCESSING CODE
import processing.serial.*;
Serial mySerial;
String myString = null;
int image_num=6;
int image2_num=7;
float max_potval=256;
int screen_width=2736;
int screen_height=1824;
int image_width=1000;
int image_height=1000;
int image_separation=100;
int pin_number=6;
int timelineentry_num=5;
PImage[] imgs=new PImage[image_num];
PImage[] imgs2=new PImage[image2_num];
float seg_length=max_potval/timelineentry_num; //=max potentiometer value/ # of images
float seg2_length=max_potval/pin_number; //=max potentiometer value/ # of images
float ratio=(5*image_width+5*image_separation)/max_potval; //=width of screen/ max potentiometer value
int[][] image_pos={{screen_width/2,screen_height/2},
{-3*image_width-4*image_separation,screen_height/2},
{-2*image_width-3*image_separation,screen_height/2},
{-1*image_width-1*image_separation,screen_height/2},
{0*image_width-0*image_separation,screen_height/2},
{1*image_width+1*image_separation,screen_height/2},
{2*image_width+2*image_separation,screen_height/2}};
int[][] image2_pos={{screen_width/2,screen_height/2},
{300,screen_height/2-500},
{450,screen_height/2-250},
{610,screen_height/2-500},
{1000,screen_height/2-320},
{1900,screen_height/2-350},
{1950,screen_height/2-300}};
float position=0;
float oldposition;
String[] image_file={"City.PNG","Facebook.PNG","Marriage.PNG","Family.PNG","Graduation.PNG","Congress.PNG"};
String[] image2_file={"City.PNG","PIN.png","PIN.png","PIN.png","PIN.png","PIN.png","PIN.png"};
int translate_switch=0;
String[] txt1= {"February 4, 2004"," May 19, 2012","December 1, 2015","May 28, 2017","April 10 & 11, 2018"};
String[] txt2= {"",
"",
"Mark Zuckerberg and wife Dr. Priscilla Chans 2-year-old daughter Maxima hit a milestone this week: her first day of preschool-January 19, 2018",
"",
"",
"Facebook stands with many technology companies to protect you and your information. Facebook post (March 2016)",
""};
float dif_pos=0.0;
//______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
void setup()
{
//size(screen_width,screen_height);
//background(59,89,152);
String myPort= Serial.list() [2];
mySerial=new Serial(this, myPort, 9600);
fullScreen();
for(int k=0;k<image_num;k++)
{
imgs[k]=loadImage(image_file[k]);
}
for(int p=0;p<image2_num;p++)
{
imgs2[p]=loadImage(image2_file[p]);
}
imgs[0].resize(screen_width,screen_height);
imgs2[0].resize(screen_width,screen_height);
}
//______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
void draw()
{
imageMode(CENTER);
rectMode(CENTER);
int[] myArray=new int[3];
myString=null;
mySerial.write("1\n");
while (mySerial.available()>0)
{
myString= mySerial.readStringUntil('\n');
trim(myString);
int j=0;
myArray[1]=0;
if (myString!=null)
{
for (int i=0; myString.charAt(i)!='\n'; i++)
{
if (myString.charAt(i)==',')
{
j++;
}
else if( myString.charAt(i)!='\r')
{
myArray[j]=myArray[j]*10+(myString.charAt(i)-48);
}
}
//______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
if (translate_switch==0)
{
//background(59,89,152);
image(imgs[0],image_pos[0][0],image_pos[0][1]);
// oldposition=position;
position= -myArray[1]*ratio;
//dif_pos=dif_pos+position-oldposition;
// println(dif_pos);
int photo_index= abs(4-int(myArray[1]/seg_length)); // goes from 0 to image_num-1
//println(photo_index);
// translate(-dif_pos,0);
// println(photo_index);
for(int i=1;i<image_num;i++)
{
image(imgs[i],image_pos[i][0]-position,image_pos[i][1],image_width,image_height);
fill(0);
textAlign(CENTER);
textSize(60);
text(txt1[i-1],image_pos[i][0]-position,image_pos[i][1]-image_height/2-100,1000,200);
}
if (myArray[0]==1 && photo_index==4)
{
translate_switch=1;
}
else if (myArray[0]==1 && photo_index!=4)
{
translate_switch=2;
}
}
//_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
else if (translate_switch==1)
{
background(imgs2[0]);
int photo2_index= int(myArray[1]/seg2_length)+1;
println(photo2_index);
for(int i=1;i<7;i++)
{ if(i!=photo2_index)
{
pushMatrix();
translate(image2_pos[i][0],image2_pos[i][1]);
scale(0.075);
translate(-image2_pos[i][0],-image2_pos[i][1]);
image(imgs2[1],image2_pos[i][0],image2_pos[i][1]);
popMatrix();
}
}
pushMatrix();
translate(image2_pos[photo2_index][0],image2_pos[photo2_index][1]-30);
scale(2);
translate(-(image2_pos[photo2_index][0]),-(image2_pos[photo2_index][1]+30));
image(imgs2[photo2_index],image2_pos[photo2_index][0],image2_pos[photo2_index][1],200,200);
popMatrix();
if (myArray[0]==1)
{
translate_switch=3;
}
if (myArray[2]==1)
{
translate_switch=0;
}
}
else if (translate_switch==2)
{
background(0);
textSize(40);
textAlign(CENTER);
text("Sorry, this page is still under construction.",screen_width/2,screen_height/2);
if (myArray[2]==1)
{
translate_switch=0;
}
}
else if (translate_switch==3)
{
int photo2_index= int(myArray[1]/seg2_length);
println(photo2_index);
// rect(screen_width/2,screen_height/2+750,screen_width,300);
textSize(40);
//stroke(0);
//
fill(250);
textAlign(CENTER);
text(txt2[photo2_index],screen_width/2,screen_height/2+750,screen_width,300);
// strokeWeight(0);
if (myArray[2]==1)
{
translate_switch=1;
}
}
//_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
}
}
}
The tower itself sits on Cooley Landing, less than two miles from Facebook's current headquarters and Mark Zuckerberg's house. From here, anyone in the memorial can distantly see notable locations in Mark Zuckerberg's life such as his first two rentals from when he first moved to the Palo Alto area, his current house, all of Facebook's area headquarters, present and past, some of his favorite restaurants, and much more.
Visitors will enter and be presented with the entry kiosk, where they will be able to read more about the history behind the memorial, and be informed to check out the app, which will provide much more information at each stop, as well as browse related data to be displayed at one of the kiosks looking out at the city.
From there, visitors move on to the highlight of the memorial: Windows to Mark Zuckerberg's Life.
The tech demo utilizes Processing to represent what this experience at the tower could be like. The current interface utilizes two buttons and a dial potentiometer to simulate how one could go through a timeline of events, with locations of interest that could be selected to view further information, and potentially related photos, video, or articles.
Here, visitors can browse Mark Zuckerberg's data as demonstrated in our interactive demo. The glass would have a layer that could be projected on, allowing an overlay of information that could be controlled and navigated from the kiosk, yet visible to anyone in the space, leaving opportunities to see interesting data that might not be individually searched for.
After that, viewers can look at the impact of social media at a global scale. Two thin scrims have interesting data projected onto them, ever changing. Viewers might be able to get a glimpse at how many posts have been put on Facebook, how many hours are spent on social media per day on average or globally in a 24-hour span, or maybe how much information is uploaded per hour.
Finally, users who've downloaded the app can go to the reflection kiosk, where they can look at the same data they've look at for Mark Zuckerberg, but this time focused on them. The kiosk combs through the user's available data to illustrate just how much corporations know about each of us, displaying things like Google's location data or Facebook's user-specific advertiser profile. Ideally, the user walks away from the experience shaken and disturbed, pushing the importance of data security.
\\ARDUINO CODE
int pot_pin = A0; // Initializing the Potentiometer pin
int pot_output; // Declaring a variable for potentiometer output
const byte interruptEnter = 2;
const byte interruptBack = 3;
volatile byte stateEnter=LOW;
volatile byte stateBack=LOW;
int Enter=0;
int Back=0;
int myArray[3];
int oldEnter=0;
int oldBack=0;
int old_pot=0;
int diff=0;
//__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
void setup ( ) {
pinMode(interruptEnter, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(interruptBack, INPUT_PULLUP);
attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(interruptEnter), enter, CHANGE);
attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(interruptBack), back, CHANGE);
Serial.begin(9600); // Starting the serial communication at 9600 baud rate
}
//__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
void loop ( ) {
pot_output = analogRead (pot_pin); // Reading from the potentiometer
int pot_mapped_output = map (pot_output, 0, 1023, 0, 255); // Mapping the output of potentiometer to 0-255 to be read by the Processing IDE
if (stateEnter==HIGH)
{
Enter=1;
stateEnter=LOW;
}
if (stateBack==HIGH)
{
Back=1;
stateBack=LOW;
}
myArray[0]=Enter;
myArray[1]=pot_mapped_output;
myArray[2]=Back;
diff=old_pot-pot_mapped_output;
if (oldEnter!=Enter || oldBack!=Back || diff>1 || diff<-1)
{
String package=String(myArray[0])+","+String(myArray[1])+","+String(myArray[2]);
while(Serial.available()==0)
{
}
char getData = Serial.read();
Serial.println(package); // Sending the output to Processing IDE
}
oldEnter=Enter;
oldBack=Back;
old_pot=pot_mapped_output;
Enter=0;
Back=0;
delay(50);
}
//__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
void enter() {
stateEnter=digitalRead(interruptEnter);
}
//__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
void back() {
stateBack=digitalRead(interruptBack);
}Precedent
The Circle:
The Circle is a very realistic demonstration of what has been happening to our digital data. How are people using it? In what ways are they manipulating data to achieve their political and commercial agendas? Its climax is the most impactful demonstration of speculating what will all this lead to.
“Knowing is good. Knowing everything is better!” In their urge of knowing everything, tables were turned on the agency to go transparent and share their data as a public demand. The agencies have been dealing with the public data very carelessly overtime and have abused it too at certain levels. Doesn’t that pose a threat on them? What will happen if public starts demanding transparency from these agencies? Will they come out clean with all the mess they have been creating?
The concerns that this movie evokes are that of privacy breach, intrusion, absence of a personal space and carelessness in protection of private data.
Storyline
On January 2019, Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of new a Facebook feature: Build your Digital Legacy
WIRED magazine interviewed around 51 Facebook employees was evoked at the launch of this app. Thompson, the Editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine in one of his interviews mentioned, “Facebook didn't understand that platform could be misused.”
Owing to these concerns, WIRED launched an impact mission to create awareness among the general public.
The project is divided into two Phases:
The initial phase is a low investment plan to generate touch points at the train stations in Palo Alto. The train runs through Menlo Park where the Facebook office is located. These touch-points are interactive screens that function as a window into Mark Zuckerberg’s life. They include quotes and conversations Mark has had over public interviews and posted on Social Media with respect to Privacy of Public data.
The second phase is the Memorial needle which becomes a larger window of the same cause. The permanent installation geospatially ties viewers into Mark Zuckerberg's life, with the displayed information highlighting the locations where the events took place in the cityscape presented to the viewers.
Process
Our design started as a tower early on, with a focus on the display of data from someone else's life, and then the reflection of looking at our data and how much is owned by companies, with the earliest concept being a pyramid that displayed information, with the lowest levels being unintentionally generated metadata, ascending into more conscious and meaningful data. Information made for or owned by a company, like a social media influencer's branded post, would be partially censored by the corporate entity's logo.
As our project developed, we chose to focus on Mark Zuckerberg, as the face of Facebook, which has had plenty of scandals relating to user's data. We essentially chose to expose Zuckerberg in the same way that Facebook users feel exposed when a breach of privacy occurs.
Our proposed experience begins with all users; interactive screens in Caltrain stations, most importantly the train station in Palo Alto, draw the public in through shocking displays of quotes. At first, the quotes question the importance of privacy, leaving the speaker nameless. By the end of the looping display, Mark Zuckerberg is labeled as the speaker and his most condescending statement is revealed, encouraging readers to visit the Tower Memorial through their instant shock and anger at the apparent carelessness concerning their digital privacy.
Open Questions and Challenges
One of the biggest challenge we faced as a part of this process was drawing the line between this memorial being critical of Facebook and portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg heroic figure. This is a very important consideration because a bold statement like this can come to benefit wrong if not executed properly. We tried to take care of this by making sure that the data is not manipulated and does not reflect Mark Zuckerberg as a heroic figure but rather is transparent in giving the viewers a cohesive picture of his character. And yet, there are a few aspects in this context that needs to be revisited for developing the project to serve its purpose. It was our intention to have the tower act as a warning that loomed over silicon valley, a headstone from which others could learn to change their ways, lest they meet the same end.
We also hadn't thought about these issues being global ones, yet our installation was static and site-specific. We could only display data and illustrate it the same way as the rest if it took place within view of the tower. In the end, this form fit the target we wanted, but its form meant that it could not portray the issue we focused on the same way. This was partially addressed with the bus/train stops, yet more thought in this area would be beneficial. However, such answers would start to move away from being memorials/warnings of Zuckerberg as well as targeted towards other tech companies in Silicon Valley and more on the topic of data privacy and ownership.
Reflection
What efforts need to be made for creating digital legacies? What is the role of agencies in this process? What happens if the role isn’t fulfilled properly?
People have always trusted the agencies they handover their data to, sometimes blindly trusted. But agencies in return haven’t delivered the services they should be. So, in today’s date where there are already attempts being made to memorialize data on social media outlets, what are the steps one needs to take and ensure that proper care is taken of the trust that is being invested. The agencies need to stop taking this lightly and instantly needs to stop making mess out of people’s private assets in form of digital data. If done otherwise, there can be a huge repercussion from the public as their lives directly or indirectly depend on these impacts.
Attribution and References
Reference any sources or materials used in the documentation or composition.\
1. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/21/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerbergs-statements-on-privacy-2003-2018.html
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A critical view on Facebook's policy for making data immortal.