Via Information Nation, I found SwarmSketch. Here’s the description:

SwarmSketch: Collective sketching of the collective consciousness.

SwarmSketch is an ongoing online canvas that explores the possibilities of distributed design by the masses. Each week it randomly chooses a popular search term which becomes the sketch subject for the week. In this way, the collective is sketching what the collective thought was important each week. (Due to increased traffic sketches are currently being updated after about 1000 lines)
Each user can contribute a small amount of line per visit, then they are given the opportunity to vote on the opacity of lines submitted by other users. By voting, users moderate the input of other users, judging the quality of each line. The darkness of each line is the average of all its previous votes.

SwarmSketch was developed by Peter Edmunds as part of an honours project at the University of Canberra.

That SwarmSketch works at all is quite amazing. No contributor can draw more than a couple hundred contiguous pixels, so establishing even the basic shape of the drawing is a test of our common understanding of the subject. Fortunately, contributors can vote on the opacity of other lines once they’ve drawn theirs. Yes, it has the effect of erasing — community moderation — another’s line, but also allows grayscale elements to be inserted in what would otherwise be line-art.

Go make a mark, or view the gallery of previous works. My favorites are “World Record Catfish,” “Python Eating Alligator,” and “Mr. Olympia.” Above is “Aardvark.” Your awe for the project will increase if you watch the history animation of a picture forming (click the clock icon by the lower-left corner of any picture).

tags: aardvark, catfish, collective consciousness, grayscale, line art, line opacity, mr. olympia, peter edmunds, python eating alligator, sketches, sketching, social software, university of canberra, web20, world record catfish

Posted October 31, 2005 by Casey Bisson
Categories: Libraries & Networked Information, Questionable...funny. Pointless., Technology. Tags: aardvark, catfish, collective consciousness, grayscale, line art, line opacity, mr. olympia, peter edmunds, python eating alligator, sketches, sketching, social software, university of canberra, web20, world record catfish.

1 Comment(s)

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI

Leave a comment

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

 

User contributed tags for this post:

alligator sketches (108) - world record alligator (89) - SwarmSketch (78) - mss (36) - snake eats man (31) - sketches of alligators (27) - alligator eats man (25) - world record alligators (24) - catfish sketches (23) - alligator sketch (18) - pictures of snakes eating humans (13) - snake eats man video (12) - peter edmunds (12) - SEXS 1000 (12) - python eating (11) - snake eating alligator (11) - catfish art (11) - python eating video (10) - alligator eating man (10) - alligator eats man video (10) - python eating man (10) - alligator pic (9) - Peter Edmunds canberra (9) - man eating pythons (9) - record alligator (9) - big man eating snakes eating (9) - sketches of snakes (8) - catfish sketch (8) - alligator eating man video (8) - iransex (8) - world record alligator pictures (8) - photos of man eating snakes (8) - pictures of pythons eating humans (8) - snake sketches (8) - world record catfish (8) - alligator drawings (7) - aligator eats man (7) - PICTURES OF SNAKES EATING PEOPLE (7) - www.pink.com (7) - alligator eats man photos (7) - snakes eating humans (7) - drawn pictures of snakes (7) - pictures of alligators eating people (6) - collective (6) - pythons eating humans (6) - catfish drawings (6) - man eating snakes (6) - python eating alligator (6) - alligator eats person (6) - pythons eating people (6) - big man eating snakes eating video (6) - drawn snake (6) - snake eating man (6) - Man Eating Alligator (6) - social software (6) - aligator drawings (6) - catfish line art (5) - alligator world record (5) - python eats person (5) - python eats man (5) - snake eat man video (5) - http://maisonbisson com/blog/post/10934/swarmsketch (5) - art snake sketches (5) - man eating alligators (5) - snake eating video (5) - how to draw alligators pictures (5) - picture of python eating alligator (4) - swarmsketch peter edmunds (4) - sketch alligator (4) - sketch of alligator (4) - SNAKE EAT MAN (4) - catfish swallows man (4) - www pink com erase (4) - alligators eating pictures (4) - sketches of alligator (4) - drawn snake pics (4) - picture record alligator (4) - pythons eating (4) - aardvark (4) - man eating python (4) - line art sketches (4) - python eating alligator picture (4) - world record alligator pic (4) - alligator pics (4) - gator eats man (4) - 23 alligator photos (4) - python eating man video (4) - 2569644016116 (4) - pictures of alligators (4) - world record aligator (4) - alligators eating videos (4) - python eating videos (4) - video python eats man (4) - snake swallows man (4) - alligator drawing (4) - alligator eats man pictures (4) - Alligator Fight (4) - snake eats man pictures (3) - alligator eating pictures (3) - world record alligator pics (3) - snake eats person (3) - alligator eat man video (3) - alligator eats man photo (3) - peter edmunds swarmsketch (3) - record alligator picture (3) - drawn snake pictures (3) - catfish fight video (3) - alligator eats man pics (3) - aligator pics (3) - sketch of an alligator (3) - drawn picture of snakes (3) - man eating snake photos (3) - drawn picture of an alligator (3) - alligator and python (3) - SKETCHES OF CATFISH (3) - snake eating people (3) - catfish eats man (3) - alligator swallows man whole (3) - snake eating an alligator photos (3) - drawn pictures of catfish (3) - 4 line catfish (3) - snake and alligator eating each other picture (3) - Snake eating man video (3) - record catfish (3) - iransex web 1000 (3) - all (3) - snakes eating people (3) - PYTHON EATING PICS (3) - picture of alligator eating a man (3) - CA (3) - 2812119165702 (2) - alligator line drawings (2) - www,xxxl six,com (2) - photos of snakes eating humans (2) - 2839098194335 (2) - pictures of alligator eating man (2) - university of canberra (2) - alligator fight video (2) - PIC OF ALLIGATOR EATING (2) - peter edmunds canberra university (2) - video snake eats the man (2) - drawings of a alligators and snakes (2) - easy to draw alligator (2) - python eats man picture (2) - drawn sexs (2) - sketch peter edmunds (2) - pictures of the record alligator (2) - python eat man (2) - Peter Edmunds 2005 swarmsketch (2) - aligator eats human video (2) -