Carolyn
Strauss and Julian Bleecker's slowMail is
an email service that deliberately slows down the pace of electronic
correspondence,
enabling experiences of reflection and mindful
interaction that are rarely characteristic of today’s electronically-mediated
cultural forms. As traditional email overwhelms and platforms
like IM and SMS increase in popularity, SLOWmail explores the
possibilities of less instantaneity and more calm in communication,
creating a new rhythm of social interaction.
Contrary
to traditional
email, which is expected to be delivered at lightning speed and
responded too almost as quickly, slowMails take their time. The
rate of delivery of a dispatch is determined by a combination
of its semantic content (word choice), emotional tags provided
by the sender (solemn, passionate, angry, etc.), the respective
geographic locations of sender and recipient (next door, next
town, Timbuktu), how they describe one another (mom, lover, horrible
person), and the two parties’ history
of correspondence. Because the time trajectory of a slow email
is so intimately tied to the content of the message, this platform
challenges people to be more mindful and creative in message
composition as they look for the richer meanings behind words
and phrases they employ in communicating with one another. Speed
is surrendered to the promise of aesthetic character, pleasurability
and new social connections.
slowMail
was funded in part by the new media organization Rhizome as part
of its prestigious Commissions program, and the project will
be presented at the New Museum for Contemporary
Art in August 2008.
