#htc7on7

Good ideas can be hard to come by. That's why there are groups and companies today that create environments which foster innovation and inspire others.

Rhizome's Seven on Seven event does exactly this. Notable technologists and artists are  paired together and given 24 hours to collaboratively create/hack something to be presented in front of an interested audience the following day. We've attended Seven on Seven for the past 3 years, always eager to see what's created.

One breakthrough concept this year was developed by Jeremy Bailey, a media artist, and Julie Uhrman, founder of OUYA, an open-source videogame console. They worked together to create an augmented reality app that sends real-time feedback on audience engagement to presenters, allowing them to monitor reactions on their portable devices as they go. The app tracks and gauges audience engagement through metrics like laughter level, movement on stage, and tweets.

While many innovators in the technology space focus solely on rethinking the user interface and narrative flow of a presentation (think Prezi) Jeremy Bailey and Julie Uhrman's work suggests that perhaps it's also important for presenters to be better connected to their audience and have metrics in place that provide real-time feedback. Adding this dynamic to the presentation harnesses a presenter's competitive spirit and keeps them on their toes.