I don't think that hypermedia has yet fulfilled its potential. Ever since the inception of the hyperlink, English graduate students have been talking about the coming demise (or de-emphasis) of the linear narrative structure. While it does seem that literature and film has largely gone this direction without much push from the Internet generation, I'm still looking for some online video project to do a reputable impression of that form with collaborative, user generated content. The heyday of YouTube has come and gone and still I haven't seen anyone take significant steps into cutting edge video experiments.

I started out thinking more about the possibilities of using choose-your-own adventure style hypermedia to teach people about social interaction issues – whether these be of the more cut and dry social psychological sorts or the tougher “smushy” identity I tried to run away from addressing too much in my own classes: race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. I remember some ridiculous “reel sociology” CDs that used to come with introductory sociology texts that publishers would send me to try and force my students into $120 textbooks. The “movies” on the disk cast viewers as a completely socially neutral figure (one size fits all) making sociologically-informed choices about interpersonal crisis in an archetypal college lifestyle they were already assumed to be familiar with from their respective institutions. Placing viewers in such a decontextualized identity role (that forms a very unbroken fourth wall) has its own set of problems I won't deal with at length here. Besides “Being John Malkovich”, they're haven't been many such instances of this “perspective strategy” seeming realistic. Moreover, the fact that one cannot usually be a dispassionate outsider in real life casts further doubt on this “applied” pedagogical strategy.

I'm not trying to say that an educational tool couldn't get this job done well... the folks who conceived this project just didn't know how to do it. It's a tough problem... one that I'm not sure I could handle. However, what's clear to me is that the end goal should not be a simulator for social interaction – it simply must get deeper than that. The concepts have to be cleverly situated in an entertaining narrative and viewers should really have to work to figure out what to do with them... it shouldn't all come down to choosing whether to side with the frat boys' heterosexism or try to understand (more likely simply tolerate) the homosexuals' perspective. In my mind, that's sort of key to the whole “multimedia” thing... it isn't just about mixing pictures and text.

The fundamental problem here is that there are two ways to go about this. The “reel sociology” folks chose the dualist “Let Us Teach You a Lesson” route: encouraging viewers to make the “right” choice. Thus, if you know the information we've given you, you'll know what actions (paths) to choose during the simulation in order to win i.e. get rewarded, look good to imagined audiences, not have the charge of ignorant bigotry leveled against you. You could pursue this strategy more effectively within the context of an economic simulation... such things have already been done at the video game level... think “Amusement Park Tycoon.”

The other way is through an open-ended narrative meant to help the viewer first explore existing material, interact with it in meaningful ways, and then apply the knowledge gained in their own voice. Think of it in terms of a nightclub pickup situation... despite what “Mystery” might have you believe, there are many ways to interpret people's behavior. Based on one's background attitude and behavior patterns as well as what they “see” in a scene, different interpretations and resulting actions. This second option is without a doubt more complex and harder to structure. However, that isn't to say that we should give up on possibility of finding appropriate parameters to guide such an activity. Think of it like the state-level controls over free markets.

Here's a non-overtly educational idea based in this model. The setting for it is place based because if you immediately get a get a good parameter: social geography. What this means is that there are no actual mapped boundaries, but there is framework established whereby activities must reference a place. The other major parameter is that the activity taking place must be based on actual events that have taken place in the chosen area. For this example, the place is Gainesville, FL. It seems unwise to set a parameter for time because this would excessively limit the structure of the narrative.

So, take something that recently happened in Gainesville – the “Don't tase me, bro” incident will work well to start from. Because the event was recorded with video and widely commented upon, there is a solid event to start from and an huge variety of ways to take stories from there. What was this kid's background, really? How will the university decide whether to sue him for defamation? Why did the police choose to tase him in the building instead of giving him some simple “stick time” outside. Etc, etc. Since many of these questions can be creatively answered (re-enacted) from different angles, the submissions could be varied. The best of these would receive the highest viewer ratings and be incorporated into the narrative.

However, if there are two equally plausible (realistic) and equally well liked re-enactments, the storyline could diverge parallel universe style, spawning divergent backstories as well. The only points in the narrative that must remain stable are the ones that were documented actual happenings in real life. This affects submissions in the yet unseen future of the event. If someone thinks the student will be expelled, they could produce a scene to that effect. However, if that does not actually come to pass, that offshoot will most likely die because it cannot square enough with reality to remain interesting. Thus, they must work to predict the future to at least some degree, which as any scientist will tell you, is the ultimate test of understanding. Thus, past and future submissions require different, but equally complex and interesting processes.

So, how is this educational? Well, it gets people more interested in events because they can speculate more concretely on them. It gives them a way to creatively participate in the media circus, not just watch it from afar. Also, by blurring fiction and reality in this way, it offers the chance to argue against or for different conceptualizations of what actually took place in “real” life, which is never as concrete as the people who usually only see it from one vantage point believe it to be. There are just many ways to interpret an event, its causation, and its implications. This gives people a chance to negotiate competing understandings through interactive multimedia. first level is to comment on a specific action and its outcome. The next is to actually think ahead and plan an action that will take the narrative on another path... and try to predict where it will go.

I believe this kind of thing will be happening in the very near future, thus adding another huge layer of complexity to our already highly mediated world. If you want to know how I got this idea started, take a look at this book, it's really smart.