David M. Frohlich – författare

From Snapshots to Social Media describes the history and future of domestic photography as mediated by technological change. Domestic photography refers to the culture of ordinary people capturing, sharing and using photographs, and is in a particular state of flux today as photos go digital. The book argues that this digital era is the third major chapter in the 170 year history of the area; following the portrait and Kodak eras of the past.

History shows that despite huge changes in photographic technology and the way it has been sold, people continue to use photographs to improve memory, support communication and reinforce identity. The future will involve a shift in the balance of these core activities and a replacement of the family album with various multimedia archives for individuals, families and communities. This raises a number of issues that should be taken into account when designing new technologies and business services in this area, including: the ownership and privacy of content, multimedia standards, home ICT infrastructure, and younger and older users of images.

The book is a must for designers and engineers of imaging technology and social media who want a better understanding of the history of domestic photography in order to shape its future. It will also be of value to students and researchers in science and technology studies and visual culture, as a fascinating case study of the evolving use of photographs and photographic technology in Western society.

As well as updating the manifesto for an audio photography technology and practice, this book addresses issues in design history, the social shaping of technology and the management of innovation. In particular, it reveals the very different timescales over which design and innovation operate, and the way in which design ideas evolve across different research groups, companies and application areas.

The capture of photographs with sound is a simple idea, proposed 10 years ago, that has still not become widespread. In this new edition of the seminal 2004 book on Audio photography, the author asks “Why?” A journey through the book’s citations and related commercial products shows considerable progress in understanding the role of sound in photography, and myriad design experiments to support audio visual storytelling as a new media form. The book is a story in itself about the “long nose of innovation”, and a lesson about the need for patience and persistence in the computer industry. To reinforce this point five of the 2004 chapters are re-published in their original form. These describe invariant properties of ambient musical, talking and conversational photographs, and the possibility of playback from paper as well as screen.

Fast Design, Slow Innovation will be of interest to researchers and designers of new media systems and experiences, and to innovation scholars or managers looking for a ten year case study of innovation in action.