Bob Stein's speech

Bob Stein's speech 20/05/2003, Oxford



Different from the other speakers who represented their speech

by highly multi-media files, Bob Stein, the initiator of Voyage,

started his speech by a question: "Why we are doing New Media?"



"At the beginning of New Media, we have problem and opportunity.

We’re basically inventing something that’s really important which has

changed the mode, content and meaning of human communication."

In his point of view, he believed that:the most emergency is to really

think about why are we inventing and why are we doing this?



Then he gave us two clear examples: firstly, Bob mentioned a

remarkable staff in Voyage, Colin, who has worked with him for

15 years. He described that: "Each time when our team got a

technical bottleneck, I asked for Colin:



"Colin, we really want to know is it possible to make this program

to do this?"

"I don't think that could be done. I really don’t think that could be

done."(Imitated Colin is typing busily in front of computer)

"Are you sure? you sure you can’t do that?"

" No, I don't think I can do that. (Imitated Colin is typing busily)...

Oh, look! I guess I can do it."



"Colin has the combination with confidence and enthusiasm that

you can do that.” Bob admired. On the contrary, he said, "Disney,

the original Disney is good, however, it has become the Art Enemy."

"Why?"



"What kind of world we gona invent here? Why do I do what I do?

I do what I do because I am interested in finding ways to help

people discussing with each other about the world they invent."



"For me, publishing is about that people put out their ideas in a

forum, then the other people can respond to. The problems incurrent

media world is Media tent to reduce everything to such problems that

there is nothing to go up against, almost."



"They just don’t get ideas that are present they respect for their

intelligence. My concern with the New Media is we have chooses.

I can ether build New Media which encourage the fresh thoughts

and conversation or encourage passive, receptive and illness."



Moreover, Bob gave us his opinions and beliefs about the New Media.

He said,



"Trying to invent some tools which respect both authors and readers.

We should start to look things in much more long term, not just short

term profit. If we don’t try to climb up the hill, and look out, and try to

figure out what is going on, who is?"



"We are forced continuously down to the very bottom of what’s

importance. We are so focus on technical, financial and economic

aspects and hard to get out of there and really try to grace and

skim of the world."



"If we don’t want to responsible for doing something important to

the next twenty, fifty or a hundred years, how do we bring the level

of our life up to the point we’re not afraid to really question what

we are doing in much bigger terms?"