Mark Pesce

Mark Pesce, Co-creator of VRML

Mark Pesce is an inventor, author and educator, best known for work that fused the World Wide Web with real-time 3D computer graphics; the result, known as VRML (for Virtual Reality Modeling Language) has become an international standard. The author of numerous articles on science, technology, media and the arts, Pesce has also written five books, including The Playful World: How Technology is Transforming Our Imagination (Random House, 2000) which presented a roadmap of key 21st century technologies. Pesce contends we are entering an ‘era of hyperdistribution’ that will radically change our media ecosystem. Central to this shift is the take-up of p2p filesharing software like BitTorrent that provides the first truly efficient digital media distribution platform based on the principles of swarming. Open Source Television (OSTV) is an early indicator of this ‘hyperdistribution’ era. OSTV enables users to bypass programming schedules, international time zones, over-regulation and oligopolies. Independent media producers are using the principles of OSTV to reintermediate the digital media value chain and go directly to consumers. This has the potential to transform broadcast television and give users access to a virtually unlimited amount of digitally produced content, accessed via the Internet. More recently Pesce has discussed the importance of articulated social networks as a means to socially filter increasing informational pressure and sort quality material based on recommendations from trusted sources. In 2003 Pesce was invited to review and redesign the curriculum at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, integrating new media practices into the school’s production-based methodology. He has remained with the school to oversee the implementation of his recommendations.

Papers:

Piracy Is Good? PART ONE: HYPERDISTRIBUTION http://www.mindjack.com/feature/piracy051305.html

Piracy Is Good? PART TWO: THE NEW LAWS OF TELEVISION http://www.mindjack.com/feature/newlaws052105.html

Redefining Television, ‘Producing Interactive Television’ seminar, AFTRS Interactive Media, 10 May 2004. http://www.aftrs.edu.au/go/library/research-tools/reports-and-papers/redefining-television/index.cfm

Open Source Television: Liberte! Facilite!! Egalite!!!, User Environments conference, Smart Internet Technology CRC, 14 July 2004. http://www.aftrs.edu.au/go/library/research-tools/reports-and-papers/open-source-television/index.cfm

F*ck Big Media: Rolling Your Own Network, National Student Media conference, This Is Not Art, 3 October 2004. http://www.hyperreal.org/~mpesce/fbm.html

URL: http://www.playfulworld.com/

Email: mark@playfulworld.com