ABC Pool: Collaborative Media and the MyBurb Project
ABC Pool served as a dynamic digital ecosystem designed to foster creativity and collaboration. By providing a platform where users could share, remix, and discover media, it bridged the gap between passive consumption and active creation. The platform offered tiered levels of engagement, allowing everyone from casual visitors to dedicated community editors to participate in the creative process.
User Roles and Engagement Levels
The platform was structured to accommodate different degrees of involvement, ensuring that users could engage with the content based on their interests and goals.
Visitors
Visitors acted as the primary audience of the platform. They could browse the extensive library of contributions, leave comments, and download works. To help users find specific content, a robust search function allowed them to filter by category, media type, people, and projects. Visitors could also gauge the popularity and reception of a piece by viewing the number of recommendations and reading existing comments.
Members
Members enjoyed a more interactive experience, transitioning from consumers to creators. They could upload and share their own works, utilizing Creative Commons Licensing—a standardized way of granting the public permission to use a creative work under specific conditions—to control how their content was re-used.
Members could also build a personalized experience by:
- Starting new projects and initiating collaborations with other users.
- Curating a personal gallery of their favorite works.
- Following other creators to receive a feed of their latest updates.
- Receiving email notifications when others commented on, recommended, or re-used their work.
- Exploring auto-suggestions for members and works that aligned with their specific interests.
Furthermore, members who contributed to ABC Call-outs (specific requests for content) had the opportunity to see their work broadcast on the ABC.
Community Editors
At the highest level of involvement were the Community Editors. These trusted members played a curation role, recommending high-quality contributions to be featured on the ABC Pool front page, thereby guiding the visibility of the platform's best content.
Key Facts
- User Tiers: Three distinct levels of access: Visitors, Members, and Community Editors.
- Licensing: Used Creative Commons to manage the re-use of uploaded media.
- Visibility: Contributions to ABC Call-outs could be broadcast on the ABC.
- Curation: Community Editors decided which works appeared on the front page.
- Special Project: Developed MyBurb, an augmented reality experience in Redfern.
The MyBurb Project
Beyond the general pool of media, ABC Pool developed specialized initiatives to push the boundaries of digital storytelling. One such example was MyBurb, an augmented reality (AR) project developed during 2011. AR is a technology that overlays digital information—such as images or text—onto the real-world environment.
MyBurb was specifically centered around the suburb of Redfern, blending the physical geography of the area with digital layers to create an immersive experience for the community.
| Feature | Visitors | Members | Community Editors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browse & Download | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Upload & Share | No | Yes | Yes |
| Initiate Collaborations | No | Yes | Yes |
| Front Page Recommendations | No | No | Yes |
| Set Creative Commons Terms | No | Yes | Yes |
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the purpose of ABC Pool?
ABC Pool was a platform for sharing, remixing, and collaborating on media, allowing users to interact with content and each other through various levels of membership.
How did members control the use of their work?
Members used Creative Commons Licensing to set the specific conditions under which other users could re-use their uploaded contributions.
Could a regular user get their work on TV?
Yes, members who contributed works to ABC Call-outs had the potential to have their contributions broadcast on the ABC.
What was MyBurb?
MyBurb was an augmented reality project developed by ABC Pool in 2011 that focused on the suburb of Redfern.
What did Community Editors do?
Community Editors were members with the additional responsibility of recommending specific contributions to be featured on the platform's front page.