The rules:

Each alive cell has 4 states: Up, right, down, left. at each cycle, the cells move themselves in the direction of their internal states. If any cell encounters a wall, it triggers a pitched sound whose frequency is determined by the xy position of collision, and the cell reverses its direction. If a cell encounters another cell on its way, it turns itself clockwise.

This set of rules produces chaotic results in some settings, therefore you can end up with never repeating, gradually evolving sequences. Go add some cells, change their orientation by clicking on them, and press play, experiment, have fun.

If you encounter something you like, just press “Copy Piece Link” and save it somewhere, or better, share it!

Otomata playing my favorite piece so far:

1. Batuhan’s blog
2. Otomata, online generative music instrument
3. Cellular Automaton

Discussion and great ideas:

From ycombinator news:

From reddit:

Stretching back through the history of humans, we have had an inseparable relationship with tools. From simple beginnings like the sharpened stone, we have rivaled the complexity of our own biological systems with our technology. Our usage of ultra specialized and general purpose tools is so ingrained in our everyday life, subsisting without them would take great effort. Apparently technology and life have intertwined fates. Without the will to be imagined, created, repaired and utilized technology would cease to function. If one day a form of mechanized life were discovered (or emerged), it would cease to be simply technology. The two, organic and inorganic entities, are coupled in their extropic structuring of the universe. Together, man and technology, go hand in hand inevitably towards the future.

The greatest tools nudge us gently in the right direction. Subtle at times, in harmony wlth our vision, or like massive steel frying pans smashing us in the face, when we step out of line. Both types have their merit. They teach us, they help us explore unknown space. They enable us to do what we could not accomplish without them. Our diverse efforts help to refine and polish the efficacy of tools in areas of perceived need. Our lust for knowledge and freedom from physical pains drives us to discover and explore.

I thank Kevin Kelly for his inspiration of my continued curiosity of the Seventh Kingdom. The concept of extropy and how tools relate to mankind are both derived from his fascinating work. You can find some of it here in various book formats.

The Cost of Communication is Closing on Zero

Open technology has been developed which enables people to chat or have longer conversations. It’s been around for some time, but only recently have developers understood the many to one communication potential of social media. While we can all benefit from amazing technology that comes out, the rules of engagement and the ownership of socially generated content and attention no longer need to fall under the umbrella of outside corporations. Communities can and will host their own social media servers, fully functioning and formed for their interest.

We are redefining social collaborative design aggregating the thoughts and experiences of many individual voices in easily accessible Internet locations. But as our technology has developed the increase in our need for web democratization has grown. Blossoming communities can no longer tolerate the voices of a few directing what and how they should interact.

The Genie is Coming Out of the Bottle

The real time web can’t possibly be bottled anymore than the Internet can. Many federated open social networks have sprung up thanks in part to development of folks like Brian Hendrickson and Dave Winer. Communities can take control of their own fate by owning their content, creating their own rules of engagement and sharing information and technology upgrades freely. Full data portability is a requirement of federated social platforms and tech businesses that understand the nature of social media will prosper as tool suppliers.

The decline of Myspace’s dominance is not just a function of Facebook’s wide appeal. It is simply human nature to want to define and cultivate our social communities by our own localized priorities, and social businesses that don’t react to that need, will invariably fluctuate.

The technology that enables decentralized or federated social media is a set of real time protocols. Once the information standards are worked out, publishers and relay hubs can connect people to communities that share their worldviews in moments. Some communities may spring up and then fade away over a few minutes, other organizations may evolve to withstand the test of time.

Results Require Rational Rewards

Integral to all communities is a fair and self propelling rewards architecture. Whether it be shared profit measured by community engagement, or virtual currency that is spent within a network content generators will be rewarded. Corporations can come into being out of the mutual efforts of passionate leaders. These trendsetters will go through the initial struggles of helping to focus a community vision, but that won’tt entitle them to control the destiny of the group they initiate. Nor should they rewarded any more handsomely than truly dedicated community members.

The powerful force that drives this communication and organizational structure is emergence. From simple abstract concepts great tides of social change will result from active networks. Self moderation will go hand in hand with emergent Internet communities. Decentralization of authority allows for rapid identification of power or influence abusers. Each voice in the Technium will be judged by the merit of it’s shared views, not by the financial backing or social clout of a name.

Examples of open social media

• http://openmicroblogger.com/ & http://openmicroblogging.org
• http://wiki.opensocial.org/index.php?title=Building_an_OpenSocial_App_with_Google_App_Engine