Free Dialogue

Describe your idea and concept of your work in relation to the festival outlines:

It’s time we put a price on dialogue. Dialogue is one of the most important rights we have as humans and every- one is taking advantage of it. From world leaders to high school students, it seems we’ve all forgotten the power and simplicity of a real conversation. So, just like every- thing else in the world- it’s time people started paying for dialogue so that people can start to appreciate it again. To develop our price, or value for dialogue, we have assessed the market and taken into account existing developers of similar services. From smart phones to tablets and everything else in between, we have devel- oped a very competitive price- free!
Dialogue is free and this campaign aims to re-educate the people of Melbourne that engaging in meaningful and rewarding dialogue is, naturally, completely free. Unlike the plans we pay monthly for, which at the end of the day, is fake dialogue, we aim to remind people of the possibili- ties and opportunities involved in conversations. Ques- tions have been raised, “what if dialogue is f*cked?” and whether it is failing. And it is. We are totally consumed by technology and social networking that we are forgetting the simple beauty and intimacy created from a real dialogic experience with another human being

What kind of communication approach do you use?

The approach will be quite cynical but also include a sense of humour to ultimately encourage spectators to question the campaign. We want to get people talking (after all, that's what dialogue is), so by creating a disrup- tive and cynical campaign, if we get two people to engage in a conversation about it, it has succeeded. That's what makes the whole concept so great, it does not need to completely change the world but there are people and organisations out there that believe a conver- sation could save a life and all we aim to do is create dialogue.

What are in your opinion concrete benefits to the society because of your communication?

The goal is to get society of their phones and stop posting on intangible walls and actually speak to the person next to them. Instead of making an update to the world wide web about their thoughts on their travel commuting, why not tell the stranger standing next to you?

What did you personally learn from creating your submitted work?

I learned a lot about dialogue- what it is, how it is failing and most importantly why it is failing. I learned that I am underestimating the power of dialogue and not using it to my advantage! I also became more known with the failures of advertising and the lack of intimacy. Its a difficult concept to grasp because advertising is fuelled by imagination and yet imagination is killing good design. I can't imagine a world without advertising, but Im concerned that people have less attention and yet, advertising requires a high level of attention- which is why intimacy is failing.

Why is your work, GOOD communication WORK?

This work is good work because it attempts to develop a relationship between the author and the spectator through a cyclical and humorous tone and approach which itself is cyclical as it is addressing the issue of people becoming to focused on themselves to look around- quite a paradox, which makes it interesting and captivating.

Where and how do you intent do implement your work?

he campaign itself will take the form in a couple pieces of printed media. Although it has been argued print media is dead, it would be an ideal part of the campaign to avoid social media networks as that is what the whole campaign is about. There will be three main media- stickers, business cards and posters. The stickers will be distributed on sheets which a bright and vibrant and can be used however one pleases. The benefit of this, is that there are several opportunities to remind people about free dialogue- depending on where they stick them. It always creates awareness and other people can question what the cause is.
The second media will be business cards, that will be ironic and humorous. They will not be ordinary business cards that contain a person and contact number but will also act as a coupon card which entitles the holder to one free dialogic experience. The name and contact number will be left blank for the person to fill in once they encoun- ter their experience and meet a new person. The idea is for the cards to be a gentle reminder, kept in their wallets, of the campaign. The business cards will be handed out in busy locations of Melbourne, particularly the city and busy places like federation square, Bourke street and busy public transport stations.
The third piece of media will be posters- they will be simple and to the point, but will convey cynical and humorous sentences to encourage dialogue. The idea is to have posters located in public spaces where they would be surrounded by many people, such as train/bus/tram stations, busy city locations and waiting rooms. The idea is for these posters to communicate that free dialogue is NOT available in these places and that they should continue to use their phones for the fake dialogue they are part of. This is part of the disruptive concept, to suggest something unfair and ridiculous to encourage people to investigate what free dialogue is about. Alternatively, there will also be posters that will say free dialogue IS available and. By having two different posters, they will compete with each other and keep people reading and questioning the campaign.

Did your intervention had an effect on other Media. If yes, describe the effect? (Has other media reported on it- how? Were you able to change other media with your work- how?)

Not particularly. There are opportunities to expand the campaign, however due to it criticising the heavy use of technology and social media- It is in the best interest to steer away from interactive media.