Bricks & Bits & Interaction

This paper presents a new perspective of the impact of information and collaboration technology (IT) on the work place and space. The study is at the intersection of the and new ways people behave in communicative events using the affordances of IT augmented spaces and content, i.e., interaction. The study proposes two hypotheses. Brick & Bits & Interaction Hypothesis: If we understanding the tight relationship between brick, bits, and interaction we will be able to-design spaces that better afford communicative events,-develop collaboration technologies based on natural idioms that best support the activities people perform,-engage people in rich communicative experiences that enable them to immerse in their activity and forget about the technology that mediates the interaction. Change Hypothesis: Any new information and collaboration technology will require change and rethinking of:-the design and location of spaces in which people work, learn, and play.-the content people create in terms of representation, media, interrelation among the different media, the content's evolution over time so that it provides context and sets it in a social communicative perspective-the interactions among people in terms of the individual's behavior, interaction dynamics, new communication protocols, collaboration processes; relation between people and the affordances of the space; and interactivity with the content of interest. The paper will discuss two information and collaboration technology examples in the context of the Brick & Bits & Interaction perspective and highlight the necessary changes that have to be considered in the deployment and use scenarios. The two information and collaboration technologies are: 1. a commercial synchronous collaboration technology for videoconferencing, MS