Overview of Creating communal computers (Interview)
This episode of The Changelog features Jared interviewing Spencer Chang — artist, designer, and former engineer — about his work building “communal computers”: physical objects and public sculptures that bridge the digital and material worlds. Spencer discusses his Alive Internet Theory project (a playful rebuttal to “dead internet” concerns), his NFC-enabled internet sculptures and computing shrines, and an open-source library (PlayHTML) for easy collaborative web elements. The conversation covers inspiration, technical choices, sustainability, and the social value of public/participatory digital experiences.
Key topics covered
- Alive Internet Theory — a positive counterpoint to the “dead internet” idea; a demo that visualizes human-made archival content from the Internet Archive, showing the internet’s human traces.
- Internet sculptures and computing shrines — physical objects (often ceramic/concrete) with embedded NFC that trigger tailored web experiences (fortune cookie, concrete “pillow”, bathtub playlist, guest Wi‑Fi token, phone-voice shrine, rock-shrine).
- PlayHTML — an open-source library and hosted service to make synchronous, collaborative web components easy to build (one attribute/element can sync state across visitors).
- Technical constraints and implementation details — NFC + iOS Shortcuts, web URLs/app-specific URL patterns, chips sourced from suppliers, server + data store for real-time sync.
- Funding & sustainability — commissions, grants, direct sales; tension of turning art into a sustainable practice.
- Philosophy — creating “perpetual energy” by inspiring others; public-good technology and folk practices (rock-stacking, chalking, geocaching) translated to digital materiality.
Main takeaways
- The internet still contains abundant, distinctively human content; Spencer’s Alive Internet demo makes that visible and visceral by uncurated archival collages.
- Physical artifacts with simple computing (NFC + web) are effective social catalysts — they create memorable, shareable, communal experiences distinct from purely algorithmic content.
- PlayHTML lowers the engineering barrier for real-time shared webpages, enabling non-backend developers and artists to build massively social, synchronous interactions.
- Practical constraints matter: iOS limits NFC functionality (Shortcuts-based flows), and hosting/real-time infra are the main operational hurdles — Spencer offers a hosted backend but supports self-hosting.
- Sustainability for this kind of practice often comes from mixed revenue (commissions, grants, product sales); making art a viable business requires both creativity and business discipline.
Notable projects & examples
- Alive Internet Theory demo — time-filtered, uncurated collages of Internet Archive content (commissioned by the Internet Archive).
- Internet sculptures (shop): ceramic and concrete objects with embedded NFC that trigger web experiences (fortune-cookie token, concrete pillow, ceramic bathtub player, guest Wi‑Fi token, ceramic photo tiles).
- Computing shrines (public installations): examples include
- Phone‑booth shrine: place your phone, listen to the previous visitor’s voice, record one for the next visitor (single-message chain).
- Rock-shrine: large boulder embedded with chips; visitors upload a photo of a rock, the system verifies it and adds it to a falling-rocks visualization.
- PlayHTML (open source + hosted service): examples built with it — fridge poetry wall (playhtml.fun/fridge), multi-player horse race, tug-of-war, communal knock-on-a-door.
Useful links mentioned by Spencer (as given in the show)
- Spencer’s portfolio and projects: spencer.place
- PlayHTML / demos: playhtml.fun (fridge demo is a highlight)
- Online shop / internet sculptures: internetsculptures.com
- Newsletter: news.spencer.place
(Note: some domain names referenced in the conversation may be stylized differently; check Spencer’s main site for authoritative links.)
Technical details (brief)
- NFC workflow: small NFC tags embedded in objects; tags store a URL or app-specific URL that triggers an iOS Shortcut (or opens a web experience). On iOS, Shortcuts are commonly used for richer device actions; Android support is less uniform and may require third-party apps.
- Chips: procured from suppliers (Amazon-style vendors or overseas suppliers for bulk/specialized chips). They’re written using phone apps or dedicated NFC writers.
- PlayHTML stack: client-side library for element-level state sync + server-side real-time streaming infrastructure and a backing datastore. Spencer hosts a free tier for creators; projects with heavy usage can self-host.
Practical considerations & limitations
- iOS NFC is protective and constrained (Shortcuts-based flows are a pragmatic workaround but limit capabilities).
- Background removal / content verification (e.g., verifying a “rock” photo) can be brittle; projects may need iterative improvement.
- Public art deployment has permitting, funding, and maintenance hurdles — grants and private patrons are usual funding routes.
- Hosted free services are generous but may require fair-use protections or self-hosting options for scale.
Notable quotes
- “Humanity will always be here — we’ve created the internet so much of it so far and we’re not going away.”
- “My work is just a seed for all the amazing things that the person listening to this right now could do.”
- On “perpetual energy”: it’s aspirational — the goal is to create projects whose ideas ripple and inspire more activity, sustaining cultural momentum rather than literal eternal motion.
Actionable items / next steps for listeners
- Explore Spencer’s work: visit spencer.place and the projects/demos linked there.
- Try PlayHTML if you want to build simple collaborative web elements: check playhtml.fun and the fridge demo for inspiration.
- If you work with public art or community spaces, consider commissioning or hosting a computing shrine to create new shared experiences.
- Experiment with simple NFC tokens + web experiences for conferences, meetups, or physical giveaways (note iOS/Android constraints).
- Think about tech as public good — small design choices (open-source libraries, hosted free tiers) can enable broad cultural experiments.
This interview is ideal for makers interested in the intersection of physical craft, web interactivity, and public digital experiences — especially those looking for low-friction ways to add communal, synchronous behavior to webpages and real-world tokens.