Collaborating on any undertaking includes finding time and skilled contributing parties, and as can typically be seen until the 20th c., assembling at a single or multiple physical locations.
With examination of the Blau monuments, shale tablets from the Late Prehistoric period, around 3100 BC, (
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/the_blau_monuments.aspx) showcases etched writings and carved relief figures within the same shale tablet. This suggests that more than a single person contributed to this artifact; a single or multiple scribe(s) and a single or multiple artist(s). Philip B. Meggs, in
Meggs' History of Graphic Design, makes a clear distinction between early Sumerian scribes and Egyptian artisans. (ix)
Meggs also notes that:
"Cuneiform was a difficult writing system to master" (8)
and goes on to state:
"Youngsters selected to become scribes began their schooling at the edubba, the writing school or "tablet house", before the age of ten and worked from sunrise to sunset every day, with only six days off per month." (8)
In order to complete such a collaboration as the Blau monuments, both parties, the scribe(s) and artisan(s) would have been in close proximity to the shale tablets. Quite possibly, the scribe(s) and relief artist(s) may have contributed at different times, however both being physically near the tablets is for certain. Some of the challenges associated with this method of early collaboration include organization, timing, leadership struggles & conflicts, technology, and required physical space.
What has changed or evolved through each iteration of collaboration from Prehistoric periods to present day is the process of contribution and its efficacy. In a recent talk entitled,
Where good ideas come from, by Steven Johnson, a best selling author and dynamic speaker, mentions regarding good ideas that:
"...The coffee house in The Age of Enlightenment, or the Parisian salons of Modernism were such engines of creativity because they created a space where ideas could mingle, swap, and create new forms."
Resulting works of the those eras, for instance
Encyclopédie, a contributive effort by many, published by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert et. al. between 1751 and 1772, benefited from these new social exchanges, however still required meeting at a mutual physical space in order to contribute, and also required lengthy timelines due to the limited advancement of technology.
From prehistory to the 18th c., represents a lengthy time-line of the first iteration of collaboration; Collaboration 1.0.
Skip forward to the advent of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, in the late 19th c. This technological advancement, just one among many, resulted in a collaborative evolution; Collaboration 2.0. The refined telephone resulted in a real time, two-way vocal communication solution, eliminating the tether of physical proximity of the intended receiver. This shifted the process of how we share ideas and communicate with others. The telephone enabled dialogue over distance, and quite significantly, almost instantaneously. Thus eroding away at the need to be physically within earshot to communicate thoughts, ideas or approvals with others, and as a byproduct, instantly changing the timing dynamic of any undertaking.
The invention of computers, another technological advancement, led to improved efficiency on many of the tasks people performed collectively, but for the masses, computers remained a disconnected tool of the process. For example, writing a letter on a computer was more efficient than by hand with real time editing functions inside of a word processor. However, some form of output, like a diskette or a printer, was required in order for someone to receive the letter. It was only with the inventions of the modem, email, and the birth of the Internet that linked the user and their tools over great distances to other users and their respective tools. This was the dawning of the Collaboration 3.0 iteration, but this was just the beginning. The real essence that encompasses the 3.0 iteration is the understanding of the new infrastructure, for instance the Internet, and by adapting it to our already established and mostly analog methods and lives.
With the skyrocketing advancement of online environments and the appropriation of these environments as workspaces, people are able to work congruently over networks in real time or asynchronously. For example,
Octopz, (
http://www.octopz.com) an online collaboration environment, could facilitate many or few different skilled and/or unskilled individuals contributing to a common project regardless of their location throughout the world or their respective time differences. As more people connect to the Internet and access social networks, the closer we become to reestablishing the collaborative baseline, and furthering ourselves from the attachment of physical space as seen from prehistory to today.
Putting traditional collaboration into perspective, using a modern concert model as an example, as a concert traditionally requires a contributory effort from multiple parties in order to occur. A concert would be performed at either an indoor or outdoor venue by a collective of musicians and then being consumed by a willing audience. This was the mold that mass produced events worldwide for many, many years until one collective shattered that mold obliterating the requirement of a physical venue. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, shocked a niche and digitally connected and savvy following on September 14, 2007, (
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563088/Second-Life-hosts-worlds-first-virtual-concert.html) with a groundbreaking event hosted by Second Life; the world's first virtual concert. This virtual concert took place virtually, in that the musicians were performing within a virtual environment, and the audience ready to consume this performance were also within this virtual venue. No longer needed, is the concert hall, stadium, or massive outdoor venue for a performance. As this was a networked virtual space, each contributing party could have connected individually or even collectively from a much smaller space and thus eliminating the need to physically travel.
Where might the future take us in regards to the next iteration of the evolution of collaboration? I can only speculate that the future will emulate the virtual world, as we saw in the example of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performing for a real audience in a virtual and connected environment. Perhaps one day, we will actually connect to many different virtual environments where our virtual self works, plays, performs, or shops without the need to physically be present at brick and mortar establishments.
