Mobile Scout
An Audio Field Guide

This is PDpal's third iteration, renamed as Mobile Scout, an audio field guide. It collects phoned-in narratives of one's local surroundings, personal rituals, and public sightings. It is hosted by PDPal's urban park ranger and sidekick squirrel. They answer the phone and guide you through the interactive voice response system.

Using your mobile phone, you leave a voice message of your observations with the Mobile Scout Ranger, our automated quirky naturalist. Mobile Scout asks you to be on the lookout for rare or endangered ìspeciesî of landscape, character, and event, revealing moments that would otherwise remain invisible or disappear, like the accidental performance art one encounters, a land developerís crimes, or the wind as you ride your bicycle up a hillside. Mobile Scout defines place as being made of social habitats, not geography. Your recordings are organized into an audio/visual field guide according to the kind of space you occupy, be it play, work, nature, culture, public, private, branded or free speech. Mobile Scout will be presented in the upcoming exhibition "Database Imaginary" curated by Steve Dietz, Sarah Cook and Anthony Kiendl. Originating at the Walter Philips Gallery at the Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada, the exhibit will tour Canada and Europe in 2005-06. 

Team

Scott Paterson
Marina Zurkow
Julian Bleecker