Visualizing the Mundane: Your Meaningless Point and Click Routines Become Art
February 12, 2010
On his website, Antatoly Zenkov's claims he can do anything. That's a bit of a stretch, but what he certainly can do is make an awesome little Java app. Mouse Path (Mac version | Windows version) runs in the background while you work and tracks all of your mouse movements throughout the day. Just launch the .jar file, minimize it, and go about you business. The lines represent the mouse's movement, and the circles represent the mouse at rest. The longer the mouse is idle, the larger the circles are. Mouse Path doesn't recognize multiple displays. It will only track movements on your main monitor, but it will continue tracking as you change Spaces.
In a few hours you'll start to see some terrific patterns emerge. The image above represents about 10 hours of my activity at work on Thursday, Feb 12. The large dark circles were meetings or phone calls, and the smaller circles indicate reading, typing (Mouse Path doesn't capture keystrokes unfortunately), or trips to the bathroom/kitchen. The thick horizontal scratches across the top are obviously from clicking across browser tabs. I've also learned that I spend a lot of time in the upper left quadrant. No real surprise there.
Even if you're not a fan of the action painters like Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline, there is something rather satisfying about unwittingly creating a personal piece of abstract expressionism while you point and click your way through your dull, digital day.
Art from meaninglessness. No mess, and no cleanup.
Comments [0]