Opening Reception: Friday, March 16, 2007, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Location: Temporary NOSO Zones (TNZ's) throughout San Francisco and a Prefab NOSO Boutique (PNB) at SoEx, 2901 Mission Street @ 25th Street

Glowlab's Christina Ray with artistic collaborator Kurt Bigenho and web developer Gilbert Guerrero present NOSO, a real-world platform for the temporary disengagement from social networks. The public is invited to participate in a citywide micro-intervention by participating in NO Events with NO Friends and thus creating the desired NO SOcial networking connections. These "NO" events, called NOSOs, will take place in designated cafés, parks, libraries, bookstores, and other public spaces. Participants – whose identities remain unknown to one another – agree to arrive at an assigned time and remain alone, quiet, and un-connected, while at the same time knowing that another "Friend" is present in the space.

With the growth of online activity such as blogging, vlogging, podcasting, skyping, texting, IMing, dating, trading, buying, and selling, NOSO offers an oasis to the 21st-century Web 2.0 junkie. With more than a hint of irony, it offers an opportunity to reflect on our 24/7 socially-mediated lifestyle. NOSO is on the down low. This is neither group play nor a popularity contest. There is no winner or loser, no need for technical or interpersonal skills, and there is no prize. A NOSO headquarters at Southern Exposure will feature a special NOSO Zone where visitors are invited to drop in, check their networking skills and devices at the door and experience the ambiguous benefits of NO SOcializing.

Glowlab artists will be in the gallery 12:00 - 5:00 PM on Saturday, March 17 to facilitate the project and encourage time in the NOSO Boutique.

* Glowlab wishes to thank Propeller Modern and Elise Montecastro for their generous donations to the project.