“Living Metadata” is a critical assessment of the growing mass of metadata at the centre of digital society. It presents a hypothetical solution to the energy drain caused by technologically augmented living. The potential energy of human metadata creation is harnessed to fuel bacterial growth and create microbial fuel cells which power the cycle. The human becomes both digital and living metadata. Metadata becomes waste in the volume of information. “Living Metadata” presents a system sustained by waste production.
Metadata production grounds the seemingly virtual digital ether in both time and space. Temporal change can be measured in bytes and metadata are actual objects which have profound social impacts beyond their numerical dormancy on computer drives. Metadata production is embodied experience.
Human life essence is converted into metadata on Twitter. The potential energy is harnessed to grow microbial fuel cells which in turn power the cycle.