This poster presentation demonstrates a small, 3D-printed machine called the Instagram Möbius Machine. The machine is designed to turn a Möbius strip printed on each side with selected images from two complimentary Instagram profile feeds (for example, the demonstration model features Beyoncé and Pope Francis). The Möbius Machine is the product of an exercise called “digital composting,” from a seminar titled Contemplative Media Studies. The overarching goal of the course is to steer the digital economy in a more sustainable direction by integrating contemplative principles (attention, intentionality, presence, wisdom) into the design process. The specific goal of the digital composting exercise, of which the Instagram Möbius Machine is a product, is to subvert normal modes of user interaction with social media and reposition users as agents of design rather than passive consumers. In collaboration with the University of New Hampshire's Innovation Lab, DIY blueprints and instructions for 3D-printing and assembling the Machine are available through the UNH Innovation licensing website (https://license.unh.edu/product/instamobmach). While the Möbius Machine is the centerpiece of this presentation, the primary goal is not necessarily to encourage others to build the machine itself, but to inspire others to conduct a similar "digital compositing" exercise so that other inventions might emerge. In other words, the focus is on the process, not the product. From the perspective of Contemplative Media Studies, simple exercises in attention-building like this project are a small but important step toward the greater goal of critical media scholarship--namely the transformation of the digital economy to more ethically and environmentally sustainable modes of development and use. Additional information and videos about the Machine are available at https://www.facebook.com/mobiusmachine
