more-than-than human contact, conspicuous mobility, and the digital frontier
DESCRIPTION
This 'lightning-talk' was delivered at the VGI Preconference at the AAG meetings in Seattle, 11 April 2011. Organized by Dan Sui, Michael Goodchild, and Sarah Elwood.TRANSCRIPT
More-than-human contact, conspicuous mobility, and the digital frontierMatthew W. WilsonAssistant Professor of GeographyBall State [email protected]
11 April 2011
Feel like a wallflower?Maybe it’s your Facebook wall (Wortham 2011)
Feel like a wallflower?Maybe it’s your Facebook wall (Wortham 2011)
“As the alerts came in, my mind began to race. Three friends, I learned, had arrived at a music venue near my apartment. But why? What was happening there? Then I saw pictures of other friends enjoying fancy milkshakes at a trendy restaurant. Suddenly, my simple domestic pleasures paled in comparison with the things I could be doing.”
(more-than-)human contact
• cyborg geographies– recognition of knowledges-in-the-making– composed of partial, contingent practices that
blur machinic/organic materiality
• more-than-human contact– contact is (always-already and) increasingly
mediated– finding an appropriate ‘response’ requires the
inclusion of these digital objects
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
“Headphones connected to the iPhone,iPhone connected to the Internet,
connected to the Google,connected to the government.”
(M.I.A., The Message, 2010)
“Headphones connected to the iPhone,iPhone connected to the Internet,
connected to the Google,connected to the government.”
(M.I.A., The Message, 2010)
• DoD GPS• Representations of global space
– US military hegemony– global capitalism
“Headphones connected to the iPhone,iPhone connected to the Internet,
connected to the Google,connected to the government.”
(M.I.A., The Message, 2010)
• DoD GPS• Representations of global space
– US military hegemony– global capitalism
• FCC Enhanced 911 LBS
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
2001ish
European LBS: bars, food, taxis SMS FriendFinderUS LBS: AT&T Find Friends
2001ish
European LBS: bars, food, taxis SMS FriendFinderUS LBS: AT&T Find Friends
2005…Google Earth
Google Maps APIDopplr.com
Qype.comLoopt.com
Brightkite.com
2001ish
European LBS: bars, food, taxis SMS FriendFinderUS LBS: AT&T Find Friends
10 applications that make the most of location(from Biba 2009)
1 Drive fast, avoid the cops (locations of known speed traps): Trapster
2 Sleep easy, we’ll wake you (missing your stop on public transit): iNap
3 Play tag, with strangers: JOYity
4 Call a cab, the easy way (location-aware cab services): Cab4Me
5 Scan a barcode, find a deal (local deals): ShopSavy
6 See the world, through Google’s eyes: Google Earth
7 Train your phone to know its place (location-aware phone ringer settings): Locale
8 Look Up! Be a stellar student (what stars are above): GoSkyWatch
9 Dark Alley? Call for help (location-aware alarm system): SafetyNet
10 Go here when you gotta go (location-aware facility finding): SitOrSquat
2005…Google Earth
Google Maps APIDopplr.com
Qype.comLoopt.com
Brightkite.com
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
March 2009 SXSW foursquare Launch
March 2009 SXSW foursquare Launch
March 2009 SXSW foursquare Launch
March 2009 SXSW foursquare Launch
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
conspicuous mobility
check ins conspicuous consumption
check ins 6 million users (end of 2010) check ins
380 million check-ins
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
geographies of ‘volunteered’
geographic information
Conditions of emergence
Continued development
Production
Re-production / mashup
Limits to re-production
Use / interpretation
Limits to use
Challenges to disciplinary thinking
the digital frontier
• spatiality of the ‘digital divide’• represents opportunities for constituting new
technocultural practices– attentive to and resistive of ‘conspicuous mobility’
the digital frontier
• spatiality of the ‘digital divide’• represents opportunities for constituting new
technocultural practices– attentive to and resistive of ‘conspicuous mobility’
• persistent questions:– What are the limitations to drawing upon these
data about mobility?– What are the possibilities for intervention in these
practices, representations, and movements?
Google Map Marker 2010 by [ Mooi ], Flickr
Friday . 10amTechnologies of Mobility 2Convention Center 204
“Location-based services,conspicuous mobility, andthe location-aware future”