Is social media helping you create a cyborg identity?

By Jaimi Kitchen

The concepts that will be discussed in this blog self and community. The virtual social network Goodreads creates a particular low sense of a post-human cyborg identity compared to others.

Goodreads provides a platform to engage within a virtual reality that operates as if it would in real life. The only difference is that we can’t physical touch or feel anything within the virtual realm. Kuttainean (2017) suggested that the power of network narratives allow a technique of ‘shadow biographer’, we as users start to create a fake image of ourselves that allow us to communicate with false information. This action presents a social dilemma which most people don’t notice or we are too busy creating our own false image. For example, the show ‘Catfish’ explores how being a ‘shadow biographer’ can turn multiple lives upside down when the truth is exposed. I would think shows like these starts to affect people and their decisions in how they present themselves in the virtual reality world. 

Amber Case (2011) explains in this TedTalk that human society is turning into cyborgs. Our advantages in technology is allowing us both physically and mentally to communicate faster. With this advantage however, comes the same communication problems we already experience in the virtual world. In this reading, McNeil (2012) also touches on how online lives structure a certain way of thinking that relate to the concept of ‘posthumanism’. Posthumanism is a concept that developed in the twenty-century, it describes the challenge between human and non-human. This concept can be linked to a binary pair real/ virtual. The difference between real and virtual is the physical ability to touch, feel and communicate to others or objects. One way to describe the difference between human and non-human is again the fact that there is a difference in the way we can communicate successfully. However, in the twenty first century people are starting to think the virtual world is better than the living in reality, no matter if there is a loss of ‘proper communication’. This impact can heavily be seen in the real world with people constant use of mobile phones and other technology devices. Which leads to the question of we’re even human anymore or are we if fact slowly turning into cyborgs? 

Image Credit: Videoblocks. (U.N.).  Robot, cyborg open palm, infotainment system, network. car connect internet, social media service. global network future car technology.

Goodreads is a virtual reality in which communication is major key component. Users interact with authors and others to discuss ideas, new releases or to comment. This communication showcases the notion of society inhabiting qualities of a cyborg. Goodreads also raises the point in the decrease of real life book clubs and physical interaction between people. One advantage of virtual reality is the access to millions of more people in different locations, allowing for the creation of the perfect post-human cyborg identity. With more advantages in technology human kind becomes one step closer to a cyborg identity and although some of us chose to not to believe that we are ‘cyborgs’ we all have a little piece within us.

Reference List;

McNeill, L. (2012). ‘There is no ‘I’ in network: social networking sites and post-human 

auto/biography.’ In Biography 35.1 (Sections (Post)human Portraits & Collective “I’s”)

Kuttainean, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space; Networks, narratives and the making of place, week six notes [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_84764_1&content_id=_2759369_1

Videoblocks. (U.N.).  [Image]. Robot, cyborg open palm, infotainment system, network. car connect internet, social media service. global network future car technology. https://www.videoblocks.com/video/robot-cyborg-open-palm-infotainment-system-network-car-connect-internet-social-media-service-global-network-future-car-technology-bf1t9h5vgix1g0uwt/

Case, A. (December 2010). Amber Case: We are all cyborgs now. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now

Networking Narratives

Jordan Ashby

Image One: Open Source Software Defined Networking Projects to Know 

New networked narratives allow for many new and different possibilities within the realm of expectation. “Changes in digital technology have also changed certain qualities of networked narratives, these changes raise questions about the real and the virtual” (PowerPoint Lecture, 2017). Networked narratives are an open connected course of digital storytelling, world building, civic imagination and a bit of digital alchemy (Mark, 2017). We as a society focus so much on just the space where we share the photos we post and the captures we right we don’t go into depths about whether the area we are sharing them in is safe. We get so caught up in the moment we forget about the real we forgot about the virtual reality we have just shared and who out there is watching. As times have moved on and up the realm of the internet has gotten exceptionally bigger but we don’t know whether that is for the better. There is this certain power in the space and place we share whether it be real or not and we truly don’t know who has that power or whether it can be passed onto different kinds of people. It’s really scary to think that the images I share are going to a vastly larger space and place then what I intend or even know.

I could post a slightly revealing image and place a hashtag on it which opens it up to a much bigger audience and then how do I monitor it to know exactly where it goes. The question is I can’t. I don’t know where it goes or how far it goes or how many screens it is shown upon and I guess that’s the beauty of the Internet or Instagram I could get my image to somebody in England or just somebody down the road. It really is amazing. There are many different narratives you could be entangled in but it depends what audience you want to portray. Life narrative itself is both heavily invested in the humanist subject (McNeill, Laura, 2012). We are here to say keep your blogs idling, your twitter accounts revved and your bots still going because there will be a new round of networked narratives (#netnarr, n/a).

One of the central sources of online auto/biographical production has become the now-ubiquitous social networking site (McNeill, Laura, 2012). It’s important to know the networking narrative you want to portray and then portray that. Instagram is a great virtual reality network which allows for many people to be represented in either a real or virtual way whatever you want to show on your profile you get the opportunity to do it within respect to the Instagram rules.

References:

Dean, Sam. (2017). 5 Open Source Software Defined Networking Projects to Know. Retrieved from https://www.linux.com/news/open-cloud-report/2016/5-open-source-software-defined-networking-projects-know

McNeill, Laurie. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. Lecture 6: Networked Narratives [Readings]. Retrieved from https://masterfile.jcu.edu.au/masterfile6/jsp/viewfile.jsp?as_session_id=32231121C36E5CC17D535FF1EF864DC62DD15CB&as_id_nr=65005&as_page_nr=1&file_type=.pdf&as_acknowledge=Y

Netnarr. (n/a). Elements of Networked Narratives. Retrieved from http://netnarr.arganee.world/

Could Snapchat and my Favourite Song really be the smae thing? -Jordyn Hutchinson

Could Snapcaht and my Favourite song really be the same thing? 

Song lines have been used for many different reasons, and can even be considered a form of communication.  Aboriginal Australians have used song lines for centuries to make the land ‘visible’, and to create maps.  In a reading by Chatwin, 1987, he has a conversation with a local Aboriginal man.  “A song…was both map and direction-finder.  Providing you knew the song.”  (p.13).  Maps are a form of communication, as they communicate the way to get to location.  The Aboriginal people of Australia use song lines to tell their past.  If someone from a tribe travels to another tribe from the same area, they will be accepted by a different tribe, if they know the song.  This is further explained by Chatwin in a reading about the Aboriginal culture, and their beliefs in song lines, and the land. 

Australia's Song Lines. 
Retrieved from:

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/australias-10-greatest-composers 

Singing a song is like telling a story.  This can be either fiction or reality, either way, most of the time if you are telling a story it is from your point of view.  To tell a story can also be like explaining or telling history to someone else.  Hayden White, came up with a theory in 1973, called “Metahistory,” and this theory basically explains that history-telling is using language and rhetoric.  (Kuttainen, V. 2017).  This is another form of communication
Social media is a form of communication.  It doesn’t matter which platform an individual is a part of, they will always find their friends.  If they do not see their best friends on a daily basis, this may be the only way to keep in contact with them.  With Snapchat images and videos can be sent back and forth, so it is like seeing each other regularly, if you use the app on a regular basis. 

Everyone has their favourite song lines from their favourite songs, what might surprise most people is how similar these can be in relation to social media.  Song lyrics are likely to get stuck in our head, if it is catchy song, and we are addicted to social media.  We could spend days trying to get a song out of our head, and we spend hours a day on social media.  Both are extremely addictive.  Snapchat is no exception to the social media addiction, sweeping the world.  Snapchat is a way for people to keep in contact with one another, so some people will use it either daily, or more than once a day to keep in communication with someone.  Social media also has a form of networks which can be complicated like a song, that is for someone who does not know how to read music. 

However, Snapchat and song lines are also different.  Song lyrics are often replaced when either a new song comes out, or you find a new song you like, but social media is something that is rarely replaced.  Most people in modern society who are a part of social media need to use it daily.  Another difference between songs and Snapchat networks is that a songs lines are right there in front of you, however a social media platforms network is most of the time invisible. 

Reference List:
Chatwin, B. (1987).  The songlines (p.11-15).  London, U.K: The spartan press ltd.  -Weekly Reading and the Hyperlink. 

Kuttainen, V. (2017).  Ba1002: Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, week 5: Stories of place: Story lines.  (Slide 21).  Retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2855360_1&course_id=_84764_1&framesetWrapped=true  -Lecture. 

Limelight Magazine.  (2015).  Australia’s 10 greatest composers.  Retrieved from: http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/australias-10-greatest-composers  -Image. 

Rust: Swastikas and symbolic narratives

Swastika created out of construction materials inside Rust
Image credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/playrust/comments/1wsd4e/rust_never_fails_to_amaze_me_this_is_on_top_of/

The use of the swastika in the online game Rust cuts to the core of the relationship between symbols and narratives in our lives. The swastika may seem an unlikely symbol to help understand subjective reality, but works within a historical context.

This is the third post in a blog series comparing the online multiplayer game Rust to physical reality. Firstly, we explored how power works within the game, then how the player interacts with it. Now we explore how players impose themselves through symbolism.

The treachery of images (This is not a pipe) by Rene Magritte
Image credit: https://www.wikiart.org/en/rene-
magritte/the-treachery-of-images-this-is-not-a-pipe-1948

The field of Semiotics, founded by Ferdinand de Saussure, decrees that language (meaning images, words, symbols, and icons) is a filter for all knowledge of the world (Kuttainen, 2017). This concept is an expansion of the work of Jacques Lacan, a psychoanalyst who suggested our notion of self begins from misrecognition. When we look into a mirror it is not truly us who looks back, but a backwards reflection, yet we understand this symbolic reflection to be ourselves. This filtration of the real into symbols makes words and imagery inseparable in our minds as illustrated by Magritte’s The treachery of images. In this case, the image of a swastika ends up becoming synonymous with the word “swastika.”

The swastika symbol in the last century has also become associated with the words: “Nazi symbol” (Fijalkowski, 2014) because of historical events. In a similar way, the Mississippi River once had many names, but is now dominantly titled on maps by the name colonisers gave it (Tuan, 1991). Symbols and words are tied to their cultural usage and history; they have narratives attached to them. Those narratives can be maintained, manipulated or erased altogether (Farmer et al., 2004).

The swastika has been around for thousands of years. It’s meaning for many cultures is of good fortune and it is widely used as a sacred religious symbol (Mosig, 2017). Thought to have originated from India, the swastika retained its meaning when first brought to Europe and was even worn by United States and British militaries in World War I. The symbol was then repurposed by the Nazis in 1920 as an emblem of racial purity and has dominantly retained that reading in the West since. The symbol is now banned in Germany and several countries (Fijalkowski, 2014).

In Rust, every texture, colour and object in the game is a symbolic reflection of something that exists in the physical world. Because it is an online game, there is a memory limit on the number of symbols that can be used. So, while symbols of a trees, rocks, and humans natively exist in the game, the swastika is absent. Yet because of its strong meaning, players use materials in unexpected and creative ways to recreate it. As the games audience is mostly Western it is read with its “Nazi symbol” reading, either in seriousness, jest or to scare other players.

Symbols and their associated narratives are powerful filters for how see the world. In Rust, players deliberately create swastikas in a world where they don’t natively exist. In this way, the power of symbols can traverse worlds, but only with the associated context. A swastika can after all, be a symbol of racial purity, good fortune, religion, or without context just a series of meaningless lines.  

References  

66xsseldoG. (2014). Rust never fails to amaze me. This is on top of Everust. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/playrust/comments/1wsd4e/rust_never_fails_to_amaze_me_this_is_on_top_of/ 

Farmer, P. (2004). An anthropology of structural violence. Current anthropology, 45(3), 305-325.

Fijalkowski, A. (2014). The criminalisation of symbols of the past: Expression, law and memory. International Journal of Law in Context, 10(3), 295. doi:10.1017/S1744552314000135

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 5: Stories of Place: Story Lines. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Mosig, A. M. (2017). Hate or civic pride? the speech of symbols in the United States, Germany and Japan. Suffolk Transnational Law Review, 40(1), 73.

Rene Magritte. (1948). The treachery of images (This is not a pipe) [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.wikiart.org/en/rene-magritte/the-treachery-of-images-this-is-not-a-pipe-1948

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.1991.tb01715.x

Zarandona, J., Torres, C. (2017). From Charlottesville to Nazi Germany, sometimes monuments have to fall. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/from-charlottesville-to-nazi-germany-sometimes-monuments-have-to-fall-82643

Space and Place

Molly Falvo

Image One: People of all cultures and ethnicities joined on a Facebook map of the world

The internet is only a recent and new thing to our world only being created in the 1900's and since then it has made endless changes to both our world and the way that we view it and the people in it being us the human race. Since the internet started many years ago it has come a long way especially in the way that people use it these days for example the internet these days is mostly being used for social media. As seen in the previous blog my social media outlet is Facebook and many people use this social media form to express their feelings and share parts of their life almost like it is a second home for them. "Places are also used for awaking certain feelings like comfort, security, belonging, being anchored, self-expression, and freedom to be oneself" (Smaldone et al., 2005). 

While the internet and Facebook can be a place for people to speak their opinions and have freedom to speak for them selves it also brings terrible things such as cyber-bullying and harassment which you will find on any social media or internet site. "There is a moral dimension to speech as there is to physical action.Thus conversation between friends  can make the place feel warm; by contrast, malicious speech has the power to destroy a place's reputation" (Tuan, 1991). This is a quote from Tuan that i have pulled from one of our readings from class this week titled Language and the making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. When it comes to virtual networking and space and place Tuan is absolutely right the words and the language in which we say things shapes how we feel as a place and as a community both in real life and online on social media sites such as Facebook. Facebook is a very handy tool used by many to promote businesses and also persuade people to but their products and change their views on things both political and non-political. This is where Facebook comes in handy and shows peoples true self and the way that they tall to others which has changed my view on a lot of people i used to call my friends and i used to look up to which just shows how powerful the internet is in relation to space and place. The internet is only going to keep growing and rising as long as the relationship with it between space and place is maintained.

References

Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1939). Space and Place: Humanistic Perspective. Lecture 5: Space and Place [Readings]. http://geog.uoregon.edu/amarcus/geog620/Readings/Tuan_1979_space-place.pdf

Image retrieved from 

https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-safety/controversial-harmful-and-hateful-speech-on-facebook/574430655911054/

quote by Smaldone

http://lrlr.landscapeonline.de/Articles/lrlr-2009-3/articlese2.html 

The language of Self-identity with in the virtual world

The language of Self-identity with in the virtual world

When we think of ourselves or the community that we belong to, we often give it a name that makes it into something that we associate with belonging to as an individual. This has transpired from the physical community into the virtual one, the use of language is evermore present within this form of community. There is no real face to face contact and the thing that are named or made visible aren’t tangible to be seen in the real world. So how is the community or self-formed within this visual world.

Language is one of the most fundamental things in our lives it is used all over the world, in different form that can be under stood by those in certain communities that are not understood by others. The use of language in the visual world is to give a meaning or a voice to something that we want to show as being us: with ever caption, post or comment, define what our self is when in the digital world. Describe with in Tuan that language is the thing makes something visible (Tuan, 1991), representing the way with in the visual world that language is used to make ourselves and community visible to the outsiders looking in.  

 VIRTUAL REALITY

 In today’s world all of our sense of community and selves is plastered all over the internet, with posting of what was going on with in our world the way that we want it to be portrayed. Where every business, community event or group has a media page with all that they do. Demonstrating the way that language has evolved over the years from oral, biblical print and now the visual world so has the community and self within (Kuttainen, 2017). Making visual world a way for self to be expressed with the way we use language to convey who we are as individuals, on a larger scale with a lot more people. While being a part of the online community within the app that choose to display ourselves in.

Language is a powerful thing that is used all around the globe, as an expression of one’s self the way they are going to orchestrate the lives that they are living. Still having a sense of community with in the online community not the ones out in the real world, making language that much more important. Letting ourselves to be seen in the virtual world through the use of language with in our posts, comments, and captions with photos showing ourselves and our community. Language forming the bases of how we show ourselves and community to the outside world with in the space of the visual media world.

Baggini J. (2011November). Ted Talk .Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_baggini_is_there_a_real_you

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BM1002, Lecture 5 BA1002 Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place week 5 notes [slide 9, 10]. https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au 

Tuan, Y-F. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. (p.p.684-693). Annals of the Association of American Geographers.

VIRTUAL REALITY. Retrieved from http://www.entrez.world/about/

The power of a name.

The power of a name.

By Tenneal White

Roses smelling sweet?
(Florapedia, 2016)

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." (Crowther, ed., 2005).

As Shakespeare express’s, a name has a massive power in the way we think about things. If a rose was not called a rose would it still smell sweet? If twitter wasn’t called twitter, would twitter be the 328 million strong social network that it is? (Statista, 2017).

Whilst it may seem a name is just a name, as we have been discovering this week in the lecture and set readings, there is a moral dimension to speech as there is to physical action. Thus warm conversation between friends can make the place itself seem warm; by contrast, malicious speech has the power to destroy a place's reputation and thereby its visibility. (Tuan, 1991)

The power of naming is just one convention in which language is used to create place space and power. Words alone, used in an appropriate situation, can have the power to render objects, formerly invisible because unattended, visible, and impart to them a certain character: thus, a mere rise on a flat surface becomes something far more-a place that promises to open up to other places-when it is named "Mount Prospect." (Tuan, 1991)

On Twitter, the language is used to make members feel certain ways. For example, certain people, and certain tweets based on the language used can make you feel warm and welcome. Whereas some tweets based on the wording make you feel disconnected and distant.

Names and language also show the origin of a place, like the word mountain is not a mountain in any other language other than English, therefore even if you are in china if they word mountain is used, you know that there is some sort of English influence to that place. People who live in a place also have an effect over the naming of that place as well. For example, places in Australia have not only Aboriginal names and English influences, but also Scotish names, for example, Cairns, Ayr and Airlie Beach. (Kuttainean, 2017)

This is throughout twitter in that people who are from certain places or have been brought up in certain communities tweet certain things and show a certain genre throughout their twitter account. Certain words that mean something to one person mean different to others based on the space they are from.  

Where you are from and the narrative you lead certainly influences the language you use and the way you name and describe things and this is not only throught life, but also virtual networks. 

References

Kuttainean, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space; Networks, narratives and the making of place, week four notes [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayIndividualContent?mode=view&content_id=_2855360_1&course_id=_84764_1 

Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). Shakespeare Quotes. Retrieved from Enotes: https://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/what-s-name-that-which-we-call-rose

Statista. (2017). Social Media and user generated content. Retrieved from STATISTA: https://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-active-twitter-users/

Tuan, Y.-F. (1991). Annals of the Association of American Geographers Vol. 81, No. 4. In Y.-F. Tuan, Annals of the Association of American Geographers Vol. 81, No. 4 (p. 684). Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 

Crowther, John, (Ed.). (2005). No Fear Romeo and Juliet. Retrieved August 17, 2017, from http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/

Putting the 'Reality' in Virtual Reality

Putting the 'Reality' in Virtual Reality

The Minecraft Forums is a site which brings all players together

By Jayson Lightbound

Communication can be defined in many ways, with the most common being the “act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviours to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts and feelings to someone else” (Oxford Dictionary, 2017). Communication is a key aspect to human life as it gives us the ability to spread knowledge, ideas and information to one another; in both good and bad ways.

In recent years with the accelerated growth of the ‘World Wide Web’, it has made it easier for us to communicate with other people across the globe, which not only benefits us as a society, but can also have strong negative impacts. One example being that face to face communication is now lacking within our society. The idea of talking face to face with someone is becoming a tough decision for younger generations due to the latest technology which let you communicate without even leaving your bed (Nguyen, 2017).

Another major way we communicate and connect with each other is through gaming. No more are the days of going outside and playing with friends on the street, not when it can be as simple as simple as sitting in a chair and holding a controller in your own room. In ‘multiplayer heavy’ games such as Minecraft, people can create their own virtual profile to connect, communicate and play with their friends at anytime and anywhere in the world.

Most often, players are given the ability to create their own ‘Avatars’ to anything they can imagine, using clothes, skin colour, hair styles and props to create their online identity. In extreme cases, players will even use this identity outside of the virtual world, because which one sounds cooler: Jayson or XxDragonSlayerxX? As spoken about in this week’s lecture with Victoria Kuttainen, French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan was quoted saying “who we are is based on a fundamental misrecognition of self—substituting image or reflection as stand-in for real” (Kuttainen, 2017). In more simple terms, you are what you think you are.

An example in relation to Minecraft is that players can customise their character with different skins and armour, which allows players the option to pick an identity of being tough and intimidating or something more peaceful and nonviolent.

Furthermore, Author, Bruce Chatwin, of the outstanding book ‘The Songlines’ talks with an Indigenous man who explains that even the most “far-flung” tribes could be connected through a Totemic Ancestor who would travel across the country leaving “musical notes along the lines of his footprints” (Chatwin, 1987). Although this may not be interpreted within Minecraft as a game itself, players can share their worlds online and can use links, hashtags or references for followers to click which will allow them to view or visit that person’s world. Therefore, these players are creating virtual ‘pathways’ in the form of hashtags or links to connect their friends and followers back to their worlds and creations.

In summary, it is evident many gamers use the internet as a way of connecting themselves to other players or followers using pathways such as links or hashtags. Also, most of these gamers often refer to themselves by their virtual identity instead of their real-life identity, so it is time to ask, at what point is it too far?

References

Chatwin, B. (1987). The Songlines. In B. Chatwin, The Songlines (pp. 11-15). London: Bruce Chatwin.

Nguyen, L. (2017, July 4). 11 Negative Effects Of Internet On Students And Teenagers. Retrieved from VKOOL: http://vkool.com/negative-effects-of-internet/

Oxford Dictionary. (2017). Communication. Retrieved from The Oxford Dictionary: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/communication

Kuttainen, V. (2017) Lecture Slides retrieved from Class BA1002.

Linking between Space and Place

Jordan Ashby 

Image One: Space and Place - Design for the Urban Landscape 

There are many links between that and how the internet changes our relationship to space and place. The internet has gained major attraction throughout the times and is endlessly changing. But how is it changing the way we view our relationships to space and place? Space and place together define the nature of geography (Antoine De Saint Exupery, 1939).  Places are also used for awaking certain feelings like comfort, security, belonging, being anchored, self-expression, and freedom to be oneself (Smaldone et al., 2005). As times have changed so have the advances of internet and the way we do use internet. The internet allows us to expand the imagination and reflect on the experiences of the real world.  Besides the way we use internet the way for speech in space and place really is an extreme power tool. “Malicious speech has the power to destroy a place’s reputation and thereby its visibility” (Tuan,1991). It’s astonishing the ways of power and how you can use power to an advantage or possibly a disadvantage.

Like explained previously in the blogs Instagram is my social media domain that I am having changing views upon. With Instagram, it’s a physical realm where people get the opportunity to persuade or dissolution your viewers. Which is changing the relationship you have with them. The prospects of space and place within Instagram can vary depending on the image you want to portray. The experiences that everyday people have compared to famous people mean that the images you can view will have increasing differences. You are most likely portrayed badly when in the spotlight unless you watch what you are depicting to the limelight. It’s a lot harder to show your true self that’s why it’s easy to dissolution your viewers and change the way they view you. The internet is a major power tool and Instagram is one relationship to space and place.

Furthermore, this relationship that we have with space and place is what keeps the internet roaming and the world turning. No matter whether we use imagination, speech or power it’s definitely a tool for the better and allows for change. Although there can be disadvantages with using the internet as times have changed people who don’t or have the access to it miss out a lot. It’s understood that Instagram can allow for a different portrayal towards yourself which allows for the viewers of your page to either have a real or fake relationship with you. That’s why the importance of space and place within relationships is a necessity.

References:

e-flux. (2008). Space and Place – Design for the Urban Landscape. Retrieved from http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/38976/space-and-place-design-for-the-urban-landscape/

Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative - Descriptive Approach. Lecture 5: [Journal Article]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/Conc-camcontent-bb_bb60/items/getitem.jsp?as_course_code=14-BA1002-TSV-INT-SP2&content_id=_1631890_1&course_id=_60553_1&doc_id=30163

Living Reviews. (2009). The concept of space and place. Retrieved from http://lrlr.landscapeonline.de/Articles/lrlr-2009-3/articlese2.html

Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1939). Space and Place: Humanistic Perspective. Lecture 5: Space and Place [Readings]. Retrieved from http://geog.uoregon.edu/amarcus/geog620/Readings/Tuan_1979_space-place.pdf

Is it safer living in the real world, than in virtual space?

By Jaimi Kitchen

When the internet was first invented in the 1990’s, it was a new and exciting phrase that had everyone talking. Nowadays the internet is a mind field of cyber-attacks, cyber- bullying and cyber- hacking. Goodreads is one of the few virtual spaces that does not express any negative traits of the internet. Users feel safe enough to publish their personal thoughts on books and authors for other to review and comment on.

With the fast-growing demands of the internet also comes the invention of cyber-security. Billions of dollars are invested into cyber-security each year, ranging from military use to personal use. Over the years, there has been many discussions of personal online security and who has the right to access it. For insistence, Julian Assange the creator of WikiLeaks which actions lead to the publication of a series of classified, unclassified military and diplomatic documents. This global situation opened the eyes to many people about the easy accessibility to one’s own personal property and privacy when using the any technological device.

Society now feels more alarmed while online and this starts making people build fake personas in an attempt to hide their true selves in fear that personal information could be easily accessed by anyone. Sherry Turkle presents this attempt to hide in a Tedtalk, she starts by explaining the power of technology and how it psychologically changes us. Turkle (2012) “They don’t only change what we do, they change who we are”, the more society consumes technology, the more we as individuals lose our identity. 

Image credit; Natasha Lomas. (March 1, 2016). Strange sensations; HTC’s brave new virtual world.

In a completely different opinion this week’s lecture discussed the idea that stories can reflect the way in which seeing and knowing the world (Kuttainean, 2017). This notion is built on the several different opinions, for example Tuan (1991, p.686) quotes that “storytelling converts mere objects ‘out there’ into real presences”.

As we become more familiar with technology, as a society we lose that notion of ‘storytelling’ and originality. Storytelling reflects in way in which someone might try to interpret the world, with technology and the internet we lose all sense of originally and is replace with phoniness. With society becoming more addicted to technology it’s understandable to notice fake personas that are displayed and it becomes harder ourselves to make those constant decisions on whether we put our true identities online. Which brings to light why be the same person in real life and the virtual world, when both realities come with different risks and consequences?

Reference List:

  

Kuttainean, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space; Networks, narratives and the making of place, week four notes [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayIndividualContent?mode=view&content_id=_2855360_1&course_id=_84764_1

Natasha Lomas. (March 1, 2016). Strange sensations; HTC’s brave new virtual world. [Image]. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/01/strange-sensations-htcs-brave-new-virtual-world/

Tuan, Y-F. (1991). ‘Language and the making of place’. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. (pp. 664-695)

Turkle, S. (March, 2012). Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone? [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together/discussion

Virtual Space and Place

The factor that people debate about the most is what exactly is a space and what is a place. Tuan comments that space if freedom and place is security (Tuan, Y-F. 1977 p3-7). Which is true from within the online world and the outer world, moving through all different space while creating place with deciding what goes on within the space that we have chosen to claim as our own. Using my network of Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard) to demonstrate space and place in the context of the online world. 

The New York times. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/technology/social-media-is-moving-into-creativity-like-tumblr.html 

If space is freedom, then the online world must be the epee center being able to maneuver our way through this world. Connecting with those from all around the world exploring their space, with every time we: like, follow, join, subscribe or even buying something there is the freedom roaming around. Doing as we please within that space not tied down to the any of the after effects or having to contribute part of our selves to that space. Just as on the social network the space that we conduct online business in dose give freedom to move as we please.

Place is a space that someone has taken ownership of "my place" is a phrase that can best describe this. It transcends from the real world into the online, like commented in the lecture this is a perspective (Kuttainen slide 4,2017), when having made an account, setting it to the way you like, deciding who gets to see and what it is to be seen is the perspective of taking a space and turning it into a place that is considered to be ours and we can do as we wish within that secure space.

The Spaces and places that encompass our lives, are all part of a perspective that we have about the site or network that we are involved in and how we move within them. Enforcing how Tuan describes these two places as one giving freedom, to go and do what we want, where we want and with whomever we want. No restrictions or boundaries that must be abided by it is only when that space if claimed by someone changing it from a space to a place, that is owned by someone. Making adjustment with the: settings, what we put up to be seen, who gets to see what is upon this page, including the beginning with the actual making of the account. Having what it all boils down to which is the perspective that what we are doing within the online network will either classify it as a free space or a secure place.

References:

https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BM1002, Lecture 3 Space and Identity: Genre and Transformation week 3 notes [slide 4]. https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Tuan, Y-F. (1977). ‘Introduction’. In Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. (p.p.3-7). London: Edward Arnold.

The New York times. (2013) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/technology/social-media-is-moving-into-creativity-like-tumblr.html 

Are Maps really showing us the Right Way? by Jordyn Hutchinson

Are Maps really showing us the Right Way? 

Snapchat has more than 300 million users worldwide, (Aslam, 2017), with its user base growing daily.  Snapchat has just recently added a feature, which, personally, could be dangerous.  In a recent update Snapchat has given its users the ability to have a map, which shows the people in your friends list where you are.  It is fairly accurate, it can even pin point t exact building the user is in, in some cases.  The only way to stay protected is to either not turn this feature on, or go in ‘ghost mode’.  This scares me, and I’m sure it scares a lot of other users to.  The reason, if you are unaware of it when first joining the app, people who add you, that you do not know, they know where you are.  This feature reminds me of the Marauder’s Map from Harry Potter, where you could see where fellow students, and other staff were located on school grounds. 

Snapchat Map 'Ghost Mode'

(Cabeen, 2017, Retrieved from: https://www.women.com/shannon/lists/what-does-snap-map-bitmoji-in-ghost-mode-look-like-snapchat). 

There is a major difference between virtual and real.  The virtual world is the world that a lot more people would say is unsafe, because you cannot monitor everything that goes on.  The virtual world’s we all choose to immerse ourselves in, are not real, and this is where we feel the most comfortable.  Reality is what is physically right in front of us, but we choose to ignore it. 

Maps are used everywhere, daily, whether they be electronic or in physical paper form.  There are all sorts of maps.  “They reflect how we see the world, or “our” world,” (Kuttainen, 2017).  They can change a person’s perspective on an aspect, in some cases.  People use maps to help them get around a city that they may not be familiar with.  People never realise how large a city can be until they have travelled, 20km in the same direction, and are still another 30 minutes away from their final location.  According to Wood, 2006, “Maps are descriptions of the way things are.  They are a lot like the answers people give police at the scene of an accident.  Questions of truth are never far away,” (p.3), maps are a significant part of helping people get to where they want to go, and they can help pinpoint someone’s location, if there is an accident.  Maps can also be used in a virtual sense.  There is a large list of video games where maps need to be used to complete a mission. 

Snapchat is social media app, which means it already poses a threat to user’s safety, and this new feature has just added to the fear that parents have.  Although this is a feature that only allows your friends to see you, unless you are in ghost mode, it is still shouting “Here I am”.  There are a lot of people on social media who add people they do not know, just to have more followers than their friends.  Because of this, this feature can make someone’s location exclusive, because there is a wide range of people who are a part of this social media platform. 

Reference List:

Aslam, S. (2017).  Snapchat by the Numbers: Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts.  Retrieved from: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/snapchat-statistics/  -Other information. 

Cabeen. S, (2017).  Here's what Snap Map Bitmoji in Ghost Mode looks like? Retrieved from: https://www.women.com/shannon/lists/what-does-snap-map-bitmoji-in-ghost-mode-look-like-snapchat  -Image. 

Kuttainen, V. (2017).  BA1002: Our space: networks, narrative and the making of place, week 4: Maps.  (Slide 5).  James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.  -Lecture Notes. 

Toxicblood52.  (2009, December 3).  Harry Potter and the Weasley Twins Marauders Map.  Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVBha-QUUCE -Hyperlink. 

Wood. D., et al; (2006).  The multiple truths of the mappable world.  New Internationalist Publication Ltd. Seeing through maps: Many ways to see the world.  (pp. 1-12).  Oxford, UK: New Internationalist Publication Ltd.  -Reading.