“Cyberspace
is an alternate geography that needs to be seen, witnessed, and experienced in
order to exist. The flaneur is a suitable metaphoric vehicle for the
'witnessing' of this space because 'the flaneur moves through space and among
the people with a viscosity that both enables and privileges vision” (Barnes, 1997)
For this experience of being a flaneur in a
virtual network in cyberspace I have retained my own identity and have chosen
to observe the network I joined called Townsville Free Stuff on Facebook. This is a closed group that allows anything
that can be recycled or reused for the Townsville population. I joined to observe but also there may be
something there I could use especially with unpredictability of being a foster
parent and someone may join my family at any time.
My experience with
travelling through tis space was better than expected. I did feel free to
travel throughout the site. I expected free stuff was going to be furniture,
toys and similar things. But there were
pets, fitness clubs family days links to grants, opening my eyes to what is
available to people in Townsville. Members can click on the link of other
members to view profiles. Members
include local groups such as Aitkenvale Selling, selling various items. There is one link to an external site to save
the Townsville Cultural Festival - http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-cultural-fest/
Maps are
descriptions of the way things are (Wood, Kaiser & Abramms, 2006). The way that the designer maps the sight is
through five tabs at the top, labelled: Townsville Free Stuff, About, Events, Photos,
Files. The Files tab is where you can
find the rules. On the right hand side
is a link to view all the members.
I
have not yet worked out if this world empowers or disempowers me but there is
obvious that there is administrator with some power. The administrator has had to remind members
on several occasions to remember the rules.
Reference List
Barnes,
G. (1997). Passage
of the Cyber-Flanuer Otago U/niversity
Wood,
D., Kaiser, W. L., Abramms, B., (2006) Seeing through maps:
Many Ways to See the World. Oxford: New Internationalist Publications
Sandra this site would have such a practical and relevant application for you outside of academia. By virtue of the group’s relevance in your locality I can see that it provides a new network that would extend beyond your home range (Petray, 2013) but may also contain a contact within your area. I would think that with this type of closed group, a clear, defined map and code of conduct would be beneficial for the purpose of the network that is essentially providing a community service.
ReplyDeletePetray, T. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 3. Maps: Seeing and Representing the World. [Power Point slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/