more-than-than human contact, conspicuous mobility, and the digital frontier

More-than-human contact, conspicuous mobility, and the digital frontierMatthew W. WilsonAssistant Professor of GeographyBall State Universitymwwilson@bsu.edu

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”