“A mental map of cyberspace is merely a
temporal recollection of where one has been; it does not offer any guidance as
to where one is going, because that space is yet to exist” Barnes, 1997.
Maps reflect how we see
the world; to individuals the same map can have different meanings. Maps have
history they are memories of where we have been or what we know. They are
powerful they shape the world (Kuttainen, 2015). However maps can differ, such
as cyber maps you can see what a person has seen and visit the same site
whether it leads you to Facebook profiles or YouTube favourites, unlike
physical maps or navigation maps were you have to experience things in reality
like land monuments or directions to buildings.
Through snapchat you can
see where people are or have been. This can provide a certain Intel into their
life. It can also be considered that through snapchat you are also able to
estimate your friends/contacts health (see if they are physically sick), their wealth
(by seeing where they are whether it be a fancy hotel, concerts or travelling
the world), their communication flow or even where they live and the suburbs
surrounding. Although snapchat has a timer and once seen through a personal
snap the snap may never been seen again, yet when posted onto “My Story” or “Discover”
you are able to see the snap as many times until it is deleted or is 24hrs run
out. When you can become a part of “Discover” it is basically a live stream
story (where people from the event/ country can also add their snaps) with live
people all over the world can access and see. This maps where you are to your
friends know where you are and what you’re doing. Through snapchat you are able
to put the location of what Country, city or event you are attending on the
bottom of your snap. Through this your friends through snap can map out where
you are and can even find you through it.
Reference List:
Barnes, G. (1997). Passage of the
flaneur. Retrieved from http://www.raynbird.com/essays/Passage_Flaneur.html
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the
Making of Place. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_1992257_1&course_id=_69740_1&framesetWrapped=true
photography
I agree that the smart phone application 'snapchat' contains a lot of influence on how we see particular people. Snapchat enables an insight into people's personal lives, depending on what they choose to share. Snapchat has a feature where you can choose to add your location which provides people with the opportunity to see where you are. This is a form of mapping because people who have snapchat have essentially been placed in this form of social map. According to WiseGEEK (2015), "A social map is a visual representation of a social network." It is clear how snapchat is a social map because it allows it's users to update their 'story' or send specific snaps to people which include a visual representation of their life in the moment that they choose to send the snap.
ReplyDeleteReference List:
WiseGeek, (2015). What is a Social Map? Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a- social-map.htm on 21/08/15.
I agree with your point about how a map is interpreted differently by different people, adding on to that I feel as the though whoever makes the map also has some say in the interpretation as they decide how things are perceived on it. Take the maps we looked at in the lecture, these maps are not to scale but for someone who doesn’t know the real size of a continent they would interoperate as the real size. I also found your comment about how the images from Snapchat reveal quit a lot about a person’s life even if it is for a brief amount of time. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and Snapchat is an efficient and easy to use social network. I feel as though Snapchat is providing us with a place where you can share your space with the world and doing so using images or video.
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