According to Wood, D et al (2005) a map can be a
description. So if u want the right description you have to have the right map for
the job that makes the right connections.
The social network I have chosen to
focus on is Facebook. I have been a member since 2007 the many changes that the
site has had over the years is similar to that of changing map new things come to light hat would be
useful to users so the administration makes the changesjust like Mercator’s map
(wood et al, 2006). Facebook can be used as a map whether you want to map out
your own activities such as status updates from your very first login or
someone else’s. Mapping pictures and the
change in time is also another way to map effectively. You can also use Facebook
as a way to map out your friends and your friends testing the theory of6 degrees of separation
.
Prouty, R (2009) talks of the flanuer, whose job was to get
lost in the city and observe their surroundings. Today’s Facebook user can loosely
relate to the characteristics of the flanuer. Although you do not have to get lost on the website,
scrolling through the news feed and reading peoples status’ may give you an
insight to that person and allow you to make your own assumptions.
Reference list
Image retrieved from https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=facebook&biw=1525&bih=715&sei=3BsMUs7zKaWSiAeEs4HQDQ
Prouty,R. (2009). A
turtle on a leash. Retrieved from http://onewaystreet.typepadd.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle0on-a-leash.html
Wood, D., Kaiser, W.L., & Abramms, B. (2006). The
multiple truths of the mappable world, in seeing
through maps: Many ways to see the world (pp.1-12). Oxford, UK: New
Internationalist.
From this blog I understand that you believe a flaneur is someone who observes their surroundings and makes judgements on this observations, which i can understand how you came to this conclusion. I myself, came to another conclusion. i believe that a flaneur is someone who observes but doesn't make judgements, I believe it is someone who is entirely unaffected by what they see, or at least they give the illusion of not being affected, i came to this conclusion because of something Prouty said in the reading this week " According to a Wikipedia entry, the flâneur is a term used in architecture and city planning to describe “those who are indirectly and unintentionally affected by a particular design they experience only in passing" (Prouty, 2009) as the readings didn't give one specific definition, a user on Facebook could be both your interpretation of a flaneur or mine, as the definition is so widely open to interpretation.
ReplyDeleteBrittany,
ReplyDeletein your mentioning of the 6 degrees of separation, i completely agree with you. Facebook shows mutual friends that you may have with someone therefore showing a map of how you may know this person, how this person may have found you or even how your friend knows this individual who is adding you. When looking through your friends, 'friend list' on Facebook you can also see their mutual friends, therefore the mapping of how you both know this person, will come down to the 6 degrees of separation. This all comes down to the world being so small. As Buchanan (2012) states, "At one time or another we all have a small-world experience". This is often seen on Facebook within mutual friends.