Nicholas Baldwin

WEEK 3: BLOG 1

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During the past week I decided to join the virtual network Experience Project. It is a network for individuals who would like to share their experiences and thoughts on a range of categories from food, health, politics and many more.


The more you scroll through this network the more you can see a space where individuals are able to say anything to anyone, a new concept of social power (Turkle, 1995). This can empower individuals, as it creates the ability for Possession of power, where the individuals express experiences, expertise and knowledge. Also a space to exercise power, where they have the ability to get their point across and others to listen/read. Although from our readings and the media we see a massive disempowerment with the surveillance controversies or so called "Big Brother". You lose your influence as power becomes held over you and can be used to gain leverage (Allen, 2003). This is a modern day version of Cyberspace Panopticon System,  Barnes (1997) explains cyberspace as dominated by a surveillance society, where people and society are concerned with what we are up to. This becomes even more suspicious when Dr Petray (2013) week 3 lecture explains how Google maps are expanding to a street view function, scary. As Wood, Kaiser and Abramms (2006) explain, every map has a purpose, a special interest. Albert Einstein said, "the only source of knowledge is experience" and knowledge is power. Which begs the question are individuals blogging experiences and knowledge being disempowered by this Cyberspace Panopticon?

 
This control does seem empowering so I decided for these 6 weeks to be part of this social surveillance power or as Barnes (1997) puts it a "cyber-flaneur", simply observing the surroundings of the virtual network, reading peoples experiences and their knowledge of this world . The network is easy to navigate with a site map on the home page, which allows anyone to experience or travel into the blogging world of Experience Project.

References

 

Allen, J. (2003). Lost geographies of power. Malden, MA.: Blackwell.

 

Barnes, G. (1997). Passage of the Flâneur. Retrieved from:

            https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp

 

Einstein, A. (2013). Brainy Quote. Retrieved from:                                                                         

            http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins148778.html




Image: Surveillance. Retrieved from: http://sadredearth.com/wordpress/wp-

            content/uploads/2013/06/9375.jpg
 

Petray, T. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place,

            Lecture 3.3 Maps: Seeing and shaping the world. Retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

 

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet. New York:

            Simon & Schuster.

 

Wood, D., & Kaiser, W, I., & Abramms, B. (2006). Seeing through maps: Many ways to see the  

             world. Oxford, Uk: New Internationalist