Ubiquitous Mediums

Post reflection here about general reaction to one of the readings, both the readings or one interesting concept from the reading.

I picked the concept of ubiquity-

When a medium has become so seamless integrated into out everyday lives that we cease to think about. In influences and even strcutures our social relaity and our interaction with the world.

One ubiquitous technology that is interesting is the cell phone-

The convergence of so many different technologies into the cell phone (from alarm clock to texting) this technology has become one of the most used media in modern society.

It is our connection to the workd and others.

There are a set of norms and customs attached to the use of cell phones.

There are multiples ways in interacting with other via the cell phone.

There are new expectations associated with the cell phone.

An artifact that I decided to bring in is the mobile app. 4 square

This is a mobile phone application that can be dowloaded and used as a "location-based social networking website". The app is game-based and allows users to generate reviews about spaces visited and to connect with others within those same spaces. There are a set or rules and regulations with which the app. is used. (denotative meaning)

This app is interesting because it is unique to mobile culture. In a conference at Columbia University one scholar spoke about how foursquare has become a device that re-maps the city on a social level and makes new meaning out of spaces. What was once the work of specialists (map-making) is now a crowd-generated territory that markes spaces with new meaning (largely consumer but not always).  (connotative meaning)

This is interesting because it begs the question of how communication technologies can have an effect on our enviromentment and how we interact with spaces. The app. largey promotes viewing the city through the lens of a consumer culture. While some non-commercial spaces are certainly covered (like the New York Public Library or Central Park), its primary use is restaurants, cafes, hotels, shops etc....

 Annotated Bibliography

1 source that relates to the artifact (either from the reading or not)