Image Location: Wally's Labyrinth
Ever since I was a child I have had a fascination with maps and mazes. I
am always the navigator on long car rides, and I know where Wally is in all of
the books. Instead of searching for Wally straight away, I would start at one
corner of the page and observe each individual and what they were doing. I
would find Wally, and proceed to move on to the character next to him, and keep
observing until I got the edge of the page. This week was the first time I had
really thought of these actions from when I was younger, and connected them to
some of my habits of today.
I am an anonyms user on Tumblr, and I often find myself in a derive
(Barnes, 1997), being drawn to different
attractions across cyber-space, taking in and enjoying the things in which I
encounter. Three years ago, I discovered Tumblr on an unplanned journey through
the internet, and I still go on these journeys today. They help me understand
this virtual world that we all practically live a second life in. I have
created my own spatial boundaries online (Barnes,
1997). I am mapping the internet in my head, through
aimlessly wandering from site to site. And it is all because I am captivated by
the ability to constantly find new places and never discovering the end. I will one day map the real world for myself, but for now the internet
is sufficing nicely.
I did not realise there was a title for my aimless surfing until
I really looked into and tried to understand the ways of a flaneur.
I came to see and understand the ways of the cyber-flaneur when I read this
passage in an essay by Gaylene Barnes-
“The cyber-flaneur's exploration of virtual spaces is achieved
through their natural propensity for movement; they wander anonymously within
the boundaries of virtual space, developing a virtual identity while connected.”
(Barnes, 1997)
When scrolling through Tumblr I feel that I am in possession of my incognito
as my blog is anonyms. I have mentally mapped my way around, and as I wander
aimlessly, I develop my own virtual identity while connected. I now know that I
am a cyber-flanuer. My blog is the perfect example of it. It is a product of my
online wandering. As I find myself in different corners of Tumblr and the
Internet, I am sharing it back to my blog. One moment I am commenting on cute photos of puppies, and minutes later I am on a website detailing ‘how to cook with coconutflour’ . My only reason to venture to these sites was simply because I had not yet been there.
My cyber-flaneur-ing has attracted a crowd. Most seem to be confused
with what I post online; however some have caught on to the connection between
the links. It is like a bread crumb trail from the beginning to the end of my
journey for that particular day. In the end, I do not aim it please, I do not
aim to always share exciting wonderful things on my blog, because, there is no aim. I
am the weird wandering soul on the street that many get confused by. My journey
may confuse some, but it will always make complete sense to me. I could not
give someone my mind map of the internet and expect them to understand. To them
it would be a labyrinth. All of our maps are completely bias towards our own experiences
(Kuttainen, 2015), which I find to be most fascinating part of all.
References
Barnes, G. (1997). Passage of the
cyber-flaneur. Retrieved
from http://www.raynbird.com/essays/Passage_Flaneur.html
Kuttainen, V.
(2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place.
Lecture 3: Power Point. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au
Image
Reference
Unknown. (2015). Maze Map, Where’s Wally. Retrieved
from: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7a/cf/93/7acf936b072e44ae29f3c164beb3d0ec.jpg
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