The Perception Game

By Marina Douglas

To shape this country, the ancestors left Songlines. To shape our realities, we follow virtual narratives. Although it may not seem likely, there is much in common between these two concepts. Have you ever considered where all of our perceptions come from? How do people make decisions? How do they navigate through social networks and relationships? I believe that people use virtual narrative as an essential way of perceiving and navigating the real world.

“Narrative is fundamentally orienting.” (Kuttainen, 2015) We know it today, and generations of Aboriginal people have known it through their belief in Songlines. Songlines are paths that the ancestors left in their journey across the land, and these paths are still used today in communication, navigation and organisation. Groups and kinships are denoted through the land on which certain Songlines run, and these groups use that land as a “way” of communication (Chatwin, 1987). Songlines are also ways of perceiving the world; one who knows where a Songline exists may sing the land into existence around them, as it has first been perceived in their mind.

Image from theodyssey.com facebook-profile-vs-tagged-photos-5741.jpg

Modern social networks operate in a similar way. On Facebook, kinship is denoted not only by who is “friends” with who, but through the posts, pages and opinions that certain people share. You might decide to become “friends” with an acquaintance after finding that they possess several ideas and interests suited to your own purposes – on the other hand, you might harbour doubts about becoming “friends” with someone you perceive, merely judging by their online profile, as unfavourable. In this way, we automatically organise ourselves into groups and friendship circles. Observing people in such a way, it is easy to form a mental map by which social navigation can be achieved. Our view of society rests firmly on these organisations, and this shows that virtual narrative plays a key role in our perception of other people and the world.

References

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape Ltd.

Streetz. (2011). Perception vs. Reality: How online personas define real life people. Retrieved from http://www.singleblackmale.org/2011/03/16/perception-vs-reality-how-online-personas-define-real-life-people/

Image Credits

Koppenhaver, L. (2015). Profile picture vs. Tagged photo. Retrieved from theodysseyonline.com facebook-profile-vs-tagged-photos-5741.jpg

Truth and Lies

By Stephanie Reid

Facebook, as a portrayer of news, photos and opinions, establishes the narrative of its site as a multicultural society through the personality of posts presented. They have the power to present themselves and their surroundings through the use of their words, to whatever extent they wish. 

As the Greeks understood through the importance of narrative that people can convince or explain something to others, in a way that they want to portray it (Kuttainen, 2015). Some people portray themselves in a light that is better than real life, by photoshopping their images, telling white lies or even complete lies. Some people, however, defame others through the use of their social media account – maybe some words that they would perhaps not say face-to-face (Example of Defamation). People can convince others of a life that is not really theirs.

Real or Fake?

In Kuttainen’s work in the book, Telling Stories, writers of the early to mid 20^th century decided to create an image of the Pacific as a place where everyone would want to go – even during times of the Great Depression. Holidays to the Pacific were a massive, great thing – if you could afford it. They created a different vision of ‘Australia at the time, one that was cosmopolitan as well as multicultural in its imaginative horizons’ (pg 53). These white lies help to create an image that propels a company (tourism) into everyone’s minds.

People’s views of you are dependent on what narrative you display on your social media accounts. You could be high and mighty, or you could be down to earth. It is a space that people customise through words and pictures to depict the life that they want to be living. 

References

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Lecture 4: Maps. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Dalziell, T., & Genoni, P. (2013). Telling stories. Clayton, Vic.: Monash University Publishing.

Burke, L. (2015). When a Facebook post costs you dearly. AdelaideNow. Retrieved 26 August 2015, from http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/technology/facebook-and-defamation-when-a-post-costs-you-dearly/story-fnjwnzal-1227498531873

(Image) V, G. (2015). Real or Fake Recovery? Six scary charts on the South African economy. Sound Money SA. Retrieved 26 August 2015, from http://soundmoneysa.co.za/2012/09/real-or-fake-recovery/

Map of life to each his own

Maps are everywhere in life but without them we would never be as advanced technology wise as we are today. But surely now that we are so advanced and there is nowhere left to map on the planet, surely there is no need for maps anymore is there? We can just use our GPS or follow google maps online and not have to worry or remember where we're going because it will just tell us where to go. Gone are they days when your passenger would be holding the paper map bought from the servo while you jointly try to figure out where to go. So are maps really needed anymore in a society as advanced as ours? Yes they are.

 Most people don't realize that everyday each of the average seven billion people on our planet earth are drawing a little piece of a map everyday. But how is this possible? Ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of planet earth has been mapped and can be viewed on the internet. Of course there isn't anything to map anymore, BUT THERE IS!, life is a journey and everyday we map down our travels for the day, some mentally, some in blogs or social medias and some in old fashion diaries.

These maps help us find our way when we get lost and sometimes help us to not repeat the same dead ends twice throughout life. So what are the purpose of these maps are they even useful to anyone but the person writing them?

 Every map takes a point of view. No map can show everything at once, any more than the two of us could see the same things at the same time at our lunch together. At the very least, if we were to see each other, we couldn't see ourselves! (D. Wood, W.L Kaiser, B. Abramms, 2001 pp.12). So how are the maps of other people important to us? As people age their maps get larger and more well drawn they can start to be understood by other people and can be passed on. With the help of the internet and social media sites such as 9Gag it helps pass these maps on significantly but also makes a lot more parts to the map of life. Also with the aid of the internet it makes not all maps straight forward anymore or as easy to understand as not many other people could look at someone else's map and even make sense of it. But as the older generation and younger generation grow apart some of the older maps have not been passed on at all causing a gap and misunderstanding between the generation and because some of the maps in the younger generation are changing and no longer look like the maps of the older generation. Which is fine as the world changes so do the maps and the way they are passed on and the most brilliant thing is they can be anything from strange jobs  to funny animals.  

References

Denis Wood, Ward l. Kaiser & Bob Abramms 2001 Seeing through maps many ways to see the world(New Internationalist Publications™ Ltd)pp.12

The 9gag community

Now we all have that thing that we like to look at on our phones when we are bored, or even need a pick up for the day, something that we just want to make us laugh or be intrigued, for example when we are in the hospital waiting room cause dad cut his finger off doing home maintenance to the back yard or even as simple as just as we're about to fall asleep at the end of a long and painful day. Some people use Facebook others use Tumblr and some even use Instagram those being the big three. But in reality the're many, many more websites and apps these days that do relatively the same thing. One of these sites is called 9Gag.

Now 9Gag started off as just a site that people could stream memes and ideas that they found funny and hoped that other people would too ( so your basic social media type system). But then as time went by 9Gag started getting more and more attention from people all over the world. The information superhighway in general is steeped in a language of liberation and Utopian possibility( S. Turkle 1995) and caught on this highway more and more people starded getting on board. So 9Gag started increasing their content to worldwide news feeds, comments sections and even created a 9Gag universal language made up of a love of potatoes a new measuring scale of bananas and a universal love for redheads.

Now why is 9Gag so different from the others or even the big three ( Tumblr, Facebook and Instagram) that is because we as 9Gaggers have made a community. A Community a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceives or is perceiving itself distinct in some respect from larger society which from within it exists ( Dictionary.com) . This community across the world has linked us together in a multicultural non-discriminating joy for they things we enjoy and hope others enjoy as well. This meaning, the texts, photos, and videos shared on the website have over time been grouped in different classes based on their similarities (A. Van Luyn, 2015). It is a space that we as a community have created slowly over time and a space that we now happily inhabit.

References

Sherry Turkle (1995) LIFE ON THE SCREEN IDENTITY ON THE AGE OF THE INTERNET, SIMON & SCHUSTER PAPERBACKS

Dictionary.com(2015), http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community

Labyrinthine Mind Maps

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

#Hashtag

Blog 2

 

Instagram is one of many locations on the virtual map. “These maps outline what we believe to be representations of reality” as the lecturer stated in the previous lecture. I personally found it intriguing because when you think about it, Instagram and Facebook are quiet powerful in representing reality. This is only because every person has a different concept of reality and that is formed by personal experiences. These are the key points on maps that we are linked to on the internet. If you look at it this way, we choose to like certain things that interest us or relate to us. When we continue searching for these things such as on Instagram you use hashtags that relate to your photo and once you click on that you find more photos that have the same tag, then before you know it you are a part of this giant web of photos and people who start following you because either they find your pictures fascinating or you have things in common. One thing I’ve noticed from observing Instagram is that hashtags are one of the major tools used for pictures that have been uploaded. Each hashtag used is then linked to more pictures with the same tag, so the more tags used the more pictures you are linked to, which allows you to be linked to multiple webs and millions of people are able to view your profile, follow you and like your pictures. Within the previous lecture I remember the lecturer saying how “maps are both mirrors and shapes of the world” and with that it reflects on how we perceive the world as a whole, end result is we are all connected, however we chose different paths.  

www.istockphoto.com

Mapping the Facebook World

Mapping the Facebook Network

Image from: Gigaom.com Facebook Map 2010

This week as been all about maps. Maps of the real and virtual world. In general maps are places that are linked up to form a geographical network. Facebook can be seen as a virtual map as its location services, if you choose to enable it, links your posts to your location as well as tagging your friends link them to the post.

A single post can link many people to a single place. So in a sense it can be seen in a map in that way. Of course this would be a really inefficient way of mapping the world and if a geographical map were to be drawn using information such as location of posts then the size of the countries would be distorted much like the Mercator projection (Wood, 2006). This would be due to the disproportion of amount of Facebook users to the size of the country. As of May 2014, India had more than 30 million Facebook users than Brazil (Statista, 2014). See now if this were mapped according to amount of users Brazil would be a smaller country than India, which we know to be untrue.

Maps are powerful, mainly because we believe them to be representations of reality (Kuttainen, 2015). Therefore, these maps need to be inclusive of all participants. Like I mentioned earlier, the link between the users on Facebook and their place on the world is the locations services; if that were to be disabled then that user, in perspective to this map, would simply vanish of the face of the Earth. Therefore, the maps that are drawn using Facebook participants would not represent reality and would be totally disproportioned. Thankfully people took the time nd effort to use their eyes and chart real maps.

References

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 2: Power. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Statista. (2014, May). Countries with the most Facebook users as of May 2014. Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/

 Wood, D. et al. (2006). Seeing Through Maps: Many Ways to See the World.Oxford, UK: New Internationalist Publications.

Image Credits

Ingram, M. (2010) Gigaom, Facebook Draws a Map of the Connected World.