Courtesy of http://www.desktopwallpapers4.me/abstract/cyberspace-15903/
When one is surfing the net they are simply browsing the
internet at a leisurely pace. Clicking and searching through anything they find
interesting, which is similar to a ‘Flaneur’. A term used to describe someone adrift
in the city, a detached observers strolling through the streets at a leisurely pace.
(Prouty, 2009.) In this case referring
to Social Networks such as Facebook, Instagram and vines are networks that you
can surf through without drawing attention to yourself; moving through a space
without being noticed.
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ that is linked with Facebook is a social network, a space where people upload pictures that link to a website, but these specific pictures are put
under categories. When you tap on a picture it
pulls a page where if you were to click on the picture again it will send you
to the link that is connected to it or you could scroll down and find other
pictures that fit the category, even creating your own profile that people can
follow and ‘pinning’ pictures that you like. . In a way it
gives it a sense of cyber-community that is based around your personality. This
process is endless; it’s a cyberspace, a cognitive map where it has no fixed
boundaries in time or space.
As it says in Gaylene
Barnes, Passage of the Cyber-Flaneur; “the term cyber-flaneur is an exploration
of virtual spaces, where an individual can wander anonymously within the
boundaries of virtual space, developing a virtual identity, while connected.” I believe this description fits accurately
with this specific social network. People can ‘flaneur’ on Pinterest but to
draw attention to themselves they would have to re-pin a picture on their
personal wall thus creating attention and pulling them out of that ‘flaneur’
state.
Reference:
Cyberspace. (2015). Retrieved from URL http://www.desktopwallpapers4.me/abstract/cyberspace-15903/
Barnes, G. (1997). Passage of the Cyber-Flanuer. Otage University
Prouty, R. (2009). A Turtle on a Leash. Retrieved August 21, 2015, from One-Way Street: http://www.onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle-on-a-leash.html
Hyperlink. (2015). Retrieved
from URL https://www.pinterest.com/
This is a very good argument you present, and I (and many other Pinterest users) can relate to it. I think at some point we are all flâneurs on social media, in fact when I did this week's reading I thought "wow this is describing me perfectly!" I agree with your point about Pinterest having a sense of cyber-community based around your personality, and being a cognitive map. Like Victoria Kuttainen (2015) said in the lecture, a map is a form of narrative, so by creating this picture of your personality, you can connect to those who like the same things as you and I think this helps create the sense of cyber-community you speak of. With your last point about Barnes's description of the cyber flâneur, I think it definitely does fit the description of Pinterest, and probably also Facebook. P.S. Remember to try and make a reference to the lecture next blog post
ReplyDeleteReference:
Kuttainen, V. (2015). Maps [Lecture Slides]. James Cook University: Townsville