Space, Place, Mapping, and "Geography" in/of Second Life
I am working with a communication professor here to create an undergraduate course that will address something often called "cybergeography" from a communication perspective. We're hunting down syllabi and course activities/assignments and I'm hoping to get suggestions from some members.
There are a lot of ways this concept plays out with regard to Second Life. One could look at the geographic distribution of SL users or servers in RL, for example, or use something like Slogbase to track avatar movement. You could examine the ways that identifiable SL places emerge, and how they connect with others, via teleporting vs. proximity on continents and archipelagoes. You could map out telehub locations as evidence of how people are trying to control privacy and channel the "gaze". All that in addition to more traditional concepts of mapping (the SL map and the two map tools), networking, etc.
I'd be grateful for any suggestions and leads. Syllabi that cover your use of SL in a relevant course, sites of interest, theory/research, etc. Resources for the broader issue of cybergeography (see Martin Dodge interview for one take: http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=375) also appreciated, but mainly my focus is on space, place, and mapping in Second Life.
Thanks in advance! This subject is fascinating - maybe we can break it out into a separate thread on RezEd or similar if enough interest follows.
There are a lot of ways this concept plays out with regard to Second Life. One could look at the geographic distribution of SL users or servers in RL, for example, or use something like Slogbase to track avatar movement. You could examine the ways that identifiable SL places emerge, and how they connect with others, via teleporting vs. proximity on continents and archipelagoes. You could map out telehub locations as evidence of how people are trying to control privacy and channel the "gaze". All that in addition to more traditional concepts of mapping (the SL map and the two map tools), networking, etc.
I'd be grateful for any suggestions and leads. Syllabi that cover your use of SL in a relevant course, sites of interest, theory/research, etc. Resources for the broader issue of cybergeography (see Martin Dodge interview for one take: http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=375) also appreciated, but mainly my focus is on space, place, and mapping in Second Life.
Thanks in advance! This subject is fascinating - maybe we can break it out into a separate thread on RezEd or similar if enough interest follows.
Comment
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Comment by Joe Clark (SL: JS Saltwater) on June 12, 2009 at 2:10pm -
Ah, good suggestion. I know of it but have not looked at it closely. Thanks!
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Comment by Bola King-Rushing/Text Timeless on June 12, 2009 at 12:48pm -
For mapping + communication in SL, have you seen BlogHUD?
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