Cyberculture: An Infinite, Spacious Expanse.

The concepts of space and place may seem quite synonymous and simple on the surface. These modern perceptions are merely the tip of an iceberg. Tuan (1977, p. 3) discusses the symbolic, concealed iceberg that separates these two vastly opposing terms. However, daily life rarely offers opportunity to ponder the underlying variance between these keys terms, as were discussed in this week’s lecture and readings.

The Laughing Man, (2017)

The virtual online world is filled with secretive nooks and crannies, hidden on the fringes, camouflaged from eyes that lack comprehension and direction. Through isolation and secrecy, these locations form a virtual foundation for a culture, a culture that ekes out a “place”, the gathering site for members of the social ethos. As Kuhn (2013, p. 5) elaborates, the concept of culture and ‘space’ surpasses that of the physical world, and has begun to flourish in a virtual environment. Unlike the physical world, the cyberworld offers anonymity and a lack of restraint from reality’s and society’s oppressive morals. This freedom enables the discrete interaction between people with strange or misunderstood mutualities.

Steam, my chosen social network, houses an abundance of secretive and public spaces. Through the creation of new online games, a surplus of revealed, correlated online social platforms, or ‘cybercultures’, as coined and discussed by Kuttainen (2017) are created, interwoven by mutual members of these numerous cultures. Alternatively, in the shadows of this social network lie countless, restricted communities. As discussed by Ferreday (2011, pp. 98-99), without invitation, these esoteric social networks remain hidden from sight, reserved for the few that are welcomed into the niche space.

Regardless of disclosure, it is becoming obvious that a core division between these two commonly synonymous terms is a sense of social ethos or culture.  Internet culture has been the focus of various studies and articles. Since its commercially-available beginnings in the mid-1980s, the internet has begun its transition from its centre as an uncultured ‘space’, into a continuum as a permanently developing cultural “place”, or “hub”. As the developments continue, the previous phases of cyberculture work as the footing for its future progression.

When it comes down to it, this blog assessment is quite reminiscent of a matryoshka doll, as the blogging space transitions into a place as the ‘culture’ and ‘character’ are shaped within our discussions of space and place. Although social networking ‘cultures’ and ‘places’ vary, similarities can be observed through contrast. My immersion into the Steam community has enabled me to grasp the variations of cyberculture, with apparent mutual origins. As these new, abstract concepts begin to settle, I am becoming consciously aware of the daily connections between space and place that were inconspicuous to my mind, but seem so obvious as my understanding of them deepens.

Will the virtual and the physical realms remain distinct forever, or could integration occur, where the two can find a mutual, satisfactory integration?

Until next week,

 ~R. Laverty

References

Ferreday, D. (2011). Online belongings: Fantasy affect and web communities. [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/lib/jcu/reader.action?docID=1053983

Kuhn, F. (2013). Identities, cultures, spaces: Dialogue and change. [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/lib/jcu/reader.action?docID=1800429

Niewiadomski, R., Anderson, D. (2017). The panopticism of cyberculture: Could privacy-invasive social media stifle innovation?. Retrieved from https://cie.acm.org/articles/panopticism-cyberculture-could-privacy-invasive-social-media-stifle-innovation/

The laughing man [image]. (2017). Retrieved from https://blog.cavebeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/laughing_man_wallpaper.jpg

Tuan, Y. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of experience. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446213742.n7

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Networks, narratives and the making of place, week 3 notes [PowerPoint slides]. College of Arts, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.