Given the topic “networks,” one of the topics that needed to be discussed was the role that connectivity plays in our society. Thus, it is imperative to analyze the ubiquitous presence of connectivity and the issue of access and inclusion, the need to explore new ways to utilize network technologies to achieve goals beyond the simple “access” (building a concrete, physical community and share memories or experiences about such community), The possibility of making creative use of networks, and the way tools produced by such connectivity are turned into new needs and necessities.
on this note, Gabe Sawhney’s Murmur project, Wireless totonto (inspired by L’ile sans fils based in Montreal) ,and Echelon and Mark Shepard’s reflection on the “sentient city”‘s fascination and dangers (his reflections stem from an early project he had presented at Subtle technologies in 2006, tactical sound garden) appear complementary.
As Katja Mayer explained through her analysis of today’s ubiquitous visual representations of large networks, connectivity is a double-sword tool, as it allows us to map and examine the way in which communication is structured. on the other hand, it becomes a tool of control to which we submit without objecting and/or realizing its implication.