This recent article in Wired lays out the fascinating phenomenon of the information industry. It describes the massive new server farms cropping up in Oregon to house the petabytes of information for Google (and others) to keep up with the task of copying the rapidly expanding Internet. The article points out that […]

Categories: placeofmedia · network · cities · geography

Over the last few days, I’ve refined my thoughts on the concept of network locality. Up until this time, I’ve been thinking about how geographical space functions within the connectivity enabled by digital networks. But as I pursued this idea, I began to realize that starting from geography was not the most productive […]

Categories: placeofmedia · net-locality · mediated urbanism · mobility · place · geography

This IBM commercial seems to poke fun at the whole virtual world phenomenon. Interesting, considering IBM is one of the largest corporate investors in Second Life. Perhaps it’s tongue and cheek, perhaps its ironic - in any case, it’s worth contemplating as a reflection of a cultural moment, where the press, the youth […]

Categories: placeofmedia · mixed_reality · second life · virtual economies

I’m editing a special issue of the journal Space and Culture on the “Geography of Virtual Worlds.” Here’s a draft of the introduction. It’s still in process, but it might give some sense of what I think will be a very interesting issue.
This evening I am home in front of the fireplace, chatting […]

Categories: placeofmedia · SecondLife · games · hub2 · article ideas · second life · geography

I’ve had this question running through my head for some time now: what’s the connection between mobile computing (i.e. cell phones, PDAs, GPS, etc.) and local computing (neighborhood networking, digital civic forums, etc.)? On first blush, these are entirely separate phenomena. But, the more I consider it, the more I see them as […]

Categories: placeofmedia · citygovernment · city · net-locality · Community_Informatics · mediated urbanism · mobility · cities · place

A special issue of Information, Communication and Society just hit the stands and it’s worth a mention here. Yeah, yeah, I have an article in it, but more importantly, it’s a fantastic collection of work on the topic of “Urban Informatics: Software, Cities, and the New Cartographies of Knowing Capitalism.” Here’s the […]

Categories: placeofmedia · surveillance · Media Theory · mediated urbanism · mobility · cities · maps · web 2.0 · ubiquitous computing

The key is presented to Mayor Menino

The virtual mayor takes the key to the virtual city
The Hub2 kick-off event was a big success. We had a packed room, both in first and second life, and there was an overall positive reception to the work we are doing. Bill Oates, the Chief Information Officer […]

Categories: placeofmedia · boston · citygovernment · city · hub2 · civic_engagement · net-locality

The reception for the new Situated Technologies pamphlet series is taking place this Friday at the Urban Center in New York City. I really wish I could be there, but with the end of the semester fast approaching, I won’t be able to get away. This looks to be an amazing pamphlet series […]

Categories: placeofmedia · iDC · augmented_place · mixed_reality · mediated urbanism · mobility · cities · ubiquitous computing

Below is the press release for our event on December 13. Should be a good time. We’re going to say a few words and symbolically hand Boston Island to the service of the City of Boston. There will be a virtual key, and real food.
BOSTON, MA – Hub2 (www.hub2.org), a project […]

Categories: placeofmedia · boston · citygovernment · city · hub2 · gene_koo

Last week I was in Chicago at the National Communication Association conference. I never used to go to this conference, but over the past several years I’ve been attending a pre-conference seminar with this group called the Urban Communication Foundation. It’s an interdisciplinary group of folks who are concerned with the various aspects […]

Categories: placeofmedia · boston · SecondLife · city · hub2 · gene_koo · civic_engagement · cities