[Air-l] theory to explain plazes.com?

[Greg Wise]

One way into this would be to look at
Howard Rheingold (2002). Smart Mobs. Basic Books. [I'm reminded of his
discussion of the Lovegety dating service in Japan where a key-chain
device lights up when a compatible Lovegety subscriber is in the area;
plus various games played using location-aware phones. Rheingold's
website for the book, www.smartmobs.com posts updates for the various
sections of the book]
And other work on mobile phone networking, like
	Ito, Okabe, and Matsuda (2005). Personal, Portable, Pedestrian:
Mobile Phones in Japanese Life. MIT Press.

There's also the ambient computing approach, e.g.,:
	Adam Greenfield (2006). Everyware: The dawning age of ubiquitous
computing. New Riders Press.
	And someone already mentioned Moreville's Ambient Findability.

In terms of surveillance, there's the online journal Surveillance and
Society (http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/) as well as a brand
new book: David Lyon (2006). Theorizing Surveillance: The Panopticon and
Beyond. Willan Publishing.

In terms of people voluntarily giving up privacy to be surveilled, some
of the studies on webcams might be useful, especially home webcams (work
by Mark Andrejevic [see his book, Reality TV: The Work of Being Watched,
as well as an essay in Couldry and McCarthy's MediaSpace, Theresa Senft,
Hille Koskela [who has pieces in Surveillance and Society and in Lyon's
new book] would be places to start.

It also reminds me of the Marauder's Map in the Harry Potter books,
except in this case everyone gets a copy.

Cheers,

Greg Wise

-----Original Message-----
From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
[mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Bunz, Ulla
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 6:39 PM
To: air-l at aoir.org
Cc: njt06 at garnet.acns.fsu.edu
Subject: [Air-l] theory to explain plazes.com?

An undergraduate student in my program is researching plazes.com, a
website like myspace and facebook in that it is a social networking
site, but in addition it adds a physical location. The technology behind
it enables friends to know one's location through a cellphone or
internet connection. Thus, issues of privacy (invasion) are huge. The
student is looking for a theory that explains or relates to people's
willingness to engage in such activities even at the expense of
inhibiting personal privacy. In a way we have a third place here that is
tied to a physical location again. The student is approaching this topic
from a background in rhetorical criticism. 
Does anyone have suggestions for theories and places to look for them?
As-complete-as-possible references would be very much appreciated.
Please send to me directly. I will compile and send both to the list and
to the student.
Thanks,
Ulla
 
---
Ulla Bunz
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
University Center C, Suite 3100
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306
Email: ubunz at fsu.edu
Phone: 850-644-1809
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