[iDC] Re: Interactive City: irrelevant mobile entertainment?

[Ryan Griffis]

Just another bibliographic reference that would be of interest to  
people here:
Michael Curry's _Digital Places_ Routledge, 1998
It's a fairly academic treatise on the problematics of GPS/GIS, but i  
think it actually addresses, in some really relevant ways, (and from  
1998 no less!) some of our shared concerns (if i can so casually  
group them for purposes of the discussion) regarding the techno- 
fetishization that seems such a part of locative media and capital in  
general. in some ways he takes Latour's call to look at not just the  
symbolic and affective, but the logistic and technical to see how  
techno-cartography is structured and where it's "problems" lie. But  
he doesn't skimp on the symbolic significance involved either.
He even touches on the problem of proprietary software and education,  
something that has come up at other times on this list.
Most importantly, IMHO, Curry's goal seems to be to really  
interrogate the politics of representation involved in GIS/GPS and  
its limitations in doing so. Which is useful not just from a position  
of negative critique but also from a position of critical action  
(grassroots GIS uses, critical cartography, etc).
Much of this won't be groundbreaking info to people here, but it does  
a good job of providing some language with which to discuss some of  
the problems with locative media.
best,
ryan