aalto1 untyped-item.component.html
Garden of Thoughts: Virtual third places explored through an interactive installation
Loading...
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
Location:
Unless otherwise stated, all rights belong to the author. You may download, display and print this publication for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Authors
Date
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
66
Series
Abstract
Since their introduction, Ray Oldenburg’s properties of third places have been adapted to ac-count for virtual third places, as well as physical third places augmented by information and communication technologies. As the modern Internet consists largely of giant social media plat-forms that are more interested in ad revenue than providing social interaction, moments of connection are increasingly harder to come by on the internet.
This thesis consists of a written theory part, as well as an interactive installation that uses this theory to create a virtual third place. Although Ray Oldenburg's theory of third places is from a time before access to computers or the Internet was ubiquitous, the theory of third places still gives valuable insight when looking at virtual spaces and the needs they serve. Different studies have looked at existing social media platforms, such as Twitter, through Oldenburg's definition. In addition, various studies have expanded the definition of third places to also take into account physical places that have been expanded with various information and communication technologies, such as interactive installations.
The artistic part of this thesis consists of an interactive installation called Garden of Thoughts. Garden of Thoughts is a small social media site accessible from one computer. The main purpose of the installation is to offer Aalto ARTS students an alternative social interaction channel, thus acting as a virtual third place. The work consists of a grid-based drawing application running on a computer, with a commenting feature attached. All communication done via the installation is anonymous.
The qualitative content analysis performed after the installation suggests that the anonymous social media operating in the common space of an art school offered users a place to open up about their feelings and concerns, as well as a place where they could be vulnerable. In addition, this social provided a channel through which people could show that they care about the community and the well-being of its members.
Based on the feedback and experience gained from the work, people are clearly interested in alternative forms of virtual interaction, and that especially the expansion of traditional third places, such as cafes, with an interactive installation would be a possible target for further development.