Virtual spaces of information

Today’s lecture on Virtual spaces changed my thinking a little. Virtual spaces, relationships, distances were always quite simplistic in my mind. I believe partially because I was always looking at the interactions and relationships from my own point of view. It is very interesting to look at an interaction from a different point of view. What I realised was that power can belong to either, neither or both people in an interaction. Mary’s example of the desk really simplified this.  I realise though that it does get a lot more complicated than this. A desk is a lot simpler than the internet. The internet is a lot like a central hub where space is virtually non-existent boundaries can be crossed that allow interactions to occur across timelines. The internet allows us to create artificial places to do business and space is now reduced. However, there are also problems that arise. For example, messages are often given through e-mail, this often leads to mixed messages being received. Meaning can be construed and lead to different outcomes to what was originally expected. Virtual spaces are created which has also broken down the existence of space. Place has somewhat changed today. It is not simply a building, park or street. Place is now virtual, it is where people gather to interact. Faces are not as important, whether the interaction benefits the end users is.