What are locative media?
The more physical space becomes an important informative layer or context in digital information, the less clear it becomes what the term locative media refers to.
In the least, it indicates a very broad set of projects, technical applications and practices. Too broad, for my taste. With the LocativeClub (a group of Amsterdam based practioners and theoretics of locative media) we have been trying to dissect the term locative media - to come up with useful ways to pinpoint it. We are still in the process, so it may turn out to be necessary to stick to an inclusive use, while being aware and clear about all the differentiations of the term.
If we knew better how excacty we can mean ‘locative’ - we would also be able to formulate more interesting critiques on so-called ‘locative’ projects. And we may come up with good ideas for next projects.
Criteria
The first and most obvious criteria we proposed for an appropriate use of the term locative media was: the primary informative context of a locative media project should be (a specific) location. We actually thought this should mean that a locative project can only really be accessed at the location itself.
A second criteria we came up with is that the content material of a locative project should be related to the location (allthough we agreed that this relation can be of very heterogeneous nature).
Implicitly, I think, we discussed the term from a user or participants perspective - so quite subjectively and pragmatically. So, we tried to describe what the script of a locative media project should include from the perspective of a user / participant.
(more later)
(Looking for the best way to get a tag cloud displayed at the top of the central column - also checking various three column layouts)
Tags: locative media, hybrid world