PROXIMITY MAPPING
This is a diagram I made after reading some information about the uptake of mobile phones in Africa and the innovative ways people are using mobile technology in the developing world.
I tend to follow developments in the areas I have represented by circles here. They represent some of my interests. This is a simple example but I hope to expand on this and develop a wider visual vocabulary to represent ideas and their ‘proximity’ to my own thinking and identity.
I’m aware of the concept of mind mapping but I feel there are concepts that are not represented so well in mind maps particularly in the area of proximity. Mmind maps tend to represent concepts as binary and I would like to suggest that my ‘identity’ is made up of many different types of concepts that I have varying proximity too. I may agree a little or a lot with a particular idea. I may like to eat fish just sometimes.
I hope to expand of the idea of a persons ‘proximity map’ as I see it. This might represent proximity to other concepts, like how close are you historically in time to another person, event or idea. It might also help you discribe at the same time how close you are physically to a network or several networks of people or it may also discribe proximity in an emotional or political sense so it might end up discribing, in part, our extreamly complex ‘identities’
While this may end up pinpointing ‘me’ in a certain way, I’m also aware of one of the general theories of networks which states that the weaker ‘links’ that i have in any network may in fact be the most ‘useful’ to me. This points a way as to how this might be useful: The better I can define ‘me’, the better I can find people who are distant links that may be good contacts e.g. mutually ‘useful’.
I realise to some people this may sound like some kind of Orwellian nightmare, I have tried to be agnostic about any particular application of the idea. Any implemation that I may be involved in would have to be transparent and user based.
If this suggests any further ideas to you please drop me a comment, I could do with some feedback!
some other peoples thoughts that I was looking at whan I made this example:
This from: SEVENTY MILLION MORE AFRICANS NOW CONNECTED TO GSM NETWORKS | Francesco’s Web Space (Beta)
…and they said:
The GSMA, the global trade body for the mobile industry, announced today that the number of mobile connections in Africa has risen 70 million in the past 12 months to 282 million.
This is called AfriGadget » Blog Archive » 18 year old self-taught electronics “genius” invents mobile phone-based vehicle anti-theft system.
…and they said:
Morris Mbetsa, an 18 year old self-taught inventor with no formal electronics training from the coastal tourist town of Mombasa on the Indian Ocean in Kenya, has invented the “Block & Track”, a mobile phone-based anti-theft device and vehicle tracking system.
This is from: Street Use: Community Payphones of the World
…and they said:
The first one isn’t actually a phone booth but a stall selling GSM pre-paid airtime credits. In large parts of the developing world, these are becoming a form of currency, as they are transferable by SMS messaging. If you want to send money home, you buy X amount of extra minutes, then text whoever you want to send it to with the transfer code.It has the great advantage that it’s instant, secure (can’t be intercepted or stolen), and not subject to bribery and rent-seeking. The recipient can either use it, or else transfer it to someone else in exchange for goods or services – or for that matter transfer it to someone else in exchange for cash.
Looks like Tin BL has something to say as well:
timbl’s blog | Decentralized Information Group (DIG) Breadcrumbs
…and he said:
It is about getting excited about connections, rather than nervous.
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when i read your blog i feel very ignorant.
this is not a criticism of you by the way.