Doing Participation on the Geospatial Web
It is widely understood that the geospatial capabilities of Web 2.0 have reinvented the way people interact with the physical world. With user-generated input, Web 2.0 has transformed the way people choose where to shop, eat, and socialize through apps such as Yelp, Urbanspoon, and FourSquare. The authors of this article are curious about how the proliferation of place-based digital platforms will affect the domain of public participation, including civic engagement, public involvement, and volunteered geographic information i.e. the participatory Geoweb (PGeoweb).
The PGeoweb can improve public participation in many ways. These include increasing the number of participants, enhancing communication and record keeping, and connect individuals and groups in alignments that could not otherwise be forged. Central to these advancements in public participation vis-à-vis the PGeoweb is the role of anonymity. The authors mention the activity of women on social media during the Arab Spring as a primary example of how the anonymity of Web 2.0 technologies can be incorporated into public participation. Following this example, the PGeoweb could provide a layer of personal security so as to reveal and project the opinions of marginalized people. In some circumstances, virtual involvement may be the “superior participatory medium” (27).
Throughout the article, anonymity is largely portrayed as a positive development. The most oppositional comment made about anonymity is that it hinders the establishment of trust within a digital community. I believe that trust may be just the tip of the iceberg with respect to anonymity. How can one be accountable for one’s virtual actions? Anonymity also removes the human dimension from discourse. By reducing opposing views to profile names, I worry that people may be driven apart by online participation, particularly in cases of political tension. Hate becomes a mechanical procedure when there isn’t a human face looking back at you. While the PGeoweb has a lot to offer public participation, there are many more factors to consider before we celebrate.
– BCBD
