André Lemos

Cultura da Mobilidade

Mobility is inherent to men, it is related to the necessity to find a place in the world, to “building to dwell” (Heidegger, 1958), to establish a topus to protect us from loneliness and emptiness from the generically and abstract space. Mobility culture intertwines technological, sociological and anthropological issues. In communication, mobility is central since to communicate means move signs, messages, information, being all of the media (gadgets, environments and procedures) strategies to move messages affecting our relationship with time and space. In the current phase of mobility and location technologies (location medias), it is not about annihilating places, but creating spaces. This is the point we try to defend here. The current mobility culture is a location culture

Espaço, mídia locativa e teoria Ator-Rede

Resumo: O social e o que emerge das associacoes, diz a teoria ator-rede (TAR). As associacoes entre actantes (aquilo que produz uma acao) humanos e nao humanos sao sempre localizadas. A TAR busca analisar como se dao as associacoes e suas localizacoes para conhecer o social. Esse tipo de enfoque sobre o social pode ser particularmente interessante para se pensar a espacializacao nos processos comunicacionais e, mais ainda, naqueles emergentes com as atuais midias de geolocalizacao 1 . Esse artigo se insere em uma pesquisa maior sobre as “midias locativas” a partir da TAR. Aqui discutimos, particularmente, a nocao de espaco. Palavras-chave: espaco; midia locativa; teoria ator-rede

Arte eletrônica e cibercultura

Art always expresses the imaginary of its time. Modernity is based on the autonomy of various fields of knowledge such as science, art, and morals.

Apropriação, desvio e despesa na cibercultura

Este artigo trata do imaginario cyberpunk, que condiciona a cibercultura, fazendo o resgate das origens e das associacoes do termo e da sua relacao com os cyberpunks e com o underground da informatica.

Cibercultura e tsunamis: tecnologias de comunicação móvel, blogs e mobilização social

As novas praticas sociais ligadas as tecnologias moveis da atual cibercultura foram fundamentais para a mobilizacao mundial de ajuda as vitimas das tsunamis. O que mostraremos neste artigo e que o uso das tecnologias moveis nesta tragedia demonstrou o desenvolvimento da “era da conexao”.

“Move and Be Healthy!”: Performative Sensibility and Body Experiences Mediated by Wearable Devices in Brazil

In this chapter we reflect on the role played by the agency of performative sensibility (PS) in the association between bodies and wearable technologies. We explore this particular form of algorithmic agency (PS) in bodies by mapping user experiences with wearable devices in Brazil. A total of 121 responses from a digital questionnaire were analyzed. The findings indicate that although these technologies are sustained by a discourse that values a healthy lifestyle, the behaviors acquired by the users suggest that the latter are motivated more by a desire to produce data for the system. The results also show that the data visualization interfaces support a narrative of “healthy” based on the amount of general “body movement.” We argue that PS acts as a “rhetorical communicational device” that translates the practice of physical activity by separating body performance from the context of the action.

Cidadão Sensor e Cidade Inteligente: Análise dos Aplicativos Móveis da Bahia

The paper aims to show an exploratory research about the use of mobile applications by the State of Bahia and the Municipality of Salvador, Bahias capital, Brazil. It seeks to identify how they are materially configured, their functionality, and structures. The results are subdivided into three main aspects: 1) An overview of services and functions; 2) Planning: how the applications are managed and understanding by the government and the city hall and 3) Monitoring: how the governments control the use of the mobile applications. At stake is an idea of a smart citizen, as an information provider to the public authorities.

I feel my wrist buzz. Smartbody and performative sensibility in Fitbit devices

This article discusses the concepts of performative sensibility and smartbody. The central thesis is that performative sensibility highlights the instrumental nature of sensations in which objects act on the world. We show how the prescriptions of this new sensibility associated with wearables affect the body and perform a subjectivity that we propose to call a smartbody. They were analyzed one hundred testimonials from the oldest thread with the greatest number of comments in the Fitbit user community forum. Quantitative tools and Actor-network theory were used as a guide to assemble and analyze the corpus. The preliminary findings show that Fitbit users demonstrate particular changings in body care. Extreme behaviors, physical limits defined by system goals and quantification habits without carrying the device are some of the examples found. These findings appear to indicate that the performative sensibility of wearables mobilizes new bodies performatic patterns and practices oriented by data.