End of semester x online bird watching.

Spatial collapse: “Online bird watching”
Through spatial collapse I will investigate the ways in which information travels via the internet and how it has changed our lives. Visual information from the other side of the earth is now readily available. Specifically I will be focusing on the Idea of bird watching via the internet, and how lengthy travel and patience is no longer necessary to access such visual information.

About the project:
Through the spatial collapse project I would like to explore the technology behind the Internet. Using bird watching as a metaphor, I think I will be able to better express the way in which information travels as well as looking at the dynamics of the internet and the way that distance and location are no longer relevant when it comes to viewing visual information in particular.
Internet information travels via a series of transmitters and receivers, creating a web, or network throughout the world. Information travels through the air between these communication points (internet towers), much like that of a bird in flight leaping from branch to branch. The symbolism of bird watching is commenting on the way that we are being changed by the convenience of the internet. A bird watcher no longer needs to travel long distances and wait for hours in the bush, as the visual information of the bird he would like to see comes straight to him via the internet, no matter where it originated from.
Understanding how the internet works is an important aspect of my investigation. I will be thinking about what exactly is required physically to insert and image into the internet and how we can retrieve or find such information. Software, internet codes and looking at what kind of form information between transmitter and receiver takes will also form part of my research.