All of these readings pointed to the fascinating connection and disconnection between digital space and physical space, and the limbo of living in interstitial space.
A couple of general thoughts:
It’s so easy to forget that “the cloud” does have a real touch-it hold-it physicality, and that because of that, there are legal and material considerations involved. It’s easy to forget what keeps “the cloud” up and running, and how fragile that system is. And that it has a location, a place where it is based, a place where there are laws and regulations. And in many ways, this feels right. Ideally, an elected official should have a say in what happens online, because the consequences of online actions manifest in the real world. But the international nature of “online” makes it nearly impossible. Is it a world-wide elected official? A representative council of worldwide leaders? The UN’s job? And how do we get people that actually UNDERSTAND the cloud and tech to want to go into that role. I don’t want facebook, google, twitter, etc to be deciding how they should behave.
In some ways, this reminds me of the duality that is playing out across the world with remote work right now. Where are employees, what can employers ask and demand. What can employees ask and demand. What are the responsibilities and rights of each, how does pay scale differ based on where employees physically live, how much privacy, autonomy, oversight should they have… it’s all fascinating.
And both the cloud readings and la frontera bring into focus the people who find themselves in the interstitial spaces. The people who fall into the cracks but do not fall through to somewhere else. In La Frontera, there are geo-political “cracks” or borders between political entities, where entire populations are trapped. These interstices create other cracks and dualities — between culture, ideology, language, and belonging. It speaks to the stabilizing force of identity, home, and belonging, and the turmoil without it. The Cloud readings discusses those cracks as possible places where the system can be either strengthened or exploited. Where the laws of specific areas do not apply, are not iron clad, and therefore there is room for creating the kind of internet space that would be either equitable and desirable, or lawless and independent.