What is the project about?
MapMyView
is a project that aims to bring spaces and places, as we know them
personally, to life on a digital map. Using GoogleMaps, I want to get to
the stories behind these streets, counties and cities that you may have
never travelled, and may never reach. This project hopes to be a
stimulus for creation, and a place to share stories with people from
various locations. It is a mapping of place through the eyes of
individuals, not corporations or businesses.
If you want to be involved, please email mapmyview@gmail.com
and briefly explain why you want to get involved, and the place that
you will be responding to. I will then send out the details so that you
can access the Googlemaps account.
Your role in the project:
STEP 1: Choose a place
Think
of a place that you want to respond to. You must be able to physically
get there. It could be somewhere that has significance to you, for
example the street you grew up on, your favourite place, or a place that
you have always wanted to go but never been.
STEP 2: Experience it
Travel
to this place. Once there, experience it in whatever way you want to.
Walk around, look around, take in whatever and whoever is there. Take
time to do this and don't rush.
- What does this place make you think of?
- What is in this place?
- What do you think is the most important thing about it?
- What memories does it provide?
- Does anything funny happen when you're there?
- What do you do there?
- Do you interact with anyone else?
- What do you see/hear/smell/touch?
STEP 3: Respond to it
Respond
to the place. This can be done whilst there or when you return home.
And can also be in any form you like. Some possibilities include:
- taking pictures of things that stand out to you
- documenting your time there through film or pictures
- writing about the place - responding through poetry or prose
- you can return there at another time and video yourself performing your poetry
The
possibilities are endless and each of them create interesting ways of
capturing your personal experience and reaction to the place you have
visited.
STEP 4: Map it!
The next step is to share what you have produced so that other people can experience it from a distance.
- Log into the MapMyView googleengines map account using the logon details I emailed to you.
- Tick 'Physical Places' and for now untick 'Memory and Routes' - it is now possible for you to add a Placemarker to show where you were.
- You can:
- search and find the location that you responded to
- add your response to the map.
- plot the route that you took, or create shapes which signify the larger area you were in.
- add photos, videos and text to the map.
- use the Blogger account to create a post with your poetry and prose, and then link this in the description box of your placemarker so that viewers are guided to that post when they look at your area.
You
can respond to as many places as you want, the idea is to fill the map
with various experiences and different places, so that the digital map
becomes a site of stories which bring the static street names to life.
STEP 5: Further Ideas
Once
you have completed the 'physical response', there are other ways to
respond to the map, and to other people's stories, if you would like to
get more stimulus and ideas for responding, please contact me on
afahey@hotmail.co.uk and I will send them to you.
This map is yours to use and to share what you want to. However, please be respectful, do not upload any inappropriate material and do not interfere with anyone else's posts.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy taking part in this project :)
