What is ShoutSpace?
ShoutSpace, either called STAMPS, is an experimental software platform for public authoring: a form of knowledge mapping and sharing. It allows users to annotate a map collaboratively with their friends, with the goal of sharing useful information about the city. In short, it allows to attach a sort of virtual Post-Its to physical locations with a mobile phone. The produced notes are then available for all the other participants.
The system is used as a testbed to understand the cognitive implications of providing spatial references into a simple text messaging system, and as a segway into a general study on the links of geographical attributes and cognition. Particularly we are interested in the interconnections of place and meaning, where location signify something to the content and where it is signified by the context.
The project is part of a research on collaborative annotations of maps and it is a collaboration between EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) and Proboscis, UK, leader of the project Urban Tapestries.
What is this for?
Using this program you can see a map of the place where you are, visualised on the screen of your mobile. There, you can write a kind of SMS and attach it to the map so that other friends can see your message appearing on their map. You can write for instance: "here I can relax!", to offer advice to your buddies. All the messages left in the system say something about the place where you live: what are the sport locations, the place to eat, the meeting spots. After a while, we want to use all these information to help the users to navigate the city. You can ask the system, for instance: "where can I relax near by?", and the system will search for other people's messages which refer to the term relax to give you an advice.
How can I participate?
We are currently looking for participants on the first field trial (see the leaflet below). If your phone meets the requirements for running the application, and you are an activist willing to annotate your city, please send your contacts information at: shoutspace [at] gmail.com.
