For this project, we had to take photos of a place significant to us in ADM, post in on Instagram under the hashtag #1010adm. Here are my final photos (3 in 1 post):

During one of our class breaks in Sem 1, I went to the vending machine to get a snack with Yen Ee, my classmate. She wanted the Marigold yoghurt, but when she put in the money and selected the item, the yoghurt got stuck in the coil. We tried to shake the machine but we could barely budge it… A prof waiting for the lift tried to help too, but to no avail. In the end Yen decided to call the number on the machine, and the staff told her that they would mail the $1.20 to her address as compensation (to this day it has not arrived). 

| Why did you choose this space or object to photograph?

The notion of someone mailing $1.20 (the postage alone would be half that?) was so ridiculous and funny that it was memorable. It was all because of that space between the yoghurt and us, made unreachable by the panel of the vending machine. This space has a specific memory tied to it, and this memory makes me feel connected emotionally to the space. 

| What are some of the characteristics of this alternative virtual space you had created collectively?

1. It is subjective, even surreal. The space that we have created with the hashtag will never be an objectively accurate representation of the real space. It is altered by so many different factors, such as Instagram’s presentation of images (default square crop), captions that influence us to see the photo a certain way, how the users change the image through filters and adjustments, and so on. I feel that this virtual space is a heightened version of reality, and perhaps represents how we experience the space emotionally rather than objectively.
2. It is collaborative. The photos are posted by different students all taking DN1010, and each photo is a integral piece of the whole virtual space, since each photo is unique and contributes something different.
3. It is public. The hashtag is available for anyone with an Instagram account to view. Although, the reach of it is dependent on how many people know about the hashtag, which is likely to be limited to those within ADM or people who follow our accounts.

| Under what circumstance will this alternative virtual space change?

As it is hosted on Instagram, any changes to the app made by the developer, like interface, algorithm, will possibly change the way the virtual space is presented and consumed. Also, since the hashtag can be used by anyone on Instagram, whenever someone posts an image with it, they generate more content for this virtual space.

| How does this project relate to what we discussed in the lecture regarding co-creation, the concept of Do-It-Yourself (DIY), Do-It-With-Others (DIWO)?

   

This project is DIY as we are all individually partaking in social broadcasting, creating an image (content), and publishing it on a platform that is publicly accessible – the users of the platform are the source of the content rather than elusive distributors. And when all of us create unique content surrounding the same subject matter (ADM), we generate a whole web of information that forms a virtual space, which can be viewed, commented on and expanded upon by others. This collaborative entity relates to DIWO and co-creation.