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The third space is a place where people from different locations connect in real-time. It is not a physical place, but it exists through communication links and networking. In ‘The Third Space’ article, Randall Packer’s mentioned that in the third space “We are distributed across space and time.”, because it gives us the possibility to experience an alternate reality that is simultaneously happening in another location.

There are no boundaries constricting the third space. It allows people from the opposite side of the world to interact and create experiences that are sometimes impossible to create in the first or second space.

To experience the possibilities of the third space, my classmate Reuben and I staged a performance using Facebook live broadcast. Through this platform, we created a third space where both of us interacted, even though we were in different parts of the school. We attempted to create a third body by coordinating Reuben’s right hand and my left hand using the split screen function so that our hands look like they were from one person.

Both of us were holding a paper ball that we have to hide and show at coordinated timings to make it seemed like we were shuffling the ball. The audience were to guess which hand was holding the paper ball at the end. We were able to virtually hold objects and create a third body using similar looking objects, coordinating our hands and reacting to what we see and hear.

In the article, Randall also mentioned that in a third space “We can no longer separate the real and the virtual”.  However, I felt that my experience in the third space lacked intimacy that characterises interaction in the first space as it only engages my sight and sound.

In order to create intimacy, I think that the setting of the third space shared between people should be similar, so that their brain will be hoaxed to think that they are in the same space. Intimacy can also be enhanced when the projected image of the third space are of relative scale to one another and the setting is a private place such as the bedroom or toilet. Most importantly, the third space has to be in real time, so that the interactions are live and engaging.