new media & society
15(6) 909–929
© The Author(s) 2012
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DOI: 10.1177/1461444812464470
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Poetry 4 U: Pinning
poems under/over/through
the streets
Marsha Berry
RMIT University, Australia
Omega Goodwin
Independent Scholar, UK
Abstract
This article explores how a new generation of smartphones, social software, GPS and
other location-based technologies offer the ability to create new cultural spaces and
publication models. These technologies allow us to digitally superimpose information
on the physical world which, in turn, allows for the re-imagining of places and even
identity. In this article a locative and social media art project is presented that engages
with Melbourne’s status as the second UNESCO City of Literature. The project brings
poetry into the street while, at the same time, occupying the floating worlds of social
media. By pinning community-generated poetry to site-specific spaces on Google Maps,
the article argues that a layer of narrative can be added to the readers’ perceptions
of their immediate surroundings when viewing the site-specific poems through their
mobile phones. Finally, the article considers the implications of Web 2.0, smartphones
and location-based technologies for creative writing and arts practices.
Keywords
Communication, community, creative practice, geography, locative media, place,
poetry, social media, urban
Introduction
The developments in communications technologies over the past quarter of a century
have proceeded at a blistering pace and, along with the developments, our visions of life
Corresponding author:
Marsha Berry, School of Media and Communication, 3001, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Email: marsha.berry@rmit.edu.au
464470NMS 15 6 10.1177/1461444812464470new media & societyBerry and Goodwin
2012
Article