Abstract

New hardware such as mobile handheld devices and digital cameras; new online social venues such as social networking, microblogging, and online photo sharing sites; and new infrastructures such as the global positioning system are beginning to establish new practices—what the author refers to as “sociolocative”—that combine data about a physical location, such as a geotag, with a virtual social act. This research investigates the phenomenon of documentary broadcasting, whereby individuals curate lasting descriptions and commentaries about a location for a public audience, often using the photo sharing site, Flickr. Unlike many photographs shared online, the subject of a documentary post is always a place and not the activities nor identity of the broadcaster himself or herself. When presented together as curated narratives, posted images transform Flickr into a virtual public “gallery space” that captures, presents, and preserves aspects of a place that may last longer than the physical location itself.