Wifipicning - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A wifipicning, a combination of the words Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

, picnic

Picnic

In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...

, and happening

Happening

A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...

, is a social gathering of people, similar to a flash mob

Flash mob

A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression...

.

Strangers and friends alike gather with their computers, which they connect to a local wireless network within a "wifi bubble" set up by the organizers. With a range of about 30 metres (98.4 ft), this bubble is completely autonomous; it is not connected to the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

and can therefore be set up easily anywhere. Participants (bubblenauts) are connected to each other inside the bubble via a chat room

Chat room

The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...

, where they interact both physically and virtually. Participants are invited to partake in creative actions, discuss theme-based topics, exchange documents, pics and videos, or simply get to know one another.

Specific content, accessible only within the confines of the bubble, is sometimes made available to participants and a collaborative work may then be pursued by participating Bubblenauts opening the way to all kinds of possibilities in the associative and cultural domains and in the field of citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

.

The aim is to place technology in the service of mankind, human interaction and sharing. As the creators of the concept put it, it is an invitation to 'take a walk on the other side of the screen', the creation of a "micro-network" on a human scale that offers a new kind of conviviality and playful interaction. Their motto is: "Make bubbles, not war."

This concept is uncommon for three reasons: the complete autonomy of the bubble; a voluntary return to geographic proximity — promoting encounters and bonding among participants — a playful simultaneity between virtual and real exchanges. In this way, while Internet has abolished to some extent physical distances, Wifipicning, conversely, is the fusion of the cordless network and the local physical world. The initiators of the project have also spoken to this effect about Web 3.0, which would be the total fusion of Internet with its spatial and social environment, as well as that of individuals with their avatars.

History

The concept was created in 2005 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

(France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

) by the Natacha Quester-Séméon, Sacha Quester-Séméon and Tristan Mendes France. With the aim of encouraging people to interact, share or socialize at cultural, artistic and social events, via new information and communication technologies, they created the association "Incredibulle" (Incredibubble) and the concepts of wifi bubble, bubble master and bubblenauts.

The first Wifipicnings took place in 2005 in Paris and Provence

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

. The concept was launched in the Luxembourg Garden (Paris) on the occasion of Neighbours' Day with thanks to the Senate Quaestor. A second one took place in Maussane-les-Alpilles

Maussane-les-Alpilles

Maussane-les-Alpilles is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...

in Provence in the presence of the town's mayor. In 2006, two more were organised: on 30 May in Paris during European Neighbours' Day ("Immeubles en fête" in France) and on 15 July in Maussane-les-Alpilles. The fifth Wifipicning took place in Paris one week before the first round of the French presidential elections

French presidential election, 2007

The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...

in April 2007 and was devoted to the theme of citizenship.

A voluntary network and pioneer in the associative web, The Associated Humans has sponsored these events, the aim of which is the creation a more humane network and the reappropriation of technologies often experienced as impersonal and remote, in order to bring people together in a new and more welcoming environment. The initiative has been favorably received abroad. Through support from Howard Rheingold

Howard Rheingold

-See also:* Collective intelligence* Information society* The WELL* Virtual community-External links:***** at TED conference** a 48MB Quicktime movie, hosted by the Internet Archive...

, a theorist with expertise in flashmobs and cyberculture

Cyberculture

Cyberculture is the culture that has emerged, or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment and business. It is also the study of various social phenomena associated with the Internet and other new forms of network communication, such as online communities,...

, the concept has spread to a wider international audience as well as making its way into the blogspheres of different countries, Spanish-speaking for the most part. A gathering took place in September 2006 in Vila-Seca

Vila-seca

Vila-seca is a municipality of the comarca of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The historical name was Vila-seca de Solcina and since the 80's known as Vila-seca i Salou until Salou was segregated from Vila-seca on 1989, however the municipality includes the urban...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

External links

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