Maps of Attractions and Conflicts: Some Implications of Socially Networked Spatial Annotation for Socio-Spatial Production Processes

This chapter discusses some implications of the popularization of socially networked, software-based spatial annotation practices (e.g., Foursquare and similar applications) for processes of socio-spatial production. The first part of the chapter discusses the practice of “spatial annotation” (i.e., augmenting a map with discourse) in relation to “tourist experience,” which is intended to be the set of social practices connected to the “tourist gaze” (Urry 1990, 1992; Urry and Larsen 2011). The latter is a particular regime of perception that relies upon the expectation of experiencing something “out of the ordinary” (for a critique on the “gaze” metaphor in favor of a more multisensorial performance-centric approach, see for example Rakić and Chambers 2012; Perkins and Thorns 2001). “Tourism” is discussed in the chapter in relation to sociospatial production patterns because the production and consumption of “out-of-ordinariness”—upon which tourism depends—entails a combination of the following: an effort of meaning-making by all social actors involved; specific physical configurations of spaces; and specific practices and recognizable social identities and attitudes. The second part of the chapter discusses how location-based social networks, such as Foursquare or TripAdvisor, affect the political dimension of this “tourism-focused” spatial annotation. Because of the popularization of the practice granted by such platforms, the authoritativeness of spatial annotation loses some of its “taken-for-grantedness” (which has never been absolute) and has to rely on complex negotiations with human and nonhuman entities, including other users, algorithms, and bots. Through a case study, the third and final part of the paper discusses how this kind of tourism-focused LBSN-assisted spatial annotation could play a role in processes of civic engagement.