From Cyber to Hybrid

"From Cyber to Hybrid", written by Adriana de Souza e Silva, was by far the best essay that I've read from the Cyberculters Reader so far. The writing style was easy to follow and very fluid.

The arbitrary opinion that the author displayed, was argumentatively, one of the more cohesive and rational essays that we've read in this book so far.

Silva's (shortened down so that I don't have to display the whole last name) rational brilliance shines throughout the entire essay. It made it difficult to choose only one section to write about. There was one particular paragraph, located on pg. 766 (second paragraph), which I felt summarized the majority of what she was attempting to convey. I am on the assumption that everyone has read the article so that I don't have to relay what her theory on hybrid space is....

In a nutshell, the paragraph summarizes her notions of hybrid space and how it in essence, allows society to construct and define space. She goes on to say that hybrid connections also change the perception of the physical space that users inhabit and allow us to discover more about the physical spaces that we are in.

In my mind Silva has shown how the mobile interface has collectively linked the virtual and physical worlds together. The examples that she shows in regard to users being active participants in both spaces (virtual and real) solidifies an understanding of interwoven connectivity between the two.

I know that I am personally and at times physically attached to my cell phone. I make calls on it, text with it, look up information, receive information, etc....

The gray area for me and possibly many others comes when we deal with emotions, interpretation, and technology. I may laugh, cry, be pissed, or whatever, due to information, or conversation that I've encountered through my mobile interface, but that doesn't mean that I always interpret everything correctly through it.

There have been a few times that - reading through a text for instance - I have misinterpreted some information that was relayed to me. I would be willing to bet that anyone with this communication capability has probably encountered the same issue.

Does that mean the technology is at fault? Does it mean that we as interpreters are at fault? Or do we blame the information from the sender?

Regardless of the dilema, I do see how the interwoven connectivity between my virtual communications (via mobile interface) and real life communications apply to Silva's theories. The fact that I am dependent on my mobie interface to communicate (verbally and non-verbally), look up information, and receive information would convey my particpation in hybrid space.

After soaking Silva's essay in for awhile, I began to believe that the mobile interace (while it probably won't be a cell phone in the future) is most likely the way of the forseeable future. The vast amount of information and location information that this technology affords us is really invaluable. Who needs to sit at a computer if we are able to access the same information while simultaneously being mobile and present in real life surroundings?

The only real issue I faced while reading Silva's essay dealt with the inseperability of digital and physical. Silva states, "Finally, the shift, driven by nomadic technologies, from cyber to hybrid calls our attention to the fact that the digital has never actually been seperated from the physical and can be an essential element for promoting sociability and communication in urban spaces."

While I agree that technology and hybrid space enables us to be connected to a greater number of outlets/inlets, making virtual and real life communication somewhat inseperable. I disagree that digital and physical have never actually been seperated.

I beleive that we can disconnect ourselves from anything digital. Man started with nothing digital, but as the saying goes, "You live with the choices you make."

Besides, who really wants to live without all this cool stuff we have anyway?