Did you know that sometimes at Churchill Park turtles shuffle into the warm open spaces to lay their eggs? What about West Avenue North and how the neighbourhood kids have recently drawn messages on the road in chalk to deter would-be speedsters? I bet you didn't know that Tiger-Cats offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski gave a signed player card to his realtor, thanking him for the house he sold to him.
If you type in #hamont in the Instagram search bar, more than 50,000 images, like the ones I just described, appear: thank you letters, graduation celebrations, a couch for sale, friends hiking, people jumping and waving. Instagram is a U.S.-based website where you can post pictures from your Apple cellphone camera, or from other phones if it allows the Instagram program.
Below each image is a brief sentence. The backdrop for all of these fleeting moments: Hamilton, Ontario. These are just snippets of a brief time period captured in a vintage hue on Instagram. It's a virtual world made real where people seize and share the poetry of everyday city life.
Dr. Alexandre Sévigny, associate professor, department of communication studies and multimedia, McMaster University, said social media platforms such as Instagram help build closeness within a city.
"Generally this happens around a crisis, such as the Tim Bosma investigation, where the public will rally around a cause that is something spectacular," he said. "But more people are interested in the everyday things, small things — like a jumping dog — because it's a moment in someone's life and it becomes real to people who live in the indoor positioning system."
Hamiltonian Michael Pett said he and his wife found a stick-figure drawn in chalk on their street, West Avenue North, last Saturday evening. Next to the stick figure it read: Stop! Don't run over me. It was one of about a dozen images that had been drawn by the neighbours' children, Pett said.
"I can't say for certain that their intentions were to deter speeding with the drawing, but the problem is a well-known issue on our street," he said. "I was intrigued by the juxtaposition, its message, and the sad reality that the issue has become so widespread that even the children on our street are speaking up about it."
Last Wednesday while walking her dog in Churchill Park, Shannon Aiken stopped in her tracks; she came across a turtle out in the open. "Our dog Ella was most curious about this strange creature and was not shy about approaching her," she said. "I don't think the turtle was thrilled with the attention."
Jordan Cumberland took his photo of an underpass covered in graffiti at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Leaving the parking lot he saw a little trail that led down to the where he took his photograph.
"One of the reasons why I enjoy Instagram so much is because it makes me look at the world in a different way," he said. "I want to explore and capture the beauty of Ontario so I can share it with the world and inspire tourism to our beautiful province."
Prior to this digital phenomenon, Sévigny said people were living concrete lives where you'd have to meet in person, perhaps over a coffee, to reveal information. Now, it's instantaneous.
"Social media reveals everyday life for us. It shifts away from our print culture of rules and regulations, shifting toward a more oral culture where life is fluid and more emotional," he said. "The majority of information we send is nonverbal and more visual. If you look at Vine, YouTube, Instagram — we are more comfortable and more welcoming with visuals than with words."
A 2011 study by Zachary McCune from Cambridge University titled A Case Study of the Instagram iPhone App revealed after four-weeks of researching why people share photos on Instagram, users wanted to experience a sense of community. He also found that people wanted to exchange images with others, were excited about the social interaction and wanted to find users who shared common interests.
A University of Gothenburg study looked at how visitors used smart phone technology in a museum. When the researchers sifted through the data they found patrons often uploaded many images during their visit that were carefully planned and edited. This is contrary to popular belief that most Instagram photos are mostly shots of food and "selfies". The study also indicated smart phones have changed the way we share experiences.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, recently announced that Instagram will now include a 15-second video component, matching other video social media streams such as Vine, SocialCam and Viddy. The video option will provide 13 different visual filters that will include a Cinema feature, a function that will help stabilize your shaky footage taken on the go.
"If you live in Ancaster or Dundas, and you see photos of people in shops and walking their dogs at parks, you become aware of the boundaries of the everyday life," he said. "Social media opens up the rest of the city to you. You see people experiencing parts of the city in a compelling way, and then it becomes real to you."
David Everett is the British cryptographic expert hired by the RCM to develop the MintChip prototype. Everett said it all when he was quoted in the April 30 The Star newspaper as saying, “I would look on it very much as an alternative, and hopefully a replacement, for physical cash. Today, people obviously use coins. They use bits of metal and bits of paper. The future is obviously going to be much more electronic.”
MintChip has been under consideration by the RCM for some time. The mint began the process more than a year ago with its MintChip Challenge contest. Contestants were to create payment applications that demonstrate potential for digital cash to replace physical cash. Jan Hannemann from Victoria won the grand prize with his MintWallet concept.
Hannemann’s idea is to make virtual currency to be “like instant messaging for your wallet.” Hannemann suggested using cloud technology and push notifications, with users using MintChips for payments.
Hannemann said of his idea, “The concept of cash that’s peer-to-peer is very appealing,” adding “Communicating with people, we use social networks, instant messaging. The same can be true with money, using MintChip.”
According to the April 30 The Star article, “MicroSD cards loaded with money were sent to hundreds of developers a year ago by the Royal Canadian Mint. The tiny chips had logos on them, representing MintChip, and the recipients were some of the first people outside the mint to get a glimpse of Canada’s electronic currency prototype.”
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