Cardiff, #GlamCan and the Interactive Digital Community
Academic Lead: Dr. Kate Watson, Cardiff Metropolitan University Dr. Mike Reddy, University of South Wales Business Partners: Francesca James, Fresh Content Creation Adam Chard, Croatoan Design
This project will focus on the Glamorganshire Canal in Cardiff, addressing its past and cultural artefacts in an inter-textual and multi modal way, trading knowledge and stories via a ‘gamified' treasure hunt using Twitter. While this project is not petitioning to resurrect the Glamorganshire Canal, it will seek to 'bring it back to life' through an exploration of its lingering impact on Cardiff’s urban form (cf. psychogeography and Deep Topology). In particular, the project will explore the relationship between the individual and rapid urban change in which the city is represented as its own ‘hidden’ archive (cf. W G Sebald).
The project will predominantly use social media, specifically the Twitter (2.0 platform) to facilitate networking and narratives. Using smartphone or mobile-connected tablet devices, participants will link to each other in ‘real time’ via the hashtag #GlamCan to enrich an historic walk around key landmarks, beginning at the canal’s Sea Lock in the Wetlands. http://waterwaysandwalkways-eorgf.eventbrite.co.uk/
2014 update: Feedback has been excellent from participants in thei first walk and the project has been nominated for the Canal and River Trust's 2014 Living Waterways awards.