Omnipresence in Cybersapce

here2here very much describes the movement of my physical body since my last blog.

I have visited Malaysia and travelled from Langkawi2KualaLumpur.  In Italy the journey was from Florence2Rome, and in Germany from Berlin2Munich.

In between that all, there was a journey from UAE2SouthAfrica, as well as a moving of house from Dubai2AbuDhabi. 

This blog is the first then from Abu Dhabi as I settle into new surroundings and a new routine. 

No longer do I look out from my balcony and see the Burj Khalifa.  Instead I see the sea, The Yas Viceroy Hotel and Formula 1 racing circuit, The Aldar Headquarters (which we have fondly started calling “The Biscuit”) and in the far distance the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. 

Cyberspace - the limitless mindspace we find ourselves in when using technology to communicate - has accompanied me in all these moves. This has been made possible by new routers, wifi on the go whenever and wherever I could find it, and even by means of prepaid data in certain foreign locations. It has enabled me to keep in touch. 

On some days, because of the restrictions of physical space, I have felt alone.  On other days, when I was aware that one status update has the possibility to reach family, friends and followers all over the world, regardless of place or time, I have had the slight feeling that I have the ability to be everywhere at once! Omnipresent?

A lover of words, (see my blog, Langu age), I have reflected anew upon the meaning of omnipresence - the property of being present everywhere at the same time. 

Because it is possible to connect by means of technology from most places in the world, we can certainly say that cyberspace itself can be considered omnipresent. However, what is mindboggling for me, is the fact that in cyberspace an online individual can be omnipresent.  

As students all over the world watch an online instructor for example, there is the perception that the instructor is omnipresent, responding to each of them wherever they may be. 

Updates, whether they be words, images or sounds can be seen by thousands and thousands of others all over the world the instant they are posted. The person posting enters the space of all these others simultaneously in a unique way. 

It was an amazing feeling on one of our flights to post an update and realize that even being in an aeroplane is not a restriction to connectivity. My physical body was being transported high in the sky while my online body was in borderless realms.

The responsibility that comes with this is overwhelming in my opinion. As my words and images speed down the corridors of cyberspace they have the possibility to encourage a better world, a world in which acceptance of differences, and kindness and respect towards the other can become the norm. 

Although interaction in cyberspace is taking place by means of networked devices, without the parties being in direct physical contact with each other, the interactions can be equally valuable. 

While in Italy I had the following exchange with the architect Anthony Lawlor: 

@lindahollier Great! In Rome check out San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, interior is a gem off the beaten path http://t.co/3p05Tk3hGT

— AnthonyLawlor (@AnthonyLawlor) May 16, 2014

Over a period of time one becomes very aware of who one can listen to in cyberspace and so I visited the church and sat and soaked in the genius of Borromini. Without understanding every aspect of how he had achieved the wave-like motion of the architecture, I was able to experience its effect. Architecture and music have that in common. They have the ability to move the heart.  

Cyberspace has its own architecture and every one of us becomes an omnipresent architect when we enter its domain.  What are we creating in this amazing space? Are we touching hearts?

Comments

[Yolande Villemaire]

Oh, yes, you are touching hearts dearest Linda! I am sitting with you in San Carlo church in Rome, feeling the wave-like motion of the architecture @AnthonyLawlor sent you to experiment through cyberspace. My own experience of San Carlo here is only virtual, as well as Anthony and yourself, yet I know there is a deep connection of the heart which is nothing but real :-) Thanks for the updates about your new location in Abu Dhabi. I love it when you say about your nomadic time: "My physical body was being transported high in the sky while my online body was in borderless realms." Sending you rosy wishes for the summer solstice and much love!