ME++

Another good Guardian article, this time on a new book ME++ by William Mitchell, Dean of the school of architecture and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and head of media arts and sciences at the MIT Media Lab. Its the third of a trilogy, started with City of Bits in 1994, as the net was reaching the mainstream, and E-Topia in 1999 at the height of dotcom excess.

The Guardian says that "Me++ describes the move from virtual reality - the old 90s idea of the net as a separate, alternative realm - to "augmented reality" (AR), in which ubiquitous computing and mobile wireless networks are used to reconnect us to the real world. " In particular it looks at the impact on the buit environment, and "Me++ suggests the computationally extended self." He suggests we should no longer think of ourselves as "fixed, discrete individuals", but as nodes in a network. "I am part of the networks and the networks are part of me. I am visible to Google. I link, therefore I am." "

***Imported from old blog***