Hybrid Space

When we use a cellphone, we and the person on the other end of the line are two distant points in space that are brought together, ear to ear. Television connects us visually and audibly with places and people all over the world. Video, audio, and pictures connect us with moments in time. With computers, we are connected to the world in all of these ways and more.

We are living in “hybrid space.” we are no longer confined to three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension of time. We are able to traverse space with a phone call, text message, or e-mail. We are able to reach back in time by listening to a voice message, tivo a news program, or take a family photograph.

The hybridization of physical and virtual space works both ways. For instance, GPS and mapping software must successfully incorporate the physical world into its model. It’s algorithms must take into account the way distances are traversed in physical space, that floors are connected at points where there are stairwells and one-way streets may be walked any direction, but driven only one, when giving directions.

Geocaching goes from the digital to the physical world, plotting coordinates online for others to locate in real life. With headphones and a GPS, people are starting to create virtual tours in real space and augmented urban experiences. Mobile phones with GPS provide a means of playing games outside with friends, while other devices bring online social networking into real life.

“Hybrid Space,” as a new term, is most commonly used in art and architecture, challenging the common view of the real and digital worlds being separate and distinct. The concept of hybrid space tries to illustrate that virtual life and real life are so interconnected that it is erroneous to think of them as two separate domains. Digital information has become so ingrained in real life, and real life so ingrained in digital interaction, that the two worlds are, or soon will be, one.