GPS Sound Walks, Ecotones and Edge Species Experiencing Sound within Teri Rueb’s Mobile Metaphor

Abstract

Inspired by sound studies, mobile media studies and ecology, this article introduces an alternative way of framing mobile listening experiences by understanding mobile media as an edge species, a term borrowed from ecology. If we conceptualize mobile media as edge species - spending time in junctions between the techno- ecosystem of our cities and the natural ecosystem of our countryside and landscapes - this opens up a discussion around how mobile networked devices allow us to connect to rather than isolate us from our surroundings. The metaphors of the ecotone, the edge effect, and edge species open up a new way of thinking about those areas where humans, mobile media, and landscapes increasingly co-exist. Despite the carbon footprint of mobile phones, smart phones and other mobile devices, I argue that the ‘mobile media use’ we observe in GPS sound walks have the potential to re-connect people with “natural ecosystems,” especially when we consider the auditory dimensions of the experience and how walking operates as remixing.