Locative News (Local-N)

This interdisciplinary project deals with participation possibilities arising from the deployment and use of location-based services in the context of post-digital communication possibilities. In this context, Salzgitter has been chosen as a model city for social media communication, because in this region the “local”, which could be described as almost historical in media communication (print, daily newspaper), can be conceived particularly well in its transformation to hyper- or sublocally definable spaces. Here, in an almost ideal-typical way, what was once summarized under the department “local” can now be split into rural and urban separated sublocally definable areas. This project investigates location-based services (LBS) and their potential for (ideally participatory) communication in the sublocal space in the post-digital age. The research field of LBS is predestined for research in the field of “post-digital participation” because of its proven potential, which has, however, largely remained unexploited by traditional media organizations (Uphaus et al., 2020a). Additionally, there are several opportunities for a methodical approach via “Social Living Labs” (SLLs), which can certainly be considered a central component of the Leibniz ScienceCampus.

In this context, the following comprehensive question is to be examined in detail: How can a successful societal media communication be achieved on a (hyper-)local level through participative location-based services?

2019-2024 (1st funding phase)