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The Lore Zone I Would Very Much Like To Be Excluded From This Lore For decades, researchers have studied how online communities form shared identities and beliefs. But what about shared memories? This series explores Lore: the new modes of self-mythologization developed within network media, and the forms of history and canon stored within media artifacts that online groups produce. The memes we encounter on clearnet feeds are usually parts of larger stories, stemming from semi-private sites more conducive to worldbuilding. The affordances of different types of online space change how information is produced, circulated, and remembered across platforms. What happens when platforms enable the archival of information? What happens when they encourage collective experiences versus personal, inward-facing ones?The way we remember the events that happen on the internet is different than reading a book. Information circulates and gets stored in a way that incorporates personal narratives as documentation, combining textuality with elements of oral storytelling. Bits of text and image serve as artifacts that help piece together complex narratives. The Lore Zone seeks to help us all understand new interesting ways of reading, writing, and remembering the internet. Introduction The term ‘lore’ was once relegated to the domain of TV shows, movies, and video games, but has now expanded to describe the particular way that communal knowledge and group memory on the internet is constructed—through crowdsourcing and decentralized record-keeping. How did ‘lore’ come to mean what it means now? What are the conditions on the internet that make ‘lore’ so relevant? Why do people feel the impulse to turn things on the internet into lore?
This particular episode features the exploration of a large-scale collaborative, decentralized work of art known as The Deep Time Walk. Created by Stephan Harding and the Deep Time Walk App team, the project encompasses a physical walking experience, an interactive phone app, and an extensive database that is constantly being added to. The Deep Time Walk app takes users on a 4.6 kilometer (2.86 mile) journey. During this journey, the app shares 4.6 billion years of history. As you walk, you hear a narrator tell you facts about Earth's geological, biological, and social history. If you choose to follow the suggested path, you will start your journey at the parking lot of the Malham Tarn Field Center. The walk takes you around the Malham Tarn, a lake in North Yorkshire, England. The narrator will tell you that the tarn is not a naturally occurring body of water. Instead, it was formed from the melting glaciers of the last ice age, which then filled the space where the ice had been. As you walk, the narrator tells you that the ground beneath you was once the seabed. The hills and fields surrounding you once formed part of the seabed, which eventually rose up, creating the dramatic landscape that you see now. The narrator will also tell you that Malham Tarn was not always called Malham Tarn. Before the 13th century, it was known as Mere Malham. Before that, the lake did not exist at all. This means that there was no place for people to live. But soon, humans moved into the area and made their home there. Over time, these humans became farmers who used the land to grow crops. They also made tools from stone and animal bones. As you walk, the narrator will tell you that these people were not just farmers. They were also artists who made beautiful objects out of clay. Some of these objects are still around today, preserved in museums. The narrator will tell you that this
Author: |The Lore Zone I Would Very Much Like To Be Excluded From This Lore For decades, researchers have studied how online communities form shared identities and beliefs. But what about shared memories? This series explores Lore: the new modes of self-mythologization developed within network media, and the forms of history and canon stored within media artifacts that online groups produce. The memes we encounter on clearnet feeds are usually parts of larger stories, stemming from semi-private sites more conducive to worldbuilding. The affordances of different types of online space change how information is produced, circulated, and remembered across platforms. What happens when platforms enable the archival of information? What happens when they encourage collective experiences versus personal, inward-facing ones?The way we remember the events that happen on the internet is different than reading a book. Information circulates and gets stored in a way that incorporates personal narratives as documentation, combining textuality with elements of oral storytelling. Bits of text and image serve as artifacts that help piece together complex narratives. The Lore Zone seeks to help us all understand new interesting ways of reading, writing, and remembering the internet. Introduction The term ‘lore’ was once relegated to the domain of TV shows, movies, and video games, but has now expanded to describe the particular way that communal knowledge and group memory on the internet is constructed—through crowdsourcing and decentralized record-keeping. How did ‘lore’ come to mean what it means now? What are the conditions on the internet that make ‘lore’ so relevant? Why do people feel the impulse to turn things on the internet into lore?
== Reception == Upon the release of ''The Lore Zone'', the project was featured on ''Motherboard'', the ''New York Times'', ''Vice'', ''Boing Boing'', ''Dazed'', ''Cult of Mac'', ''Thrillist'', and ''Fast Company''. The podcast was listed in ''Paste'' as one of the top 10 podcasts of 2020. Writing for ''Motherboard'', Sareen Sathye described ''The Lore Zone'' as "a captivating exploration of how we read, write, and remember the internet." Sathye highlighted the project's focus on marginalized groups on the internet, and how these groups "use the internet to create their own lore, their own canon, their own history." Nate Anderson of ''Ars Technica'' called ''The Lore Zone'' "the first scholarly podcast" and wrote that the podcast is "a remarkable achievement." Anderson described ''The Lore Zone'' as "one of the best podcasts" and praised the project's production quality, noting that it was "truly a model for others." Writing for ''Fast Company'', Teo Sunila called ''The Lore Zone'' "a brilliant exploration of how internet users create collective memories and communal identities."
Author: |The Lore Zone I Would Very Much Like To Be Excluded From This Lore Principal Researchers Tiger Dingsun & Libby Marrs Advisors Aaron Z. Lewis, Toby Shorin, Kara Kittel For decades, researchers have studied how online communities form shared identities and beliefs. But what about shared memories? This series explores Lore: the new modes of self-mythologization developed within network media, and the forms of history and canon stored within media artifacts that online groups produce. The memes we encounter on clearnet feeds are usually parts of larger stories, stemming from semi-private sites more conducive to worldbuilding. The affordances of different types of online space change how information is produced, circulated, and remembered across platforms. What happens when platforms enable the archival of information? What happens when they encourage collective experiences versus personal, inward-facing ones?The way we remember the events that happen on the internet is different than reading a book. Information circulates and gets stored in a way that incorporates personal narratives as documentation, combining textuality with elements of oral storytelling. Bits of text and image serve as artifacts that help piece together complex narratives. The Lore Zone seeks to help us all understand new interesting ways of reading, writing, and remembering the internet. Introduction The term ‘lore’ was once relegated to the domain of TV shows, movies, and video games, but has now expanded to describe the particular way that communal knowledge and group memory on the internet is constructed—through crowdsourcing and decentralized record-keeping. How did ‘lore’ come to mean what it means now? What are the conditions on the internet that make ‘lore’ so relevant? Why do people feel the impulse to turn things on the internet into lore?
These are the questions that The Lore Zone seeks to answer. To begin with, it’s important to understand that the internet has created new forms of social interaction that are not bound by geography or physical proximity. People can form communities around shared interests and experiences, regardless of where they are in the world. This has led to the emergence of subcultures and fandoms that create their own mythologies and histories. But what sets ‘lore’ apart from other forms of collective memory is its decentralized nature. Unlike traditional media, where a single author or team of creators controls the narrative, online communities are able to contribute their own stories and interpretations. This means that lore is constantly evolving and expanding, as new members join the community or existing members reinterpret old stories. The internet also provides unique opportunities for record-keeping. Social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr allow users to easily archive and share information, while wikis and forums provide more structured ways for communities to organize their knowledge. This means that even as new members join a community and bring their own stories, older stories are not lost or forgotten. So why do people feel the need to turn things on the internet into lore? One reason is simply because it’s fun. Creating and sharing stories is a way for people to bond over shared interests and experiences. But there’s also a sense of ownership involved. By contributing to a community’s lore, individuals feel like they are part of something larger than themselves. The Lore Zone aims to explore these dynamics in more depth, looking at how different communities create and maintain their own lore, as well as how this lore intersects with broader cultural trends. By examining the ways in which people remember and mythologize their experiences online, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of how online communities shape our collective memory and identity.
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