Teleoperator

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Definition

Teleoperation is a method of operating an external object at a distance. Teleoperation is used in the medical industry to allow doctors to remotely operate on patients.

Users of social networks teleoperate each other's walls and social presences while they are far away. The user profiles of Facebook are available to friends worldwide, without the need for friends to travel beyond their local neighborhood, household, or college. This makes Facebook a form of virtual telepresence. Friends teleoperate each other’s walls through text and the addition of images and social tagging. These technosocial operations create digital identities.

The more signals we pass through our computers, the more integrated we become. A computer monitor connected to a network becomes a window through which we can be present in a place thousands of miles away”[1] The more signals we pass through, the more teleoperated our friends become, and the further away and far-spread our communities can actually be. We can have them in the palm of our hand, whether in Germany, Japan or Russia.

References

  1. Manovich, Lev. Kunstforum International. Germany, 1995; NewMediaTopia. Moscow, Soros Center for the Contemporary Art, 1995.