Paper short abstract:

This paper will compare the vernacular spatial practices of “geocaching” to those of the augmented reality game Ingress, with particular attention to how Niantic Labs, a Google subsidiary and the makers of Ingress, structures and defines spatialized notions of heritage for its players.

Paper long abstract:

Folklorists and ethnologists have increasingly begun to take notice of the ways in which digital technologies are playing a central role in the creation of contemporary vernacular understandings of space and place (for example, McNeil 2007; 2012; Buccitelli 2013). Yet, like the digital spaces in which much of contemporary folklore is being performed, the possibilities and constraints of the different technological platforms through which these folk geographies are taking shape have not been fully explored. This paper will begin this exploration by comparing the spatializing practices of "geocaching" to those involved in the augmented reality game Ingress. In particular, the paper will focus on the ways in which each community of participants establishes important geographic sites in play, with particular attention to how Niantic Labs, a Google subsidiary and the makers of Ingress, structures and defines spatialized notions of cultural heritage for its players.