June 21, 2006
The word: Sousveillance
New scientist reports on sousveillance.
"... Sousveillance is a French play on the word surveillance. Literally, it means "watching from below", while all those surveillance cameras in shopping centres and railway stations watch you from above. Sousveillance is the democratic version of the surveillance culture: the watched are turning cameras on the watchers.
One of the first to use the term was Steve Mann, a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada, and co-author of Cyborg.
Image left: Sousveillance as a situationist critique of surveillance. This wearable wireless webcam imitates surveillance cameras common in casinos and department stores. [via wikipedia]
Related:
-- Mobile Phone Sousveillance In Action Again
-- The Connected Camera Fights Back
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