Friday, January 07, 2005
Parkour and the internet
Watched a fascinating documentary last night about the sport of parkour, or free running. The sport itself - a kind of urbanised cross between gymnastics, running, and climbing - is intriguing in itself, but I was also struck by the apparently central role of the internet in bringing together groups and individuals who take part in this activity. People were able to find other groups with interests similar to their own, organise training sessions, and there is an ongoing online community where people post videos of their own free running sessions. What was really striking was that the role of the internet in all of this seemed to be taken for granted by the participants - a sure sign that the internet has matured into a transparent, facilitating technology.
Watched a fascinating documentary last night about the sport of parkour, or free running. The sport itself - a kind of urbanised cross between gymnastics, running, and climbing - is intriguing in itself, but I was also struck by the apparently central role of the internet in bringing together groups and individuals who take part in this activity. People were able to find other groups with interests similar to their own, organise training sessions, and there is an ongoing online community where people post videos of their own free running sessions. What was really striking was that the role of the internet in all of this seemed to be taken for granted by the participants - a sure sign that the internet has matured into a transparent, facilitating technology.
Comments:
Although that said, it only became popular thanks to last year's TV documentary. The Internet has its role of interactivity, but it can still take the telly to get people inspired...
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(c) 2003-2005 Russell Beale
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