The Occupy Wall Street movement has grown beyond the borders of Zucotti Park, where it once held court, but the presence of protestors can still be felt virtually. When protestors descended upon Wall Street last September, they became a media phenomenon. The actions at Zucotti Park were well documented by mainstream and fringe media groups and the effects of the protest were the talk of the town in New York City. The protest has moved on, gaining momentum in other parts of the country, but the Polytechnic Institute of New York University has taken steps to ensure that no one forgets where the protest was born.
Mark Skwarek, a researcher-in-residence at the Institute, is behind the initiative. Skwarek first visited the protest at the New York Stock Exchange and discovered that, despite the protests name, no one was actually occupying Wall Street. After seeing the lack of protestors where he believed they were most needed, Skwarek issued a call to arms to the augmented reality community, who responded en masse. Skwarek collected these photos and, using the Layar AR platform, created a virtual protest that also includes digital animations.
Zucotti Park has also received its own virtual safe house for protestors. Though no protestors actually occupy the park any longer, protestors can still be found at the location via augmented reality. For activism, the technology has been able to provide protestors with a biting longevity that cannot be cut short by the authorities that would rather see the movement dispersed.
