ABSTRACT
Our world is made up of colliding parallel dimensions; the digital world is as ubiquitous as our physical world, and there is space in both worlds that we navigate and inhabit. This chapter discusses the origin of the term 'digital public space', how it is evolving in general practice and application, and how it might relate to these parallel worlds. The phrase ‘digital public space’ is becoming more widely known. The digital public space appears to particularly pertain to open archives whereby existing data, metadata and digital objects can be shared in a meaningful way with and amongst the public. Although digital is a word used widely, from policy makers to equipment manufacturers, it is actually quite non-specific. A new category of physical objects has come to exist within the digital public space. Objects in the real world can be ‘tagged’ and linked to other items, be they physical or digital.
