This article argues for a possibly new significance of geographical location in the information age, a significance amounting to more than mere spatial anchoring, on the one hand, and to less and different than absolute destiny, on the other. Hence, we show a possible change in the significance of geographical location from destiny in the industrial age to potential opportunity in the information age, a transition which applies to geographical units (i.e. cities, regions) and to individuals. First we discuss geographical location as destiny in the industrial age for both geographical entities and individuals. Second, we highlight a transitional period spanning through the 1970s and 1980s during which geographical location lost much of its absolute nature, becoming more of an anchor. Third, we present a conceptual framework for geographical location possibly turning into opportunity in the information age, again for both geographical units and individuals. We demonstrate that this potential opportunity has only partially materialized by individuals in the international use of online shopping, showing that their adoption is wider in North America, and differentiated in Europe. We further demonstrate a partial dissemination of opportunities for cities and regions by focusing on FDI. Finally, in the fourth and concluding section, we briefly discuss pertaining policy issues for the enhancement of locational opportunities.
The role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in the Arab Spring of 2011 has been widely discussed in the popular media, but has received little scholarly attention. This paper presents the results of field work carried out at the Italian island of Lampedusa in March 2011, which investigated migrants' use of the Internet and mobile communications technologies while still in their North African countries of origin, and the influence of ICTs on recent democratic movements there. Empirical work proved that the use of digital social networks helped to break migrants' isolation, spread information and indignation, and virally coordinated demonstrations. The paper stresses the role of emotions and affect in this process, injecting these into regional analysis. C yberspace, in the forms of hardware, software, and networks, has had significant effects on geopolitical relations worldwide (Paradiso 2011a). The network society is characterized by the space of flows, i.e., the material organization of synchronous interactions through telecommunications and innovations in high-speed transportation, resulting in rhizomic, networked organizations of power and information (Castells 1989(Castells , 2000. Communication culture, the need for information, and resources of the potential adopters, and the role of the state are some of the main factors affecting the adoption of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and widening the global space of flows.
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