By far, week five's (26th August) lecture had to be the best. It made up for the absence of any lectures in week 3 and the 'disorientation' of week 4. This lecture focused upon social media and Web 2.0. It went into depth about the networking involved set to an 'ego-centric network system' and the benefits it has upon the user. Essentially, people create online profiles and list interests, hobby's, beliefs, anything. An 'ego-centric' network strays away from the differing individuals and pin points those that share a relative set if common interests to yours.
Web 2.0 related to the rapid growth of the internet and the way a user can access it, socialize with it and interact with it. What dominantly stood out for me in terms of social media were the two concepts of "Attention Economy" and "Economy of Accumulation". These are exactly the theories I feel about sites such as 'Twitter' and all. Call me paranoid, I don't particularly relish upon the idea of a stockpile of information about myself for someone else to know, as well as aiming to create as little attention as possible. Last thing I want is an online stalker!
Trust me, Ive had one of those...
What was really amusing was a video shown during the lecture; a parody of 'Twitter'. Finally, someone understands my frustration! It completely supports my belief that 'Twitter' users possess a heightened ego accompanied with an optimistic outlook of every single person reading their second-by-second updates. This kind of satisfaction can result in a terrible addiction, as mentioned during the lecture. It was also to my surprise about the lack of knowledge about 'mock' websites such as 4chan! Then again, it would be best that no one even heard about it at all...
/b/ - the death of the internet!
What was even more amusing was the amount of more 'mock' content and websites that litter the internet. Websites such as 'arsebook.com' and 'isolatr.com' provide a comedic alternative which, I soon hope, will also provide a cult following for much amusement. The greatest aspect of social media is that it is never inextricably tied to one set of ideas, such as 'social websites to make friends'. It can vary and often ensure hilarious results. And to the people who wake up and find their account stolen or gone? It is highly dependent on the individuals mental condition, environment, real life social status... In short, an ex-'Twitter'er would possibly lose their mind and attend the next rehab class of 'Internet addicts Anonymous'.
"Hi, I'm Bill, and I had 300 followers..."
However, the big question came down to this: Are we consumers? Or are we creators?
In short, yes. We are both. We are human. We are power hungry, attention seeking and often imaginative. I'll target 'Twitter' once again. We consume the sheer satisfaction of a single comment and all the unimaginable joys of being that little bit popular. We consume the techniques others have created to mimic their popularity. We create our own destiny, our own message, to only entice others to do the same. We consume information only to benefit us; to further create and learn from we have consumed.
But often, what we create can ultimately consume ourselves.
A great set of topics to really think and reflect about. I hope to discover more of the Internets 'underground' scene and relish in the fact that, as of this day, I only access 'Facebook' once or twice a week. Life is good.
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