Building Communities Through Youtube

The topic of this blog is the ability for Youtube to create communities through its use of ranking tactics, which promote the more popular videos in circulation. Firstly, in order to discuss such an idea, the term ‘community’ should be narrowed down, as it is such a general term. Jose van Dijck argues that the term has a strong connotation with belonging to a rea-life group, however, he believes that when it comes to the online community, it can be defined as “groups with a communal preference in music, movies, or books, (a so called ‘taste-community’)”, he then argues that “building taste is an activity that necessarily ties in individuals with social groups” (van Dijck, 45).

Now that the definition for ‘community’ has been outlined, a closer look of how Youtube operates, shall be discussed in greater detail. When an individual is signed into Youtube, the first page they are greeted with presents many attempts, by Youtube, to place them in certain categories. One of the first things on the page is a section with the heading ‘we’ve found some channels that you might like’, below this, are many ‘recommended videos’ which have been picked by the site’s system through wading through the individual’s video search history (youtube.com, 2011) . All of these sections are tools for Youtube to create the personality of the individual, and thus, place them in certain categories. Ranking systems further allow for this to occur, because, when a person is watching a video, they are given options of other similar videos which have been well-received by viewers. These systems and sections have all been introduced by Youtube, in order to categorise viewers into subsections of taste; because if people are watching videos they like, they are more willing to increase its popularity or comment on the videos, which will give the website a feeling of community.

These ranking tactics which have been employed by Youtube are yet another example of the power of produsage being harnessed. Everything about the system requires the user to generate value into the product being presented, and this is the epitome of ‘produsage’ (Bruns, 2008) . Not only are videos created by the users of the website, people who comment on videos, like them, or even watch them, for that matter, are contributing on marginal value onto the product. Popularity on site such as Youtube are based on public perception; and most of the time, the number of likes, comments and views a video receives, all contribute and determine how good a video actually is, and not the actual content.

This blog has tried to present the idea that Youtube’s effective ranking tactic has been able to give people the sense of community, and belonging to a group, through their use of user histories, in order to be able to present individual users with more content which will strengthen their position in that community, through liking and commenting on videos. And finally, the idea of produsage was applied to this case, as a tool for creation of value within videos.

References

Axel Bruns, The Future is User-Led: The Path Towards Widespread Produsage, Fibreculture Journal, Date Published: 2008, Date Accessed, 31 May 2011

Jose van Dijck, ‘Users like you? Theorising agency in user-generated content’, Media, Culture & Society, 31 (2009): 31-58.

Youtube, Youtube.com, Date Published: 2011, Date Accessed: 31 May 2011 <www.youtube.com>

FUN FUN FUN!!!

The above  is an audio version of Glee’s cover of the Rebecca Black song, “Friday”. No, I didn’t just post this to annoy you, but I just wanted to make the point of how certain youtube celebrities enter into the mainstream media and move beyond the limitations of youtube. In this respect, youtube is a great initial step for aspiring celebrities to get a foot into the public’s eye.

I don’t know exactly where I am going with this, but terminologies such as “youtube sensation” means that there is a divide and a difference between the traditional celebrity and youtube hits. I guess this means that somewhere in the definition of “celebrity” it states that the person requires to be in the public eye AND be distributed by the mainstream media…

Blogs as Effective Information Sources

In a paper written by Russell, Ito, Richmond, and Tuters, the following question is pondered: “Do bloggers, with their editorial independence, collaborative structure and merit-based popularity more effectively inform the public?” (Russell et al., 67). Ironically enough, this blog post will aim to answer this question; however, it will argue that blogs are, in fact, not a more effective information source than the media. In doing so, this blog will use example of blogs and other sources to illustrate the point.

Firstly, information does not only include news, this first example will deal with the issue of fashion information. One of the most popular blogs of this kind, is “thestylerookie.com.”. At first glance, this blog is purely an amalgamation of pictures of every style of fashion imaginable. It all seems quite unorganised, and the texts which are written appear to be extremely self-centred, as what is usually being discussed are the daily routines and thoughts of the bloggers herself (Gevinson, 2011). An example of the kinds of posts which this blog presents is; “In these last weeks before summer I’ve been trying to soak up the back to school vibes before Chicago settles on some legitimate summer heat and it becomes too unbearable for vibes of any kind, other than like, ‘sweaty vibes,’ or ‘what-does-one-wear-to-watch-Seinfeld-all-day vibes'” (Gevinson, 2011). Posts such as this is the basis of what people will find when scrolling down the blog’s pages. This blog, although popular, strengthens the argument that these sources of media are, in fact, not the most effective sources of information for the public. In fact, this particular blog is a perfect example of Geert Lovink’s idea, that blogs are merely a way in which bloggers manage the self, which has been dealt with in previous blog posts (Lovink, 28).

Now this blog will compare the aforementioned example with a more mainstream source of information. Gentlemen’s Quarterly, or GQ for short, is one of the most renowned men’s magazines, which deals mostly with fashion trends, discussions, and the public personalities who men are interested in reading about. This type of media is the complete opposite to the first example, in that, it is a private institution which doesn’t collaborate with the greater community on its issues, and it’s a for-profit organisation. This blog would argue that GQ, as a magazine and website, informs the public much more effectively than blogs such as “thestylerookie.com”. These sort of organisations not only give advice and insight, they also utilise current pop-culture personalities in order to remain relevant and interesting. For example, one of their recent articles have been on man’s style in weddings, and what men should be wearing to such occasions. The model they used for the different styles was Darren Criss, a male actor (Feng, 2011). This example shows how they effectively are able to inform the public, because the use of a personality such as Criss draws in readers’ attention, and once that has occurred, they are able to let them know about the fashion side of the article.

This blog has aimed to argue that blogs ar, in fact, not more effective in presenting messages to the greater public. This was done through the use of examples such as thestylerookie.com, and GQ, respectively.

References

Adrienne Russell, Mizuki Ito, Todd Richmond and Marc Tuters, ‘Culture: Media Convergence and Networked Culture’, in Kazys Varnelis (ed.) Networked Publics, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008, pp. 43-76.

Geert Lovink, ‘Blogging, The Nihilist Impulse’, in Zero Comments: Blogging and Critical Internet Culture, London: Routledge, pp. 1-38.

Tavi Gevinson, Style Rookie, thestylerookie.com, Date Published: 21 May 2011, Date Accessed: 25 May 2011 <www.thestylerookie.com>

Kai Z Feng, The GQ Wedding Primer Starring Darren Criss, GQ.com, Date Published: May 2011, Date Accessed: 25 May 2011 <http://www.gq.com/style/wear-it-now/201106/darren-criss-summer-wedding-style-men#slide=2>

Piracy as a Cultural Function

Armin Medosch argues that “piracy, despite being an entirely commercially motivated activity carried out in black or grey markets, fulfils culturally important functions” (Medosch, 81). This blog will aim to support his claims with the use of various examples. Firstly, an example of piracy in Brazilian Favelas will be used, followed by a brief discussion of peer-to-peer websites such as limewire, which is now no longer in existence.

Firstly, this following example will argue how piracy is able to empower people and encourage greater equality between income groups. A reasearch study conducted in Brazil have resulted in great insight as to how piracy, although illegal, can be a tool for entertainment and education. The researchers found that, in the Brazilian slums, also known as “favelas”, there is a great prevalence of “a small thriving industry called LAN houses” (Medosch, 81). LAN houses act not only as internet cafes and gaming centres; they are also places where pirated computer hardware, as well as software, are sold. These LAN houses are the epitome of “piracy”, everything from the water, to the electricity is pirated. At first glance, one would think that these operations are highly illegal, and dangerous, and thus should be shut down. However, upon closer inspection, this industry is indeed fulfilling culturally important functions. A brief discussion of Brazil’s income distribution will aid in the understanding of this perspective. A study in 2002 showed that Brazil is the country with the fourth most unequal distribution of income in the world. In this country, the top 20% of earners have incomes which are 30 times greater than the poorest 20% (The World Bank, 2005). The reason why that point was brought up was to illustrate the gap between the rich and the poor in this country. These LAN houses are allowing the poorer socioeconomic groups of this country to have basically the same resources as the richer groups. They are able to use similar technology, play the same games, and use the same software as everyone else, which would otherwise be unobtainable by these people. The way this industry encourages equality between income group is that it allows for the education of poorer members of the society in computer software. This then, would allow them to become more employable in higher paying jobs, which could take them out of poverty. Of course this is an idealised view of this industry, however, this does not mean that these things can’t and won’t happen.

Online piracy through Peer-To-Peer websites is one of the most popular forms of piracy. One such example is isohunt.com. According to the site’s founder, Gary Fung, “Remixing and sharing is good for culture” (Moya, 2008). His argument is that, in the internet age, sharing information between individuals should be promoted, as it is our cultural perspective that sharing is a favourable activity which should not be vilified. Be it sharing photos on Facebook, or sharing music through Peer-To-Peer sites, Fung believe that in today’s society, people want to share, and that the law should not prohibit an action which the majority of us find no fault in.

This blog has aimed to argue that piracy is not only an action with negative consequences. Rather, it can play a positive role in how society’s culture is formed.

References:

Armin Medosch, ‘Paid in Full: Copyright, Piracy and the Real Currency of Cultural Production’, in Deptforth. TV Diaries II: Pirate Strategies. London: Deptforth TV, 2008, pp. 73-97.

Gap Between Rich and Poor: World Income Inequality in 2002, The World Bank, Date Published: 2005, Date Accessed: 21 May 2011 <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908770.html&gt;

Jared Moya, isoHunt: ‘Copyright Infringers Aren’t Wrong, the Law Is’, Zeropaid.com, Date Published: 11 November 2008, Date Accessed: 21 May 2011 <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9840/isohunt_copyright_infringers_arent_wrong_the_law_is/&gt;

Such a “like”-able kid!

An amusing story on News.com.au has interested me today. In this article, an Israeli couple has named their newborn child, “Like”. WHY IS THIS? You may ask. Well, stop asking questions, we’re not in a conversation, it’s a blog. Nonetheless, I will answer it; the reason they did it was because they believe that “like ” is the modern equivalent of the word love. The basis of their observation was rooted in the fact that now, on Facebook, you can “like” people’s posts, comments, and photos alike. After posting the picture of their new-born on Facebook, they received 40 “likes”, and thus, they decided to name their daughter “Like”.

The reason I felt that this was blog-worthy, was that it shows how big of a role the internet plays in people’s mindsets nowadays. Yes, I admit that this is an extreme example, but I mean, how many times have you thought “Oh! I should put that thought as my status!” or “I should really put those pictures up on Facebook” or even “That person seemed cool, let me add them on Facebook”. I know I have been guilty of this at some points in the past few years.

… and that’s the way the cookie crumbles

Creative Commoners Unite!

Creative Commons is a newly found idea which basically represents a looser form of copyrighting one’s work. Rather than disallowing the use of one’s idea or work by anyone else, they are able to use Creative Commons in order to freely share these works with others. However, this doesn’t mean giving up copyrights, it just means that you can gain more control over how your creative works are shared. For more info on the technicalities of Creative Commons, have a look at this link: http://creativecommons.org.au/learn-more/licences

Some feel a stigma towards Creative Commons because there is a perception that free is either stolen or poor quality. To me, not all free things are of poor quality. Just have a look at marketing; how many times are you met with people who give you free samples on the street or in a super-market? It’s all free, but it doesn’t AUTOMATICALLY mean that it’s bad. The whole idea is the want to enter people’s minds and to get exposure to a greater audience. I believe that the Creative Commons idea is a useful one for people who want to get their work out there, and make it more freely available to the public, while still having control of what aspects of their work is on public display.

I would have no problem in browsing through Creative Commons musical content in order to find entertainment. Why would I? All of the big stars out there, were all once just like the musicians from the Creative Commons musical content. So who knows? Maybe the next big thing out there is, in fact, using Creative Commons. And also, on a personal note, I like knowing and having music which no-one else knows about, and this content would help make such unknown artists’ content available to me.

Excuse me while I Google “Creative Commons Music”……..

Self-Management Through Blogs

In this week’s readings, blogs were discussed in detail. In the readings, Geert Lovink stated that bloggers are creative nihilists “who celebrate the death of centralized meaning structures and ignore the accusation that they would only produce noise” (Lovink, 2007: 22), as well as saying that “No matter how much talk there is of community and mobs, the fact remains that blogs are primarily used as a tool to manage the self” (Lovink, 2007: 28). Both statements hold quite great weight in the description of blogs and bloggers alike, however, this post will be discussing the latter in greater detail.

Firstly, the idea of managing the self should be identified. Kathleen McGowan, of Psychology Today, states that managing the self is the way in which people present themselves in, and to, the world (McGowan, 2005). The difficulty in managing the self differs between individuals as some choose to over-ride their natural responses more than others. Using this definition, blogs are ideal tools of self management as bloggers can appear to be however they prefer to be viewed as, but because they are doing so behind a screen, one need not totally over-ride natural responses.

Perezhilton.com is the epitome of the use of blogs as a tool for self-management. The main aim of the blog is quite evident upon taking a quick glance at it: attention. And attention is just what this blog has achieved. At present, Perez Hilton, has made quite a name for himself in the Hollywood tabloids, which he used to only comment on. Through the blog, Hilton is able to present himself to be an entertaining character, be it positively or negatively so, which has landed him in fame. Only through this presentation of himself as an outspoken entertainment commentator was Hilton ever going to be noticed in Hollywood.

Lovink also argue that self management is the “PR and promotion of the I” (Lovink, 2007: 28). In terms of self promotion, Perez Hilton is, again, an obvious example. Along with gossip and celebrity news, scattered throughout his blog are both subtle, and not so subtle tools of self-promotion. Firstly, the self-titled  blog indicates a need for him to want to have his name out for the world to see. Secondly, at the top of the blog, Perez has a section devoted to informing people on how else they are able to follow his blogs and rants; with links to his Facebook, and Twitter page, as well as a link to sign up to the PerezHilton Posse newsletter. In addition to these, he has also scattered his photos throughout his blog, in what can be seen as an attempt to make, not only a name for himself, but a face as well (Hilton, 2011). It could be quite easily argued that one of the main motives of this blog, is self-promotion, and narcissism.

References

Geert Lovink, ‘Blogging, The Nihilist Impulse’, in Zero Comments: Blogging and Critical Internet Culture, London: Routledge, pp. 1-38

Kathleen McGowan, Managing the Self, Psychology Today, Date Published: 1 July 2005, Date Accessed: 4 May 2011 <http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200509/managing-the-self&gt;

Perez Hilton, Welcome to PerezHilton.com, PerezHilton.com, Date Published: 1 May 2011, Date Accessed: 2 May 2011 <http://perezhilton.com/&gt;