Hi everyone, my name is Sarah. I'm interested in the whole youtube phenomenon, like what motivates people to post thier videos on youtube and especially the rise of "youtube celebrities" like the star wars kid and lonelygirl15.
I would call youtube asynchronous since the videos can be watched at any time by going onto the site. Also, youtube has a comments feature where users can comment on videos. This is also asynchronous, as users can just post a comment and leave the video- instead of engaging in a real time discussion with other users. Sometimes “conversations” (users responding to each other’s comments) on the comments section go on for weeks since people respond to the comments sporadically. I was going to put up an example of a youtube comments “conversation” from videos I was watching but most of the comments contained inappropriate language for a class assignment, even though the videos were just regular videos- nothing of an inappropriate nature. That might be another interesting thing to study regarding the internet- people’s use of language, like on the youtube comments, shows the disinhibition they feel online as Wallace discussed and reasons/consequences of this disinhibition.
4 comments:
I completely agree that YouTube is an example of an asynchronous online space, both in the commenting and discussion forums, and in the actual video posts themselves. Often, a user will submit a video solely as a response to another user’s original post.
What’s very interesting about YouTube though is that it both follows and violates the “rules” governing the effects of anonymity on web surfers. On the one hand, you have the discussion forums and comment threads, which as you mention are “wretched hives of scum and villainy,” to borrow a line from a popular film, but at the same time you have the videos themselves. Those videos show people forsaking their cloak of anonymity to take up the soapbox that YouTube provides them. The decision process that goes into that is truly fascinating to me.
Hey Sara,
I completely agree on this phenomenom of youtube. It is definitely both asynchronous and synchronous. I think that main motivation to post a video on youtube is that "fame" factor in which people feel that get can someone else, depsite the fact that they don't know who it is, pay attention to them. It is also the most visual way to demonstrate what one can do and really prove oneself. It is an easy way to expose yourself to the world. This is a really interesting topic.
Hey,
Youtube is a strange place online, considering that people are willing to give up their anonimity to post something knowing the certain scrutiny they will face from some people. Youtube commenter's are some of the quickest to try and degrade another persons work.
I do agree with you that it is asynchronous but i'd also like to add that because it displays videos, viewers are able to obtain non-verbal cues. They can use these to help them form an opinion of the person their watching but they can't use them to interact in a fast person to person way. So it might help to keep the neutral or negative impressions of the CFO theory.
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