Hey Everybody, my name is Will Douglas and I am a 20 year old Junior here at Cornell. I'm from the small town of Broadalbin, located in upstate New York. I'm sure you've never heard of it, so to give you a general idea it's located about thirty minutes west of Albany. I just recently transferred to Cornell this year from the small college of SUNY Cobleskill; another small place most of you have probably never heard of. During my stint at Cobleskill I recieved my Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts with a minor in Physical Education. I was also quite involved on campus. I was a member of the men's soccer team, a Resident Assistant for two semesters, a Student Ambassador, and I held many other odd jobs on campus as well. I transferred to Cornell to major in Communication in hope of someday becoming a sportscastor or atleast obtain some type of affiliation with ESPN in the future. I love sports, as well as, communication, so it seemed like the right path to take. We'll see what happens. Here, at Cornell I'm quite involved as well. I was just recently hired to work for the Cornell Fitness Centers, I'm currently training to become a sportscastor and DJ for WVBR 93.5, the local radio station here in Itaca, and I have intentions of joining a Fraternity in the future, I just have to find the right one. Well, for the most part, that's me.
As for the internet phenomenon that interests me the most, it has to be youtube.com. It just boggles my mind to see how this website exploded over the past few years. For the most part, YouTube was founded on people doing stupid, dangerous things to themselves, and then broadcasting it to the entire world. Now, YouTube has become so large and profound, that not only can you instantly find thousands of videos of people doing strange, dangerous things to themselves, but you can also find an episode of your favorite television show you might have missed, or a favorite commerical, movie blunder...you name it and it can be found on YouTube. The thing that interests me the most, is that a site that was founded on people hurting themselves, is now used by presidential candidates for their campaign. I just don't really understand it, and I find it absolutely fascinating. I guess I understand that fact that YouTube can be considered as another form of "mass" media, and since so many people view the site it makes since to campaign where the general public spends alot of time. The thing I don't understand is the evolution of the site from basically, an amateur "Jackass" site, to a site in which presidential candidates see fit enough to broadcast their campaigns. Pretty fascinating if you ask me.
As for the online environment or space in which YouTube takes place in, I don't think Patricia Wallace ever dreamed of such a space to exist. Then again, she does talk about how the space of the World Wide Web is a space used for self publishing, and technically that is what YouTube is all about. Although, YouTube videos are exactly "published" they are posted for the entire world to view, and technically publishing is defined as making something publically known. So, although I'm almost positive that Patricia Wallace never imagined a space quite like YouTube during the writing of her book, technically it fits in her definition of the environment or space known as the World Wide Web.
Enjoy everybody,
~Will Douglas
2 comments:
YouTube is of interest to me because it has so many functions, many of which you mentioned. I agree with you - YouTube is another form of mass media - but I believe it has a special niche inside that realm. The YouTube “journalists” are not necessarily tied through business obligations to larger corporations and interests, and have an advantage in numbers. Those who were once innocent bystanders now have the capability to record your every move. While this has numerous negative consequences, I also believe it has the potential to create a sense of accountability. After enough scandalous (but previously unknown) acts are uploaded, perhaps YouTube could become a way for wrong-doers to be exposed. Of course, YouTube in its present form would not be suitable for reliable journalism.
I believe the tazing incident last fall at UCLA demonstrates the potential of YouTube journalism. Do you think the incident would have left such an impression on the public if there was only a transcript of the event? Would it have been seen by so many people? If information and scenes can be digitized and uploaded so readily, perhaps people will begin to think twice about their actions.
Correction:
Instead of deleting and reposting the comment, I'll just correct it here.
Would it have reached so many people?
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