Hello everyone! My name is Ian Laiks. I am a junior in the school of Industrial Labor Relations. I am from north Jersey, Saddle River to be specific. I transferred last year from Colgate University, located in Hamilton, New York. For all of you who think that Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere, take a trip down to Hamilton, a town the size of North Campus where there are more cows than people. I really enjoy it here at Cornell and plan to go into Human Resources when I get out. I am a brother in Alpha Epsilon Pi and a member of the ILR Sports Management Club. Extracurricularly (if there is such a word…Microsoft Word tells me no) I play the drums and I am into sports, especially football. I like to take an interesting class outside of my major each semester to spice things up. At Colgate there was one about dinosaurs (if you ever get the chance, take a course on dinos…you won’t regret it) and last semester I took a course on visual communication. This course seemed very interesting to me, and I look forward to seeing what is has to offer.
What really interest me about the internet are the ludicrous videos available for viewing on the web that become national phenomena, otherwise known as “memes.” Don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than to spend my free time searching for videos of people making fools of themselves for all to see, but it amazes me how many millions of other people out there have seen the same dumb videos I have. I’m sure many of us have seen the Bro Rape skit or the Numa Numa song video, both of which have become classics on the internet. Many people also pass these on to their colleagues, whether by e-mail or just showing them in a dorm room. I myself am guilty of this. What perplexes me, however, is why these things become so popular. If my friend came to me with a home video of himself dancing half naked and singing to some strange song in a made-up language, I would call him a weirdo and be a little disturbed by it. On the internet however, the individuals in these videos have nothing to be ashamed of, as they become celebrities across the nation. I wonder why people can get away with doing, along with enjoy viewing, things that would be viewed as unbecoming and downright creepy in the real world.
These videos take place in the World Wide Web, where individuals can search for and view them. If there are located on a site such as youtube.com, they can also be a part of an asynchronous discussion forum, where people can post responses to the videos and reply to other’s posts.
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4 comments:
I really like your points here! I never actually thought about online videos in this way before. I have never been one to search the web for videos to watch, but I have received emails from friends, like you mentioned, with a video attached that they wanted me to watch. Some are absurd and it’s crazy to think of them actually being watched and enjoyed (people actually like watching some of this stuff?!) by millions of people. Another example is the “myaheee” video where a man is lip-sinking the song into the camera (I don’t know if you know what I am talking about, but I think most people have seen it…).
It’s interesting that now you can have a conversation about the videos and talk about them after watching. People can rate (through a star system) and comment on the video and see what others thought of them as well. Now video sites have become an asynchronous experience. I am sure it will soon move to synchronicity by being able to chat in real-time with other viewers on the site. This will lead to more people logging on to hear the comments and thoughts for themselves. All in good time…
Ian,
I have to agree with your perspective here. YouTube in particular, never seizes to amaze me. It’s ridiculous how many people feel the need to videotape themselves doing something silly, embarrassing, or even inappropriate. I understand people wanting to put their original work out there – like short films, documentaries, animation, etc – but when it comes to underage kids dancing provocatively while half dressed, strange or vulgar video blogs, and countless people who think they can sing performing covers on YouTube, I start to question the impact of such broadcasting sites. Where do we draw the line?
I wonder if people consider the consequences of some of the videos they post. This of course leads to another issue: are the youngest users even capable of realizing the possible consequences or implications of their broadcasts? Surely some of the YouTube youth don’t realize the scope of their audience, or anticipate future regrets. Perhaps we are setting ourselves up for another MySpace like sanctuary for predators and perverts? Or maybe people just feel comfortable expressing themselves through the Internet because the physical, visual, and various other cues associated with a public performance are lacking in the Internet space. I think that sense of anonymity or privacy can lead people to extreme behavior – even if video is not really so anonymous, and certainly not private.
Hey Ian,
I feel the same way. In fact I almost chose "memes" (although I have never heard that term before) as my blog topic, and even through a couple in there for comedic relief. I have been a follower of online videos since the days of "Peanut Butter Jelly Time", "Rejected", and "Strongbad Emails".
I enjoyed how you mentioned Numa Numa, as did Kathryn, and she didn't realize you were talking about the same thing. Her statement "but I think most people have seen it..." is absolutely true. These videos bubble to the surface of the Internet faster than word of a party on North Campus.
My personal hypothesis is that it's a direct result of social networking and people's desire to share their lives with as many people as possible. Its so easy to share these quick clips with your online sphere of influence. I'm guilty of using synchronous and asynchronous methods alike, whether posting to blogs or facebook, emailing, or instant messaging.
I can understand why people would want to share videos of them making fools of themselves. There are a lot of people just trying to grab their five minutes of fame, and the easiest place to do that is online.
Online video was a great choice because I have to agree with you in the sense that we are able to realize how silly we are sometimes when the camera is on us. Growing up I used to be afraid of being on camera since I might do something embarrassing, but now it doesn’t matter because If something funny happens I know it will be on Youtube and others will get some enjoyment out of it also. The age we are growing up in though we don’t really have much shame because we share pictures, crazy stories, and let everyone know what is going on in our life through facebook or blogs, so posting a video of something seems like nothing.
Its funny though what we can find on the internet because it ranges from a dog skateboarding to a little kid with the deepest voice singing “Chocolate Rain” with a beat and lyrics that he created himself. I know that my grades senior prank is on Youtube and also a gym class of ours where one kid walked through the door and got bombarded by shoes being thrown from every angle at him. The problem though is that sometimes things that shouldn’t get posted on the Internet and somehow they wind up on it and that’s when problems start. Eventually we will probably have video blogging to replace what we are doing now.
-JADD
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