Since the Oscars are on tonight, it seems reasonable to me that we’re starting our “readings” this week with not readings at all but a couple of movies– well, YouTube videos– by Michael Wesch.
First, if you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to watch the short video “The Machine is Us/ing Us:”
This was the first video that Wesch did that brought him and his work a lot of attention, and that eventually lead to this presentation that is this video we’re talking about here:
I think this is pretty self-explanatory, and yet there’s so much here– about “memes,” about fair use, about the “stupidness” of it all (especially the comments sections), about (in)authenticity, and so forth. I’ve shown this to my undergraduates for a number of years now, and what always seems to surprise them is how much stuff there is out there on YouTube beyond what they had seen previously.
Both of these videos were interesting and informative to watch. I was struck at how YouTube and the Vlogging experience serve as triggers for people to consider their own identity in relation to others. The young girl holding the mirror up to her camera was a good example of this. I wonder how many YouTubers report similar experiences? I also wonder, how many would have considered their identity in this phenomenological fashion if not for YouTube?
As it works on multiple levels, having students upload a Vlog style project (just like we’ll be doing!) seems like a great assignment; first, there’s the project the student has to complete; second, there’s the new technology to master; third, there’s the discussion around identity and self-reflectiveness that can take place afterward. Of course, this will be interesting for us; and, the next challenge is somehow causing our own students to have a similar experience.
I too was wondering about your first points and questions Brian. I thought the part where people seemed to “come apart” in front of the camera for being faced by their own raw identity was fascinating, mostly because I’ve been faced with that as well. Whenever a camera comes around I either run or freeze. I guess I always considered it to be “camera shy” by maybe the definition of such a term really has to do with “identity shy.” Putting yourself out there for people to see you in a while new way can be scary.
Just building off of what Brian is saying here: I don’t know if I’d want to go so far as to say that YouTube fundamentally alters our abilities to perceive ourselves in the world. But I can very much identify with the “weirdness” of the experience of recording ones’ self for YouTube, that whole phenomenon of starting over and over again. Actually, I’d encourage all of you to give it a try– it’s an interesting experience.
I agree Steve, I wouldn’t go as far as that with YouTube either. However, I’m always looking for opportunities in assignments to demonstrate to students in some way that they are not just an “interiority” or, that we ARE all different, or that what people say or think of us can, over the course of time, help us think about who we are. If I think about it “officially” it probably falls under helping students understand how diverse the world. Now, that’s nothing I can accomplish in a semester, and a lot of it has to do with factors out of my control, but having this kind of discussion regarding Vlogging is one little contribution to that goal.
I watched this video instead of the Oscars tonight, because I’m a dork without TV. My dork status was reinforced when I began dancing to the numa numa song during the credits…
All dorkiness aside, I found Wesch’s insights all very fascinating, especially what he says about the YouTube audience being potentially anyone and everyone, which upsets our notions of creating content (writing!) for a specific audience for a specific purpose. Wesch does mention that most videos are only intended to be watched by a small number of people, but he also illustrates that thanks to sites like Digg and Delicious, content can explode very quickly and be seen by literally millions of people for which the content was not originally intended. Wesch calls this “context collapse”: something that has always unnerved me about YouTube, as well as blogs and Twitter, because anything you say can be taken out of context and appropriated according to others’ agendas. This is the concept of mashing up or remixing, which can be super-cool, of course, but sometimes it can do damage to the producer of the original content, too (as evidenced by the John McCain “Bomb Iran” fiasco).
Wesch emphasizes the positive emotional power of YouTube, but conversely, I’ve always been struck by how many mean comments people post on videos. These comments are usually not about the video itself but about a previous comment someone else made. There’s so much name-calling and negativity! In Wesch’s video, we see a user calling another user gay (as an expletive), a “shitstain”, etc. This is weird considering how much “community” and “authenticity” people are supposedly craving today (according to Wesch), right?
Not to start a tangent right off the bat, but I also wonder about the content of things that trend, and the cultural biases, prejudices, and oppression that they perpetuate. For example, Soulja Boy’s song “Crank That” (featured in the video) is actually incredibly derogatory toward women. I ask myself: how many people made a video response because of the dance without knowing (or caring) about the meaning of the lyrics? What’s awesome about YouTube, though, is that anyone can post a response video that critiques the original content. I did a quick search and didn’t find one (reinforcing Juhasz’s argument that YouTube is poorly organized and impossible to navigate), but I bet there are some hip women out there who remixed the song and made it feminist. Please post the link here if you come across one!
Your comment about the “damaging” videos that can be posted is interesting. I mean, we assume kids are kids and don’t always know that these videos can come back and haunt them, but as an adult, McCain probably should have known better. It seems like all these social networking sites are keeping people on their toes, and maybe a little more “honest” than they normally would be.
Do you know if there is a way to make people take something like the McCain video down? Or is it freedom of speech so long as underage kids aren’t being harmed? I’m not sure. the one kid in the video was talking about how nothing there is permanent, he can delete videos now, but can others have yours taken down?
ps Carrie, I watched it while on the treadmill and had no idea the Oscars were on
Well, as far as McCain goes: since he was (and is) a highly public figure who said something awfully dumb that got picked up on and then parodied, I don’t think he should be “protected.” I mean, imagine what would happen with political discourse in this country if every politician could delete or edit messages about them to suit their needs!
And as far as offensive music goes: I think it’s fair to say that there’s lots and LOTS of derogatory to women and otherwise offensive music. As far as I can tell, it seems to be part of the genre of hip-hop music. I am quite sure that most of the people dancing in those videos haven’t thought a whole lot about the lyrics (I know I haven’t), and I’m pretty sure that most people dancing to just about every other song I’ve ever heard in this genre haven’t thought a whole lot about the lyrics.
That is what the genre does, makes catchy tunes but uses that to say what they want and no one really listens as closely to the words. When anyone does comment people seem so quick to say….its only a song…but that is not true its much more than a song, It is a big part of our cultural ideology. And as for McCain, too bad he needed to watch what he said as well and ANY public figure.
I wasn’t feeling bad for McCain at all! I think celebs should be held responsible for the things they say and the media keeps them conscious of it. I was simply wondering if people “with power” have the ability to pressure people into taking them down.
A balance of perspective is important. People may not realize that though, or even care to discuss it.
I looked up Crank That in the urban dictionary. Scary stuff. It’s almost like people give these terms a second definition to cover up the first definition because it is so offensive.
The thing I really liked about the Wesch video on YouTube was that it allowed people to look at a site like YouTube as something more than what we give it credit for, something that has some semblance of depth to it. So many people have made it out to be a complete waste of time and judge the people who post and participate in its culture as “losers” or whatever, but through studying it and its community, Wesch was able to see it for something more- a place where people come together to connect as a community. People whose common thread is a video camera for a lifeline to something that might be missing in their lives. Some of those people take YouTube to be dead serious and a way of life. Maybe its only for a short time period, but for even then, it provides them with what they need to “survive” in some ways. Sure, you have the “shitstain” and the “suckass” people, but even then, maybe YouTube is providing them with a more appropriate avenue for voicing their anger towards the world. I definitely liked Wesch’s tone towards YouTube more so than the Juhasz piece which took a negative, discrediting, and “high and mighty” tone against the site.
I also really enjoyed Wesch’s talk on YouTube; the talk was fantastically put together and really well executed. I think Wesch’s argument that YouTube brings a sense of community was fascinating, but, as I mention on my own YouTube video (posted on my blog), I think that a YouTube community is possibly a very artificial sense of community. For example, that guy who’s sharing about the death of his daughter…I’m not sure if that’s the healthiest way to work through grief – talking to a bunch of random people about your pain.
I agree– grief to strangers seems a little odd to me too. But I guess the point was that guy didn’t see his audience on YouTube as strangers– or, to the extent that there were strangers, I think he cared less about them and more about the folks that he saw as his audience, based on their comments and such.
I really enjoy Michael Wesch and the material he produces and the facts he presents. Thanks for posting these videos!
I was really interested in what Wesch had to say about YouTube and the way it truly asks for originality, connection, and the spread of cultures. He jokes about everything in general, but he’s right: “This is a very important moment.” Our society is learning how to express ourselves in all these new ways and how to interact with a virtual culture– people who are there and not there all at the same time. As an example, he discusses when he made the “Machine is Us/ing Us” video and how he collaborated with somebody on a completely different continent and it spread so quickly and reached so many people in such a short time. This speaks to the power of the Internet and sites, like YouTube, that promote “user-generated information” and “user-generated distribution.”
Human relationships are definitely changing and we have yet to see what this means to society in general. But, as of right now, the connection it promotes is purely amazing to me.
I like how you say this, Ashlee: ‘Our society is learning how to express ourselves in all these new ways and how to interact with a virtual culture- people who are there and not there all the time.”
You could write a book on that statement alone.
I agree Ashlee and Renee. This “second self” idea seems to be one of the big “learning curves” that goes along with our new technologies.
I am looking forward to feeling awkward during my book review.
heh.
I enjoy people that have the courage to sing, dance, recite poetry, mirror what they see on tv, although they may not look like hollywood. I think some of these kids have more talent then what I see on television. Woesman makes me laugh.
I’ve been a fan of Wesch for a few years. I like the projects he has for his students. I like his anthropological approach to newmedia/ technology.
We tried to recreate his machine is us/ing us in one of our labs and it was difficult.
I love this video because it shows how we are all connected. I remember the first time I watched it, I was floored and so moved!! He embraces subjects like love and what it means to be human (subjects I adore).
I read recently, many times actually, “technology is defining what it means to be human” and it scares me until I see that the concept before that one is that the machine is us. So, the latter statement is not some horror sci-fi novel coming true.
OOPS, Read this comment. UGH I’m all over the place!
I am looking forward to feeling awkward during my book review.
heh.
I enjoy people that have the courage to sing, dance, recite poetry, mirror what they see or feel.
They are empowering themselves but posting the video and when others watch, (not including commenting), they are empowering that person too!
I’ve been a fan of Wesch for a few years. He is so clever! I like the projects he has for his students. I like his anthropological approach to newmedia/ technology.
We tried to recreate his machine is us/ing us in one of our labs and it was difficult.
I love this video because it shows how we are all connected. I remember the first time I watched it, I was floored and so moved!! He embraces subjects like love and what it means to be human (subjects I adore).
I read recently, many times actually, “technology is defining what it means to be human” and it scares me until I see that the concept before that one is that the machine is us. So, the latter statement is not some horror sci-fi novel coming true.
I think your last comment is an important one, Renee. Saying that tech is defining what it means to be human is, IMO, only a surface observation. It’s not defining it… it’s re-defining it. I don’t think we’re losing the essential qualities of what it means to be human, we are only seeing it through a new (and more powerful?) lens. And, when it comes down to it, we are the ones that are creating the machines/technology that help to redefine us. We are essentially, the machines. These technologies are user-driven, which I think redefines how we percieve technology. I think it has added a human element to technology that wasn’t always there. For all the ways that technology has become embedded in humanity, humanity has also become embedded in technology.
Absolutely– but if you remember from our readings waaaayyyy back at the beginning of the term (Ong, Alex Reid, Plato, etc.), what it means to be human in relationship to technology has always been a complex issue.
Yes and we have to be in control of the technology and not let it control us, which it can and does sometimes.
Well, I think that we are actually more regularly in a symbiotic relationship with technology in that we rely on it for so many things, and it (to the extent that a concept/theory/object can have any sort of goals) needs us to advance. Or maybe another way of putting it: humans are such technological creatures, I’m not so sure it’s possible to separate it from us.
Well, now that I finally finished this hour long video that took be the better part of two hours to watch (Damn you, youtube buffering!!!!) I must say that I really enjoyed it. And, now that I’ve watched it, I am also wondering the same thing that Angie posed in her comments on Juhasz. What would either one have to say to the other. IMO, Wesh makes the stronger of the two statements. Would Juhasz tell the guy @ the very end of the video that he was being self-indulgent? Would she tell the free hugs guy that his act has no social or moral value? I doubt it.
I, like many of you who have already posted, definately could relate to the uncomfortable feeling of talking into a webcam. I”ve never posted a vlog before, but when I was playing with Screentoaster last semester for a project and decided to make a sample toast, I certainly felt it. Now, that wasn’t going to be seen by anyone, and yet I still felt anxiety and could not get my thoughts together. As soon as I hit the record button, it was like I was twelve years old getting ready to call a girl I like for the first time and turned into a bumbling idiot. But, I think it’s a very human thing. Heck, I used to record the outgoing voicemail message at work and it would take me half a dozen attempts just to finally get it all out. So, I think it’s more about the immediacy (even though you can erase and start over an infintesimal amount of times) and the lack of a visual audience. But, I’m sure that through practice, you get better at handling both.
This video is great. I used it for the first day of class this semester in my Journalism class and they thought it was a good way to begin. I know that the article we read is negative about youtube, but the point he is trying to make is an important one. We have this idea with all this media and technology that people are becoming so disconnected from each other. In some ways that could be true to an extent, but the reality is we are even now more connected to each other than ever before. I keep having issues with my book review video not posting but this is one thing that Jenkins book points out is that we do have this capability to be in contact with people we never would have before in our lives and that can be a really good thing. We just have to use youtube for what it is just like Wikipedia. People are so quick to dismiss things, just like they did with radio and TV when it came out. Im not saying that all of this is perfect but it has so much potential to be used in such good ways that those who criticize it dont really see yet. We want to be connect to people and if we can using videos, blogs, and other forms of technology then so be it.
Did you use the long video or the short one for class Cristin? They would both be good, I’m just wondering which one you showed.
I showed the one that was about an hour long. They thought it was great and we have been talking about how much more participatory news has become over the years with it going online. Also the idea of what is news as far as what and how things are discussed.
I think this is probably the coolest thing we have experienced all semester. Maybe it is my background in sociology and anthropology showing through, but I now have a very different perspective regarding YouTube. (Even though I still really enjoy the crazy cat videos).
I had never really thought of the audience as being a community, but as I was locked in the library all weekend, one of the ideas that struck me the most was that almost everything I read about teaching with technology mentions or somehow connects to the sense of community involved with the technology. I think Wesch did a fantastic job of taking an idea that could be dry and scholarly and making it fun to watch, while getting a major point across at the same time.
I was not looking forward, to be honest, to an hour long video on YouTube, but I found it very enlightening, enjoyable and food for thought. I am now a fan of Wesch. Do you suppose he has a fan club?
Also, I am a fan of McCain, and I can assure you that he is a funny guy with a great sense of humor. I have heard him speak in person and he could do stand-up if put to the test. Other than a video that hurts his election chances, I doubt he gets too concerned about stuff like this.
I’ll probably be the last one to respond. It is still Tues.. My Verizon wireless pad wouldn’t download this so had to find another hot spot.
Anyways I loved this video for all the reasons mentioned above and just like to see people being people. Hollywood has made plastic people for so many years. This is the real USA and it also showed me the deeper meaning of YouTube.
All the first postings that people went through were very true. I am so glad that I was not the only one to have a rough beginning when you’re recording.
Thanks Steve it was great.