Heimburger - Davis: Introduction

            At first, Mike Wesch’s approach to studying the online community on YouTube didn’t really seem comprehensive of how online cultures worked, portraying a happy image of online interactions. As I continued watching the first video, however, Wesch demonstrated how the good and bad parts of the websites like YouTube are simply a result of our good and bad behaviors and how we choose to act online.
Wesch also developed an insightful portrayal of the power that community has on websites like YouTube. When YouTube first came out, there wasn’t an established standard for what one could or should do or publish online, so some of the first sources of content that were posted to YouTube were more experimental than the videos we would find online today. However, as more and more videos were posted to the site, a culture seemed to develop based on what people shared about their life experiences, personas and values. The online movement of sharing messages that were literally “handwritten” on people’s palms reminded me of many of the movements that have occurred on social media over the past few years. The Me Too movement, for instance, singlehandedly brought down Harvey Weinstein’s Hollywood empire along with a whole sleuth of prominent male figures in entertainment and politics. Seeing Wesch’s compilation of videos showing all those who participated in the online message movement made me realize how far online movements have progressed and how real the effects of them are in comparison to the days when sites like YouTube were still emerging.
Wesch also showed in his other videos how online media might have been the place where some of the first widespread reactionary and parody content could be viewed and spread a message or movement more quickly than any tools before it. Only online would you be able to personally post content mocking John McCain’s “bomb Iran” joke or create a satirical video criticizing the hypocrisy of Dove commercials that lecture parents about unfair standards held towards children.
Erik Davis discusses in the introduction to TechGnosis how the age of information has led to the online machine being worshipped for the culture of shared values it has promoted. However, I think we are just beginning to experience the impact of social movements being carried out through real life actions, such as the March for Our Lives parades occurring across the country. Hopefully Davis continues discussing the importance of the separation from the machine and reality just as Wesch was able to describe how online media has impacted the world in a positive way.

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