Just Looking ...

The explosive popularity of web communities such as myspace, facebook, as well as youtube, which promise a "taking back" of the internet, and a way to make it your own ("MYspace","YOUtube") is something I have yet to fully understand. Mind you, I'm not denying that I've been swept up by the trend.

All of the videos posted on this blog have been sourced from youtube, which demonstrates the pervasiveness of the site as a resource.The The services are free for users, and also provide actual benefits ( mostly entertainment value), which is in some ways similar to consumer savings programs like airmiles. As Emma brought up in class, myspace profiles (and undoubtedly every other like website) provides corporate agendas with valuable information.
Browsing on youtube, there really is something for everyone, including (in my view) an enormous number of homemade videos which are very boring. However, it promises fame--the everyman can become a myspace or youtube celebrity of the week if their amateur video catches the eye of enough people.
Of course, real celebrities are featured on these sites as well. Big name bands were quick to jump on the myspace bandwagon (the beastie boys have a myspace).
It's almost to the point of developing as its own subculture, and I can see a divide between the myspace user's knowledge of various items of internet "cultural capital", that my less internet savvy friends are unaware of, and largely uninterested in (" did you see that new myspace prank....Oh I forgot you don't have a myspace, what else can we talk about?").

These sites are also a location for people to post false information, creating profiles which don't represent who they are
(for whatever reason) , as well as places for people to express their individuality and authentic selves.

Any thoughts?