Content on the Web

After watching a few interviews with Andrew Keen about his book "The Cult of the Amateur," I was beginning to see some of his points, but the review of his book by Lawrence Lessig, made some good counterpoints that I had believed before these videos and articles. I have always looked at the use of social networking and anonymity on the Internet as a way that our culture has distanced itself from others. I remember a time when instant messaging was the "new thing" on the Internet and would actually talk to someone, who lived on my floor when I lived in the dorms, through the IM client instead of getting out of my chair and walking the 50 feet to their room and chatting with them. At that time, video blogging and YouTube were just a thought in someone's mind and the network speeds to handle what we have now were not yet in place.

As I was working on my undergraduate degree, I couldn't find an emphasis that I was interested in until I took a Social Psychology class and realized that there was this growing trend of social networking in where people would spend more time on their computer than talking with others face to face. Again, this was before video blogging. While this interaction on the Internet has changed, it is still different from a face to face meeting with people. More and more meetings are happening online, such as the one I attended for a class last week. Everyone who participated was required to join a "room" while using a "web cam" and a microphone. Many corporations have meetings between offices in rooms using teleconference technology, which is high quality cameras and microphones to relay video and audio between the two, or more sites so they are able to cut down on travel expenses. I am still very interested in creating a study that looks at the way people now communicate versus 10 years ago when dial-up networking was the main connection to the Internet. I would not be surprised to find that face to face communication is no longer as important as being able to quickly compose a Twitter message or e-mail someone.

While I may not have much experience with video blogging, I have found a way to share the development of my child with the rest of my family that does not get to see her as often as they would like. My wife and I have set up a YouTube account to post videos of our child to so that friends and family are able to see the stages of development. (link) I do watch the occasional video that is passed from friends via email, but for the most part, I have stuck with corporate video streaming sites such as those found on the network pages and hulu.

Daily life on the Web

My use of the web differs in that I have work duties during the day and then I am able to browse for fun at night. The content of the sites I look at during the day relate to job functions such as ordering parts for warranty repairs and researching upcoming technology. At night I tend to relax and go on social networking sites such as Facebook and play games on the web.

While I have two different ways I use the web, I may not be the typical user. For the average user the web has become a more enriching experience. It allows users to get in touch with people from their past that they may not have talked with since high school or sooner. I know that there are a few people that I have talked with since I found them on Facebook that I wouldn't have talked to until a class reunion and probably not again until another class reunion. While not everyone may have the same experience, I believe that it is a good thing for people to get in touch with those they may not have or those in their past that they have lost touch with.

With the good also comes the bad. While people can get in touch with those from their past, it also changes the way people interact with others in real life. The interaction online is very different in that people can become anonymous and say things that they may not say in front of other people. People are also not conversing with other people in real life as much as they used to. I know that I was not as social with others until I started working where I always have to interact with customers. There are good and bad things with the way we interact with the web and we'll see how we look at the current state of the web in another 5 years.