I’ve been saying for a while now, I don’t like it when I go to an event and I don’t shoot photos and then experiencing the feeling that, if it’s not on Flickr, it did not happen, this has been troubling me, and now I read “Will You Marry Me? Say Cheese!,” an article in the September 20th New York Times which mentions visual anthropologist Mike Wesch (known for his amazing Web 2.0 video):
Michael Wesch, an assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University who studies the impact of new media on human interaction, said: “I watch students come to the realization that there’s an internal contradiction in their lives. They both want to be famous and they want to be authentic, and yet there’s something in their striving to archive their lives that’s inauthentic.”
One of his former students recently posted his own proposal photographs on Facebook, he noted. That site and others like MySpace “allow them to be their own publicists,” he went on. “Which ties in with the marriage thing. It really is a fascinating phenomenon. It’s almost like if it’s not on Facebook, it didn’t happen.”
I’m starting to wonder if we should produce less media, rather than more?
I’ve been wondering the same thing, Tracy
Isn’t that the same mentality that got Jerry McGuire fired, leaving him with one goldfish and a broken engagement?
Its quite intersting to know about this…. Flickr is nothing but a image storage. It is a Web site for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository. It also allows users to categorize their photos. The Flickr API is available for non-commercial use by outside developers. It is also used as identifiers for users, photos, photosets etc.,
This is a phenomenon that I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. I’m putting together a video blog that documents road trips I go on and other travel/recreation related activities. And why not, I have a great time on these trips and folks always ask about them with comments like “sounds like fun” and “gee, I wish I could do that.” So I have some video equipment at my disposal…let’s create some media!
Only when I get out there it’s en entirely different experience. Before I was taking in the sights, sounds and texture of the places I visit and being in the moment. When I shoot I’m scheming for decent lighting and angles, chasing the clock, and worrying whether my batteries are running out or that I’m not getting enough interesting material. It’s fine, though…my goals are different on those particular trips and as long as I represent the experience I had before as authentically as possible I’m happy to do it.
So what about people that always seem to be recording their life? Are they having experiences where they can take in the world around them with it’s associated feelings and perceptions, most of which CANNOT be recorded with a camera? Can it be an “authentic” experience when seeing the world only through the eyes of a CMOS chip or a microphone?
I’m a firm believer that, no matter how hard core you are about content creation, sometimes- many times – you need to just put the tech down and live your life. Take it all in. Feel it all. Instead of exposing the world around you to your tech expose yourself to the world and see what happens. Besides, there’s something to be said for leaving things to peoples’ imaginations…
Nice blog…consider me subscribed!
Jim
roadup.com
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, yes, sometimes we have to put the tech down. I only snapped a couple of photos while I was at Podcamp this weekend, I was so focused on the conversations I was having with people, but I was also experimenting, could I resist taking pictures and focus more on the conversations. It certainly made the weekend a different experience. Let’s not forget the word MEDIA is very descriptive, it’s a mediated experience, it’s not the experience.