Davis: Introduction

Chris Carr

Davis: Introduction

Web 2.0

            As this video is from 2007, they showed people that there are dangers to the world-wide web, by using the web itself to show the depth of the internet, as well as the complex mechanics behind it. This includes its major flaws which could in turn cause major problems. The people using the internet at the time, I assume were people like me and my older brothers ranging from middle-school to fresh out of college. We basically just used the internet to watch funny videos and the occasional e-mail. We       were not at all aware of the power of the internet and what goes into it. The internet is used in almost everything now. Everything is Wi-Fi capable nowadays. As for when this video was made, it was mainly computers which had to be connected with Ethernet cables or a wireless airport somewhere in the home. There was much less connected to the Internet of Things.

An anthropological intro to YouTube AND From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able

           

            As these videos were made briefly after Web 2.0, the internet and its power was still being overlooked by the average human being. Wesch was able to use not only a PowerPoint-like presentation, but also mixed it with video montages containing many famous YouTube videos from its early days, as well a photo montages. Montage has been around for very long, but like my brothers and I, had no idea what that was or what it meant until it became a very prominent thing on YouTube. He was able to use something that YouTube is very well known in my mind for popularizing, and use it to get his points across much more clear.

Web 2.0

The web is growing rapidly every day, and the depth and power of the internet is much more widely known within most communities. There have also been many major issues ran through the internet and recently advertised. Obviously, the web can be used in endless ways to enhance any type of project or product.

An anthropological intro to YouTube AND From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able

            In these video, he shows how YouTube is not looked at as a huge influence at the time it was made, but the evidence of its power was very much there, such as the soldier boy demonstration, and how fast that dance spread. The other websites used in his demonstrations are out of date as well, such as digger and myspace. The power of            YouTube, as well as media and social media, is much more obvious now, as people are starting their own political shows, and stating serious opinions on their YouTube accounts.

Two Concepts

1.     I very much enjoyed his description of the connections that technological networks create between the real world and our imagination. As this continues, the line fades, dragging you deeper into the web and blurring the line between real and imagination even more, much like what was demonstrated in Web 2.0.

2.     On page eight, Davis explains how it is easy to lose your way in an age of so much information. As seen in many of the montages, so many people are doing something only because they saw it on the internet and want to imitate it. Seeing so much so often means there are much more influences which can affect what you become.