Journal Entry 1 - Davis: Introduction (Sara Loughran)

The sequence of videos are almost a chronicle of Wesch's exploration through new forms of digital media. YouTube in particular is a key source and tool for his exploration, as it is where he gained viral internet fame with "Web 2.0: The Machine Is Us/ing Us”, the main subject of his talk in “An anthropological introduction to YouTube”, and one of the platforms he examined when talking about how people are getting their causes and protests noticed and succeeding in enacting some change in "From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able". A common theme for each of these videos is how people are using these tools ("the Machine") to do things that are revolutionary as no one could have imagined them happening before the internet. "Web 2.0: The Machine Is Us/ing Us” explores the new limitless possibilities of text within the internet and how things are no longer confined to a pen and paper - one link can lead someone down an entire rabbit hole of searching; “An anthropological introduction to YouTube” explores the genesis of this new media platform that can turn ordinary people famous with a simple 2 minute home video; and "From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able" shows the power and potential people, especially students, can have by using the internet to spread a message or fight for a cause. These new media have all created a culture and landscape, that frankly even today we're still learning how to navigate. Anything is possible, yet that is also the problem, and the Internet and new digital media continues to remain sort of an abstract open area where real life rules don't always apply, and thus we don't know how to fix or regulate it. The question is whether it is better to give up some of our free speech rights for more regulation, or leave the internet open to chaos and meddling? This has been a big question after the scandals about Facebook and the ongoing issue of Russian hackers, bots, and trolls in the 2016 elections attempting to sway public opinion.

Since the release of these videos, the internet, and YouTube as well - have changed drastically. Even the most recent of the three ("From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able", 7 years ago, 2010) could not have predicted the mass impact social media and the internet would have in global outreach and activism, particularly among students. Movements are easier to grow, and it is easier to inform people about issues (though the internet still has the tendency to be fooled by fake things, like the accounts in "An anthropological guide to YouTube). Along with being another place for social media activism, YouTube has become a place for people to cultivate careers as creators where they otherwise would have been rejected by a TV or film production company. Anyone can upload anything, which is the double-edged sword. While it has led to some amazing creations, and become so wildly popular that even large companies and corporations are trying to get in on it (something else that is up to you to decide whether it is positive or negative), it is almost its own entity that people will use as their own tool to do things that are more questionable and controversial, such as the large community of alt-right and neo-nazi vloggers who even caused advertisers to pull from the site, which is one of only many controversies YouTube has been involved in. This leaves open the possibility for the platform to take action to police some of these creators, but at the cost of adding a caveat to the idea that "anyone can post anything". I only see the platform evolving more, but at its current rate, the administration behind YouTube needs to make a decision about who and who they don't want on their platform, or risk more consequences and everything devolving into an even bigger cesspool of chaos, hatred, racism, and nefarious intentions. I wonder if Wesch could have foreseen YouTube's current iteration? I honestly don't think he could have, because watching "An anthropological guide to YouTube" is almost comical in how everything has changed, even if some key concepts remain.

Davis seems to echo some of Wesch's thoughts, particularly about how "the Machine" uses us, and how it is neither necessarily good nor evil, but a tool, and we should learn how to manipulate it and not let it manipulate us. Davis also talks about how technology and new media become the "building blocks, and even in some sense the foundation, for what we now increasingly think of as 'the social construction of reality.'” (4). However, Wesch seems to have a much more positive outlook on new digital media and technology than Davis, and even though he does address some of the downsides, he largely tries to focus on all the good possibilities that can come from this uncharted territory. Davis is a little bit more negative and Hobbesian about the whole thing, even if he acknowledges the digital media is neither negative nor positive. However, he believes it has the potential for negativity, and that we as humans should try and prevent that before it happens. The dichotomy between the two perspectives was quite fascinating and allowed me to see the positives and negatives of digital media and technology while giving me room to form my own opinion.