The IHT article really highlighted the dichotomy of Internet identity to me. On one side you have the hyper-evident identity seen on Facebook and Twitter that shows a representation of a person's real self, and on the other side you have the completely anonymous self that shows up often on Youtube and 4chan and other sites which represents a side that cannot come out within the confines of a social identity.
The article also highlights our conversations on micro-celebrity. The part of the article that stood out to me is when a person said they were angry about people posting pictures from years ago and talking about them, but she couldn't just leave Facebook because she wanted to know what they were saying about her. We want to be talked about and we want to be recognized - even if it is in an ambient medium. Facebook has become popular for this reason. People don't want to be alone just as the article concludes.
"History of media ecology"
One of the main themes I took from this piece was the transition in history from few, the elders, to many, even kids now have e-mail addresses and cell phones. As the media was proliferated throughout society, the people moved further and further apart, from spoken word to books to telephones to the Internet, in which speed is everything and no voice or physical interaction is involved.
Another thing that stood out to me is the mastering of the language it took to be a respected consumer of that media, but as time went on, that language became more and more widespread in society just like the forms of media. Now, in the Internet age, someone needs just to look up information regarding the medium's language on the Internet to participate actively in the medium.
It certainly makes me wonder if the new forms a media that will be developed in our lifetime will follow these same trends.
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