Learning to talk...

3. Discovering Communication.

I personally don’t think that Web 2.0 is “killing our culture and economy” as Andrew Keen believes – merely that we are in a transitional period where our technologies are advancing faster than we can learn to understand them and use them properly. The Internet has developed over a relatively short space of time – public interest in it only really came about in the 1990s, with its most explosive level of growth between 1996 and 1997. Thus the majority of current users learnt to use the Internet during their adult lives. Currently there is a conflict between what they have learned in the real world to be socially acceptable and the opportunities presented by Web 2.0. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy author, Douglas Adams is quoted as writing this set of rules, which describes humanity’s reactions to technologies:

“1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.

2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.

3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things." The Salmon of Doubt (2002: p. 95)

The introduction of the Internet is comparable to the invention of the printing press, around 1440. Both are examples of technological leaps, which facilitate the free spread of information, and both were met with scepticism from the professions they were perceived to threaten. Clay Shirky comments;

“The comparison with the printing press doesn’t suggest that we are entering a bright new future – for a hundred years after it started, the printing press broke more things that it fixed, plunging Europe into a period of intellectual and political chaos that ended only in the 1600s.” (2008: p.73)

As Shirky says, the printing press began by creating more problems than it was solving, but over time it found its place as a useful tool in society and eventually became not only an accepted part of it, but a hugely important element. It is clear that the Internet is already a significant tool in modern society. It is hard to imagine that it will take as long as 150 years for the Internet to find its place, to settle down, but it is clear that we are still only developing its potential. Most Internet based communication is currently modeled on existing forms of communication, where a conversation takes place between a speaker and an audience, whether that is an individual or a group, and where the conversation happens in a chronological order. Tools such as GoogleWave, currently only available as a preview of the final application, allow users to post information and ideas to a familiar web-chat format. Each piece of the conversation is then editable by any member of the conversation or ‘wave’. Changes are highlighted and the author of the change is credited on a group member’s first viewing of the amendment. Each person who contributes to pieces of conversation is recognized as an author of the post, and the post becomes a collaboration. Communication techniques such as this are an example of possible future Internet developments, where the identity of the author becomes less important or apparent. Interestingly, it was the invention of the printing press, which first gave the final word, as it were, on a work, to its original author. Before that, each copy of a piece of writing was a manuscript, which had been copied by a scribe, possibly from another copy, or a copy of a copy. Thus a given manuscript may have been altered greatly from the original piece, and its author or title lost. We are already witnessing how technology is changing language, shortening words and grammar and giving new meanings to old words such as avatar or wiki. Perhaps, as Internet technologies develop, we will begin to move back to older practices and models where idea ownership is less important than the actual idea.

Users will also have to write the rules on what is socially acceptable on the Internet. The way the Internet allows people to connect worldwide is so different from what has gone before that there is not necessarily a precedent for how people should behave on the Internet.

Looking specifically at www.postsecret.blogspot.com, a site which challenges traditional perceptions of secrecy, privacy and truth, we find a website devoted to the secrets of it’s viewers. As mentioned in my introduction this site requires users to send in postcards which tell a secret on the front side, usually decorated in someway, the tag line being “PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people

mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.” (www.postsecret.blogspot.com, 08/11/09). This is a unique use of the Internet as a form of communication – it asks its users to take time and effort, to use some creativity to create a response.

Started by Frank Warren in 2005, it claims to be the biggest, advertisement-free blog in the world and has received 280, 822, 820 visitors at the time of writing. Warren, who has been described as “the most trusted stranger in America”, often opens the talks he regularly gives at colleges across America saying, “Everyone has a secret that would break your heart, if only you knew.” This may be true, however the secrets shared on his site are more often than not extremely sentimental or narcissistic – rather than shocking or indeed heart-breaking.

(Taken from www.postsecret.blogspot.com on 25/04/09)

While the secrets can be inconsequential and flippant, they can also often be inspirational or thought provoking. Whether these polar opposites are a sign that the public are not ready to bear their souls on the Internet, even anonymously, or whether it shows that they will never be ready is unclear. There aren’t many outlets for this type of communication yet – where virtuality and reality crossover and ask for anonymous creatively. Perhaps we are so used to having an identity, to claiming our work and thoughts as ours that we are not entirely comfortable when giving our personal thoughts away to be viewed by millions of strangers. When asked how he chooses which secrets make the cut Warren has said “I look for a ring of authenticity and real human emotions.” If the secret doesn’t make the grade then it has the chance of getting into the next Postsecret book or being part of Warren’s lecture series, in which he tours colleges in America, talking about the project. I wonder how the owners of the rejected secrets feel. Do they feel liberated, simply for having shared their secret with Warren or do they experience something else? Fear perhaps that the secret has fallen into the wrong hands, or indifference as nothing has been gained or lost.

Frank Warren’s post arriving in the snow, taken from www.postsecret.com (22/12/09).

To try and gain a better understanding of users relationship with Postsecret, I created a questionnaire on www.surveymonkey.com. In 24 hours I had received 17 replies, which ranged from those who had never heard of Postsecret, or were disinterested in it, to those who checked it every week, and even a few who had submitted their own secrets. . The majority said that they had heard of the site (13 had compared to 4 who had not), probably because those who had were more likely to be interested in taking part in the survey. From the responses it was clear to see that those who had first accessed the site between the ages of 15-16, or while still in high school had a much greater emotional attachment to it than those who were introduced to it whilst at university. A conclusion that might be drawn from this is that those using the Internet in an intimate way, at a younger age, have developed a more emotional attachment to it. They are more comfortable with digital relationships. One respondent, who first came across Postsecret, aged 15 and in school admitted to having submitted a secret. When asked what motivated them to do so they replied;

“To share something with the world that I would never have been able to get off my chest otherwise.”

I noticed that they didn’t articulate why they felt they needed to “share something with the world”. Another secret submitter said that they sent in a secret because Postsecret gave them “The ability to tell something to everyone, yet no one.” This comment was interesting to me – it implies that the nature of the anonymity of this site cancels out its purpose.

As people begin to connect and share information all across the Earth, there is a merging of various cultures and backgrounds which have to gel together, as well as an entirely new set of behaviors. And so, in these early years of the Internet we are seeing an emergence of what may become the norm in the future, or evolve further. Websites like Postsecret or YouTube which offer narcissistic outlets and give the opportunity for everyone’s 5 minutes of fame (all be it anonymously in some cases) may seem strange, vain, vulgar or mundane and self pitying at present, but in years to come it may become a more normal way for people to communicate, especially in an increasingly touchy-feely world. As it becomes socially acceptable for people, especially men, to show their emotional sides or be considered “metrosexual”, more outlets for egotism and narcissism may materialize, and be an accepted part of modern life.

However, currently there are a lot of people abusing social media to gain fame in these pioneering days of the Internet. Tila Tequila is the most obvious example; a model who rose to fame for having the most popular MySpace page in the world (most views per page) circa April 2006. From this she landed two reality television series and has released several singles. To keep herself in the public eye, she often Tweets outrageous and controversial things. At the start of 2010 her fiancé, Johnson&Johnson heiress, Casey Johnson died suddenly. It was Tila Tequila who first broke the news, via Twitter, only hours later. Other Twitter users critisied her for grieving so publically but she reminded them “I started off as the "INTERNET GIRL" remember? So I have ALWAYS been VOCAL on the net!” While most people would claim an aversion to her brand of vulgar and blatant attention grabbing, they would also have to admit it caries a certain intrigue.

Most celebrities and public figures traditionally shy away from media intrusion on their lives, or at least pretend to. We know that “leaked” details can often come from PR, aiming to increase the press coverage of a certain celebrity – the old adage that “there’s no such thing as bad press.” Increasingly there is a new generation of celebrities using social media to their advantage – and who are often far more willing to give people what they want in terms of personal information. Mitch Benn (comedian and musician) often tweets with the hash-tag ‘#thingsGretasays’, Greta being his 4 year old daughter. An example would be,

“MitchBenn: #thingsGretasays Mummy I am a bit bored. Will you make me a MILKSHAKE to make my boredness go away?”

2:53 PM Nov 4th from dabr

Of course, this is a relatively harmless post, merely commenting on the funny and sometimes inspirational things that young children say. However, one must question whether posting comments about one’s children crosses a boundary? Mitch Benn’s 13, 500 followers all hear snippets from Greta Benn’s life – a 4 year old unable to control what her parents say about her on the internet. On the 22/12/09 the Benn’s started a separate Twitter account for their daughter in which they Tweet as if they are her. I wonder what will happen, assuming that Twitter is still relevant, when Greta becomes old enough to have her own Internet presence.

Other examples of celebrities using social media in an interesting, different or meaningful way include Imogen Heap – a musician who tweets regularly on her life as a musician and on tour, and Amanda Palmer, a punk cabaret musician who also tweets about her life. Palmer in particular is also happy to give more private details;

“Amandapalmer: i am so menstrual”

1:52 AM Nov 6th from web

Other examples have seen her giving detailed descriptions of illness, posting photos of her posing nude, online auctions which include personal items such as a glass dildo and what her and her boyfriend, Neil Gaiman (aka @neilhimself) are doing and where they are. Neil Gaiman doesn’t tend to post such personal things himself, and is the 110^th most popular Tweeter in the world (Palmer is 448^th). In a recent tweet, Palmer said;

“Amandapalmer: just got in a car accident with @neilhimself on the brooklyn queens expressway. Brilliant”

10:27 PM Nov 14th from Twittelator

“scary traffic rear-Ender. we stopped short, car behind banged into us. cars are slightly bent, nobodys hurt but everybodys shaky.”

10:31 PM Nov 14th from Twittelator

Her own followers began sending messages saying they hoped she was safe. However, by naming Gaiman she inadvertently caused him to be inundated by messages.

“poor @neilhimself got a gazillion emails and phone calls after i tweeted our fender bender. sometimes i forget how famous he is. oops.”

2:13 AM Nov 15th from web

Social media such as Twitter, which allows a user to name another user via any interactive element similar to Twitter’s own “mention” feature (where, by placing an “@” sign in front of a username, a link to their page is created, and other users can search for these mentions) gives account holders the power to share personal aspects of not only their own lives, but those of others. Before the subject of the mention has time to react or object, the interactive link has alerted thousands to their actions, especially with the ability of other readers to ReTweet the original text. Incidents such as this are examples of the way that social media is evolving faster than we can get a handle on it.

Potential Energy...

4. Gaining a Voice & Changing the System.

The web savvy are beginning to realise the potential the Internet presents them to make changes to the lives and standards of themselves or those far away, or the traditionally more powerful, as they discover that they can influence what become normal internet behaviors. This can be seen in serious campaigns such as the networks that exist to support LGBTQ rights worldwide, or political stories such as the Iranian election in June 2009. More whimsical Internet movements which have made the news include the battle for 2009’s Christmas number one single. From 2005 – 2008, the Christmas number one was dominated by the ITV reality show The X Factor. In protest at the predictable nature of this trend, (especially as the show is scheduled to end the week before Christmas, thus ensuring its success) two fans of the alternative metal band, Rage Against the Machine, launched a Facebook group titled RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE FOR CHRISTMAS NO.1.

Taken from www.facebook.com (02/01/10)

The page went viral and gained a huge following in the month before Christmas. The song chosen was Killing in the Name (1992), which has a chorus line of “Fuck you, I wont do what you tell me” – a nod to the expectation that the reality star would win. Over 1 million Facebook users joined the group and pledged to buy the single, which was available for just 29p online in the week before Christmas, in a bid to change the results. The campaign received criticism as both Rage Against the Machine and The X Factor winner, Joe McElderry are signed to Sony Records and so there was speculation that this was a stunt by the company. However, Rage Against the Machine were not directly involved in the campaign and they have donated all the profit from the single to the homeless charity, Shelter. All together over £90,000 was raised for the charity. The 18-year-old song reached number one and became the first download only single to do so.

While this is clearly a far less important issue than the elections in Iran, it shows that the Internet, particularly in the West, can in some way be used by the public to change the accepted norm.

The aforementioned Amanda Palmer has experienced a lot of trouble with her record company, Road Runner Records – their poor promotion of her album, taking huge margins from her sales and not funding her properly. She has used both Twitter and her blog to make very public her problems with her contract and generally give the company bad press. When Palmer recorded a video for her song Leeds United that had a lot of involvement from fans, Road Runner rejected it – saying that she was too fat to appear semi-topless in the video:

Taken from www.blog.amandapalmer.net (02/01/10)

Palmer is well known for her tour outfits – usually involving only a bra, corset, suspenders and stockings. She often ends up semi-naked by the end of her shows. Outraged, fans quickly set up the website www.therebellyon.com (no longer active as of 01/01/10) in response. The site asked fans to send in pictures of their own stomachs – to show support for Amanda’s belly and bellies everywhere. This whimsical site is a great example of how Web 2.0 can bring people together. It also asks them to post photographs of a part of their body not often on display. In a weight obsessed world one would assume that most people would be hesitant to show their stomach to potentially everyone on the web – but something about this format, in which it is not necessary to show ones face, and where everyone is doing it, made it acceptable.

Taken from www.therebellyon.com (04/11/09)

Amanda Palmer is not a well-known musician. She will never sell out arenas or have a Christmas number one. What she does have is a fiercely loyal fan base. While this may be said for any number of musicians of the past, Amanda Palmer is one of a group of artists who are creating a new model for fan/artist relationships. As I have mentioned before, she is happy to tweet and blog about personal aspects of her life – but it is not this that is chiefly responsible for this connection. Since the formation of her band, The Dresden Dolls, in 2000, she has used the Internet and live shows to ask fans for help. Fans were shamelessly asked for a place to sleep, food, transportation, the loan of instruments and even monetary loans. More recently she has stopped in the middle of her shows to sell art on stage, held online webcast auctions of her belongings and even auctioned off a date with her boyfriend’s daughter, Holly Gaiman. After spending five years working as a living statue in Boston, she is not afraid to take your money.

“If you think I’m going to pass up a chance to put my hat back down in front of the collected audience on my virtual sidewalk and ask them to give their hard-earned money directly to me instead of to Roadrunner Records, Warner Music Group, Ticketmaster, and everyone else out there who’s been shamelessly ripping off both fan and artist for years, you’re crazy.”

(From Amanda Palmer’s blog post “Why I am not afraid to take your money, by Amanda Fucking Palmer.” 29/09/09)

From the comments this blog received, her fans seem willing to accept this. Palmer has used her Internet presence and complete lack of shame to unique advantage. What do her fans get in return for their generosity? She regularly posts YouTube videos of covers and original songs, which she encourages people to share for free. She even paid out of her own pocket to have a professional music video director film a parody karaoke version of an Avril Lavigne song. Those who bought her album directly from her, and not from outlets which would give a percentage of the profit to her record company, were then eligible to download an “alternative” version of her album – which featured different recordings of tracks and extra songs. She began the hashtag ‘#LOFNOTC’ – Losers of Friday Night on their Computers – which has become a Trending Topic on more than one Friday and remains popular with fans and geeks alike. After the premiere of Neil Gaimans film Statuesque on Sky, in which Palmer and Bill Nighy star, she Tweeted a link to a torrent of the film – technically illegal. Perhaps the fans are given a sense of belonging to an exciting movement, with minimal effort on their part? Her profit doesn’t go on a rock star lifestyle – it pays for tours and covers the rent on her apartment in a Boston artists’ commune. Amanda Palmer doesn’t make art for money, but she doesn’t make it for free either.

“It’s about empowerment and it’s about SIMPLICITY: fan loves art, artist needs money, fan gives artist money, artist says thank you.
I believe in the future of cheap art, creative enterprise, and an honorable public who will put their money where there mouth is, or rather, their spare change where their heart is.” (“Why I am not afraid to take your money, by Amanda Fucking Palmer.” 29/09/09)

Arguably, this trust in her fans is naïve – for every one willing to make sure they buy her music directly from her or bid in an auction or attend a show, there must be several streaming or stealing her music for free. It is also morally questionable for her to encourage people to illegally download Gaiman’s film. While the intellectual rights are his, Sky has paid for the exclusive broadcasting rights. Undermining this could result in Sky rejecting any future films Gaiman writes and directs and thus he would lose funding and making this form of art may no longer be financially viable. Her actions may be considered as going “too far” by some, but often the point that she makes is that someone must take these steps so that the internet has a chance to revolutionise the way we share media. Perhaps she goes to far so that those that come after her can find a more comfortable middle ground.

As the music industry, as a microcosm of industry and business in general, faces the challenges presented to it by changes in the way people consume their product, artists like Palmer are embracing the changes and using them to their advantage. The music industry was the fastest to combat the rise in piracy of their product via the Internet and only now are others such as film and fashion catching up. Palmer’s efforts are an attempt to take the control of her work back, and to make sure that those directly responsible for making art are rewarded. It may be too late, she may already have lost the battle, and it is only a matter of time before the Internet slips through the fingers of the public, just like the printing press before it, but it is still in its infancy and there is the chance the public can learn from the past.

“There’s something particularly awesome about the fact that we are in a new age of wild west internet where the protocols and etiquettes aren’t set.”

(Amanda Palmer’s blog, 13/10/09 “Virtual Crowdsurfing.”)

Taken from www.blog.amandapalmer.net (02/01/10)

Witi - What I Think Is...

Conclusion;

This piece started as an exploration of people sharing secrets and private moments on the User-Generated Content websites of Web 2.0. I wanted to look at why people were inclined to be more open on the Internet and why they were so comfortable with such a new media. The more I read, and began to understand the technologies and ideologies involved however, it was clear to see that it was the format and function of current Internet tools that influenced this.

Then I began to appreciate what a truly exciting moment we are in. Like the printing press before it, the Internet is a new technology which is full of potential for changing our current conceptions of communication and the sharing of information. We are presented with the opportunity to use the Internet to become whomever we want. There is still a lot of naivety amongst the public concerning the digital footprints they leave behind on the Internet. However for the first time a majority of people in the Western world have some form of Internet access and computer literacy increases all the time. In several countries, France and Estonia among them, Internet access is already a human right and within the United Nations there is a push for this to happen across the board.

No one has written a manifesto for the Internet. When the Internet was first made live, there were no written rules at all. Increasingly we see laws being passed to moderate the Internet, its content and its usage, but no social rules or precedents existed in its virgin state. It is the Internet’s public who have the power to decide what that may be.

Sceptics would say that the Internet is robbing us of privacy and showing us confused truths. They imagine a horrific future where our minds are not our own and we dare not trust our neighbours – even if these nightmares are an exaggeration they are right to worry that it could become nothing more than a gossiping tool or that we will never be able to truly trust any Internet content. But I would say that we must keep changing the Internet until we can over come these problems – change the way we use it, change the reasons we use it. Perhaps we have not uncovered a lot of its potential yet.

The Internet is still in its infancy – sometimes it stumbles and society needs to correct it, for example the huge amounts of music piracy that existed in the early Noughties. But the music industry and the listening public learned from each other and legal options for obtaining music on the Internet not only were formed, but have also become incredibly successful. The music industry was shown that the general public did not want to steal music; they were just looking to find it in a different format. Hopefully the amateur and the professional, the public and those in power, can continue to work together and find common ground on the Internet to create the most intuitive and valuable services possible.

In the past, exploration of undiscovered parts of Earth was still possible, but only by a certain class of the population. In the 20^th century space was our goal. With the invention of the radio and television, and a well-established journalist profession, the public could follow the achievements of scientists. It is easy to see this man-made landscape as a frontier to be explored. While an intellectual exploration, rather than physical, it is something that the public can actually partake in, can get a hold of and see up close for themselves. Some are more qualified to do this than others, but the potential to farm the resource of the Internet is theoretically open to anyone. As the decade closes, mainstream, traditional media channels, the newspapers, radio and television, are beginning to realise the relevance of the Internet. They dubbed 2009 “The Year of Twitter”, a clear sign that Web 2.0 and its applications have become mainstream too. The Internet is growing up. Perhaps we will grow as well.

Bibliography & Appendix & Glossary of Terms

Bibliography;

Books:

Keen, A., 2007, The Cult of the Amateur – How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture, London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Shirky, C., 2008, Here Comes Everybody – How Change Happens When People Come Together, London: Penguin Books.

Essays & Articles;

Rabinowitz, P., 1995, “Soft Fictions and Intimate Documents: Can Feminism Be Posthuman”. In: Badmington, N., 2000, Posthumanism – Readers in Cultural Criticism, London: Macmillan. p. 43-55

Adams, D., 1999, “Build it and We Will Come” . In: 2002, The Salmon of Doubt, London: Pan Books. p. 95

Comics;

Venditti, R., 2005-2006, The Surrogates, USA: Top Shelf Productions.

Radio;

The Moral Maze, 2009. Radio, BBC, 2009. (BBC Radio 4, 04/11/09)

Television;

It’s Only A Theory, 2009. TV, BBC, 2009. (BBC4, 17/11/09)

Dollhouse (Season 1, Episode 13: Epitaph One), 2009. Directed by Joss Whedon. Fox, 2009. (Unaired)

Film;

Avatar, 2009. Film. Directed by James Cameron. USA: 20^th Century Fox

Blogs;

Palmer, A., 2009, “Why I am not afraid to take your money, by Amanda Fucking Palmer.” On: blog.amandapalmer.net (29/09/09)

Palmer, A., 2009, “Virtual Crowdsurfing.” On: blog.amandapalmer.net (13/10/09)

Websites;

www.blogspot.postsecret.com

www.trendistic.com

Appendix of Other Sources & Influences;

Books;

Rheingold, H., 1994, The Virtual Community, London: Secker and Warburg.

Tapscott, D. & Williams, A. D., 2006, Wikinomics – How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, USA: Portfolio.

Orwell, G., 1949, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker and Warburg.

Einsenstein, E. L., 1983, The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Articles;

Haraway, D. J., “A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century (extract)”. In: Badmington, N., 2000, Posthumanism – Readers in Cultural Criticism, London: Macmillan. p. 69-84

Television;

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1987-1994. Created by Gene RoddenBerry. Paramount Television, (CBS Television Distribution, 2007)

Websites;

www.twitter.com

www.mashable.com

www.therebellyon.com

www.surverymonkey.com

Glossary of Terms;

Avatar, Hindu word referring to the manifestation of a deity on Earth, which has come to refer to the picture which represents an Internet user on a user-generated content site.

BitTorrent, a peer to peer program, used for uploading and downloading files – usually illegally.

Blog, a shared online journal, usually maintained by an amateur.

Download, to retrieve information from a server.

Facebook, a popular social networking site.

Facebook Group, a collection of people on Facebook with a common interest or hobby.

Google Maps’ Explore Function, a web tool, hosted by search engine company Google, which allows users to not only navigate maps, but allows them to travel through streets via sophisticated photography at street level.

Google Timeline, a web too, hosted by Google, which allows users to see the popularity of a search over a given period of time.

Google Wave, a web tool, which allows collaborative conversation and writing.

IP (Internet Protocol), a numerical identification that is assigned to a particular computer.

Meme, a concept or catchphrase which spreads quickly from one person to another through the internet.

MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), online gaming which allows users to live virtual lives.
MySpace, a popular social networking site, particularly in the early 00’s.

Postsecret, a user-generated content site which asks users to send in postcards which tell a secret.

RPG (Roll Playing Game) (see MMORPG)

ReTweet, RT, to post something to ones own followers on Twitter, that someone else has already posted. By playing RT in front of the tweet, other users understand it is a quote.

Second Life, a MMORPG

Social Media, a category of site that is based on user participation and user-generated content.

Tor, a free program which masks a users IP address.

Trending Topic, the 10 most mentioned words or hash-tags on Twitter at any given time.

Trendistic, one of a number of sites which analyse Twitter feeds to create statistical information.

Tweeps, an affectionate name given to Twitter Users.

Tweet, the common name given to a post on the website Twitter.

Tweetdeck, a program which is able to organise Twitter feeds alongside other social networking sites.

Twitter, a micro-blogging site which allows users to post 140 characters at a time.

Upload, to put information onto a server.

User-Generated Content, (UGC), refers to several types of media which is produced by end-users.

Viral, when a piece of media (text, video, song, picture etc) spreads quickly throughout the Internet from user to user, so that it is known to a large number of people, it is said to have “gone viral.”

Virtuality, a compounded noun of “virtual” and “reality”, describing a state or place which exists digitally.

Vlog, an online journal of videos, rather than text.

Web 2.0, the perceived second generation of web design and web use.

Wiki, a Hawaiian word meaning “fast” which has come to refer to a shared knowledge.

Wikipedia, a database of collective knowledge, edited by its users.

YouTube, a video-hosting website

#topic, (hash-tag) by placing a hash symbol in front of a word on Twitter it becomes a hyperlink.

@username, (mention) by placing the “at” symbol in front of a username on Twitter, the name becomes a hyperlink to that user.

Blogging storm.

The above blogs are the Finished Chapters etc of my dissertation. I was hoping I'd get the chance to do this properly and it turns out that our Thematic project for studio is about Cloud Computing - a term I intentionally kept away from bringing into my dissertation as it opened a new can of slimy worms. But my dissertation is clearly hugely relevant. Whether this is an advantage or drives me over the proverbial Web 2.0 cliff remains to be seen. Whatever happens I guess this blog domain wont become redundant.

I'll post these chapters from back to front so that it reads as one document from top to bottom.

Comments and criticism welcome.

Just remember this though.

Word. x