What's Interesting??

I found the “Bus Uncle” article we read this week to be really interesting since it provided me with a new perspective on YouTube videos. I have always viewed viral videos on YouTube as mere entertainment pieces but after reading this article, it is obvious that there is much more to these videos. As Chu explained, YouTube videos are a specific form of public opinion known as collective behavior (pg 338). Viewers and consumers of the videos could re-create and rework the videos to become producers (aka “prosumers”) during moments when norms/conventions are unclear or challenged (339). Additionally, I thought the concept of collective behavior was interesting because it was easy for me to see how blogs and wikis could be classified as collective behavior but it never occurred to me to view YouTube videos that way. The Bus Uncle case, however, emphasizes how YouTube videos serve as a public space and how it could be seen as a cultural public sphere. 


Another reading which I thought was fascinating was the one about the Kaycee Nicole Swenson hoax. To re-iterate what I wrote in a previous post, I enjoyed the fact that this article explains that the events/actions in virtual communities should be seen as lying on a continuum rather than being viewed as either representing the good side of the internet or the evil side of the internet. When we get pass viewing things as being black or white, I think we can learn a lot about the gray stuff in the middle which is usually where the interesting stuff occurs.