Web 2.0

Web 2.0 has many definitions but the main one i found was that it is basically how we communicate with each other using the internet. Website such YouTube, Facebook & Wikipedia use user generated content instead of its own. This makes us, the consumers, also producers. Web 2.0 is much more advance than web 1.0 mainly in the way we interact with each other. Previously, the internet was a tool for information but now it can be used in many different ways and is more about sharing information rather than just taking it.

List of Web 2.o sites

1. www.facebook.com
2. www.wikipedia.org
3. www.bebo.com
4. www.youtube.com
5. www.myspace.com

Key features of web 2.0

1. User generated content
2. Social networking (internet community)
3. Faster internet connection (broadband)
4. Blogs

An anthropological guide to Youtube

YouTube big numbers

YouTube has produced more material in 6 months than the three biggest networks in America over the past 60 years (which is 1.5 million hours of broadcasting). They did this without producers and instead with people all across the globe uploading their own material. Currently, You tuber's upload over 9000 hours of content everyday which is the equivalent of approximately 400 always on TV channels. 88% of the content is new material.



Numa Numa and the celebrations of web cams

This is the story of the numa numa dancer. who sitting in his bedroom created a video of him lip syncing a foreign song entitled Numa Numa. This video has been thought to have achieved over 600 million views!



The Machine is Us/ing Us and the New Mediascape

Talking about the new ways in which we use the Internet (web 2.o) no longer is the Internet just for information its about linking people with websites such as Facebook and Wikipedia we are no longer just consumers we also provide the material this is called user generated content. To illustrate this his own video The Machine Is Us/ing Us was done with help from a musician in the ivory coast.



Who Is On Youtube?

The majority of users on YouTube are young adults who make up 52 % of the content. Teenagers and over 35 users generate the same amount of content.



What Is On YouTube

A range of popular videos. Many of these have gone into popular culture such as Charlie Bit My Finger



5% of vids are personal vlogs addressed to the YouTube community, Why?

Many believe that the abundance in vlogs is due to a loss of community in real life for example going to the big supermarkets instead of the corner shops create a loss of community in our neighborhood however due to vlogs we now have an Internet community.



Cultural Inversion: individualism and community

this is the theory in which as we grow more independent as individuals we long for a sense of community and closeness in our relationships. Also due to commercialisation we want more authenticity. YouTube provides this.



Understanding new forms of community through Participant Observation
Participation theory is the theory in which you have to participate in something in order to understand it. In order to understand the YouTube community they became apart of it



YouTube as a medium for community
When you vlog on YouTube you do not know when your going to be watched or who by. You don't even know whats going to happen to your vlog it could be remixed or anything this is called content collapse

Our first vlogs
When first making a vlog it is difficult to know how to start because you do not know how to start broadcasting yourself or what to say.

The web cam: Everybody is watching where nobody is ("context collapse")
This is when although it feels like your talking to nobody and that nobody is there really your in a very public place where people across the globe could be watching what you do.

Re-cognition and new forms of self-awareness (McLuhan)
Due to the fact we can achieve almost a replay of the events in our life it has brought us a new sense of self awareness. We can see how far we have come as people.

The Anonymity of Watching YouTube: Haters and Lovers

On YouTube most people remain anonymous this causes almost a community of hatred & also of love because people do not have to feel anxiety or fear due to there opinions

Aesthetic Arrest

This is when people feel deep emotional connection with other from the Internet but without the responsibilities that come with it in Essence it allows connection without constraint.

Free Hugs: A hero for our mediated culture

A man who had spent a lot of time in Britain had returned home to Sydney but had no one there to greet him so he started a free hug campaign to make himself feel less lonely. This not only bring people together physically but has done so emotionally all over YouTube.

YouTube Drama: Striving for popularity

The difficulties in attaining one of the most popular videos or channels. Stars of YouTube include Brookers, Lonelygirl15 and others

An early star: emokid21ohio

This is almost a love story between two users on YouTube. However, it had been found that this user was not who he proclaimed to be and therefore we come to the issue of authenticity.

You Tube's Authenticity Crisis: the story of LonelyGirl15

The story of lonelygirl15 who people believed was a teenage American vlogger turned out to be an obscure New Zealand actress called Jessica Rose. This brings up the question on can people really be authentic or genuine on YouTube?

Reflections on Authenticity

Is anybody really being truly authentic or are we all just producing ourselves for YouTube many people believe that YouTube has not given us authenticity but rather just another form of drama.

Gaming the system / Exposing the System

Thumbnails of the middle of any video on YouTube are shown before clicking. Many people use this to their advantage by choosing desirable thumbnails even if there video has nothing to do with it.

Seriously Playful Participatory Media Culture

Has serious consequences for some people. Such as McCain whose joke 'bomb Iran' was taken into what he says was the "wrong context". Also YouTube has given us the power to do things we shouldn't. Basically, whenever we rip a DVD or upload copy written music we do so in the knowledge that we are braking the law.

Networked Production: The Collab. MadV's "The Message" and the message of YouTube

A user known as MadV posted a video telling people to simply make a statement on there hands he gave the example of one world. Soon, this became the most responded to video on YouTube. The overall message of this video was of love and community this could be seen as the message of YouTube to.

Poem: The Little Glass Dot, The Eyes of the World

A poem about Webcam & how it changes lives in our world. The main concepts being re-cognition, exploration of self and of course entertainment.

Conclusion by bnessel1973

YouTube user who lost a child believes that the Internet site and the videos he created helped him to carry on through the hard times in life. He rounds up by saying thank you to everybody who has supported him in YouTube.