The idea of blogs or even journals as total confessional is illusory. The funny thing is - a person might be able to monitor you and your thoughts on your own desires and compare them to your actions and get an idea of how big of a self-deciever you are. I suppose this is how psychologists make a living. Its odd, but ultimately you may never be able to know yourself, or know the relationship your desires have with your actions, as well as others do.
Another funny thing - blogs as a substitute for shrinks. Sure, none of us have licences, and we'll give crappy advice, but this does share the openness and the ability for another to give advice from a position outside of your self. That's what drives this confessional instinct that bloggers and reality TV show contestants have. We confess to be corrected, to get away from our self-deception. Maybe I've been reading too much Foucault, but I really think blogging, confessing our thoughts and judging another's thoughts thru responses, could create new Norms different from those imposed on us by various institutions.
BUT power, including the power to survey, judge and establishing norms, ultimately coalesces in small groups. Our thoughts, the fodder of norms, are out here on the web, but who has the fricking time to go through them all. The future really is in information management. If there aren't "net-shrinks" lurking around livejournal and blogger.com, its only a matter of time.
I consider my journal to be a map of my consciousness and my actions, but not of my motives and desires. And that's what you'll never get thru this medium (unless it becomes heavily interactive) - any opportunity to call my bluff, to know what my motives and desires really are. More the reason to make this whole thing more interactive.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Blogs: Jumped the shark?
I was just rooting around in my parents' vinyl record collection. The funniest thing about those old records are the jackets, some of which have rediculously eclectic pictures of other albums on one side (Jim Nabors Sings the Lord's Prayer, Janis Joplin, The New York Philharmonic performing selections from 2001) and enthusiastic endorsements of the medium of vinyl record on the other: "Everybody's familiar with records, too...Every album is a show in itself...Everything is on record these days...This is not so with any other kind of recording"
But aren't we always overly enthusiastic about every new medium? Have I been this way about blogs?
I've found that I'm obsessed w/ finding out what's new. I was never a trendy person, but now that I'm supposedly making a career out of studying something that's constantly changing (media), I consider it my responsibility to know what tools are being used. And it would seem that tools are becoming more like trends - here today, gone tomorrow.
I'd bet that blogs are today's Freindster (or any other social networking site). Not that friendster went away, but the initial buzz has worn off. If you want to concern yerself w/ what's permanent and lasting on the internet, maybe you've gotta look at blogs, friendster, and their ancestor, the personal webpage (I still say HTML is for dorks ) as the same thing, serving the same function, w/ a little bit of the function of a message board or a chat room thrown in.
I still have faith in the internet as "feeder league" for creative mass communication (you hear that, editors of major publications? Notice me!). But seriously, its not like the existing form of finding writers/directors/etc is perfect or efficient. In fact, its pretty goddamn arbitrary. This is already happening w/ mashups - a couple of laptop DJs remixed some Brittany & Christina, produced good stuff, became word-of-mouth hits and ended up working for B & C.
The system of deciding what gets played or shown to mass audiences is based on physical proximity, chance encounters, nepotism and imperfect opinion polling. There are serious flaws in marketing surveys, and since this way of gathering data is based on the public's willingness to volunteer, there will always be significant biases towards certain opinions and certain people.
We know that everybody and their brother has a screenplay or is in a band that they think can conquer the world. With the internet, there's no reason a grass-roots darwinian entertainmosphere can't evolve which will either render marketing obsolete or so integral to the entertainment itself that you won't be able to detect it (whatever's after product placement). Members of the current system of entertainment marketing & advertising can't be blamed for trying to smear new technology as a mere breeding ground for illegal bootlegs - they're just trying to save their hides. For everyone who isn't in old-school marketing & advertising, this is a terrific opportunity to help built the more efficient system that replaces it.
BTW - the term "Entertainmosphere" - copyright 2005 goshdurnit. Yeah, yeah, some other jackass used this word on his/her blog, but he/she failed to copyright it! Violate my copyright and I swear I will CUT you!
But aren't we always overly enthusiastic about every new medium? Have I been this way about blogs?
I've found that I'm obsessed w/ finding out what's new. I was never a trendy person, but now that I'm supposedly making a career out of studying something that's constantly changing (media), I consider it my responsibility to know what tools are being used. And it would seem that tools are becoming more like trends - here today, gone tomorrow.
I'd bet that blogs are today's Freindster (or any other social networking site). Not that friendster went away, but the initial buzz has worn off. If you want to concern yerself w/ what's permanent and lasting on the internet, maybe you've gotta look at blogs, friendster, and their ancestor, the personal webpage (I still say HTML is for dorks ) as the same thing, serving the same function, w/ a little bit of the function of a message board or a chat room thrown in.
I still have faith in the internet as "feeder league" for creative mass communication (you hear that, editors of major publications? Notice me!). But seriously, its not like the existing form of finding writers/directors/etc is perfect or efficient. In fact, its pretty goddamn arbitrary. This is already happening w/ mashups - a couple of laptop DJs remixed some Brittany & Christina, produced good stuff, became word-of-mouth hits and ended up working for B & C.
The system of deciding what gets played or shown to mass audiences is based on physical proximity, chance encounters, nepotism and imperfect opinion polling. There are serious flaws in marketing surveys, and since this way of gathering data is based on the public's willingness to volunteer, there will always be significant biases towards certain opinions and certain people.
We know that everybody and their brother has a screenplay or is in a band that they think can conquer the world. With the internet, there's no reason a grass-roots darwinian entertainmosphere can't evolve which will either render marketing obsolete or so integral to the entertainment itself that you won't be able to detect it (whatever's after product placement). Members of the current system of entertainment marketing & advertising can't be blamed for trying to smear new technology as a mere breeding ground for illegal bootlegs - they're just trying to save their hides. For everyone who isn't in old-school marketing & advertising, this is a terrific opportunity to help built the more efficient system that replaces it.
BTW - the term "Entertainmosphere" - copyright 2005 goshdurnit. Yeah, yeah, some other jackass used this word on his/her blog, but he/she failed to copyright it! Violate my copyright and I swear I will CUT you!
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