Interaction 2.0: The World After the Dawn of the Facebook Age

Facebook fever has been a part of many Internet users lives since its conception in 2004. Its users number over 175 million and continue to grow on a daily basis. Based upon those same daily statistics, over 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook and over 18 million people update their status. Per month, over 850 million photos uploaded, 2 million events and 25 million user groups are created.

The numbers and statistics are seemingly endless but all point to one overall, encompassing truth: Facebook is the new standard in online interaction. Social networking is no longer a fad, it is a way of life. No longer is it limited to colleges in the United States, either. Facebook has expanded worldwide and is available in well over 30 languages. In fact, over 70% of users come from outside the United States.

Those who still believe that Facebook is a passing fad might be surprised to learn that it is now the #1 social networking site, dethroning MySpace in 2008. Moreover, some are even beginning to fear that it will outshine blogs comments as a means of online opinion, debate and rhetoric. This opinion in itself is a testament to Facebook’s meteoric rise to the top of the online interaction ladder.

Facebook’s competitive adaptability means that users concerns and desires are taken into account and implemented as much as possible. This should come as no surprise; tremendous growth breeds tremendous change.

So, with Facebook now becoming an intricate part of our daily lives, what did we do before it? As this clever video points out, it must have been near impossible to keep track of birthdays, events, distant relatives, friends from the past, etc.

Despite what the video generally describes as redundancy and pointless sharing of information, the fact of the matter is that Facebook is useful and helpful. Sure, the average user might spend too much time on it, dwindling away on inconsequential photos of their high school science lab partner’s recent trip to Iowa. Its brilliance, however, stems from the capability to find relationships from the past and keep in touch and share. And that is the overarching appeal: keeping in touch, sharing memories, expressing opinions. In one simple word, interaction.

This begs the question, though, are we becoming Facebook-dependent? Are we dulling ourselves to the point where we cannot even remember our own mother’s birthday without a quick glance at our Facebook home page? Technology induces laziness at practically all levels; Facebook is no exception.

And despite its fair share of criticism, Facebook is, on the whole, a very useful service and one that will likely continue to expand in the coming years. It helps us stay connected with one another, remind each other of important dates, invite each other to our events, find supporters of shared opinions, etc. Compared to previous centuries when social interaction was basically limited to small populations (the village, town, fiefdom, etc) and thus quite connected, Facebook (and other mediums like it) is increasing our level of connectedness and interaction. Despite our population being exponentially larger in our modern day, I would argue that our level of connectedness has increased accordingly in what can only be described as the direct relationship between social interaction and online technological advancement.

In my opinion, the Facebook Age is here and will remain a constant because of two undeniable truths: humans are social creatures and, technology will never cease to advance.

Add a comment March 20, 2009

You’re a Pervert!

YouTube breeds perverts.

As if the Internet wasn’t cluttered with enough pornographic material, YouTube users are finding ways to skim the decency line and uploading videos of young girls dancing in a rather scandalous manner.

Take this video, for example. This young lady (who, I hope, is at least 18 but most likely not) is swinging her hips to the tune of some Latin beat. Seems alright, right? Wrong, and for a few reasons. Oh, and in the interest of keeping my blog relatively decent, I opted to not embed that filth here.

First, let us examine the title of the video. Brilliant in its simplicity, the author of the video labeled it Ridiculously Hot LATINA girl dancing, not asian! (assuming her being Asian caused enough concern that the author felt it necessary to specify her ethnicity). Right off the bat, we can tell that the purpose of this video is not to promote her dancing talents. If that were the case, she would be given proper credit and not a pseudo-anonymous name like Ridiculously HOT Latina Girl. Rather, the purpose of the video is to objectify her in what must be considered the next best thing to softcore porn.

Second, and perhaps much more alarming, is the monumental amount of traffic this video has generated. Those numbers do not lie, a staggering 14 million individuals have viewed this video. It is the #7 Most Viewed Video (All-Time) and the #12 Top Favorited (All-Time), not to mention the #27 Most Discussed (All-Time).

What does this mean?

Well, quite simply, more people are viewing and re-viewing the video than discussing it. Not that the discussion is very in-depth in itself; most comments follow the all-too-common “omg ur so hot”, “damn gurl u fine” or “mmm dat booty”.

Most were lured over with the promiscuous title and the brief, albeit sexy, thumbnail image that accompanied it. What does this say about the user who viewed the video? Well he (presuming it is a he, of course) is, quite frankly, a pervert.

Some, however, have caught on.

This clever young man caught on to the pervert craze and decided to experiment with it. Using the standard pervert video title OMG! This girl is sooo hot! and a thumnailed preview picture of a pair of legs and a mini-skirt, he successfully lured over 14 million people (!) to his video, only for them to find out that they are, in fact, perverts. And he does a good job of letting them know.

Overall, this alarming trend of perverted videos proliferating around YouTube points out two obvious realities. One, there will always be young teenage girls desperate for attention and/or displaying narcissistic tendencies. Two, there will always be an ample supply of online perverts eagerly waiting to satisfy their attention deficit and/or narcissistic cravings. And thus, the circle of perversion continues, to the infinity.

The Internet (read: Web 2.0) is a magnificent advancement in human interaction and technology. But, with little or no restrictions and boundaries, where does one draw the line? Alike most technologies that have made their mark on human interaction, the perverts will find a way to make this medium accessible to them and their perverted desires (see: telephone, television, etc).

And that, my friends, is simply human nature: adapt to satisfy needs.

Add a comment March 19, 2009

The Proliferation of Fabrications

Internet rumors are everywhere.

From celebrity gossip queens to political watchdogs to hopeful hockey enthusiasts, rumor sites are everywhere.

In the past, television programs held a monopoly on dishing out gossip and rumors. Nowadays, the Internet (specifically, the Blogosphere and YouTube) have enabled the average “Joe the Aficionado” to make their own versions of Entertainment Tonight and Larry King Live. With the advent of Web 2.0, the proliferation of news, opinion and gossip has increased exponentially.

And they’re raking in the cash, too.

Take Perez Hilton, for example. Although reports vary, he is estimated to generate anywhere between $111,000 a month or $40,000 a day. Quite obviously, there is money to be made. That same article estimates that Hilton’s blog receives roughly anywhere between 1-4 million unique hits a day (depending who you ask). Astronomical.

What does this all mean?

Well, there will always be gossip devotees, that much is certain. Celebritiy gossip fans have been around since the beginning of celebrities themselves (this is why the paparazzi exist). Based upon that fact, the natural transition from offline to online tranmission of gossip and rumors must be considered inevitable. As much as everything else is headed for the online realm, why wouldn’t gossip and rumor mediums as well?

Users are now even recreating their own versions of gossip television programs on YouTube. Refer to the video below, complete with intro graphic and tune, quirky commentary, paparazzi photos, etc. The resemblances to Entertainment Tonight are remarkable.

Because some will always be obsessed with celebrities and their mundane activities, there will always be a market for this type of media. Clever bloggers caught on quickly, and others like Hilton have been successful ever since. As average users continue to make their importance felt via the Web 2.0 revolution, sites and blogs like this will thrive.

Add a comment March 8, 2009

The Rise of the Fameballs

Meet Jakob Lodwick.

Lodwick is founder of CollegeHumor, Vimeo and BustedTees. He also maintains a very popular blog.

His entrepreneurship and visionary thinking have led to his success, establishing him as a prominent figure in the Web 2.0 community. His eccentric behavior is also well publicized.

What Lodwick represents, however, is a trend of Internet celebrities that are appearing and disappearing overnight, though in his case, his popularity seems to be established and maintained.

We are all aware of the Internet celebrities that perform odd dances, go on hysteric rants about Britney Spears or simply hurt and humiliate themselves for our entertainment. Lodwick, however, must be categorized into a new cross-section of celebrity: the Fameball.

What distinguishes the Fameball from other Internet celebrities is their continued fame, their cult-like following but most importantly, their shameless self-promotion. Essentially, Lodwick argues that no one can promote him like he can himself. Though he seems to be throwing humility and modesty out the window, he makes a good point (to a certain extent). And it seems to be working, Lodwick is still around while other Internet celebrities have come and gone.

What does this all mean?

The Internet, as a powerful form of media, is turning average people into celebrities, albeit, usually for a brief period of time unless, of course, you’ve attained the privileged level of Fameball. While fame was generally reserved for the icons of film, television and music in the past, the Internet is enabling Joe Sixpacks to make it big via their blogs, YouTube videos, etc. It seems everyone is getting their 15 minutes, nowadays. But what does this say about the type of person who is seeking Internet fame? Well, surely, a lack of attention must be to blame. Shameless self-promotion is a surefire way to solve that problem. Lodwick has mastered that art.

Below, a moderately modest interview with Lodwick. I’ll let you be the judge.

Add a comment March 7, 2009

“I Tweet, Therefore I Am”

MySpace has come and gone, Facebook is still alive and kicking, but there’s a new kid on the social networking block and its name is Twitter.

This new internet craze started off in 2006 as a side project of founder Evan Williams and his company, Odeo. Since then, it has boomed into a major competitor in the social networking scene. In November 2008, Twitter had an estimated 4-5 million users.

But what is the appeal?

Well, it may seem trivial, but apparently leaving simple status updates limited to 140 characters or less is quite the addiction.

Celebrities “tweet”, including the likes of President Barack Obama, Senator John McCain, MC Hammer, Jimmy Fallon, etc. They have “followers” that number in the tens of thousands. My own boyfriend uses the site to “tweet” about hockey along with other enthusiasts updating each other on scores, trade rumors, and other hockey-related things I will never, ever understand.

Twitter’s founder, Evan Williams, recently made a presentation about his site and its abilities, as well as its adaptability to users’ constantly evolving needs.

Williams describes Twitter not only as a social networking tool, but one that can be depended on in times of crisis and emergency. As stated in the video, the Twitter staff had no idea that their network would evolve to fulfill such an important (and sometimes life-saving) task. The media has also hoped on the Twitter bandwagon, promoting their products and using it as a form of viral advertising.

With all its positives (both intentional and not), what is going on in the mind of the average Twitter user? Owen Thomas of Valleywag recently posted an article outlying the psychological aspects of the average Twitter user. In summary, Thomas finds that users post “tweets” about their mundane activities because of an underdeveloped sense of self. Users amass “followers” as a form of reassurance of their importance.

For better or for worse, one thing is certain and that is that Twitter is here to stay. With its ever-increasing number of users, simplicity and addictiveness, Twitter is quickly earning its spot alongside the industry giants.

And hey, who doesn’t like to “tweet” a little every now and then?!

1 comment February 28, 2009