Cultural Inversion

Cultural Inversion

Users on YouTube and other social networking sites are alone as they are an individual user, however they are not alone as they are connected through a networked community.
YouTube is testing the term 'cultural inversion' because....

There a number of 'online communities', this includes:

• Facebook
• Twitter (can be described a micro blogging)
  
• YouTube
• MySpace
• Flickr
• Tumblr
• Bebo
• Blogger

'YouTube vs Facebook'

• Both sites are online communities, however Facebook is more of a community that YouTube will ever be
• Facebook is more personal as users can make their own profile with photographs and information about themselves. They can choose who they add as 'friends' and who they interact with. On the other hand, users of YouTube don't know who's watching their videos that they have uploaded and in what way they are being used. People can't choose to be people's 'friends' on YouTube they can only subscribe to their videos and different user's video channels. This means that they get updates when more videos are uploaded to the channel and what's new with it.
  

Facebook
'Independence and Relationships'
Ambient Awareness: The constant understanding and knowledge of what is occurring around us. Ambient awareness is a term used by social scientists to describe a new form of peripheral social awareness. This awareness is propagated from relatively constant contact with one's friends and colleagues via social networking platforms on the internet. Some examples of social networking websites are Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blogger, etc. The term essentially defines the sort of omnipresent knowledge one experiences by being a regular user of these media outlets that allow a constant connection with one's social circle.

• Relationship status changes; people can find out about new relationships via Facebook before they are told in person,
• People can post too much information on their statuses or post pointless statuses
• Statuses can inform people of things happening such as school closures, new events
  

YouTube: Loss of Community through Networked Individualism

YouTube will be used as a case study for Media in the Online Age. iTunes and YouTube have been describe as 'metabuisness'; in the case of YouTube it is always changing. There is no common understanding of what it is or who it is for. It consists of both user generated content as well as advertising and products for companies.

The largest age group for youtube users is between the age range of 18-24 years-old, making up a huge 52% of the audience whilst the very young and old are, perhaps surprisingly, about equal-sized runners-up. The most common videos are home videos but an increasing amount of TV on demand is available along with skits, ‘mash-ups’, remixes, music videos, video diaries and a variety of others.

Despite only recently celebrating its fifth birthday, the sheer volume of youtube videos has led to some youtube ‘channels’ broadcasting more content in their last six months than some established TV channels in their entire history.

• TalkTalk adverts, featured on YouTube and on the Television, use user generated footage mixed with content from the company itself. This video enahances the extent that the product is more than what it seems and how these adverts have boosted sales through the use of Media in the Online Age. It is a way of expressing ourselves through the media and using the media as a powerful communication and marketing tool. http://vimeo.com/12371530
  


• Vlogs: Vlogs are video blogs. Vlogs that are on YouTube can vary from a number of subjects from personal life to celebrity culture. The vlogger is in a seemingly private place but having their vlog consumed by the public. There is often a collapse of context as the Vlogs are watched, commented on and remixed into new videos or as 'copycat vlogs'. Here is a typical YouTube Vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlRVr5RHFxU
  


• "Hyper Self Awarness" basically means that anyone may be watching but there is anonymity in watching, nobody know who is watching your videos and vlogs at any point in time

Copycat videos- Collapse of Context: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he5fpsmH_2g This is the original vidoe of "Charlie Bit My Finger" posted by 'kooljohnmason'. The video has become a huge YouTube hit and has spurred many people from across the world to create copycat videos. Here are some examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArwvQdID2kE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rkhbvm5YOo&feature=related This second video is a remixed version of the original. It has a new video with sisters 'playing the part' of Charlie and his brother but they have mixed it so the voices and sounds of the original video are in the new video with the sisters miming to it.

Mash Ups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chMy70U2T4U
This first mash up is Star Wars and Family Guy mixed together, with the visuals from Star Wars and the dialogue from Family Guy this mash up works fairly well.

Participation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZrrbgCdYc
This video is the advert for T Mobile. It is a participation video because it features the general public in an everyday situation at a train station but this situation is used by a company (T Mobile) in advertising it's product of a mobile phone. They have gone onto make a number of variations to the advert in different locations and with different 'narratives', and I have included some of the other examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orukqxeWmM0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzRF10wwdvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11vlAN4uBo