The virtual network that I have chosen to join for the
duration of this course is YouTube. I’m already (and I’m sure everybody else is
too) very familiar with YouTube and have probably been using it for the last 5
years or so. However, I’ve never actually bothered to join it officially and
make an account as it isn’t necessary like many other social networking sites.
I’ve spent countless hours on it watching all kinds of videos (and I mean all
kinds, YouTube can get pretty damn bizarre) or reading other peoples comments,
but I’ve certainly never looked at the network of power inside before.
YouTube can make or break a person within a day. It can
empower people both virtually and in reality. In YouTube, the people who have
the most ‘views’ or ‘subscribers’ are the ones who hold the most power. By
getting lots of views or subscribers virtually, a person can gain power in ways
such as fame or wealth in reality, which are just two of the many sources of
power listed in the week 2 lecture (Petray, 2013).
Allen (2003) stated “Power, as I understand it, is a relational
effect of social interaction”. We are the ones who decide the flow of power
amongst ourselves. When we decide to subscribe to someone on YouTube or show a
friend their video, we are handing them power. It is in this way that YouTube
can create internet celebrities overnight such as Antoine Dodson, or sadly be responsible
for unleashing Justin Bieber upon the world.
Internet Star Antoine Dodson
YouTube definitely empowers me as the user; as I am able to
see or hear things that I would never normally have the chance to. It allows me
to escape from my boring Townsville life to overcome the many boundaries that I
am faced by in reality. For example, if I wanted to watch a video of an event that
I missed the chance to see a few days ago or an event that happened in another
country but I couldn’t go there to see it, then I could, and in this way I can overcome
the boundary of time or space.
Reference List:
Allen, J. (2003). Introduction:
Lost Geographies of Power. Blackwell Publishers Ltd, a Blackwell Publishing company
Petray, T. (2013). BA1002:
Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Power: Big Brother
and Self-Surveillance. (Lecture 2 Power Point Slides). Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.edu.au
CrazyLaughAction (2012, April 11). Antoine Dodson News Blooper (Original). Retrieved August 15, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNhaLUT520
Images:
Internet Star Antoine Dodson. Retrieved from: http://www.kiss925.com/2013/05/11/roz-mocha-reloaded-from-antoine-dodson-to-lil-jon-roz-weston-being-beautiful-listen-to-it-all-here/
Hi Max,
ReplyDeleteI too found that I had never seriously looked at the power dynamics found within YouTube, only really seeing it as a network for entertainment purposes. Upon reading your post however, it has become so much clearer to me that YouTube is possibly one of the most powerful virtual networks in today’s society, allowing users the ability to share the way they see the world around them to millions of people. If that isn’t power, than I don’t know what is! YouTube is a network where as Turkle (1995, p. 246) states, “one can say anything to anyone.” This freedom of speech allows users the possibility of gaining an immense amount of power via fame and wealth as you so stated. I particularly liked the point you made about YouTube allowing users to overcome the boundary of time and space, it is a concept I had never really thought much about prior to seeing YouTube as the powerful network it is.