I try to avoid the latest web sensation avoiding the latest cat video, or hot music video or really anything else that can drag me down the YouTube rabbit hole, but recently I encountered a “supercut” of covers to a song I had not heard. While I do not watch many videos online and avoid nearly all viral hits the idea of a “supercut” intrigued me as I always like to watch good video editing.
Social Media
Breaking outside the fence
I wrote earlier about the resurgence of walled gardens in the form of white picket fences. When I first published those ideas in August 2011 very little had been done on the topic, now nearly a year later there has been an uptick in conversation about the topic (although sadly my phrase has not yet been adopted).
I am what I social network
Matching the social network to the content is an ongoing discussion which changes with each change in social media, but less frequent is matching the person to the social network. On her WashingtonPost.com blog, Alexandra Petri tackled the question of “Which social network are you?”
Unsocial media
Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn, Buzz, and the dozens of other small and large social media sites all share certain basic elements. All social media sites have users, those users upload some information that is shared with other users with whom they formed “connections.” These users engage with the site on computers and mobile devices; but interacting with a social network is a solitary activity, each user logs into his or her own account, post their own updates in the hope that someone is listening and will respond in a manner appropriate for that site. Inherent in their nature, social media is unsocial media, connections without connecting.