youtube and collective identity
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The You in YouTube:The Emergence of Collective
Identity Formation Through Online
Video Sharing
Debora Lui
With help from Huma Yusuf
Media in Transition 5, MIT, 2007
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C3 and YouTube
Looking at YouTube from anindustry perspective
What are user activities onthe site? What are thevideos on the site?
Looked at 100 MostDiscussed/Favorited/Rated/Popular videos
Around 40% of the MostDiscussed videos were videologs (vlogs)
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Press Rhetoricsurrounding YouTube
Time called YouTube thepublic video diary of ageneration of teens and
twentysomethings. "You have people from all
walks of life wanting toshare a piece of their lifewith you," Leila (a video
blogger) says. "Thefeeling of togetherness isunbeatable. It's abeautiful thing."
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Real People Reaching Out
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YouTube is full of unique personalities, all ofwhom are expressing themselvesauthentically
YouTube is capable of establishing trueconnections between real people
HOWEVER, does the real life use of
YouTube exemplify this ideal presentedin surrounding rhetoric?
Real People Reaching Out?
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Arguments that YouTube isan authentic space
Furor over seeming lack of authenticity of lonelygirl15 and others Person or content not real; corporate marketing?
Users seem to treat the other individuals on the site as real
people (through their comments and videos) Giving advice, having a dialogue, supporting/detracting
Trust that YouTube is a democratic platform where everyone canbe heard in an unregulated space Unhindered by mass media protocols, freedom of expression
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Furor over seeming lack of authenticity oflonelygirl15 and others
Content and/or persona is not real (lg15)
Corporate marketing vs. being on your own(i.e. miarose vs. esmeedenters)
Arguments that YouTube isan authentic space
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Users seem to treat the other individuals on the site asreal people (through their comments and videos) SOo.oO much FUN!!!!! I wish you could come to our house for a weekend!
(ysabellabrave)
beautiful girl. use your loneliness and boredom as fuel to live anextraordinary life. visit 100 countries and learn to speak 5 languages beforeyou turn 30. be exceptional - you have the power! (lonelygirl15)
oh you jersey folk are the funniest :P we need some more of you over herethese days... brighten up our days hahahahah :P -take care man (nalts)
Arguments that YouTube isan authentic space
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Trust that YouTube is a democratic platformwhere everyone can be heard in an unregulatedspace
Unfiltered content, not confined by marketing/advertising needs, targetdemographics, broadcast protocols
More than ever, Internet video provided a platform for new voices andperspectives, giving even amateur filmmakers entree to mass audiencestraditionally garnered by established media outlets. And in 2006 people
took advantage of it, using Internet video to influence everything fromopinion about the war to notions about what constitutes entertainment.(from Long Live the Net Video Revolution Business Weekly)
Arguments that YouTube isan authentic space
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Online activity that doesntsupport this authenticity
Theories about identity construction in cyberspace Constructing avatars in MMOGs and Second Life
Constructing online profile with list of favorites as shortcuts
Constructing network of friends in social networking sites
But how does identity construction occur onYouTube?
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Ysabellabrave: A CaseStudy
Young woman who sings karaoke, usually old jazz standards and blues.
#26 - Most Subscribed (All Time)
Her nomenclature exemplifies the tension between authenticity and construct
MaryAnne/ysabellabrave
Clip: Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered 00:34
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooigvlGHe8Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooigvlGHe8I -
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Constructed Identityon YouTube
By the Individual
By the Collective
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Constructed Identityby the Individual
Through production/style of the video itself
Through paratexts surrounding video
Within the framework of YouTube genres
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Constructed Identityby the Individual
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Constructed Identityby the Individual
Through paratexts surroundingvideo Her youtube profile
Comments accompanying video Very late at night, one more for my friends.
For those who need some blues, from my heartto yours tonight.
Rate me 5 little stars! Hooray! This is for all myfellow David Lynch fans out there. Please enjoy!Love MaryAnne
Talk vlog videos Blah blah part II 03:46
C t t d Id tit
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ysabellabravehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw8dw5MBl1ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw8dw5MBl1ohttp://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ysabellabrave -
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Constructed Identityby the Individual
Within the framework ofdifferent YouTube personagenresThe Karaoke singer; the
undiscovered talent
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Constructed Identityby the Individual
Within the framework ofdifferent YouTube personagenres
The Karaoke singer; theundiscovered talent
The teenage girl confessional
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Constructed Identityby the Individual
Within the framework of differentYouTube persona genres
The Karaoke singer; the undiscoveredtalent
The teenage girl confessional
The angry young man commentary
The living room comedian
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Constructed Identityby the Collective
Through YouTube activities like subscribing,favoriting, rating, etc. (marketing and hype)
Through YouTube direct feedback (usercomments and video response)
Through rejection of behaviors that do notcomply with the identity as constructed bythe collective
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Constructed Identityby the Collective
Through YouTube direct feedback (usercomments and video response) youre such a classy lady, youre bringing old hollywood glam back!
I JUST LOVE YOUR VOICE! When you talk... it's like Ingrid Bergmanand Audrey Hepburn and Faye Dunaway all mixed together! You havethe intonation down and everything. And your choice of words isfabulous!!
i friggin' LOVE YOU! I see so much Marilyn Monroe in you....you haveno idea. And the cabaret thing....oh deary lord, Sally Bowles! ha. ---Marilyn was a construct...this gal is the real thing...cannot comparethe two...thank you maryann for being who you are!
I wish you were my life coach....or my girlfriend.
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Constructed Identityby the Collective
Through YouTube direct feedback (usercomments and video response) She started singing -> People start subscribing and commenting:
response and expectations -> She reconstructs herself ysabellabrave - as character only existing in expectations of her
viewers, the negotiation between the individual and the collective
Clips: Blue Heaven, AWord or Two 02:36, Everyday Bravery
C t t d Id tit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkd-prtmiUchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGEsRXlMT0shttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGEsRXlMT0shttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_dppH8kaeohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_dppH8kaeohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGEsRXlMT0shttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGEsRXlMT0shttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkd-prtmiUc -
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Constructed Identityby the Collective
Through rejection of behaviors that do notcomply with the identity as constructed bythe collective Unusual Music/Song Choice
I know you like modern music in your personal life, but youDO sing this old stuff so darn well.
Everything else you do is trulygreat but rock like this just does
not sound right for your prettyjazzy voice.
C t t d Id tit
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Constructed Identityby the Collective
Through rejection of behaviors that do notcomply with the identity as constructed bythe collective Art videos - Videos provoked furious debate
This is no good. I mean you should stick to just singing only.This is way out of there. bizzare to say the least.
A picture tells a thousand words: Twenty-four(!) pictures ofyourself was simply way over the top for meI am truly a fan
of yours and watch your videos everyday. Would you pleaseexplain - so that I will find this less disturbing?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37mZQnx5YgMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37mZQnx5YgM -
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Constructed Identityby the Collective
The "truthiness" problem Truthiness is the very definition of truth,
2006-style: the quality of preferring
concepts or facts one wishes to be true,rather than concepts or facts known to betrue.
(excerpted from Commentary: The Year in Pop Culture:2006 in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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Concluding Remarks
YouTube is a testament to the participatory value of newmedia, folk cultures of digital age.
Further inquries: What are implications of this fact that there is no authenticity? (peer-to-peer
implies friendship and connectivity)
What do we lose when we acknowledge collectively constructed identities?
Is celebrating democracy enough?
Are other spaces more appropriate for interactions between individuals?
What happens when truthiness prevails over truth?
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Identities in Flux?
Ysabellabrave/MaryAnne existsbeyond YouTube
Contestant in the Ms. Horrorfest PageantChristian livejournal - SisterMaryAnne,
Church of the Holy Cross
Yahoo employee - Fraud and BusinessAnalyst
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