you want it bleak ?
Seriously, listen to this Berman interview (RealPlayer). Via his own blog and Media Matters. My favorite part was when he said that internet or virtual communities are not really communities, that too much of human interaction depends on body language, something I think artists ought to understand. He compared it to when Walmart says they have a "Walmart Family." Ha ha!!
Have a shit day!
ReplyDeleteyeah i did. what else ?
ReplyDeleteInteresting, the comparison of online conversations vs. inperson conversations. Cetainly, personal contact has it's advantages, but I disagree with Berman. Online, what you say permanent (no "takebacks"). Consequently, we all ponder more carefully what we say. Also, we have a budget of sorts - a limited space to make our point. This prompts more carefullness of thought that often exceeds shooting the breeze with friends. I love my blog buddies - we talk about exactly what we want, when we want, as clearly as we can - what's not to like?
ReplyDeleteand no way to edit our typos if we publish too soon.
ReplyDeleteyes, hearing you very well, I think my understanding of Berman's statement is like this. If I delete my blog tomorrow, even the closest of my readers will not wonder about it for more than a moment. This happens all the time. One or two people might remember the blog and me for a week or two, and that is a far cry from knowing people well for months and months or years. Agreeing fully with what I think you list as very strong and advantageous aspects of internet communications, (and I think there are lots of others too,) I will also probably have to say that some aspect of a real community might be out of our control and that is part of what makes it a community. In other words, I don't think communities are entirely elective. There seems to be a measure of resignation with which we enter one, otherwise we merely resign from it as happens much more on the internet than I think would ever happen in a real community. I think this is illustrated by the truly vast number of internet arguments we simply will not enter into.
ReplyDeleteand also, come on everyone, I want to have a real (virtual) discussion of Berman already.
ReplyDeleteI want to apologize for not joining in, something in my computer wouldn't let me play the audio so i didn't hear the interview yet.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, as someone who lives in Pittsburgh often feels very isolated this is a huge emotional lifeline for me. It's not a small thing at all. It's very important.
Seeing a blog you were into die is very upsetting. I think that in some ways what you thought was going on was something you constructed. You thought you had friends and some sense of community, but a lot of it was in your head. But, that kind of goes on in life. I think like anything else it's garbage in and garbage out. The more you work at building a community the greater the chance of it happening.
Thanks John for chiming in. Maybe I will blow this out into a whole post cause I think it has some legs. In the meantime see my post here for what I think are my more complete thoughts on the topic of the "public" if not community, at least up to now.
ReplyDelete