Youtube: Digital Scrapbooking in the 21st Century
New media has provided a multitude of engagement opportunities for fans and consumers of entertainment. Much of this can be owed to the affordances that technology allows both producers and consumers in making, distributing, accessing and engaging with content. These include the rise of participatory fandom (Shefrin, 2004) and the ability to use entertainment as self-formation (Burgess, 2009).
New media such as YouTube and Vine allow the audience to play a role as entertainers and take advantage of online methods of self-formation. Burgess (2009, 25) says there are increasingly “interpersonal, playful and identity-forming uses for information, communication technology.” Indeed, sites such as this have been used to platform many users to internet stardom. Jenna Marbles, Jamie Curry and Chris Crocker (of “Leave Britney Alone!” fame) have all enjoyed online success from their use of YouTube and have even been able to take advantage economically by gaining advertisement revenue from their high visitor count or even getting involved with offline promotional opportunities. Some scholars have correctly pointed out that this doesn’t always translate into true celebrity though and that YouTube could not be seen as a solid platform to achieving ongoing world-wide recognition. Indeed it is true that for the vast majority of people, bridging the gap is virtually impossible if you don’t have the support of pre-existing media outlets and organisations, such as Justin Bieber did when he was apparently discovered by Usher and marketing executive, Scooter Braun.
Burgess (2009) reminds us though that amateur videos are not necessarily aimed at achieving super stardom or even a fan base, they can be created social history and used to document lives. Indeed, participant uploads on sites such as Instagram, Vine and YouTube can even be described as a 21st century digital scrapbook of memories. The video sharing site Vine has recently gained more popularity as it showcases 6 second home made videos that can be broadcast to the world. Many of the uploaders will never achieve internet fame however that does not prevent millions from being uploaded everyday. Each video involve some level of planning, creativity and personal touch that combines to form the mix of “productive play, media consumption and cultural performance” that Burgess highlights as a semi-private space of cultural participation (2009: 18)
The abundance of creation methods that assist users to pre-produce, produce, circulate and consume makes the Big Brother formula of filming normal people go about daily activities seem old-hack. It is easy to see how new media affordances and the rise of online self-expression could have contributed to a waning interest in the Big Brother series. Video sharing sites allow users to have 100% control over their image and content production, and the level of exhibitionism or surveillance is controlled by participants themselves. The supposed ‘reality’ of the Big Brother set up is far surpassed by the seemingly endless supply of personal vlogs and content that can be accessed on YouTube or Vine at any given time.
Big Brother 2013 winner Tim in the diary room
YouTube user SHAYTARDS vlogs the birth of his baby
Online video outlets have provided a range of methods for self-expression. Whilst some have reached Internet stardom, it is still difficult to bridge the gap to fully-fledged celebrity. However many users upload regardless, so they can have an opportunity for meaningful identity building and creative online play, unlike the limited and inaccessible ‘broadcast reality’ of a show like Big Brother.
References:
Burgess, Jean and Joshua Green. 2009. “You Tube and the Mainstream Media.” In YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture edited by JeanBurgess, Joshua Green and Henry Jenkins, 15-37. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press
Glenn Dyer. 2013. “Nine continues to tank, Big Brother beaten by thnews.” Crikey. August 7. Accessed April 1, 2014. http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/08/07/glenn-dyers-tv-ratings-nine-continues-to-tank-big-brother-beaten-by-the-news/
Sauter, Theresa, March 26, 2014. “Week 5 – New Media and Entertainment.” Accessed March 31, 2014. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/
Shefrin, Elana. 2004. “Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Participatory Fandom: Mapping New Congruencies Between the Internet and Media Entertainment Culture.” Critical Studies in Media Communication 21 (3): 261-281.