They call my biceps guillotines

This is a page dedicated to every person in life who has enjoyed a big bowl of spaghetti.

[themoistureman]

Week 14 - Rutgers, DDos It Matter Who’s Attacking

Anonymous, one of the most popular rebellions to emerge in modern society is not particularly anyone or anything, but rather a movement. In Gabriella Coleman’s Anonymous - From the Lulz to Collective Action, Coleman talks about how Anonymous launched attacks of distributed denial of service (DDos) against PayPal and MasterCard in support of Wikileaks. Much like PayPal And MasterCard, Rutgers University has suffered the same experience due to DDos from an unidentified person recently; yet in both cases, they had similar reasons. But honestly, does DDos or any kind of online attack really matter from where it’s coming from?

Yes it does.

Anonymous emerged from the community of 4chan, where posts on its site are viewed as ‘anonymous’ by its viewers, hence the name. In the case of Rutgers University, DDos attacks lasted several days and disrupted online classes, the ability to access websites and general Internet connectivity, rendering most activity useless. But these situations are very different, for, “Anonymous trolled the Church of Scientology largely for the sake of the lulz,” (Coleman, 2011) and the Rutgers DDos attack is a “paid” effort.

Anonymous is an organization that is known for trolling, activism and sometimes “protecting internet freedom” from those who want its control. In the Rutgers DDos attack, however, someone is paying the attacker from the university. The difference between the two is that it is not a collective, but rather a pure conspirator manipulating the system for profit and not for authority or power. Anonymous is an organization that exists with no sole leader or sole proprietor attacking university Internet. It even said in one of the attacks against Tunisia, the Anonymous care packet states, “This is *your revolution,” (Coleman, 2011). Rebellion and action take many forms, and in the case for Rutgers University, has exposed how weak it system is. Is it for better or for worse though? I’ll let you decide that.

[themoistureman]

Week 13 - To /b/ or not to /b/

My first experiences with 4chan were much different than people had perceived them to be. Originally, I thought it was going to be all shock value; gore, sex, drugs and profanity sprawled all across an HTML hell. But I was wrong. In fact, there was a sense of community, a culture that existed amongst weirdos like myself. In fact the creator, Chris Poole, prided himself on ‘not selling out’ and letting the website kind of run itself...within reason.

Since the site is very much pro-free speech and anonymity, sometimes the lines can get blurred. You can come across anything from pictures of fluffy kittens in a basket, then next thing you know...blood. I think that kind of stands testimony to the nature of the site though, its different kinds of people. Sure, you may have gross-out material, but a lot isn’t like that. In fact, most memes started on 4chan, everything from cats to rick rolling to duckroll. The forum-based site is a breeding ground, letting emerging ideas, memes and different perspectives and ideas within the realm of anonymity. This begs the question though, how much is too much? We’ll just have to see how far things can go.

[themoistureman]

Week 12 - World Techolution

Technology puts so much influence into what we do on an everyday basis now we don’t even notice it half the time. The first thing I do in the morning is wake up to my phone’s alarm clock, check my text messages, emails and look up the weather to see what it’s like outside. It’s so integral and we don’t even notice it half the time; it’s when things go viral, apparent and visible to people where we choose to acknowledge its presence. Egyptian’s revolution is a perfect example of social media playing a pivotal role in making things visible, for most people outside of the country had no idea what was really going on until the Internet saves the day.

Greece, Egypt and any country with civil distress is able to project its thoughts, problems and issues for the world to see and make it a meme, something that is tangible and that people can grab onto. Social media allows to share these stories, start an uprising and have people from around the world retweet, hashtag and follow those who are standing for their freedom and rights as citizens of their country. Those oppressed can have Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and post photos, videos, stories and first-hand experiences to fight against their military, unjust laws and prejudice, exposing the truth. As Paul Mason states in his article Global Unrest: How the Revolution Went Viral, “The past 10 years have seen disruptions in the pattern of social life that mirror what happened in that era. But this time, it's happening at high velocity and across the canvas of all humanity.“

[themoistureman]

Week 11 - Bronies: Why It’s Not Okay To Make Fun Of Them

When I was in high school, I discovered the image board website 4chan. The site was so new and I believed I fit into when I discovered it at age 16, discovering such as /b/ and /mu/, for when you’re young you like to discover new music and always want that ‘wtf’ factor yadayadayada. I then stumbled across the phenomenon of “bronies” or people, usually consisting to 20/30 something year old males, who are fans of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

At first, I thought it was completely messed up and that nobody should be like that. It was almost a form of homophobia; people reacted so negatively to this group of people and, since they didn’t understand them, abused them verbally and through cyber bullying. It wasn’t until I watched the documentary Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony where my perspective changed. At first, I felt bad and offend by these men and women who were entrapped in this world. After a while, I began to understand that these fans are perfectly fine to be doing what they’re doing.

Why should I be discriminating against something that doesn’t harm anyone? More importantly, if it doesn’t affect me, why do I care? Much like homophobia, we cast out bronies because people believe it’s ‘emasculating’ or weird or obsessive. Yet at the same time, why is that a problem? Gender, sexual identity and what someone likes should not be up to everyone else but ONLY up to the individual.

These people have found a community of people that value a certain level of ethics, morals and have a bond that connects them to each other. Though you might not understand it or have an affinity to My Little Pony, why does that define someone as feminine or as ‘gay’. It’s just a TV show. These people have found something that makes them comfortable and they value the principles of life such as friendship, respect and helping other people. That doesn’t sound bad to me.

So what if you think it’s weird, just leave them alone.

[themoistureman]

Week 10 - FAZE clan, Mountain Dew & Doritos

One thing I never understood was exclusivity, especially in a subculture like 4chan. Why would you want to exclude others for something minor, yet at the same time accept the crude and brash? It wasn’t until after class where I could see 4chan much like online gaming communities. One where the ‘meta’ and insignificant suffer for not abiding towards an identity as a gamer or clan.

Xbox Live and 4chan are both very similar, for much like Manivannan’s “Tits or GTFO” article’s focus on trolls, both gaming and online communities face a certain level of trolling and community through a certain level of oppression. More specifically, they both value membership and how long someone’s been a part of the community in a shock-like factor. On Xbox, someone might trash talk someone through the microphone or through a message that another player is ‘trash’ and a ‘noob’, for their new membership or lack of abilities. Simply being new to both communities and now having ‘ranks’ or ‘a good KD’ is considered inferior and punishable. Simply if you are not like them, you are worse and need to be debased of merit.

4chan, like gaming communities approve of narcissism, abusive language and and exclusivity because you need to be a member, but not an individual of any kind. Insensitivity, in a weird way, is the sense of community they both share.

[themoistureman]

Week 9 - WHATEVER

One thing I absolutely love to watch is the production of movies and the work that goes into them. Being a constant Redditor, one of my favorite subreddits is r/ContinuityPorn, which is especially relevant to me for I want to be a video editor. I found one of my favorite shows “The Walking Dead” on the continuity thread and just thought it was so relevant to what we were talking about in class and through reading Sue Tait’s article “Pornographies of Violence? Internet Spectatorship on Body Horror.”

The Walking Dead, in itself, is a perfect example of gore porn. In fact, the latest episode featured...

[WARNING: SPOILER ALERT]

...Noah being torn apart in a gory and bloody death scene, to which people had many mixed reactions towards. Sure, it was gross, but it was also another example of, “meaning making that takes place on the outside of the frame of pleasure.” Sure, it’s a form of ‘gore porn’ but still speaks within the realms of horrid imagery and morality. Though it may be taboo, the context of the scene, as well as the picture represent forms of so-called “porn” for its pleasure-inducing and satisfaction derived from gazing from afar at suffering. In reality, most people would not accept these are norms, but on media it becomes a new form altogether.

[themoistureman]

Week 8 - O’Brother...Immaterial Labor

When I was sitting in class this week, I was listening to the lecture and then saw the slide talking about Threadless.com, which is one of my favorite sites. I pretty much get new shirts from the site every birthday or holiday, mainly because I love the different designs they put out. I think it is actually a perfect example of interactive marketing and how people can feel like they are individuals. Even though I think the shirts are a cool way to express myself, there is a market for it and countless people turn in their designs to the site through immaterial labor.

Threadless is not only a company that relies on audience as a commodity, but uses digital media towards its advantage. The presence of their Facebook involvement has over 850,00 likes, which is kind of intimidating considering it is a niche market. The recent fandom, nerd culture and television and film-related merchandise has definitely gone up recently, and I was one of those people to be converted through social media. One of my favorite bands, O’Brother, has a bassist named Anton Dang and he is actually a model for Threadless. I found out about the site through a link they posted on Facebook where he was wearing one of their shirts, which really stuck out to me. The fact that their site had user-generated content really stuck out to me, for I thought everything they advertise was original and a cool way to express myself and the mere fact that I found it on Facebook is testimony that we actually do, “willingly give information that is used to solicit us again.”

Here is the picture of the beautiful bassist man.

[themoistureman]

Week 7 - Blacktag Hashtag

When looking through both the readings and the lecture, one thing that stuck out to me was the referencing of the 'blacktag' or racialized hashtags directly insulting black individuals. I had never heard of that before, and thought to myself, where else have I seen this before? I couldn't help but think back to when the Ferguson riots were happening earlier this school year and there was a divide, a racial divide and quite the opposite happening.

Much like the hashtags that propagate racial barriers, these hastags like discussed in the online lecture depict black individuals as unintelligent and not able to understand real social issues. But in fact, as compared to the Ferguson riots, most black people that I encountered were not preoccupied with the mundane, but actually politically engaging on social media and talking about serious social issues. In fact, I came across more white people that were talking about the mundane and not about the seriousness of the situation.

Simply grouping one race online based on 'blacktags' is mere evidence that racism exists online. These same characteristics that exist is only proof that there is digital-race assemblage and white ignorance towards black people. I think 'whitetags' are more appropriate, for I see more ignorance in people's responses towards something such as the Ferguson riots and pictures of Starbucks then I see anything related towards something so important.

Putting someone into a category is never a good idea. These 'blacktags' are only a step backwards instead of forwards in social context, especially in one that is heavily digital.

[themoistureman]

WEEK 6 - Feminism is for men too, y'all.

[themoistureman]

Week 6 - Women Are Friends, Not Food

Feminism is very simple in theory, but becomes shrouded by society's definition of what they think it is rather than what it actually is. Much like religion or any demographic where there is a following, there are your 'extremists' and people who tarnish the image of an important group. The Westboro Baptist Church tarnishes the reputation of what Christianity stands for as much as extreme feminism makes feminism look unappealing. When in fact, feminism isn't just for women, but 'women and men' in the fight for equal rights.

Social media involvement in social issues can be immensely crucial to promoting an image of something, for bad or for good. In a moral, human and positive way, feminism on social media can allow feminists to stand up for and, "fight for the April14, 2014 mass abduction of over two-hundred Nigerian school girls," (Dixon, 2014) which is a noble crusade on its own. At the same time, people such as Melody Hensely compare her emotional distress from social media harassment to the likes of PTSD a soldier has after war, thus causing unnecessary controversy.

Am I saying that it is right for people to emotionally and verbally abuse the woman for voicing her opinion? Absolutely NOT, but as soon as comparison comes into effect, things always get messy. You cannot equate a soldier's PTSD to cyberbullying for they are totally different things, both serious but in different ways. Neither is right, but as soon as you start comparing a struggle to another one, people take it personally.

The best way to approach a situation like that is to talk. NOT argue, NOT jump down each other throats, but let people speak and LISTEN. Though I might be an entitled white male, I realize that my circumstances are different from another person of color or gender, but I am sensitive to those topics. I value other people's opinions, thoughts and character and see them as people, not as their sexual and physical features. If anything, feminism is definitely stronger than it was before, but it will take a while to get anything going, so the only thing I know that will always be successful is keep. Working. At. It. And especially patience, but within reason. Waiting for something to happen won't work, but working at it and understanding that time is linear and that change is gradual, things will eventually get better.

If you apply pressure to the wound, it will eventually stop the bleeding, but the scar will still be there as a reminder, no matter on social media or in person.

[themoistureman]

Dang Nabbit - Week 4 thingy

I realized I didn't include picture or links to a lot of my stuff, hence the commotion on a monday. Also because I am bored and have nothing better to do/procrastination. But nevertheless, Facebook messages like this have happened to me personally and yet again, I do no know how to react but can only show.

[themoistureman]

Week 5 Relevant Video

I remember being in high school when I saw this episode on television on Second Life, and not knowing what to think. I still don't, but yet another example of people living a double life.

http://www.mtv.com/shows/truelife/true-life-i-live-another-life-on-the-web/1586148/playlist/#id=1586148

[themoistureman]

Week 3 Relevant Picture

[themoistureman]

Week 5 - Consensual Sex or Context Sex ?

To be honest, when I was sitting in class watching all those videos related to the digital age of sexuality, I was completely freaked out, but with open arms. I understand it is not necessarily my cup of tea, but I cannot help my initial feelings of awkwardness and mere confusion at people's sexual quirks when it is extreme. Nevertheless, this class still phases me on how social media attracts such a variety of people in many ways more than one. Simply analyzing a culture, as covered by Pettman's Love in the Time of the Tamagochi, gives us context on why people get so entranced by video games, but I disagree with his mindset. Whether it is dating simulators, life simulators or using social media people believe they have this sense of anonymity and this basic privilege on online communities allows people to act the way they do, connect to people with the same urges and mindsets and explore their sexuality in many ways.

Of this nature, sexuality online as compared to society in person have very blurred interpretations due to lack of identity and gratification in everyday life. A game like SIMS or virtual reality like Second Life is successful because PEOPLE CAN BE SOMEONE ELSE. In a world where advertisements and societal constraints confine people solely based on looks or attitude, people want a break from reality. Thus, online reality becomes reality, where people can live in a large home, have a beautiful husband or look significantly more attractive, which is generally what most people want in life. But at the same time, 'consensual' rape in online society is somewhat accepted for some reason. Is it because humans' most basic primal urges cannot be satisfied by the real world? Is it because people's qualms about child prostitution prohibit people from molestation or expressing an unacceptable sexual norm? I do not believe things are necessarily moral or right, but I would say yes to believing these things. Society itself creates these barriers for the sole reasons of sexual reproduction and gender appropriation, even when it is not necessary.

After all, sex is fun, but really we're just trying to procreate and continue our genetic offspring in the most textbook way of looking at it. Social media allows online dating, simulation worlds, and games to exist solely because it allows people to be outside of their world and in another; a digital world, not subjected to criticism or complaint.

[themoistureman]

Week 4 - Fa[ke]book ©

These previous classes have had some significance to me since I primarily use Facebook as my form of "social media" so to speak. Everyone that surrounds me is so concerned with the amount of friends they have, that they get a certain amount of likes, and shares to stay relevant among society. In reality, their subjective world is on such a smaller scale where almost everyone does not care what you do, who you were with, and where you have been. Thus, adding friends and people you might know becomes a cause for concern. In reality, do you really talk to 1,000+ friends on a regular basis?

When it comes to actual activity on the site, you can tell which people are so-called "active" and which ones are merely participants. Someone such as myself would argue that my Facebook profile serves every function as a weak tie towards my friendships. They do not serve as an alternative, but as way to see what other people are doing in their lives, what people share with me, talking online through chat messages, and developing only a 'faux' friendship that is no cause for concern with myself. Deresiewicz points out a very important point that I currently live my life with which is, "once we decided to become friends with everyone, we would forget how to be friends with anyone," (Deresiewicz, 2009). Simply focusing on a smaller group of Facebook friends seems more effective in my opinion. If there is one thing that old people get right on Facebook is that they don't care about people outside their circle, but their circle is tight nit and in fact enhanced by social media for it allows them to communicate with people they might not talk with on the regular, thus keeping their friendships alive via social media and Facebook. They're not faking it mainly because why should they?

[officialborisniangovernment]

[themoistureman]

[themoistureman]

Week 3 - Authenticity and Camgirls, An Average Friday

After examining the readings and powerpoint slides from this week, one thing that I kept on focusing was the references of authenticity. When I was reading Senft's article on Camgirls, one thing that stuck out to me was web dialect and how we present our information to an audience. But it made me think, who exactly is our audience? Who is actually looking at what we write, what we post, and what we give to people via the internet to look and listen to? What do we listen or look at and focus on at that point?

I feel as though, discussed by Senft, "we respond to their responses, or we do not," (Senft, 2008) is very significant to what we have talked about this whole week in class. We cannot truly discuss what is personal and professional and define it to a pin point because society now has blurred lines in this Web 2.0 world we live in. Though the network is important, the context is more important and the messages imbedded inside of them truly derive true meaning and purpose. What is chosen to be not posted is more conductive of how a person truly views to themselves as important, rather than everything posted to social media. Posting drinking photos of drinking, partying, and drugs is a reflection of one's lifestyle and can be degrading to one's image in a professional sense, but someone who lives that lifestyle and lives offline has more validity and reliability to their name than those who do.