Constructing Identity Online: ChatRoulette

Looking for a Random Stranger

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/weekinreview/21bilton.html?scp=1&sq=Chatroulette&st=cse

ChatRoulette:

ChatRoulette is a social website that connects random strangers to through webcams.

Creator: Russian Andrew Ternovskiy, 17 years old

Launched November 2009

Creating Your Identity on ChatRoulette:

·      Requires a camera and microphone

·      No Log-in necessary

·      No registration

·      Users are encouraged to be at least 16 years old but the age limit is not enforced

·      Prohibits pornographic material

·      Ability to ‘disconnect’ from conversation

·      Screenshots, black screens, empty rooms—still creating identity?

·      If using webcam and showing one’s true self, they aren’t able to hide behind a written description. As David Huffaker and Sandra Calvert argue, "While physical constraints such as the body, biological sex, race, or age can have a profound effect on self-definition and self-presentation (Collins & Kuczaj, 1991), many of these attributes become flexible in online environments. In a virtual world, one even gets to construct one's body. The anonymity afforded to youth within virtual worlds allows adolescents more flexibility in exploring their identity through their language, their role play, and the personae they assume" ( David A. Huffaker and Sandra L. Calvert http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html) this does not apply in ChatRoulette as the camera adds a new dimension to creating one’s identity. Users are able to choose what clothes to wear, where to chat, background music, etc. The live aspect both limits and enhances the users’ identity.

·       

Frequent ChatRoulette Identities

·      Strangers just sitting at home surfing the web

·   College students (usually groups of kids)

·   Weird/Creative people

·   Sketchy/Creepy older men

http://nymag.com/news/media/63663/

“Real” Celebrities on ChatRoulette

·      Ben Folds- Musician played an improv ChatRoulette during a concert in Charlotte, N.C. 

<o

·      Paris Hilton

·      Chris Brown

·      Ashton Kutcher

**Users have claimed to have interacted with these celebrities while on ChatRoulette, but none of them are certain. Creates an ethical issue of stealing/’borrowing’ one’s identity

Reactions to ChatRoulette

•“chat with the most socially depraved people you will ever interact with” (http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/the-24-best-chat-roulette-screenshots-nsfw)

•“I hadn’t felt this socially trampled since I was an overweight 12-year-old struggling to get through recess without having my shoes mocked. It was total e-visceration. If this was the future of the Internet, then the future of the Internet obviously didn’t include me.” -Sam Anderson(http://nymag.com/news/media/63663/)




Sources:


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/weekinreview/21bilton.html?scp=1&sq=Chatroulette&st=cse
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/chatroulettes-founder-17-introduces-himself/?scp=2&sq=ChatRoulette&st=cse
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/new-site-unmasks-chatroulette-players/?scp=4&sq=ChatRoulette&st=cse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatroulette

Mouchette

So this website, Mouchette, is rather odd. It's 'out there' in terms of websites. I'm not really sure what the purpose is, but the visual and audio make me question the purpose and intention of the creator. In my opinion, I don't think there is a purpose of this website. Although the website says a 13-year old girl created this website, I don't believe it (Later to find out, her artwork is in an art gallery in Japan--> not a real identity. So that leads me to ask why does she want our own identity if she's using a fake one?). 

The flash media throughout the website requires a wealth of knowledge and then there are frequent sexual references throughout the website. I just don't see a 13 year old creating this. In our class discussion her age came up- is 'she' just a character/online identity? Probably.

The colors and images that Mouchette uses is rather old-looking. It reminds me of my first computer, a Windows 90 (?). It's very interactive and uses flash but doesn't seem to match my understanding of modern internet usage. 

It's also interesting because she frequently asks for your information- your email, your name, etc. Why does this anonymous person need this information? She also discusses 'sensitive' topics like suicide and asks the viewer what the best way to kill yourself if you're under 13.

Some pages, like Blind Shells, reminds me of jodi, which we discussed last week. It's rather random and the viewer is able to choose what and how they view something, It's interesting how both Mouchette and Jodi give the viewer control on what they see on a specific website. It's making the viewer and active viewer rather than a passive viewer.

This website is controversial because it looks at rather tough subjects in a light way. The creator doesn't seem to care about suicide, sex, or death and how people emotionally react to them. The creator looks at these with an odd-outlook and doesn't seem to take these matters seriously, which I think hurts the overall website. 

My Online Identities

I have about five or six online identities- Facebook, Twitter, my Hong Kong Blog, this blog, another personal blog, and my 'lurker' identity. As I was discussing with my classmates, my Facebook page is the closest identity to my real-person identity. I'm not sure why, but I am able to share/more willing to share more things on Facebook than on other sites).

My Twitter account is rather a mix of my different accounts- I tweet about some daily occurrences about my time in Hong Kong, sometimes I update about crew (when I'm at HWS) and sometimes I tweet about other random things.  

My Hong Kong blog is catered to talk about my experiences during my semester abroad in Hong Kong- I try and focus on the details and descriptions of my experiences so those at home are able to understand my daily happenings.  

As I am sure you can already tell, this class blog focuses on things that relate to class. You won't find things about my personal life but you will find my opinions about digital media here. The writings here are mainly academic and for academic purposes even though they do incorporate social media.

My other personal blog is basically for my own purposes, rants and raves. Nobody knows about it or reads it, but it is out there on the Internet. It has a focus but I rarely update it- usually once every month. If it's found, it's found, but I haven't really given the link out like I have with my Hong Kong blog.

My final online identity is what I call a 'lurker.' As a lurker I read blogs but never comment or participate in them. There are about 6-8 blogs that I read daily and have for over a year, but I have never commented on them. I like to sit back and read about their lives and continue with my own. Since I don't have a blog that they can comment back on I feel like if I were to comment, it'd be a one-way conversation (even though it isn't, but that's another story) so I am not inclined to comment. Maybe if I ever release my other personal blog or create another blog then I might leave my 'lurker' status behind, but only time will tell.

Constructing Identity Online

Key Quotes (at least 5):

"After the arduous task of constructing your aesthetically pleasing and accurate chuck of the ‘net, you have to be diligent enough to keep it updated frequently.  Old information that is no longer of interest to your target group can drastically impact how you and your online identity are received by the public: you will look like a lazy vagabond if you simply dump a truck load of pertinent personal information on your site, but never update it for months at a time.  Band profiles are perfect examples of why this is important.  If someone visits a band profile and samples some of their tunes, they will most likely come back every once and a while to see if something new has been uploaded.  Obviously, if fresh, new content, isn’t always being provided, the listener will most likely lose interest and start frequenting a different band’s profile (one who is on top of things and releases new tracks once a month)." (Ryan Passey, http://www.pcmech.com/article/construct-your-online-identity-carefully/)

"While physical constraints such as the body, biological sex, race, or age can have a profound effect on self-definition and self-presentation (Collins & Kuczaj, 1991), many of these attributes become flexible in online environments. In a virtual world, one even gets to construct one's body. The anonymity afforded to youth within virtual worlds allows adolescents more flexibility in exploring their identity through their language, their role play, and the personae they assume" ( David A. Huffaker and Sandra L. Calvert http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html) 

"Sometimes referred to as netspeak, the language of the Internet entails both traditional linguistic forms and adapted ones that include slang and non-standard forms that are sometimes used in offline life. Netspeak is an emergent discourse that is shaped entirely by the creativity of its community (Crystal, 2001). The introduction of acronyms (e.g., "lol = laugh out loud," "brb = be right back"), plays or variations on words (e.g., "cya = see you", "latah = later"), graphical icons that represent emotions, called emoticons (e.g., :) or ;-{} ) or graphical icons that represent a real person in a virtual context, called avatars, are all examples of language produced by online communicators. This language continues to evolve and remains an important area of study when considering the ways in which Internet users interact and express who they are" ( David A. Huffaker and Sandra L. Calvert http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html) 

"In everyday terms the argument is that children are largely defined by the significant adults in their life, but in adolescence they have to make a series of self-defining choices to allow them to function as autonomous adults."Working with Adolescents: Constructing Identity. Contributors: John Head - author. Publisher: Falmer Press. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year: 1997. Page Number: 7.http://www.questia.com/read/103388342?title=Chapter%202%3a%20Acquiring%20a%20Sense%20of%20Identity). 

Key Links:

Constructing Identity and Community Online: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=727231961&Fmt=7&clientId=25836&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Online Social Networking on Campus: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/01/08/network

Key Books and Articles:  

Online Communication: Linking Technology, Identity and Culture by Andrw Wood

Online Social Networking on Campus: Understanding what Matters in Student Culture by Ana M. Martinez Aleman and Katherine Lynk Wartman

 

Youth, Identity and Digital Media edited by David Buckingham

Case Study

Who is the artist/maker of the artwork/website/game?

What is its name?

When was it produced/released?

Describe it in detail

What is interesting/unusual/thought-rpovoking/aesthetically pleasing/puzzling about this artwork/website/game?

What are key issues or questions does this artwork/website/game raise?