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Chris Higgins
Required Viewing: An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube
by Chris Higgins - July 31, 2008 - 5:51 PM

Required Viewing

At the Library of Congress, anthropologist Michael Wesch recently presented a talk on the nature of YouTube: how memes spread, how users generate content, and a detailed history of some of YouTube’s greatest hits. It’s the first academic treatment I’ve seen of YouTube and its associated phenomena. Addressed in detail: the nature of vlogs; the webcam and “context collapse”; Free Hugs: a hero for our mediated culture; YouTube’s anthenticity crisis: the story of LonelyGirl15; and much, much more.

If you’re interested in an anthropological perspective on YouTube and online communities, check it out:

(Via Fimoculous.)

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Comments (10)

  1. Wow, that was a great video, I think that it is the only YouTube video have sat through over 10 minutes, but then again I think that anything to do with Anthropology is interesting.

    posted by Jordan on 7-31-2008 at 7:35 pm

  2. Yeah, that was awesome. Incredibly nerdy, but worth the 50+ minutes I sat here watching.

    posted by adrienne on 7-31-2008 at 7:51 pm

  3. The concept of “Context Collapse” is really cool. It also explains the fear people feel about “big brother” watching us.
    We don’t trust that a mindless bureaucracy can watch us and understand us out of context. Without context, one persons peaceful activitist is another persons terrorist.
    Nor can it judge the authenticity of what it is watching from a distance.

    posted by DDRM on 7-31-2008 at 10:31 pm

  4. Informative & entertaining…I’m 56 & was never interested in viewing or contributing to YouTube until watching this presentation.
    I think I’ll become a Tuber.

    posted by Jeremiah on 8-1-2008 at 12:48 am

  5. So, my wife watched the video this afternoon and insisted that I sit and watch it after I got home from work, but it appears to have been pulled from Youtube. Ironically enough.

    posted by James on 8-1-2008 at 1:08 am

  6. Wow, that was awesome. Totally worth watching through.

    posted by Celeste M. on 8-1-2008 at 6:25 am

  7. That was fantastic. I seriously just watched the whole thing at my desk at work… good thing it’s a slow friday morning.

    Sorta… for some reason, makes me want to get a web cam…

    posted by Kathryn on 8-1-2008 at 8:21 am

  8. That was really fascinating stuff, and makes me realize how uninvolved I’ve been from the YouTube phenomena. Definitely makes me want to tune in more…

    posted by Kimmad on 8-1-2008 at 8:46 am

  9. It’s easy to take YouTube and the internet for granted. But when it’s presented like this, it blows my mind. I’m such a sucker, I had to wipe away tears at the end. Thanks for sharing this! (Side note: Lev Grossman shouldn’t be commenting on other people’s spelling abilities. His blog for TIME is always full of typos!)

    posted by Shasta on 8-1-2008 at 11:28 am

  10. interesting

    Here’s a bit of flossing for ya. (I read this yesterday, I forget where)

    YouTube used as much bandwith in the year 2007 as the entire Internet in the year 2000. WOW.

    posted by Jusrtin L on 8-1-2008 at 3:58 pm

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