Rick Kruth

This video is one of most unique type I have ever encountered. Its title is even interesting, “Web 2.0… The machine is Us/ing Us”. I think it pretty much breaks down how much we rely on the internet and what it does for us and also what we do for it. The video is pretty much visual. The creator of the video must have put a lot of work into making it. The message I would assume is that the internet is connecting people yet it would not be there if it wasn’t for us. What we do everyday such a blogging, posting, and etc. is building it more and more making the web massive. Most people do understand how much content the internet has and almost give it respect but the truth is we created it. It’s like as if we marveled at the Universe, and we were the creators. I see it as a more mutual relationship. We benefit it and it benefits from us, but without us, it would not exist. We would exist without the web regardless, so I assume that’s why the internet is using us, but we also may find ourselves lost if we had no internet access. We would feel like we are missing out on a lot. I appreciate how the author gives the web human characteristics. I forgot the literary term for giving human characteristics to an object, but it would fall into that category.

The intro of the video is a major piece. I think it shows how the world suddenly grew in technology. I think the title even reflects it a bit. “Web 2.0” It reminds of programs like winamp or windows media player because they all had previous versions and newer version with higher numbers. “Web 2.0” perfectly describes the internet’s status and also reveals the fact that it can only grow. This is only the beginning. The video first started with a hand writing words to communicate and then it used text. They both were change rapidly through a user. Basically it would not be able to do that if it were not for that user (us). “The Machine is Us/ing Us” fits this explanation. It also shows us the advancement we had using computers and also the benefit of it. For the handwriting, the user had to manually insert text to alter the previous text and to do so someone close to efficiently, he or she had to write in between the lines. And through technology, the text was easily altered in a very timely fashion and also made it almost into an art of the changing text and the message was brought across clearly.

The transition from the meaning of the text also supported the meaning of how the world is linking us everywhere. Another point to mention is that the transition from simple short text went into a website full of words and content. The developer of the clip allowed us to connect because most of us are all familiar with the video. We can connect to it because we have all done the same. We’ve browsed through websites (hundreds) for entertainment like news, music, and other information. We also used it for blogging and video searching. I see this video as more as a growth of the net and how we are basically the nutrients feeding the net. It then the text becomes something more: colors, pictures, videos, borders, certain text styles. All of them manipulated by a certain code text. And we use this all to get our messages across.

The method of this video is basically communicating to us by making a personal connection. The video moves through the websites in a familiar way, a way that we usually see ourselves moving through the net. It shows how we pull pieces of info from a website to understand the information we need or want. And through that, it communicates by highlighting certain texts or a collaboration of words to communicate to the viewer. It shows different websites like news sites, yahoo.com, It also shows how information is organized on the net. Like a news site for example. “Feds tricked holed-up tax evaders” is a heading on cnn.com and then once clicked a whole story will appear with in-depth information with thousands of words and also pictures. And this heading is only one of hundreds. And then to know that all this information was organized though text codes is amazing. And then to also know the news website is one of something million other websites is mind bottling. I guess it breaks down a website from a broad view to a narrow view. And how it small compared to something big and how it is big when we are reading the news heading. The video almost explains the dynamics of the web and how enormous it is. The video shows how the internet is categorized and how and where to look to find what we want.

The medium of course is interactive media on the web. The creator used the net to get his or her message across. And well did it did, 3.5 million views. In the Convergences, “medium is a complex term, with a wide range of connation.” “the word “medium” refers to the physical material an artist uses in the creation or construction of work: Michelangelo used marble;….” The internet fits into this category. The internet is almost physical and maker of the video did use the internet to get his or her message across. And to be more exact, the medium was YOUTUBE.com, the same website that sets as a medium to millions of other users.

Video website:

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/05/tax.standoff/index.html

Atwan, Robert. Convergences: Message, Method, Medium. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.