Class Texts

1) This relates to E. Gabriella Coleman’s article “Phreaks, Hackers, and Trolls: The Politics of Transgression and Spectacle” for obvious reasons. In this article, Coleman proceeds to define and explain what exactly a troll is, and how it differs from a hacker. This was actually the basis for my project, because before Coleman’s article I never even heard the term trolling, and I found the whole concept very interesting so I decided to focus on it.

2) My project also relates to the article “Participating in the Always-On Lifestyle” by Danah Boyd. This project is testament to the fact that there are indeed people who are “always on”- you can post a trolling comment on a celebrity’s post at any given time, and instantaneously someone will respond to you. I found the sheer power of this to be both amazing and frightening.

3) Another article my project relates to is Jay Rosen’s “The People Formerly Known as the Audience” because my project demonstrates exactly what Rosen speaks about- we are no longer just the audience receiving information, we are now participating and interacting with each other. The fact that we are able to respond and converse with other people on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, further proves Rosen’s main point that we are no longer just an audience.

4) This project can also be related to the article “Gin, Television, and Social Surplus” by Clay Shirky. In this article, Shirky explores how different generations used up their “cognitive surplus” time, and states that our generation should use it to generate information on the internet. My project shows how people of our generation are using up their “cognitive surplus” time, and while it may be on the internet, I am pretty sure this was not what Clay Shirky meant. Regardless, there are people out there who will use their “cognitive surplus” to pick a fight with a compete stranger over Miley Cyrus’s new hair color, and that is their prerogative.

5) Last but not least, this project relates to the article “What is Web 2.0?” by Tim O’Reilly . This article basically defines what Web 2.0 is, and how it differs from Web 1.0. Obviously, the social media sites I explore are a part of Web 2.0 for various reasons, and are sites that did not and could not exist during the Web 1.0 period. Some of the characteristics of Web 2.0 that these sites possess are: trusting the users as co-developers, software above the level of a single device, lightweight user interfaces, and better service the more people use it.