“Digital” Ethnography – The Study of Internet Culture
by Joe La Sac
Digital Ethnography is a study, an anthropological discipline. Professor Wesch (blog) at Kansas State University has a team of students every year study the internet and its new trends. I tend to think academics are generally behind the major trends, not participating in them or generating them. But one of KSU’s methodological principles is known as “participant observation“, whereby the observer-academics take part themselves in the trends that shape online culture. Sometimes, as Prof. Wesch’s very viral 2007 YouTube video demonstrated to the world, the academics can become an internet phenomenon themselves.
If you participate in internet culture at all, like if you read a blog or have a myspace, you’ll enjoy watching this exciting hour-long lecture by Prof. Wesch. One of the students who participated in KSU’s Digital Ethnography project during the first year, self-nicknamed “thepoasm” (also featured in the following video), I was following on YouTube and watching her weekly vlog posts last year. She has very insightful reflections on the nature of the internet and what it’s like to participate in online culture. I recommend checking out her YouTube page.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
That’s a very interesting and informative video. I guess it makes complete sense, but I wasn’t aware that there were such in depth studies of the youtube phenomenon. I’m very interested in the psychology of youtube participants. What motivates them to create content?
Thanks, Joe.
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September 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I wonder if there is a future in live video chatrooms. Maybe those already exist with porn and such. But I wonder if people really like that immediate separation between uploading and response, or if people would like actual interaction.
I’d also be interested in the possible negative effects of these online communities as opposed to formal communities. I know there are certainly face to face events for various youtube groups, but I wonder how often. South Park makes fun of that is one of their episode where a girl is communicating with her virtual boyfriend but when they actually meet in person they don’t want to talk to each other beyond the computer. That’s probably a stereotype but perhaps it holds some truth.
Another example of this phenomenon, is feedtacoma. So much community has developed from that website.
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September 24th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
It’s strange, so many people in our generation suffer from phone phobia and can’t handle talking to strangers. Technology has a habit of simultaneously seperating and joining communities together. I wonder if YouTube does more to bring us together than seperate.
My biggest concern is that our culture will become so insulated and connected to the internet that we will lose touch with reality and create a seperate world online.
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September 26th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Yeah I agree Chris. Separating and bringing together at the same time. I did Second Life for a while, just experimenting. I think people’s real lives are a drag, and they look around and don’t see a “community” out there. Especially in Suburbia. So they join online communities.
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December 1st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I have to write a Reaseach paper on the topic : how is the internet reshaping what we mean by culture and found this site through canadaask.com I really didnt have the time to watch this, but it was so facinating that I had to watch the whole thing.
Very Cool and positive perspective on the Culture within YouTube. I
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