Practicum - Lee

My practicum project focused on Identity and Social Networking and the site I was working with was YouTube.  Most people are extremely familiar with YouTube, but much fewer people use all of the options it has to offer.  For example, I am able to view most videos just by going to the homepage and clicking on them.  However, if I create an account, I can then create my own channel, subscribe to other channels, make playlists, comment on videos, or upload my own.  I can even make money through YouTube like my brother did, which I will talk about in class tomorrow.  There are a lot of issues with different content questions on YouTube.  For example, a lot of times people are either copying or reproducing already existing content and posting it under their own name.  Who should get credit for that work?  Keen talks a lot about how there is a problem with authorship.  He also talks about the difference between art and advertising.  A lot of videos on YouTube are either publicity measures or are aimed on advertising a certain person, company or brand.  People can use this site completely anonymously, or they can feature themselves in their own videos.  Tomorrow, I will talk mainly about a very unique experience my brother has had with YouTube, showing how it can be used and how a person's identity is affected.