Catching up on fancy East Coast reading: The November 23 issue of the New York Times Magazine, "The Screens Issue," was really cool. It was a theme issue dedicated to how people watch stuff: "On our HDTVs, Smart Phones, Laptops, Imax Screens, Computer Monitors, Nanos, Kindles, Bus Shelters, PDAs and Airplane Seat Backs."
Extra cool: "Moments that Mattered," in which a dozen notable creative types wrote short essays on something they'd seen on a screen this year that moved them. It was an intriguing glimpse into our collective consciousness that explained the thrill of Grand Theft Auto, or the unlikely heroism of Kenley in Project Runway, or WTF was going on during that lingering shot, during the Republican National Convention, of Piper Palin licking her hand to wet down her baby brother's hair.
Double extra cool: Within the "Moments that Mattered" package, David Byrne's mini essay was about Kansas State University anthropology professor Michael Wesch, and his amazing piece of work called "An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube."
Clocking in an at hour, "An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube" is a PowerPoint presentation that Wesch gave at the Library of Congress in July -- but it's the fastest, most intriguing PowerPoint you'll ever sit still for. Wesch's work has the narrative pacing of a thriller; it's likely your adrenalin might start pumping with anxiety, like mine did, around 38 minutes.
"This video looks at how [YouTube] has changed the way we view things, what we view and how we are simultaneously becoming more isolated and forming community," Byrne writes in the Times magazine, noting that Wesch and his students discover that "a whole value system has emerged based on viewing material online."
But it's more than that. Wesch makes a mind-blowing argument -- and he makes it so convincingly that YouTube will never look the same.
"We're going to have to re-think a few things," Wesch says.
He starts with the most obvious things we're going to have to re-think -- copyright, authorship, privacy. But also up for re-interpretation are identity, ethics, aesthetics, rhetorics, governance and commerce.
And love.
And family.
And ourselves.
If you think I'm overstating things, here's the link again. Watch it now and get back to me:
Wesch tells me he was surprised to hear that Byrne had written about him. "Gosh, I've been surprised all along," he says of the fact that his work has become a YouTube phenomenon. There's a moment early in the video when he jokes about how, as an anthropologist, it's a great success when 200 people see your work. His earlier video, "Web 2.0 -- The Machine is Using Us," has now been viewed more than 7 million times.
New York Times readers might have been surprised to see that K-State's at the leading edge of the digital frontier. "The broad perception is that it's an agricultural school in the middle of nowhere," Wesch admits. "And yet, like at all schools, there are always these surprising elements. All universities are multi-faceted. The whole landscape of education has changed, so that we see a lot of the most interesting work coming out of places that surprise people."
Wesch's students are clearly loving their work, and there's now a waiting list for his courses. Wesch says he now has an application process, even for the big classes of 200 or 400 students. "I ask them to write an essay saying why they should be in this class, and I take the ones I want," he says.
At just 33 years old, he's just been named National Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Until further notice, Michael Wesch is the coolest man on the planet. -- C.J. Janovy
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I'm deeply impressed by my unintended words at that site. So, let your trip guide me through the jungle of words and misery of thoughts from different origins.
Thanks for sharing,very interesting video.i enjoyed my visit and visit again definitely in future for the latest updates.
Aviation have been a passion of mine for numerous many years, thanks for the post.
He really is an awesome guy. I watched all of his videos tonight which summed up to be over 2 hours' worth and I absolutely loved it. It was very thought provoking and inspiring. The guy's a genius.
It doesn't take much reflection to realize that Wesch is on to something. As a teacher trying to convince other teachers that they MUST embrace 21st century learning tools, Web 2.0 and "digital natives", Wesch helps make the argument.
Technology is a utility for all of us not a hobby for geeks alone. And, while its use may be viewed as superficial by some (ie..my space, texting) this is HOW individuals are connecting, collaborating and creating--all the things humans have always done for all time.
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