Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Are You Sure You're 18?

For the past week my productivity has been completely shot. As a result of being unproductive on the internet, I've lost all sense of self. I find myself in a strange reality where I can't differentiate between my own identity and that of a 33 year old in Oregon who works as a personal trainer. It's all thanks to the wonderful site that is Omegle.

Upon visiting the site, it's purpose is immediately apparent. There is no navigation, or list of links. There is simply a banner declaring, "Talk to Strangers!" and a button that allows you to do so. All of the chat is anonymous, and so far as I can tell, completely unmoderated.

After having a few boring conversations with people from Brazil (Most of the people on Omegle during the day seem to be from Brazil. Most of them are boring) I met a guy from Oregon. We had a long talk. I basically spent the night with this guy. What I was struck by, as how open that people are willing to be when they think they are anonymous. After his I had another such conversation. Then another.

Then, I started to use the personalities of the previous people I had talked to, in new conversations. Despite the fact that I was completely full of shit, I still got what I perceived to be juicy and honest responses to my queries. But what if all of the other people were doing what I was doing? After a long and circular discussion with my self, I have arrived at my current state of confusion.

One of the beauties of anonymous culture, is that it allows us to be anyone we want. It causes us to realize the fundamental truths of being human, through complete obliteration of self. Whether or not the people I chatted with were genuine, is unimportant.

I could continue that rant further, but I'm sure you understand my vague point. I would urge all of you to try out this service, as it is great fun and extremely intellectually stimulating.

I've saved all of my convos, and if I feel it is appropriate, I may post them here. So keep your eyes open.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Have Your Cake, Or Don't

Last week I posted bloopers from Google street view. Scroll down in case you missed a fantastic series of snapshots that captured a kid falling off of his bike. It's perfect. You can see the moment that the van startles him, and then his classic, feet in the air, rolling plummet to the pavement. I love it. I know exactly what that kid on the bike is going through. The dissociative moment of confusion when your brain first registers that something is wrong. Instinct takes over, your eyes close, your limbs flail. Then a flash, followed by a mental reboot. It all comes back to you after the fact, and by then it's too late to recover. Anyone who saw is already laughing at you. And in this kids case it's a little more extreme. Sure in the heat of the moment the laughter might hurt you, but everyone is laughing for a reason. They relate. Falling off of your bike is one of those humiliating shared experiences. Like spilling a drink or having someone walk in while you're masturbating, it's these moments of vulnerability that people can relate to. I wonder if that kid knows how many people have laughed at his moment?

"Google Maps is some ill shit... As much as it helps. It makes me wonder .... Can they see me pee." This well put quote from Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids probably sums up what you are thinking at the moment. The amazing services provided by Google and countless other sites do present a dilemma. Should we be worried about our privacy?

Granted, the chances that it will be you falling off of your bike when the Google van drives by are slim, but the issue remains. Anyone with a computer could easily track you down using little more than your IP address, and then look at satelite photos of your house. They could find a picture of you on Facebook. Oh God. Just think of how much they could do!

On the surface this seems like a warranted knee jerk reaction that I would expect people to have. Surprisingly though, I rarely hear any suck concerns. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that the news hasn't been flooded with interviews of distraught people worried that Google is destroying America. Maybe I'm just cynical, but this pleasant surprise puzzles me.

There are only two possible reasons that there hasn't been a paranoid outburst against Google. Either people are dropping their insecurities, and allowing themselves to be more open with each other, or they simply have no idea.

I would like to think that it's because we are gearing towards a less paranoid, less fearful society, but somehow I doubt it. Still though, I am glad that the vocal minority hasn't taken huge issue with this yet. Even if they aren't knowingly being more open, I think that it is likely that the gneration coming up now, the ones who were born with Facebook, will inevitably be more open, and less fearful of each other. They will be used to having that photo of them, caught in the throes of a vulnerable moment, preserved for all to see.