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| Figure 1. Ah yes, cockroaches' only weakness (imgur 2013) |
Imgur; pronounced image-er and stylized as imgur is an image
sharing website (imgur 2006). That provides an online community that is curated
in real time through online commenting, voting and sharing.
The site functions as a hive mind of humor
and image sharing, with various memes and internet subculture images
representing the majority of the content
produced, but there are also various other subjects and subtopics
available as well, usually influenced by world events.
In this we see that imgur is not just an
independent online community but
that it is reflective of contemporary world culture and that it’s content is a
reflection in part, to mainstream media. With this in mind; imgur can serve as
a map of peoples opinions and worldviews, with the content produced reflecting
the current state of modern day culture. (Wood 2006).
Imgur relates heavily to Debord's concept of derive;
“Dérive is the practice of a drifting stroll which is not
purposeful, but which follows whatever fascinating cues found within the space.”
(Barnes1997). In that there is no true purpose to
imgur other then riding the wave of whatever imagery happens to be popular at
that particular moment in time. That the journey is the destination.
Reference List
Barnes,
G. (1997). Passage of the Flâneur (web site)
Wood
D. (2006). et al. ‘The Multiple Truths of the Mappable World’. In Seeing Through
Maps.
My interpretation of the concept of dérive (Barnes, G. (1997). Passage of the Flâneur) is in essence that we have moved from the nineteenth century Paris arcade to a virtual arcade within the boundaries of our own I.S.P., computer and home environment.
ReplyDeleteTo move around the internet as a cyber-flâneur ‘window shopping’ for thoughts, ideas, attachments and material goods is not limited as there are no fixed boundaries in time and space but the original flâneur as the gamer is in ‘imgur’ is confined by the maze of walls, doors, rooms, obstacles and every other form of entrapment as well as fighting monsters and demons.
If Dérive is the practice of a drifting stroll which is not purposeful, then online gaming, which I think ‘imgur”is, cannot in my opinion be classified as dérive as the purpose is to be in unison with your fellow combatants in either kill or be killed scenarios.
Barnes.G. 1997. Passage of the Flaneur. U.S. Otago University.
Imgur is also a pretty good example of "Learned self-surveillance" (Tuckle,S.1995. p.248) because the users have to be creative with their post. Though most posts are just about humor, there are often posts that are fairly personal, or at least appear to be. People want their posts to up-voted and therefore think about what they are posting, unlike many of the other social networking sites where many posts are egotistical.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a lot of freedom within the Imgur. Users do wander through the posts. And I completely agree with what you are saying about "Derive" (Barnes, 1997), no one goes on Imgur with any definable purpose that is going to be constructive. You just go to browse and amuse yourself. You are being a cyber-flaneur because you are someone "who takes in their environment in a distracted manner" (Prouty, 2009).
References:
Barnes, G. (1997)Passage of the Flaneur. U.S Otago University
Prouty,R. (2009, October 28) Turle on a Leash Retrieved from
https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_312_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_42847_1%26url%3D
Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York; America. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks.