identity | induction

why do people blog? 

some may call them exhibitionists (there is sexual connotation to the term) arguing that they are basically exhibiting themselves and revealing private intimate details of one's life to the world. hence the use of the term voyeur. one of the main reasons people blog is that these personal sites acts as a platform to voice out their thoughts and emotions. it is a way to express themselves. in a way, they are creating an identity for themselves by the way they 'write' what they 'write' about and recording it down on their own personal history textbook, just like how we would in a diary. they have the freedom to write as they think (to an extent because of certain laws implemented and it differs from each state or country) and feel, there is no limit to your creativity and also probably one of the most important stand is that the anonymity of blogging as you can choose to reveal your personal information or not. because of the idea of being anonymous, created this door for people to reveal secrets without being caught as the gossip monger or as an outlet for  the redemption of a guilty conscience. whatever the reason is, the public likes to read or know about such juicy gossips and speculate, it is in our nature (to different degrees) to find out more. 

secrets revealed

on the topic of secrets and the lure of knowing them, here is a secret revealing site called postsecret: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

i do find this site and their projects meaningful and even touching at times. there were several occasions while reading another person's secret which i could really relate to, it evoked a plethora of emotions. i could almost label it as therapeutic or moments of enlightenment and induces self reflection. that is just my opinion and take on it and yes, i am a voyeur of this site. the art and expression on each card differs in such wonderful ways. it is inspiring. i highly recommend it!

here is a video on why people send their secrets to PostSecret and read their embarrassing pubescent diaries out loud on stage at events. in the video she talks about the desire for authenticity, an identity which relates back to why people blog and i am going to go further by relating it to a social network website such as facebook, as just another medium to authenticate yourself and for the world to acknowledge your existence.

celebrity bloggers

here are some singaporean celebrity bloggers site that merely records daily happenings and their personal areas of interest. one interesting fact to take note is that these bloggers really do take pride in their identity and fights for their popularity. in cases like in xiaxue's blog where the public would insult her or disagree with the things the blogger has posted, she would immediately retaliate without hesitation and insist on being better and right. there also was this saga where dawn yang (another celebrity blogger who was brought to fame for her beauty, which was credited to cosmetic surgery) and xiaxue fought because of certain insults made to one another. they got their viewers involved in polls and support groups to try outshine a fellow blogger. it really is a childish and stupid fight, but i must admit it is entertaining, but at a very trashy low level sort of way.

xiaxue: http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-07-27T21%3A47%3A00%2B08%3A00&max-results=7

dawn yang: http://www.dawnyang.com/

the rise of facebook | statistics

just some more statistics to justify the trend of peeping. 

i think the words are too small to read or it might hurt your eyes. you can read the article on the website. basically there is a significant growth and time expenditure on such social networking sites. facebook has a 700% increase.and i have to mention that twitter has an increased by 3712%. that is quite an impressive figure i must say. and the next chart identifies the top 2 demographic age groups users for facebook are 25 to 34 and 35 to 49. 

source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/time-spent-on-facebook-up-700-but-myspace-still-tops-for-video/

here are some videos that addresses the current trends and how such social networking sites are used commercially

some interesting videos that explains social media and social networking in simple illustrations and plain english

trends | statistics

here are some statistics of singapore's internet usage. it is amazing how many times "facebook" tops the various lists. 

computers and internet beats all for the essential shopping list!

source: http://sg.hitwise.com/resources/data-center.php

just some thoughts:

everything is rapidly moving into such social network sites including commercial companies, celebrities, charitable organizations, social clubs etc... hence this brings me to the point that nancy (my fyp advisor) brought up during class about sustainability of the subject matter. i feel that it is a very crucial area that society has to pay attention to because this peep culture is very much embedded into the way we lead our lives now. i myself am guilty of "peeping" at others on facebook, not really to know the person more but to gain entertainment and pleasure by looking at the happenings of their lives. and this culture is very evident in the early stages when reality tv was first introduced. the idea of being a voyeur and knowing secrets about the other is so enticing and entertaining that it took the tv world by storm, and now there are countless reality television programs on air today. eg. survivor, the bachelor, america's next top model, big brother; just to name a few. however, i am not professing that facebook will last for the next decade, i am merely saying that even if facebook dies, another one of its kind with more elaborate and sophisticated functions would probably pop up. and these sites would still face the same issues altering notions of privacy, individuality, security, and even humanity as mentioned earlier in previous posts.

growing up online | beginnings

the people of today are awash in media. televisions in bedrooms, personal computers and laptops in the study, digital music players kept in pockets or purses, cellular phone snugged in hand. we spend more time with media than any other activity other than sleeping. studies have shown that it figure to an average of  eight and a half hours of media exposure daily. and in this digital age, the rapid expansion of the internet has now made it become a crucial part of our lives and the children of today are practically growing up online.  

source: trends in media use; donald f. roberts and ulla g. foehr

6 out of 10 internet users go online daily

Between 2001/02 and 2006 the proportion of adults in Great Britain who had used the Internet in the last three months increased by one-quarter, from 48 per cent to 60 per cent. Almost six in ten (59 per cent) Internet users aged 16 and over went online every day or almost every day in 2006, while 4 per cent went online less than once a month. 

Internet use is more common among the young, and declines with age. In 2006, 84 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 had used the Internet within the last three months, compared with 52 per cent of people aged 55 to 64 and 15 per cent of those aged 65 and over. 

For users aged 16 and over the most common location to access the Internet was at home. In 2006, 85 per cent of Internet users aged 16 and over who had accessed the Internet in the three months before interview had gone online at home. The proportion of households in Great Britain with an Internet connection increased from 50 per cent in 2003/04 to 57 per cent in 2006: a total of 13.9 million households. During this period the use of broadband in households increased dramatically from 11 per cent to 40 per cent.

For those who did not have household access to the Internet, the most common places to go online were at work (46 per cent) and at another person’s home (also 46 per cent).

Looking for information and using email were the two most common online activities of Internet users in 2006. These were done by 85 per cent and 81 per cent of adult users respectively in the three months before interview in 2006. 

Two in five (44 per cent) of the adult population said they had ever purchased something online for private or personal reasons other than work. The most common items bought by online shoppers in the 12 months before interview in 2006 were travel and holidays (51 per cent), followed by films, videos and DVDs (42 per cent). One in five (18 per cent) of Internet users had sold goods or services over the Internet: this was more than double the proportion (7 per cent) in 2003/04.

The majority (70 per cent) of those who had shopped online had not encountered any problems doing so. For those who had, the most common problem was that delivery took longer than expected; this was experienced by 14 per cent of online shoppers.

source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1711

open secrets | introduction

i am now currently doing a final year project on "peep culture" or commonly known as voyeurism. but i don't wish to use that term because in clinical psychology it has a sexual connotation to it. hence, a peep culture is formed. this term originates from an author named Hal Niedzviecki who wrote the book "the peep diaries". he too has a blog that addresses the topic. 

here's the url: http://thepeepdiaries.com/home/Hal/

anyway, so what exactly is peep culture?

we have entered the age of "peep culture": a tell-all, show-all, know-all digital phenomenon that is dramatically altering notions of privacy, individuality, security, and even humanity. peep culture is reality TV, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, over-the-counter spy gear, blogs, chat rooms, amateur porn, surveillance technology, and more. core values and rights we once took for granted are rapidly being renegotiated, often without our even noticing.

hence, my research will focus on this phenomenon and probably at the same time to discover my social connections and relations that affects me directly or indirectly on the web.