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A theory introduced to civilization in the form of Socrates, Unwarranted Self-Importance (USI) is the feeling that you are actually worth something despite not having made any contributions to anything at all, thus making yourself look like a complete twat. This is common amongst LiveJournal and Kuro5hin users, chavs, Coalition soldiers who have actually been to Iraq and others prone to arrogance (Kyle Herman, a wannabe pimp, fits nicely into this catagory and should be slapped for his faggotry). It occurs on ED all the time. Unwarranted self-importance is also often associated with flamers or n00bs, Americunts, and The French. It will be found on sites where posts or edits are encouraged, as many imagine themselves working for some greater power as they upset others. It also comes into play when the unwarrantably self-important are lacking in one or more areas of their lives, e.g. being too poor to afford a TV. Most people that reward themselves with the feeling that they are important can easily be considered bastards. People who believe themselves important should seek help, perhaps because of narcissistic tendencies - except for Jacknstock, who was fucking fired instead.

Reasons for Elitism There are multiple reasons someone may think themselves less pathetic than the rest of the human race. Because they (fill in the blank): Are thinner than you. Hate fags more than you. Are more conservative than you. Eat moar placentas than you. Have more artistic talent than you. Are more special than you. Believe in God less than you. Drink more blood than you. Are cooler than you. Have an older religion than you. Know that nobody's perfect and they've got a work it again and again 'till they get it right

Examples of Unwarranted Self-Importance on Wikipedia Basically, most Wikipedians are guilty of unwarranted self-importance. The mildest cases are those who think their edits are actually contributing significantly to an encyclopedia. Jimbo-christened administrators have unwarranted importance, but it may or may not be self-importance, since Jimbo seems to think them important (or more important than other peons Wikipedians). The worst case of unwarranted self-importance are those Wikipedians who have not been Knighted by Jimbo, but pathetically, desperately want to be, like this guy, so they actually start sycophantically acting like administrators,in the hope that their "initiative" will be noted and rewarded. Here is an example of Jaysweet's self-importance:  “  Hi, if you are reading this you saw that I am helping out at the administrator's noticeboard, even though I am not an admin. I believe what I do is useful, and I will continue to do so unless/until an admin asks me to stop. I created the disclaimer after a user became frustrated that he had filed a report and a non-admin had responded. I think I was helpful in that case anyway, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I now often let people know as soon as I answer an ANI report that I am not an admin, especially if I believe the thread will eventually result in admin intervention.

IRONICALLY, HUMANS NOW ENJOY MORE privacy than ever, says Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, president of the University of Haifa and author of Love Online: Emotions on the Internet. "Two hundred years ago, when people lived in villages or very dense cities, everyone's behavior was evident to many and it was extremely hard to hide it," he says. Today, e-mail and "chatting" online allow for completely anonymous interactions. We can talk and make plans without the whole household or office knowing. But if we're so able to keep things to ourselves, then why are we doing exactly the opposite?

the Internet can be more disinhibiting than the stiffest drink

"We've been shaped to be very sensitive to each other on a face-to-face basis," says Daniel Wegner, a Harvard psychologist When someone is in front of you, you can read how they're reacting to your admissions, keeping track-as you're hardwired to do-of whether they're comfortable, disapproving, or rapt. But when you're alone in a room and typing on a computer, explains Wegner, it's easy to forget there's somebody on the other end of the line and become oblivious to the consequences of sharing information.

Catalysts to say what has never been said, to see what has never been seen. To draw, paint, sing, sculpt, dance and act what has never before been done. To push the envelope of creativity and language. And whats really important is, I call it, the felt presence of direct experience. Which is a fancy term which just simply means we have to stop consuming our culture. We have to create culture. Don't watch TV, don't read magazines, don't even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time, where you are now, is the most immediate sector of your universe. And if you're worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, you are disempowered. You are giving it all away to icons. Icons which are maintained by an electronic media, so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is shit-brained this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion. And what is real is you and your friends, your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, and your fears. And we are told no. We're unimportant, we're peripheral, get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that, and then you're a player. You don't even want to play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that's being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world. Where is that at?"

We are Anonymous.Recently, it has come to our attention that several online retailers have decided to ride the coattails of our sudden popularity by offering aparrel and other swag bearing our image. This is extremely offensive to Anonymous, as the very idea of wearing an article that identifies one as anonymous flies directly into the face of who exactly we are. We are anonymous. We cook your meals. We haul your trash. We connect your calls. We drive your ambulances and we guard you while you sleep. We put you under the knife to remove your bloated, infected spleen. We deliver your mail. We relay the evening news from the comfort of your television set, and we work dilligently to print it to give you something to read with your coffee and croissants the next morning. We are everyone and we are no one. We do not need to advertise our identity.Because our image is not a copyright, we can not stop anyone from selling items bearing it. However, we can suggest that you do not purchase these items. Wearing anything that tells the world you are anonymous compromises the veil of protection being anonymous provides, as well as cancelling out your anonymity. Wearing a t-shirt is like wearing a crosshair. You become an easy target for the Cult of $cientology and it puts you at serious risk of harm by its operatives. Use good judgement. Do not compromise yourself and your fellow Anonymous. Do not reveal your personal information to an online retailer that could possibly be a front for data mining operations by the cult.Remain Anonymous. Remain vigilant.We are Anonymous.We are LegionWe do not forgive.We do not forget.And we are certainly not some Xenu-forsaken fashion statement!

Paperlilies remembers the earlier days of YouTube when it was interesting to watch people talk honestly about their real lives.

But the mundane was once interesting on YouTube as people were newly able to peek into lives of ordinary people. He finishes by observing that poets have always been able to make something special of the mundane - and reads a poem to illustrate his point.

Stevie Ryan (LittleLoca) hosted a TV show, HotForWords has been on Bill O'Reilly's show (and will be on it again soon!), Esmee Denters was signed by Justin Timberlake's company, Paperlilies has sold paintings on eBay.

sian markets (not including Japan) are leading in terms of participation, creating more content than any other region

Asian markets (not including Japan) are leading in terms of participation, creating more content than any other region

57% have joined a Social Network, making it the number one platform for creating and sharing content: 55% of users have uploaded photos, 22% of users have uploaded videos

Type numa numa into Google Video’s search box, and you’ll get well over 400 hits; in YouTube’s, you’ll get over 1,500. Virtually all of the results are cut from a single template.

Brolsma’s video singlehandedly justifies the existence of webcams. His squarish head and shoulders are in the center of the shot. He’s got a short haircut, glasses that are slightly too small for him and reflect his computer’s monitor, and cheap headphones; he’s sitting in a dismal-looking suburban room. And he is going for it: rolling his eyes back in his head, shaking his face, shooting his hands into the air with the beat, saluting along with the word salut, gesturing grandly, lip-synching the whole thing with his grand opera of a mouth, flirting with the camera, utterly given over to the music. It’s a movie of someone who is having the time of his life, wants to share his joy with everyone, and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.

they start to look less like an infectious joke than like a new cultural order. These kids aren’t mocking the Numa Numa Guy; they’re venerating him. They are geeks honoring the King of the Geeks, and they’re beautiful to see, because they’re replicating and spreading his happiness. They’re following a ritual that’s meaningful if not yet venerable: learning the dance, lip-synching the song, documenting their performance just so, making it available for the world to see.

By the end of 2004, bloggers were using the ability to add video as an enclosure to an RSS feed, allowing viewers to subscribe to videos and have them delivered automatically to their computers. This solved the problem of click and wait, where you had to wait for a video to start playing when you clicked on it from a web page.

podcasting (both video and audio) is a bottom-up movement and squarely the domain of individuals who are being guided by human creativity and expression, rather than corporate agendas and economic exigencies.

With the cost of video cameras in the hundreds, sophisticated computers with video editing software available for just over a grand, and high speed always-on internet connections costing less than the average cable television subscription, the means of both production and distribution are now in the hands of practically anyone with something to say

Media literacy is the capacity to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms.

Like literacy in general, media literacy is applied in a wide variety of contexts—when watching television or reading newspapers, for example, or when posting commentary to a blog. Indeed, media literacy is implicated everywhere one encounters information and entertainment content.

The foundation of effective media analysis is the recognition that: • all media messages are constructed • each medium has different characteristics and strengths and a unique language of construction • media messages are produced for particular purposes • all media messages contain embedded values and points of view • people use their individual skills, beliefs, and experiences to construct their own meanings from media messages • media and media messages can influence beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, and the democratic process Making media and sharing it with listeners, readers, and viewers is essential to the development of critical thinking and communication skills. Feedback deepens reflection on one’s own editorial and creative choices and helps students grasp the power of communication.

In essence, Facebook users didn't think they wanted constant, up-to-the-minute updates on what other people are doing. Yet when they experienced this sort of omnipresent knowledge, they found it intriguing and addictive. Why?

Social scientists have a name for this sort of incessant online contact. They call it "ambient awareness."

The growth of ambient intimacy can seem like modern narcissism taken to a new, supermetabolic extreme