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John Fenn

Pepe - 3 views

  • With the growing permeation of online social networks in our everyday life, scholars have become interested in the study of novel forms of identity construction, performance, spectatorship and self–presentation onto the networked medium.
  • Though the novel’s story transpires in a pre–digital age, the volatile play of identity that ultimately destabilizes Moscarda has only increased since the advent of online social networks.
  • How would Moscarda’s tragedy play out in the inherently networked world of today? This article hopes to shed light on contemporary dilemmas of identity constructivism and self–representation while simultaneously re–evaluating one of the most celebrated works of one of Italy’s profoundest thinkers on identity and personhood.
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  • Again, the process of anticipating, interpreting, and assimilating the perception of others — similar to Moscarda’s attempts to experience the outsider gaze — is a key notion in Goffman’s work and is echoed in the work of contemporary theorists writing about online identity (b
  • We attempt to reframe this notion in a contemporary context, by posing the question: how would Moscarda perform the mirror experiment were he alive today?
  • we speculate that a present–day Moscarda would be as concerned about the public perception of his physical persona as that of his virtual one. In other words, a Moscarda of the day would be curious to explore how he is portrayed and perceived both off–line, in the real world, and online, on social media
  • sites the basic function of a profile is to present one’s identity. A personal profile is thus the component of one’s online identity that best approximates one’s physical, public appearance.
  • t is important to differentiate between these categories because they constitute three different levels of authorship and three different mechanisms by which aspects of one’s identity are revealed.
  • This constant digital embellishment of one’s profile points to the role of the social network as a performance stage, or a “space for performing the self” [21]. Users of online social networks “perform” and construct an online identity via a constantly updated stream of text (microblogging messages, biographical notes, photo comments), videos, and images.
  • Reflecting on the importance of the photographic medium in everyday life, Susan Sontag notes: “We learn to see ourselves photographically. To regard oneself as attractive is, precisely, to judge that one would look good in a photograph.”
  • but the bulk of his social activity would have gone largely undocumented, or confined to informal discourse and gossip. The systematic documentation of Moscarda’s social whereabouts and activities (e.g., “Moscarda is now friend with ___”) together with the traces left on his profile by third parties (e.g., a wall post from a friend reading: “hello Moscarda, it was great to see you yesterday at ___!”) represents a crucial departure from the traditional ways in which one’s identity is presented to the world.
  • s beings birthed into pre–existing societal constellations, we are outfitted with ready–made scripts and roles which we can choose to adopt, perform and even improvise on.
  • In its original sense, the rubric “performative” was intended to apply to certain “illocutionary” speech acts that were neither true nor false, but “performative.
  • How would Moscarda go about enact a similar performative construction and deconstruction in today’s networked reality?
  • he could post embarrassing photos of himself or his friends, publish unusual, rude or politically incorrect comments, drastically change his profile information, publicly reveal personal secrets, or remove some of his crucial contacts. The list is potentially endless and not limited to a single social network. Modern social networki
  • Facebook is a forum in which multiple communities and societal roles necessarily meet: these days, your parents, your children, your colleagues, and your friends are all on Facebook.
  • acebook, however, allows its users a very limited range of identity maneuver. By encoding prescriptive or formulaic alternatives within its system (gender: male or female; religious views: Christian, Jewish, etc.; Political views: liberal, conservative, etc.), by slotting its users in preset geographical or associational networks, by enforcing the authenticity of user profiles, and by cloning everyone within the same spectrum of light blues and unadorned walls, Face
  • If for Butler, mimicry and masquerade form the essence of identity, then Facebook offers a padded playpen in which to explore the polyglot nature of the self, while at the same time homogenizing its adherents by excluding the radical and the troubling
  • As noted by van Kokswijk (2008), this identity proliferation does not necessarily undermine the integrity of one’s “real” identity. Rather, he contends that by having different profiles and wearing different habituses, Dida (or anyone) does not decentralize or diminish her identity; rather, she multiplies it infinitely.
  • Yet, these efforts are counteracted by the thoroughly dynamic, immediate and interactive nature of social networking sites that tacitly or often explicitly coerce their users to constantly act upon their social circles: “Unlike everyday embodiment, there is no digital corporeality without articulation. One cannot simply ‘be’ online; one must make one’s presence visible through explicit and structured actions.” [32] In this vein, most Facebook users are incessantly prompted to contact friends who they have not been in touch with lately (“Write on ___’s wall! Send her a message!”), and to browse through endless lists of suggested friends (“People you may know”), and even to provide a description of their past activities (“Add a Life Event to your Facebook Timeline”). B
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    Uno, Nessuno, Centomila (One, No One and One Hundred Thousand) is a classic novel by Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello. Published in 1925, it recounts the tragedy of Vitangelo Moscarda, a man who struggles to reclaim a coherent and unitary identity for himself in the face of an inherently social and multi-faceted world. What would Moscarda identity tragedy look like today? In this article we transplant Moscarda's identity play from its offline setting to the contemporary arena of social media and online social networks. With reference to established theories on identity construction, performance, and self-presentation, we re-imagine how Moscarda would go about defending the integrity of his selfhood in the face of the discountenancing influences of the online world.
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    Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author provides another interesting facet to this discussion. In the play, a family of characters arrive at a rehearsal-in-progress, begging for the producer, playwright, and other actors to write down and perform the family's story. The family members do not exist outside of their interactions with the rest of the family; the characters themselves cannot exist without the acknowledgement and assistance of the artists; and, despite traditional lines between real life and fiction, every family member character and "real-life" character is altered by the interaction. How much are our identities--as we experience them--dependent on others for validation? Are we performing our lives for others? At what point do we (can we) draw boundaries between spectator and performer, especially in relation to identity creation?
John Fenn

Museum of Contemporary Photography - 1 views

  • From schoolgirl to senior citizen, punk to yuppie, rural white American to urban Hispanic, Lee’s personas traverse age, lifestyle, and culture. Part sociologist and part performance artist, Lee infiltrates these groups so convincingly that in individual photographs it is difficult to distinguish her from the crowd
    • John Fenn
       
      obvious connection to Cindy Sherman's work, but with the added (and quite rich) element of immersion in the "real" social world...
  • Lee’s projects propose questions regarding identity and social behavior. Do we choose our social groups consciously? How are we identified by other people? Is it possible for us to move between cultures? Lee believes that “essentially life itself is a performance. When we change our clothes to alter our appearance, the real act is the transformation of our way of expression—the outward expression of our psyche.”
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    I'm interested in how Nikki S Lee crosses boundaries of her identity and how she can so easily move from one to the next. This is more easy for most people to do online where you don't have to physically become someone new.
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    It also sort of shows just how eager society is to classify and group others for their own convenience. Of course, Lee must be an amazing chameleon of an actress and participant/observant, but I am still surprised at how easily her groups will take to accepting what is essentially a deception or farce.
John Fenn

SXSW panel - 3 views

  • where do we draw the line between personal and professional identities online?
  • In 2009, she co-authored Social by Social: A practical guide to using
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    As our networks expand, our profiles get more public, and our work requires a human face, where do we draw the line between personal and professional identities online? How do we maintain those boundaries for our community members? How do we respond to attacks, opportunities, and over-shares online? When does over-sharing hurt the community? When should you share your own personal stories as a manager, or personally reach out to community members? Growing and cultivating an active community also requires that the community manager walk the fine line of personal and professional sharing. Every community manager wonders when and how to professionally cultivate leaders and members to create a thriving community while still being personal. On the reverse side, sometimes community members share too much, which can hurt the health of the community. This panel will address these questions and more from experience in nonprofit and public media sectors.
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    Panel discussion on Social Media Boundaries from the 2012 SXSW festival this March.
Mary Morgan

American Juggalo - 0 views

shared by Mary Morgan on 12 Apr 12 - No Cached
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    I mentioned this in class as an example of how branding of an entertainment experience that by either being marketed or adopted it becomes a symbol of lifestyle or identity/way of life. "American Juggalo is a look at the often mocked and misunderstood subculture of Juggalos, hardcore Insane Clown Posse fans who meet once a year for four days at The Gathering of the Juggalos. We went to The Gathering of the Juggalos and let the Juggalos speak their minds. I hope you enjoy it."
Tara Wibrew

The Flight From Conversation - NYTimes.com - 3 views

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    Sunday Review opinion piece from the NY Times that questions how much our use of media may or may not lead to "connecting" with others. Is technology keeping us from learning how to carry on a conversation? How to interact with human beings in-person? How much is one's self-curated (and self-edited) identity representative of the total package that is the self?
Mary Morgan

clip from Ellen show- \"You posted that on Facebook?\" - 0 views

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    we discussed this 5/1/12 issues of access, identity via mediations
meghanadamovic

Now in Moving Pictures: The Multitudes of Nikki S. Lee - New York Times - 1 views

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    Meghan, did you get to see this film?
Mary Morgan

who am I? (A personal throwback!) - 0 views

shared by Mary Morgan on 03 May 12 - No Cached
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    in 2006, I would use this little internet survey as a means of testing my own sense of self-identity vs. what others might have perceived me as being.
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