Olivia Toh (10427597)

“Masquerades in Cyberspace”

This project sought to examine how the Internet offers a space for individuals to (re)create themselves.

When I began this project, I envisioned looking at how the Internet allows individuals to experiment with concepts of identity. As a space where bodily signifiers are absent, the Internet provides an interesting arena - simultaneously public and private - where individuals need to make themselves exist by creating a digital body and online identity. My aims were to create videoblogs which explored my subject in an interesting manner, and text blogs which were informative and made connections to and with other relevant sources. I had also planned to incorporate Flash animation at some stage in my videos.

As the subject of my videoblog project is similar to my thesis, I came into this project with a few key ideas which I wanted to explore. The main idea was that of the absence of the physical body, which I see as the premise for identity-play on the Internet. Without the anchorage of the body in cyberspace, the individual is free from its often stifling signifiers, but they are also in need of a digital body in order to exist therein. Sherry Turkle was a key author who informed my early ideas, as she has written several works on how people live through their computers, as well as detailed accounts of the experiences of MUDders (which I think epitomises identity-play because of the varied personae they assume). When it comes to literature on the adoption of alternate identities in online communities, Turkle’s work is often quoted. Furthermore, the seminar reading by Sharon Cumberland tied in with my exploration of anonymity and expression, as it revealed how individuals are able to express parts of themselves comfortably with the protection of pseudonyms and bodily absence.

While I was thinking of the positive aspects of identity-play and anonymity, I was also aware that these same two components could be appropriated with subversive consequences. This is aptly demonstrated in the infamous cyberspace rape case, as detailed in Julian Dibbell’s essay. The ease with which people can enter cyberspace anonymously and ‘put on’ a different identity means that they can often do and say things with a confidence they would not have otherwise. The blanket of anonymity for certain individuals is an opportunity for anti-social behaviour and harassment of others without the potential of any physical altercation. Punishment, or in more severe cases, prosecution, are both unlikely as it is difficult, if not impossible, to locate and charge the offender in ‘real life’. This is different in the cases of paedophiles and stalkers, however, as they often try to meet with their victim in person. I felt that blogging about the dangers of interacting with strangers online was timely, as it is a very relevant concern in our society at present. The Australian Internet safety campaigns I referred to reiterate this.

With my first two videos, I encountered technical problems with the audio after having converted the files from wmvs to movs/mp4s. I had used Windows Movie Maker on my own PC for convenience, which at first seemed fine, but after conversion the quality of the videos lessened considerably. The text slides and the images were not as sharp or clear, and the audio, as mentioned, became scratchy. Reconverting the files on different settings did not really alter the final product, and so I decided to leave them as they were (I had already completed the second video by the time I realised how scratchy the audio was in the final product, which is why I did not switch to iMovie sooner), and use iMovie for the third and final videos. This proved to be a better idea, and in hindsight, I should have used iMovie from the start.

My ideas for the videos tended to change as the weeks went on, and while at first I wanted to have interviews with people, it was difficult to find them and then organise a suitable time to film. This was compounded by the fact that I did not stay close to my timeline; my videos were being posted later and later, and so I decided to post my finished texts, when I could, instead.

As my first ever videoblog, I am not unhappy with the result, but I can certainly see room for improvement. I would definitely use iMovie for the entire project if I were to do it over. That would probably have saved me time, and perhaps I would have been more inclined to use Flash as the facilities would all be together in one place! I would aim for better time management also. I would have liked to have included more varied footage, but as mentioned above, finding willing interviewees and suitable times to film with them was difficult; in the end it was more practical to do it all myself, although I am aware that this came at the expense of a more interesting video. I think my subject choice also lent itself to being difficult to capture and express visually, so I would also rethink my approach and choice. In regards to the text posts, the only thing I would do differently is include images and more hyperlinks, to make it more interesting and blog-like.

In the future, I think I will videoblog again, but it will be something informal; a more personal project. I actually feel like I've gotten the hang of it, now that it's over (prior to this I had only edited with iMovie a little in second year). I would like to experiment with using music, sound effects, flash and other visual effects, as well.

References:

Cumberland, Sharon (2000) ‘Private Uses of Cyberspace: Women, Desire, and Fan Culture’. http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/papers/cumberland.html [1] (accessed 20 September 2007)

Dibbell, Julian (1993) 'A Rape in Cyberspace: How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database Into a Society', http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle_vv.html [2] (accessed 8 October 2007)

Turkle, Sherry (1995) Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster.