In anthropology, the study of humanity has come to rest on YouTube. Dr. Michael Wesch of Kansas State University and his Digital Ethnography working group have been studying the YouTube phenomenom and it’s impact. They’ve reached some profound conclusions.
After introducing the first viral video, Numa Numa, Dr. Wesch commented on the more than 58,000 copycat videos that have been uploaded to YouTube by saying:
I like to think of it as more than just a dance. It’s a celebration. It’s a celebration of new forms of empowerment, anybody with a web cam now has a stronger voice and presence. It’s a celebration of new forms of community and types of community that we’ve never really seen before; global connections transcending space and time. It’s a celebration of new and unimaginable possibility.
If you missed seeing an anthropological introduction to YouTube back at the end of June when Dr. Wesch addressed the Library of Congress, I urge you to watch it. And if you’ve seen it, watch it again – there is so much to absorb packed into this 55 minute presenation, it merits a second view. Plan to eat lunch at your desk, put your feet up, get comfy.
This should be required viewing for anyone with a web cam, community managers and those working in fields that are using social media to reach an audience. (Check out Dr. Wesch’s video from a year ago, The Machine is Us/ing Us, which examines web 2.0 in under 5 minutes.)
An anthropological introduction to YouTube is a tremendously well put together piece that questions the fundamental issues of self, identity and community when staring straight into a web cam.
I’ve got some questions, for which I’ll not abuse you further on Twitter.
1) What kind of release timetable are they considering? In what stages? Like, will we at least be able to stick our head in for a peek first? Then later be able to post some things? Maybe text replies at first? The reason I ask is, the creative idea I told you about (http://is.gd/nkY) is destined for BlogTV, but I can picture doing this in Phreadz. Which means general access, not just for me but for participants. I won’t wait. But I might migrate.
2) Will there be tools for building features for our own less-than-profit communities, features such as skins? Will everyone have access to the tools, or will they be kept to paying customers?
I don’t know who else to ask these questions. I don’t know Kosso.
May the commercial potential of Phreadz be realized. And may you have something to do with it for some clientele.
I think, conceptually, Preadz would fit the bill for your project because it allows people to reply to your video with photos (which is what you told me on Twitter that you wanted to do.)
Ihave pinged Kosso on your behalf to help with your questions. I don’t have the release schedule, but my guess is that it will be some time yet before Phreadz will be totally open access. Definitely don’t wait if you have to get on with things.
My understanding is that channels will not be free. The channel management tools will have the ability for channel managers to work with the CSS to create a totally custom look.
I hope this helps a bit. These are still early days for Phreadz.
I gotta tell you, as the Web is teaching pre-Web businesses the art of conversation, letting their guard down and showing how corporations are made of people who sometimes deserve sympathy, so too are non-corporate people losing their squeamishness over capitalism as they start doing things to get more blog readers, that can only be called marketing. We watch people of our own tribe stick their neck out and start a business, and we wish them well, because they widen a path we may also follow sometime soon. The fact that Kosso is laying out a plan to monetize Phreadz means it intends to last a long time. When we develop a project that needs a home, we look for longevity. “Legs.” I think the more business-minded users of Seesmic, and for that matter Twitter, wonder what will happen when the money switch gets thrown. But since Phreadz lays out an income map immediately, I can’t help but root for it. Do you know what I mean?
Yes, Rick, I know what you mean. As a pragmatist, I am very encouraged by Phreadz building a business model into the product from the very beginning. I wish more start-ups would learn this lesson.