Responding to Gaby’s 1st Blog: http://csmt11.posterous.com/gaby-collettas-blog-post-1-an-all-encompassin
I really liked the video Gaby posted-- produced by Google Creative
Lab—so I set about looking into what made that ad effective and how
many more were created. Google seems to produce a lot of videos
inspiring people to use digital as a way to connect to one another,
almost a proactive reaction to the common criticism that digital
technology places a barrier between users. It seems inevitable that
Google (along with other companies) move us to progress the
relationship we have with new media. McLuhan said the electric
circuitry causes men to be profoundly involved with one another. The
result of this advancement was the formation of what he calls the
global village.
I feel like the Internet is amplifying his sentiment and that we live
in a global virtual village where screen images stand in for the real
person without unnerving us. The feelings of space and time are
compressed and we all start to live in a simultaneous happening. The
video Gaby posted shows us how to navigate the new boundaries formed
by new media. The montage of moments are all thematic: they all
demonstrate technology as a tool to connect with the ones we love.
In a video I found called “Dear Sophie” http://youtu.be/R4vkVHijdQk we
see the coming-of-age of a girl through social media, but we also see
a clear message: the web is what you make of it. That slogan could be
applied to either video. The idea behind these videos, in my opinion,
is to remind overwhelmed plugged-in parents who are experiencing
anxiety about new technology to find a comfort level and take
ownership of the web.
Taking ownership of the digital experience comes as an instinct to the
youth today. (Any doubts I had about that were wiped away when I
spotted a 3 year-old tapping away on an ipad until she played her
favorite Dora the Explorer episode.) But besides a comfort level from
a usage standpoint, younger generations are capable of gracefully
unlocking the purpose of these new interfaces, which as Baym points
out has been the same since their ancient inception: to allow people
to exchange messages without being physically co-present (Baym, 2).
Youth are also comfortable with being the curators of their online
personas and producing/sharing content to represent them. The purpose
of the “Dear Sophie” video in my view is to encourage the parents of
this generation to see the web as a place to invest in: to curate
pages with identity markers, to make personal interactions. It echoes
the message of Gaby’s “Father/Daughter” video, with scenes of a dad
reading aloud to his daughter while they are miles apart and saying
goodnight despite being in different time zones. I notice most adults
know how to manage their online persona but turn off the screen when
they clock out for the day. The subliminal message of these videos is
to educate adults that they can make the web “work” for them and be
empowered by perpetual contact it offers rather than feel suffocated
by it (Baym, 4).
think this is because we identify with the same desires that
characterize social media: to store (memories), interact and
communicate. Watching Gaby's video or The Google Chrome “Dear Sophie”
one I notice how both successfully leverage a nuclear/familiar
relationship (between father/daughter). By portraying the relationship
between a small girl and her father as loving and having this love
made visible through the tools of the Internet it communicates a
powerful message to viewers. The impact is instant: I imagine older
generations who use media in their careers, but on a personal level
feel it skeptical see the attentive father and soften-- realizing
intimacy can be facilitated through this new media. The video
showcases tools of the Internet, which capture memories that would
otherwise be challenging to share in such a vivid and varied archive.
For those who are netizens, the focus is on benefits of the new
technology. It is an archive that is made possible entirely by using
Google products (all accessed through Chrome) so it creates a more
holistic view of Sophie's life. The reason both these ads are
effective is they give heart to a form our brains recognize; they
prove that intimacy can absolutely be achieved through these new
channels.
--Kayla8thecity
Kayla F.