#rubyroseunderstudy

[digital-communities-blr-blog]

Curate Your Self(ie)

danah boyd (Alhadeff 2014) talks about how important it is for us, but especially young teenagers, who are existing in such a technologically reliant age, to be able to have agency over our self-image. It can be an incredibly empowering thing, one that I don't think should be taken for granted or trivialised. Like Jurman says in an online interview (Farman 2014), audience is the key to social content these days, not the actual piece of media being produced. He notes that the roles have been flipped, so that instead of the main outcome of a photo being a print of that photo, that you then put in a little album and show to people while you're (likely) hovering over their shoulder, we are now seeking the reaction and validation that comes after the photo is shared (instantly) with your (sometimes) massive audience (Farman 2014).

Lange (p. 70, 2009) writes about 'videos of affinity' on YouTube, recognising that they aren't so much a video diary as they are a video log (or vlog) targeted at a community of people, who wish to participate and remain socially connected to the video maker. I have quite a bit of respect for (some) vloggers and YouTubers. I think it takes great courage to put your face out there, and show (often quite personal and intimate) snippets of your day-to-day life with random people on the internet. I always wonder how much of the content is curated, or at least, to what extent is it curated?

Take Hannah Gadsby, for example. She's a brilliant comedian who began a (very tongue in cheek) social media plight to be Ruby Rose's understudy during the run of Orange is the New Black, season 3. She started recreating Rose's social media snaps, then realised there were actually some real, albeit comedic, parallels with her own photos. 

Source: Buzzfeed

Source: Buzzfeed

Source: Buzzfeed

One point Gadsby makes that drives the whole 'curate your self image' notion for me, is that different people are given different affordances with how they have to present themselves on social media. I guess these affordances can be subverted, but inevitably there will be a cost, whether it be social currency, or real currency (due to your marketability being affected).

Is this fair?

References

Alhadeff, E 2014, The kids are (still) alright, Microsoft, viewed 5 February 2018, .

Farman, J 2014, Photography, Self Documentation, & Social Media: An Interview with Nathan Jurgenson, 16 June, viewed 5 February 2018, .

Lange, P 2009, ‘Videos of Affinity on YouTube’, in P, Snickars & P, Vonderau (eds), The YouTube Reader, National Library of Sweden, Stockholm, pp. 70-88.