Blog 10_Wk_8_Video_Vortex: PP 9-44 Alex Elliot

The articles by Lev Manovich and Thomas Elsaesser point to a fascinating trend. Lev Manoavic states that the Internet is becoming a communications medium over a distribution medium while Thomas Elsaesser says that the Internet is leading to people becoming more in tune with technology “ post humans” as he calls them are people who have extensions of technology, the flesh being only the default extension to consciousness that you are born with and that using the Internet is essentially just adding on to body extension. Lev Manovic supports this, by sitting the growing numbers of people producing in the Internet broadcasting or web 2.0 phenomenon we see a clear connection to Elsaesser's claims. Consciousness is expanded though the Internet as people use you tube and social networking sites to share information and to experience things though social networking rather then real life, from personal experience I would site the popularity of Internet reviews as a supporting example to this. Thomas Elsaesser also talks about how the Internet is good for artist, siting large you tube traffic videos such as the honda cog, sitting that the video led him to a French mash up done by a well know avant grade artist; not only does this support Lev Manovich, that states basically says any thing to the inherent can find an audience but it also shows that big business can help independent you tube broadcasters and other social networks.

What I take away is that the Internet feeds of users and cooperations using both to build off of each other. It is a communications medium as much as a distribution medium feeding both our needs to consume as a capitalist culture and our needs to connect as human beings.... but thats just my opinion.