Blog 12: Viral Videos

Burgess's article from "Video Vortex" argues that social networking sites are breeding grounds for ideas, epitomized by videos on youtube. These are carriers for the ideas that are then able to be acted upon on the sites, prompting iteration and expansion. More importantly, these ideas are passed merely virtual, and have real world implications. The work of Drax, from Second Life, also applies to this. He reaps the benefits of the infinitely large network, spreading his thoughts and reports to an audience that they might not have been able to reach before; all the while keeping his stories culturally relevant. This medium of viral spreading ties into the idea of the internet as a public sphere.