I’ve listened to hundreds of keynotes this year, in person and online, regarding the social media revolution that’s now upon us. I always have a soft spot for those who see this medium for what it truly is: a cultural revolution, not a commercial one.
In order to understand social media, you must understand the cultural positioning of it. Who better to understand this than Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University. You may remember his YouTube video which provided much needed context for the cultural impact of new media on society and culture, “Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us“.
This past summer Prof. Wesch uploaded a keynote entitled, An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube which he presented to the Library of Congress on June 23rd, 2008. Although it runs for a marathon of 55mins, it’s already received over 840,000 views, 760+ comments and nearly 50 video responses.
It is, by far, the most informed keynote I’ve seen regarding social media this year.
To share something deep, or something trivial
Something serious or something funny
To strive for fame, or to simply connect
It can be many things, it cannot be just one thing.
It cannot be only what you want it to be.
It is not just what you make of it
It is what we make of it.
It’s the little glass dot in the eyes of the world.
Michael Wesch
And even though Wesch did not have a Will.i.am remix of his keynote to support his nomination for U.S. National Professor of the Year, he won it anyway. Congratulations to Professor Wesch on your U.S. Professor of the Year distinction.
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8 Responses to “The Best Social Media Keynote of 2008”
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December 23rd, 2008 at 2:10 am
It always amazes me how professors like these do not gain more recognition. I don’t think their students can begin to appreciate the cutting edge knowledge they have to share. It is only once you get out of academia and physically experience what they are talking about that it hits you.
Great stuff Collin.
December 30th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
[...] Radical Trust: Best Social Media keynote of 2008 [...]
December 31st, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Great post. Thanks for the info.
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Wow, there’s a lot to digest there, not just about YouTube but about identity, culture and human nature. I particularly like the notion that YouTube is an eye into ourselves and that our need to share and connect is the driving force of YouTube’s success…
January 6th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Brilliant! At the end of the day, people need to know someone is listening… that there is at least a remote chance that somewhere, someone will care about their life – their thoughts – in some way. Whether it’s their 16th minute of fame they are seeking (hello, Reality TV) or their “I finally wrote that book everyone told me I should write”, the social side of the internet will continue to thrive as long as humans have a need to be heard, to be appreciated, to be wanted.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Thanks for the reminder that “this medium is . . . a cultural revolution, not a commercial one.” It is about a way of engaging, not selling (although that may happen if engagement in organic online communities taeks place.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:14 am
Fantastic look at the worlds cultural evolution. Social media, social marketing, social living, it is about sharing an experiece with your audience not a performance.
The marketing world could learn alot by taking a few anthropology courses.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
You said it Chris… There is a lot to learn from the culture. Advertising and marketing are a reflection of the culture, not the source of it.
Boyd… you have probably heard me spew “this is a cultural revolution, not a commercial one before”. It’s important to remember this.
Annette, Don’t forget that the internet needs to remain free for this culture to survive. The need to be heard is one thing, but controls, throttling and access restrictions are limiting even that.
Jesse: Something tells me that these kids know what they got with Prof. Welsch.