[Air-L] What is web culture?

[Mary-Helen Ward]

Hmmm. I disagree with this. I think there are human interactions on the web
that have created new aspects of human interaction: new artefacts, new
rituals, new relationships, new shared expressions of language, new
viewpoints and ways of doing things. And I'm not talking about LOLcats.
There are cultures on the Web that I am and have been part of that have no
offline parallel in their reach and complexity, because it is the sharing of
people from different cultures in a space of common interest that creates
new... well ... cultures. (Sorry, but I don't have another word for what has
been created).

If I had a toolshed it wouldn't have any people interacting in it; the web
does.

M-H


On 18/1/08 6:38 PM, "Greg Williams" <greg at lexiphanic.com> wrote:

> I'm more of a lurker here but I thought I might try to weigh in on
> this "web culture" thing. Pardon any incoherence, it's been a long
> week and this is mostly stream of consciousness.
> 
> As I understand it, "web culture" is a misnomer. The term seems to
> have been created to describe that slightly different way things seem
> to occur online when compared to related offline experiences, but I
> think this is all barking up the wrong tree.
> 
> Cyberspace (in this instance, AKA the Web, the Internet) is a virtual
> world extension; it's an extension of our real world. Saying that
> there is a unique culture in cyberspace is the same as claiming that
> there is a unique culture in your toolshed.
> 
> Culture is something produced, carried, consumed, displayed, etc, by
> the people that occupy a space, not the space itself. Therefore, there
> isn't a "Web culture", but the cultures of the people interacting with
> one another within the Web. They may have different tools available to
> communicate and share that culture, but I don't think that those tools
> beget a culture in their own right.
> 
> e.g. "Web culture" didn't produce LOLcats, "bored teen culture" (or
> something like that) did. The ease of sharing LOLcats online is what
> made them popular.
> 
> Hope this helps...
> 
> 
> 
> Greg Williams
> e-: greg at lexiphanic.com
> 
> P.S. Apologies if I'm on the wrong track! :)
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