[Air-L] parasociality

[Jan Schmidt]

Hi all,

Rhiannon, thanks for the link (and the slang.. ;-)).

Actually, I'm wondering if there is any work on parasociality in the context of Web 2.0/Social
Web/[insert your chiffre here]. I think about this every now and then, for example when I noticed
that the contestants of the recent "Big Brother" TV Show in Germany had their own profiles on the
video platform sevenload.de. Other users could friend the people who were contained, monitored and
broadcast in the Big Brother house, but who were naturally not allowed to react or interact with
their fans. Instead, viewers used the profiles to fight about who was the meanest candidate, who was
to be voted out, etc.
The difference of "friends" and "fans" enscripted into Facebook code seems to be pointing into a
similar direction, but I'm far from having it sorted it out. One very interesting analysis (though
not particularly framed in terms of parasociality) I have noticed is the paper by David Beer (2008):
Making friends with Jarvis Cocker: Music Culture in the Context of Web 2.0. In: Cultural Sociology,
Vol. 2, Nr. 2, S. 222-241.

Are there other works that use the idea of parasociality to frame some of the current trends in
relating to 'media personalities'?

Best, Jan

> > Hi folks
> >
> > If you haven't seen this article from the NYTimes on the new "digital intimacy", check it out.
Our own AoIR celeb, Danah Boyd, is quoted.   :)
> >
> > My favourite quote comes from Laura Fitton though:
> > ?I outsource my entire life,? she said. ?I can solve any problem on Twitter in six minutes.?
Yikes! :0
> >
> > Rhiannon

-- 
Dr. Jan Schmidt

Wissenschaftlicher Referent für digitale interaktive Medien und politische Kommunikation
Hans-Bredow-Institut für Medienforschung
Warburgstr. 8-10
D - 20354 Hamburg

Phone: +49 40 450217 83
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Mail: j.schmidt at hans-bredow-institut.de
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