It is remarkable the amount of privacy we are willing to give up with our online presence; we open our homes, intimate relationships, and business dealings for all the world to see. (Privacy settings or not, the info will always be found outside the environment if you know where to look and want to put the effort in).
This over-exposure for the sake of desired recognition in an increasingly congested world is a new phenomenon brought on by the advent of Facebook and Twitter. There is a long history of groups and individuals exposing the salacious and mundane of their daily lives for all to see on the internet as part of what is now called lifecasting. Some of the early provocateurs:
Jennicam – a 7-year project where Jennifer Ringley started with one camera in her, often empty, dorm room to life with cameras in every room of the house, documenting every aspect and function of her life. As a work-from-home ‘web designer,’ she provided both free-(a picture update every 10 seconds) and paid –(update every couple of seconds and eventually live streaming as broadband became more widely available) access, garnering nearly three million viewers a day. Jennicam was among the first to create and broadcast video blogs, recapping the week or covering events she attended.
AnaCam- unlike Jennicam, where the rhythms of everyday life played out without much planning, AnaCam incorporated daily life into a surrealist dada-inspired performance. Sexuality and the act of playing a major role in anacam, but to combine it with later sex cam pornography sites is missing the point. To Ana Voog, art is as messy as life, and life (in a situationist-like philosophy) is art. The mundane moments of life are here but Ms Voog strives to fill them, sometimes desperately, often with confounding absurdum.
Josh Harris – Josh Harris was an internet pioneer and creator of Pseudo.com, the first internet broadcasting company. Possibly taking his lead from Jennicam and AnaCam, Mr. Harris created a project where he, his girlfriend, and a collective of like-minded internet aficionados lived every moment on camera. The “We Live in Public” project started with much hoopla and promise and ended with devastating financial and emotional results for all involved. The project shows just how unprepared society was for the implications of a life where privacy is not expected.
For some, the ability to live in public is a revelation that forces self-examination of values and social mores. I, for one, entered into this world only after being assured in the comfort of my beliefs (or lack thereof) and, more importantly, the conversations and debates they generate. Social exposure can be beneficial to others seeking to find kindred spirits, to know that they are not alone. It can also be a tool of the dictatorial, a force for overzealous parental paranoia (it will destroy ya’) and unrepentant theocrats.
The English have a long and inbred fascination with Huxley and Orwellian foreshadowing’s as Clearly evidenced by the BBC series ‘the Prisoner’. The Prisoner is a continuation of the show ‘Secret Agent Man’, except now our intrepid hero has decided to leave his profession, only to be kidnapped and sent to a special island. The Island has a strict hierarchy where every movement is watched and recorded. Our now captive agent looks to escape but also enjoys confounding and twisting his interrogator's tricks upon themselves. Often, we are left to wonder if he really desires escape or just the challenge. Perhaps the whole series is a rebellion against the stricture of over-ambitious social rejections and the outrage of enforced boredom.
The band ‘The Get Out Clause’ came into the breach with their video ‘Paper.’ Whether intentioned or not, the video is a nifty encapsulation of my above ranting. To understand why this video is so remarkable it may be helpful to note that England has the single most extensive network of CCTV ‘public safety’ cameras and street microphones of any country. The system intends to cut down the time the police take to identify trouble and send units to restore order. The English public is, as you would expect, both dependant on and frightfully fearful of the big brother in the sky. In an effort to give the public a feeling of control and assuage fears, lawmakers insisted on making all films on demand. One must request tapes for a specific location, time, date, and duration. The result is the following video:
Tweet
