Silent Raving & Rick-Rolling. Humour in Technology

Over the past few months, I keep hearing about these funny, yet interesting ways that technology is getting masses and masses of people to gather together, either virtually or in real life. And I don't mean in the traditional sense that you'd expect, nor am I referring to virtual worlds like Second Life. Let me explain.

Most recently, I was made aware of something called a "silent rave", where people gather in a specified location, break out their iPods (or other MP3 players) and dance about to their own music via headphones. It's supposedly a very popular thing in Europe, and a "silent rave" just took place in New York's Union Square this past weekend where reportedly more than 1,000 people showed up! What's the point? I guess it's one part shock value, one part being able to express oneself in a unique way while still banding together with others. Is this an indication that we're moving toward another decade of hippies and social activism? I'm not sure, but I can't help but hear the song Age of Aquarius while seeing clouds of smoke above my head as I write this.

Then, there came about a new phenomenon called Rickrolling. Anyone who was around in the 1980s (or loves '80s music!) will know who Rick Astley is: the baby-faced, pop singer that released a few number-one hits, catered to some screaming gal fans, than disappeared into oblivion. Over the past few months, "Rickrolling" has taken the Internet by storm, with several Websites hijacking real videos or links (knowingly, not maliciously) in place of Astley's cheesy music video of the popular song Never Gonna Give You Up. Often, what would happen is that the site would advertise controversial or enticing content to pique a surfer's interest. When the person clicked the link, despite what the site said the video (or story) would be about, the viewer would be Rickrolled; i.e. directed to the Astley video instead. On April Fool's Day, the folks at YouTube showed their sense of humour by "Rickrolling" the entire YouTube.com homepage. No matter which video you clicked on, it would automatically direct to Astley's cutesy face dancing about to his tune. Don't believe me? Just run a "Google" search for Rickrolling, and you'll see almost a quarter-million responses on the term, showing how quickly one, juvenile prank can spread!

In many ways, both events are indeed juvenile. But on the other hand, they're both great examples of how people can use technology to freely express themselves in a way that's not only innocent, but can even put a smile on your face. A little dose of humour never hurt anyone.

So what's the next phenomenon? Perhaps a large group should convene for a silent rave during which every person listens to Astley's tune through headphones and does his best 80s dancing impersonation. Maybe that's taking things a bit too far...

Second Life? I Barely Have Time for the First One!

I attended a course on social media yesterday, and came upon some interesting discoveries. The notion of "social" media, for anyone who isn't familiar with it, refers to the fact that the consumption of media today follows a more interactive path than the standard one-to-one experience. Sure, it can be argued that this was always the case, but the stakes have certainly changed.

Think about it: "back in the day", you could read a newspaper or magazine article and if you wanted to comment on something, you'd have to pull out a pad of paper and a pen (or a computer), compose your letter to the editor, fit it into an envelope, stick on a 35-cent stamp, and chuck it into the mailbox. Even just a few years ago, you could certainly send an e-mail to the publisher, but a quick hit of the "delete" button meant that your commentary was likely never heard by anyone but the recipient. Today, via blogs like this one and Website commenting features, one is able to give his two cents at the drop of a hat for literally the world to see! When it comes to TV, the viewing experience used to be 100% passive. Nowadays, we're constantly prompted to call (or text!) in a vote, questions, or even join in a game to win prizes...right from your couch!

The entire nature of media has changed. "Texting" has replaced what was known as "normal" conversation for the younger generation; and, taking things a step further, "virtual" worlds are constantly colliding with our real one. Part of the discussion yesterday was about Second Life, a virtual, online "world" where people can create avatars (likenesses) of themselves, and basically live a second life. Companies have built buildings and stores in Second Life; people buy and sell things with real money, join together for conferences, and pretty much do anything they can do in real life (and more). Supposedly people have made millions running "virtual" businesses in Second Life. Needless to say, we were all wide-eyed in awe that anyone would have the time to live a second life, and asked ourselves why would they even want to?

I took a step back and tried to think with an open mind. If computers and portable devices are replacing books and newspapers, and interactive TV is taking over the old passive, TV-viewing experience, what are virtual worlds replacing? Second Life is like a video game, and people use video games, and other similar activities, to somewhat escape from the real world, right? Then it dawned on me. Virtual worlds are like movies where you're the star. It's your own, interactive movie experience. But why would people want to control the outcome of a story? I'm not sure, but they obviously do: this got me thinking back to the old Choose Your Own Adventure series of books that let the reader flip to page X if he wanted the character to do one thing, or flip to page Y for an alternate course of action. This notion of control, and being involved in the media you're engaging in, has obviously been around longer than we realize.

Would I participate in a virtual world? Probably not. But then again, I did love those Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was a kid because, to some degree, I could control the story.

There's always an underlying fear that all this "social" media could lead to a very anti-social community as people communicate more with their computers and less with real people. But then again, maybe this is just a different way of communicating, and not a way to replace the old methods.