Since last week, I realized the breadth of “vlogs” and the possible directions in which I could take my project. For example, the articles I have found show the community building aspect of vlogs, using vlogs to destigmatize issues such as mental illness, breaking down the traditional gender binary, raise questions about emotion as a commodity, etc. There are lots of ways to take this, and I used week two to think about narrowing down my scope. After engaging with a few more articles, such as another one by Berryman and Kavka on the community of like-minded people that emerge from beauty vlogs, I feel that the best focus to take lies on the aspect of “community.” And, I also considered how Ocejo’s arguments and our class discussions on authenticity can map onto this. Some things I’ve been thinking about include: do more “authentic” vloggers (through openness, vulnerability, etc.) generate a larger following and community? Do the comments on these videos by the audience reflect more intimacy than the comments on videos that do not seem authentic? What is “authenticity” in the context of vlogging? To me, these are highly relevant and highly interesting questions to raise. From here, I can consider the impact of revenue generated by these vloggers on YouTube – do more authentic content creators do so through “cynical” or “sincere” performances through the lens of Goffman when money is now involved?
Thinking in this way gives my project more of a self-contained feeling. That is, the initial data I collected was extremely overwhelming. However, through meetings with Prof. Greene and Beth Hoppe this week I have arrived at a stronger direction. Now, I am using the references listed for these articles (by Berryman and Kavka, Jacqueline Bell, etc.) to guide me to other similar articles on the topic of community building and authenticity. Thinking more specifically has allowed me to get passed my biggest challenge: feeling overwhelmed and unsure on what my research questions should be. Now, instead of asking, “where will vlogs take us?” as I was last week, I am now asking, “how do vlogs create communities surrounding these hot-button issues?” and “how does a content creator generate a perception of authenticity to the point where consumers are comfortable commenting supportive messages?” and questions similar.
Looking forward, I will start my paper with a historical point of view, first mapping the rise of blogs, how they came about, etc. From there, I will discuss the emergence of vlogs and the growing popularity before introducing sociological theory. Once I discuss the history, I will move into the discussion of sociological theory and thinking on topics like “authenticity” and community building, as discussed in my articles. Finally, I hope to conduct a content analysis on a few particular vlogs. For this, I must give more thought as to how I will go about it, but, generally speaking, I want to analyze vlogs and their comments to try and generate my own thinking on the topic of authenticity and community. I’m excited to have more direction and feel more on track now than I did even last week.
Sam,
Your second and third logs demonstrate a thoughtful evolution of the project. Per our conversation on Wednesday, the questions linking the authentic performances of “vloggers” with community-building is a fruitful avenue for research. You are right to think that audiences seek authenticity from their “vloggers,” whether we hope to learn something from them or whether we are seeking a genuine connection to their lived experiences. Your discussion reminds me of Jeffrey Kidder’s article in “City & Community” on Parkour, where he considers how Parkour becomes connects local citizens to a global movement, as participants rely on vlogs as instruction.
At the same time, we recognize that vlogs, like reality television, are cultivated performances. Authenticity is produced and cultivated by the vloggers; creating authenticity in a manner that also is appropriate for audience consumption is central. Reflecting on it further, I am reminded of an article by Howard Becker, “Art as Collective Action,” where he discusses that in order to become innovative in a particular art world, artists have to maintain certain conventions of the art world in order that the art is somewhat legible to tastemakers who can see the innovation. I cannot help wondering whether that is operating here? Are there conventions of “authenticity” that must be maintained or performed in order for these vlogs to develop an audience? I have copies of both articles, and would be delighted to send them to you or provide hard copies if you wish.
This is another way that your project excites me. Doing a vlog will allow you to explore the cultural production of authenticity that helps generate an audience. In that respect, I do not think that you are diverting too far from your original questions; to understand how vlogs operate as sites of community, you would have to explore aspects of what makes the vlogs such cultural phenomena. Doing it yourself provides a different (and I think more interesting) venue for exploring your questions. In that spirit, I recommend that, as you reflect on the format for this week’s blog, you can also consider what the “conventions” are that you can identify in successful vlogs.
I look forward to seeing how this project develops.