Burgess talks about viral videos in terms of what makes a video viral and what these viral videos contain. These videos have textual “hooks” or key signifiers and they become popular through the participation of other users, which includes the replication of the video in various forms by a wide range of individuals. One of the draws of these videos is their everydayness, their settings in bedrooms, from one camera angle, etc. They cannot be attributed back to an original producer because there usually isn’t one.
Drax’s work in Second Life fits this pretty well in terms of the textual hooks and the participation=popularity. The participation in this online world is what makes it operate, from the Obama campaigns and parties in this online realm or the speeches from judges in The Hague, and that popularity is what drives these events as well. And those hooks, like “Obama in Second Life,” kind of generate a mystique all their own. In essence, Second Life is like a gigantic viral video that a lot of people participate in. The only difference is that the people that copy and those that are copied are in the world at the same time. The contributions allow it to grow to the point of almost a new civilization.
I really like your response. I don't know about a new civilization but second life is a great place for people to learn and interact.
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