Speaking of social network sites, what are you guys’ opinion on Midd Confessional
Media Technology 2008
Class site for FMMC0246 at Middlebury College
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Links for class- Ze Frank and the Poetics of Web Video
- Economist.com
- The Charms of Wikipedia - The New York Review of Books
- "The ecstasy of influence: A plagiarism" by Jonathan Lethem (Harper's Magazine)
- Heston of the Apes
- Truth and Beauty Bombs :: Garfield Remix
- Passage: a Gamma256 video game by Jason Rohrer
- Be Kind Rewind: YouTube
- One Friend Facebook Hasn’t Made Yet: Privacy Rights - New York Times
- AlterNet: MediaCulture: Three Reasons to Hate Facebook
Brian Sommers responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 12:23 pm #
I wasted 2 hours on it last night–i just couldn’t stop refreshing. I can’t believe how many of my friends look at it. I think it’s great, but with a grain of salt. There are a lot of really funny stories posted, who knows how many are true, but it’s genuinely intriguing because i feel like people have a medium to express their thoughts.
I’m worried, though, about some of the negative comments, and I’m sure it’s going to explode. There is really nothing preventing someone from saying something really malicious by using full names–and it can be totally fabricated.
I think the confessional is much better served as a “who’s the hottest professor” or “where have you done it on campus” comment threads, than ones about serious topics of Rape and suicide. I just don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about such serious topics because what’s preventing the next poster from saying something really horrible after you’ve opened up?
Then again, i’m sure some people just want to share that kind of information anonymously, so who am I to nay-say.
George Altshuler responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 12:34 pm #
At the very least, Middlebury Confessional is an extreme example of what the anonymity of the internet leads to.
There is a lot of crap and even slander present (as well as bad spelling), but also I think some people feel more free on it and are able to break through social barriers and freely express themselves. I’m thinking specifically about the gay football player, the rape victims, the lonely people and the closeted homosexuals.
Also, it’s too bad the site doesn’t allow for user moderation and depends on a top down structure. I agree with Brian about how someone is going to say something ridiculously inflammatory (if they haven’t already) and this is going to explode in controversy.
Jason Mittell responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 12:54 pm #
I’ll admit to peeking in, and feeling simultaneously intrigued and repulsed - TMI!
I wonder how many posters think about the broader audience beyond fellow students. Even though it’s anonymous, it does offer an aggregate vision of the student body that some of you might not want to be identified with - and anybody can peruse that if they have Middlebury campus net access. How do you think posters feel about the prospects of their professors, administrators, custodians, etc. looking on the site?
And one last question - what’s the deal, Kyle Howard?
Erin Gosselin responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 12:56 pm #
I’m really not sure how I feel about this.
I’m getting a heavy middle school vibe from back in the day when LiveJournal was a really popular way to have a passive-aggressive argument with your friends, or to just bash people without them knowing. I feel like MiddConfessional is just another way to vent private feelings publicly, which never turns out well.
Then again, it could be used really positively to gauge the campus’ feelings towards one topic or another. It could also be fun, like Brian said, and quirky. The only problem is, I just don’t see people using it for that purpose.
I didn’t even know about this thing until I saw the blog entry.
Stephen McCombe responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 4:31 pm #
I just tried it for the first time, even though I’ve heard of it before. But I really like the anonymity of it because then anyone and everyone will say what he/she feels or believes. But going along with the scope of social networking style, it is definitely a lot more brash and real compared to Facebook and whatnot, because of the topics covered and the arguments that arise. But, yeah, I really like it because I can get down to the nitty gritty about anything that’s being discussed.
Also, when did this thing start?
Kyle Howard responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 6:21 pm #
I had just gotten back from NYC on saturday night and I decided to go to a party. Let me just set this scene for you: I’m enjoying a beverage and some good conversation on the porch when I decide to introduce myself to the young lady I was talking to.
“Your name is Kyle Howard?” She said to me.
“uh, yeaaahhh” I said confusingly.
“So your ‘THE party animal at middlebury.’ You’re ‘god with gimp’?”
I could go on, but I wouldn’t want to taint our blog in anyway. If your wondering how night went on saturday, let’s just say I didn’t get any digits. The thread entitled “kyle Howard sitings” is also pretty creepy and when someone introduced me to my middconfessional rival the “duke” in the gym today it was fairly awkward. I will say this - I have not posted a single thing on middconfessional and, yet, there are over a dozen posts claiming they are the real Kyle Howard. Nor I have been able to locate the source of the original Kyle Howard post (though I have created a list of suspects).
As for the future of the forums, I would say read the thread about the (alleged) football player who is contemplating being the first openly gay guy in the history of the team. If used properly, middconfessional could be a good way to gain the support of the community and ease social fears.
Ernest Russell responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 8:08 pm #
I have found midd confessional to be a analogous to a riot. Whether true or false, anonymous slanderous comments can truly damage reputations. At the same time, it’s apparently fun to write them. On thing is certain, site’s like M.C. are not going to go away. While web-sites can be shut down, ideas cannot be extinguished. Confessionals might be as constructive as riots in the sense that they cause people to critically reflect on their own behavior as well as the behavior of others.
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Jessie Gurd responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 10:00 pm #
I jumped into the mess, and while I might go back to check up on a thread or two, I think I’m done posting and mostly done reading. It’s a fascinating study on the power of anonymity, but it only applies to the identity of the poster. Poor Kyle is gaining a reputation around campus as XXX master party player etc., and people are seriously hurting one another’s feelings in airing private beliefs about serious issues and situations on campus. A little catharsis is healthy, but that’s what PostSecret does many times better than this site: it allows a confession, no matter how angry, “dirty,” or vicious, to become a kind of artistic expression that won’t attack the target of that anger (if there is one). This is the dirty underbelly in which we discover how many of us really hate the lacrosse team, or how many of our moneyed friends are judging us for wearing $20 jeans and a t-shirt instead of Burberry and whatever else, or who nine out of ten people say is crappy in bed. I just found out that groups of people have secret, dark obsessions with a friend of mine. Ick.
Elliot responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 10:10 pm #
I’m not a big fan of this. It seems MUCH more damaging than anything else in the long run. A neat idea, but some of this information is best left unsaid.
I dunno, it isn’t working for me. =/
Like Erin said, it seems like it could very easily be more of an excuse to slander and insult people anonymously than anything else.
Jessie Gurd responded on 29 Apr 2008 at 10:15 am #
Re: Professor Mittell asking us how we feel about professors/administrators/etc. looking in…
In response to “I think I’m the only boy on campus with an eating disorder”:
The Hope and Inspiration meeting on campus is open to men and women suffering from Eating Disorders as well as friends and family members who want to offer or get support around this issue. The meetings will pick up again in September and you are cordially invited. Please come and see me or email me if I can be of help to you. I have been an eating disorders therapist for 17 years. Jyoti
Is this where we want the Health & Wellness staff reaching out to us—between threads about the best place to have sex on campus and others that bring out the homophobic in the lacrosse team?
Stephen McCombe responded on 29 Apr 2008 at 11:19 am #
Oh Man I love Midd Confessional because it’s so crazy, and anything can be said– but what’s interesting is that there are students who take it seriously and students who don’t. For example, I’m developing sort of a reputation on it as sort of a sociological experiment and trying to see how people react. Surprisingly, it’s been really positive and people claim to get a good laugh out of it…
Anonymity and its Discontents « Just TV responded on 03 May 2008 at 10:14 am #
[…] students and the administration (as well as on the site itself) - an interesting discussion emerged on the blog for my Media Technology course. The possibilities for shutting it down are limited and unlikely - a […]