hal tweets ·7:42 AM
A short piece I wrote for AOLnews about why Peep culture trumps privacy online. http://bit.ly/bQECsC
2010,
13:41 GMT
Peep My ‘Pplication
Posted by: Hal
Tufts University wins the award for realizing that not only is the college admission process grinding and nerve-wracking, it’s also highly entertaining for the rest of us! So Tufts has done the right thing, giving their applicants the opportunity to include a one minute posted-to-YouTube video with their application, as documented in this New York Times article.
Now thousands can watch these wannabe admitted students do whatever they think they need to do to get noticed. Before we get to the videos, which I will helpfully embed below of course, let’s think about a few things.
First, Tufts screwed up: why give YouTube this juicy material? If they’d set it up so the kids were posting to the Tufts website, they’d be drawing hundreds of thousands of eyeballs to their site and reaping the rewards, not Google.
Second, it’s a great precedent for anything that where one side holds all the power (think reality tv): make them do a video (a Peep Pplication) and tell them it only counts if they post it publically on the ‘Net. You get attention, they get laughed at, we’re entertained and the appropriate commercial messages are displayed a the appropriate intervals.
This is essentially an ancillary business model that could be applied to cash strapped schools, publishing houses with better reputations than bottom lines, blue chip talent agents who want to make money on the side…heck, even charities can employ this technique: make the needy beg online for their handout in the name of keeping us amused, and generating cash flow for those lucky enough to have shown how very desperately they need the help. (Wait a minute, they’re already doing this!)
2010,
18:41 GMT
Peep in the News: ChatRoulette
Posted by: Hal
Everything I think I’ve hit the ultimate peep phenomenon, the one thing that totally conveys everything there is to convey about Peep Culture, something new comes up.
In this case, it’s ChatRoulette, a site that is spawning all kinds of articles, blog posts and states of excitement. On ChatRoulette you are connected to a random human being somewhere, anywhere, with a webcam. You stare at each other. You chat or, more likely, someone hits next.
Here’s a good piece that basically describes the experience.
Obviously ChatRoulette is pure Peep – you watch, interact, take what you can out of someone else’s life (while giving what you can of yours) and then you change the channel before you get bored or sucked in. This isn’t the future of the ‘net it’s the future of pop culture – more immediate, more interactive, more compelling, more fun, more disturbing, than anything they could ever green light in some corporate board room. And, like all things Peep, this particular entertainment phenomenon raises far more questions – moral, social, existential – than most of us want to deal with in the course of trying to have some fun without leaving the house.
Here are some screen-shots from a BuzzFeed page that feature a ton of ChatRoulette images.
2010,
14:38 GMT
Hal live today on Wisconsin Public Radio
Posted by: Hal
Hey everyone, I’ll be discussing Peep Culture and taking calls on Wisconsin Public Radio today at 11 am est. Listen in online at http://www.wpr.org/
2010,
14:32 GMT
Deathmatch Semi-Final is Neck in Neck in Final Stretch
Posted by: Hal
Wow, with just the weekend to go for voting, it’s Abel’s story of drugs and an angry man-bear at 51% and Dupcak’s tale of drugs, sex and performance art at 49%. What a round! North America’s no-holds-barred short story contest continues! Go read the stories and vote right now at the Broken Pencil Indie Writers Deathmatch!
2010,
21:02 GMT
The Indie Writers Deathmatch is Now On
Posted by: Hal
Broken Pencil Magazine’s Indie Writers Deathmatch is in full swing with two stories in heated competition with each other. This is the innovative online writing competition fight to the finish brought to you by Broken Pencil: the magazine of zine culture and the independent arts! Check it here out right now! I’m the moderator for the first round!
http://www.brokenpencil.com/deathmatch/
The Bloggist
Hey, I’m Hal Niedzviecki. I’m a writer/thinker who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with my wife and daughter. Up till now I’ve always considered myself a private person. But at the same time I’m fascinated by people who effortlessly open themselves up to the whole world. So I’ve… more...
A short piece I wrote for AOLnews about why Peep culture trumps privacy online. http://bit.ly/bQECsC
New content on the Broken Pencil website! Short fiction: Shack the Clam Girl + How to Make Your Own Game Cabinet http://bit.ly/b6CHLP
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