Ever since writing—and, more importantly, getting comments on—a post about counterculture on the internet, I have been keeping an eye open for examples of geek-oriented activism on the internet. I’ve been particularly curious what kind of action might be visible almost entirely on the web itself (as opposed to initiatives that start on the web but have their most power in protests, courtrooms, etc.).
There’s Nothing Wrong With Pretending to Rock
Something I find ceaselessly fascinating and baffling is the way that video games get criticized no matter what their content. If a game features violent activity that we could never (and, hopefully, would never) enact in real life, it gets criticized for encouraging real-life violence. If a game features non-violent activity that might even be considered worthwhile in real life, it gets criticized for discouraging real-life action. I’ve written a bit about the former here already, so I figure I might as well take a brief moment to comment on the latter, exemplified in criticism of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
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Glancing at the Numbers
I use Google Analytics to keep track of my site traffic. It’s fascinating to me to see who and what brings people here. For the sake of reference, I had about 2,100 pageviews from about 850 unique visitors in the last 30 days, the period analyzed in this data. My biggest month so far was a little over 1,000 visitors. From talking to other bloggers I know, I get the sense that this is pitifully small for a blog that makes money (never the plan for this one), decently large for a blog that you only expected to be read by friends, and maybe still even a bit on the small side for a blog maintained by someone who’s reasonably popular and interesting (e.g., one of the top Emily‘s on Google).
Google Analytics keeps a list of what your top-viewed pages are. These results generally don’t surprise me because they tend to correspond with incoming links from notable bloggers I already knew about. Today, though, I noticed something on the list that seemed unlikely to have garnered about 5% of my total pageviews from such a source: posts tagged as “Apparel.”
Digital Déjà Vu
Musician/artist/writer David Byrne recently mused on how Ikea is like a video game (link via Boing Boing). He explains that the way everything is tagged with a label, the seeming meaningfulness of props, the tools at your disposal (e.g., tape measure, employees), and the implied task of finding appropriate stylistic combinations all amount to something like a real-world video game.
I wasn’t struck by the videogame-ness of Ikea upon my visit there, but I was hugely disoriented and amazed by the many living room worlds it had on showcase. David Byrne is right, though, that Ikea is a simulation of sorts, a kind of hyperreality. I can’t help but wonder if he plays enough games that it was invoking in him that feeling that so many gamers seem to find familiar—the déjà vu for the digital age, where you wonder for a moment if there was just a glitch in the Matrix, or if you’ve simply been playing too much Grand Theft Auto.
Debating the Aesthetics of Web Design
About a month ago, Armin Vit wrote a post at Speak Up questioning why there are no “landmark” websites. We have examples of such designs in other media, such as Paul Rand’s IBM logo or Massimo Vignelli’s New York subway map, but have we seen any websites that are similarly aesthetically engaging and likely to remain influential to other designers for years to come? In the comments that followed Armin’s post, a few people offered tentative suggestions, but many instead attempted to suggest why websites simply can’t transcend their content in the same way as other designed media. Thus started a debate: Do websites even belong in the canon of graphic design? Can they even have artistic pretensions?
Links: Music, Miscellanea, and a Ton About Comics
I haven’t been posting much lately as I attend to other tasks, so once again I must dump a whole ton of links with little commentary. I hope to post again soon with something a little more in-depth.
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Reflecting on NCA 2007
I spent the better part of last week in Chicago for the National Communication Association 2007 conference. This was my first NCA, and I wasn’t sure how to approach it: It’s big, and, unlike ICA, there isn’t a dedicated group for people interested in game studies. Actually, there were a few gaming-related panels, but they were largely scheduled in conflict with other gaming-related panels, which was a little frustrating. I tried to make it to what I could, though, and I did see some interesting talks that I thought I might reflect on here briefly.
Links Thanks to the Worldwide Nerdy News Network
I’d like to direct your attention to a video of the Cal marching band performing video game music (also linked to and called nerdy here and here). I got tips for this from Jordan (friend from middle/high school), Matt L. (friend from Annenberg), CarrieLynn (friend from Comic Con), and Julien (friend from Paris). I’m often very hesitant to tell people, “Thanks, I already saw that,” because I really appreciate when people send me stuff, and I want them to feel encouraged to do so. And actually, getting multiple people telling me about the same link is a rough indication of how widely circulated a thing is around the web, which is pretty interesting to see in itself.
Anyway, as long as we’re talking links, here’s a couple from Dan (another friend from middle/high school). First, Barack Obama in front of a Superman statue in Metropolis, IL (which we visited on our cross-country trip). Dan wasn’t sending it for the article so much as the photo, but it’s worth noting that Obama has begun to “network with the nerds,” as Gizmodo’s Benny Goldman writes of the candidate’s outspoken stance on technology. And finally, Dan also sends a geek alphabet. I got most (but not all) of the references, and was shocked I remembered what a “glitter boy” was (which I know thanks to Evan, another middle/high school friend, with whom I am staying in Chicago right now).
The Strange Journey of Weeaboo
I came across a post on Joystiq today that got me thinking about multiple things. I’m currently in Chicago for the National Communicaiton Association convention, so I don’t have much time to unpack this right now, but I want to make sure I write it down before I forget it.
The Unsatisfying Mechanics of Game Brutality
I recently had the opportunity to play Manhunt 2 on my friend Keith’s Wii. I have been very curious about the game, given the controversy surrounding it. I only played through the first couple levels, but it got me thinking about why gamers seem much less interested in the game than the news media.
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Geek Studies 