For Weekly 2, I read Jenny Ordell's article How To Internet as well as the Search and Destroy excerpt from Joanne McNeil's book Lurking: How a Person Became a User.
I really enjoyed reading Ordell's article which gathered tid bits of internet history as well as bits about Ordell's personal experiences with both the internet and with strangers. Although Ordell does state the challenges of reimagining how to use the internet and creating room for connectivity beyond our filter bubbles, I still really enjoyed the nostalgic and optimistic feel to this piece. There's something very wholesome about meeting and connecting with strangers on the internet as mentioned with Ordell's experience on Second Life. It reminds me of my usage of the website Animal Jam, where I made a lot of internet friends despite the fact that we all were conversing with each other through our animal avatars dressed in human clothing. Additionally, the conversation about Second Life and Rando really made me think about the current trending app BeReal as well as Omegle. It makes me wonder how Ordell would respond to both of these softwares and their place within today's society as well as within internet history.
As for McNeil's "Search and Destroy," the excerpt definitely had a more pessimistic and cynical undertone. The excerpt details Google's carelessness as seen through it's practice of deleting and discontinuing projects as well the company prioritizes rapid growth over upkeep and preservation. One part that really stuck with me is McNeil's employment of Google's goal to build a virtual mirror of the world at all times to then question what it means for the information that is deleted and no longer preserved. Does it mean that this information is no longer part of the world? This sort of shaping of information and ultimately of history very much reminds me of my own learnings within my Digital Humanities minor where a huge discussion point is who gets to decide what information is kept and what is deleted? Who gets to decide how this information is presented and determine it's accuracy? Although McNeil's excerpt defintely left me feeling more cynical about big tech and companies like Google and even the internet in general, it also makes me feel relieved to know that these flaws and greivances are publicly being discussed and criticized.
Something I am very curious to know after these readings is what does this mean for us as artists, designers, and web developers? What role do we play in the future of the internet? What role do my peers and do I want to play in the grand scheme of things? How can we contribute to a better internet, if there is such a thing?