Professor Coffman 

Hypertext Project 

12.8.09  

President Clinton Scandal and its’ Media Representation 

            President Clinton went through many different media phases while his administration was in office. As seen in the  

The Man

picture on the left, he was the seemingly cool-cat that took life easily and simply loved to ‘shred some sax’.  He was the first baby-boomer president and was also seen as the “MTV President” (Bill).  He also loved his morning jogs that somehow always seemed to end at the local McDonald’s. (Here is a popular clip from the television show Saturday Night Live where a popular depiction of President Clinton is played out).  Something also to note is that he was the third youngest president to enter office and when he left, he had the highest approval rating of any of them.  Yet, despite these facts he is considered to be a very controversial president.  When he lied under oath in his sworn deposition in the Paula Jones lawsuit he violated serious federal laws which inevitably lead to his impeachment.  Clinton is the only other president to be impeached other than Andrew Johnson, and that isn’t a shining characteristic to have attached to your presidency (Impeachment).  This hypertext assignment will teeter more towards the journalistic side of the impeachment as well as focus on how the media represented the president throughout this time. 

Once the news was out, that Bill had “had sexual relations” with that woman, the media took off.  How could they not?  The president of The United States just committed a crime and lied to the entire population of the country.  Journalists and those alike saw a global icon hurt and at a low point, so they decided to act.  Partially why I feel that the media made as big a deal out of it is only because Clinton lied in the first place.  Had he come clean and fessed up to it, maybe the American people would not have been so hurt and wouldn’t have wanted to watch him squirm on television.   The American people’s feelings were hurt.  We were all just betrayed by the one person in the world that we should be able to count on.  However, the fact remains that he did lie and this posed a very serious problem not only to our federal judicial system, but also to the American people. 

The way in which President Clinton was ‘caught’–so to speak–was because of his own stupidity.  While he was under scrutinization from Kenneth Starr (which we will get into later) due to the Whitewater controversy, as well as finishing up an ongoing lawsuit (that Clinton had allegedly sexually harassed one Ms. Paula Jones), is when he decides to go out and have sexual relations with a 22 year old intern.  The Clinton administration has already been scrutinized enough for past scandals, and with all eyes on his presidency he goes out participates in oral sex with Monica Lewinsky.  The affair lasted for roughly 18months and ended abruptly in front of a camera and millions of viewers.  ”For Bill Clinton, the unyielding momentum of the Starr investigation, the Paula Jones lawsuit, and the love-struck young Lewinsky, would all soon meld together and spell catastrophe for his presidency” (Impeachment).  Click here for a link to Clinton’s first speech declining his sexual relations with Monica.   

The straw that broke the camels back however came from one Kenneth Starr and the Starr Report.  Starr a lawyer, former Court of Appeals judge 

Kenneth Starr

and Solicitor General who is most known for his time as Independent Counsel during the Clinton administration (Kenneth).  Starrs’  investigation spanned for over four years.  It started with the Whitewater scandal and spanned through his administration up until his impeachment.  The utter devotion to his task at hand is impressive enough, but that is neither here nor there.  His investigation into the Clinton administration and personal life was another example of  Presidents getting caught acting outside of the rules.   The Starr report directly lead to the impeachment trials of President Clinton but he still dutifully finished his term in office. 

That being said, where does the line get drawn between someones personal/private life and his or her publicc life.  For example, does it really matter that the President was having an affair?  Did it change the way he ran our country, or do you think that if the media wouldn’t have grabbed a hold of this as strongly as they did ,would the American people cared as much?  I personally think no, because what he does under the sheets is his business.  Although you could also argue the point that he is the president of The United States, therefor whatever he does needs to be in the best interest of our country.  So having an affair with a 22year old intern is not only setting a poor example to our countrymen (term used loosely and completely not gender biased) and the world.  It is unclear as to how situations like these play out, because what is private and what is public.  When you’re a public figure such as was/is, you will always have a little bit of the spotlight on you.  People who are in the light want out and for the majority of us in the shadows we can’t stop talking about getting in.  Funny how it works that way.  For someone to dictate these terms of what is publi and hat is private would depend on the person naming the terms.  It would be the same as trying to define morals, what is in the best interest of something/someone or what is the common good of a community.  These are all examples of ‘things’ that has a conditional definition…just depends on the situation.  

President Clinton went through many different phases throughout his term.  Widely considered the most highly investigated presidency, Clinton went through many different scandals which inevitably altered his representation in the media.  From the happy-go-lucky jogger who liked to reach out to the American people, at the local McDonald’s to the struggling husband and impeached president.  Kenneth Starr and his Starr was a four-year investigative look into the multitude of scandals and extra marital affairs which lead to the decision by the Supreme Court.  Still, when Clinton left office he had the highest approval rating of any president.  When Clinton started his term, the economy was shaky and the national debt was high.  Throughout his tenure as our president he corrected both of those flaws (to some degree) that were previously set in place by previous President Bush.  Clinton, seemingly always notoriously in the spotlight still managed to complete his job and help recovery 

President?

America’s economy back to a respectful point.  

While this was all going on, I was younger and not able to vote or really have a noted voice in politics.  My understanding at this age of the difference between the public and private life was very simplistic.  Yet, as I have aged and my knowledge has grown, my opinion has stayed the same from when I was a child.  Let the private life stay private and let that man run our country!  His marital affairs are to be dealt with his wife and himself, and maybe the extra person involved.  I still find it unneccessary to have a four-year long investigation and a trial ending up in the Supreme Court.  How he handled the situation was not correct, he should have never lied to the American people, especially under oath.  However, he still accomplished the tasks and duties that were set before him and did them well.  

Going along with my final project for this class, social networks such as Facebook or MySpace (SecondLife and MMOs can also be included) can have a number of different reactions on the person.  Strong images from some of the crazy videos we watching in class about love being found within these MMOs shows one perspective, and a positive one at that.  Someone is able to find their true love through an online game and social network that is EverQuest or WoW is pretty amazing.  Unfortunately, for every pro there is a con.  And the social networks and gaming community has their share of negative qualities.  I am strictly referencing the other part of the documentary that we watched, the four friends that would play weeks of WoW with minimal hours of sleep.  Sacrificing work sick days, hygiene, health, and fatherly duties all to play this game.  Some would even play to the point of losing their job, all their money, and essentially everything in their lives to…’this’ game.  It befuddle’s me,  or how about, there is no way for me to understand how that happens.  Isn’t that where the parent steps in and like smashes the computer, or punches the kid?  I know the times have changed to where spanking your child is a no-go, but sometimes if they play too much video juegos, you just got to sock’em one or two and they will get back on track.  My example is exaggerated, sorta, but my point is made all the same.  There need’s to be some sort of control set when using these online sources. (Constant Facebook checkers you know who you are!) 

Facebook however is bringing to light a very real change in communication from person to person, or lack-there-of.  Communication is changing for the worse as a result of the ever-expanding and improving technological vices (Facebook, WoW, everquest, etc.).  We are moving away from personal peer-to-peer communication and relying on the technology to do our talking.  It’s not anybody’s fault as to why they are so popular it’s just the evolution of the internet combined with the trends of our society and the want for INSTANT news/research/fashion/communication/etc.  When all of that is combined, it’s no telling that sites like Facebook, and games like World of Warcraft weren’t created earlier.  Looking at a social network that is a combination of a MMO like WoW and a social network site like Facebook you get what is called Second Life.  Second Life is a whole new breed of social networks.  One is able to create and entirely new life and control the appearance of your avatar down to the color of your hair.  Unlike MMORPGs, there are no quests or missions that one must accomplish in Second Life. Rather, the goal of Second Life is to simply socialize.  Your goal is to walk (or fly) around the virtual world and interact with people whom you choose to interact with.  What I did find fascinating is that people are starting to hold meetings and group sessions inside SL.  I do approve of this and could be very beneficial towards a college student.  If a professor was unable to make class due to some sickness or whatever, he/she could simply call the class to any location inside SL and hold class there.  This is another example of how these social networks are being used in a positive manner.  Not saying that socializing online is bad, but now there is an added purpose.

This class was a very enjoyable experience and would recommend this class to other students who are interested in new technology/media and its interaction with communication.  My upcoming project is dealing with some of the pro’s and con’s of dealing with social networks and that should shed a little more light onto the topic that this blog posting was about.

Relating back to the article, Keller suggests that there is copyright issues as well as using the term “fair use.”  But, what is fair use?  Can you honestly give a definition of something like that.  It’s just the first word, fair.  It seems to be a word that the meaning tends to change depending on the speaker.  Fair for one person could be completely unfair to another. Bringing it back to music, what is a fair compensation to those who borrow (steal) from others and create new songs off prerecorded material.  The success of a band, Girl Talk, bothers me.  Maybe its just because i don’t really enjoy that kind of music, but if i were a famous rocker I think it would bother me that some kid was stealing from me (sorta stealing).  I mean, what do you think?  Am I in the wrong, do you think they just have too much bloody money and that this kid should be able to remix whatever he see’s fit?

This is another article i found that talks about the problems with girl talk and copyright.

Other interesting thing that is happening with these virtual worlds deals with the journalistic side of things.  Professional  journalists are now writing (some) for mediums inside these virtual worlds.  People like Gwyneth Llewelyn and Urizenus Sklar now write for blogs and newspapers that are inside such mediums like Second Life (SL).  Uri–a professor at Northwestern is mainly concerned with questions about cyber-rights as well as the emergence of laws and governance structures in and for online virtual worlds.  Do you think that one day, even the internet will have a clearly defined set of rules/laws/guidelines/ to govern us?

Virtual worlds have been given a bad wrap in the last years.  Usually mocked and represented by the overweight child who does nothing but play these games.  But in reality, millions play these MMOs, not just acne-troubled teens.  As I mentioned earlier, the suites are now involved and that factor alone could completely change the function of the MMOs.  They could simply turn into a 3D transaction domain, like a better amazon or Ebay that the user is able to directly talk to other customers or sellers and get a more immediate and direct feedback.  Would this help, or hurt the MMOs as a whole?  Do you think it would increase subscribers/participants or hurt those numbers?  There is really no way of knowing, only time will tell. 

Dwight   the office

South Park  –this one is sort of a montage of the episode.  Just to show you (if you havn’t already seen) how the creators of SP represent  the MMO (world of warcraft community)

October 29, 2009

Interview Project

            I chose to interview somewhat of a stranger to me.  He lives in my building and is my neighbor to the south (below me).  Alex Korver, is a twenty or low thirty something year old man that lives alone.  I’ve seen him around and have had the occasional chat with him but nothing serious.  And I felt that it was time to get to know somebody that I live next to.  Turns out that we are people of a somewhat similar brew except for a core element in each and everyone’s lives: where they grew up.  He has grown up in Chicago and stayed here for the majority of his life.  Unlike myself, from a snobby middle class neighborhood in Ohio called Medina.  Our childhoods couldn’t of been any more different.  Mine, filled with joyous walks barefoot on the sidewalk to the downtown ‘square’ of the city verses his childhood that was surrounded in the hustle and bustle of city living.  I having just lived here for almost a year and a half now and I am still adjusting to the “life”.  You notice it in the driving.  Big city drivers are a big more aggressive then your average rural cruising soccer mom. 

            To set this interview up was actually quite comical.  I was leaving my apartment as he was coming in.  I started down the stairs passing him giving him the curtious nod and hello.  Then while I was past him and down a flight of stairs I had the idea of interviewing him and seeing what was different between our lives.  So I yelled up and asked, “Hey Alex do you care if I interview you for a project for one of my classes?”  To which he replied, “What so you mean it’s not just for you—(laughter)—yea man I don’t care, just knock on the door.”  After telling him that I wouldn’t be through for a few days, we instead decided to meet for some java to make this seem more official.  We chatted for roughly twenty minutes and the following transcription is a conversation between Alex and myself.

Wiggins: Hey, Alex thanks again for taking time out to just have a little chat with me.  So

Alex just tell me a little bit about yourself, where are you from what’s your family like… you know the usual questions…

Korver:  I’m from Rogers Park, off Birchwood.  Uhmm and I’m the 4^th generation to live in Rogers Park.  My great grandma once she got over from Ireland, lived.. I think she lived over on Touhy.. then she married some dude… who I guess that dude would be my grandpa.  But, I don’t know what his story is.  He would be my great grandpa.  But they lived out in Fort Dodge, Iowa for the rest of his life.  But their son, my grandpa came and actually went to Loyola for the time before he went to WWII.  Then he moved back to Iowa and had my dad. Dad moved to Evanston and met your mom, and then moved back to Rogers Park and had me. 

Wiggins: wow…

Korver:  I know, long story sorry.

Wiggins: that’s pretty cool.  This area has been in your family for like.. over a hundred years

Korver: yea.. Something like that. 

Wiggins:  And so what about your family, what was it like growing up in such a big city like Chicago.  Was it a really strict household? 

Korver:  Uhmm.. No we are a pretty tight knit family.  So we could be open with each other. My dad could be strict but gave us a lot of freedoms.  So long as we didn’t f*ck up.  Sometimes you would F*ck up and lose some freedoms for a while..  But it was cool living here, there is always something to do.  Plus you got this big ass lake to kick it at.  And being from such a big city there are a bunch of places to see good sports teams. BLACKHAWKS baby!

Wiggins:  haha nice, yea I’m not too big into hockey but it is a big thing here and I actually do enjoy watching it and would prolly love going to see it in person.

Korver:  Yea what’s better then drinking beer and watching grown men smack each other r around for 90 min. But good luck getting tickets this year cause they are all sold out.  The only ones available are the standing room only section for like 40 to 60 bucks.  And its like at the top of the 300 level.  They’ve got tickets on stub hub and Craig’s list for like ten grand.

Wiggins:  No they don’t

Korver:  yea they do, look it up.  Its for like three game shares of season tickets like on the ice. 

Wiggins:  that’s ridiculous.  Looks like I’m not going to a game again this year.

Korver:  well you never know, sometimes you will come across a ticket, happens at least once a year.

Wiggins:  damn, where is my luck.  So .. What is the craziest thing you have ever seen growing up here.  

Korver:  I found a dead guy one time.  I was walking home from the el and I saw a pair of legs sticking out from behind a dumpster and it was a dead homeless guy.  And I.. uhh, I don’t know.. he had a bottle of booze in his hands still and he was like real stiff.  And so I called the cops and they came and took the body away. 

Wiggins:  how old were you?

Korver:  Uhmm I don’t know it happened a while ago, so what like 18?

Wiggins:  That’s a pretty impactful age, did that have any sort of lingering effects? 

Korver:  Well, not really, it kind of freaked me out because that was the first dead body I had ever actually seen in real life.  So , once I grasped that fact, which I did quickly, it didn’t really impact me.  I just flat out felt sorry for the guy… I mean how could you not.  He died alone behind a dumpster clutching the thing that mattered to him most.  Just some sad shit.

Wiggins:  Yea that’s something I haven’t checked off my list yet and am in no rush to do so.

….

Wiggins:  well I know you’ve probably got things to do today so I will wrap up with a simple question.  Do you, or have you always felt safe living in Rogers Park?

Korver:  Oh yea for sure man.  I mean I guess living in the city you kinda live differently.  You pay attention to different things and notice different people.  I bet you didn’t have any gang violence or like other serious crimes to worry about in…Mmmaa

Wiggins: Medina, and no not really.  I mean there are the occasional screw balls that come standard with any town, but no nothing of what I have already experienced in my short time here.

Korver:  See , you know what I’m sayin.  You just don’t get to act as freely as you can in your home town.  You gotta know where you can go and where you can’t.  Don’t be a dumbass and go down some seriously sketchy alleys by yourself.  That’s just not being a smart person.  When I was younger I would try and abide by the buddy system but even that can only get you so far.

Wiggins:  what’d you mean?

Korver:  Fighting man, sometimes it can’t be stopped.  Living in a big city too doesn’t help the fact. ….I can remember this one time walking home from work.  It was around midnight or something, I don’t really remember.  But I do remember walking on Glenwood ave, around its art district and being followed.  I didn’t notice it at first but when I crossed the street the dude started to come up on me a lot quicker.  And before I knew what happened I was on the ground in a pool of blood.  Apparently I was struck in the back of the head with something, prolly the butt of a gun, and was knocked out cold.  Woke up with no wallet, cell phone, or watch…and I had just gotten that phone, damn!  I couldn’t even like identify the guy because he just kinda came out of nowhere.  …

Wiggins:  dude, that is intense.  Did the cops ever catch the guy?

Korver:  Not that I know of.  I canceled all my credit cards and handled all that bullsh*t, which dealing with credit card companies and the DMV was the biggest pain of all.

(laughter)…

Wiggins:  Well hey man, thanks again.  I know this was kind of an impromptu meeting but I appreciate you coming out to do this thing. 

Korver:  Yea man for sure, not a problem.

Wiggins:  Next time I’ll have to buy ya’ a beer instead of a cup (coffee).

Korver:  Hahaha, now your talking!

            Alex was an absolute awesome interviewee and had a lot of interesting stories to share with me.  We chatted for roughly twenty minutes on record and then hung around and finished our cup of coffee.  I’ve since written this letter and attached it to a six pack of Great Lakes Brewing Co. Dortmunder Gold as thank you.  Overall, this interview answered a few questions and addressed a few concerns that I had lingering in my brain about the city.

Dear Alex,

I very much enjoyed our conversation that we had last Friday. I appreciate you coming out and sharing a few moments of your day with me even though I’m sure you had better things to do. But hey, free coffee! After typing up our conversation I really found it even more fascinating that you have lived in this area for four generations. I couldn’t imagine my family staying in this location for that long of a time. I had trouble staying in Medina for the ten years that I was there. I’ve been in Chicago for an even shorter time and I am ready to explore some more. The story you mentioned about being struck in the back of the head was a frightening story and luckily you came out alive. But I often have worries walking around Rogers Park. This is probably due to my rural mentality of what is safe and what is not, but I am adapting to this lifestyle and taking your tips and hints to heart. You’re right, you do begin to pay attention to different things the longer you live in a big city, and pay attention at a faster rate too! Thanks again for your time and patience. Sincerely, Adam Wiggins P.s. Enjoy the beer, this is my favorite local brew from Cleveland. Told you the next round was on me!

check out the trailer to a cool deep water soloing video.  Deep water soloing is climbing up (usually) high overhanging cliffs without rope.  When you fail the problem and fall, you fall into the water of the (pacific) ocean.

Sweet.

“…Networking technologies allow for online collaboration in the implementation of new models, and the very real-world organisation of social activism and relief efforts….We are heading not towards a toppling of the democratic, parliamentary or legislative processes, but towards their reinvention in a new, participatory context….the people are becoming a new breed of wonk, capable of engaging with government and power structures in an entirely new fashion” (Rushkoff 65).

This passage that I had to chop and paste into here really hit home with me and my interpretation of politics.  At my young age of 21, my view of the political spectrum may be different then most.  Growing up in the shadow of technology, my generation was always close by to a computer, or a fancy television set, etc.  I can remember playing video games on my computer and waiting to see the MSdos prompt flash in the top left hand corner of the screen.  It was only natural for the medium of advertising to change with the expansion of technology into people’s homes.  And with advertising came politics.  From an early age on the internet was used to reach a demographic that was missed in earlier elections; the young adult range.  Basically the younger portion of our country couldn’t understand the importance of voting.  campaigning and advertising through the every expanding and developing internet became the norm.

Even if we fast forward 20 years to today.  Now, you can’t surf the web without the interaction of a politically biased ad.  I can even be more specific and say that you can’t usually even watch television without running into the same problem.  The political medium of advertising as evolved with the technology.  Like other mediums, they want to get their point across as quickly and clearly as possible. One wants to out-do the other in this seemingly endless battle of over the technological medium that as politics.  But what makes a succesful political advert, successful?  What do you think makes it succesful?  Comedy, Drama, informative, laid back, or a number of other different styles to get your point across. Here is an article from the Times Online discussing the top ten most succesful viral ad campaigns.  ADVERT

UNfortunately there is a bad to every good, a right to every wrong and a left to every right.  Politics and its interaction with the expansion of technology (ie. simplicity and worldwide spread of the internet) made for a double edged sword effect.  Good, but at the same time bad.  When technology is relied upon to deliver a message, there is always the risk of having that message tampered with.  The internet and its many political websites may in fact be representative of that campaigner, but it might not have any of that candidates real ideals–henceforth ruining that candidates chances.  So yes, the internet and other technological communication mediums have improved the spread and rising interest in politics. 

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, one of the links available at the bottom of this blog will send you to the Slang Dictionary. But this is not what I am currently talking about.  This website has recently gone under some construction and has added a new category of “lang” to decipher.  The category: World of Warcraft Slang.  My reaction: you’ve got to be kidding me?  The advances in technology has brought the computer gaming world to a new level.  They now can compete in real time battles with people from all over the globe.  Warcraft slang has taken it to the next level, while looking through the website and trying to “decode” their way of talking, I not only got frustrated and gave up but also realized how glad I am that I don’t play World of Warcraft.  Here is an example, “lfm pve dps. wtb noob like that huntard draltcur. He should l2p.”  Now what does that mean? Good luck figuring out this one, but here is the answer- looking for more player versus environment damage per second.  Want to buy new, unskilled player like that poorly skilled hunter Draltcur. He should learn to play.  Holy cow, right? 

We read an article earlier in the year expressing an idea, or more so like proposing a question, “Is Google Making us Stupid?”  Is technology taking away our knowledge or literature and complex writing ideas?  The advancement of technology is “dumbing” down our language.  We simplify words to their core.  Our phonetic system that has been applied to the alphabet has been reformed to something that realistically makes more sense.  Phone would become Fone, and other such examples would fall into place (see lower link).

Is there a form of technological communication that absolutely frustrates you? Or are you a person that communicates on multiple different levels with multiple different groups or people. 

Slang

This is another blog that I stumbled upon that discusses the changing role of language and it’s relationship to technology.

Dumb Language

But really, social networks have blossomed into a web of connections that can be utilized in so many different ways.  You can find jobs, old friends, new friends, hell.. even a couch.  But what I do not like about Facebook and other such sites are the people who are trying to replace regular communication with Facebook and other such sites.  Don’t post on my wall and tell me that you like my dog or my hair.  Get up and you come tell that to my dog, and my hair. Another point of discussion are the mass party invitations people send out.  Does anyone know what a real party invitation is?  They are funky-fresh pieces of stationary that add a little bit of SNAP, CRACKLE AND POPto your party.  It’s a party on the invitation, a pre-partythat is.  But YUCK! then you have to put it in the mail, and that could take like two to three days.  O-M-freakin-G.  Take a step back, analyze the situation and decide: the hurry up offense, or take your time and add that little personal touch. 

Now that I’m talking about facebook I feel like I could talk for hours. Talk, type…it’s all the same.  I brought up Facebook for two reasons.  One to talk about the recent mishap of communication between my friend and myself via Facebook and email and the other reason was to talk about the “guidelines to Facebook”.”  Recently, a friend of mine was trying to meet up and have a night out on the town.   I found this out by reading my wall (on Facebook), and there it was, my very own post.  Having read the post that was filled with the typical opening statements I took the initiative to respond to the invitation to drinks with a phone call…to a voicemail.  WHatever I thought, as I left the voicemail.  Moments later, I received another response on my wall responding to my voicemail.  This scenario played out for a while and long story short we ended up missing each other because I lost the internet due to RCN sucking that weekend.  Prime example of people losing touch with regular forms of communication!  Just CALL!

And finally, it seems that there are a lot of seriously messed up things being said on peoples walls on Facebook.  It’s not just the walls either, this is including photos and videos that you can now post as well.  Pepole have got to realize that this is for the public view.  So, to keep it in check, here is a website to the top ten Facebook etiquette rules.  Enjoy.

Be Nice

 Since this posting is a mess of thoughts crammed into one, I feel that I can cram one more.  This is a cool article I found about how Facebook is ruining relationships. 

Ruin Relationships

The social network phenomenon that has developed has since created a new set of social norms.  About what is acceptable in public, and what is acceptable online.  This line is beginning to blur and people are now infiltrating the private online life of some and monitoring others.  Possibly jobs, schools, or other organizations could access said private life and look through your discussions, photos, tags, etc.  Buisnesses and other said eyes can look at your profile and see something they don’t like. Automatically disqualifying you from the position, even though your action or gesture would affect your private work life.  Is that right?  Do people need to be on guard more about who they let view their profile?  I almost feel like a big movie star because when someone takes my picture, say on a night out, I almost need to go ask them to delete that picture because I wouldn’t want a picture of me doing something that could be construed as bad to the public eye ending up on the internet for millions to see. 

Not only do you have to worry about the pictures that are posted on your profile, but your friends become a topic of concern as well.  Myspace and its users have the capability to name their “Top 8 Friends”.  Not only is this a title that people fought each other over, but THIS is the holy grail of Myspace-dom.  To be a top friend is exactly what it sounds like… the best friend.  But as Boyd mentions, a group known as “fakesters” started appearing online.  These “fakesters” created fake profiles that got massive amounts of hits/friends because they were more affiliated with a shared group or idea.  Boyd says, “By connecting people with shared interests or affiliations, Fakesters supported networking between like-minded individuals” (Boyd). In other words, not only can you be friends with LeBron James, but you can also be a friend with the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Now, not only is my profile subject to review from higher authorities but so are my friends and groups. 

Below is a link to a site i stumbled upon comparing the “dumb-ness” of Myspace to Facebook users.

Dummy