An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

There was a really interesting video I came across entitled "An Anthropological Introduction to Youtube". It is a presentation by Dr. Michael Wesch who I have been following for a while and he is a cultural anthropologist and media ecologist who focuses on how online communities effect the real world. For a while now I have been very interested in Dr. Wesch's work and this video shows him giving a presentation about the impact of YouTube. In this presentation he really explains the power of social networking and how a lot of the YouTube sensations came to be and what that means. Currently, I am a Residence Don at Western at Saugeen Maitland Hall. Part of my job is to build a community with first year students and an environment of inclusivity, diversity, and leadership. I have been very interesting in developing online communities to supplement my goals when building my community in residence. In fact, In January I did a presentation entitled "Rez 2.0" which showed how things such as YouTube can have an impact in a residence community. I have seen a few other videos by Dr. Wesch and all have intrigued me very much. The impact that YouTube has had really changes a lot of things. The way television shows and movies are being made are largley affected by the success YouTube is experiencing. I would love to be a part of Dr. Wesch's classes, I think it would be really facinating! Here is the "Anthropological Introduction to Youtube" video along with some other videos by Wesch and his digital ethnography group: