Response 2 – ElizabethD

Projects: Jennicam & Life Sharing

Jennicam

I chose to look at this project because of how seemingly simple it is, for how much of a cultural phenomena it was.  The project started in 1996 and lasted for roughly 7 years until new restrictions forced Jenny to shut down the website (i.e. paypal account updates, costs of hosting the site, as well as pornographic knockoffs/spins of her website).  This project was so revolutionary because it marked the beginning of a new era, where you could be connected with others 24/7.  You could glimpse into someone else’s life at any point in time during those 7 years and see what they were doing, no matter how mundane or even unglamourous the activity was.  I thought it was interesting because it kind of parallels social media today.  You can connect with anyone you want at any time of the day, but the difference is that with social media, the users create their own online personas, choosing only to show what they want others to perceive about them, while with the Jennicam, she showed her raw, uninhibited self to the world, and it really spoke to people.

Life Sharing

I wanted to talk about this project as well because I thought that it kind of went hand-in-hand with the Jennicam project.  Jennicam allowed users to see what she was doing at any point in the day, but Life Sharing took it a few steps further, and allowed others to take extremely personal glimpses into their lives.  Anything was on the table: files on their computer, bank statements, even emails with other people.  While the Jennicam was a bit creepy, living infront of a camera is something that someone can easily adjust to, but I do not see how someone could adjust to anyone knowing their location at any point in time.  That to me is terrifying.  That is why this project is so thought-provoking.  People find being uninhibited to be inspiring, difficult, and even scary.  Most people choose different selfs to show other people, and what they show generally depends on the audience as well.  With this project, everything is on the table, and everyone can look at it.