Response 3- JimB

JenniCAM introduced the tech of webcasting, and  One would think that since she was constantly in front of the camera that she wouldn’t necessarily be herself, but rather a different version of herself. People usually tend to act differently when cameras are rolling in front of them when compared to when the cameras are off. This is primarily due to the fact that when someone is in front of a camera and is being filmed, they know they’re being watched whether it be live or later on, so they’ll try and act a certain way or look a certain way that they won’t be embarrassed by themselves when someone sees them. At least that’s the impression that I’ve generally gotten when I’ve been filmed, and it definitely seems to be the impression that almost everyone else I know gets too. Jennifer Ringlet, the woman behind JenniCAM, at one point said when talking about JenniCAM, that she did it not because she wanted to be watched, but rather because she didn’t mind being watched. I wonder how much of that is honestly true though. From what I did see of her in the video discussing her website, I get the feeling that was probably true for a while early on at least. Something tells me that after a while constantly being viewed like that must have stressed her out in some way though. I mean the website lasted for 7 years, that’s an awfully long time to be broadcasting live to the web in your house 24/7. I imagine after a while many people that watch her website would’ve started to get a certain perception about her that would’ve been completely different from who she really is, creating a separate self. The self that she really is and her internet self.
The idea of people becoming a different version of themselves when they’re in front of a camera is also true when it comes to the Stephen Mann’s WearCam. One creative way of using the WearCam is through personal documentation, which is very similar to what JenniCAM did. One project he did using the WearCam was called Shooting Back. The project was meant as a protest against the idea of security cameras that are used in many stores and other public places today. The whole concept for the project was that someone would have a wearable video camera on and would walk into an area with aforementioned security cameras. The person wearing the wearable video camera will obviously film the filmers by taking footage of ceiling mounted cameras, employees, and TV’s displaying what’s being filmed on the surveillance camera. The project makes a good point on surveillance cameras vs. wearable cameras. One thing I’ve noticed about how people react to these kinds of cameras is that when it comes to the topic of wearable cameras, there’s often a lot of talk about invasion of privacy and if wearable cameras are a good idea, since people can be filmed on these without knowing it, leading people to feel like their privacy would be invaded. No one seems to talk about these things when it comes to surveillance cameras though. Whenever you walk into a mall or a store like Walmart, or most stores in general really, generally all of them have surveillance cameras scattered throughout the store, filming people to look out for shoplifters or people that are just behaving badly in general. Whenever anyone walks into a store anymore, they’re being filmed too. It’s not as obvious to them as it would be if they were filmed with a wearable camera, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re being filmed and someone is watching them, so they’re privacy is already being invaded even if they don’t realize it.