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When people think of LOLcats, they probably think of the image memes that grew out of 4chan’s Caturday tradition. LOLcats are one of the longer-lived internet memes, still going strong over 7 years after the first LOLcats were posted. Even though LOLcats peaked in 2009, it’s still widely understood that the internet is made of cats. The … Continue reading
So, we r goin 2 talk bout LOLspeak Grammar. Yez, Im bean serious, but we r going 2 talk abot dat in an academic wai. U mite ask wut iz LOLspeak. Itz teh language ov teh LOLcats, teh language dat “fuffly animas” r supposd 2 speek if they cud speek. Itz wut ur readin nao. … Continue reading
In the United States, the regulation of online privacy is complicated by the fact that Federal laws sometimes differ from state laws. Online privacy is generally seen as falling under the Fourth Amendment, or the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. Since … Continue reading
In “Private Uses of Cyberspace: Women, Desire, and Fan Culture” Sharon Cumberland argues that cyberspace is a liberated arena for female authors of fanfiction erotica. Its ability to provide a personal outlet within a public forum allows women to explore and write about alternative ideas surrounding gender and sexuality, as well as “feelings and ideas … Continue reading
Nancy Baym’s article can be summed up as dealing with two important issues – the progress of online relationships, and the nature of those relationships in comparison to offline relationships. Basing much of her arguments for the nature of online relationships on her personal friendship with her “Swedish boyfriend”, Baym chooses secondary texts and surveys … Continue reading
In this article, Aimée Morrison discusses the link between “the story of the self and the broader public discourses” in personal mommy blogging, as well as aligns and diverges from Lauren Berlant’s ideas on women’s culture (37). Personal mommy blogs “operate as intimate publics” where women are involved in self-expression and community development (38). They … Continue reading
Nancy K. Baym’s chapter “Digital Media in Relational Development and Maintenance,” from her book Personal Connections in the Digital Age, describes the ways that digital relationships mirror and differ from face to face relationships. As she describes the various uses of online and offline, as found in several surveys, Baym argues that online relationships have … Continue reading
Miller and Shepherd attempt to define the blog, a phenomenon which obtained the status of a genre in just several decades. By examining the particular social context in which the blogs emerged (the kairos) and further providing an account of the content, form, the shared origins and the social actions performed by blogs, the authors … Continue reading
Henry Jenkins’ essay “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars?” describes the waves of regulation and independence experienced by the fanfiction culture behind the Star Wars franchise. He chronicles the struggles of Lucasfilm to determine its stance on fan adaptation and participation within the culture of its established intellectual property. Jenkins begins by discussing the Atomfilms contests that … Continue reading
This chapter of Cyberspaces of Their Own talks about politeness in two fan-fiction mailing lists with mostly female members: the David Duchovny Estrogen Brigade (DDEB) and the Militant RayK Separatists (MRKS). Bury begins with a brief history of etiquette, explaining that women, when in mixed-sex groups, tend to introduce topics and support discussion rather than dominate it. Although … Continue reading
New Media Genres 