Lately, much of my web browsing has been dedicated to the reading of message boards. According to Wallace, message boards can be classified as asynchronous discussion forums. In these forums, individual threads exist where users can post comments relating to the topic of discussion. These conversations do not take place in real time—rather they slowly develop over the course of several days.
I decided to set out to meet and talk about music with someone in the extremely active “ateaseweb” message board. Officially, ateaseweb is a forum related to the band Radiohead, but its popularity has led it to become one of the most prominent sources of music news and opinions on the web. I started out posting in a thread called “Least favorite Beatles track” with my innocent opinion (“Julia” – I’m just not a fan). Upon checking the site for responses, I was surprised to receive a fast response from “idiotsavant” asking “Wow, you really don’t like Julia?”. Using this as an opportunity to segue into a private-message conversation that reminded me of an e-mail dynamic, I personally asked idiotsavant what his (her?) least favorite Beatles song is (it turned out to be “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”—which I am rather fond of). This led to a series of back-and-forth messages about the Beatles music with some information about us thrown in as well.
Idiotsavant, despite the username, came across consistently as a person with strong opinions, an expert’s knowledge of the Beatles, and an unwillingness to change his (I soon found out he was a “he” – male, mid-20’s, data-entry clerk in Los Angeles) mind. I essentially imagined a hip, trendy young man, living in a chic apartment surrounded by a collection of Beatles vinyl records and books on popular music.
My thoughts were certainly influenced by the Hyperpersonal Model. As the conversation progressed, I would be swayed and trust his opinion more and more—and of course, I realize only now that his surely channeled and affected presentation as a musical expert was likely aided by the convenient aid provided by iTunes, Wikipedia, and allmusic.com. Not only did Idiotsavant have all this information at his disposal due to our asynchronous medium of communication, he had all the time he needed to use his cognitive resources in coming up with perfectly knowledgeable and “cool” responses to my messages. I believe that I conceived this hyperpersonal notion of Idiotsavant due to the potentially extreme opinions people develop when discussing tastes in a non-personal setting. Even though this stranger was eagerly willing to shoot down my valued opinions, this strong persona he was developing (via clearly self-selected presentation) convinced he was knowledgeable, articulate, and worthy of my respect.
2 comments:
I think the question you asked on ateaseweb was a really great one. Looking through my Beatles collection, my best guess at my answer would be “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” I personally enjoy “Julia.” Although I love the Beatles, I am in nowhere close to an expert and in order to defend that answer I probably would have had to check a few blogs or music websites to make sure my facts were accurate. But isn’t that the cool part of asynchronous chats? You have time to make yourself sound wise and kind, so the person you’re talking to doesn’t think you’re a jerk and will look up to your opinion. It seemed to work on you. Selective self-presentation and even re-allocation of cognitive resources appear to have taken a part in what you thought of this person. Whether or not the opinions were fully this persons’, ultimately it is what you had to base your opinion of him on, and through the Hyperpersonal model, as you said, you came to respect him.
First off, I really enjoyed this post. I thought that a message board about the Beatles was a cool way to address this assignment. Maybe next time you could go a little more in depth with the theory application, like in this case explaining specific aspects of the hyperpersonal model.
I thought you addressed some interesting points in your analysis of Idiotsavant, mainly the factor of time within posting on a message board. Responding at your own pace definitely allows for you to give more thought to what you want to say and how you want to say it. This asynchronous quality is a definite aid to selective self-presentation.
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