Talk:Melissa Wu

I couldn't help but think of Wong Fu Production's video, Strangers, Again, and realized at the end that you did draw inspiration from their videos. So here is what I think.

First off, I really like your approach and presentation to this assignment because having a Facebook persona really is like being in a relationship. Just like being in a relationship, it takes time and effort and though there are many highs and lows, it doesn't always work out in the end. And even when you spent hours and hours trying to create the perfect image, in the end, you distanced yourself from your digital self. After reading this and re-watching Strangers, Again, I found that it fit very well in describing your "relationship" with Facebook.

You did a great job in describing your transition through Facebook and how during each stage, your avatar would reflect how your real self was changing. And though you do mention how your past posts were kind of embarrassing, I think that you should have explained in more detail about how they were changing through each stage. I would have also liked to see this in other elements of your paper such as pictures and friends. You only briefly mention your views toward pictures and how as time passed, you started to untag yourself and hid some pictures from people. But why did you do this? What did the pictures of you, show to others that you wanted to hide them? And you only mentioned friending others in Stage 3. I would have liked to see what friending others meant to you during the early stages compared to your thoughts of friending others during the later stages.

You also did a great job describing your thoughts on anonymity with your avatar. I found that you and I had almost completely opposite thoughts on this matter. While you decided that you had nothing to hide during the early years of Facebook, I barely displayed anything about myself. And as time passed, I eventually opened up more and more about myself and my avatar then became more and more authentic. For you though, as time passed, your Facebook persona seemed to become less authentic because of the increase of ethical issues and security. And I also liked the last sentenced in stage 7. This line really encompasses the idea of temporality. I believe humans to be very fickle in nature and relationships come and go as time passes. Just like with Myspace, people will move on when the newer and better things are created.

All in all, I thought you had a really great paper. I especially find it awesome how your project was inspired by Wong fu!

- Chris