Twitch.Tv -For those of twtichy attention spans.

Twitch.tv , the medium through which amazing victories and crushing defeats are proudly/shamefully broadcasted around the world to any one who will watch. Its most recent claim to fame is the creation of a pseudo-religion that spawned such phrases like praise helix and an interesting view upon a debate over anarchy vs democracy. Twitch.Tv is anything but dull in terms of history. However , the content it normally produces is in many respects quite dull.The concept is simple. A person with a webcam and suitable hardware broadcasts a live video stream of themse3lves playing video games. Thats it. Anyone can watch or not. So how is this service popular? That answer is also quite simple. Many videogame related YouTube persona's will actively broadcasts themselves on twitch for fans and post up the resulting video on youtube for easy content production. the number of views can easily reach anywhere from 2000 to 50000+ viewers for these people, but on average a regular person will most likely get around 3 to 20 people watching.

-the usual UI that you will see when using this service. It works. Mostly.

The chat interface however is different. it works usually but lag and high levels of input render this service catatonic sometimes. The text itself is cryptic  to most non gamers as well.

-K.V

Facebook - A Global Connection

 

Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has got to be one of the most addictive sites on the internet. It has evolved into a social media platform that has seamlessly blended into our daily lives with interaction through an accessible push of a button. When Facebook first made a grand entrance to the social media scene, it was meant to create a form of communication for college students to socialize and connect. Facebook has many features and along with constant updates of the website format and layout to appeal to the current audience and maintain its 'fresh' and innovative approach. Facebook has significantly impacted the processes and technology behind other social media networks. Its wide variety of communication,picture, video, advertising and security features allow Facebook to maintain its strong presence within the social media market and our society as a whole. Facebook is the 'way of life'. You can instantly communicate with old high school friends or check out a few of your mates vacation photos. This social network is so pervasive that it's unusual if you hear someone claim they don't have a Facebook account. Because of the number of members it has and its vast features, it is an exponentially expanding website that has become the central means of communication for me.

• Newsfeed tells me whats going on around the world

-K.S

#instagram

Welcome to Instagram, a world of hashtags, filters and food blogs. Instagram allows users to capture photos and videos, apply digital filters to them and post them on a variety of social networking sites, such as Twiter, Facebook and Tumblr. Since its launch in October 2010, Instagram’s popularity has sky rocketed with an estimated 200 millions users, with 60 million photos shared daily.

Starting off as a photo-sharing app for iPhone users only has now become a massive social network. However as its creation may have been intended for individuals sharing cool and interesting photos, in my opinion it has now become a platform for users to post “selfies”, composing of 58% of all photos posted on Instagram. The other main use of instagram is food blogs, where people feel the need to post photos of every single meal they eat….thinking people care.

#Hashtags is the foundation of instagram. Most of the photos that are uploaded include hashtags to identify their image with a specific topic. Hashtags are used and abused in almost every photo on Instagram with the perception that the more hashtags used the more likes the post will receive, which unfortunately, in my opinion, this is true.

 This YouTube video, performed by Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon, pretty much sums up how hashtags are overused:

Instagram: rickyzinn1

-R.Z

Ask.fm - A twelvies paradise

Ask.fm, personally for me, was an annoying trend. Let me paint you a picture of what it was like. You'd be on Facebook scrolling through your news feed, checking out the latest news in sports or whatever, thinking “ooo that’s cool” then all of a sudden half of your friends are saying “ask me anything lol” then linking you to a website. It was a sad time for humanity. Once on this website I was given the choice to either sign up or ask my friend a question anonymously. Of course, my trolling instincts took over and I chose to ask a number of stupid questions anonymously just for a laugh. After hitting enter and having a chuckle, I sat there waiting for a response… a few minutes went by and then I got the “who are you?? Get lost” reply for one of my questions and the rest were deleted *sadface*. In a nutshell this was Ask.fm. Ask.fm was extremely similar to the once popular ‘Formspring’ or ‘Spring.me’ as it is known now. From the beginning Ask.fm, wasn’t anything new, it was just trying to get its 15 minutes of fame. From the beginning I could see this website just screaming out ‘stranger danger’ imagine finding out your child has been answering questions by either complete randoms or friends, relating to what they like, when their birthday is, who their best friends are, where they live etc. For me ask.fm was an all time low. But with that being said you could always find a witty answer to a stupid question.

An example of a Ask.fm

• Ask.fm had a short life span, it was alright for a laugh, but thankfully my news feed is ask.fm free.

- D.L

Omegle - How the mighty have fallen

Ah, Omegle. The website is a mere shell of what it was in 2011. The first thing I noticed as the webpage finished loading was a yellow box containing the words “Don’t get pervy”. This was not a great start. Other than that, the website had a mercifully simple layout. Large blue text proudly displayed the approximate number of online users. I clicked the “Text” box to begin a session. This was it. My chance to connect with strangers dotted across the globe! I type in “Hi” to casually greet my acquaintance. Silence. After an entire minute, still nothing. I tapped the escape key twice to move on. The next five ‘conversations’ were with two more silent users and three computer scripts attempting to lure me to spam. The next three users asked me if I was a male or a female and then promptly disconnected when I disappointed them. Feeling underwhelmed, I switched to the video section. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. At the end of it all, I began to wonder what has happened to Omegle. I distinctly remember having fun conversations with real people when I was still in high school. I guess every website has an expiry date.

• A typical Omegle 'conversation'

- D.H

Chat Roulette 101- MY EYES!!!!

A bare interface meets my eyes, asking for me to sign before i can utilize its services. Sounds like any other website/service but this time i stare at the screen for before me stands the website responsible for more inappropriate images sent to strangers than snap chat. Although in this day and age it seems completely normal to utilize a service that sends out images of yourself to total strangers for genuine social purposes as a opposed to marketing or business uses( *ahem* Facebook), in 2009 when this was released, it caused genuine controversy over the content displayed and its attraction to young members. What is it now? Almost no different from its heyday of 2009. a very minimal ui that brings back the days of classic windows styles. Very utilitarian and very spartan.

• The "Next" button is something youll find yourself clicking alot

.

• However, i think the log out button is infinitely more useful and finally, i recommend you never go here. I think i need a shower now.
  
  -K.V

Intro to Social Depth Perception 101- Leave your bias at the door.

Hello and welcome to the opening post of the social depth perception. This is just and introduction to what this blog is about and a little bit about us. We are group of people from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences but of similar humor. As such, each week one out of the 5 five of us will post a cursory glance at the features of a different social media experience. Each review of sorts hopes to provide answers about the websites and bring up new question regarding where social media is heading. If that doesn't work, I'm sure a few words on the ridiculousness of bebo and myspace will suffice as the traditional beating of a dead horse. -K.V