Home Pages and the Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

I originally wrote this for an assignment, but at the end of it, I asked some questions that I think would warrant a pretty interesting batch of feedback. I thought I'd post it here to see if I haven't falling into complete obscurity in a world of global out reach. I encourage people that find this entry to leave a comment no matter how ignorant it may be. After all, simplest response is often the most intelligent.

Web sites and home pages are no different than the television programs we see today. They are part of an "information game" in which the viewer receives information and then has to process it. This information can range from anything from politics to popular culture to propaganda.

What makes the web different from television is the interactivity of the content found in web-based productions. The viewer can not only receive information, but can also produce it. Communication of information on the web is more like a telephone in that it is presented on a two-way road. While one person can use elements of propaganda on their home page, thereby manipulating the information received, another can link to that home page causing a growth or even death of the culture. This interactivity is more engaging than the passive one-way flow of information that television presents. In short, everyone has an opinion and can express it in a way that is uninhibited by massive corporations and most democratic governments.

However, much like television, this level of interactive production is limited only to a certain demographic despite the global implication of publishing on the web. A user is going to get only so-many hits, and most probably won’t be from the other side of the planet. The fact that a home page is potentially available to the world, however, does present us with a way to extend ourselves beyond wherever we live. This indirectly created a sense of production quality, where the more professional the home page appears, the more validated it is received as an information source. The tools are available for this relatively freely. It is how well they are used that determines how valid the home page and the person producing it is at presenting the information.

We are the builders of a new form of cultural identity found within a world of transgendered anonymity where even the English language is a minority.

Questions

1. Is it possible for even the most valid-looking propaganda-driven home page to be ignored or seen as complete farce given its level of professional aesthetic?


2. What happens to the person who is only known by the screen name they have chosen on the web with the level of anonymity the web offers? In other words, do we hate the person behind the screen name or do we hate the screen name?


3. If the web is the essence of cultural production, then why are some governments trying to inhibit what can and can’t be seen and interacted with by users? Are some governments inhibiting cultural growth by censoring the web and its content?