What Makes a Man?

I can hear my train coming, looks like time is on my side

It was a busy weekend. I spent most the time cleaning house and listening to TED talks. I listened to a rather fascinating interview with moot/Christopher Poole the creator of 4chan. I had previously only known moot by his name, nothing more, but the interviews were fascinating. I guess it's easy to think the creator of such an ominous infamous dark corner of the internet to be just as dark and bizarre.

Instead moot is an optimistic, laid back young man, about the same age as me. Learning that at 15 he created the now massive community of 4chan blew my mind. I couldn't have comprehended creating something of that mass at his age, but then again I don't think he ever expected it to grow into what it is today.

A lot of his talks center around the value of anonymity in a society where facebook and your real id is being applied to everything you do. One of his comments is that the excessive gore porn (and other porn) really isn't his style but he allows it for the organic growth of the community.

It's funny that you look at these two young men, Zuckerberg and Poole and you get two completely different sides of the same story. While Zuckerberg presses that by attaching real IDs to anything you do, makes you more responsible and more likely to be yourself because of the reputation attached to your name. Moot in turn argues that anonymity gives you the ability to experiment or say things you never would without fear of failure.

4chan has quickly become one of the few communities remaining on the internet that does not require you to register to be a part of it and I really think it's a great thing. People need a place for that sort of release, some place just to be creative without judgment. Everyone is aware of the animosity that surrounds 4chan, many fear it and others are disgusted but I think the beauty of 4chan is the light that shines through the chaos and decay. How the users are free to put their most deprived and dark thoughts out there for the world to see and yet sometimes something good or beautiful will come out. It's about having no limits, absolute anarchy and yet there is still good.

Well that's my ramble about 4chan and Facebook for now. I am working on a new painting (hence the title banner) essentially with Zuckerberg and moot each in their own corners and the words in the background describing what they are doing, what their goals are. It's still very rough but it's getting there.

On the writing front, obviously it is Wednesday again. I didn't get as much editing done this week with my excess cleaning and having to care for a friend's cat. But the words keep going down.

254,706

Well I better get to my critiques.