Blog Post #1: Remediation as Reform, because I say so.

DTC at WSU is a unique program, exploring the spaces that are growing between contemporary English Rhetoric and the advent of communication technology. The fact that I am using a blog to describe this idea and the concept of remediation is a perfect example.  Unfortunately, this 'space' is not fully recognized nor established in the academic world, thus the reading of 'Mediation and Remediation' can be at times confusing, dry, painful, enlightening, or just bad. I will be discussing these concepts in greater detail as this blog grows, but for now I focus on a specific object I believe is a remediation of past technology. I chose Chatroulette.

For those unaware, Chatroulette is a relatively new program that connects people from across the world. The program works by having a user log on with a webcam, and then finds another person logged on randomly.  The people can then chat and see each other. At any time, a user can move on to another random person.

Chatroulette, I believe, is a remediation of the most basic forms of communication. How does one meet new people? Usually introductions are made, but also sometimes meetings new people is forced, for example in a classroom on the first day of classes. The teacher instructs the students to meet and greet, and one is introduced to random people. Now with Chatroulette the only ties these strangers have are through possession of basic technology. Unlike a desire to take or learn from the same class, strangers are meeting on a whole new set of terms.

This is, I believe, a manner of social reform, as described in the background reading. As a subcategory of remediation, this type of reform concerns itself with the mediation of classic social acts. With Chatroulette, standards of etiquette have changed dramatically. Classically, basic decorum creates a set of rules people feel strongly compelled to follow in most settings of introduction. The most basic are not a consistent part of Chatroulette. When I say 'most basic' I mean ideas such as wearing clothes and not participating in sexual acts.

How is this remediation (and not just gross)? Well, we, as a technological society, have now set a new low for social interaction. While I certainly do not expect to come across someone, naked on the street, introducing themselves while conducting some lewd act, I can imagine one day where our tolerances and tastes for societal graces have morphed dramatically.

In summary, remediation is not always a gentle process of change, pushing ourselves to different places through the introduction of interrelated concepts of technology. Sometimes a giant push in a direction occurs, changing how we interpret ourselves and our society.