Week 6 - Sousveillance

William Anthony Semler II

MyTube

Week 6 Assignment – Sousveillance

July 1, 2009

 

              Upon researching the concept of sousveillance, I came to understand its place in Media 2.0 because it is part of the “user-generated” generation.

              As part of this blogger-centric tidal wave, sousveillance allows us, the user, the one who is generally watched over by authorities, to keep an eye on those who watch over us by way of filming activities. Those who watch over us may be police, government organizations, management at our workplace, and so on. The advent of high quality cameras in our cell phones, along with affordable digital devices that record sound, video, and still photos, allows average and concerned citizens to capture footage of a particular incident and voice opinions on anything and everyone.

              “Sousveillance” refers to cameras that are at human level, meaning they are attatched somewhere to the body, whereas to survey someone, it is from a birds eye view, and most likely the people being watched are unaware of the surveillance. This souseveillance portrays the feeling of the moment, whether positive of negative, jolly or sad, and will lend to the facts of the matter. Media 2.0 is the culmination of people who want to give their take and spin on things, which leads me to a downfall of sousveillance.

              The holder of the footage filmed has the power to control the image, which can lead to it being taken out of context. The recording shown, whether by the media or the person who captured the moment, may show only the most interesting and controversial part of the video, the confrontation, but not necessarily the events leading up to it or those after. (i.e.: an officer striking an audience may be shown, but the audience may not know that the officer was acting in self defense.) Also, many problems can arise from a still capture that was lifted from the video.

              On a positive note, footage from this “reporter” can be posted for any and all to see, or can be sent to any source. The right, or wrong footage, in the right hands, can save a life or bring justice to those who deserve it.

              All in all, this new concept of “sousveillance” has brought to light what I can accomplish as an everyday citizen trying to set things right in this crazy world.