On 18th July 2007, I was deleted from an internet private message board after 7 years of dedicated commitment and belief in the ability to build a worthwhile online community. My deletion was deemed as "guilt by association" due to the discovery of the text 'Langsters Online' (Framing Celebrity ed. Su Holmes & Sean Redmond, Routledge 2006), whereby partner, Judith Franco proposes to write and analyse the dynamics of both an online public and private fan message board and it's inherent "utopian" spirit despite variable identity politics and difference. Judith's intention wasn’t merely one as an academic, but as a fan aswell. She purposely changed (already) pseudo names and identities to 'protect' private members but to no avail; the "secret society" (Chief's message board) had been exposed and the price to pay was via a virtual execution.
Inspired by this event and of course, by having my voice ripped away from me, I began to examine my own reliance on virtual relationships and interaction as a social norm. I missed communicating within a virtual community, whereby I could discuss daily news events, identity issues, and the demise of a pop icon and generally socialise with a small group of people I once thought were friends. They knew me and I shared so much of myself with them; clearly, I'd never even met them.
This space will be used to link in my research points, influences in my work from the the Summer 2007 to the present day.
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