A genuine Silicon Valley Web Flyer | One line of code at a time...

Happy Birthday Hypertext Girl

Have you kept your New Years Resolution?

iJustineIt’s mid March already, and most of us have ignored the fact that our taxes are due in less than a month, let alone keeping a resolution that we fail to keep every other year.

I recently met someone who has kept that promise to herself, and is sharing it with the world.

Her name is Justine Ezarik, and she “is the Internet”.

Sure, every college-aged student has a Facebook, or a MySpace profile nowadays, but Ezarik (pronounced “uh-zarik”) takes it to the next level. I have never seen a more diverse online silhouette, with more connectivity than a trusty, blue Ethernet cable.

“It’s pretty hard to trust anyone on the Internet, but it’s really not much easier in real life,” said the 23-year-old birthday girl from Carnegie, Pa.

Ezarik’s New Years Resolution was simple: update her blog everyday.

http://www.tastyblogsnack.com hasn’t missed a beat.

The site, whose main snack is cumulative food for thought, has a welcoming interface with at least one post per day since January 1, 2007.

“I started the site a few years ago as a place to post mobile photos and never publicized it. This January, I realized I’ve never had a ‘New Years Resolution’, so I made one to blog everyday,” she said. “I deleted everything and started over.”

Ezarik has exposed me to a few cool websites that I would have never found if it weren’t for her blog.

Instead of YouTube, she uses Jumpcut, a creative community which allows users to “remix” videos from other users, and edit videos right in the browser.

AOL IM away messages are retro compared to her updates.

And, she can keep track of her general location over time with her Groovr page.

Ezarik and her best friend Desiree have also put together mommypackmylunch.com, a site featuring various videoblogging adventures.

Her videos are simple, silly and random, but they are guaranteed to produce at least one smile. The fact that she actually spends time “interneting” for herself is reason enough to keep up with her. Her blog’s comments went from an average of maybe one comment a day at the beginning of the year, to at least five or six a day right now.

Desiree and Justine

The list goes on and on, and if you Google her alias, “ijustine”, over 65,000 results appear. I will guarentee you that 99.9% of those relate to her online identity. But new media is still exactly that…too fresh to formulate. Luckily, I had a brief chance to interview this Internet acrobat, and her answers just set off more bombs in my head about the future of this wide open world wide web.

Andrew: When did you get your first computer with internet access? What got you hooked on the web?

Justine: When I was in 5th grade my family got a PowerMac 6100/60 and at some point in that year, I believe was when we first got the Internet! As for what got me hooked on the web, I’m not really sure if was just one certain thing… I had always loved technology and gaming growing up so this was just an entirely new avenue. My first website was nintendo.com!

What about the Internet is so interesting to you?

There are so many people in this world that I never would have met if it wasn’t for the internet.

How has the mobile phone revolutionized social media?

I believe It’s still in the process of being revolutionized. Everyone has a cell phone, if not two, on them at all times so it’s only natural to incorporate mobile accessibility to social networking sites.

For example, Twitter is a unique website based on text updates. With a single message, you have the ability to reach a large amount of people, who can choose to receive your update via, IM, web or text. Groovr is a location-based social networking site that allows you to update your current location (club, concert venue, restaurant), send photos or videos and will be instantly updated online. You can also “broadcast” to your friends within a certain mile radius, or “shout” to send directly to your entire friend list.

Facebook mobile is great example of how text messages change the way people use their service. You’ll receive pokes, wall updates, friend requests and with a simple text message, you have the ability to respond to every action without ever having to login. And to think this is only the beginning…

Google Socks

There is such a huge generational gap when it comes to understanding methods of interpersonal communication today. Do you believe our generation has mastered online identity?

It seems that every band, actor, or comedian (regardless of age) has a Myspace profile / online persona / website and use it as a marketing tool. I don’t feel it’s just limited to the younger generation; they’ve just been exposed to it more than we ever were.

Do you hate television? Is videoblogging the future?

I don’t necessarily hate television, I just hate watching it on a TV. I’d prefer an episode showing up in my feed reader, inbox, or via an iTunes subscription. Actually, I don’t even mind paying the occasional $1.99 to download episodes of a shows I really like. I love that abc.com has started streaming their past episodes online for free.

As far as video blogging goes, for me it’s just an alternative to writing. Our other videos which are a little more scripted, I wouldn’t necessarily classify in the video blogging category.

JustineWhat have you done with Jumpcut? Did you get to goto San Francisco recently?

I did go to San Francisco recently and I went on a date with Jumpcut (see video). As far as what I was REALLY doing there… maybe that information will be released soon.

I personally think that MySpace is on the decline, and cooler sites will start to grab the attention of young people because they allow for more creativity and flexability. What do you think about MySpace?

It’s only a matter of time before people begin finding other websites to migrate to. One of the most difficult things for alot of people switching from Myspace to another service will be rebuilding their network. Myspace has made it so easy to “collect friends” over the years, that moving a large amount people from your network to another is almost impossible to do overnight. Change is difficult for alot of people. Even offline it’s easy to get stuck in routine if you’re comfortable with something. That doesn’t always make it the right choice.

What do you know about net neutrality? Is the Internet gonna be restricted pretty soon?

Net Neutrality is basically that we, as users, have a right to be in control of what we view online. As far as when or if it will be restricted, that’s hard to say. If you are paying for a service to be connected to the internet, within legal reason, you shouldn’t be restricted to what you can or can’t view. That’s what makes the internet so powerful.

What are some of the better social networking sites out there?

virb.com is one of my new favorites. It’s beautifully designed and it’s everything that Myspace will never be. I’m also an avid user of twitter, groovr, and jumpcut.

Mac or PC? Why?

I’ve always been a Mac user. Why? Because they are amazing.

Good answers, but I still have more questions for the hypertext queen.

  • http://www.ryanjpowell.com Ryan

    Very interesting interview, I first saw ijustine when I registered an account on Groovr. I was home for winter break in Pittsburgh, and saw that she was in my area on Groovr. I’ve been reading her blog ever since, and it’s pretty entertaining stuff.

    Good Work!

    ~ryan

  • http://www.ryanjpowell.com Ryan

    Very interesting interview, I first saw ijustine when I registered an account on Groovr. I was home for winter break in Pittsburgh, and saw that she was in my area on Groovr. I’ve been reading her blog ever since, and it’s pretty entertaining stuff.

    Good Work!

    ~ryan

  • Chris B

    A couple things. First of all you never fail to have interesting stuff written and I love it. Secondly can you hook me up with her? ;) Go Vols/Hokies!

  • Chris B

    A couple things. First of all you never fail to have interesting stuff written and I love it. Secondly can you hook me up with her? ;) Go Vols/Hokies!

  • Nate

    “Net Neutrality is basically that we, as users, have a right to be in control of what we view online. As far as when or if it will be restricted, that’s hard to say. If you are paying for a service to be connected to the internet, within legal reason, you shouldn’t be restricted to what you can or can’t view. That’s what makes the internet so powerful.”

    No offense, but I don’t think I’ve ever read an opinion so purposefully idiotic and uneducated. It’s people like this that really should be interested in the idea of net neutrality, but it’s like she chooses to relate absolutely nothing about the issue other than some vapid swill more worthy of a fifteen year old. In short, even a 23 year old should be much smarter.

    This will be one of the more important issues of the next decade (at least in terms of the internet), and the OMG WEB 2.0 SOCIAL NETWORKING crowd had better get with it or they’ll find they can only collect hundreds of fake friends and watch fart videos/copyrighted material from other users and sites their provider deems appropriate. In short: It’s time to wake up, kids.

  • Nate

    “Net Neutrality is basically that we, as users, have a right to be in control of what we view online. As far as when or if it will be restricted, that’s hard to say. If you are paying for a service to be connected to the internet, within legal reason, you shouldn’t be restricted to what you can or can’t view. That’s what makes the internet so powerful.”

    No offense, but I don’t think I’ve ever read an opinion so purposefully idiotic and uneducated. It’s people like this that really should be interested in the idea of net neutrality, but it’s like she chooses to relate absolutely nothing about the issue other than some vapid swill more worthy of a fifteen year old. In short, even a 23 year old should be much smarter.

    This will be one of the more important issues of the next decade (at least in terms of the internet), and the OMG WEB 2.0 SOCIAL NETWORKING crowd had better get with it or they’ll find they can only collect hundreds of fake friends and watch fart videos/copyrighted material from other users and sites their provider deems appropriate. In short: It’s time to wake up, kids.

  • http://www.tastyblogsnack.com Justine

    Nate is really nice.

  • http://www.tastyblogsnack.com Justine

    Nate is really nice.

  • http://twitter.com/spinchange spinchange

    Couple of things…first off excellent write-up on the Hyper-Text Queen, Miss iJustine! I’ve recently discovered some of her and Desiree’s videos and they are great. Clearly very careful crafted and produced, yet so lighthearted and funny. You go Gurl!!!

    Secondly, Nate…chill out and take your asshat off, dude. Net Neutrality is a complex and nuanced topic that not everyone might have *your* expertise in. Besides, I see nothing inherently wrong with her statement

    Finally to Andrew: Cool Blog, Man – Found you & this post on Digg.com – Feed Added :-)

    Spinchange

  • http://lifeonthegrid.blogspot.com Spinchange

    Couple of things…first off excellent write-up on the Hyper-Text Queen, Miss iJustine! I’ve recently discovered some of her and Desiree’s videos and they are great. Clearly very careful crafted and produced, yet so lighthearted and funny. You go Gurl!!!

    Secondly, Nate…chill out and take your asshat off, dude. Net Neutrality is a complex and nuanced topic that not everyone might have *your* expertise in. Besides, I see nothing inherently wrong with her statement

    Finally to Andrew: Cool Blog, Man – Found you & this post on Digg.com – Feed Added :-)

    Spinchange

  • Phil Butler

    What a refreshing story and beautiful face for Web 2.0! After reviewing a few real “pig” sites these last couple of days, it is nice to see a kind, worthwhile story!
    The mere mention of myspace does however send chills up my spine tho. I am just glad there are still smaller entities that represent good communication.

  • http://www/profy.com Phil Butler

    What a refreshing story and beautiful face for Web 2.0! After reviewing a few real “pig” sites these last couple of days, it is nice to see a kind, worthwhile story!
    The mere mention of myspace does however send chills up my spine tho. I am just glad there are still smaller entities that represent good communication.

  • http://www.goodxo.com Moncler

    really nice things

  • http://www.ewcss.com Moncler

    After reviewing a few real “pig” sites these last couple of days, it is nice to see a kind, worthwhile story!

blog comments powered by Disqus