Have you kept your New Years Resolution?
It’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.
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…
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.
What 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.