Julene Bello
Professor Kathleen Ruiz
Final Project
AIM I AM
“AIM I AM” is mainly a commentary the on the
social phenomena America Online Instant Messenger service (AIM) has caused
worldwide. It is a humorous visua
On AIM, we are digitized and then solely
defined by emoticons, screen names, member profiles, and font choice. Online we
are both anonymous and unique, somewhere (at the computer) and nowhere (hooked
up to an Ethernet hub somewhere on campus), and enabled to communicate in more
ways and disabled also. There are many pros and cons when dealing with this
type of communication and this art installation in no way tries to compare
face-to-face conversation with computer mediate avenues. It only seeks to raise
basic questions of identity and representation online, a place where identity
and representation are always subject to suspicion, and raises the points of
tradeoff when communicating that way. Online the possibilities to communicate
are endless. And all instant messenger systems strive for one goal and for one
effect—to allow loved ones to stay in touch, to continue relationships, to
maintain human interactions with the available tools of the age.
References:
· Nicholas Negroponte’s “Electronic Agoras”, a
compilation of Internet articles concerning online identity
· PC Magazine Online’s magazine review of AIM
· Claes Oldenberg’s “Torn Notebook”
· President of The Center for Internet Studies
Dr. David Greenfield’s article “The Net Effect: Internet Addiction and
Compulsive Internet Use” @ www.virtual-addiction.com
· Oscar Wilde’s “Portrait of Dorian Grey”