Introduction

Hi! I'm Anna O'Brien, a graduate student in the Department of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University. As a part of the Social Media, Transmedia, Virtual Worlds, and Gaming group, I will be chronicling my experiences and observations here (for now).

Throughout the past few years, both my academic work and personal "art-making" have been Internet-centric. That is to say, I have been overtly concerned with the Internet as a medium for expression and social interaction. Some of the issues I have explored in writing include: the performance of identity and folk belief on YouTube, Orientalism and 'Weeaboo' culture, the aesthetics of vlogging, the production and circulation of various types of imagery online, and the visual culture of pro-anorexia communities online.

I have also enjoyed making animated gifs, digital collages, and videos that involve random data-corruption, and found images/footage, 3d modeling and stock media.

In terms of gaming, I am sort of entry-level (hence the blog title). While I certainly enjoy playing a few games, such as The Sims 3 and Civilization V, I haven't ever written on the subject. Of course, there are plenty of areas where my interests in visual culture and art-making online can overlap with gaming. One thing that has always interested me is the modeling and customization of skins and objects for The Sims, and the sharing of these products. The production of video content using The Sims game to narrativize stories, choreograph music videos, or represent sexual fantasies is also interesting to me.

Of course, I am also interested in broadening my scope!