Remix 24/7

In February of 2008, I attended 24/7 - a DIY Video Summit, which has recently relaunched its website with videos of the proceedings. (Those who prefer text can read my blog entries about the conference.) The line-up included Henry Jenkins, Alex Juhasz, Michael Wesch, Howard Rheingold, Mimi Ito, and many others, and audience members like Lev Manovich asked provocative questions. Although Juhasz and Manovich were included in Geert Lovink's YouTube criticism anthology Video Vortex, it could be argued in retrospect that not enough critique was included in the proceedings of the event.

Now Mark Marino has used the format of Wesch's video "A Vision of Students Today" to invite media critics interested in vernacular online video to use the display possibilities of the blank signs to make their own video essays about issues of self-sponsored media raised by the conference. As Marino says, "Why use just any medium when you can use media scholars to send your message?" Of course, remixers can use the canvas of Marino's video to broadcast just about any kind of message and even show presenters holding up signs with statements with which they would be likely to vehemently disagree. Since I appear in this remix in the making, I'm also vulnerable to potential parodists. Marino's "graffiti" version was pretty gentle. (For example, I say "Be Politik or IMpolitic!" on my sign, and Mimi Ito says "the kids are doing it.") Read Marino's full explanation of his project here.