Explorations of Peer Entertainment on the Social Web

Explorations of Peer Entertainment on the Social Web Synopsis

People have gone online to entertain each other for decades. In this attention economy, those who can drive traffic and capture "likes" and other forms of favoriting become stars for a fleeting moment or two. Even as different celebrities rise and fall, some of the energy online is to distract and soothe each other through various forms of fun.

Looking at the social shares on the Social Web through an entertainment lens shows a space full of dancing, singing, joking, eating, feats of daring, modeling, storytelling, secret sharing, performance art, and other social performances. People go online to meet their own needs and to meet the needs of others. Some portions of peer-shared online content are designed to meet the hedonic or pleasure-seeking needs of others through various forms of entertainment. There are particular forms of entertainment targeted to particular audiences. This work explores peer-shared entertainment on the Social Web in its various forms.