Last week I found myself contemplating the age worn question: How high can a nine-banded armadillo jump in the air? Luckily, at the time I was sitting in the vicinity of a computer and a quick search on Wikipedia revealed that the answer is in fact: 3 – 4 feet. After letting this newly acquired piece of knowledge sink in, my thoughts turned to the speed at which I managed to find the answer and the way in which knowledge can now be instantly accessed by anyone who chooses.

We now live in an age where new lands can be discovered, not by sailing great ships into un-chartered waters or endlessly trekking across the most inhospitable corners of the globe, but instead at the click of a button in the safety of your own home by using Google Earth (see this). An age where to become an expert in something you no longer have to spend time and money studying in a learning establishment, instead you can kick back in a comfy chair and turn on your computer. An age where you can find out exactly what happened to Dave last Friday night after he had one too many tequilas, not by actually having a conversation with him but just by quickly glancing at Facebook.

Knowledge is no longer locked up in dusty books in unpopulated libraries. Instead it can be accessed by anyone in the blink of an eye and without the slightest bit of difficulty. The dissemination of knowledge is no longer elitist. Knowledge is power and in this new age of instant knowledge, power can be potentially gained by anyone who wants it. I wonder what implications this will have for society in the future. Surely having all of this knowledge at our finger tips can only create a more informed and consequently a more intelligent society and this can only be seen as a positive thing? Maybe I’m being too much of an idealist here.

This brings me on to talk about the providers of the knowledge such as Google. Google’s mission statement claims that its main objective is to organize all of the world’s information and to make it accessible for all. In a recent post I read entitled ‘The Brave New World of Knowledge’, Steven Stralser (the author) refers to Google as being in the business of “knowledge mining”. I thought this was an interesting concept. If knowledge is power then Google must surely be one of the most powerful organizations in the world. In effect you could say (in grand terms) that Google has the potential to control the world’s knowledge. Is this too much power for one private organization to have? So far it seems that Google hasn’t taken advantage of its position and have generally acted responsibly (read this) but I guess only time will tell…….

Recently I discovered a whole new world that I previously didn’t know existed. I want to call its existence into question and thought that I might find some answers by blogging about it.

The new world that I’m referring to is the world of ‘Unpacking’ videos. It’s the new phenomenon, which is seemingly sweeping You Tube, of people uploading videos of themselves unpacking their newly purchased electronic devices. I say it’s a ‘phenomenon’ but by doing so I might be attaching to this new genre of video much more credibility than it actually deserves. To illustrate what I am talking about check out this video:

What is going on here? Okay, obviously I can see that there might be one or two over-excited people who want to share their brand new ‘whatever it is’ phone with the world and therefore post a video of them opening the packaging and lovingly caressing their new possession. I can also see that it’s in the interests of the companies that sell these products to have these kinds of videos on You Tube – no doubt some of the videos are probably implemented directly by the companies themselves. What I can’t understand however, is the sheer scale of the ‘unpacking video’ scene. If you go on You Tube and search for any model of phone you will more than likely find a video of it being unpacked or ‘unboxed’ as some ‘unpacking’ aficionados call it.

So many people are now posting these kinds of videos that it seems to have turned into some kind of modern art form. ‘Unpacking’ enthusiasts leave comments under each others videos evaluating how well they thought the product was unpacked and maybe offering some helpful tips on how to improve performance for next time.

After watching a few of these videos I started getting that strange feeling of guilt you acquire when you become aware that you’re watching something you shouldn’t be. Obviously, it’s stupid feeling like this because all I’m watching is a phone being unpacked but that’s exactly the point – ALL I AM WATCHING IS A PHONE BEING UNPACKED!

It is amazing how the new world of social media can connect people from around the world in the strangest of ways. Someone who likes to film themselves unpacking their newest electronic toy can realise that they are not alone and that in fact thousands upon thousands of other people share their insanely weird interest.

I would love to know peoples thoughts on the subject and for anyone to enlighten me as to why this world of ‘unpacking’ videos actually exists!