The whole topic of the walled garden is just so interesting. It just shows us how naïve we want and can be to the information that we have access too. The concept of walled garden is simple. It means to be in a controlled environment where users are given access to certain things on the web (“What is walled garden? – Definition from WhatIs.com”, 2016). For example, Facebook is a walled garden as the feed we received is catered to our likes and interest but does it actually shows us what’s happening around us?
Now let’s compare it to 4chan. To those of you who are not familiar with the site. It is a site that allows people to post whatever they want. Similar to Reddit but on 4chan you post as an anonymous. The site is split into threads and the topics discuss in it ranges from where is the best coffee to rating sex toys (“Absolutely everything you need to know to understand 4chan, the Internet’s own bogeyman”, 2016). Coming back to the example, on 4chan you can find lots of different information such as news that aren’t even showed to us or even questions that would be downright ban if they were posted on platforms like Facebook. Heck you can even find news that aren’t available to the public
This is what the internet was made to be. It does not only show the beautiful things but also shows the dark and chaotic parts it has. 4chan also generates a lot of content while other platforms like pinterest just reblogs and shares content that they found. So having said this why isn’t sites like 4chan as popular as Facebook? Won’t people prefer the truth rather than a lie? The answer is simple. It is because people aren’t ready to face the reality of things. “Everyone is busy” (myself included). We have already so much to deal with at our current moment that we don’t want to deal with how terrible our actual reality is right now. To end the post I give you a quote from the Matrix. Neo: Why do my eyes hurt? Morpheus: You’ve never used them before.
(Original Picture https://au.pinterest.com/pin/561120434793627720/)
Reference
Absolutely everything you need to know to understand 4chan, the Internet’s own bogeyman. (2016). Washington Post. Retrieved 7 September 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/09/25/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-to-understand-4chan-the-internets-own-bogeyman/
What is walled garden? – Definition from WhatIs.com. (2016). SearchSecurity. Retrieved 7 September 2016, from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/walled-garden
the change is coming 
Really enjoyed this blog and the questions posed within. The community of 4Chan seems to welcome all kinds of posts. This gives some people a sense of freedom that they can hardly find anywhere else. In terms of sourcing timely and un-cleansed information, news and content – yes 4chan is better. However the reason I think people are still choosing Facebook comes down to convenience of utilizing two or three different purposes found on one platform (ability to message friends and access news).
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I really liked your meme and the end paragraph really sums up nicely the idea that maybe people enjoy being absorbed in their own lives, that they cant face the actual reality they are living in. When on 4chan its interesting to see that even the format doesn’t limit you into posting whatever you want. IT IS EXTREME in opinions, and you aren’t persecuted for having the wrong one like you may be on Facebook. Instead you make a valued opinion that instead of being persecuted is built upon as a discussion.
Would you prefer an unmediated platform or one that is completely catered for you?
This is similar to the man who created an extension to block out the Kardashians:
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/k-blocker-app-blocks-all-kardashian-content-from-your-iphone-2015-11?r=US&IR=T
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Hey there,
Just wanna say that this was a really interesting piece on the relationship between 4chan and Facebook and how their relationship represents the opposite sides of the internet. An aspect that’s really interesting to me is how much of the content we see on Facebook, actually stems from 4chan or Reddit. It’s fascinating that Facebook is very focused on being its own “walled garden”, but still allows content from 4chan or Reddit to make its way onto people’s newsfeed, which kinda makes the “walled garden” concept pointless. Personally, I agree that a “walled garden” is counter-productive to society, as it restricts the variety of informations available to us.
PS. Loved the meme 🙂
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I find that 4chan users seem to be more savage because of the anonymity, however sometimes the content can be a lil bit too much. In saying that, people do tend to get caught up with their own lives but through Facebook and similar platforms, it is easier to face the facebook posts than the hardcore truthful posts from random anonymous people on 4chan. Perhaps its easier to take in the posts from 4chan because they cannot be taken seriously due to their anonymity? This was a really interesting take on this weeks topic!
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I think it was great comparing Facebook to 4chan, it seems that people feel they can be much more genuine and honest on 4chan due to its anonymity where as Facebook does tend to hold a sense of being fairly fake, catering to only us as an individual rather than displaying what is really happening around us. Your choice of images are engaging and intriguingly conceptual, which initially influenced me to read your blog post while also making me think outside the box about this weeks topic. It was also good to include references and links, giving readers the opportunity to read further on the topic if they wish. Overall, awesome post!
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Not part of the course but couldn’t help but comment. That cartoon/graphic/meme thing you’ve finished on is absolutely moronic alt-right rubbish (much like 4chan in general, heh), with the whole “oh I’m so enlightened in saying what is ~~really true~~ but the MSM are too corrupt/stupid/naive to see” thought process that ends up turning into Hanson-esque hate speech against incompatible Muslims who are swamping us, and the rise of the term ‘SJW’ and ‘PC gone mad’ as a pejorative whenever someone points out that their self-obsession with being ‘edgy’ to fit into the 4chan culture is actually just them being a dick.
The deepest darkest corners of the internet where anonymity reigns and the tendrils of common human decency have failed to reach isn’t somehow an objective view of the world as it is, the reality that the ‘cucks’ don’t want to acknowledge. No, it’s just like any other source of news in that it interprets events and phenomena according to preconceptions, biases and ideological alignments.
It’s just as much a walled garden as Facebook — there’s certainly a functioning Overton Window. It’s just different in its content and enforcement mechanism.
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Yo,
Sweet remediations.
I totally agree that the chin/facey dynamic is super interesting. Not only because of the different approaches to content regulation officially, though, but to the very structure of the site. Anonymity is central to the chins whereas, even though anonymity is still very possible on facebook, facebook accounts have become so associated and intertwined with real world social relations that it is heavily regulated by social expectation and the need for cohesion. 4chan allows the users to leave behind these unofficial laws of society to an extent, and that’s what makes it so fun but also, at times, repulsive.
In my opinion, people choose facebook and choose social regulation because it is more productive, less disturbing and generally more pleasant – which I can hardly condemn.
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