For my book report, I decided to read the memoir by Felicia Day, “You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost).” Before picking up the book, I only vaguely recognized the name Felicia Day. This book was an interesting introduction to her persona. While the subject matter could have crossed the line into very medium-specific terminology excluding a wide audience who is not familiar with the gaming world her life was centered around, Day knew how to give simple of explanatory definitions for gaming lingo. The book centers around the life of Felicia Day and how she came to be such a big “internet famous” name. It carries along with it two specific issues in new media culture that I would like to hit in this analysis: the benefit and existence of community and the role of the platform. The book shows a lot the ways that even if something is weird and usually specific to certain fandom-type followers, as is gaming, when you like something and are able to find others with similar likes and interests, even if your interest is specific or “weird” when you are in a safe space of similar users, nothing is truly weird.
The McGonigal reading we had in class very broadly summarizes Day’s view of the gaming community saying, “More and more, gamers aren’t just in it for themselves. They’re in it for each other-- and for the thrill of being a part of something bigger.” Throughout the book, we see the way Day relied on the connectivity of gaming in her life-- she wasn’t the most social bug, so she relied heavily on being able to connect with others through a shared gaming passion to gain sociality, or social circles. Day was able to form, even if only brief, friendships of a sort with people she otherwise couldn’t (or wouldn’t) have. Interestingly enough, gaming was also used as a way Day connected with those she actually knew in the physical world, namely, her brother. On page 115 she says, “It felt empowering to prioritize our time together, rather than living at the beck and call of acting appointments. Even if it was just, ‘Let’s kill that skeleton boss tonight!’ It felt like I belonged somewhere with him. Finally. “ To give a little more backstory, Day and her brother were both homeschooled, and as a result, she said she was more than a little socially awkward. Even though her and her brother grew up in the same circumstances, they were never really very close. This seemed to change when her brother introduced her to “World of Warcraft.” This game allowed for these siblings to bond in a way that they hadn’t through all the years living together. Now, to tie this into a personal experience, I’m not a gamer myself, but if we are talking about communities in or because of new media, I guess I could count social media. Social media is a tool that really allows for digital communities. Even though people may not rally up together in person--although this is a possibility, communities can form and unite behind a certain idea or group that connects them all.
Next, the role of platforms played a big part in the how of Felicia’s day to day digital interactions. Like above mentioned, Day’s primary social circles revolve around the gaming communities, so these online gaming platforms opened the way for her to be able to connect and interact with other people. The platform itself, a video game medium, while maybe intended for entertainment purposes, allowed for connectivity and networking.
To end, even though the book was supposed to stand as a biography of sorts of Felicia Day’s life, it really helped as an eye-opener for me allowing me to take a look into a world I’m very familiar with: the gaming world. This world, through the lens of homeschooled, 4.0, college double major and valedictorian Felicia Day’s eyes offers a perspective of how gaming, and the gaming, specifically, the online gaming platform offers a sense of community and structure for these users. Through the use of this online platform, people are able to interact with other people, forming connections otherwise probably impossible. In conclusion, putting it in the words of Felicia Day herself, “You’re never weird when you’re surrounded by people who are weird like you, right?”. A say all and maybe a blanket statement, but a comforting one that offers the possibility of commonality.
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