Keyword Essay Analysis (portfolio #2)
In John Durham Peters’s piece titled “Cloud,” he details the history of the word and its sociological implications over time. Although the term is still mostly associated with the mutable masses in the sky, Peters touches on the meaning of the term from a digital context — meaning a metaphorical storage unit for personal data. In naming this storage unit the “cloud,” big tech companies mislead consumers into focusing on the “peaceful, inconsequential parts of the tradition of cloud meanings while suppressing the rest,” (61) making us feel safe in relinquishing our personal data when it is, in fact, riskier than we seem to understand. The shift in the meaning of the word cloud, as well as the contributions that the study of clouds has made to technology, also provide a commentary for the way in which changes in social structure and culture occur.
Peters explains that one of the first discourses surrounding clouds is a theological one. Many religious paintings depict angels and saints in Heaven, among the clouds, presenting the masses of water vapor as a domain for all things good and pure. Conversely, however, the ever-changing nature of the clouds quickly spurned the idea that messages or images could be seen in them, erring into the side of witchcraft and divination. Yet others laughed at this idea (even Jesus, ironically), suggesting that the immaterial nature of clouds could never give rise to any significant message. The contrast of positive and negative associations to the term highlights that while in a digital context, the cloud has major benefits, it can be just as ominous in the same breath. Also, by brushing off clouds as immaterial and simple natural occurrences, calling this storage unit a “cloud” further encourages us to let our guards down.
Clouds also have a technological context. Much like we discussed in class, the development of technology can enable/encourage changes in social structure and culture. The study of clouds inspired technologies that have transformed aspects of our society, mainly the areas of media with the invention of recording devices. The point of exploring all of this is to link the digital context of the cloud to the way we actually think about and represent clouds. The “cloud” is an immaterial accumulation of our data, dressed up to seem beyond our material world where no one can reach it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Big tech companies purposely obscure the negative aspects of the cloud to make us feel confident and safe in sharing our personal data. The idea of the cloud and its new meaning in a digital/media context is currently already changing the shape of our society, and what we view as privacy.
Despite being more plugged in, the readings highlighted that people actually feel more isolated and misunderstood in their relationships online. Connecting cloud to the topic of digital media and online relationships highlights our constant nature of being linked in. The cloud stores our data, but what is important to note is the specific data most people store in their cloud: pictures, messages, etc.; all a reflection of our connection to other people. There is even an unspoken connection that we share with the cloud devices. Companies like Amazon and Apple are getting a front seat on the ride of our lives, and we don’t even realize it. Not only that, but the possible destructive nature of the cloud really connects with the reading “My So-Called (Instagram) Life,” in the sense that in the same way the influencer’s life was negatively affected by her online presence (feeling pressured to change herself), the cloud can also negatively impact our lives through the vicious experience of getting our cloud hacked. Just look at celebrities and what their clouds have exposed. In the sense that we mask ourselves online, our cloud stores all of our uncut, raw, authentic moments — and perhaps those moments shouldn’t be online.
