We Live in Public
Encyclopedia
We Live in Public is a 2009 documentary
by Ondi Timoner
which profiles Internet
pioneer Josh Harris
. It has as its theme the loss of privacy in the internet age.
. The dot.com millionaire founded Pseudo.com
, the first Internet television
network during the infamous tech boom of the late '90s. After achieving prominence amongst the Silicon Valley
set, Harris became interested in controversial human experiments which tested the effects of media and technology on the development of personal identity
. Ondi Timoner documented the major business-related moments of Harris's life for more than a decade, setting the tone for her documentary of the virtual world and its supposed control of human lives.
Among Harris' experiments touched on in the film is the art project "Quiet: We Live in Public," an Orwellian
, Big Brother concept developed in the late '90s which placed more than 100 artists in a human terrarium under New York City, with myriad webcams following and capturing every move the artists made. The pièce de résistance
was a Japanese-style capsule hotel
outfitted with cameras in every pod, and screens that allowed each occupant to monitor the other pods installed in the basement by artist Jeff Gompertz.
The film's website describes how, "With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public."
"He climbs into the TV set and he becomes the rat in his own experiment at this point, and the results don't turn out very well for him," says Timoner of the six month period Harris broadcast his life in his NYC loft live online. "He really takes the only relationship that he's ever had that was close and intimate and beaches it on 30 motion-controlled surveillance cameras and 66 invasive microphones. I mean his girlfriend who signed on to it thinking it would be fun and cool, and that they were living a fast and crazy Internet life, she ended up leaving him. She just couldn't be intimate in public. And I think that's an important lesson; the Internet, as wonderful as it is, is not an intimate medium. It's just not. If you want to keep something intimate and if you want to keep something sacred, you probably shouldn't post it."
The film includes commentary from internet personalities Chris DeWolfe
, Jason Calacanis
, Douglas Rushkoff
, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson
.
before being awarded the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. Timoner is the first director in the history of the Sundance film festival to win the grand jury award twice. Her first win was in 2004 for the widely acclaimed documentary, DIG!
The film was also the runner-up for 'Best Documentary' at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
gave the film four stars, his highest rating, and wrote, "This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man."
We Live in Public is a 2009 documentary
by Ondi Timoner
which profiles Internet
pioneer Josh Harris
. It has as its theme the loss of privacy in the internet age.
. The dot.com millionaire founded Pseudo.com
, the first Internet television
network during the infamous tech boom of the late '90s. After achieving prominence amongst the Silicon Valley
set, Harris became interested in controversial human experiments which tested the effects of media and technology on the development of personal identity
. Ondi Timoner documented the major business-related moments of Harris's life for more than a decade, setting the tone for her documentary of the virtual world and its supposed control of human lives.
Among Harris' experiments touched on in the film is the art project "Quiet: We Live in Public," an Orwellian
, Big Brother concept developed in the late '90s which placed more than 100 artists in a human terrarium under New York City, with myriad webcams following and capturing every move the artists made. The pièce de résistance
was a Japanese-style capsule hotel
outfitted with cameras in every pod, and screens that allowed each occupant to monitor the other pods installed in the basement by artist Jeff Gompertz.
The film's website describes how, "With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public."
"He climbs into the TV set and he becomes the rat in his own experiment at this point, and the results don't turn out very well for him," says Timoner of the six month period Harris broadcast his life in his NYC loft live online. "He really takes the only relationship that he's ever had that was close and intimate and beaches it on 30 motion-controlled surveillance cameras and 66 invasive microphones. I mean his girlfriend who signed on to it thinking it would be fun and cool, and that they were living a fast and crazy Internet life, she ended up leaving him. She just couldn't be intimate in public. And I think that's an important lesson; the Internet, as wonderful as it is, is not an intimate medium. It's just not. If you want to keep something intimate and if you want to keep something sacred, you probably shouldn't post it."
The film includes commentary from internet personalities Chris DeWolfe
, Jason Calacanis
, Douglas Rushkoff
, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson
.
before being awarded the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. Timoner is the first director in the history of the Sundance film festival to win the grand jury award twice. Her first win was in 2004 for the widely acclaimed documentary, DIG!
The film was also the runner-up for 'Best Documentary' at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
gave the film four stars, his highest rating, and wrote, "This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man."
We Live in Public is a 2009 documentary
by Ondi Timoner
which profiles Internet
pioneer Josh Harris
. It has as its theme the loss of privacy in the internet age.
. The dot.com millionaire founded Pseudo.com
, the first Internet television
network during the infamous tech boom of the late '90s. After achieving prominence amongst the Silicon Valley
set, Harris became interested in controversial human experiments which tested the effects of media and technology on the development of personal identity
. Ondi Timoner documented the major business-related moments of Harris's life for more than a decade, setting the tone for her documentary of the virtual world and its supposed control of human lives.
Among Harris' experiments touched on in the film is the art project "Quiet: We Live in Public," an Orwellian
, Big Brother concept developed in the late '90s which placed more than 100 artists in a human terrarium under New York City, with myriad webcams following and capturing every move the artists made. The pièce de résistance
was a Japanese-style capsule hotel
outfitted with cameras in every pod, and screens that allowed each occupant to monitor the other pods installed in the basement by artist Jeff Gompertz.
The film's website describes how, "With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public."
"He climbs into the TV set and he becomes the rat in his own experiment at this point, and the results don't turn out very well for him," says Timoner of the six month period Harris broadcast his life in his NYC loft live online. "He really takes the only relationship that he's ever had that was close and intimate and beaches it on 30 motion-controlled surveillance cameras and 66 invasive microphones. I mean his girlfriend who signed on to it thinking it would be fun and cool, and that they were living a fast and crazy Internet life, she ended up leaving him. She just couldn't be intimate in public. And I think that's an important lesson; the Internet, as wonderful as it is, is not an intimate medium. It's just not. If you want to keep something intimate and if you want to keep something sacred, you probably shouldn't post it."
The film includes commentary from internet personalities Chris DeWolfe
, Jason Calacanis
, Douglas Rushkoff
, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson
.
before being awarded the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. Timoner is the first director in the history of the Sundance film festival to win the grand jury award twice. Her first win was in 2004 for the widely acclaimed documentary, DIG!
The film was also the runner-up for 'Best Documentary' at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
gave the film four stars, his highest rating, and wrote, "This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man."
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
by Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner is an American film director, producer and editor.-History:Ondi Timoner is the only director to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Born in Miami, Florida, Timoner graduated cum laude from Yale University, with a double major in American Studies and Theater...
which profiles Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
pioneer Josh Harris
Josh Harris (internet)
Josh Harris is the founder of JupiterResearch and Pseudo.com, a live audio and video webcasting website founded in 1993, which filed for bankruptcy following the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000....
. It has as its theme the loss of privacy in the internet age.
Synopsis
The film details the experiences of "the greatest Internet pioneer you've never heard of," Josh HarrisJosh Harris (internet)
Josh Harris is the founder of JupiterResearch and Pseudo.com, a live audio and video webcasting website founded in 1993, which filed for bankruptcy following the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000....
. The dot.com millionaire founded Pseudo.com
Pseudo.com
Pseudo.com was a website for live audio and video webcasting. Founded in late 1993, its parent company Pseudo Programs Inc. filed for bankruptcy following the end of the Dot Com Bubble in 2000. Its assets were purchased by INTV in 2001...
, the first Internet television
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
network during the infamous tech boom of the late '90s. After achieving prominence amongst the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
set, Harris became interested in controversial human experiments which tested the effects of media and technology on the development of personal identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
. Ondi Timoner documented the major business-related moments of Harris's life for more than a decade, setting the tone for her documentary of the virtual world and its supposed control of human lives.
Among Harris' experiments touched on in the film is the art project "Quiet: We Live in Public," an Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
, Big Brother concept developed in the late '90s which placed more than 100 artists in a human terrarium under New York City, with myriad webcams following and capturing every move the artists made. The pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance is a French term , translated into English literally as "piece of resistance," referring to the best part or feature of something , a showpiece, or highlight. It can be thought of as the portion of a creation which defies Pièce de résistance is a French term (circa 1839),...
was a Japanese-style capsule hotel
Capsule hotel
A is a type of hotel with a large number of extremely small "rooms" intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels...
outfitted with cameras in every pod, and screens that allowed each occupant to monitor the other pods installed in the basement by artist Jeff Gompertz.
The film's website describes how, "With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public."
"He climbs into the TV set and he becomes the rat in his own experiment at this point, and the results don't turn out very well for him," says Timoner of the six month period Harris broadcast his life in his NYC loft live online. "He really takes the only relationship that he's ever had that was close and intimate and beaches it on 30 motion-controlled surveillance cameras and 66 invasive microphones. I mean his girlfriend who signed on to it thinking it would be fun and cool, and that they were living a fast and crazy Internet life, she ended up leaving him. She just couldn't be intimate in public. And I think that's an important lesson; the Internet, as wonderful as it is, is not an intimate medium. It's just not. If you want to keep something intimate and if you want to keep something sacred, you probably shouldn't post it."
The film includes commentary from internet personalities Chris DeWolfe
Chris DeWolfe
Chris DeWolfe is an American entrepreneur, and one of the creators of Myspace , of which he is also the former CEO. He has the sixth account ever made on the site. During DeWolfe's tenure, MySpace became the top social network, with over 135 million worldwide unique visitors a month...
, Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis
Jason McCabe Calacanis is an American Internet entrepreneur and blogger. His first company was part of the dot-com era in New York, and his second venture, Weblogs, Inc., capitalized on the growth of blogs before being sold to AOL....
, Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson
Fred Wilson (financier)
Fred Wilson is a New York-based venture capitalist and a prominent blogger. Due to his successful investment track record and community involvement, he is recognized as a leading voice of the venture capital finance community in New York...
.
Awards
We Live in Public was screened six times at the Sundance Film Festival2009 Sundance Film Festival
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival.-Award winners:*Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - We Live in Public...
before being awarded the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. Timoner is the first director in the history of the Sundance film festival to win the grand jury award twice. Her first win was in 2004 for the widely acclaimed documentary, DIG!
DiG!
Dig! is a 2004 documentary film directed by Ondi Timoner, and produced by Timoner, Vasco Nunes, and David Timoner. Compiled from seven years of footage, it contrasts the developing careers of the bands The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the bands' respective frontmen Courtney...
The film was also the runner-up for 'Best Documentary' at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Critical response
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film four stars, his highest rating, and wrote, "This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man."
External links
- The Third Estate
- LA Times
- Village Voice
- CNN
- Variety
- realscreen.com
- Nasty Nets
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- wearemoviegeeks.com
- Cinematical
- SuicideGirls
- MovieMaker Magazine
- Boston Globe
- IndieWire
We Live in Public is a 2009 documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
by Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner is an American film director, producer and editor.-History:Ondi Timoner is the only director to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Born in Miami, Florida, Timoner graduated cum laude from Yale University, with a double major in American Studies and Theater...
which profiles Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
pioneer Josh Harris
Josh Harris (internet)
Josh Harris is the founder of JupiterResearch and Pseudo.com, a live audio and video webcasting website founded in 1993, which filed for bankruptcy following the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000....
. It has as its theme the loss of privacy in the internet age.
Synopsis
The film details the experiences of "the greatest Internet pioneer you've never heard of," Josh HarrisJosh Harris (internet)
Josh Harris is the founder of JupiterResearch and Pseudo.com, a live audio and video webcasting website founded in 1993, which filed for bankruptcy following the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000....
. The dot.com millionaire founded Pseudo.com
Pseudo.com
Pseudo.com was a website for live audio and video webcasting. Founded in late 1993, its parent company Pseudo Programs Inc. filed for bankruptcy following the end of the Dot Com Bubble in 2000. Its assets were purchased by INTV in 2001...
, the first Internet television
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
network during the infamous tech boom of the late '90s. After achieving prominence amongst the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
set, Harris became interested in controversial human experiments which tested the effects of media and technology on the development of personal identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
. Ondi Timoner documented the major business-related moments of Harris's life for more than a decade, setting the tone for her documentary of the virtual world and its supposed control of human lives.
Among Harris' experiments touched on in the film is the art project "Quiet: We Live in Public," an Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
, Big Brother concept developed in the late '90s which placed more than 100 artists in a human terrarium under New York City, with myriad webcams following and capturing every move the artists made. The pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance is a French term , translated into English literally as "piece of resistance," referring to the best part or feature of something , a showpiece, or highlight. It can be thought of as the portion of a creation which defies Pièce de résistance is a French term (circa 1839),...
was a Japanese-style capsule hotel
Capsule hotel
A is a type of hotel with a large number of extremely small "rooms" intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels...
outfitted with cameras in every pod, and screens that allowed each occupant to monitor the other pods installed in the basement by artist Jeff Gompertz.
The film's website describes how, "With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public."
"He climbs into the TV set and he becomes the rat in his own experiment at this point, and the results don't turn out very well for him," says Timoner of the six month period Harris broadcast his life in his NYC loft live online. "He really takes the only relationship that he's ever had that was close and intimate and beaches it on 30 motion-controlled surveillance cameras and 66 invasive microphones. I mean his girlfriend who signed on to it thinking it would be fun and cool, and that they were living a fast and crazy Internet life, she ended up leaving him. She just couldn't be intimate in public. And I think that's an important lesson; the Internet, as wonderful as it is, is not an intimate medium. It's just not. If you want to keep something intimate and if you want to keep something sacred, you probably shouldn't post it."
The film includes commentary from internet personalities Chris DeWolfe
Chris DeWolfe
Chris DeWolfe is an American entrepreneur, and one of the creators of Myspace , of which he is also the former CEO. He has the sixth account ever made on the site. During DeWolfe's tenure, MySpace became the top social network, with over 135 million worldwide unique visitors a month...
, Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis
Jason McCabe Calacanis is an American Internet entrepreneur and blogger. His first company was part of the dot-com era in New York, and his second venture, Weblogs, Inc., capitalized on the growth of blogs before being sold to AOL....
, Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson
Fred Wilson (financier)
Fred Wilson is a New York-based venture capitalist and a prominent blogger. Due to his successful investment track record and community involvement, he is recognized as a leading voice of the venture capital finance community in New York...
.
Awards
We Live in Public was screened six times at the Sundance Film Festival2009 Sundance Film Festival
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival.-Award winners:*Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - We Live in Public...
before being awarded the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. Timoner is the first director in the history of the Sundance film festival to win the grand jury award twice. Her first win was in 2004 for the widely acclaimed documentary, DIG!
DiG!
Dig! is a 2004 documentary film directed by Ondi Timoner, and produced by Timoner, Vasco Nunes, and David Timoner. Compiled from seven years of footage, it contrasts the developing careers of the bands The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the bands' respective frontmen Courtney...
The film was also the runner-up for 'Best Documentary' at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Critical response
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film four stars, his highest rating, and wrote, "This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man."
External links
- The Third Estate
- LA Times
- Village Voice
- CNN
- Variety
- realscreen.com
- Nasty Nets
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- wearemoviegeeks.com
- Cinematical
- SuicideGirls
- MovieMaker Magazine
- Boston Globe
- IndieWire
We Live in Public is a 2009 documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
by Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner is an American film director, producer and editor.-History:Ondi Timoner is the only director to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Born in Miami, Florida, Timoner graduated cum laude from Yale University, with a double major in American Studies and Theater...
which profiles Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
pioneer Josh Harris
Josh Harris (internet)
Josh Harris is the founder of JupiterResearch and Pseudo.com, a live audio and video webcasting website founded in 1993, which filed for bankruptcy following the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000....
. It has as its theme the loss of privacy in the internet age.
Synopsis
The film details the experiences of "the greatest Internet pioneer you've never heard of," Josh HarrisJosh Harris (internet)
Josh Harris is the founder of JupiterResearch and Pseudo.com, a live audio and video webcasting website founded in 1993, which filed for bankruptcy following the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000....
. The dot.com millionaire founded Pseudo.com
Pseudo.com
Pseudo.com was a website for live audio and video webcasting. Founded in late 1993, its parent company Pseudo Programs Inc. filed for bankruptcy following the end of the Dot Com Bubble in 2000. Its assets were purchased by INTV in 2001...
, the first Internet television
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
network during the infamous tech boom of the late '90s. After achieving prominence amongst the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
set, Harris became interested in controversial human experiments which tested the effects of media and technology on the development of personal identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
. Ondi Timoner documented the major business-related moments of Harris's life for more than a decade, setting the tone for her documentary of the virtual world and its supposed control of human lives.
Among Harris' experiments touched on in the film is the art project "Quiet: We Live in Public," an Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
, Big Brother concept developed in the late '90s which placed more than 100 artists in a human terrarium under New York City, with myriad webcams following and capturing every move the artists made. The pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance is a French term , translated into English literally as "piece of resistance," referring to the best part or feature of something , a showpiece, or highlight. It can be thought of as the portion of a creation which defies Pièce de résistance is a French term (circa 1839),...
was a Japanese-style capsule hotel
Capsule hotel
A is a type of hotel with a large number of extremely small "rooms" intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels...
outfitted with cameras in every pod, and screens that allowed each occupant to monitor the other pods installed in the basement by artist Jeff Gompertz.
The film's website describes how, "With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public."
"He climbs into the TV set and he becomes the rat in his own experiment at this point, and the results don't turn out very well for him," says Timoner of the six month period Harris broadcast his life in his NYC loft live online. "He really takes the only relationship that he's ever had that was close and intimate and beaches it on 30 motion-controlled surveillance cameras and 66 invasive microphones. I mean his girlfriend who signed on to it thinking it would be fun and cool, and that they were living a fast and crazy Internet life, she ended up leaving him. She just couldn't be intimate in public. And I think that's an important lesson; the Internet, as wonderful as it is, is not an intimate medium. It's just not. If you want to keep something intimate and if you want to keep something sacred, you probably shouldn't post it."
The film includes commentary from internet personalities Chris DeWolfe
Chris DeWolfe
Chris DeWolfe is an American entrepreneur, and one of the creators of Myspace , of which he is also the former CEO. He has the sixth account ever made on the site. During DeWolfe's tenure, MySpace became the top social network, with over 135 million worldwide unique visitors a month...
, Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis
Jason McCabe Calacanis is an American Internet entrepreneur and blogger. His first company was part of the dot-com era in New York, and his second venture, Weblogs, Inc., capitalized on the growth of blogs before being sold to AOL....
, Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson
Fred Wilson (financier)
Fred Wilson is a New York-based venture capitalist and a prominent blogger. Due to his successful investment track record and community involvement, he is recognized as a leading voice of the venture capital finance community in New York...
.
Awards
We Live in Public was screened six times at the Sundance Film Festival2009 Sundance Film Festival
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival.-Award winners:*Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - We Live in Public...
before being awarded the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. Timoner is the first director in the history of the Sundance film festival to win the grand jury award twice. Her first win was in 2004 for the widely acclaimed documentary, DIG!
DiG!
Dig! is a 2004 documentary film directed by Ondi Timoner, and produced by Timoner, Vasco Nunes, and David Timoner. Compiled from seven years of footage, it contrasts the developing careers of the bands The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the bands' respective frontmen Courtney...
The film was also the runner-up for 'Best Documentary' at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Critical response
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film four stars, his highest rating, and wrote, "This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man."