There are certain online sites which tend to evoke in people a feeling of the true nature – or the DNA – of the internet.  Chatroulette was one of these and 4chan is another. Usually what people mean by  ‘the DNA of the internet’ is unbridled raw expression which is often tainted by porn or other social vulgarity. Using this criteria the public bathroom wall has functioned in much the same way as the internet.

One of the big keynotes at sxsw was from 4chan founder – Christopher ‘m00t’ Poole -  who went for Facebook’s jugular by deriding their identity-driven model as contributing to the web’s “loss of innocence.”  Almost in the same breath m00t used the event to push 4chan’s newest product called Canvas.

Two ingredients which have kept 4chan’s message boards legendary are anonymity and images.  These are the same levers which have fostered liberated communication for thousands of years – whether it’s WikiLeaks whistleblowers or the increasing slope of visual culture provided for anyone with a cameraphone or the tendency to deface ads when people get within striking distance. Canv.as reaches the lowest common denominator of conversation – - and what’s novel about it, they provide the rudimentary tools to keep things creative (think MS Paint).

Want to play a fun game? Ask a child to draw an object. After he or she is done, it’s your turn. Add a line – curved, straight, spiraling, jagged. Then it’s their turn, so on and so forth. It gets wild quick – the whole process is a great way to let go of preconceptions.  Canvas is the same (except the group is larger and not innocent kids). For all that’s contrived about today’s packaged and over-produced culture, having your preconceptions challenged is a noble pursuit – even if it’s done from a bathroom stall.

Below are a few of the highlights, as Andrea and I saw them.

Art, not retail therapy.