Modern Marvels \ Hanne Mugaas (2009)

Hanne Mugaas puts her own twist on the fascinating phenomena of liveblogging TV – hopeful internet stars posting live webcam streams of themselves watching television, most often live awards shows and other televised events.

Meant to be viewed by like-minded fans while watching their own TV sets, the live TV blog offers up the blogger’s personal reactions and commentary, realtime. Mugaas likens it to a “media on media via media kind of thing, where togetherness, intermedia, multi channelling, multitasking and non-attentiveness come into play”.

Using a written version of the format – closer to the traditional blog – she removes it of its liveness by ‘live’ blogging pre-recorded episodes Modern Marvels as they air, a show that in itself is about how technologies affect and are used in the modern world. The piece exists in a mashed-up space where new media (the internet) uses and abuses old media (television) – and vice versa.