does-a-canon-of-digital-culture-exist Digital Archaeology

Digital Archaeology

Does a Canon of Digital Culture Exist?

About this topic

A 'canon' of digital culture refers to works, sites, memes, and games that represent the digital era, similar to classics in literature or music. Examples include 2ch's 'kuso rip' (terrible replies), early Flash animations, certain famous blogs, pixel art, or masterpieces from 'Nico Nico Douga' — things shared within specific communities as 'you can't talk without knowing them.' This question asks whether such a canon truly exists, who selects it and how if it does, and what meaning it holds for narrating the history of digital culture. Unlike literary canons chosen by authority, digital culture canons are characteristically formed bottom-up.

Conceptual positions
01 Canon Affirmation Theory

The view that digital culture does have a canon and that it plays an important role in supporting community memory and sharing. The phenomenon that not knowing certain works means one is not recognized as 'a resident of that culture' is evidence.

02 Non-existence Theory

The view that digital culture is fluid and does not require an authoritative canon. 'Must-see' is constantly updated due to platform changes and algorithmic influence, so a fixed canon cannot be established.

03 Multiple Canons Coexistence Theory

The view that multiple canons exist, one for each community, rather than a single canon. 2ch canon, Twitter canon, TikTok canon coexist, reflecting the diversity of digital culture.

04 Archaeological Canon Theory

The view that canons are discovered and selected archaeologically after the fact, and contemporaries form them unconsciously. The true canon is what future researchers select as 'representative works of this era.'

Talk entry points

  1. What digital culture works or memes do you feel 'you lose out if you don't know them'?

  2. Have you ever felt a bit flustered when asked 'Do you know this site?' and you didn't?

  3. What did you feel when you learned the 'canon' of a generation different from your own?

  4. What were your thoughts when you realized that a work considered canon was actually only shared within a specific community?

  5. What do you think future people will select as the '2020s digital canon'?

  6. Do you ever feel that people who don't know the canon are 'outside the culture'?

Conceptual tensions
Sharing vsExclusion
Canons strengthen bonds within a community while also becoming walls that exclude those who don't know them. It is a tension between cultural common ground and exclusivity.
Fluidity vsFixity
Because digital culture is constantly updated, canons quickly become outdated. On the other hand, some become fixed as 'eternal masterpieces.' It is a tension between change and permanence.
Bottom-up vsTop-down
Canons emerge from users' spontaneous sharing, while media and platforms also exert power by pushing 'recommendations.' It is a tension between popular choice and power intervention.
Memory vsOblivion
Canons play a role in preserving cultural memory, but by 'canonizing' things that should be forgotten, they may also erase other memories.
Talk note

This topic is not about creating a hierarchy of 'knowing or not knowing' the canon. It is a space to acknowledge the diverse ways of remembering digital culture and to talk while respecting every community's canon.

Glossary
Digital Canon
A body of works considered 'must-read/must-see' in digital culture. Analogous to literary canons, they serve as cultural reference points shared within communities.
Bottom-up Formation
The process by which cultural value is determined not by authority or experts but by spontaneous selection and sharing among users and communities. The primary formation mechanism of digital canons.
Internet Meme
Images, videos, or phrases that spread rapidly on the internet. They easily become canon candidates as 'folktales' or 'catchphrases' of digital culture.
Community Memory
Memories of past events and works shared by a specific online community. Canons function as aggregates of such memories.
Cultural Reference Point
Works or expressions used with the premise of 'everyone knows it' in conversation or creation. Being selected as canon turns them into the common language of digital culture.
Canonization of Archives
The act of selecting specific items from archived digital materials as 'representative works' and increasing their priority for preservation and research. An archaeological process of canon formation.
Talk prompts
Ice breaker

Please name one work or meme that you feel 'you can't talk about digital culture without knowing this.'

Deep dive

What do you think are the conditions for a work to be selected for the canon? Popularity? Influence? Or something else?

Bridge

If the other person answers 'I don't know' to the canon you mentioned, try asking back: 'In which community is that especially valued?'

Further questions
  • Why was digital culture not selected for the canon forgotten?
  • In an era where algorithms decide the 'canon,' where is the user's right to choose?
  • When is the time for a 'revised edition' of the canon needed?
  • What is the decisive difference between literary canons and digital canons?
  • What happens to digital culture if more young people don't know the canon?
  • What is the meaning of archive sites 'officializing' the canon?