@anonymous

Having done a significant amount of research about this topic previously, this experience wasn't as informative as it was useful for my future implementation. I knew that Anonymous was a prolific hacktivist group with the core intention of being the "robin hood of the internet". They decide with their own volition what is legitimate or illegitimate, and use pseudo-legal to illegal means of confronting these concerns. During my time in class, I aggregated as much content as I could to really contextualize the kind of vigilante justice that they perform, and then to better understand the developments of communities within the group. Within this research, I found that Anonymous really do have a source of power through their brand; the Guy Fawkes mask and the active social media performance further pushes their presence so that when they do actually act, they have a notable following. I did, however, find that Anonymous has virtually no female members within its ranks, which is not wholistically a problem, but I do think it is a hindrance to their growth. I think that their intitatives would likely be directed towards women's rights issues if they had a more diverse group, which I think would very necessarily push their vision and movement in an important direction. When looking at Anonymous, it is important to think about the psychology of these people; They feel voiceless and want to change that, they are interested in fame, but also are terrified of being caught. They see themselves as super heroes that can skirt the law to do whatever they want, which just happens to be a good cause. At the end of the day, they are fame-seeking hackers who are sick of the current system, but want to do good. I'm excited to learn more about the psychology of hacktivism and the development of the Anonymous brand.