Hadyn's Digital Community

[ahadynkindofblog]

An image that depicts the various social media platforms available in China.

[ahadynkindofblog]

A Take On Chinese Social Media

China is one of the leading countries of the world. It often sets the standard for many others. When it comes to social media, they have crafted their own approach which is, from a Western point of view, strange.

Social media platforms are pretty well established. They work, they're efficient and they bring people together. What more could you ask for? 

According to Yin Mei, in an article on Mashable, the top five Chinese social media platforms are as follows:

Sina Weibo - With more than twice as many users asTwitter, Sina Weibo is an essential platform to more than 22% of the Chinese Internet population. Part of its popularity can be attributed to the ability of users to include images and video, something Twitter is only now beginning to allow. 

Renren - Renren as China's Facebook. With 147 million registered users and 31 million active users per month, Renren is poised to take over as the social networking platform for the college-educated population in China.

Tencent - Tencent is thought of as a platform for the masses and was essentially built on the QQ Instant Messaging service. With a QQ account, a user can get access to all of Tencent's different services. In other words, it's the equivalent of a social media hub. 

Douban - Douban is the open forum popular among intellectuals for movie, music and book reviews, with around 60 million registered users and 80 million active users per month. 

Webchat - There’s no question that the mobile space will be the next battleground in China for social networks. That's because more than 69% of the Chinese population accesses the internet through mobile devices. Wechat is a mobile voice and text app with social features like “friend discovery.” Currently, it has more than 100 million users. (Mei 2012).

Chinese social media is designed to keep in touch with friends and family and not for sensationalised issues revolving around government. It is a medium that is simple which means that the government doesn't have to deal with any major issues which happens to be a major difference in Western social media platforms.

The interesting thing about these platforms in China is that they are confined to this one country. If they wanted to expand these sites then I feel they would need to inject them into other cultures and other parts of the world. The only issue with this is that this would mean there is no control from a Chinese perspective of what happens on the platform. Different cultures act in different ways and so there is no governing what happens on the other side of the world. This would effectively change the layout for how these programs are used.

In my opinion, I believe that with Chinese sensorship at the forefront of these social media pursuits, there is no real market outside of China. Western platforms will always rein superior as they allow for users to essentially write and do what they want.

[ahadynkindofblog]

How Sweet It Is To See A Selfie Of You

"Over the past couple of decades, the cultural field formerly known as ‘domestic’, and later ‘personal’ photography has been re-mediated and transformed as part of the social web, with its convergence of personal expression, interpersonal communication and online social networks." (Vivienne & Burgess 2013). In short, self presentation has become a whole new ball game. This ball game is now played by everyone.

The ability to take a picture of yourself, a "selfie" as they are known, is as simple as pulling your phone out and pressing a button. Technology has changes so dramatically that it allows for you to carry around a camera in your pocket. 

Now, the camera wasn't originally designed for taking pictures of yourself but with society changing and the programs and apps along with it, it's safe to say the camera function on your phone could be easily mistaken as just a tool that allows you to glorify yourself.

Is it just me, or is society becoming more and more photogenic than once perceived? Oh, wait, now I understand the whole #nofilter hastag thing. It's funny, you'd think with all our advances as a race, we would become less vain and more preoccupied with curing world hunger.

Instagram is one of the many apps that has a primary focus on picture blogging. "The point of Instagram, just as much as taking photos, is finding new photos. Instagram gives you four ways to do that." (Mitchell 2012). 

Instagram is the perfect example of the ever changing platform that is social media. In the beginning there were blogs, this medium was then diluted and simplified into Facebook posting and tweeting and now there's the photo journal. What's easier than taking a photo? It sure as hell beats typing words, am I right?

Snapchat is another interesting feat in the social media rule. It allows you to communicate with friends through images, only there's a time limit on how long you can see the image for. To a certain extent, Snapchat has replaced text-based communication (Herman 2014).

There's no denying that apps such as Snapchat and Instagram are a great way to communicate with others. Photography has been around for decades. It's art. What is a worrying thought on this particular subject is how you simplify taking a picture. It didn't take long to minimalise using words to express ourselves online. 

[ahadynkindofblog]

James Franco: The Selfie King.

Nobody does it better than this guy.

[ahadynkindofblog]

Art at Arm’s Length: A History of the Selfie

It’s become a new visual genre—a type of self-portraiture formally distinct from all others in history.

A history of the "selfie". Pretty interesting stuff, if you ask me. Give it a browse.

[ahadynkindofblog]

Online Gaming: A Virtual Frontier

"Online multiplayer games are exemplary cases of the overlapping rule sets that are negotiated in the digital era." (De Zwart & Humphreys 2014)

There's a whole other world out there. The funny thing about this statement is that it doesn't mean the same thing as it once did. Sure, there is a whole other world out there. One that's within our reach. Uncharted territory, if you will. 

This world I'd like to talk about is known as the online gaming world. It's a place where millions of people go every day to escape the real world. A place where they have a chance to be in charge, take control of their surroundings, or even better establish themselves as a person.

That last point does sound strange, you're not wrong. Using a game to better yourself as a person? It's funny but it's true. There are people out there who take pride in their online personas. There's even people out there who prefer them.

I personally have no interest in gaming. I've got friends that go nuts for it. Not my cup of tea. I've thought long and hard about this. Am I so out of touch? I've recently come to the conclusion that I'm not. It all comes down to personality and interests. Who can handle playing a game for more than half an hour. Perhaps I've just got a short attention span.

What is phenomenal about the art of online gaming is the ability to interact with not only your friends, but like-minded gamers from all over the globe. You could be teaming up with a guy from Germany or you may be ready to ambush a girl from The States. 

The definition of social, I believe, is being shifted with the advancements in technology. The idea that being social means conversing with someone face-to-face and taking part in activities doesn't necessarily mean what it used to. Coming together in a community through an online gaming platform is considered to many people, the same as going to the pub for a couple of frothies. 

The online gaming community is a social means of communication. Much like a regular community, rules need to be in place to combat against certain behaviours that unfortunately arise. In the game, EVE, there are a wide variety of rules that players must abide by. Some of these are:

You may not abuse, harass or threaten another player or authorized representative of CCP, including customer service personnel and volunteers.

You may not use any abusive, defamatory, ethnically or racially offensive, harassing, harmful, hateful, obscene, offensive, sexually explicit, threatening or vulgar language. (De Zwart & Humphreys 2014)

The interesting thing here is that these online worlds are beginning to take the form of an every day world. These virtual games are starting to become an actual governed place with rules and consequences.

This is an important feat in the evolution of technology and online presence. The sky is the limit for online worlds. Who knows what the future will bring. 

[ahadynkindofblog]

What are the positive benefits of playing video games?

This article takes a look at the issues surrounding excessive online gaming and the links between social and emotional issues that have been linked with the so called "addiction".

[ahadynkindofblog]

An over-exaggerated take on a gamer.

[ahadynkindofblog]

One of the trends I've noticed over the course of this year is that just as the mainstream begins to adopt crowdsourcing, a chorus of critical voices has emerged to question how it's being practiced, if it accurately describes what's...

A great little read on how powerful crowd sourcing can be. It makes an example of the greatest invention known to man, IMDB. Perhaps crowd sourcing can be exploited and used for evil?

[ahadynkindofblog]

Crowd Sourcing: A Tool For The Ages

Information isn't filtered or received like it used to be. The internet and social media tools have caused this once heavily monitored process to become a haven where just about everyone can access and find out just about anything that's going on in their world.

I've recently been brought up to speed with the whole crowd sourcing in times of crisis over the past few weeks. The world is a disastrous place at times. Natural disaster can strike at any moment. A great example to use here would be the Queensland floods in 2011.

We know these things are happening through media. We see it on television, we read about it in newspapers, it's plastered over the internet and we even hear it in passing. "Social media, including Facebook and Twitter, plays an important role in crisis communication." (Burns, Burgess & Shaw 2012)

Crowd sourcing can be used as a tool. A way of solving problems through avenues you wouldn't usually go through. In terms of crisis communication, I think it's safe to say that the internet has done well in allowing this kind of communication.

It's hard to think how people during WWI and WWII coped with the diluted information they were fed. Nowadays nothing is filtered. Everything is hot off the press and is in your front pocket.

A few key points about the crisis communication during the Queensland floods are:

The Twitter hashtag #qldfloods quickly became the central coordinating mechanism for floods-related user activity on Twitter. 

More than 35,000 tweets containing the #qldfloods hashtag were sent during the period of 10-16 January; more than 11,600 of them on 12 January alone (the height of the flooding in Brisbane). More than 15,500 Twitter users participated in #qldfloods. 

50-60% of #qldfloods messages were retweets (passing along existing messages, and thereby making them more visible); 30-40% of messages contained links to further information elsewhere on the Web.

During the crisis, a number of Twitter users dedicated themselves almost exclusively to retweeting #qldfloods messages, acting as amplifiers of emergency information and thereby increasing its reach. (Burns, Burgess & Shaw 2012)

These particular points are interesting as they show the involvement of the general public. A point can be made here about humanity. People, when struck during hardships and times of crisis will band together for the greater good. This is evident in many disasters during history. The Hope For Haiti concert, 12-12-12: A Concert For Sandy Relief, even things such as Live Aid and Sound Relief. These are all examples of how people can show compassion in times of need.

The whole crowd sourcing epidemic is, in my opinion, a step in the right direction. It's a way for people to show their support and to help in any way they can. If that's in the form of a Facebook post or a tweet then so be it. 

[oupacademic]

The word “crowdsourcing” may be new, but the idea behind it is not, at least not in lexicography. In fact, the entry for “crowdsourcing” in Wikipedia (itself a stellar example of an effective crowdsourcing model), gives the Oxford English Dictionary as one of the earliest predecessors of today’s largely Internet-based crowdsourcing projects.

Danica Salazar on how World Englishes can benefit from crowdsourcing. (via oupacademic)

[digitalcommunities]

Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone? - TED Talks -

As we expect more from technology, do we expect less from each other? Sherry Turkle studies how our devices and online personas are redefining human connection and communication — and asks us to think deeply about the new kinds of connection we want to have.

[ahadynkindofblog]

This segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live is the bees knees. The reason I'm posting it is because I think it really ties in with the whole troll thing and how even celebrities are "trolled" from time to time.

[cmweir]

A reason to get off your phone and get back to your life.

[ahadynkindofblog]

A Troll Tale

This story is about a troll and how one day he took the world by storm. This trolls name was Hadyn...

Okay, I'll be honest. I'm not a troll, I'm just a regular dude living a pretty regular life. 

My understanding of what it takes to be a troll can be closely related to fairy tales and fantasy novels. A good example (I just want to add how thrilled I am that I get to finally mention LOTR in one of my posts!) of what a troll is would those featured in The Fellowship Of The Ring. You know the one and we all know the line.

Now the trolls I want to discuss are a little different to these types of trolls. They may smell and they may be creatures of the night but they are human beings, unlike the mythical creatures in fiction. They are like you and me only they act in a way that can be harsh and cruel to those whom which they have a bone.

Urban Dictionary defines trolling as “being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on any innocent by-standers, because it’s the internet, and hey, you can.” They feed of the rise they get out of victims and the knights that stand up for their fellow man. They have no real issue with the person they choose to attack, they just find it amusing to see them squirm.

The issue with the modern day "troll" is that they can and they will do what they want because of the anonymity that internet brings. There's no way a troll has to own up to his trollish behaviour so essentially he is able to get away with blue murder. 

Trolling is, "aiming to ‘embarrass, anger, and disrupt’ and states that ‘it is often undertaken merely for amusement, but is sometimes driven by more ‘serious’ motives including political goals’." (Dahlberg, 2001).

The only way to protect yourself from a certain troll ambush is to ignore, ignore, ignore. I know what you're thinking, "hey, I've got this one. You don't have to worry about me. Ain't nobody gonna rile me up over something so petty." Well, from experience and from a vast internet search on the art form, I implore you to reconsider. It's a jungle out there.

[theyoungmisfit]

Meh. lol

[ahadynkindofblog]

10 Great Troll Moments In Internet History

Everyone loves a good troll. Here are some of the crazier moments where the internet couldn't help but "feed its wild side," brought to you by Jack Link's .