Annie Blogs

Just a college girl figuring out life. “You were born with the power to change others. You change people by the way you treat them. That is what changes the human heart.”

[annieblogs014]

Final Reflection for Participatory Media Assignment

After taking this Participatory Media class this is my final reflection and my takeaways. Some of the things I learned that I will carry with me even after leaving this class are one, just how important our use of social/participatory medias are impactful for our generation and the generations to come. For example, the tragic Stoneman School shooting and what the kids that went through that ordeal did to raise awareness to stricter gun laws by using the hashtag #NeverAgain on multiple social media accounts. I think that it is so important for us to realize that we can use social media for good and push for better laws. Because of the #NeverAgain hashtag, recently California has taken away guns from people that are deemed dangerous. According to the New York Times, “California is one of only five states with “red flag laws” or extreme risk protection orders allowing the police to temporarily take away guns from people deemed by a judge to be dangerous, often after a family member or acquaintance raises concerns” (1). This proves that social movements made online are extremely effective and people are listening. Also I have applied some of those concepts to my Twitch streaming and surprisingly it works, I raised awareness on cyberbullying on my channel’s livestreaming. I just decided to talk about cyberbullying, the use of participatory media like Twitch and what happened to me with being called a “titty-streamer” or “camwhore” just because I am a woman playing games online and on my livestream. My viewers were very supportive and encouraging. One person donated money to cyberbullying networks because he watched my stream and was moved about the movement of no cyberbullying allowed. I thought that was so special and important.

If I had to pick my favorite assignment of this quarter was definitely the Deprivation Study because before I even did this assignment I never knew how much time I spent on my iphone and relied on the internet. It was an eye-opener and a challenge to me since I stream on Twitch so interaction on multiple participatory medias such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Discord and the Twitch chat were crucial to building a constant stream of audience and developing a relationship with my viewer base. That was one of the most difficult things I had to give up during the Deprivation Study and I noticed that my viewers really relied on this everyday interaction because since the deprivation study was for 24 hours, after I caved around 10pm and checked all my social medias, my viewers were sad they didn’t see my posts or snaps and some of them were even worried that something happened to me. It was shocking because I had only been gone not even 24 hours and it showed me just how heavily we relied on social media interactions and the internet.

An assignment that challenged my thinking was the social networks, sharing and value assignment. I never thought about what I posted from middle school until high school and I just posted almost every single hour on Facebook and I never thought that there would be so much data on my online presence. Even now in my college years, Facebook still has all my past posts and notes stored on it and will remind me of those cringey posts with the memories thing. Also I figured out nothing is deleted permanently because I downloaded the data from my Facebook and saw so many videos that I made in middle school and posted on Facebook even though I deleted it. But it’s crazy and creepy that I can still access those now in college although I clearly remembered that I deleted it. So, Facebook does save everything….

Some themes that I want to keep studying in participatory media culture is the use of participatory medias for the greater good like activism or using my platform as a known streamer to support causes I believe in like getting rid of cyberbullying, helping the younger generation with suicide prevention and eating disorders. I want to keep studying how I can use my platforms to start more movements to help people. I think that it is very important for us to understand that everything one says online will affect whoever it is on the other side of the screen. People can get triggered and I think that we should think before replying on social medias and understand that some people are sensitive and it’s not okay to be negative and degrading or be learn to share our opinions in a way that can form engaging and positive interactions.

Johnson, Kirk. “States Mull 'Red Flag' Gun Seizures from People Deemed Dangerous.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/us/red-flag-laws-guns.html.

[annieblogs014]

Empowerment for Women/People of Color with use of Participatory Medias

I would like to talk about Youtubers who use their videos to bring about change, like Empowerment for Women of Color. One thing has been a big deal which is the Tarte Shape Tape shades and the problem of not being inclusive of darker shades. According to Chelsea Ritschel of the Independent article, “Tarte Cosmetics released their new line of Tape Shape Foundations on Martin Luther King Jr. day - and people were quick to notice the lack of shade diversity...On Twitter, makeup lovers and industry professionals alike are calling the brand out.Makeup artist James Charles tweeted: “This… is disappointing.”Laura Lee commented: "But the shade range.... come on Tarte!!! This is SAD."Others are calling the brand laughable for releasing a product with 90 per cent of the shades created for white people - especially considering the product was released on Martin Luther King Jr day” (1). This is so important because huge makeup vloggers with a very big following are calling out the injustice of Tarte’s shade range and trying to bring about change. They are fighting the conglomerates by using participatory medias and I think that is just so empowering and nice to see. People are using participatory medias to call out big companies on their mistakes. Before the age of the internet I don't think people were brave enough to speak up but now with participatory medias that can reach millions of people around the world and gain support, it is easier to have movements and bring about change. After the uproar, Tarte did release new shades and apologized for the non-inclusive shades for Women of Color.

Chelsea Ritschel in New York. “Tarte Cosmetics launches product almost entirely for white people on Martin Luther King day.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 16 Jan. 2018, www.independent.co.uk/life-style/tarte-cosmetics-foundations-white-people-mlk-martin-luther-king-day-a8163026.html.

[annieblogs014]

YouTube & Activism

YouTube & Activism By: Natalie Gray, Yvonne Idro, Annie Lin, & Medaine Neguse

Hey guys!!

 I wanted to share my group’s powerpoint on Youtube and Activism. I talk about Canadian Youtube, GigiGorgeous who’s a trans beauty activist and a huge influencer and supporter for LGBTQIA+ rights. I talk about how GigiGorgeous uses the participatory media outlet, Youtube to show her feminization surgeries and document things that have happened to her or talk about issues that were super important like when Bruce Jenner came out or Youtube’s content filtering that blocked out all coming out videos, storytimes and all LGBTQIA related videos because they were flagged as being inappropriate and sensitive. That caused an uproar in the LGBTQIA community and Gigigorgeous along with Tyler Oakley was at the head of this protest. 

I think that this presentation is really important because it helped me realize just how important it is to use social media for good and for activism or to bring about change and not just to flaunt about the materialistic things one has or how luxurious one’s life is. 

I hope you guys enjoy looking through this presentation and understand how much of an impact we have as individuals who have the luxury of social medias.

[annieblogs014]

Different Languages for Different Participatory Media Platforms

Today I’d like to point out some things I noticed while going through my Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. I noticed that I switch the way I type as well as post things, like on Twitter I can abbreviate words and seems to be more about sharing thoughts/feelings/emotions, Snapchat is more casual for friends so it feels more relaxed, Facebook is where I tend to write properly and where I raise awareness to certain issues and Instagram is more for the aesthetic feel and not as much about captions. I thought that wow these are all different “languages” we have adapted to by using a variety of social media platforms and I never even think twice about it or how I switch the use of these “languages” around. It is so fascinating to think that there is the thing of languages we use while using different social medias and how we have to master and learn these “languages” just like any other thing in the world.

 While reading his book, Lindgren states, “Second, there is the symbolic level, at which every medium is constituted by a certain systemic set of rules and codes in the form of vocabulary, grammar and other conventions. While a director creating a film has to master and relate to certain cinematic vocabularies, posting an Instagram photo might similarly require knowledge of conventions such as using hashtags and applying filters” (30).

[annieblogs014]

Different Structures of Social Medias

I would like to raise awareness to something I’ve noticed while using different social medias. It’s the fact that during the use of social medias, we tend to follow the unwritten “rules” of each social medias and how we “read” while using each one. 

While I was reading Simon Lindgren’s book he talked about that and made me think. He says, “First there is the sensorial level, where things like a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, or an Instagram feed each employ our senses in different ways, much like reading is visual, radio is auditory and video games are visual and auditory. In a way, the reality we sense is constructed or reconstructed through the medium at hand” (30). 

I think that is completely true and that was one thing I never noticed or thought about until now, the fact that our brains take in information differently because of our uses of a variety of social medias, we alter our senses to comprehend things and the world around us. 

[annieblogs014]

Click here to support Stoneman Douglas Victims' Fund organized by Broward Education Foundation

Broward County Public Schools district is dealing with the unimaginable tragedy that unfolded on February 14th at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. There are no words to express the sorrow that we are all feeling. Donations raised here will be used to provide relief and f...

CROWDSOURCING ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT

I chose the crowdsourcing platform, GoFundMe and the campaign for the Stoneman Douglas High School Victims in Parkland, Florida. This is in light of the tragedy that happened at that Florida high school just recently and the heartbreak the US and these people are experiencing. The campaigners are using strategies such as news outlets and social medias to spread the word about the fundraiser for the victims, words such as, “donations raised here will be used to provide relief and financial support to the victims and families of the horrific shooting” (1). In addition, the campaigners have updates and latest updates within the fundraising page to let supporters/donators know where the money is going. They also have videos and photos of the victims along with descriptions and captions with words of support. I think that this campaign is similar my expectations of fundraising for these causes in that people will donate to tragedies and lend a hand for the wounded families to help them recover and heal. My thoughts and feelings about crowdfunding and its purpose is that sometimes it can be used for good such as this campaign but other times there are people just waiting for handouts. Crowdsourcing can be both a positive thing or be abused by people. I think that to be a successful crowdfunder, it must have a meaningful purpose, something people can be empathetic towards and have constant updates, a good summary, good community support and lots of new or social media influence. I think that people should crowdfund for meaningful things such as this campaign, help for the community, help for tragedies or families, surgeries people cannot cover and things like that. Some things I think people should not crowdfund for are lost things and just saying they need money or lying about it. The phenomenon of crowdfunding tells us about our contemporary networked media are that it is good and it helps save people. The fact that social media platforms have such a huge impact on different outlets and can help raise money around the world is crazy. I think that we are the change. We can help change lives through social medias and new outlets. This internet age where we are all connected online can make a huge positive impact in the world and will continue to do so.

[annieblogs014]

Social networks, sharing, and value assignment

PART 1

Van Dijck shows that sharing is an evolving norm on Facebook and how sharing has been promoted through Facebook by one, joining lists, groups and fan pages, two, the preset defaults on Facebook settings, “..setting a default to sharing all pictures with everyone or preselecting a certain browser embodies the owners’ interest” (Dijck, 43) and three, Facebook’s partnership with different social platforms such as Spotify, Skype and Youtube so that users can upload videos and share content more easily.

 PART 2

By viewing my own Instagram and Facebook account, I have chosen to share just simple glimpses into my life. I share the happy moments of my life as well as to document experiences with the people I love. As I read Lindgren’s book, Chapter 12 about “The Like Economy” and the part on Algorithms started to make more sense in my social media use. Lindgren says, “The like button, embedded in both inside and outside Facebook, is an example of a “tracking device,” which establishes new markers of relationships online that go beyond the conventional hyperlink between websites…The widespread use of Facebook, the prominence of the like button and the appearance of the embedded like button throughout the internet makes it possible to gather large amounts of valuable user data” (263). I think that this is particularly important to understand because before, I used to post a lot of statuses on Facebook and pictures of Instagram as well as like many things on both platforms. But I realized that once I started liking these things or pictures, Facebook and Instagram seem to have similar pictures or things that I liked pop up randomly. It’s like they are tracking what I like and compiling everything so that they can use it. Just like Lindgren explained that is what the like button does for Facebook, collect data on people all over the world. After I realized these algorithms and the data collecting on Facebook and on Instagram, I stopped sharing as much. I rarely post now because one, I don’t feel the need to anymore and two, I don’t want Facebook or Instagram collecting data on me, seems creepy. I am a much more private person and instead of sharing my photos or statuses, I learned to live in the moment and not worry so much about how many likes I get or posting all the time. It reduces the risk of all my stuff being aired out on the internet and my data being collected.

[annieblogs014]

Participatory Media and Revolution Assignment

After reading the article, “Small Change” by Gladwell and Lindgren’s Chapter 10 as well as from my own experience, I agree with Gladwell that protests are successful because of “weak ties.” Maxwell says that “There is strength in weak ties, as the sociologist Mark Granovetter has observed. Our acquaintances—not our friends—are our greatest source of new ideas and information. The Internet lets us exploit the power of these kinds of distant connections with marvellous efficiency” (1). In my recent experience, I went to a protest, Women’s March in Seattle where a lot of people that participated. We all marched for social justice causes and women’s rights. I think that my experience supports Gladwell’s claim that our protests are more successful because of weak ties, we were able to come together in-person and support causes we believe in. I did not hear about it until a couple days before where my friends and aquaintances invited me to the Facebook group to attend the Women’s March as well as on Twitter. I think that the Internet and the people we meet online does help me with learning about new ideas and information. We are considered “weak ties” because we all met online and it wasn’t a thing where everybody knew everyone else, but I think that helped us form a stronger bond. I was able to meet different people from a diverse number of backgrounds, age, ethnicities and share our life stories with each other. This makes us stronger for the causes we are fighting for.

In addition, Lindgren’s Chapter 10 states,

“Dominant groups in society maintain their dominant positions as a consequence of a consensus among both the dominating and dominated groups that the unequal pattern of dominance is legitimate…Those in power stay dominant because everyone thinks that this is fine, even if they are being dominated themselves. Such consensus is built in the process by which humans create meaning through interaction with their social environment. This happens through communication… the ongoing transformation of communication technology in the digital age has given new rise of constructing meaning” (185).

I think that my experience at the Women’s March really showed that Lindgren’s approach supports what I witnessed. The digital era is a huge benefit for all of us. We are able to exchange information and share our beliefs, causes and stories with each other. There are no barriers. We can stand together and fight against the dominant power, the government, and stand up for our causes. We will not stand idly by and agree that this pattern of dominance is fair and that its fine. Our social interactions are what helps fuel our cause as well as build relationships. Through this new era of communication technology, we are constructing a new meaning for this society. 

[annieblogs014]

Ninja on Twitter

“A little message about how I feel in regards to all the “booby streamer” stuff escalating and info to the men streamers who think it hurts them. https://t.co/dOkk7gFCNK”

Hey guys,  So in my Participatory Media class that I’m currently taking, we talk about whether you’re Cyperoptimist or a Cyperpessimist. I would consider myself a Cyberoptimist because I think that social media and technologies are beneficial in many ways. We can share information, network with one another and raise awareness and challenge traditional ways of doing things. This video is an example of that. This Twitch streamer calls to attention that slut-shaming “booby streamers” are not okay and he aims to educate the men or women (specifically men) who do. But overall, this has reached a lot of people through social medias and definitely is educating everyone.

 In a reading for class, “Baym’s Chapter 2″, it raises questions about social media and technologies but then supports it, “The social concerns we voice when we discuss technology are concerns we would have even if there were no technology. They are questions of what it means to be truly yourself, to have meaningful relationships with others, and to be situated in a world of others who are very different from the people by whom we were raised” (48). I think that is correct, that even without technologies or social media, this worries we have are still ingrained in our minds. So its not technologies or social medias that are the culprits of spreading negative effects but our own doubts and fears. If we started to embrace the benefits of social medias and technologies, we would become a better society. We would be a society full of leaders that are empowering and fearless.

[annieblogs014]

Participatory Media Deprivation Study

POST 3

Nighttime 9pm

After coming back home, it became harder and harder to stay off any participatory medias. I felt my heart beating so fast, stress and anxiety starting again.. This is usually the time I stream and interact with my viewers. I let them know when I stream on Twitter and updated on Snapchat. But this time I couldn't do any of those things and it was throwing me out of whack.

I decided to go to the gym and workout. This was a good distraction. Usually when I rest between sets I check my Snapchat or Facebook messages.. I could see the notifications popping up, people asking where I was, what was I going to bring and reminding me there was a party tonight. I had completely forgotten about the party. I felt a sense of urgency to click on it and answer back but thought about this whole 24 hours challenge and I had to make it. Around 10pm, after I got back from the gym and showered..

I caved.

I checked all my notifications and answered about the party. 

This 24 hours challenge did make it extremely hard for me to keep up with my civic engagements and some social interactions. But at the same time, it made me realize just how important it was for me to set aside time for myself. I didn’t need to update people about what I was doing if I didn’t feel like it. Not using any participatory medias helped me become relaxed and less anxious while appreciating nature and the ability to strike up conversations. I noticed that I was more aware of my surroundings and the people in it. My health is my wellness and taking care of myself is number 1 on the list. Even if it means cutting off technology or social medias for a day or even a week and this 24 hours challenge has helped me realize that.

[annieblogs014]

Participatory Media Deprivation Study

Post 2

Afternoon around 1pm

From the time that I woke up until now. I noticed everyone on their phones at the breakfast table. My boyfriend’s little sister who’s 12 frantically scrolling through her instagram.. She suddenly looked up at me and stared down at my empty hands. She asked me why I didn’t have my phone and I told her about the 24 hour challenge of not being on or participating in any medias. She gasped dramatically and told me how i was going to “die” without my phone and good luck surviving without it. 

I found it so amusing and laughed, noticing how absurd our need to be “in the know” about what our friends and others are doing, how their life is like and what they are posting. 

To pass the time I decided to go to the park to play some basketball with some friends and my boyfriend as well as, walk my dog.

While I was there I noticed that I felt relieved and stress-free because there was no need for me to post anything for my Twitch followers. No need to update what I was doing on a day-to-day basis and constantly checking what others are doing on Snapchat or Instagram or even Twitter. It was a peaceful feeling.  I could just enjoy the wind blowing gently against my skin, the fresh air and just watch the sun go down. 

It was nice to be without any participatory medias and it did not hinder my social interactions or engagements. 

In fact, I felt more connected to everyone around me and had lots of laughs and talks. I got to meet new people while playing basketball and just walking around. 

[annieblogs014]

Participatory Media Deprivation Study

Post #1

So today I started the 24 hrs challenge of not using anything that has to do with participatory media, (instagram, Snapchat, Twitch, etc).

This morning at 9am

When I woke up I almost forgot about the challenge and reached for my phone like I usually do to check messages on Snapchat. But I stopped myself just in time. I felt really anxious because I had message notifications just popping up on my screen and a need to open them. I felt the pull to connect with my friends and remembered that I didn’t tell anyone about the challenge. Today is going to be a long day..

This sums up how I felt this morning..

[annieblogs014]

Annie Blogs

Hi my name is Annie.

 Welcome to my blog~!

This is where I post whatever comes to mind as well as some posts relating to class.

I reside in Seattle and am in college right now.

I love bulldogs and gaming. My favorite CP game is League of Legends. In my free time I stream on Twitch and watch Netflix. (a little too much..)

My favorite TV shows are Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Dexter and Criminal Minds.

Other than that, I am in the process of studying for the LSAT and will be attending law school in a year.

Hope you all enjoy!