CJ Digital

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8. Chinas social media censorship

China has the worlds biggest social media market with approximately 800 million active users compared to the US figure of approximately 207 million users. Chinas online users spend more than 40 percent of their time on social media, a figure that continues to rise. Although the market is incredibly super sized and presents endless opportunities, China operates the largest internet censorship regime in the world. This censorship or often referred to as the great fire wall, blocks access to thousands of social networks that are popular in the west which include: Google, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In a bid to monitor and regulate its population, the Chinese government have allowed the development of a series of their own innovative social networks which include: WeChat (similar to Whatsapp), Sina Weibo (similar to Twitter), Tercent QQ, Touku Tuduo (similar to YouTube) and Baidu Tieba. The competition for consumers is fierce in Chinas social media space, its very common for different networks to fall and rise at anytime. The innovative applications available in China are incredibly advanced, so advanced that they embody features from multiple western platforms at a time- more hybrids if you will!

Chinas great firewall only seems to be getting taller and stronger. The government ordered the three state owned telecommunications (china unicorn, china mobile, china telecom) companies to completely block access to virtual private networks (VPN). VPNs are the only way to access blocked information they essentially create an encrypted tunnel from computers inside the blockade to networks on the outside, giving anonymous access to the wider web. Without VPN’s Chinas citizens are excluded from most information circulating with the rest of the world.

Although liberation is scarce , it has been reported that the Chinese regime has been remarkably successful at allowing its users to feel that they are free to use social media to enrich their lives in a wide range of ways, while also creating a system that remains under the regimes control. The technology advancements that are being developed in China are also changing the way people are socialising, communicating and interacting in a fundamental way.

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7. Social gaming and virtual communities

Social gaming is the activity of playing online games with fellows members of a social network such as Facebook. Social gaming creates and develops a digital connected community of like minded individuals in the comfort of their own home. They can be empowering and act as a safe space for people to make friends and become apart of something exciting and fulfilling. 

The world of gaming is very foreign to me, but an interesting quote shone light on how far the gaming world has come - gaming has come along way from its dark, dank, mountain dew addled days on the stained couch in someones parents old basement. Today that basement has been remodelled into a sleep, air conditioned and connected game room.

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6. How social media is revolutionising the public health sector

Public health is the science of protecting the safety and improving the health of communities through education, policy making and research for injury prevention and control. Along side many others, one of the most fundamental technologies that have emerged to assist healthcare service is social media. Healthcare providers around the globe are utilising online networking channels to build up rapport, establish contact with their patients, answer inquires, perform community outreach and launching public health awareness campaigns that are more effective than ever.

One of the important reasons as to why social media is changing the landscape of public health is its ability to facilitate online/digital communities.These online health communities provide resources, advice and discussions about various health issues, treatments, medication and symptoms.They aren’t designed to replace healthcare professionals but instead are an added tool to help the world proactively manage its healthcare by supplying evidence based information on a wide range of medical and health topics. The nature of these communities enables people to learn, support and connect with others in similar health circumstances. One of the largest health forums available is PatientsLikeMe (PLM). PLM aims to improve the lives of patients through shared real world experiences and outcomes. They have over 300,000 people registered who have entered data for about 2300 diseases/disorders.

Social medias connectedness and ability to spread messages/knowledge across the world has revolutionised the effectiveness of healthcare campaigns. A perfect example of a social media campaign that was so incredibly successful was the ALS ice bucket challenge. This challenge went viral back in 2014. where 17 million people (including celebrities like Bill Gates and George W. Bush) tipped icy water over themselves in a bid to raise funds/awareness for ALS research and patients. Over 400 million people watched these videos 10 billion times; this statistic really demonstrates the reach of this campaign. The challenge raised over 115 million dollars worldwide from which 67 percent of the funds were entitled to research and another 20 percent granted to patient care. The money raised helped identify a new gene associated with the disease which experts say could lead to new treatment possibilities. The ALS ice bucket challenge is one of many that have touched millions of people and I’m sure changed so many lives. It demonstrates how social media can bring people together to help save others. Public health campaigns before social media just didn't have the capacity to impact as many people as they do now.

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5. Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

Crowdsourcing can be defined as the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers. Thanks to social media and its ability to provide us with growing connectedness, it is now easier than ever for individuals to collectively contribute- whether its with time, ideas, expertise or funds- to a project or cause.

Crowdsourcing, coupled with the proliferation of mobile technology and social media, is rapidly changing the landscape of disaster responses. Crowdsourcing combines the two words “crowd” and “outsourcing” and refers to the ideas of tapping into the unlimited resource pool of public intelligence to gather information and perform tasks that would otherwise be limited or outsourced to a few actors. This technology clout is being increasingly felt in the world of disaster response. By pooling the contributions of the many to pinpoint troubled areas, gather critical information, and perform sensitive tasks, crowdsourcing can service as a dynamic tool and nexus for collaboration for on the ground responders, policy decision makers, and researcher during humanitarian emergencies. 

An example of crowdsourcing in action was during hurricane Sandy back in 2012. The super storm resulted in 72 fatalities and billions of dollars worth in damages to local homes and businesses. During the catastrophic event social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook were being utilised to shared real time information regarding danger zones and locations of stranded people. Emergency responders turned to social media to broadcast storm warning and to quash rumours. It was also used to host self-organised community response efforts and other forms of volunteerism. There was even a Twitter hashtag circulating (crowd mapping) that provided information regarding available functioning gas stations. This gas map was live and updated to real time, which would have significantly helped those helping others. Lastly, hurricane Sandy's rainfall was decoded via crowdsourcing. A total of 685 rainfall samples were collected from more than 125 volunteers at various sites. These samples were sourced from email lists, Twitter, Facebook and blogs. The idea behind this was to get a full picture of what was happening isotropically in the storm, the study offered one of the most detailed looks to date into a hurricanes changing patterns- all thanks to crowdsourcing. 

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4. The epidemic of online trolls

So far, my blog posts have been centred around the positive contribution social media has had on many aspects of society. However, internet trolling and anti-social behaviour online is the perfect example of individuals misusing social media platforms. It is so disappointing and completely unnecessary. So what exactly is an internet troll? Trolling is defined as creating discord on the internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people by posting inflammatory or off topic messages in an online community. Basically, a social media troll is someone who purposely says something controversial in order to get a rise out of other users. Trolls essentially demonstrate higher motivation to achieve negative rewards, like creating social disruption and mayhem.

There are approximately 3.48 billion social media users in 2019, with the worldwide total growing by 288 million since this time last year. With these kinds of numbers, most users will undoubtedly be subjected to some form of social media trolling or anti-social behaviour is their time online. Trolls who create conflict on social media sites by making controversial statements with the purpose of causing havoc, can be found in almost every corner of the web. They can create long lasting problems for people, businesses, and the general well being of some aspects of social media. A new study conducted by the Federation University in Australia, shown light on what makes a troll and why. The research linked certain personality traits with the propensity for trolling behaviour. Some trolls exhibit these traits: sadistic, psychopathic tendencies and they seem to have cognitive empathy (empathy by thought) ,but lack affective empathy (empathy by feeling). This clarifies why some people get a kick out of upsetting strangers and causing disruption. I think factors that also fuel this behaviour is the feeling of anonymity, perceived obscurity, perceived humour, and perceived lack of consequence.  

Majority of offensive comments online are related to ones appearance, religion or race and the effects can be detrimental. Although trolling is like a disease, some social media platforms are aware and are taking a stand by altering their commenting sections and in some cases getting rid of the ability to comment altogether. In 2013, YouTube took steps to reduce the levels of online bullying by giving content creators more power to moderate and block hateful comments. Instagram now has a similar function that disables the comment section. Unfortunately internet trolls are the nastiest by product of the social media revolution and I personally don’t see them disappearing anytime soon.

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3. The power of activism in the digital age

Activism can be defined as the use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one . It is concerned with changing the world one step at a time.

The introduction of social media has completely shifted the way we share, receive and conceptualise information, which means it has dramatically changed the landscape of activism. Adopting digital networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram give activists access to a much bigger, more powerful platform which enables the wide spread of information to millions of people at a time. The combination of social media and activism also increases the potential audience size, and ultimately increases the possible effect that the campaigns can have on policies, politics and everyday life. It also strengthens communities as it facilitates a space for people to network amongst various sites and groups. This allows individuals to connect with others who share common goals, interest and outlook on life. Associating with people who share similar beliefs can act as a strong motivator towards collective action and change. The last benefit social media presents, is it, unlike traditional methods gives otherwise isolated and marginalised people an equal voice. 

I think my favourite term used when referring to a few social media activists is “slacktivism” (although not entirely a major plus) or in the words of Eygeny Morozoy, a shopping binge in an online identity supermarket. Slacktivism refers to simple actions such as joining a Facebook page for a good cause. It has been dismissed as useless in the past because it is said to make people feel useful and important but has minimal social impact. It often marks the end instead of the beginning of the persons involvement with the particular cause. However, more research has uncovered that even slacktivism efforts can contribute to bringing about lasting change, as even low level involvement is taken into consideration when the movement is reviewed as a whole. 

Undeniably the number of social movements in the last 10 years has soared. #BlackLivesMatter and #Metoo are among many incredibly successful campaigns that took the world by storm. These simply hashtags have completely switched dialogue surrounding racism and sexual assault, and have enabled taboo conversations that are so important in todays society. Both gained immense traction through the use of social media sites. #BlackLivesMatter has been used roughly 30 million times, and #MeToo has been used approximately 19 million times on Twitter alone in the last year. The success of these activist campaigns would not be the same if it weren't for the support and scope of social media.

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2. A political tool or threat?

Social media is changing the game for political communication. It is now a means used to inform and mobilise users in new ways. Millions of people are using social media networks everyday and it is no surprise politicians have jumped on the bandwagon. It presents opportunity for political parties to keep in touch with large numbers of voters quickly, constantly and at a low cost. It also facilitates the public to connect directly with politicians/campaign managers and engage in their political activities. Although on the surface, social media doesn’t seem to present much of a threat, however, it raises questions to whether or not it may have played a part in our incredibly fast Prime Minister turnover in the last 10 years. 

Social media now contributes new communicative elements to the public sphere. When used correctly it can be a tool that provides opportunities that traditional journalism does not. Some of the benefits associated with social media and politics are: feedback/engagement, speed, large audience reach, analytics and informed voters. 

Despite the pros, the rise of social media in politics also comes with its cons. Social media has created a straining demand for Prime Ministers and Governments to respond much faster and people have begun to expect this kind of unattainable response. It has also become an outlet for supporters of most political parties to flood social media circles with malicious and scandalous posts in order to frame rival parties. This brings me to those cons: rumours, scrutiny, ridiculing and lack of privacy. 

In my opinion the effectiveness of social media definitely lies in the hands of the user. It can either be used to make or break a political campaign. It is important for politicians to fully understand the merits that social media holds in todays generation. During their ‘short’ reign most of the recent Prime Ministers have adopted the social media craze. Kevin07 was one of the better attempts and even ScoMo has branched out and joined Snapchat as a way to reach a younger audience. I guess only time and a few more Prime Ministers will tell whether or not social media plays a role in their quick dethroning. 

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1. Is Tumblr a blog or social network site?

The perfect way to describe Tumblr is as a hybrid! The site is a cross between a blog and a social network site. Established in 2007, Tumblr is a ‘microblog’, with social features, one that allows users to post text, quotes, links, chat, audio and videos. It is a multipurpose site that focuses on promoting creativity, personality, experiences and opinions.

The definition of a blog is a ‘regularly updated website, that is written in an informal or conversational style’. Tumblr allow its users to create short messages to be posted and shared with an audience in a relaxed, conversational way. Tumblr classifies as part blog because it allows personalised profiles, personalised and themed content, time stamped entries and accessible/public accounts. Generic social media sites like Facebook and Instagram do not offer these personalised luxuries.

In Eugenia’s ‘Understanding new media’ social media was defined as ‘sites/media that integrate technology; social interaction and user generated contents’. The main features of a social media site are to create, download and share content, to build a personal profile and to connect with other users’. Tumblr’s main interface- the dashboard, provides opportunities to do all of these things. The dashboard also allows user’s to interact, comment and like. It is the key feature that makes the website feel like a social media site. 

Seeing how Tumblr fits into both categories doesn’t ‘limit its users to one use, users can either chose to use the site strictly for social purposes, only for blogging purposes or both’.