xx Digi Comm Writing xx

A collection of posts focusing on digital communities and theories.

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Week 10: Problems with Online Gaming

MMORPGs are a contracted space where users have to obey an end user licence agreement (EULA) in order to access the online community (de Zwart & Humphreys 2014). Despite this, most platform providers don’t get involved in user-player conflicts that can arise in the online space. There are external laws that can get a player banned, including abusing other players, as well as racial and sexual harassment.

This does not mean that harassment and abuse does not occur in online gaming communities. There have been recent stories in the public space regarding sexual harassment and sexism in formerly patriarchal spaces (Newitz 2012).

A website titled ‘Not in the Kitchen Anymore’ is the account of female gamer Jenny Haniver’s experiences with online gaming and audio of other player’s comments to her (2016). Transcripts are logged on her main page with recordings, and she is called a ‘skank’, ‘slut’, asked inappropriate sexual questions and stalked on her other social media profiles by what she calls ‘Random Male Players’ online.

http://www.notinthekitchenanymore.com/

It is not just women who are marginalised on these online gaming communities either; racism is a prominent issue in these spaces. In an article published by News One (2010), it was mentioned that violent, racial slurs are commonplace between users on the PlayStation, Blizzard Entertainment and Xbox online communities.

Thankfully, there is hope for the future of gaming as more and more websites are rallying against the hate comments. Twitter account The Bigot Gamer “exposes Bigot Gamers one link at a time” (TBG 2016); through posting links to photos, videos and comments with the usernames of those making sexist, homophobic and racist comments.

https://twitter.com/thebigotgamer

GayGamer.net is another example, however as opposed to calling out hateful comments online, it provides a safe space for homosexual gamers to interact about video games (2016). There are forums for users of several different nationalities, non-gamer related discussions and contests for users to be involved in. The forum’s FAQ has advice on how to deal with offensive users and provides ‘report’ buttons to flag items one considers offensive or illegal (GayGamer.net).

Overall, there are issues with the online gaming community but there are also sites out there that seek to call out people on their behaviour and support marginalised groups by providing a safe space for them to interact about video games.

References

de Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014,' The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-99.

GayGamer.net 2016a, Gaygamer, GayGamer.net, viewed 25 January 2016, <http://gaygamer.net/>.

GayGamer.net 2016b, The GayGamer.net Forums FAQ, GayGamer.net, viewed 25 January 2016, <http://gaygamer.net/forum/faq.php?faq=vb3_board_usage#faq_vb3_troublesome_users>.

GayGamer.net 2016b, ‘GayGamer.net’ [image], GayGamer.net, GayGamer.net, viewed 25 January 2016, <http://gaygamer.net/>.

Haniver, J 2016, Not in the Kitchen Anymore, NKA, viewed 25 January 2016, <http://www.notinthekitchenanymore.com/>.

Haniver, J 2016, ‘Not in the Kitchen Anymore’ [image], at Not in the Kitchen Anymore About page, NKA.com, viewed  25 January 2016, <http://www.notinthekitchenanymore.com/about/>.

Newitz, A 2012 ‘The great geek sexism debate’, io9 Gizmodo, 9 August, viewed 25 January 2016, <http://io9.gizmodo.com/5938698/the-great-geek-sexism-debate>.

NewsOne Staff 2010 ‘Racism is a big player in online video games’, viewed 25 January 2016, <http://newsone.com/488682/racism-is-a-big-player-in-online-video-games/>.

The Bigot Gamer 2016, The Bigot Gamer, Twitter, viewed 25 January 2016, <https://twitter.com/thebigotgamer>.

  Gifs from tumblr.com

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Week 9: Snapchat

What is Snapchat? 

Snapchat allows a safe space for communicating through photos that only last a limited amount of time. As Herrman (2014) writes, they are only meant to be viewable for a few seconds, for those who feel self-conscious with having images of them in the public domain of the internet forever. It is about using the photo as the message content– showing what we are doing at a certain time, and less about simply putting a photo up to be commented on and criticized.

It is stated that a ‘snap’ allows for what emoticons cannot always do; that is you can accurately and quickly portray a quick update with emotion (Parker 2015).  

How is it used? 

Due to the perceived non-permanence of the app, it has been criticized for being used for sexting. It is suggested people believe they can send a quick nude to someone and then have the image self-destruct (Hills 2012; Parker 2015).

Despite this, Snapchat still allows for a user to screenshot a photo they are sent, or it can be photographed with another device (Hills). It does notify a user when a photo is screenshot, however it will still exist on their phone. This is why there is controversy over Snapchat and parental concern over their children using it (Hills; Parker).

Despite this, a recent study found that sexting is not the most common use of Snapchat.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/snapchat-sexting-study_n_5574642.html?section=australia

Another study discovered that users who text are more likely to sext than those who Snapchat – the difference was 13% who did using Snapchat to 26% of those who were texting. Out of the 5,000 users interviewed, sexting was overall a pretty rare behaviour for users of the social media to engage in.

People are genuinely using the app for a much simpler purpose – it’s fun! In my personal opinion, I use Snapchat to send a message to a large group of people or communicate with a single recipient. It is a fun way to communicate through visual imagery and give an accurate update to others about one’s life.

References

Bosker, B. (2014) ‘Study shows how people use Snapchat – And it’s not sexting’, Huffington Post, 14 July, viewed January 25 2016 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/snapchat-sexting-study_n_5574642.html?section=australia>

Herrman, J. (2014) ‘Meet the man who got inside Snapchat’s head’ BuzzFeed, 28 January, viewed January 23 2016 < http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/meet-the-unlikely-academic-behind-snapchats-new-pitch#.fd97E78dK>. 

Kelly, C. (2013) ‘Is Snapchat only used for sexting? We asked 5,000 people to find out’, Survata blog, 7 February, viewed January 25 2016 <https://www.survata.com/blog/is-snapchat-only-used-for-sexting-we-asked-5000-people-to-find-out/>

Hill, K. (2012) ‘Three good reasons not to send nude photos via Snapchat’, Forbes, 12 December, viewed January 25 2016 <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/12/12/three-good-reasons-not-to-send-nude-photos-via-snapchat/#3ec2b251319d> 

Parker, W. (2015) ‘SnapChat – A popular app for teens but with a dark side’, Fatherhood, 20 July, viewed 25 January 2016, <http://fatherhood.about.com/od/fathers-social-media/p/Snapchat.htm>.  

Snapchat, Inc. ‘Snapchat’ [image], in Apple App Store, viewed 25 January 2016, <https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/snapchat/id447188370?mt=8>

Gifs from tumblr.com

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Week 8: Crowdsourcing for Crises

Natural disasters are life or death situations where every second literally counts – therefore sites such as Twitter where a few seconds is all you need to relay a message are powerful (Smith 2013). Twitter is not the only platform that can be useful during a crisis. 

Google has launched a site called ‘Person Finder’ which aims to help people locate loved ones after a natural disaster. It relies on organizations and individuals providing information (Google 2016): 

https://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html

Even social media site Facebook has a set of guidelines regarding using social media before, during and after a natural disaster:

Use facebook to create groups with family members and organize a plan

Upload backup copies of important dsocuments to secure in a remote cloud that can be accessed from multiple devices

Follow organizations on Facebook who will post up to date information regarding impending disasters

Update your status and alert others of your location

Facebook is available on mobile and thus invaluable if there is likely to be no computer around

Afterwards, it can alert others that you are safe, need assistance or be used to crowdsource and help rebuild.  

(Facebook 2011). 

How can social media help in times like this? 

One way that social media has been used after a crisis to assist victims is via crowdsourcing. 

Crowdsourcing is a process undertaken online in order to get work or funding from a crowd. There are different types of this, such as crowdfunding for donations in order to raise money to meet certain goals (Bratvold 2014). Kickstarter is an example of a crowdfunding platform that users can utilize to raise money for just about anything (Kickstarter 2016):

https://www.kickstarter.com/

In an article by Pappas (2014), it was argued that crowdsourcing and social media usage in this way is not a new phenomenon, merely a new medium. This is in the way that it mimics volunteer response work only in a digital way (Pappas).

It is said that crowdfunding and social media resources are a good thing for disaster relief, as they add more structure and endorsement from professional organizations. A recent example would be the Boston Marathon bombings –Twitter and Facebook became policing tools in order to track down the culprit/s, inform panicking citizens on what was going on and it was even stated that Twitter had access to the most accurate information during the disaster (Newcombe 2014).

In this sense, it has never been easier to gain support after a disaster, transmit the reality and depravity of a situation, and share up to date information in real time. 

References

‘Crowdsourcing’, [image], from Putting it the crowd: Using the public during disaster relief, DialogueConsulting, viewed 15 January 2016, <http://www.dialogueconsulting.com.au/2014/03/crowdsourcing-disaster-relief/>

Drake, B 2013, ‘Hurricane Sandy Conversation on Twitter’, [image], from Twitter served as a lifeline of information during Hurricane Sandy, Pewresearch, viewed 15 January 2016, <http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/28/twitter-served-as-a-lifeline-of-information-during-hurricane-sandy/>  

Facebook 2011, ‘Using Social Media Before, During, and After a Natural Disaster’, Facebook, 25 August, viewed 15 January 2016, <https://www.facebook.com/notes/disaster-response-on-facebook/using-social-media-before-during-and-after-a-natural-disaster/10150290416059936/>

Google 2016, Google Person Finder, Google, viewed 15 January 2016, <https://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html> 

Kickstarter 2016, Kickstarter, PBC, viewed 15 January 2016, <https://www.kickstarter.com/>

Newcombe, T 2014, ‘Social Media: Big Lessons from the Boston Marathon Bombing’,  JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, 24 September, viewed 15 January 2016, <http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Social-Media-Big-Lessons-from-the-Boston-Marathon-Bombing.html>

Pappas, K 2014, ‘Putting it the crowd: Using the public during disaster relief’,  Latest social media news, Opinion, Uncategorized, 14 March, viewed 15 January 2016, <http://www.dialogueconsulting.com.au/2014/03/crowdsourcing-disaster-relief/>

Smith, C 2013, ‘Dealing with disaster: how social media is helping save the world’, techradar, 30 November, viewed 15 January 2016, <http://www.techradar.com/au/news/internet/dealing-with-disaster-how-social-media-is-helping-save-the-world-1203809>

Gifs from Tumblr (2016)

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Week 7: Trolling and Social Media Conflict

There is no definite definition for bullying however it has been related to three specific factors: the power one possesses to subject over someone else, use of this power repeatedly and using it in an aggressive manner (Boyd 2014). This definition also extends to the online community – where ‘cyber bullying’ has emerged as a topic of controversy throughout the past decade. Cyber bullying is an issue in itself, that is, it is difficult to ascertain whether the internet simply provides a new medium for bullying or whether it is a new form of harassment than what we have previously seen.

Complaints that websites do not respond when a user reports material that is offensive or harmful to an individual has spurred government action in Australia. Aims to create an e-satefy commissioner for children to assist in removing harmful / bullying material from social media sites have been proposed due to this issue (Fletcher 2014). 

As social media conflict is seen as a predominately teenage phenomenon for spreading drama (Boyd 2014), making the internet a safer place for children is on the public’s radar, and now is even a governmental concern (Fletcher).

Aside from traditional cyber bullying, what are other forms of online provocation? 

A troll is often described as someone that should be ignored and not engaged with; as gaining attention is their primary purpose of internet usage (Wilson et al. (Eds) 2013). People who brag about their trolling skills see themselves as having superior knowledge to those who ‘fell’ for their comments, and believe they have “mastery of internet lore” (Wilson et al.).

So what is trolling? 

The word itself is internet jargon, and describes someone who behaves online specifically to intentionally anger or frustrate others. It is listed here as being separate from cyber-bullying in the sense that it is more like ‘pranking’ (Know your meme 2009).

It generally involves comments that aim to provoke a response from users, usually about offensive material or unpopular opinions. There are several types of trolling too that also differ in severity and content (Know Your Meme).

Overall, urban dictionary explains it as convincing a victim you believe what you are saying no matter what and / or giving someone false instructions whilst pretending to assist them. It is about deceiving people online and using dialogue (Zerotrousers 2009).

How can one protect themselves from the dangers of the internet? 

Cyber safety is difficult to enforce as generally it is aimed at children – who may know more about the online space than their parents who did not grow up with it (Fuller 2014).In terms of trolling and memes, it is suggested that they rely on ‘n00bs’, people who do not understand what is happening and who fall for the deceptive nature of the troll.This is generally done by attacking somebody’s morals, which, when attacked will provoke a response & outrage.

It is all about understanding the intent of others and not falling victim to deliberate provocation.

References

Boyd, D 2014, 'Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?', in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp 128-52.

Delayna n.d., ‘Troll’, [image], in 'A troll is as a troll does’, PoorEXcuses.com,  viewed 12 January 2016, <http://www.poorexcuses.com/2014/02/a-troll-is-as-troll-does.html>. 

Fletcher, P 2014, Transcript of the Hon Paul Fletcher on Radio National about protecting children from cyber bullying, 25 February, viewed 12 January 2016, <http://www.minister.communications.gov.au/paul_fletcher/news/transcript_of_the_hon_paul_fletcher_on_radio_national_about_protecting_children_from_cyber_bullying#.VB-T5fmSyeF>.

Fuller, G 2014, 'Cyber-safety': What are we actually talking about?, The Conversation, 27 February, viewed 12 January 2016, <http://theconversation.com/cyber-safety-what-are-we-actually-talking-about-23505>.

Know Your Meme 2009, ‘Trolling’, KnowYourMeme.com, 26 April, viewed  12 January 2016, <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/trolling>

Wilson, J, Fuller, G & McCrea, C (eds) 2013, Trolls and the negative space of the internet, Fibreculture Journal, Issue 22, viewed 12 January 2016, <http://twentytwo.fibreculturejournal.org>.

Zerotrousers 2009, ‘Trolling’, urbandictionary.com, 21 September,  viewed 12 January 2016, <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trolling&defid=4250942>

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Week 6: Digital Activism and Protest

Social media seems to have taken a front seat in conflicts such as those in the Ukraine. Hashtags such as #Euromaiden (Cunningham n.d.) were used during this time to document images, opinions and government responses to the protests for political reform in the Ukraine. Websites that utilize hashtags such as Twitter does helps in spreading awareness of issues in today’s society, and ideas and content can be reposted and supported from behind a screen (Cunningham).

This was not the only tag used during this time, activists also tagged posts under #PoroshenkoPohovoryZNarodom to target the Ukrainian president at the time (Ketrysh & Shapoval 2014). In this sense, social media was being used as a tool for allowing the citizens of the Ukraine to interact and facilitate discussion where information was withheld.  

For those not involved on the front line?

It is a different story when one is removed from the direct action of a political cause and shows support simply through a computer screen. “Clicktivism” or “subactivism” (Bakardjieva 2009) was a term coined to describe just this – the removed ‘support’ that can be expressed by simply liking or reposting an idea or image. As the article written by Bakardjieva describes, choosing to support various organizations and movements are part of the process of identification and identity building online.

Clicktivism has many criticisms against it – for example, is it lazy?

Pros and cons of Online Actvism

·         Online activism is certainly easy – these days, it requires no more than signing up for a website, liking a Facebook page, using a certain hashtag or writing your email on an online petition (Kingsley 2011).

·         It is a pro that anyone with internet access can get informed, involved and utilize the internet’s potential to organize large scale gatherings of people – or protest movements- efficiently. 

·         On the other hand, this is also its main criticism: as it is so easy to get involved, so many people participate in “clicktivism” but do so in a shallow manner, not engaging fully with the issues just using social media as moral support (Kingsley). 

·         Said to get momentum on a cause in a short time for free, less tedious than sending people door to door asking for donations (tvochannel 2010).

The above video aptly compares ‘hashtag activism’ to the story of the Poor Samaritan and that a person’s context is more important in engaging in behaviour than trying to change one’s internal values -including involvement in activism (Bite Size Psych 2015). 

Overall, there are positives and negatives of today’s online-oriented social landscape. It appears that there is a definite opportunity for awareness of what is going on in the world through the internet, however this does not necessarily guarantee a high level of depth and involvement in the causes one chooses to ‘like’. 

References 

Bakardjieva, M 2009, 'Subactivism: Lifeworld and Politics in the Age of the Internet', Information Society, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 91-104.

Bite Size Psych 2015,  Why hashtag activism isn't enough to change the world, 2 April, viewed 14 January 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZVon_IbTBw>.

Cunningham, R n.d., ‘#Euromaidan: The future of activism by @maniacjerseygrl’, Hashtag Academy Blog, n.d., viewed 14 January 2016,<https://ritetag.com/hashtag-academy/ukraine-social-movement-trending-hashtag-euromaindan>

Ketrysh, V & Shapoval, P 2014, ‘Frontline Ukraine: How Activists Are Using Social Media to Hold Poroshenko to Account’, International Business Times, 17 September, viewed 14 January 2016, <http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/frontline-ukraine-how-activists-are-using-social-media-hold-poroshenko-account-1465940>

Kingsley, P 2011, ‘Avaaz: activism or 'slacktivism'?’, The Guardian, 21 July,  viewed 14 January 2016, <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/20/avaaz-activism-slactivism-clicktivism>

tvochannel 2010,  SOCIAL MEDIA: Online Activism, 21 January, viewed 14 January 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN-kIJI_5wg>

Gifs from Tumblr

[my-digital-world-blog]

Blog 1: Look how far we’ve come, but at what cost?

Urbanisation has brought us into cities, removing us from community (village life).  Digital communication is bridging the gap between society (city life – borne out of necessity) and community. But village life as we know it has changed; the village is no longer situated in a specific geographic location. Our village is now people who share the same views and beliefs as us, people who make us feel ‘normal’ in this crazy world. Through social media and other digital means we are able to seek out a community/communities that we can feel at ease in, people who understand us and we them, a place we feel acceptance. Yet there is a price to pay for this digital community; we are retreating from society into a virtual community, limiting our exposure to new ideas, managing our identity by scripting every response and meanwhile everything we post or comment on is being data mined by the social media platforms.

SOURCE: https://liveto110.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Livin-the-caveman-Lifestyle.jpg

Virtual communities are replacing traditional places of interacting; people can now come together to share information, ideas, feelings and desires (Calhoun, cited in Siapera 2012, p. 194) yet may never have face-to-face contact with other community members. People walk the streets of our cities wearing headphones, blocking out society, we are increasingly alone and isolated retreating to the world of new media (Siapera 2012, p. 195). According to Sunstein (cited in Siapera 2012, p. 196) we are isolating ourselves into online communities that don’t challenge our belief systems thereby limiting our exposure to traditional methods of socialising that broaden our knowledge and allow us to develop well-informed opinions by exposing us to different ideas and belief systems. Virtual communities are not only accepting of those with limited beliefs, they encourage it; if we can’t find a community that resonates with our beliefs, we just create our own. 

SOURCE: http://c0ntemplations.tumblr.com/post/85873007797/make-friends-with-people-who-arent-your-age-hang

Social media allows us to carefully orchestrate our identities and hide behind aliases if we choose. As Turkle (2013) says, in an online presence we can manage our identity by editing our text, rereading before we share; in real conversations, once something is said, it can’t be taken back. However a real conversation is conducted in the presence of one, two or maybe a few people; the same content posted in an online environment is accessible by the world. Social media users are using the reaction they receive to their posts as a method to gauge their acceptance in society. Facebook users receive ‘likes’ to posts and covert responses and likes; Reddit uses a voting system where readers get to upvote or downvote posts, with the sum total of both becoming the total ‘karma points’; yet ultimately Reddit controls the content by unequally weighting the votes (van der Negal 2013). Meanwhile the social media platform is collating data about you. Ever wondered why you don’t have to pay to use social media? Social media is not the product, YOU are the product and advertisers are being sold access to you based on the data you have so willingly provided (Fiorella 2013). Read more on this HERE 

SOURCE: http://data.whicdn.com/images/97099373/large.jpg

Sacrificing face-to-face intimate contact to save face, gauging acceptance based on a fictitious version of ourselves, placing our deepest most intimate data for the world to see with no regard for long-term consequences, I believe the ultimate price we will pay for this convenient virtual community life is yet to be comprehended. I’m keen to know what you think.

REFERENCES:

Siapera, E 2012, ‘Socialities and Social Media’, in Introduction to New Media, Sage, London, pp 191-208.

TED-Ed 2013, Connected, but alone?- Sherry Turkle, 19 April, viewed 10 November 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv0g8TsnA6c>.

van der Negal 2013, ‘Faceless Bodies: Negotiating Technological and Cultural Codes on reddit gonewild’, Scan Journal of Media Arts Culture, vol. 10, no. 2, Macquarie University.

Fiorella, s 2013, The Addiction and Cost of Social Media, The Huffington Post, viewed 22 November 2015, <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-fiorella/social-media-addiction_b_2749102.html?ir=Australia>

IMAGES:

 Live to 110 (image), Livin the Caveman Lifestyle, viewed 17 November 2015 <https://liveto110.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Livin-the-caveman-Lifestyle.jpg>

Tumblr, cOntemplations, viewed 17 November 2015,  <http://c0ntemplations.tumblr.com/post/85873007797/make-friends-with-people-who-arent-your-age-hang>

We Heart it, Swallowing acid, viewed 17 November 2015, <http://data.whicdn.com/images/97099373/large.jpg>

[sayitisntsojo-blog]

Great Alice in wonderland reference - I’m not who you think I am…..it’s similar to the ‘share the best hide the rest’ idea of how we put ourselves out there on social media…meeting people with different languages, different social class and ages is a good point. It’s like the old penfriend snail mail way we used to use to meet all different kinds of people, but now in a 24/7 format that is easily accessible. 

Really cool read!

[my-digital-world-blog]

Oh yes, we were encouraged as kids to have pen pals. Oh that’s so funny I had long forgotten about that. I had a boy from Hong Kong who sent me photos of him on a beach, which I thought a bit weird. Another girl in my class had a French girl who’s surname translated to ‘the window’ so she was Laura the window. I never kept up the letter writing though I’ve heard stories of people who have.

Thanks for commenting.

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Great post, very engaging and scary to think about! I agree that we are definitely ready and willing targets to advertising now through the invention of our online personas - direct marketing via Facebook is very commonplace!

I believe that while it does erode some of these face-to-face ties and sense of community, it is not all bad.

As referenced with that great quote to make friends with people of different ages, experiences and opinions in order to grow as a person; I think that with the right attitude social media can be a powerful tool.

I do think that a lot of people misuse it in the sense you discussed about displaying simultaneously their best self AND most intimate details, but used correclty can bring many people together from across the world :)

Keep up the great work! -Anna

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Week 5: Politics in the Digital Age

Do twitter and other social media platforms enhance political activity?

These are platforms that millions of people use, and are a good way to connect with previously untapped demographics. It is the right step to take for politicians to embrace social media in order to expand discussions, review feedback and interact with voters, but has to be done in the right way. 

Most politicians’ online accounts focus on politics, painting themselves in a positive light to reinforce the opinion that they are moral human beings. Taking a look at the Twitter account of a prominent politician; one will see endless meetings with other prominent figures, popular opinions / sentiments on recent events, and optimistically staged photos representative of ‘progress’ and making a positive change. For example, Tony Abbot’s twitter is comprimsed primarily of photos of himself receiving awards, cutting ribbons, standing with various religious figures and displaying his patriotism (Abbott 2015). 

Thank you for the privilege of being Prime Minister. My love for this country is as strong as ever. pic.twitter.com/CP0ioCzE1Z

This is fine as the account is being used as a ‘business’ account, and Tony Abbott is the product that it is trying to sell. There is just something that is not genuine about the content, as it seems to miss what draws so many people to social media and online communication platforms in the first place. It does not do well in terms of portraying Tony Abbott as a real human being that one can reach out and interact with, and is not a space for nurturing discussion and debate. 

As this week’s reading by Jericho suggests, when social media accounts only portray this kind of positive information it is done at the risk of losing transparency as a figure, and becomes a way to reinforce the views of the party as a meaningless publicity stunt (2012). The audience knows this as well, and thus cannot take the posts that are made at face value. Whatever is then shared seems fake and staged, and images are almost akin to stock photos. This is coupled with very scripted sounding responses or updates and a lack of actually responding to messages or criticisms. Again, it is not a way to utilize social media’s ability to reach out and communicate with people. An example is from Wayne Swan’s Twitter account, which shows various comments asking questions regarding policies and opinions that have been left unanswered (Swan 2015). 

Team Swanny out & about today chatting to locals concerned about how Turnbull's 15% GST will hit their budgets. pic.twitter.com/1oLY0SzaEi

Additionally, most of the posts that are generated are shared from other sources and are not original content, and also include tags from other figureheads to show that progress toward a goal. This usage of social media has also generated a lot of commentary, mocking the seemingly non-genuine use of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube by political figures deeming them ‘out of touch’ with their audience. This can be seen through false Facebook accounts of politicians, ridiculing their actions or opinions; and parody videos pointing out that this usage of social media can make them look ‘out of touch’ with their intended demographic. 

Social media is definitely a powerful way to connect with others, and has been a successful tool in organizing protests and movements.

The way that it is used by those in power, however appears to be more ‘broadcasted’ to an audience as opposed to really inviting them to join a conversation. It does not have the same ability to bring people together and empower them on decisions, facilitating genuine interactions. In the political landscape, social media needs to be utilized in such a way in order to avoid alienating its intended audience and to focus less on reinforcing an idealized caricature of a figure.

References

Jericho, G 2012, 'How many votes are there on Twitter?', in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia.

Abbott, T 2015, Thankyou for the privilege, 14 September, viewed 4 December 2015, <https://twitter.com/TonyAbbottMHR/status/643635190972026880>

Swan, W 2015, Team Swanny out & about, 28 November, viewed 4 December 2015, <https://twitter.com/SwannyQLD/status/670506256549830656>

JennaMarbles, 2015, Hello young people, I’m Hilary Clinton, 23 April, viewed 4 December 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7dxBlTC_9c>

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Week 4: Blogging

Blogging has become a viable way for individuals to express themselves, comment on current events and essentially act as the ‘Fifth Estate’ in terms of reporting news (Penn as cited in Cross 2011). As well as personal expression and commentary, blogs have become a powerful tool in consumer purchasing decisions as they provide an unedited or mediated opinion. In a study conducted by Redsicker (2013), it was found that blogs were the third most influential resource used in purchasing motivations.  

Blogs are powerful tools for companies, with their power to influence consumers and share honest, accurate information (Redsicker). It is suggested that this is due to the sincerity and honesty that bloggers put into reviewing their products which facilitates trust (Redsicker). Reviews of popular products are usually accompanied by photos and detailed instructions, and go through a step by step process for the review. 

For example, viewing the comments for a review by blogger ‘missnewbeauty’ shows that the followers of her blog highly value her opinion – one reader stating that “…if I see a negative review on a product I instantly get turned off it…”(2016).  

http://www.missnewbeauty.net/blog/

Blogs aimed at reviews and providing consumer information are not the only ones that are highly influential. In today’s world, there is a blog for every topic under the sun, general and specific, with active communities and followers. There are a number of blogs that follow people in their everyday lives and struggles with issues such as illness and loss, that encourage others to reach out and share their stories (McCosker 2008). Despite this, not all blogs are positive and used to encourage discussion and support. 

There are a number of blogs that actually encourage readers to participate in a dangerous and unhealthy ways of living. There are several ‘pro-ana’ blogs which promote anorexia and eating disorders, encouraging and convincing readers that it is a religion and “if you aren’t thin, you aren’t attractive” (L 2015). In this sense, blogs are still acting as highly influential mediums to spread messages and create communities. Despite this, the way that blogging was used as seen in the video of India Edmonds can be harmful and spread unhealthy messages to certain audiences (TomoWorld 2015). 

Overall, blogs are influential and a great way to provide information, facilitate discussion and encourage support - and a lot depends on the purpose of the blog as it is a tool that can be used in multiple different ways. 

References

Cross, M 2011, Got Blog, in Bloggerati, Twitterati: How blogs and Twitter are transforming popular culture, Praeger, Santa Barbara.

L 2015, ‘Fasting tips’, The Pro-Ana Lifestyle Forever, 28 May, viewed 12 January 2016, <https://theproanalifestyleforever.wordpress.com/>

McCosker, A 2008, 'Blogging Illness: Recovering in Public',  M/C Journal, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 1-8.

Missnewbeauty 2016, ‘Too faced born this way foundation review’, Miss New Beauty, 7 September, viewed 12 January 2016, <http://www.missnewbeauty.net/blog/too-faced-born-this-way-foundation-review/>

Redsicker, P 2013, ‘Blogs outrank social networks for consumer influence: New research’, Social Media Examiner, 6 March, viewed 12 January 2016, <http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/blogs-outrank-social-networks-for-consumer-influence-new-research/>

Tomoworld 2015, Eating disorders: Pro-ana websites and thinspiration photos almost killed this teen, 4 March, viewed 12 January 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcVs3PU_Cto>

Gifs from tumblr.com 

[digicommwriting-blog1]

Social Theory, Social Media & Platforms (Weeks 1 - 3)

So far we have technically learnt about the social media revolution, one that I personally don’t have too much memory of as by the time I could actually use a computer properly, (or independently, rather) MSN was in full swing and all the cool kids logged on after school to ‘IM’ (instant message) each other. The idea of the ‘always on’ lifestyle discussed in week one is very much apparent, and nowadays you see not so much instructional ‘get online’ videos, but rather retreats and attempts for people to disconnect from their online profiles, if only for a little bit (boyd 2012; ThisIsMyTech 2013). How we are seen online is another way to present ourselves and construct our identity, which can be as restrictive as we like (Wilken & McCosker, 2014). Using very popular social media tool Facebook as an example, we all know that there are users out there who are very different from their offline or ‘real life selves’. A humorous article by Colby (2010) discusses this very fact – we have access to more information and can portray information about ourselves for any person we have added to see, and selectively put out information to appear in a desirable light. This extends to selecting our best photos and editing the hell out of them, and stalking the photos of others.

These are only some of the differences between digital and physical communities, where digitally there seems to be a real focus on appearing ‘perfect’ at all times for a lot of people, and accomplishing this through portraying certain events and images using social media platforms (Siapera 2012). With this being said, some traditionally minded folk tend to grieve the shift from Gemeinshaft to Gesellshaft; however I do believe it has given us a limitless, endless stream of different opinions, lifestyles and philosophies. While there are the obvious negative repercussions of anonymity, when used in such a way it can be an empowering way to discuss controversial issues and connect with either like-minded or others we would not usually come into contact with. An example would be Reddit, which has hundreds of sub-reddits for different topics and debates, and a usually supportive atmosphere (van der Nagel 2013). Overall, as the fears about internet usage continue and more and more individuals do ‘get online’, it has to be accepted that this is the future of our world, and the next major shift of human society has already occurred.

 References

boyd, d 2012, Participating in the Always On Lifestyle, in Mandiberg (ed) The Social Media Reader, NYU Press, pp 71-76.

Colby 2010, ‘Facebook vs. real life: Yes, there is a difference’, The Choice Effect, 7June, viewed 23rd November 2015, <http://thechoiceeffect.com/facebook-vs-real-life/>

Siapera, E 2012, ‘Socialities and Social Media’, in Introduction to New Media, Sage, London, pp 191-208.

ThisIsMyTech 2013, Classic 90’s – The kids guide to the internet, 2 September, viewed 23rd November 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfMrVKnGzwg>

van der Negal 2013, 'Faceless Bodies: Negotiating Technological and Cultural Codes on reddit gonewild', Scan Journal of Media Arts Culture, vol. 10, no. 2, Macquarie University.

Wilken, R & McCosker, A 2014, 'Social Selves', in Cunningham & Turnbull (eds), The Media & Communications in Australia, Allen and Unwin pp. 291-295.