[unclewez]

Game On!

Ass. 1b. Week 10.  Social Gaming: Playing the Crowd.

Social gaming. What is it? Social gaming is how we describe games that are predominantly made for playing on social media sites (O’Neil 2008). Though that may be the case, it would become clear that it has long since outgrown that description. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) have grown to the point that within themselves they have created a social network or social group. People do not just play the game, they team up, make plans, and execute them as if they were in the real world. Sure, going alone is an option, but enduring success is unlikely (Williams 2016 p.665).

Understanding the overall picture of the gaming world takes a lot more attention than a surface glance. When we mention online gaming, people automatically seem to think of violence or gambling. However, there are games out there that carry a far more positive aspect. Yes, games like Fortnite, War Thunder, Call of duty, and World of WarCraft call us to arms, to kill or be killed. However, it appears the hype of negative media forget the likes of Farmville, Words with Friends, and Pop Quiz entirely. All of these are social, and all stimulate our capacity to learn. Add Pokémon Go, that got people of their seats and out into the streets, and the benefits of online games become apparent.  

Okay, so we can justify the personal social side of gaming, but what about the issues? Like anything that involves human beings, there is always an issue. For example, online games usually involve an in-game currency. Fortnite had a case where it was accused of being used to launder money (Gershgorn 2019). Likewise, Eve Online has had a couple of scandals that saw players lose $300,000 worth of purchases over a simple in-game deal that went wrong (Thornhill 2014). Eve also encountered an issue when one player from the in-game council (the Council of Stellar Management), failed to step out of his game role and into reality during an online video post. The player, known as ‘The Mittani’, and for his violent and ruthless actions, made statements and threats that are not acceptable in the real world (De Zwart & Humphreys 2014 p.93). While the Mittani apologised, the damage was already done. 

Of course, this poses the question, are people able to distinguish between the virtual world and the real world? That will need to be thrown over to the psychologists and anthropologists of the world, while I go back to my game to fight an air battle over Great Britain.

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, viewed 17 January, 2019, <https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=225934593111540;res=IELLCC>.

Forbes 2019, Mew, [image], viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2018/06/15/you-wont-be-able-to-transfer-mew-from-pokemon-go-to-pokemon-lets-go/#48c8044f22e6>.

Fortnite 2017, Fortnite Battle Royale - Gameplay Trailer, viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gUtfBmw86Y>.

Game On 2019, GameOn, [image], viewed 29 January, 2019, <http://www.gameonlu.com/>.

GameSpot 2014, This is Eve Online - Gameplay Trailer, viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqoxRcP5kbo>.

Gershgorn, D 2019, The “Fortnite” economy now has its own black market, viewed 28 January, 2019, <https://qz.com/1528941/fortnite-is-reportedly-a-money-laundering-hotbed/>.

O’Neil, N 2008, What Exactly are social Games?, viewed 13 January, 2019, https://www.adweek.com/digital/social-games/

Thornhill, T 2014, EVE Online sees biggest ever battle involving more than 4,000 players, viewed 28 January, 2019, <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2547908/EVE-online-sees-biggest-battle.html>.

Williams, D 2009, “Groups and goblins: The Social and civic Impact of an Online Game”. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 50, no. 4, pp 651-670.

[digital-danish-blog]

I would certainly hope one could determine real life from virtual! According to  Bourgonjon, Valcke, Soetaert, de Wever, Schellens (2010), games have the potential to provide learning solutions within both classrooms and workplaces. Though this isn’t to say games like Fortnite or WoW are too educational! I believe everything needs moderation. We wouldn’t have our cake and eat it too if all we used was the eggs. We need the right mixture of game mechanics for the best entertainment or educational flavour! 

Great post!

References:

Bourgonjon, J, Valcke, M, Soetaert, R, de Wever, B, Schellens, T 2011, ‘Parental acceptance of digital game-based learning’, Computers & Education, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 1434-1444.

[theresultsarelive-blog]

The Selfie Generation – Filtering to the extreme

The beauty of youth is lost on the young, with the teens of today redefining their self-image with flawless make-up (learnt from the beauty gurus on YouTube) then tweaking their perfection even further with the use of photo apps like Snapchat and Facetune.   The filtered images offer the individual a slimmer jaw lines, wider eyes and removal of imperfections like facial lines and freckles,  from the lens of the camera before the image is taken.  Once taken the images are then posted to social media sites.  The more “perfect” the image, the greater longevity afforded to the image.  The throwaway image is posted on social media site Snapchat or posted on Instagram for a long lasting reminder and to watch the likes roll in.

For fun, I took a series of selfies this morning, using snapchat and its filters. The top left is me, sans makeup, no special lighting, almost first thing in the morning.  The image on the top right is a filter I’m almost sad to say I like to use frequently. The lighting is better and reduces my wrinkles.  Because of the comparison layout I have just noticed it also makes my face slimmer.  I never noticed this before.  The bottom two images are filters I have used for the first time today.  I think they make me look like I am straight out of a Disney movie, but you can make your own judgment.

The younger generation are used to seeing more and more filtered images of themselves, with 49% of the 18-29 age groups having a Snapchat account, 66% of the same age group with an Instagram account (Yellow 2018). The problem with these “perfected” images of a person is that the image is different from their real self: what is seen in the mirror and also by others. The knock on effect of these differing presentations is now coined “Snapchat Dysmophia”, a body dysmorphic syndrome caused by social media applications (Ramphul and Mejias 2018). People are contacting cosmetic surgeons to change their appearance to match their filtered selves.  Cosmetic surgeons are realising the mental illness associated with Snapchat Dysmorphia, and are referring these patients for counselling.

When people share images of themselves online, the act has a positive effect on their social sensitivity, improving their own self-concept (Shin et al. 2017).  If the shared images are heavily filtered and edited, the self-appreciation is based ono a falsehood which can lead into mental illness conditions if left unchecked.  

Evan Speigel, creator of Snapchat once said “You are the sum of your published experience”.  But perhaps it would be wise to take a moment to enjoy life without the aid of a camera lens.

Keep reading

[digital-danish-blog]

As Ramphul & Mejias (2018) stated, dysphoria is, unfortunately, providing adolescent viewers with negative body influences. Personally, I too find it difficult to take selfies per being self-conscious. So, I can honestly admire the confidence of women such as yourself who are able to openly post selfies. I appreciated how you covered the mental well-being of onlookers. I think mental health is very important. This being said, I also believe if used correctly, social media can also aid in self-love. Sometimes a few positive comments are all it takes, you know?

By the way, you look beautiful! Have a wonderful day :)

References:

Ramphul, K & Mejias, SG, 2018, ‘Is “Snapchat Dysmophia” a Real Issue?’, Cureus, vol 10, no 3, folio 2263. 

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Social Mapping; bringing people together in times of crisis

I first learnt about social mapping while studying professional communication. The unit discussed the different types of mediums that can be used when sending out messages to mass audiences. We talked about crowdsourcing, the act of engaging a ‘crowd’ toward a common goal, often towards solving a problem. We learnt about the Queensland floods and the Queensland Police Services use of social media to get information about the floods out to the public as quickly as possible. Within just eight weeks Queensland Police Services Facebook page had risen to 100 000 likes and generated 450 post views per second over the 24-hour period (Cenere et al. 2015). 

Turning to social media during times of crisis proves to be a useful tool in distributing important information quickly and effectively, not only in the case of the Queensland floods but many others. With the increasing use of mobile technology, internet connectivity, and social networking, information technology is playing a crucial and developing role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster response settings (Global Disaster Preparedness Center 2017). The internet allows people to know where you are and navigate their way around by developing crisis mapping through the Geoweb by gathering real-time information during conflict and disaster settings.

Crisis mapping was launched by Patrick Meier in 2008, as a form of disaster response known as Ushahidi. “Ushahidi—or ‘testimony’ in Swahili—has played a central role in coordinating responses to crises around the globe.” (Hyman 2014, p. 27). Meier’s map used satellite imagery and SMS to create in response shared area-based information about open safe houses, pharmacies, medical clinics and markets and was utilized by the U.S. military to save injured residents and deliver services (Dillon 2019).

In times of crisis, information is essential to effective and efficient disaster response that enable planning, response and readiness for crisis management. Chief Craig Fugate of The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent out a tweet about the Ushahidi map saying

“ it was the most comprehensive and up-to-date map available to the humanitarian community" (Hyman 2014, p. 27).

Social media has brought new ways for people to reach each other and offer support during times of crisis that was not available until now. This innovative technology-based approach conveys significant changes to the traditional data chain utilise in emergencies by blending authoritative and non-authoritative data (Goodchild 2009, p. 23).

“In times of crisis, innovative means are becoming available for facilitating and improving the flow of information among communities when and where they need it most” (Swinburne 2019).

References

Cenere et al. 2015, Communication skills for business professionals, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne.

Crowdsourcing Week 2019, What is Crowdsourcing?, Crowdsourcing Week, viewed 21 January 2019, <https://crowdsourcingweek.com/what-is-crowdsourcing/>.

Dillon, H 2019, Crisis Mapping: An Overview of Social Media Mapping Response to Disaster, PA TIMES Online, viewed 2 January 2019, <https://patimes.org/crisis-mapping-overview-social-media-mapping-response-disaster/>.

‘Flooding Facebook’ [IMAGE], in Research Gate, The use of social media during the Queensland and Victorian floods, viewed 21 January 2019, <https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Growth-of-the-Queensland-Police-Service-Facebook-page-likes-from-May-2010-to-February_fig1_263810598>.

Ford, H 2012, ‘Crowd Wisdom’, Index on Censorship, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 33-39.

Geothink 2012, Explorations in Geoweb – What is geoweb?, Geothink, viewed 21 January 2019, <http://geothink.ca/explorations-in-geoweb-what-is-geoweb/>.

Global Disaster Preparedness Center 2017, Crisis Mapping, viewed 21 January 2019, <https://www.preparecenter.org/topics/crisis-mapping>.

Hyman, P 2014, ‘Peace technologies’ enable eyewitness reporting when disasters strike’, Communications of the ACM, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 27-29, viewed 21 January 2019, <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=7451ef49-d009-4420-b4af-ebc148c839c0%40sessionmgr4007>.

Swinburne Online 2019, ‘8.3 Social Mapping’ MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning Materials in Online Classroom, Swinburne University of Technology, viewed January 21, <https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/704/pages/8-dot-3-social-mapping?module_item_id=60094>

[digital-danish-blog]

This post is very informative with well-chosen images. With online media providing us with extensive and current updates, it’s relieving that awareness can escalate to this extent. I couldn’t help but reflect upon how social mapping tends to look like the measles and find it ironically suitable for ‘viral marketing’. Provided how often we rely on the internet. I wonder how we would all fare in crisis situations without it?

Thanks, 

Jasmin

[tsdigitalcommunities]

Crowdsourcing in Times of Crisis

Crowdsourcing for natural disasters is now largely done through social media platforms, thanks to social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. During the time of a natural disaster, the use of social networking websites increase to more use than that of a phone call or text message (Velev and Zlateva 2015, p.42). Let’s take a look at exactly how social media platforms create awareness of these natural disasters during these harsh times which then inevitably lead to the positive outcome of public knowledge, response and event recovery.

4 Primary Ways that Social Media is used during natural disasters:

To keep family and friends connected (Velev and Zlateva 2015, p.43).

Situational updates (Velev and Zlateva 2015, p.43).

Situational/supplemental awareness (Velev and Zlateva 2015, p.43).

Assistance with access to services (Velev and Zlateva 2015, p.43).

Social Media and Hurricane Harvey

Let’s take a look at a specific example- Hurricane Harvey and how social media specifically created such a positive difference for public knowledge, response, event recovery and saving lives.

Hashtags- Hashtags #sosHarvey and  #helphouston were used for flagging down citizen rescuers (Rhodan 2017).

Accounts- The @HarveyRescue account compiled a database of addresses and names needing help which like the     hashtags, led to response (Rhodan 2017).

A mother who was with her two children along with many others tweeted for help, sharing their address details     which led to emergency services quickly reaching them (Rhodan 2017).

Facebook opened up the option to mark yourself as safe, ask for help or offer services during the natural disaster (Rhodan 2017).

-A well-known tweet of a photo of elderly people struggling in their nursing home was shared among 4800 people and pushed the nursing home to become a priority for emergency services. All of the elderly people in this instance were saved (Rhodan 2017).

-11 Systems were disconnected and therefore social media was used primarily for calls for help (Zhang 2018).

-Citizens filmed entire events on their social media pages in different languages so that local and international non-english speakers could understand what was going on (Zhang 2018).

-A program and profile was also created to counter false information and people trying to use the natural disaster falsely to their advantage (Zhang 2018).

(The Atlantic 2018) 

 Reference List

‘People are rescued from floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey on an air boat in Dickinson, Texas, on August 27, 2017′, in The Atlantic 2018, A Look Back at Hurricane Harvey: One Year Since Landfall, The Atlantic, Viewed 1st February 2019, <https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/08/a-look-back-at-hurricane-harvey-one-year-since-landfall/568594/>

Rhodan, M 2017, ‘Please Send Help.’ Hurricane Harvey Victims Turn to Twitter and Facebook, Maya Rhodan, Viewed 3rd January 2019, <http://time.com/4921961/hurricane-harvey-twitter-facebook-social-media/>

Velev, D and Zlateva, PV 2015, Use of Social Media in Natural Disaster Management, ICITE 2012, At Hong Kong, vol.39, 31st January, pp.42-43, Viewed 3rd January 2019, <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Plamena_Zlateva/publication/271585520_Use_of_Social_Media_in_Natural_Disaster_Management/links/54ccd2d50cf29ca810f5e6bb.pdf>

Zhang, AL 2018, UT research: Social media saved lives during Hurricane Harvey, Annie L. Zhang, Viewed 3rd January 2019, <http://dailytexanonline.com/2018/09/14/ut-research-social-media-saved-lives-during-hurricane-harvey>

[digital-danish-blog]

Hi Tayla,

Thanks for the well constructed and easy to read post. Mulder, Ferguson, Groenewegen, Boersma & Wolbers (2016), state that current information is vital when gaining awareness. Ironically, by using bullet points you quickly conveyed your messages. Similar to how crisis updates are presented via Facebook and other platforms.

I also enjoyed that you included some personal events, like the mother who received help for her children over social media. It's a very wholesome take on the situation. 

Jasmin.

References:

Mulder, F, Ferguson, J, Groenewegen, P, Boersma, K, Wolbers, J 2016, 'Questioning Big Data: Crowdsourcing crisis data towards an inclusive humanitarian response’, Big Data & Society, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1-2.

[legenwaitforitdarythoughts]

Predators of the Online Community

Lurking in the dark spaces of the internet, ready to unleash an onslaught of offensive, threatening and antagonistic comments are the predators of the online community - Trolls and Cyber-bullies.

Now as someone who hasn’t been on the receiving end of trolling or cyber-bullying myself, I admit that I was a little naïve about the seriousness of this topic and it wasn’t until undertaking further research that my eyes were opened to how big an issue online harassment is – the statistics are shocking.

I did find it interesting, however, to learn that there are many different types of Trolls as Bryan & Gallucci (2018) explain in their list of ‘10 types of trolls you’ll spot in the wild’, and not all of them want to watch the world burn. Rampton 2015, supports this highlighting some of the harmless trolls such as the “grammar natzi’s, know-it-all’s, and those who are genuinely funny”. But it’s number 10 on Bryan & Galluci’s (2018) list the toxic, malicious Trolls that are causing havoc in the online world.

As I delved into academic research on this topic, I found several papers that discussed the motivations and personality traits of Trolls. Craker & March 2016, defined trolling as a form of online bullying and harassment, characterised by deceptive and disruptive behaviour involving “posting inflammatory and malicious comments to deliberately provoke and upset people.” Numerous studies found that individuals engaged in Trolling had strong ‘Dark Tetrad’ characteristics such as trait psychopathy and sadism (Buckels, Trapnell & Paulhus 2014; Craker & March 2016; Lopes & Yu 2017). Further, Coles and West (2016) suggest that anonymity is one of the main facilitating features of malicious actions online because it allows for greater deindividuation and counter-normative behaviours. So, these psychopathic traits coupled with the ability to hide one’s identity emboldens the Trolls to say whatever they like, without fear of being caught.

What I found most concerning, however, is the psychological and emotional impact trolling and cyber-bullying is having on victims. Young people are especially vulnerable. As Bonanno & Hymel (2013) explain, cyber-bullying contributes to symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation in young people, and they are less likely to report or seek help for cyber-bullying in comparison to other forms of bullying. Sadly, Gannon (2018) refers to cyber-bullying as a “silent killer”. There has been a startling rise in the number of youths and adults taking their own lives due to online-harassment (Lang 2018; Foster 2018; Gannon 2018).

What’s the solution? Although there is a call for governments to enforce stronger penalties for cyber-bullying, regulating it is an almost impossible task. Shutdown one account, they open another. The best approach is to ignore the trolls or as March (2017) suggests, don’t feed the trolls as this ‘reinforces their behaviour’ instead, reward good behaviour to encourage more of it.

Keep reading

[digital-danish-blog]

Fantastic post! I like your choice of images they showcase the points you’ve made very well. I also appreciate that you included ‘10 types of trolls you’ll spot in the wild’. McCosker (2014), claims that not all trolling is inherently malicious as the subject matter is considerably ever-changing. So including the common stereotypes was something I found quite insightful. I suppose it's not just the content but the trolls themselves who are ‘ever-changing’.

References:

McCosker, A 2014, 'Trolling as provocation: YouTube’s agonistic publics’, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 202.

[communitygoesdigital]

blog fiiiiiiiive

“Participation includes activism, resistance and conflicts…” (McCosker, A 2014)

I couldn’t agree more with this statement. As unpleasant as internet trolls can be, part of having a voice is the ability to use it in disagreement. Bülent Diken is referenced by McCosker, who quotes Diken’s “main principle of life” statement, regarding the “omnipresence of violence in society” (McCosker 2014). And in relation to McCosker’s explanation of Chantal Mouffe’s work, I agree that contest is healthy for democracy. Necessary as well. Trolling, however, is not specifically necessary for democracy to survive. Personally, I like to think there’s a level of civility we could agree on, but that’s misplaced optimism at this point.

McCosker notes that both the Christchurch earthquake and Auckland flash haka “serve as a form of provocation and stimulate passionate responses…” which “cannot be generally disentangled from the video(s)…” and what they represent. Each person would probably have some kind of reaction to either of these videos, but this quote prompted me to question why some of us share these reactions and some don’t? I react to things I see on the internet all the time, but I rarely post my responses. I found this article which explains that when the autonomic nervous system is enhanced, so too are our social interactions – “Simply put, evoking certain emotions can help increase the chance a message is shared” (Association for Psychological Science, 2011). In terms of the examples in “Trolling as provocation”, there is obviously a lot of emotion informing the comments.

In his conclusion, McCosker highlights provocation as an “agonistic sense of searching for an adversary and trying to best them, or at least maintain contact”. My first thought upon reading this was trolls trying to pick fights from the safety of their homes, hiding behind the anonymity provided by the medium of online communication.

danah boyd’s article about bullying points to Dan Olweus’ characteristics required to use the term: aggression, repetition and power imbalance (boyd, 2014). This definition caught me off guard – I had never thought of bullying as having to be repetitive in nature for it to be defined as bullying. The word ‘repetitive’ seems subjective to me, but I guess the only sentiment it really needs to cover is ‘more than once’.

The internet, and social media specifically, does afford more accessibility to communication avenues for communication, so I prepared myself for ‘increased options = more bullying’. Especially considering the range of interpretations that one text-based piece of communication can endure; the tonal ambiguity can lead to the exact opposite of the intended meaning. But according to boyd, this is not the cause of the bullying experienced by teenagers.

Finally, boyd’s interviews with teenagers around the word “drama” was interesting. I particularly liked her explanation of the use behind the word, around it allowing emotional distance from the situation: “Drama does not automatically position anyone as either a target or an abuser.” Thereby leaving no one specific holding the bag or to be stood up to, and no one in particular to feel sorry or stand up for. Everyone wins!

REFERENCES

Association for Psychological Science 2011, Why Do We Share Stories, News, and Information With Others?, viewed 5 February, 2019, <https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/why-do-we-share-our-feelings-with-others.html>.

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.

McCosker, A 2014, YouTrolling as provocation: Tube’s agonistics publics, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.

[digital-danish-blog]

I really enjoyed reading your post. The new perspective’s you made are quite refreshing. I wholeheartedly agree that, for any discussion, to take place disagreement or debates are necessary. Many people tend to perceive sarcasm incorrectly or assume it to be “trolling” rather than address what is sometimes constructive criticism. Boyd’s (2014) approach to what “drama” can be defined as I found a bit too vague, personally. It’s as you stated, anyone could “win” as no responsibility is necessarily pinpointed, by that standard. I was raised to believe actions have consequences. Something I still feel to be rather important. Thank you for the intriguing read!

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.

[venusblowmymind-blog]

Popular movements with digital age

In this day and age hard to imagine having a popular movement without using social media applications, which has a power to fuel the activists and even trigger regime changes which we have seen in Tunisia and Egypt, not only that soon after spread to the middle east as Arab Spring in 2011, Arab Spring followed by many movement in around the globe like in Madrid, Barcelona, New York, istanbul and lately in France, commenting such social media adoption journalist started to use the words like Facebook or Twitter revolution.

Indeed social media use amongst the protestors is intense, vibrant and diverse in many ways, as such use of YouTube or similar applications to display police brutality during their protest which helps to mobilise the people to the streets, nevertheless tool of social media applications has different strength, application like Facebook especially useful when used to form variety of groups, twitter used to speed up the communication and YouTube to display the events, when we combined all to become sophisticated tools to disseminate the news and events almost in real time (Gerbaudo, 2012) however on the other hand government especially the one that lack on democracy try to restrict access to certain sites and even shuts down the internet partially or some extreme cases entirely, problem is the same as always been, some parts of the public is not happy for some reason which tries to mobilise and pass their message to leaders and the leaders often not agreed which then using variety of power and tries to shut them down.

Social media companies on the other hand trying to regulate the content in their platform, limit the anonymity and prohibit certain content, situation like this of course can or could create opportunity for the new social media platforms as large scale activist decide to use, up and coming platform, in especially democratic countries activist could utilise existing freedom clause’s to take legal action against the social media companies, moreover they can appeal their governments over a well establish idea of freedom of speech to pressure social media companies (Youmans, WL & York, JC 2012, pp. 324-325).

At the end regardless of circumstances there will be fine balance between activist, social media companies, governments, lawmakers and industry regulators, we need to accept the fact as there will be almost always disagreement between them and would not be easy to establish that fine line but we had no choice to try and make it happen.

Gerbaudo, P 2012, Tweets and the Streets Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Pluto Press, London.

Youmans, WL & York, JC 2012, “Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements,” Journal of Communication, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 324–325.

[digital-danish-blog]

Youmans’ (2012) statement regarding social platforms regulation and how it could, and likely has, lead towards legal clauses is an interesting one. Terms and conditions are often written with multiple grey areas to excuse just this. (Yes I may be one of the few who still skim through them!). With all that text you would assume they would be more specific. It’s unfortunate how companies are easily able to pressure one another. However, once something is posted online it’s quite difficult to retract. Tweets made by Donald Trump’s tweets showcase the public reaction to some considerably outlandish statements. Though this may be wishful thinking of a hopeful humanitarian that the “villains” will get their just desserts. Great post!

References:

Youmans, WL & York, JC 2012, “Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements,” Journal of Communication, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 324–325

[jltwllmsn-deactivated20190910]

Activism & Protest

This week furthers the conversation over digital citizenship. Activism and protest were dissected this week with many valid points to note.  

Furthering the conversation about Digital Citizenship from last week is this week’s topic of activism and The spectrum of digital citizenship, as defined by Mossbergeret al (2008, pp. 4-9) can be in support of politics and policy (as discussed last week) or it can be against, using peaceful forms of protest and resistance. Isinand Ruppert (2015, p.20) broadens digital citizenship to all those who make claims online using the basic tenets of citizenship, such as rights like freedom of speech, welfare and dignity, obligations like paying taxes and, finally, of belonging to the nation-state.

Tarrow (2011, p.137) explains that the internet’s impact has been the greatest change in the way social movements organise themselves in the last few decades. Organisations coordinate, recruit, train and fundraise using the internet’s global reach across contexts.

Digital activism changes the way movements reach out, giving those with the vision and skills an enormous audience that is ready to mobilise through the use of new tools. Facebook, Youtube and Twitter are all central to digital activism. Each of these platforms creates a public sphere of connection to allow society to organise, interact, educate and share with one another important issues and debate matters of contention playing an important role in the dissemination of discussion.  

I am an active member of intersectional feminist Facebook groups and follow NFP organisations which collaborate and organise events within their own digital communities to confront and tackle social issues. The organisation and preparation of the annual Women’s March and the anti-Australia Day protests are forms of activism and protest that I enjoy being a part of. It is examples like this as to why I am grateful for my own online community, one where I can share similar opinions and outlooks.

References

Mossberger, K, Tolbert, C & McNeal, R 2008, Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Tarrow, SG 2011, Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics, Cambridge University Press, New York.

Women’s March Sydney [image], ABC NEWS, viewed feb 2 2019, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-21/womens-march-in-sydney/8200544>

Blast From the Past 1960s: 15 Protest Signs That Sum Up the Sixties [image], Vintage Everyday, viewed 4 Feb 2018 <https://www.vintag.es/2015/05/blast-from-past-1960s-15-protest-signs.html>

[digital-danish-blog]

Hi Juliet,

Thank you for your post, it was quite the read! Personally, I too, have found the larger social media platforms to be quite helpful in promoting current information. Facebook, in particular, has given birth to much awareness, such as the Egyptian Revolution (Ghonim 2016). However, unfortunately, slacktivism has also been quite prominent and spread via social platforms too. Feminism especially has received quite a lot of slacktivism within recent years. Often leading towards damaging narratives and misconstrued contexts of the cause (Harp, Loke 2018). I find your passion, however, very admirable. Keep fighting the good fight! :)

Jasmin.

References:

Harp, D, Loke, J 2018, '“Hashtag Feminism”: Activism or Slacktivism?', Comparative Feminist Studies, Switzerland.

TED 2016, Let’s design social media that drives real change | Wael Ghonim, 4 February, viewed 22 January 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiwJ0hNl1Fw>.

[unclewez]

Politics & Civic Culture

Ass.1b: Week 5

Before one can go and make outlandish comments on politic and civic culture, it would be prudent to define them. In brief, politics, as defined by the Collins dictionary (2018), “is/are the actions or activities concerned with achieving and using power in a country or society”, whereas civic culture is a belief in “participation of civic duties” and/or “the acceptance of the authority of the state” (Oxford Reference 2018). While there is a distinction between the two, the one commonality is the need for self or political promotion. Hence, we have seen an embracing of Social Media by both political campaigners and life campaigners. The question is, has this impacted the way campaigning is done? Of course, social media has impacted how we all do things. Now, for better or worse, we have a populous that can be both reached and can reach back. We have politicians proclaiming their promises, and we have the average Australian giving feedback. Unfortunately, some of that feedback is neither polite nor positive (Jericho 2013 p. 255), but this is no different to a Politician standing on the corner soapboxing or door knocking. That is unless one considers that the feedback is often more abusive due to the ability to comment without showing up in person.

From the politician’s point of view, it is hard to see how one can ignore the social media platforms. In one sense they are incredibly dangerous, with there always being someone watching every move made and every word said in order to correct or pull-up the author.

On the other hand, there are a plethora of opportunities to be had. One thing is of absolute certainty; the use of social media in politics has been for the greater good. Before the crucifixion starts on that statement, let me explain. The use of social media platforms by campaigners has attracted a wider audience. Be they both educated and uneducated, the authors are often terse in their delivery of comments. Still, the level of civic involvement has increased. While it has attracted and highlighted the stupidest of commentaries from both writers and audiences alike, it has broken open the center of the political world (Jericho 2013 p. 287).

Social media has given to the world a means to hold to account those that are meant to be honourable and stand for what is right. Likewise, bloggers on social media sites have pressure journalist to a new level of honesty and accuracy (Young 2010 p. 224). Now we have a special moment in time where we can sit back and watch the leaders of the nation, and the people that comment, metaphorically hang themselves.  Maybe God and Abraham Lincoln had it right when they suggested it was better to say nothing and not be thought a fool. (Proverbs 17:27-28 and QuoteInvestigator 2010).

References

Collins Dictionary 2018, Politics definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary, viewed 26 December, 2018, <https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/politics>.

 Holy Bible 1986, The Holy Bible, American Bible Society, New York.

 Jericho, G 2013, The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe Publications Pty Ltd., Carlton North, pp. 254-314.

 Oxford Dictionary 2018, Civic culture - Oxford Reference, viewed 26 December, 2018, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095613999>.

 Quote investigator 2018, Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt – Quote Investigator, viewed 27 December, 2018, <https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/17/remain-silent/#note-227-3>.

Relatebly 2018, Political Meme, [image], viewed 27 December, 2018, <http://www.relatably.com/m/political-memes>.

 Thebrotherssj 2018, thebrothersj, Music. Life. The Pursuit. [image], viewed 27 December, 2018, <https://thebrothersj.wordpress.com/soap-boxing/>.

Toles, t 2018, More of the Same, [image] viewed 27 December, 2018, <https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/443041682066901889/?lp=true>.

Young, S 2010, How Australia Decides; Election Reporting and the Media, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 201-228.

[digital-danish-blog]

Some compelling points you’ve made here Wez! I too often find it amusing to observe how politicians react within a platform that holds more of “the regular people” as opposed to previous forms of static media. It makes one reflect on our current state of ‘civil society’. Communication has certainly increased between politicians and the community (Kenny 2018).

References:

Kenny, M 2018, ‘civil society’, Encylopedia Britannica Inc., viewed 21 December 2018, <https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/levels/collegiate/article/civil-society/600865>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

The growing relationship between political campaigns and social media

With more than 65% of adults now using social media – a tenfold jump in the last decade (Perrin 2015), it’s no surprise the relationship between political campaigns and social media is growing. As teenagers mature in the shadow of Web 2.0, eligible to cast their first vote, social media is playing an important role in their evolving lives (Kahne & Bowyer 2018, p.470). With the most important chance of winning a campaign being the message, some politicians are scrambling for wins by sending out tweets, that well they really shouldn’t.

With 74% of internet users turning to social media during the 2008 election to be in some way involved in aspects of the campaign (Smith 2009), social media may very well be a politician’s winning ticket. Political campaigns can take months to get off the ground, and as a result, politicians are increasingly turning to social media and bypassing reporters to Tweet or Post their message to social media.

Think back to the popular video below ‘Crush On Obama’ – what message does this send to the public? Could you envision such a video made about Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbot? Umm…. probably not! They just don’t portray themselves in this image. 

I think the reason a lot of people like Barack Obama is because he sends out the message that he is cool and liked by many.

Kevin Rudd’s and Tony Abbot’s Twitter, however, show two very different levels of engagement with Kevin Rudd having 1.56 M followers and Tony Abbot 647 K. I think this goes back to the point made before of the message.  Politicians are leveraging social media to send out verbal and visual messages as a strategy for representing themselves as a leader. Kevin Rudd’s strategy to winning public favour is by being fun and having a good time, remember his selfie strategy, who wouldn’t want a president that’s fun to be around right? Tony Abbot, however, has a lot less of a following then Kevin Rudd and I would say his strategy to winning the public favour is to take a more serious approach about matters of the country, but perhaps not a lot of people can take his seriousness at 6am in the morning.

So how effective is social media as a political campaign strategy for greater civic or political participation? I would say very effective! Social media helps people to feel their participation is important in the election process. And while it’s unlikely a large number of Twitter followers suggests that an election is going to be won or lost (Jericho 2012, p.263), it will support in delivering a campaign message during election time.

References

Barely Political 2007, Crush On Obama, 13 June, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU>.

Dancing Barack Obama 2018 [IMAGE], GIFER, GIFER, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://gifer.com/en/3VlO>.

Donald Trump’s Tweet 2018 [IMAGE], Donald Trump’s Noteworthy Tweets, Newsday.com, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/donald-trump-s-noteworthy-tweets-as-president-1.12632966>.

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

Kahne, J & Bowyer, B 2018, ‘The Political Significance of Social Media Activity and Social Networks’, Political Communication, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 470-493, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10584609.2018.1426662>.

Perrin, A 2015, Social Media Usage: 2005-2015, viewed 10 December 2018, <http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/>.

Smith, A 2009, The Internet’s Role in Campaign 2008, viewed 10 December 2018, <http://www.pewinternet.org/2009/04/15/the-internets-role-in-campaign-2008/>. 

[digital-danish-blog]

This was an interesting read! Sufficed to say, I think perhaps all politicians posts/campaigns despite maybe best intentions, are always very awkward to watch. According to Denick (2012), this may be due to sacrificing the formalities for faster and more reaction-based communication. Your point on what they post and the message it sends out is very important. Many politicians need to revisit their social media appearances to say the least!

References:

Dencik, L 2012, Media and Global Civil Society, Palgrave Macmillan, London.

[digital-danish-blog]

Speech 100: Social Gaming

[1B Blog Post 6: Week 10] 

[Bethesda’s ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ 2011]

With the increasing popularity with online gaming, and more recently mobile gaming, so too comes the research and recognition that they can improve our daily lives. Games which have been designed with a primary purpose outside entertainment, have demonstrated effectiveness in engaging learning solutions. Ranging from adolescent to the working adult levels of education (Baek, Ko, March 2014).  

Video games improve motivation, stimulate deep learning and creative thinking. This is achieved through mentally or sensually stimulating experiences, unique to gaming. This can lead to enhanced efficiency of performance within a classroom or workplace. As simulated situations offer less pressure and ease for improvement. A sense of familiarity or openness towards new technology can also be obtained (Bourgonjon, Valcke, Soetaert, de Wever, Schellens 2010).

Offering collaborative play to accomplish set goals provides an incentive for players to help out others and seek help themselves. MMORPGs, in particular, represent a new form of social interaction and thus community. A place in which newly found human relationships are created (Zhong 2011).

Cooperation, however, is generally difficult to achieve amongst egocentric players. Which is likely to become elevated within groups exceeding 4-9 members. In smaller communities, cooperation can often be stabilized by reciprocity and communication. However, in larger communities, these mechanisms can often be ineffective. Individual influence on others often diminishes due to the difficulty of having to observe an increased amount of people and situations. For this reason, many successful developers and communities have established systems which enforce mutual cooperation (Hilbe, Wu, Traulsen, Nowak 2014).

Asides participation in gaming, millions of people now also enjoy watching the gameplay of others (Needleman 2015). Content creation via platforms such as Youtube and especially Twitch gave us the concept of “Let's plays” and eSports. Whilst the legitimacy of user-generated content falls under debate of classifying media content: in particular, copyright infringement, audience gratification is still obtained (Sjöblom, Törhönen, Hamari, Macey 2017). 

Both Youtube and Twitch offer chat systems, which can often be hectic or nonsensical to follow, especially on popular gaming uploaders or streamers.

[Giphy 2017]

Recently various social networking platforms have taken an integration with gaming. Such as Discord offering exclusive releases (Discord 2018) or Facebook providing its own service for watching eSports or streams (Facebook 2019). And perhaps most notably, Twitch’s partnership with Amazon Prime to provide in-game items, or even certain games via a subscription service (Twitch 2019). Promotional news which will naturally also generate conversation. 

At the end of the day, however, its all in the bonding potential across various individuals and groups. Whether it be parents and their children engaging in ‘console couch wars’, making new friends online or having to be entertained in unison of like-minded peers in your favourite streamers chat. 

Speaking of which, I’d really appreciate it if you would please take the time to check out my friends Twitch channel, @twitch.tv/danionc.

I hope you enjoyed your food for thought, with a serving of black forest danish. Please come again!

[Please see /references for all sources]

References:

Baek, Y, Ko, R, Marsh, T 2014, Trends and Applications of Serious Gaming and Social Media, Springer, Singapore.

Bethesda Game Studios 2011, 'Speech 100' [image], The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, viewed 15 February 2019, <https://imgur.com/gallery/eapthT5>.

Bourgonjon, J, Valcke, M, Soetaert, R, de Wever, B, Schellens, T 2011, ‘Parental acceptance of digital game-based learning’, Computers & Education, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 1434-1444.

Facebook 2019, Gaming, Facebook, viewed 15 February 2019, <https://www.facebook.com/gaming/>.

Giphy 2017, 'My Chat Experience' [image], Twitch Gif By Gaming, Giphy, viewed 15 February 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/linarf-games-l0Iycn0BtVo1Eanp6>.

Hilbe, C, Wu, B, Traulsen, A, Nowak, M.A. 2014, ‘Cooperation and control in multiplayer social dilemmas’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 111, no. 46, pp.  pp.16425-30.

Needleman, S 2015, ' Twitch’s Viewers Reach 100 Million a Month ', The Wall Street Journal, viewed 15 February 2019, <https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/01/29/twitchs-viewers-reach-100-million-a-month/>.

Nelly 2018, The First “First On Discord” Games, Discord Blog, viewed 15 February 2019, <https://blog.discordapp.com/the-first-first-on-discord-games-73525dab4fd5>. 

Sjöblom, M, Törhönen, M, Hamari, J, Macey, J 2017, ' Content structure is king: An empirical study on gratifications, game genres and content type on Twitch', Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 73,  pp.161-171.

Twitch Prime 2019, Games at no additional costs with Prime, Twitch, viewed 15 February 2019, <https://www.twitch.tv/prime>.

Zhong, Z 2011, 'The effects of collective MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) play on gamers’ online and offline social capital', Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 2352-2363.

[digital-danish-blog]

Don’t Judge a Screen by its Thumbnail

[1B Blog Post 5: Week 9]

Many of us have likely heard the idiom “you can't judge a book by its cover”. Which expresses the idea that you cannot fully understand something or someone by its exterior appearance, at least exclusively (Cambridge Dictionary 2019). A concept which still holds importance, hence the modern equivalence thereof. 

Over recent decades what was formerly known as 'domestic' and later 'personal' photography has been appropriated within the social web. Predominately utilised as a form of personal expression and interpersonal communication via platforms such as Flikr, Twitter and Facebook (Burgess, Vivienne 2013). Hand (2012), further elaborates that the images we share are used to represent ourselves and through that is a non-verbal communication of who we are. 

Tifentale (2014) has likened a selfie to the concept of a homunculus in the sense that its a smaller portion of the larger self.

[This references the homunculi from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, specifically from the character ‘Pride’. Image provided by Brian Sigua 2014]

Pride and envy are prevalent emotional experiences due to the notion of social superiority one feels if they obtain certain material goods and brands. A marketing strategy made effective due to our desire for accomplishment or worth (Sung, Phau 2019). Thus viral advertising becomes prominent. Not only are we trying to represent and express ourselves we’re also attempting to gain and use the “best” technology to do so. 

However, maintaining said mass popularity does not necessarily guarantee happiness. This is something Bo Burnham, who rose to fame via Youtube, lamented over in his stand-up show ‘Make Happy’. As presented in the video below:

[Bo Burnham “Can't Handle This” from ‘Make Happy’ 2016] 

Burnham reflects on his self-consciousness regarding his physical and mental wellbeing following the result of his fame. Burnham especially laments on the desire but also an intense burden to please his audience. This is executed through carefully constructed metaphors, which initially appear to be about burritos and Pringles. As Burnham begins to add more ingredients adding to the overflow of his burrito he also includes self-deprecating humour.

“I wouldn't have gotten half of the shit if I knew it wasn't gonna fit” (Burnham 2016).

The increase of ingredients is a means to symbolise the build-up of circumstances leading towards an excess of personal pressure. From this, we can understand that anything in excess can and will lead to an overload. 

One could speculate the multiple layers of irony to Burnham’s statements with having gained from the platforms he then condemned. However, Patricia Lange (2009), claims there is an invocation of feelings which indicate belonging or attraction to a concept of ‘videos of affinity’. A place which may be considered "home-like". How else could one target the audience without the target platform? 

According to psychologist William Swann (2008), people are highly motivated to validate themselves from the perspective of others. Through Burnham’s analogy, what can be derived is, despite surface level appearances, unexpected hardships can also follow suit. Perhaps, just sometimes, we need to let our 'homunculus’ sleep so that we can rest and take care of our full selves.

I hope you enjoyed your food for thought, with a serving of Apple Cinnamon   danish. Please come again!

[Please see /references for all sources]

References:

Cambridge Dictionary 2019, You can't judge a book by its cover, Cambridge University Press, viewed 8 February 2019, <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover>.

Burgess, J, Vivienne, S 2013, 'The remediation of the personal photograph and the politics of self-representation in digital storytelling', Journal of Material Culture, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 1-5.

Burnham, B 2016, Can't Handle This (Kanye Rant) - MAKE HAPPY Netflix [HD], 14 June, viewed 11 February 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYy0o-J0x20>.

Hand, M 2012, Ubiquitous Photography, Polity, Cambridge.

Lange, P 2009, Videos of affinity on Youtube, National Library of Sweden, Stockholm.

Sigua, B 2014, 'Appearances rarely share the whole truth. -Pride' [image], Blogspot, viewed 11 February 2019, <https://anime-unltd.blogspot.com/p/fullmetal-alchemist-quotes.html>.

Sung, B, Phau, I 2019, 'When pride meets envy: Is social superiority portrayal in luxury advertising perceived as prestige or arrogance?', Psychology & Marketing, vol. 36, no. 2, p.113.

Swann, W 2008, 'Self-verification in relationships as an adaptive process', The Self and Social Relationships, viewed 11 February 2019, <URL>.

Tifentale, A 2014, 'The Selfie: Making sense of the “Masturbation of Self-Image” and the “Virtual Mini-Me”', The Graduate Center, 14 February, viewed 11 February 2019, <http://d25rsf93iwlmgu.cloudfront.net/downloads/Tifentale_Alise_Selfiecity.pdf>.

[digital-danish-blog]

Crowd-sourcing: Mark Yourself Safe with Social Media

[1B Blog Post 4: Week 8]

“Crowdsourcing defines 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” - Merriam Webster Online

Within modern society, crowdsourcing is extensively implemented online and can attract broad participatory crowds (Wilson, Bhakoo, Samson 2018).  Volunteers or contributors even rely on their organization surrounding via open social media platforms. Having up-to-date information and social mapping is vital when raising awareness and generating a humanitarian response (Mulder, Ferguson, Groenewegen, Boersma & Wolbers, 2016).

(Meier 2014)

Notably, social mapping first became prominent following the 2007 Kenyan election crisis leading to the inauguration of the non-profit organisation Ushahidi  (Ford 2012 pp. 34-33). Since then multiple other online-based organisations, such as CrisisCommons, have launched and followed suit. 

Naturally, social media giant Facebook has also implemented its own feature for disaster relief and aid called Crisis Response. This feature contains a safety check, community help, and new fundraising tools amongst an easy-to-navigate interface to inform you of the updates most relevant per user (Statt 2017).

(Facebook Crisis Response, 2019)

In particular, this feature provided me reassurance that a friend I made in high school was “marked safe” during the current flooding in Townsville. Ironically, back in 2005,  that same friend and I went door-knocking to collect funds for The Salvation Army. This had me reflect upon how we now have multiple methods which are easier, faster and arguably more effective than what we had 14 years ago. Though according to the PFRA (2019), door-to-door fundraising is still a relevant method of crowdsourcing. It still really makes one reflect on our experiences and ourselves as digital citizens. Whilst convenience, current information and an ability to reach a broader demographic is obtained we’ve perhaps decreased the extent of determination we once had. Personally, I would much rather instead make an online donation rather than physically collect funds door-to-door. I can’t help but consider whether this has made myself, like many others, lazier and maybe less likely to physically volunteer. Though I could perhaps now use the exercise what with all these consumed ‘Food for Thought’ posts fuelling my hunger lol.  

I hope you enjoyed your food for thought, with a serving of cream cheese danish. Please come again!

[Please see /references for all sources]

References:

Facebook 2019, Crisis Response, Facebook, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.facebook.com/crisisresponse/?tab=recent&source=crisis_bookmark>.

Ford, H 2012, “Crowd Wisdom”, Index on Censorship, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 33-39, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1177/0306422012465800>.

Meier, P 2012, 'Social Media and Emergency Response' [image], Does the Humanitarian Industry Have a Future in The Digital Age?, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://irevolutions.org/2012/04/09/humanitarian-future/>.

Mulder, F, Ferguson, J, Groenewegen, P, Boersma, K, Wolbers, J 2016, 'Questioning Big Data: Crowdsourcing crisis data towards an inclusive humanitarian response', Big Data & Society, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1-2.

Public Fundraising Regulatory Association 2019, Door to Door Fundraising, PFRA.org, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.pfra.org.au/pages/door-to-door-fundraising.html>.

Statt, N 2017, 'Facebook launches Crisis Response hub to help users during disasters and attacks', The Verge, 14 September, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/14/16305206/facebook-crisis-response-center-safety-check-update>.

Webster, M 2014, Definition of CROWDSOURCING, viewed 2 February, 2019, <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowdsourcing>.

Wilson, KB, Bhakoo, V, Samson, D 2018, 'Crowdsourcing: A contemporary form of project management with linkages to open innovation and novel operations', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 38, no. 6, pp.  pp.1467-1494.

[digital-danish-blog]

A Realistic Approach to Combat Online Trolls.

[1B Blog Post 3: Week 7]

‘Trolling’ refers to the act of comments or posts online, especially within social media networks, which are aimed to disrupt normal discussion for the purposes of their own amusement. The term is often associated with negative connotations such as misleading or pointless conversation or to incite conflict (Klyueva, 2013). 

However, though initiates provocation, trolling should be considered ever-changing with its multiple and highly contextualised forms (McCosker, 2014). What this implies is that not all trolling is within the realms of necessarily having malcontent. Examples of this are as seen below:

[ via Omegle (Giphy, 2013) ]

[ via being Rickroll’d - a meme which consisted of clickbait to mislead a user into instead being directed to ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley (Dubs, 2009) ]

[ (Wendy’s Tweet’s 2017) often engaged in banter especially towards their competition ]

Did you have a chuckle at any of these? If so, you’ve just experienced the same sense of amusement trolls feel when trolling. While it mightn’t be on the same spectrum as what’s typically considered tasteful, remember that humour itself is subjective. Not everyone finds ‘Bridesmaids’ or ‘Seinfeld’ funny or even relatable after all. Granted, without question, a lot of trolling can and has lead to some severe cases of both online and offline harassment. 

Combat Tip #1: If it’s malicious, be judicious. Your safest bet is to not respond. The reaction is what they want from you - so don’t give it to them!

The general wisdom from the populace of the Internet would advise as such. This remedy stems from the belief that acknowledgement and interaction are what provides a sense of accomplishment when the intention is simply to gain attention. Potentially, this may also influence third-parties to become involved hence igniting the contestation (Wilson, Fuller & McCrea 2013). 

Viewer discretion is advised for the hyperlinked video attached [here], depicting a cautionary tale of the result of suffering this young girl, referred to as ‘Jessi Slaughter’, endured after having responded to online trolls (Zebrah, 2011).

Combat Tip #2: The ‘Key’ in Security. Removing yourself from harmful situations and better online account management. 

Boyd (2014) described the events in which a girl would threaten to put information online with the attempt to humiliate her sister. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, provided the presence of the Internet’s influence. Statistics show that 83% of Australian students, aged 9-15, who partake in online bullying also bully others in person (Bullying No Way, 2019). What can be taken from this is that from adolescence and even through adulthood, our sense of ‘digital citizenship’ needs to be moderated and held accountable for. We need to be more self-aware of what we post online and understand the functionality of online privacy. The purposes of blocking, muting and so forth are supposed to be here when encountering online harassment. Despite often being misused to maintain our biases and restrict constructive information or criticism, as further discussed in my posts Redefining Human Connection & Communities & Heart React for ReLOVEution ♡... but is it Really that Easy?

P.S: As an admin or moderator of various online forums, groups and servers I can also attest to this generally being the better courses of action. 

I hope you enjoyed your food for thought, with a serving of chocolate danish. Please come again!

[Please see /references for all sources]

References:

Boyd, D 2014, Bullying : is social media amplifying meanness and cruelty?, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Bullying No Way! 2019, Facts and figures, bullyingnoway.gov.au, viewed 24 January 2019, <https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/WhatIsBullying/FactsAndFigures>.

Dubs, J 2009, Rickroll, Know Your Meme, viewed 24 January 2019, <https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rickroll>.

Giphy 2013, 'Troll Omegle' [image], Giphy, viewed 24 January 2019, <http://gph.is/1at0O7Q>.

Jensen 2016, 'SO KEEP CALM AND DON’T FEED THE TROLLS!' [image], Medium, viewed 24 January 2019 <https://medium.com/@troyjensen/do-not-feed-the-trolls-defeating-comment-terrorism-f4b7c664abce>.

Klyueva, A 2013, 'Trolling', RL Heath (ed.), Encyclopedia of Public Relations, SAGE Publications, pp. 932-933.\

McCosker, A 2014, 'Trolling as provocation: YouTube’s agonistic publics', Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 202.

Wendy's 2017, Twitter, Wendy's, viewed 24 January 2019, <https://twitter.com/Wendys/status/816369698245902336>.

Wilson, J, Fuller, G, McCrea, C 2013, 'Trolls and The Negative Space of The Internet', The Fibreculture Journal, vol. 1, no. 22, pp. 1.

Zebrah, 2011, Jessi Slaughter, Know Your Meme, viewed 24 January 2019, <https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/jessi-slaughter>.

[digital-danish-blog]

Heart React for ReLOVEution ♡... but is it Really that Easy?

[1B Blog Post 2: Week 6] 

With the internet expanding the reach of everyday citizens extends the potential for an outreach towards political or social causes (Malin, 2010). The way we use social media often reflects how we convey our emotions. Whether this is through facebook reactions or by the concept of a language behind emoji usage (Tian & Dulcinati, 2017). 

Through online advertisements or posts, we’re able to gain immediate attention towards an intended message or cause. This may include a popular tactic such as ‘culture jamming’. The process of taking existing content and altering its appearance to be perceived, sometimes entirely, differently (Southerton, 2011).

However, some users may also question the legitimacy or intentions of online activism per prior experience with ‘slacktivism’ or ‘clicktivism’. Terms heavily associated with the negative connotations and events behind Kony2012.

This is something Wael Ghonim, founder of the Facebook page "We are all Khaled Saeed", experienced during having incited the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. As detailed in the video below.

Ghonim states that within 3 days the page "We are all Khaled Saeed" gained 100,000 likes. Ghonim claims that the extension of online media also creates the ability for any person to make a change where even previously apolitical. The Egyptian people were able to come together per an open and widespread space where they couldn’t have before due to the corruption within Egypt. 

Ghonim describes having also been captured by police and held hostage for 11 days. A truly horrifying experience for himself and for his family. Which demonstrates that, even anonymously, it's possible to be hacked or for the government to still locate you and incite harassment or even harm you. Real people, not just avatars. 

These events had Ghonim reflect upon the meaning and purpose behind ‘digital citizenship’. 

"It became clear to me that while it is true polarisation is primarily driven by our human behaviour, social media shapes this behaviour and magnifies its impact" - Wael Ghonim 

Ghonim then began to lament on some negative aspects of online social media. Elaborating that rumours and biases are also more easily accepted. Especially when we’re prone to communicating with whoever agrees with us as we have a mute or block option. Character restrictions allow for jumping to conclusions and limit discussions of world affairs. That we favor posts over discussions. We talk at rather than with. 

Social media needs to promote incentive, thoughtfulness, civility and mutual understanding to unify our ‘digital citizenship’. Be open to changing our views and accept quality over quantity. We need to reward fact checking and constructive communication. Concerning activism, it’s often who can help make the change and not how many demonstrate interest. 

"5 years ago I said if you want to liberate the society all you need is the internet. Today I believe if we want to liberate the society we first need to liberate the internet" - Wael Ghonim

I hope you enjoyed your food for thought, with a serving of cherry danish. Please come again!

[Please see /references for all sources]

References:

AHDaley 2013, ‘Pretentiousgram’ [image], Culture Jamming - Instagram, Flikr, viewed 22 January 2019, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahdaley/8410992640>.

cadegorawrz 2018, ‘you can’t just heart react everything’ [image], cadegorawrz, Instagram, viewed 22 January 2019, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BmKqzxfgPsZ/>.

Malin, BJ 2011, ‘A very popular blog: The internet and the possibilities of publicity’, New Media & Society, 1 March Vol.13(2), pp. 187-202, viewed 22 January 2019 <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444810369889>.

Melnyk M 2015, 'reLOVEution’ [image], ReLOVEution NOW!, Facebook, viewed 22 January 2019, <http://bit.ly/2U5Rsbu>.

Southerton, D 2011, Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks.

TED 2016, Let’s design social media that drives real change | Wael Ghonim, 4 February, viewed 22 January 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiwJ0hNl1Fw>.

Tian Y. & Dulcinati G. 2017, 'Facebook Sentiment: Reactions and Emojis’, Fifth International Workshop on Natural Language Processing for Social Media, 3-7 April Day, pp. 11-16, viewed 22 January 2019, <http://www.aclweb.org/anthology/W17-1102>.

[Click-Through Hyperlink]

Curtis P. & McCarthy T. 2012, Kony 2012: what’s the real story?, The Guardian, viewed 22 January 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2012/mar/08/kony-2012-what-s-the-story>.

[digital-danish-blog]

#PoliticalRevelancy

[1B Blog Post 1: Week 5]

With appealing to a broad demographic, political campaigns will need to access relevant outlets in order to communicate with targeted audiences. As such the widespread embracement of social media platforms is a fundamental aspiration towards the increased participation in politics and 'civil society'. 

This is particularly prominent when competing for the young adult vote.

At the same time, younger Americans (especially those ages 18 to 24) stand out for embracing a variety of platforms and using them frequently (Pew Research Center, 2018).

Intrinsically, politicians are able to encourage viewers to not only vote for them but to share their posts on social media and spread the word. Effectively this also functions as a form of free advertising.

Similarly, the Australian politician Clive Palmer is known for making an interesting comeback with his popularity due to his social media presence. In particular with the array of memes he posts on his Twitter.

The use of memes tends to encapsulate key aspects of the content of choice. Often simplifying context so that it’s easier to comprehend or is humorous and therefore relatable to adolescents’ and adults’ (Hinchman, 2018). 

However, the use of memes also has its disadvantages. Many may instead consider a politician less serious about his campaign or ideals when presented in an offhand manner. As well as, due to humour being subjective, it's possible to be seen as undesirable by pandering or by making said audience cringe.

In a sense, meme’s themselves are a reflection of ‘civil society’. When we recognise that a meme’s purpose is to share a particular view, humorous or informative, that in and of itself defines reaching out to a like-minded community. Which is what ‘civil society’ entails, a community in which connects an individual to the modern state (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018).

A critical motivation behind why the internet has been received with increased eagerness in discussions on political practice is due to the immediate interactivity. Much unlike its offline counterparts. As such the audience has extended and has now been made more accessible to those less experienced or informed about politics. This is due to not necessarily having to follow any established formalities in favour of quicker, more reaction-based communication (Dencik, 2012).

Likewise, politicians and their campaign teams are under more duress to remain favourable to the public eye as comments or actions are less retractable. Comments may be screenshotted, videos reuploaded and so forth. One such way they can directly initiate open communication with citizens is through online media by hosting what is popularly known as an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA). 

A key example of this is President Trump’s own AMA.

In conclusion, online social networking has both gained political attraction and served to provide a stable platform for political campaigning. One which will likely remain prominent for years to come.

I hope you enjoyed your food for thought, with a serving of raspberry danish. Please come again!

[Please see /references for all sources]

References:

Dencik, L 2012, Media and Global Civil Society, Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Hinchman K. & Chandler‐Olcott K. 2018, Memes, International Literacy Association, viewed 21st December 2018, <https://ila-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/full/10.1002/jaal.918>.

Kenny, M 2018, ‘civil society’, Encylopedia Britannica Inc., viewed 21 December 2018, <https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/levels/collegiate/article/civil-society/600865>.

Palmer, C. 2018, CliveFPalmer, Twitter, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer>.

Smith A. & Anderson M. 2018, Social Media Use in 2018, Pew Research Center, viewed 21st December 2018, <http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/>.

Trump, D.J 2018, I’m Donald J. Trump and I’m Your Next President of the United States, Reddit, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/4uxdbn/im_donald_j_trump_and_im_your_next_president_of/>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

disConnected

“To be immersed in your computer to the point of no distraction” 

According to the Urban Dictionary (2018), this is the very meaning of being ‘plugged in’.

I believe this is the point Sherry Turkle was trying to make in her talk “Connected, but alone?” (TED-Ed 2013).  

Turkle believes we are becoming so immersed in the connection we have through technology that it is leaving us disconnected from the real world. Turkle expresses her concerns for the way people use technology to decide the relationships they have with others and that it “is taking us places that we don’t want to go” (TED-Ed 2013).

So why has this talk become so popular? Is it because Turkle says things that we all know but too afraid to admit?

While watching my two-year-old son playing with his toys and his imagination running wild, I wonder how he will be spending his time 10 years from now. With technology being so powerful, I ask myself how I can teach him technology does not replace human interaction and that communication is not about how well you “maintain eye contact while texting” (TED-Ed 2013).

Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist and philosopher, who discovered two types of social groups during the 1880’s; Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Tönnies & Harris 2001). Gemeinschaft is about community and is natural and spontaneous. Gesellschaft is about society and is rational and impersonal.

I believe the connection here is that Gemeinschaft is the real word and  Gesellschaft is the digital world.

Digital technology is providing new tools that are revolutionising relationships and the way society operates. We use our phones to connect with others who share our interests allowing us to build friendships with people who make us feel important, loved and less alone. 

Experts believe this connection helps us to build and maintain strong relationships and satisfying social lives (Pollet, Roberts & Dunbar 2011, p. 253).

On the contrary, we can’t deny we talk less to the people who pass us by, who are on the bus, who are waiting in line and even our children when we are on our phone’s neglecting our loved ones. And we can’t deny that being ‘plugged in’ reduces intimate interaction and meaningful conversations. 

Evidence suggests this is true! 

People report being less lonely, have a greater sense of relatedness and are generally happier when they have more intimate interactions and more meaningful conversations (Sandstrom & Dunn 2014 p.911).

So where does this leave us, are we Connected, but alone? It appears that we are all still in debate over the matter.

What do you think? Let’s have a conversation about it, leave a comment below!

References

Kushlev, K, Proulx, J & Dunn, E 2017, ‘Digitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 76, pp. 68-74, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0747563217304132#bib39>.

Pollet, T, Roberts, S & Dunbar, R 2011, ‘Use of Social Network Sites and Instant Messaging Does Not Lead to Increased Offline Social Network Size, or to Emotionally Closer Relationships with Offline Network Members’, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 253-258, viewed 30 November 2018, <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=4c6d3390-80ce-492a-a82f-01b0c95a4602%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=59930297&db=bth>.

Sandstrom, G & Dunn, E 2014, ‘Social Interactions and Well-Being’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 40, no. 7, pp. 910-922, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1177/0146167214529799>.

Tech Advisor 2016, 25 best technology memes: The funniest tech memes on the web [image], viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/feature/internet/25-best-technology-memes-funniest-tech-memes-on-web-3634008/>.

TED-Ed 2013, Connected, but alone?- Sherry Turkle, 19 April, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv0g8TsnA6c>.

Tönnies, F & Harris, J 2001, Community and civil society, Cambridge University Press, EBSCOhost, p. ix.

Urban Dictionary 2018, Urban Dictionary: Plugged in, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Plugged%20in>.

[digital-danish-blog]

I definitely agree with your post! I often felt more alone before I began making more of a digital presence. And I truly feel as if it’s helped me become more confident and able to communicate with more ease, even “in real life”. It enabled me to practice within a less pressured environment and I feel this was such an important step when trying to better myself and overcome anxiety. I’ve met so many wonderful people from around the world too! 

Thank you for a great read! :)