Nicola See

Website developer/designer and content strategist. Owner of Ekazee Creatives.

[benjiswinburneme-blog]

Social Gamming: Playing the crowd

Hi, my names Benji, and I had a World of Warcraft Addiction.

Yes, it’s true, growing up in High school a few of my friends started playing World of Warcraft or WoW as it was also known, which lead me to buy and begin playing the game. It only lasted about a year and a half, but you know what the scary part is? I don’t remember anything else in my life at that time but World of Warcraft.

So, what is it? As Techopedia (2010) explains, Warcraft is a Massively Multiple Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) which takes place in an online persistent state world with thousands, or even millions of players developing their avatars in a role-playing environment. The virtual world in which the game takes place is never stand still, meaning that even when you are logged off, events in the world are still occurring.

From what I remember of the game, I was an “Undead Priest” who’s name was “GotchaBack” I was a healing type of avatar, so 16-year-old me thought that name was LOL. I can honestly say I was addicted to this game, I could wake up at start playing at 6am and still be there until 3am in the morning the next day. Video Game addiction is a real thing by the way, as D’Anastasio (2015) notes, experts estimate that more than 3 million Americans between the ages of eight and 18 could be suffering from video game dependency. I was defiantly one of those people, but in Australia. Munger (2008) notes that World of Warcraft can be more engaging than other games, sucking away hours and hour in seemingly endless online quests. Unlike other games WoW doesn’t end, it goes on and on with characters roaming through different realms and meeting new people along the way. Lush (2011) states that people play MMORPG games often in desire to meet their social needs, there’s a sense of friendship and self-esteem you develop with your team-mates.

In some dramatic cases, there has been death’s due to extreme game play and exhaustion, but most people receive help like any other addiction. With some recovering addicts quoting D’Anastasio (2015) “I wanted to shut out real life totally. I just wanted to climb in the game and stay there” and “I decided that the progression of my WoW character was more meaningful than the progression of myself in real life”

This sense of escaping the real world seems to be a recurring factor with those who get hooked on MMORPG games like World of Warcraft. Being a part of an online community where you aren’t judge by physical appearance, what job you have, your gender or sexual orientation can be very appealing for some. I would know, I’ve been a part of it.   

Reference: 

 D’Anastasio, C 2015, “How video game addiction can destroy your life” VICE, viewed 2nd February 18 < https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/vdpwga/video-game-addiction-is-destroying-american-lives-456>

Lush, T 2011, “At war with World of Warcraft: an addict tells his story” The Guardian, viewed 2nd February 18 < https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/aug/29/world-of-warcraft-video-game-addict>

 Munger, D 2008, “Are MMORPG’s Addictive?” ScienceBlogs, viewed 2nd February 18 < http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/06/30/are-mmorpgs-addictive/>

Techopedia, 2010, “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG)” Techopedia, viewed 2nd February 18https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1919/massively-multiplayer-online-role-playing-game-mmorpg>

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Great post on social gaming! 

“Being a part of an online community where you aren’t judge by physical appearance“ - this is absolutely hit the nail. I’m a gamer myself but more of a multiplayer games on console. But I do understand the concept of anonymity when playing the games online. I am usually in top3 for games like COD, Battlefront etc, but for the team to take me seriously, I usually mute my mic. This is because  of the old stereotype that girls ‘can’t play’ therefore they can’t be taken seriously when playing in a male predominant arena.  

To feel ‘a sense of belonging to the community’ is very appealing for those that suffer from low self-esteem or social anxiety (Cole and Griffiths 2007). Virtual environments like this provide a lot of people a ‘safe space’ to express themselves and to give them self-confidence in the role they take when they play those avatars. Not to mention it is very addictive!

References:

Cole H & Griffiths M 2007, ‘Social Interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers’, International Gaming Research Unit, CyberPsychology & Behaviour, vol. 10, ed. 4, Department of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom, Mary Ann Liebert Inc., p. 575.

[branuworld-blog]

Blog #5 Trolling and Social Media Conflict

Defining trolling

The participatory experience of online environments make for dynamic places in which people can explore and be affected by exciting new forms of media (McCosker 2014, p. 201). However, people also have the power to affect others in these spaces (McCosker 2014, p. 201) and, in some instances, the effects can be destructive. Just as it occurs in real life, in their exchanges with each other online, people have the capacity to tease, harass and bully. Some have questioned whether social media increases this harassment and bullying, or whether it is merely more visible (Boyd 2014, p. 130).

Today, digital citizens have become vigilant about online bullying and its effects upon those who are targeted. But what is bullying precisely? Psychologist Dan Olweus defined bullying as aggressive, repetitive harassment by someone in a position of greater power than the individual to whom this behaviour is directed towards (Olweus 1994, p. 97). In the online environment, this bullying is referred to as ‘trolling’.

When reports about trolling make the headlines, they are typically the most extreme cases in which the troll has significantly affected the victim (in some instances the victim has sadly taken their own life) and has done so with ruthless intent. However, in the majority of cases, trolling is conducted in the name of humour and amusement rather than in malice. In other instances, trolling aims to challenge global media norms (McCosker 2014, p. 205).

There’s a troll lurking in all of us

A recent study has suggested that, given the right set of circumstances, ordinary people can be driven to engage in trolling behaviour (Cheng et al. 2017). This challenges our perception of trolls as being sociopathic individuals who were born to engage in this behaviour (Cheng et al. 2017). And what are those circumstances, I hear you ask? Well, according to Cheng et al. (2017) mood, day of the week (Mondays are troll days – moods are lower at the beginning of the work week) and time of day (late nights) are all factors that increase trolling behaviour. Furthermore, the more trolling comments (particularly if they are the first comments) in a thread, the more likely others who contribute will troll too (Cheng et al. 2017).

Considering the above study, it is easy to see how ordinary individuals who intend only to stir the pot online, may be accused of serious trolling. Take, for example, online teen prankster Tristan Barker. In 2012, he uploaded a video to YouTube to talk about a recent teenage suicide victim and his distaste for the outpouring of grief generated by it online (Tristan Barker 2012). Whilst his comments may have been meant as a critique of the “tragedy-obsessed global media” (McCosker 2014, p. 205), they were met with disgust by the media, who labelled him a troll (Marshall 2013). Interestingly, whilst he is lambasted by the media, Barker has a significant online following among young people who view his videos as simply telling hard truths (Baker 2013).

The discrepancy between what the media and what teens think of Barker, aligns with Danah Boyd’s opinion. Boyd argues that we need to better understand the online habits of teens and the reasons why they engage in certain acts of cruelty and meanness in order to provide interventions for those who truly need them (Boyd 2014, p. 152).

References:

Baker, R 2013, ‘We’re punks of our generation, say teen ‘trolls’ behind Facebeef’, The Sydney Morning Herald’, 11 March, viewed 17 December 2017, <http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/were-punks-of-our-generation-say-teen-trolls-behind-facebeef-20130311-2fv9h.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.

Internet troll by Woody Hearn, n.d., image, viewed 26 January 2018, <http://www.bitrebels.com/lifestyle/what-internet-troll-looks-like/>

Marshall, J 2013, Unmasked: Tristan Barker, Australia’s worst internet troll, being investigated by police, viewed 17 December 2017, <http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/1307_news1.pdf>

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

Olweus, D 1994, ‘Bullying at school: long term outcomes for the victims and an effective school-based intervention program’, in Huesmann, L (eds), Aggressive Behaviour: Current Perspectives, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 97-98.

YouTube. (2012). Tristan Barker’s Thoughts on Sad Stories, Bandwagon Grief-Leeching, and Bullying. [Online Video]. 14 October 2012. Available from: https://youtu.be/1YSsJ2DakQg. [Accessed: 26 January 2018].

Ugh, n.d., image, viewed 26 January 2018, <https://mashable.com/2017/03/06/internet-trolls-average-people/#Rm4uYPMklaqd>

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Clear and concise definition of trolling. I am particularly intrigued in the section “There is a troll lurking in all of us” with a study done by Cheng et al.2017. Simply because perhaps I do ‘troll’, but not the bullying part per se, but I troll the the so-called ‘keyboard warriors’ who trolled on the weak and minorities. I’ve been on social media for a while now, helping out with some digital movements and I do come across trolls who are truly the cyber-bully. They sent death threats, using profane languages and send harmful images to individuals with the intention to hurt their feelings. I have a vast followers on Twitter with people from all minorities, so their responses to those bullies appear on my Timeline feeds. I never ignored those so I would spam the trolls’ accounts and let them have a taste of their own medicine. The total opposite to “don’t feed the trolls”. Funnily, they always tend to stop harassing my followers after that. Now the question is... am I also considered a bully? 

Take this into consideration: A lot of these trolls do it to impress their small followers as part of the new “edgy stans” community. I do it to stick up for my followers and stop the harassment. 

Where do you draw the lines or define boundaries of acceptable behaviour? Do we just stick to “Don’t feed the trolls”?

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Online Gaming Community

If you asked anyone that ever played an online game whether it is a console or a PC, they will most likely tell you that it is very addictive. As a gamer myself, indeed it is. It is the hugely popular ‘massively multiplayer online role-playing’ which is also known as MMORPG, that allows players to develop their characters in a role-playing environment (Techopedia 2018). There are also other great types of online multiplayer games such as First Person Shooter or even Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games like League of Legends. But why is it so appealing or addictive to millions of people from around the world?

Rheingold (1993, p.1) defined virtual community “as a collection of people who emerge from the internet, exchanging words and ideas through the mediation of computer networks and bulletin boards”. Networked social games are a new form of virtual community and social phenomenon that is fast becoming the norm (William 2006).

Most games allow users to create a community in the form of parties, guilds or clans. Every clan or party has its own chat channel, a name and an identity to associate with its members. Users can socialise in the comfort of their own home and gain friendships or sometimes even relationships within the game itself. These online games provide spaces that persist the virtual worlds, in which the characters that they play are always changing and growing, allowing players to participate in a long term social group (Griffiths, Davies, & Chappell, 2003). These worlds, are vital sites of community (William 2006).

What are the potential issues?

Online gaming addiction can impact some serious emotional and psychological harm to gamers. Most MMORPG games include anonymity and privacy on their interface, and many people chose to play these types of games because they suffer from low self-esteem and self-image problems. They create an Avatar which depicts a better version of themselves that can provide them with some reliefs. Cyber-bullying and harassment may also occur during or after a game, and underaged teens may come across some explicit or inappropriate images or videos during their time online. As online games have become more and more realistic like the Grand Theft Auto games, gamers are likely to show more aggressions in real life, and it could contribute to violence and antisocial behaviour (Walsh 2001).

How has the online gaming community evolved?

Take Michael Grzesiek for an example, or better known as “Shroud”, who is a popular streamer and a former professional eSports gamer. He is still one of the most well-known Counter Strike and PubG players in the world and his mass followers watch his every move when he plays. Shroud now has over 22,000 subscribers on TwitchTV, which is a live streaming platform for most gamers and broadcasters. The platform has over 1.7 million streamers who broadcast their gameplay online, they also host TwitchCon every year to thousands of fans who are eager to see their favourite pro-gamers (The Hustle 2015).

There is even a ‘Create a Community’ option on the platform that allows streamers, viewers, publishers and developers get together to connect and share interests in tournaments, gameplay forums, talk shows and many more. TwitchTV is the new career path for online gamers, allowing them to capitalise on the gaming industry while they provide entertainment to millions of gaming enthusiasts online.

What do you think of the newly expanded online gaming community? Move over Youtubers for Twitchers?

References:

Griffiths M Davies M N & Chappell D 2003, Breaking the stereotype: The case of online gaming, CyberPsychology & Behavior, vol. 6, p.81–91.

Rheingold H 1993, ‘Virtual Communities’, Secker & Warburg, London, viewed on 26 January 2018, <http://www.caracci.net/dispense_enna/The%20Virtual%20Community%20by%20Howard%20Rheingold_%20Table%20of%20Contents.pdf>

SimilarWeb 2017, Twitch TV, viewed on 26 January 2018, <https://www.similarweb.com/website/twitch.tv#social>

Techopedia 2018, Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing, viewed on 26 January 2018, <https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1919/massively-multiplayer-online-role-playing-game-mmorpg>

The Hustle 2015, Get Rich or Die Streaming: Making Money on Twitch TV, viewed 26 January 2018, <https://thehustle.co/get-rich-or-die-streaming-making-money-on-twitch-tv>

Walsh D 2001, Video Games Violence and Public Policy, viewed on 26 January 2018, <https://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/sites/culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/files/Walsh.pdf>

William D 2006, ‘Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, viewed on 26 January 2018, <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/57dc/0e0815c707d2a57d49a2d6195a7d663b60cf.pdf>

Image source:

http://reallysorefeet.com/?p=939

http://tellmenothing.com/2017/07/06/every-online-gamer-ever-relate/

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Networked Publics-Visual Communities

‘Publics’ may be referred to as a collection of people engaging in shared culture and knowledge through social exchange and acts of media reception (Ito 2008). Social network sites are publics because of how they connect a large mass of people and the space they provide for informations and interactions (Boyd 2010).

Within the past 10 years, the creation of smartphones coupled with the increased availability of the internet has contributed to the huge popularity of social media platforms especially amongst teens and young adults. Even the older generation has now slowly come to appreciate the applications and affordances of these platforms. Boyd (2010) explained that while ‘networked publics’ share the common functions with other types of publics, it was differentiated by the way technology was structured and those “distinct affordances’ shape how public engage participation.

Unlike many other social networking sites, Instagram is an application for mobile which focusses on photo sharing. Users can snap a photo, add a caption and share it on their accounts. Recently, the platform introduced a new video function allowing users to post a 15 second long video, which will appear on their followers’ feeds. Photos posted on users’ Instagram accounts can also convey a non-verbal message through gestures, facial expressions and body movements (Cobley and Haeffner 2009). The comment function allows for the exchange of ideas and opinions among users. They also have the opportunity to create a private account if they want to stay connected with friends and family and have their posts directed just for these people.

As for the users that want to connect publicly with anyone in the world, they can do so with the use of ‘search interests’ or ‘hashtags’. Hashtags originated from Twitter and it is becoming increasingly popular and common on Instagram platform. It categorises topics therefore, it allows users to be selective about information they want to share or learn. Hashtags also allow users to express their ideas and thoughts in a concise manner.

It is evident that Instagram is a medium of communication for visual community. It helps transform how we communicate and how we use language in a visual culture. Essentially, what differentiates from the traditional publics is the architectures of networked publics. The affordances of the networked publics can help reshape publics through the practices in a mediated environments and help us understand why people engage the way they do (Boyd 2010).

References:

Boyd D 2010, ‘Social Network Sites as Networked Publics: Affordances, Dynamics, and Implications’, In Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites (ed. Zizi Papacharissi), pp. 39-58.

Cobley P & Haeffner N 2009, ‘Digital Cameras And Domestic Photography: Communication, Agency And Structure’, Visual Communication, vol 8, ed 2, 123-146.

Ito M 2008 ‘Introduction’, in K, Vamelis, ed. Networked Publics, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 1-14.

Image source:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/285674

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/06/14/how-to-instagram-archive/

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Crowdsourcing

Over the past ten years, the term Crowdsourcing has been widely used and has evolved, however, majority of us do not really understand what it actually means. Crowdsourcing  is the process of acquiring ideas, content or services through the appeal of contributions from a large mass of people (Swan 2012, Brabham 2013, pp.117). This practice is also widely employed as a marketing tool for organisations to source talents, energy and time of individuals on the internet (Schweissguth 2014 and Shepherd 2012). Businesses expand their social networks by starting a conversation with the masses, gaining feedback, refine ideas by inviting participation, surveying, hosting a contest and using influencers from multiple social media platforms.

Crowdsourcing is not just for profit use in commerce, but it can also be used in a form of Digital Activism too. David Kobia, who is a software developer from Kenya, created an open source software called Ushahidi, a crisis mapping platform which is a real-time gathering of data utilised to help humanitarian relief operations. Ushahidi was initially used in response to the violence that broke out during the nation’s elections in 2007, but its has also been used in mapping deforestation in Madagascar (Vericat 2010). During the interview with Jose Vericat for the Journal of International Affairs, Kobia stated that “it is an extremely useful tool for digital activism” as it is easier to invigorate a community around a disaster.

Crowdsourcing is also a useful marketing tool for Crowdfunding. The concept between the two is closely related to one another, where projects are funded by a large mass of people through online platforms such as GoFundMe (Bennet, Chin & Jones 2015). Fundraising campaigns like GoFundMe are promoted via social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook because fundraisers rely on their social networks to promote their cause and to help spread the word out about their fundraising efforts. For example, The Trevor Project provides suicide prevention services and programs to LGBTQ youth, and in 2016, a group of Twitter users started a fundraising campaign for the Trevor Project in the name of Lexa to support the LGBTQ community and to bring attention to the queer representation on television. With over 4000 donations, each donation ranging from $1 to $5,000, the campaign raised over $170,000 showing the power of bringing collective voices together.  This creates a new and progressive way of thinking for cultivating donors for non-profit organisations by giving them an opportunity to contribute towards a cause they care about.

Let’s have a discussion around some ethical considerations in terms of crowdsourcing;

Should participants be compensated with either intellectual credit or financially? Are the crowdsourcing results unbiased?

References:

Brabham, D 2013, Crowdsourcing, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, p. 117, viewed 24 January 2018, <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzU3Mjc4NV9fQU41?sid=5de1a2ba-52e6-4df1-aa8b-b3a6a842a803@sessionmgr4010&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1>

Bennett L, Chin B  & Jones B, 2015, Crowdfunding: A New Media & Society special issue, New Media & Society, Sage Journals, Vol 17, Issue 2, p141-148

Schweissguth S 2014, Crowdsourcing Industry Trends: Unique Ways Companies Are Leveraging the Crowd, viewed on 24 January 2018, <http://www.crowdsourcing.com>

Shepherd H 2012, Crowdsourcing, Context, Sage Journals, viewed on 25 January 2018, <https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504212446453>

Swan M 2012, Crowdsourced health research studies: an important emerging complement to clinical trials in the public health research ecosystem, Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol 14, viewed on 25 January 2018, <https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1988>

Vericat J 2010,  Open Source Mapping as Liberation Technology: An Interview with David Kobia, Journal of International Affairs, viewed on 25 January 2018, <https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-244159028/open-source-mapping-as-liberation-technology-an-interview>

Image source:

http://blog.zillable.com/crowdsourcing-ideas-and-innovation/

https://give.thetrevorproject.org/fundraise?fcid=625415

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Trolling

Trolling has been described as a form of harassment which is related to antagonistic and disruptive behaviour online (Barney 2016). However, even the term Trolling is fairly subjective, as there are different types and not all has a harmful effect on the recipient (Boyd 2014).

A very common example would be using a communication platform such as Twitter or Facebook to send provocative messages for the purpose of sender’s pure amusement and entertainment. Most of trolling is indeed annoyingly irritating, though not actually sociopathic. The different types of trolling varied on the intention of the messages sent, those that want to harm the recipient for sender’s gratification and those who entertain others for their gratification (Bishop 2013). Even if there are resources to legal remedies for these actions, there are still messages that fail to constitute an offense, as there is nothing to prevent ‘trolls’ from expressing free speech online (Bishop 2013). This is of course with the exception of a more harmful online threat, defamation or Cyberbullying in which law enforcement agencies can take actions. In UK, there are provisions in the Communications Act 2003 and Malicious Communications Act 1988 that can be used to prosecute ‘internet trolls’ for harassment, or threatening other users. In Australia, in conjunction with state criminal laws, Part 10.6 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act allows similar prosecution (Macdonnells Law 2015).

Back in July 2016, actress Leslie Jones’ personal website was hacked and had her personal information posted on the site. The website was since then taken down but the hackers were never caught and prosecuted. This all started when Jones’s Twitter account was flooded with hate-filled comments after a reviewer Milo Yiannopoulos wrote an unnecessarily brutal review on her movie, The Ghostbusters. Yiannopoulos at the time had over 350K Twitter followers, was known for riling his supporters with controversial discussions. His followers went after Jones and involved in target harassing her for days. Twitter on the other hand was caught in the middle of this debate on free speech, and was criticised for its inability to disable hateful content. Yiannopoulos’s Twitter account was banned permanently but the damage has already been done. According to CNNMoney (2016), Jones blamed this incident on Yiannopoulos for allowing the trolling to continue for days and enabling distructive behaviour to exist in his platform.

Now Twitter, Facebook and other social network sites already implemented a far stricter control on their platforms using algorithms.This optional setting is available to all members and it limits what the public users can view. Social media bots are now capable of regulating the tone and refining the content of discourse.

Are you for or against this new setting?

References:

BARNEY, R.A.C.H.E.L., 2016. Aristotle On Trolling, Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 2(2), pp.193–195, <https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/540BB557C82186C33BFFB61E35A0B5B6/S2053447716000099a.pdf/aristotle_on_trolling.pdf>

Bishop J, 2013, The art of trolling law enforcement: a review and model for implementing ‘flame trolling' legislation enacted in Great Britain (1981–2012),  Internet Reviews for Law, Computers and Technology, vol 27, pg 301-308

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.

CNNMoney, Leslie Jones website down after reported hack, viewed on 12 January 2018, <http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/24/media/leslie-jones-website-hack/index.html>

Macdonnells Law 2015, Internet Trolls in Australia: What does the future hold?, viewed on 12 Janurary 2018, <https://macdonnells.com.au/internet-trolls-in-australia-what-does-the-future-hold/>

Image source:

https://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/08/10-former-internet-trolls-explain-why-they-quit-being-jerks/

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Digital Activism

#Hashtags, Likes, Shares are not only a means to start a discussion online, but also a very useful tool for people to disseminate information and distribute education. Critics always assume that only traditional social movement tactics such as demonstrations and rallies are effective for protesting or pressing for change. Even cultural commentator such as Malcolm Gladwell said ‘Digital Activism is an oxymoron’ and engaging online in ‘Slacktivism’ is a waste of time (Huffingtonpost 2014), the debate was always over which way is the ‘right’ way to protest?

Through informed awareness, by making knowledge public through social media, this democratises societies and is crucial to social movements. (Youmans & York 2012). Social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter and various online blogs have made it easier for people to gather and voice their opinion on a subject of common interest. It is a tool in aiding collective action and shaping social movements’ agendas (Lopes A 2014).

Even if social media is considered as a tool of empowerment and liberation by many, governments are beginning to restrict on free speech even online. Many countries like North Korea, China or Egypt are already pushing for stringent bans on media sites and social media platforms. An example was when bloggers had to take over the position of correspondents and journalists to publish the news in Egypt, against the government’s suppression on news websites, silencing voices of the oppositions and activists. The blog sites coverage of the event helped organise more protest on a broad scale international level.  

Meanwhile, in recent proceedings, which I also took part in, was a successful social movement that first initiated on Twitter after a fan-favourite LGBT character was killed off in a TV show “The 100”. This triggered a harmful trope called ‘Bury Your Gay’ that writers carelessly written in every storyline for almost every single LGBT character created on TV and films . This event set off people to protest against the writers of the show, taking to social media to raise awareness, and holding TV executives accountable whilst fighting for a better LGBTQ+ representation in the industry. In results to this, the fans trended over 150K tweets worldwide with the single hashtag #LGBTFansDeservedBetter and raised over $160K for the Trevor Project Charity.  Fans also placed 4 billboard signs around Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles, and it wasn’t long before all major media outlets such as CNN, BBC, Variety, Forbes, UN Women and many more.. paid attention.

Social media alone are not accountable for the protest or action, they are simply a tool to organise them. Online support should not be seen as a resentment because of its unconventional method, rather it should be seen as an asset, the ability to mobilise a vast numbers of people.

References:

Huffingtonpost 2014, Malcolm Gladwell: People Are Empowered By Their Lack Of Power, Interviewed by The European, viewed on 4 January 2017, <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/20/gladwell-people-are-empowered_n_4993831.html>

Lopes A  2014, The Impact of Social Media on Social Movements: The New Opportunity and Mobilizing Structure, Creighton University, viewed on 2 February 2018, <https://www.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/CCAS/departments/PoliticalScience/Journal_of_Political_Research__JPR_/2014_JSP_papers/Lopes_JPR.pdf>

Youmans, W, & York, J 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. 315-329.

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Social Media and Politics

Social media tools are becoming increasingly employed by journalists, citizens and politicians around the world. Before Twitter and Facebook, the best way for citizens to get in touch with majority of politicians is via email. Now politicians are utilising social media as a medium to support and supplement their political goals.

Social media platforms allow politicians the chance to have a large following, connecting directly with the public and engage in political activities in new ways. Each platform has it’s option for users to share, like or re-tweet political messages and that has made it easier for politicians to reach out to more voters and supporters. There are many examples of how social media has changed the way in which political communication takes place.  

In 2013, research report by Sauter and Bruns found that social media has increasingly seen as a viable political communication tools for politicians in Australia. The integration of social media and traditional media was widely used as tools for political news reporting. It is becoming evident that these online communication tools play a significant role in setting political agendas and shaping public opinion (Harfoush 2009, Wooley et al 2010). The use of #ausvotes hashtags were organised to cover the Australian federal election in 2010.  Hashtags are simple tools, accessible to all Twitter users, that can be used to coordinate political discussions on the platform (Bruns and Burgess 2010).

In recent proceedings, Australian politician Tony Abbott utilised social media for the ‘No’ campaign during the same sex marriage debate, in an attempt to try and persuade Australians to support the “traditional marriage” between a man and woman. Being a lead spokesman for the campaign, Abbott took to platforms life Facebook, posting numerous "It's Okay To Vote No" messages, supporting adverts that are against same sex marriage, encouraging his followers to be involved with the campaign and to share this content.

Another politician who has exploited social media platform was Pauline Hanson. Hanson turned to Twitter, in a pursuit to spread her political views and express her goals as a politician. She is currently most known for her political party One Nation, and her beliefs in restricting immigration laws. Due to the unlimited possibilities within social media, it has also allowed Hanson’s passionate supporters and fans to band together and converse in the same political beliefs. This enhances the possibilities of a growing support system and the chances of success as a politician.

Bruns and Burgess (2011) argued that it was not the use of social media by politicians in their campaigning that was important, but it was more of the high levels of discussions and engagement by the Australian public that was noteworthy during their campaigns.

Social media has definitely become limitless and is a venue that politicians will most definitely take advantage of.

References:

Bruns A and Burgess J 2011, #ausvotes: How Twitter covered the 2010 Australian federal election. Communication, Politics & Culture, Queensland University of Technology, 44(2), pp. 37-56.

Harfoush R 2009, Yes we did: An inside look at how social media built the Obama brand, Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders.

Sauter T and Bruns A 2013,  Social Media in the Media: How Australian Media Perceive Social Media as Political Tools, Brisbane: ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, University of Oslo, viewed on 25 December 2017, <http://www.cci.edu.au/socialmediainthemedia.pdf>

Woolley J.K, Limperos, A.M, and Oliver, M.B  2010, The 2008 Presidential Election, 2.0: A Content Analysis of User-Generated Political Facebook Groups, Mass Communication and Society, vol 13, pp. 631-652

[digitalcommunitiesblog-blog1]

Our experience in social media varies depending our use of its affordances

‘Each technology has its affordances, and what’s powerful about certain technology often stems from these affordances’ (boyd 2014).

In August 2011 I downloaded an app to my iPhone. It was called Instagram and as far as I knew it was a way to take photos and save them to a gallery. Of course you could add a filter and frame your pictures as well if you were so inclined. I was not aware back then, however, that the main purpose of posting a picture to the app - according to the developers - was to share it with others. This was not an affordance that mattered to me, and had I been aware of it, I wouldn’t have used it for that reason. This was because none of the people I knew at the time in real life would be interested in the type of pictures I liked. For several months I posted pictures similar to what I saw everyone else - primarily my wife - post. The kids at the park. A cup of coffee. Our enormous dog waiting for a crumb to fall from the table.

This was amusing, but not really amazing. I wasn’t using the affordances that the app offered. I wasn’t tapping into the ‘power’ of the technology, as dana boyd said above.

My experience with the app changed when I started using it to its potential. One day I was wandering around a private school and noticed how the pillars of the old building cast beautiful long shadows - especially great when the black and white filter was put on them! I took a picture on my iPhone and when I posted it I added a few hashtags: #architecture #shadows #blackandwhite #building .

Images source: https://www.instagram.com/surfistatomato/

The difference this made was immediate. I went from 13 likes to 32! The hashtags worked! Lee (2017) notes that clicking on a hashtag ‘will redirect you to a page filled with posts with that same tag’. She goes on to say that this doesn’t mean that all the images there are of a similar nature, but it is a great way of collecting users with similar interests into one place. This inspired me to check out others posting to those hashtags and follow the accounts I liked. Before long I had discovered a huge network of people from all over the world who were fascinated by the same things as me! My experience was transformed, and from then on I was looking for photo opportunities literally everywhere I went. I interacted with my new community through Instagram, liking and commenting on everything I was inspired by. Soon, these people were liking and commenting on my pictures and my follower count grew. I went from double digits to triple digits - then to four digits, five digits and six digits! But more importantly photography had become my new passion. boyd (2014) notes that ‘creativity is shaped more by the ability to make new connections than to focus on a single task’. The platform and its affordances had opened up a whole new interest for me that continues to this day.

References:

Boyd, D 2012, ‘Participating in the always-on lifestyle’, in M Mandiberg (ed) The Social Media Reader, NYU Press, pp. 71-76.

Lee, J 2017, ‘Digital Media As Seen Through Today’s Technology‘, Odyssey, viewed 6 December 2017, <https://www.theodysseyonline.com/affordances-digital-media-todays-technology>.

[amandafelb09-blog]

Digital Communities

Prior to social media, people primarily congregated together via proximity within their home town and managed their image via their dress, language, choice of career, social circles, family stature and hobbies (Wilken & McCosker, 2014). There was no manner in which to erase something that occurred in real time and socialising generally occurred face to face.

People crave empathy from others yet friendships are often disappointing (Turkle, 2013). Following the invention of the internet in the 1990’s, digital technology allowed a new form of socialising to unravel that connected people far beyond proximity. Social media is an electronic tool that allows the public to distribute and access information, chat online and develop relationships. Social networking platforms allow the public to maintain a public or partially public profile whilst connecting with other users (Murthy, 2013).

YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms allow people to participate in a type of online democracy, connected by their beliefs, values, interests and sub-cultures with no formalised leader (Siapera, 2012). They provide companionship without the negative aspects of friendship and allow people to manage their own perceived image online (Turkle, 2013).

Personalisation, customisation and portability of membership creates networked individualism for users (Siapera, 2012). One can log on 24/7 to the same place from any location, reveal as much or as little as they wish to and operate within any groups of interest they want to (Siapera, 2012). Unexpected benefits were seen when a man with HIV was able to blog about the details of his illness which allowed his friends and others to properly understand HIV, in turn decreasing social awkwardness and stigmas about his medical condition (Boyd, 2012).

With these benefits comes a number of disadvantages. For example, digital communities can facilitate conversation that leads people to polarised groups of like-minded people who then miss out on hearing diverse and contradictory ideas (Gillespie, 2010). Platforms often don’t allow people to represent themselves across different parts of their lives, such as professionally and socially (Siapera, 2012). Up to 34% of employers said they did not hire a candidate after scanning them on social media (Forbes, 2017) and numerous people have been fired after comments they made on social networking sites (Price, 2016). There is also privacy to consider when personal details are volunteered by users, or expected as part of membership terms (Gillespie, 2010). It is difficult to estimate the negative impact social media has on society. For example, knowing people in one’s local community can lower the crime rate (Putnam, 2012) and yet this form of neighbourly friendship has dropped dramatically since social media’s inception. Digital communities have ultimately added a layer to the presence and accessibility people offer the world resulting in positive and negative impacts that are still unfolding (Wilken & McCosker, 2014).

References

Boyd, D 2012, ‘Participating in the always-on lifestyle’, in M Mandiberg (ed) The Social Media Reader, NYU Press, pp. 71-76.

Forbes, 2013, ‘How social media can help or hurt your job search’, viewed 13 November 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/16/how-social-media-can-help-or-hurt-your-job-search/#1c5ce6ce7ae2.

Gillespie, T 2010, 'The politics of platforms’, New Media & Society, vol. 12, no. 3, Sage.

Price, L 2016, ’20 tales of employees who were fired because of social media posts’, viewed 16 November 2017, http://people.com/celebrity/employees-who-were-fired-because-of-social-media-posts.

Putnam, R 2012, Robert Putnam - Bowling Alone, 19 December, viewed 13 November 2017, <http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4236758/robert-putnam-bowling-alone>.

Siapera, E 2012, 'Socialities and Social Media’, in Understanding New Media, Sage, London, pp. 191-208.

TED-Ed 2013, Connected, but alone?- Sherry Turkle, 19 April, viewed 9 November 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv0g8TsnA6c>.

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

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

“ It is difficult to estimate the negative impact social media has on society. “ 

This is so true. Take this for an example, I understand the need for businesses to understand their customers now more than ever and the digital tools available for them to use. But are there any boundaries to what technology can and should do? With Google dropping pixels on users’ IP adressess an ethical issue? Some people view it as an invasion of privacy.. it all depends how you see it, these tools can sometimes be intrusive. Google records everything you do on your smartphone or tablet or work/personal desktop, then they sell this information to the “right buyer”. Now they even have a fancy name for it, it’s called ‘Programmatic’. For example, Google will be able to tell what time users usually have dinner, what they eat on Monday through to Sunday, what do they shop, what time they go to work. In the not so distant future, who knows, Google might employ Siri to record offline querys. 

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Social Media Affordances - Twitter VS Facebook

Social media features are “designed to trigger social behaviour, not create it” (Appleseed, 2013). Appleseed also emphasised in his article on the importance of distinction when comparing social media tools and how we make use of the affordances. Social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook are not ‘social’ systems, instead it is the systems that afford social behaviour.

Each of these social media platforms has its own unique characteristics that may align with individuals’ social goals. Whether to engage and connect with people or appropriating the system to their own interests and needs, it sets the boundaries that influence people’s interpretation of the platform (Appleseed 2013).

To put it simply, the structure and design of these platforms afford individuals in content creation and the kind of connections they want to make. Let’s compare Facebook and Twitter in terms of their affordances and user practices;

Technically, both platforms allow you to create a profile, connect, and interact with other people or groups, and those that are in your network get access to your profile. So when looking at the core functionalities of these two platforms they may not seem all that different, yet, they are clearly framed and used very differently.

The culture and language of the two platforms are vastly different. On Facebook, you connect with “Friends” whereas on Twitter you create “Connections” with “Followers” and "Mutuals". There are different norms for the type of content that you share and the type of people you connect with. Much of this is by design, of course.

On Facebook you’re encouraged to find and reconnect with old friends or acquaintances. On Twitter you’re encouraged to follow and interact with personal accounts based on particular interest. Twitter is more focused on sharing information whereas Facebook is oriented on connectedness (Smith, Fischer & Yongjian, 2012).

Until recently this year, Facebook never allowed the use of GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format), which in contrast, twitter encourages them along with Vine videos. That was the most obvious distinction between these two platforms at the time. Due to the nature of Twitter’s short and quick messaging format, GIFs are ideal to get a user’s undivided attention with its looped animations, conveying a short but powerful visual message. Furthermore, Twitter started a Live video application by linking it with the Periscope platform.

Facebook now not only allowed GIFs, but they also ‘copied’ the live video app that Twitter has for years. They went on to add more features and applications such as the Market Place app so users can sell any items straight to their peers. The privacy settings on both platforms allow users to control their notifications, limiting what they see on their timeline or they can switch it into a 'Private' account.

In my opinion, communicating on Facebook is somewhat restricted. Most people on my friend list are either colleagues that I worked with, family or friends. Thus, the content I produce there has to critically reviewed, reducing the risk of any offensive contents. In contrast, I feel more at ease on Twitter simply because all my 'mutuals' and 'followers' share the same interests and the quality of my content is well, expected.

Each platform as you can see, can be used in a unique way that’s sensitive to the culture and social structures of the platform. Therefore, I truly think that the audience selection on each of those social networks is the primary affordance which shapes the content I create for them.

Watch the Facebook vs Twitter video below for a crash course on these two platforms. 

References:

Appleseed J, 2013, ‘Social Media: Analyze Affordances, Not Features’, Baymard Institute Aps, viewed on 25 November 2017, <https://baymard.com/blog/analyzing-social-affordances>

Smith, A. N., Fischer, E., & Yongjian, C. 2012, How does brand-related user-generated content differ across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter?, Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26, 102-113. https://doi .org/10.1016/j.intmar.2012.01.002

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

1A - Blogging

Nowadays, if you want look up something to research or buy you will.. Google.

What if you want to find out the latest trends? Or if you are passionate about politics, technology or fashion? You will quite often find yourself visiting a blog site where the authors are all just as passionate as you are or maybe even slightly obsessed. Usually they will be genuine, authentic and possibly opinionated, but you will definitely find in most cases the latest reality of that particular niche.

So the question is, ‘What is the future of Blogging?’

Some in the industry say it is fading in the face of social media universe, in fact I think social media just amplifies the influence of blogs through ‘word of mouth’ digitally.

Blogging is publishing, the essence of it is the content, which can be images, a video, text, audio or all of these (Rettberg 2014). It is about niches and it enables those that are passionate to publish and share their interests online, and through promotion, it drives traffic, awareness and then perhaps revenue.

Before the evolution of the internet and mass media, people would gather in clubs, community centres, school halls and houses to share their knowledge about hobbies and interests. Now people can easily gather to learn, collaborate and share their interest in front of the computer screen, without the effort of leaving their own house. The small niche in those days could be counted from 5 to 20 people, whereas the niche in recent times could be millions globally. Let’s have a look at the examples of some of the blog sites web traffic;

Here is the last 6 months web traffic graph for the popular political blog site, The Huffington Post (189.78 Million visits May-Oct 2017)

Source: https://www.similarweb.com/website/huffingtonpost.com

The Huffington Post is absolutely a superpower in this industry however, the traffic for blogs in other niches is definitely significant as well. In entertainment, blog-turned-magazine site such as PerezHilton.com has certainly done well (9.66 Million views in the last 6 months) captivating a large audience and continues to grow each year despite the initial disapproval from general audience.

Here is the web traffic graph for another popular blog site Tumblr in the last 6 months:

Source: https://www.similarweb.com/website/tumblr.com

Tumblr is a user-generated blogging platform that allows anyone to publish their content online for free (Tumblr Inc 2017). It is a cross between a social networking site and a blog.  It is often called a ‘microblog’ as users normally publish a quick post or short snippets as opposed to a long diary style entries found in most traditional blogs.

Over the past few years, blogging has shifted to the norm for organisations of every size. According to TopRank’s research (2014), company’s budget for blogging has tripled since 2010. The nature of blogging allows businesses to publish content, exploiting Google’s Search ranking at a very low price or sometimes, free. It is the democratisation of publishing and advertisers will pay good money to capture these niche targeted market.

So the question is, what will this publishing landscape look like in 10 years? What do you think? 

Reference:

Rettberg J W, 2014, Blogging, Polity Press, Oxford, ProQuest Ebook Central, viewed 25 November 2017, < https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swin/reader.action?docID=1568767&ppg=72>

TopRank Blog, Over 100 B2B Content Marketing Statistics for 2014, TopRank Marketing, viewed on 26 November 2017, < http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/05/b2b-content-marketing-statistics-2014/>

Tumblr Inc, 2017, Tumblr.com, viewed on 26 November 2017, <www.tumblr.com/about>

[jeffreymposts]

In Week 1 we looked at Digital Communities and Social Media Platforms.   Nearly all of us have a Social Media account (I’m guessing) and so are digitally included.  Digital Inclusion is defined as the ability of individuals and/or groups of people who have access to and engage in the use of information and communication technologies, (Caruso, S 2014).  So I guess we can say that those of us who use social media are digitally included. This I found interesting, as when listening to Sherry Turkle’s video in week one she spoke of being connected, but alone, (Turkle, S 2012).  I’d never really thought of social media that way, but the more I thought about it the more I thought it rang true.  So on the one hand we are included (digitally) but on the other hand we’re on our own.  I guess that’s a side of technology most of us don’t consider.  I hadn’t anyway.  It will be interesting to see how platforms like Facebook and Instagram, to name a couple evolve in the coming years.  Will they use technology like Virtual Reality?  Will Turkle’s ‘connected but alone?’ still apply even with the use of new technologies, some of which haven’t been invented yet?  Interesting times ahead.

LinkedIn is used to link up friends and work professionals.  Is basically a job searching and connecting site used for people looking for work and also for employers to post job advertisements.  One of the affordances of LinkedIn is you can tailor it to your profession.  You can set your feeds so you only get job notices in your particular field.  (Gowel, D 2012) states that LinkedIn isn’t just Social Media, its ‘mass utilization’ of your current relationships and using those to foster new relationships. Having just set up my own LinkedIn account in February this year, I’d agree this description is apt.  I’ve been doing exactly that to build my profile and expand my contacts, all in the hope it will help when I finish my studies and start job hunting again. 

(Degenne A, Forse M 2008) in discussing the theory of Human Capital, say that employers view employees as having differing levels and amounts of human capital.  That is, because of varying levels of education, training and experience that prospective employees may have, they would provide differing levels of productivity. So really anything you can do to ‘beef up’ or build your profile in the eyes of any potential employer is vital in today’s tough job market.

I’ve added in this YouTube clip on how to set up your profile for anyone interested in doing so?  It’s called ‘How to create a killer LinkedIn profile.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5xtQKLvX4U

Thanks Jeff

Caruso, S 2014, Creating digital communities: a resource to digital inclusion, New York: Nova Publishers, EBSChost Academic Collection – World Wide

Degenne A, Forse M 2008, Introducing Social Networks, London: Sage Productions, Ebook Central (Proquest)

Gowel, D 2012, The power in a link to open doors, close deals, and change the way you do business using LinkedIn, Books24x7 BusinessPro,

Scholzen, B 2012, ‘LinkedIn Office’, flickr [image], viewed 29 November 2017,

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dasprid/8148014478

The Effective Marketing Company 2014, How to create a killer LinkedIn profile, viewed 29 November 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5xtQKLvX4U

Turkle, S 2012, Connected but alone?, viewed 29 November 2017,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4

[jeffreymposts]

In Week 1 we looked at Digital Communities and Social Media Platforms.   Nearly all of us have a Social Media account (I’m guessing) and so are digitally included.  Digital Inclusion is defined as the ability of individuals and/or groups of people who have access to and engage in the use of information and communication technologies, (Caruso, S 2014).  So I guess we can say that those of us who use social media are digitally included. This I found interesting, as when listening to Sherry Turkle’s video in week one she spoke of being connected, but alone, (Turkle, S 2012).  I’d never really thought of social media that way, but the more I thought about it the more I thought it rang true.  So on the one hand we are included (digitally) but on the other hand we’re on our own.  I guess that’s a side of technology most of us don’t consider.  I hadn’t anyway.  It will be interesting to see how platforms like Facebook and Instagram, to name a couple evolve in the coming years.  Will they use technology like Virtual Reality?  Will Turkle’s ‘connected but alone?’ still apply even with the use of new technologies, some of which haven’t been invented yet?  Interesting times ahead.

LinkedIn is used to link up friends and work professionals.  Is basically a job searching and connecting site used for people looking for work and also for employers to post job advertisements.  One of the affordances of LinkedIn is you can tailor it to your profession.  You can set your feeds so you only get job notices in your particular field.  (Gowel, D 2012) states that LinkedIn isn’t just Social Media, its ‘mass utilization’ of your current relationships and using those to foster new relationships. Having just set up my own LinkedIn account in February this year, I’d agree this description is apt.  I’ve been doing exactly that to build my profile and expand my contacts, all in the hope it will help when I finish my studies and start job hunting again. 

(Degenne A, Forse M 2008) in discussing the theory of Human Capital, say that employers view employees as having differing levels and amounts of human capital.  That is, because of varying levels of education, training and experience that prospective employees may have, they would provide differing levels of productivity. So really anything you can do to ‘beef up’ or build your profile in the eyes of any potential employer is vital in today’s tough job market.

I’ve added in this YouTube clip on how to set up your profile for anyone interested in doing so?  It’s called ‘How to create a killer LinkedIn profile.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5xtQKLvX4U

Thanks Jeff

Caruso, S 2014, Creating digital communities: a resource to digital inclusion, New York: Nova Publishers, EBSChost Academic Collection – World Wide

Degenne A, Forse M 2008, Introducing Social Networks, London: Sage Productions, Ebook Central (Proquest)

Gowel, D 2012, The power in a link to open doors, close deals, and change the way you do business using LinkedIn, Books24x7 BusinessPro,

Scholzen, B 2012, ‘LinkedIn Office’, flickr [image], viewed 29 November 2017,

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dasprid/8148014478

The Effective Marketing Company 2014, How to create a killer LinkedIn profile, viewed 29 November 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5xtQKLvX4U

Turkle, S 2012, Connected but alone?, viewed 29 November 2017,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4

[ekazee-creatives-blog]

Take your brand to the next level.. Find out more on www.ekazee.com.au