Digital Communities

Journalism student posting about the online world

[sandandglass]

[georgsmith-blog]

When you’ve finished with your Tumblr posts.

[ver0no]

[brookegrebertcraig-blog]

So true!

[georgsmith-blog]

Post 8- Global social media practice: case study China

Although social media sites have become a worldwide phenomenon, the demographic of where you are positioned in the world ultimately decides which media tool you may utilise most. “Social networks are now so well established, that there are now a core ‘top 5’ social networks which are most popular which doesn’t change from year-to-year. But, as we’ll see in this post, the most popular social media sites vary a lot by level of usage in different countries and with demographics.”

 Using the case study of China as an example, their social media networking differs greatly to us in Australia. One example of this is their alternative to Twitter, Weibo. Weibo is used almost 70% through smart phones and by June 2013 had reached 331 million users. For many Australians, Weibo is a foreign concept in which we have probably never explored online. Weibo offers the large population of China their own social networking site specific to their needs.

 This therefore shows the different demand in social media services across the globe. As stated in the lecture, “There is no such thing as a global social media- hence, no such thing as a global digital community.” Although we may all be connected through popular social network sites such as Facebook, our demand in content, sharing time and friends, greatly differs. Someone who lives in China will be using social media networks at a different time to most in Australia, and therefore our social media sites are specialised through demographics to what content we see and is trending. Another thing that sets us apart from China is the ‘Great Firewall of China.’ This sees government censorship banning social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, a concept which would seem very to foreign to us Australians. It is for this reason that sites like Weibo are so popular.

 Popular Chinese tennis star Li Na announced her retirement on Weibo reaching her 23 million followers. It is said that she has the most followers of any tennis player, showing just how popular Weibo is as well as the power of the Chinese population.

 On the About Tech website, it details the top international social networking sites around the world. According to this, QZone dominates in China and is the fifth largest social network in the world. “Today it has 653 million active users.” Alternatively to this, Russia loves to use V Kontakte. This is Russia’s version of Facebook and has 100 million active users. ‘To put that in perspective, that’s the same number of active users Pinterest has.”

 Although both of these platforms have millions of users, it would be very uncommon to find an Australian user. This therefore outlines how Global Social Media is a varying concept, as some social media set ups are country specific. Whether this be through population, interest or government policies, social media differs all around the world, perhaps most drastically in China.

 References:

http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworking/tp/top_social_networking_sites_i.htm

 http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

 http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/li-na-has-23-million-followers-on-chinese-twitter-weibo.498803/

[historicaltimes]

The National Space Invaders Championship held by Atari in 1980 -

via reddit

[lexiegreyyy]

[georgsmith-blog]

I’m sure many serious gamers could relate to this when it all starts to get a little bit intense.

[georgsmith-blog]

Post 7- Social gaming: playing the crowd

The advance in gaming over the years has left us with an array of different gaming styles across a number of platforms. One of these popular emerging gaming styles is gambling games. These can come in such forms as card games like poker, casino games like roulette and betting games. Whilst these games can act as a fun way to pass the time and take a load off, they also can come with some negative attributes.

 One of the first issues is that these games are exposing children to gambling, where in previous decades they may not have been exposed to so easily. Many of these games are teaching young people how to gamble and can therefore lead to habits and addiction later in life. The Australian Governments Office of the Children’s E-Safety Commissioner states that, “If you are under the age of 18, gambling is an illegal activity whether you play online or offline.” However, a lot of the time it is quite easy for people under the years of 18 to download and play these apps without their parents knowing, due to lack of restrictions. The easy access to these applications opens up a whole new element to gaming for the ordinary person. Any person with an android, IPhone, or even just access to the internet, can now be sitting in bed playing the pokies if they really wish.  

 According to bestcasinoapps.com, the number one ranked mobile casino app for Android and IPhone is Jackpot City. The games consist of the ever popular gambling methods seen in traditional casinos such as slot machines, blackjack and roulette. This therefore allows people to gamble from the comfort of their homes, also allowing them to save the money they would be using in traditional gambling formats. However, this is not always the case.

 According to the same government website, “There are many games and social media applications that look like gambling websites that ask you to pay money to pay or access features.” An issue with these apps is that many people can fall into the trap of actually wasting their money on them. Whether this is through the purchasing of the app itself or being sucked into using real money in conjunction with the game. Many apps, in order to progress further with them, start to create barriers which can only be bought down by paying money. It is in this way that these apps can be quite dangerous, especially for those who have a gambling addiction.

So while these gambling games are a new and welcomed phenomenon, they are not always that great for players and consumers.

References:

http://bestcasinoapps.com/top-10-ranked-mobile-casino-apps-for-android-and-iphone/

https://www.esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/online-gaming

[infinnitte]

[georgsmith-blog]

Mentally preparing ones self for the Ice Bucket Challenge.

[pedrospascaled]

Hugh Jackman does the 2015 ALS ice bucket challenge (x)

[georgsmith-blog]

Post 6- Public health campaigns and communities

I’m sure we’ve all seen and heard of the ALS ice bucket challenge which aimed to raise awareness and funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as MND (motor neuron disease). It would be hard for anyone not to have, considering its enormous popularity and presence on our social media networks as it circulated around the world. With this thought in mind, it highlights the overarching success of the relationship between social media sites and Public Health campaigns within the community. Online platforms are offering an arena for raising awareness and money across a wide audience.

 For many of us, before the ice bucket challenge, our attention may have never been turned to the disease, whilst others may never have even heard of it. According to MND Australia,”Since the inaugural Ice Bucket Challenge in Australia on the 10th of August 2014, over 60,000 supporters have donated more than $3 million to MND Australia and state MND associations.” Ultimately a figure that may have never been possible without the use of social media sites such as Facebook to circulate the message of awareness. Social media sites networking effects allows the message to spread rapidly. As we can see, people were quite quick to jump on the Ice Bucket Challenge bandwagon.

 Although the message of awareness was publicised, it could be said that perhaps the originally cause for the Ice Bucket challenge was lost along the way. Whilst many were on board with the cause, it could be said that for some the meaning was lost, as they just wanted their friends to dump some freezing water on themselves in an effort to humiliate them. Also, whilst a great deal of money was raised, if everyone who threw the icy water on themselves donated a little, the figure would be much larger. The WordPress blog Guide to Charitable Living says, “Various people raised concerns that participants were more caught up in the viral sensation than the cause, giving less money than a typical donor often without even knowing much about the disease.”

In the same blog the Ice Bucket Challenge was described as, ”The largest chain letter ever.” However, in contrast to a chain letter, this campaign was driven by videos and hashtags to spread the message; a key element to social media as a whole.

 Social media sites also facilitate discussions that may not happen otherwise, given the type of content that can be distributed online. Without social media the Ice Bucket Challenge may have just stopped as being a concept that was broadcast on television as high profile celebrities drenched themselves in freezing cold water, instead of uniting a nation in awareness for the disease.

References:

https://www.mndaust.asn.au/MND-Australia-archive/Ice-Bucket-Challenge-(1)/Ice-Bucket-Challenge-FAQ-s.aspx

http://time.com/money/4000583/ice-bucket-challenge-money-donations/

[madbizhop-blog]

In another emerging application, many companies are finding that it’s both cost efficient and productive to call on outsiders from around the world to solve problems that their own scientists can’t handle. Just as firm might outsource production to a subcontractor, these companies are crowdsourcing.

What Customers Want (via madbizhop)

[thefrisky]

[georgsmith-blog]

Crowd sourcing can come in the form of crowd funding, often in response to natural disasters. As this displays, pleading for money is an essential element.

[georgsmith-blog]

Post 5- Crowd sourcing in times of crisis

In the wake of natural disasters, it has now become the role of social media platforms to alert, inform and report on these tragedies, either through the use of apps and pages or shared content by users. Facebook and Twitter are perhaps the most used platforms in which this is achieved.

If you’re from a Victorian country town as I am, then you know just how useful social media is in the event of bushfires. In December of 2015, a fast growing aggressive bushfire threatened my town and the surrounding areas in which it was Facebook that kept us up to date and on top of what the situation around us was. Facebook allowed for experts the CFA to keep residents up to date. The availability of Facebooks share option also allows for these messages to reach even people that don’t follow services such as the CFA. The use of the online platforms has changed the way that we as not only an online community, but community as a whole responds and is aware of disasters in our area. It is also used once the disaster has passed and the clean up is left by rallying residents together for a cause. Often residences ban together and use the platforms to help restore the community

The term crowdsourcing refers to obtaining information by enlisting the services of a number of people, often via the internet. This therefore means that the knowledge and resources of the ordinary person can be used for a cause.

 Crowdsourcing has also become quite a popular tool used by journalists. Journalists can use the crowd to do fact checks for their articles or stories. According to David Bratvold the founder of Crowdsource, “Crowdsourcing allows you to select the best result from a sea of the best entries, as opposed to receiving the best entry from a single provider.” This has ultimately changed the way that information can be obtained and sifted through for media purposes.

 In a CBS article written by Jennifer Alsever she states that, “Crowdsourcing can improve productivity and creativity while minimizing labour and research expenses.” It is in this way that it is also employed as a business tool, as the general community can now put forward ideas to help organisations. Jennifer Alsvever also makes that point that, “With the rise of user-generated media such as blogs, Myspace and Youtube, it’s clear that traditional distinctions between producers and consumers are becoming blurry.”

This is once again an example of the online world allowing the ordinary person engage in the community in ways that it couldn’t before social media platforms.

Whether being used in natural disasters, journalism practices or business initiatives, crowdsourcing has proved to be a very useful tool across social media sites

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing

 http://dailycrowdsource.com/training/crowdsourcing/what-is-crowdsourcing

 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-crowdsourcing/

[cwote]

[somethingisdark]

[georgsmith-blog]

Regina would have been a fair cyber bully in her day!

[kylelovescookiesandsex-blog]

[georgsmith-blog]

Cyberbully the movie

[georgsmith-blog]

Post 4- Digital Citizenship: trolling and social media conflict

Digital citizenship is defined as the ability to participate in society online, more broadly, the appropriate use of technology or social media. However, anyone who has ever been on a site which allows for comments will know that the online world opens people up to constant ridicule and abuse. This is therefore known as ‘trolling’ or ‘cyberbullying.’

 Studies show that 40% of internet users report experiencing at least one form of online harassment, with one in three young people experiencing cyber threats.

In 2011 Muse Entertainment released a movie titled ‘Cyberbully’ staring Emily Osment, who we would all know as Lilly from the famous Hannah Montana series. The movie was based around a teenage girl who is being harassed online and leads her down a spiral of depression that leads to her turning towards suicide. This goes to show the effects that cyber bullying can have on young people and how the abuse stays with people away from the computer screen. The online world has now allowed for bullying to take place in people’s bedrooms. Anyone with a computer can now be a mean girl, often with much harsher comments than “you can’t sit with us.”

Taken from one of this weeks readings; “The meanness and cruelty she saw at school often took the form of what she called “indirect bullying”-gossip and rumours- or drama.” The use of anonymous online accounts is basically the online version of this “indirect bullying,” spreading drama, rumours and bad words anonymously. Whilst its still happening, just like backstabbing at school, it’s pretty hard to police and stop.

The Cybersmile Foundation is one of several organisations that aim to provide a solution to cyber bullying. Whilst stepping away and closing the laptops is a solution, the victims then lose their ability to freely use and contribute to the online world. In the digital age that we live in, the use of social media is almost just becoming a natural right. The Cybersmile Foundation support, educate, conduct research and even have a ‘Stop Cyberbullying Day’ aiming to bring the online community together. Whilst education on the issue is really important, some national laws should also be implemented to combat the issue and stop trolls ruining the online experience for others.

Cyberbullying can take a number of different forms. These include: offensive name calling, purposefully causing embarrassment, physical threats, harassment, sexual harrasment and stalking. So next time your online think to yourself, will this comment make me sound like Regina George?

References:

https://ilearn.swin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-5545811-dt-content-rid-29072820_2/courses/2016-HS1-MDA20009-213452/boyd_Bullying_Is%20the%20media%20amplifying%20meanness%20%26%20cruelty_ch5_2014.pdf

https://www.cybersmile.org/what-we-do

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1930315/

[tilty]

[georgsmith-blog]

Even if you’re not a troll, we’ve all witnessed trolling at some stage.