Ines_L&newM

HELLOWORLD! Thoughts about language & new media!

[inespinsch-blog]

This is what Twitter looked like 10 years ago

Tweeting about your disappointing Starbucks coffee or your political preferences back in 2006? Well congratulations to you, because you’ve been on the Twitter bandwagon from the beginning. Yes, today marks ten years of the social networking site which brought us hashtagging, condensing your thoughts into 140 characters or less and plenty of public celebrity spats. But Twitter was not always the shiny, slick networking site it is today. Take a look below to see just how Internet users in 2006 interacted on the first ever Twitter platform.

Twitter celebrates its 10th anniversary today! The article provides an overview how Twitter worked back then and as I always tend to forget that we didn’t always have smartphones, I find it very interesting to read that you had to send a message to ‘40404′ to tweet 👀...

But the worldwide service is facing problems as well. Twitter is just having a fifth of Facebook’s users.

Is Twitter going to be as popular ten years from now? Does it need new clues to perform and lead in other areas? WHO of you is still using Twitter on a daily basis?

[inespinsch-blog]

Social media is often said to have a huge political impact but, from my point of view, it does not always make it easier for us to form our opinion. Are we even able to have a consistent viewpoint in today’s world of information overload? I often ask myself if it is even possible for politics to remain their integrity... I am optimistic how new media can transform society but I am also concerned when considering the current development of the elections in the United States.

[jess-a-barnes]

I, narcissist – vanity, social media, and the human condition

Are the likes of Instagram and Facebook turning us all into vain and attention-seeking narcissists, or were we that way to begin with?

This is really interesting to see what implications and effects social media is having on this generation.  Will this carry on and affect the future generations? Are we a generation of fake friends and double personalities that care more about how we appear on social media than things that are worth caring about?  Is social media just a platform which allows us to harness our inner narcissist and project it further?   And if it is, do we want this?

[inespinsch-blog]

I have read this article, as well and what came into my mind was that a lot of people time their posts in Instagram, Facebook etc.

The question when a photo gets the most likes seems so ridiculous to me. Shouldn't it be the picture itself which convinces its viewer to click 'like' (no matter what time of the day it is)? In my opinion, that shows how new media changed our way of thinking- we seek for more attention, for more likes and for more reassurance of the others.

[eemmac]

Memes circulate us rather than vice versa. Interacting with a meme puts us into circulation as a participant.

http://thenewinquiry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/blowballl.jpg

I think this quote really sums up what I wanted to post about virality - to keep it short and sweet, if we go viral we are associated, and defined by that meme in the online world, but this also filters into the offline world.

If you look back at my previous post about ‘Damn Daniel' , and some of the memes we looked at in our lectures such as ‘dog poop girl’ or ‘numa numa boy’ they show how virality creates an association between us and the particular photo or video of us, to sum up - the meme becomes how others refer to us, and also becomes our identity.

Would you want a meme becoming your identity?

(via eemmac)

I totally agree with this quote yeah, I think that you definitely have to be careful with what you put on the internet.  People have to know that whatever they put online can be shared with so many other people, and that they’re always going to be leaving a digital path through the internet.  Now that can sometimes be good, but is often something that the original poster will want to remove sooner rather than later.  People think that things going viral is a good thing because you’re being recognised!  You’re famous!  But really you are just becoming the meme, and then from that on that is your identity…

(via jess-a-barnes)

Yeah I guess there is that excitement of being recognised, but there always seems negative consequences associate with going viral - I know I wouldn’t like to always be im identified as ‘dog poop girl’ haha.

(via eemmac)

I don't even think that it is possible to go viral without a negative background. From my point of view, going viral is not about something serious but rather about things people can laugh at and something they can talk about. I would never want a meme to become my identity- it reminds me of the fact that the internet never forgets. My identity and my self are too important to me to be associated with virality and being famous.

[eemmac]

Kim Kardashian, known too well for her selfie taking, she has even made a book of them all.

But what are the semiotics of a selfie like this? Well there definitely is more to this image than sharing with her followers that she has nothing to wear. I would argue that Kim’s ‘business’ is to get attention, so by using photo sharing apps like Instagram she is able to easily tap into the attention economy in order to get more likes, more attention and in the long run more money.

Can you guys think of any other reasons or intentions behind posting a selfie like this?

[inespinsch-blog]

In my opinion, she seems to be unsatisfied and again wants to break the record having more likes than ever. For Kim Kardashian, unashamed sexuality is a theme. I think it is all about the viewing and enactment.

[eemmac]

Unsatisfied with the level of attention she currently gets?

[inespinsch-blog]

No, I think in general you always want more if you already had a crazy amount of likes etc... You always gain for more: more likes, more attention, maybe for more people being shocked once more about posting another unconventional photo as well...

[jess-a-barnes]

This meme shows that obviously people think that there is something wrong with our generation and is notorious I guess, for being constantly online.  I know that this generation’s online presence is a lot more prominent than it would have been thirty years ago- but is this necessarily wrong?

[inespinsch-blog]

I don’t agree that something went wrong. Of course, you don’t have to be online and on your computer 24/7 but a lot of people tend to forget the affordances the Internet and New Media provide. It is about the right moderation, however, I think that there are more affordances when it comes to the Internet’s and technique’s impact on our life.

[eemmac]

Kim Kardashian, known too well for her selfie taking, she has even made a book of them all.

But what are the semiotics of a selfie like this? Well there definitely is more to this image than sharing with her followers that she has nothing to wear. I would argue that Kim’s ‘business’ is to get attention, so by using photo sharing apps like Instagram she is able to easily tap into the attention economy in order to get more likes, more attention and in the long run more money.

Can you guys think of any other reasons or intentions behind posting a selfie like this?

[inespinsch-blog]

In my opinion, she seems to be unsatisfied and again wants to break the record having more likes than ever. For Kim Kardashian, unashamed sexuality is a theme. I think it is all about the viewing and enactment.

[inespinsch-blog]

Social media is often described being anything but social, we are said to be prisoners of social networking and being obsessed with 24/7 entertainment...

But, are we really? Is there a major difference between those two pictures or do they just represent the course of time? Of course, the older picture will generally  be associated with education, with gaining knowledge through newspapers/books etc but I believe that the lower half of the picture also shows the development of the times and gaining knowledge. New Media connects people all over the world_it is about how we take advantage and use modern technology...

But is it true what so many harsh critics say? Did we really forget to coexist without social media, without having the possibility staring into our screens?

[hollymedia2-blog]

This advert came up on my Facebook and really made me think. I never even considered that emojis are sexist, because although there are now options for different races, why are there not different gender options? Why isn’t there the option to have a girl doing the sport or profession? 

I really like this campaign for #LikeAGirl because it highlighted to me an issue with emojis I never even noticed, but am now supporting and would like to see changed.  Since all of us use emojis on a daily basis do you think there are there other issue with emojis you would like changed?

[eemmac]

I would have never realised this unless I watched that advert! It’s so odd how even emojis represent stereotypes, and I definitely agree this does need to be changed-like the girl said in the video, girls do more than get their hair cut. I think this would be a great change to make, especially younger generations who are perhaps more influenced by the media etc.

I can’t really think of any other changes, but maybe emojis that break down other stereotypes, even stereotypes that are considered typically masculine.

[inespinsch-blog]

How interesting is that! We all use emojis every day and haven’t realized that they are so stereotypical. I think when being on our phone looking for a right emoticon to express our feelings we don’t think about it in that much detail and just send it to our friends.

This is a very good campaign which again shows how we sometimes do not pay attention to things and how we just take them as they are!

[inespinsch-blog]

Sharing the (self) love: the rise of the selfie and digital narcissism

Social media and the internet are making us more narcissistic, but can this trend be reversed?

This excellent article provides a timeline of how social media developed over time. Everybody can broadcast their life in social media. 

Boasting yourself has never been so easy and celebrated! I, therefore, ask myself if we are we all being narcissistic when posting about ourselves? Is everyone just broadcasting their life in order to be famous and a part of something just everybody does?

[jess-a-barnes]

I don’t necessarily think that when we post about ourselves we do it to be famous, I think it is more to do with the fact that people like to share.  It is easy for people to be caught up in what everyone else is doing and posting, yeah. But I don’t think that it is in order to be famous as such.  But sharing is such a big part of today’s culture that it is making us more narcissistic I guess.  And it could also be to do with the fact that people are easily caught up in being like everyone else which doesn’t help when it seems like all people do is post selfie after selfie. 

[inespinsch-blog]

True! When I see an account which comprises only selfies I get bored. In my opinion, it gets more and more important to be yourself, especially on social media. Individuality, our life experience and our uniqueness mold us into fascinating beings, even if it is with our without narcissistically self-obsessed representations on the internet.

[connectchloe-blog]

Girls send over a billion emojis a day

I wonder how many boys send, are they considered more a feminine thing to do? Being that can be used to ‘express emotion’

[hollymedia2-blog]

I think girls may send more of the emotion emojis than guys, like the sad faces etc but I do think that guys still send emojis, just maybe don’t use same variety as girls and just stick to ones such as 😂

[mirandawaynebarwell-blog]

What you’ve said Holly is very true. I notice from male group chats the use of ‘😂’ and ‘👀’ and that’s pretty much it! They don’t use over emojis unless it’s as a joke, perhaps women use more emojis because they think it will display their emotions better; then having to explain themselves.

[jess-a-barnes]

I agree Miranda, I know that I use emojis because they’re easy to convey emotions through- so it also saves time!  I definitely know that I use way more emojis than boys that I text or message.  I often use them because I think that otherwise the text looks quite boring and with them it lets the other person know that you’re not in a bad mood or anything.   But I know that when I’m texting someone who doesn’t use emojis I often hold back from using them as much.

[inespinsch-blog]

I am also of the opinion that we use more emojis than boys do. Especially, what you have said @mirandawaynebarwell is true- they rather use emojis like 👀😂😅. For me, those are rather neutral whereas girls often send emojis like 👩‍❤️‍👩🙋🏼🙆🏼💕 to express their mood and their feelings. Boys do not share how they feel, we by contrast do and reinforce our feelings with emoticons.

[inespinsch-blog]

Sharing the (self) love: the rise of the selfie and digital narcissism

Social media and the internet are making us more narcissistic, but can this trend be reversed?

This excellent article provides a timeline of how social media developed over time. Everybody can broadcast their life in social media. 

Boasting yourself has never been so easy and celebrated! I, therefore, ask myself if we are we all being narcissistic when posting about ourselves? Is everyone just broadcasting their life in order to be famous and a part of something just everybody does?

[mirandawaynebarwell-blog]

Instagram to it’s users is merely to share pictures of ourselves or experiences we have in our lives. But this article suggests that it is helping industries see what it trending, what people like and what people want. This all relates to fashion and how this particular industry can use Instagram to see what trends are going this season. Could this also be the case for the food industry?

[jess-a-barnes]

I quite like what this article is saying actually, and it does make sense of Instagram a bit for me.   But I’m not sure that the same could be said for the food industry.  This is purely because the food industry isn’t quite the same as the fashion industry; things don’t come in and out of fashion in the same way.  I think that people sharing photos of food, is more of a cultural thing that has spread.

[inespinsch-blog]

I totally agree with the article as I am of the opinion that Instagram more and more gets to a platform to advertise products, why not food? It already does it with lifestyle and I think that food is a huge part of the lifestyle section. I have to admit that I sometimes even google places when I see nice food pictures so that I can go there, as well. Food already is a huge part of my Instagram story so I think, yes, food trends will become greater in the future.

[hollymedia2-blog]

Love how we portray a different lifestyle over social media in order to seem more interesting or gain more likes, since why would anyone want to see you doing boring everyday tasks?

[lisanewmedia]

This is such a good point! We only see the side of people’s lives that people want us to see, and I think it’s very easy to forget that we don’t see the other half of their life.

[jess-a-barnes]

This is so true yeah, and makes it quite tricky to see how we should then act in real life.  Will it be that our real lives and lives on social media will be so different that we will be two completely different people.  Will this then affect the type of friends we have?  Will we have some to suit us in real life and then some that will suit our online life?

[inespinsch-blog]

I believe that some people actually do make a distinction between friends for real life and friends for social media. Especially when I think of famous bloggers and instafamous people. For them, it is rather a job to promote themselves with other well known Instagram stars/celebrities/brands than to show their best friends from years ago. It is about their business, not their real lives. Everyone wants a good looking Instagram account (like they have). It is about showing how perfect your life is but not how your real YOU is...

[inespinsch-blog]

Blogging is a booming textual practice designed to improve reading and writing. It creates a multimodal reading and writing experience, readers need to change their reading pattern as they receive messages through different elements. It consequently changes the practice of reading and writing...

Different forms deepen our understanding and, therefore, I tend to believe that blogging as a MULTIMODAL WAY OF COMMUNICATING is/will develop itself as the best way to exchange ideas. 

But what about the traditional face to face communication to exchange opinions? Do we need a multimodal update for our conventional conversation? Does the blog replace letter writing and can it be seen as a new and modern form of letter writing?

[jess-a-barnes]

While TV is great because it allows us to see things that are happening on the other side of the world and things that we would never be able to see otherwise, it does make me really sad that this is a reality for some.  There are constantly new movies being made, new series that we just have to see and catch up on, and more sites that allow us to see these on.  You can watch tv on just about any device now as well and I feel like, in a way, it is distracting us a lot from what is actually out there in the real world.  A lot happens outside, and I know that I miss a lot of nice days because I’m watching TV.  It’s one of those things where ease of access is key.  I mean no, it’s not very hard at all to just put some shoes on and go outside- but that requires effort and it is a lot easier to be lazy and not do anything but stay in and watch TV.

[inespinsch-blog]

I love having a day watching movies all day long: I just don’t have to think about  deadlines, things I have to do... BUT at the same time, I have to admit, that at the end of such a lazy movie day I am even more tired than after working eight hours a day. As much as I love those days, I believe that a day going hiking in the mountains, for example, gives you so much more and makes you feel active and fit afterwards. In my opinion, it is about a balanced way to handle movie days but also having active days where your brain and your soul is getting something out of the 24 hours we are given every day.

[eemmac]

Do the affordances of new media out weigh the constraints? This app, I think shows how we can use technology clear beyond just as a means of communication or interaction.

Does anyone know of any other apps that have a beneficial use such as a medical, or lifestyle one?

[lisanewmedia]

I think this is such an interesting concept to social media, I’ve heard there’s other apps which can be used to help other issues such as anxiety. I think it’s really beneficial that technology is advancing beyond just interaction and communication and trying to help other medical issues as well.

[inespinsch-blog]

If we even just think of all the apps that track when we are doing sports I feel that this is a huge motivation for people to go to the gym/go jogging and being active. I feel pushed when I see at my iPhone what I reached the other day to make even more the following day at the gym.

And moreover, there are some apps which remind you taking your daily medicine if you have to. It is a big facilitation and so handy because our mobile phone is always within reach.