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Blog #8 – Social Gaming (Week 10)

I’m not a huge social gamer myself. I did get into ‘Farmville’ when it was all the craze and I do play a ‘Words with Friends’ occasionally but that’s about the extent of my social gaming knowledge. Social gaming most commonly refers to online games that allow for social interaction between players. With the growing popularity of social media it led to new genres of games being integrated into social networks (Nettleton et al. 2013). These are usually the games that your aunt sends constant requests of Facebook. Social gaming is so much larger than the games you can play on social media, you have huge games like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty which is basically an online community for gaming and socializing. I may not game myself but I have many friends who do.

One friend I have comes home every day after work and plays World of Warcraft. He has a small group that he will usually play with and they all chat while gaming and over the years they became really good friends. Last year the group, who live all over the world planned a ski trip to Japan and all met for the first time. That friend is now living in Canada with one of the people he met while social gaming. When writing this blog the first thing that did come to mind was my housemate Jason. He is a HUGE gamer that plays on average 15 hours a week. He plays the game ‘Counter Strike Global Offensive’ which is a 5 vs 5, team, and first person shooter game. The objective is to eliminate the enemy team or complete the objective which will be either planting to defusing a bomb, depending what team you are on. I decided to ask Jason a few questions about why he games and what he thinks of the social aspect. Jason said the game is extremely fun and he loves the social aspect as he’s able to communicate and meet different types of people from all over the world (Clarke 2018, 3 June). I then asked him about the social aspect, does he play with the same people? And does he know these people personally or only through online platform? Jason said it depends on who’s online but he does have a small group that he plays with regularly (Clarke 2018, 3 June). He met this small group through playing Counter Strike and has now met many of them in person and he’s been able to build real friendships. He even met his first housemate playing Counter Strike.

(Throneful 2018)

Reference List

Clarke, J, 2018, 3rd June.

Nettleton, J & Chong, K, 2013, ‘Online Social Games – The Australian Position’, Addisions, 16th October, Viewed 3rd June 2018. <http://www.addisonslawyers.com.au/knowledge/assetdoc/1496179efe668027/Online%20Social%20Games%20-%20The%20Australian%20Position.pdf>

Throneful, 2018, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2018) - Gameplay PC HD, 1st January, viewed 3rd June 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5VD49suIUw

#10 Social Gaming

I used to love playing computer games when I was back in school but this was probably before online gaming became a massive craze. As a teenager playing on the Nintendo & PlayStation I would usually play with school mates after school but we would all be in the same rooms playing with multiple controllers, even waiting our turn if we had to.

The addition of online gaming in the last 15-20 years has been massive! The introduction to online gaming through social media sites and apps on the smartphones has well outweighed the online experiences created through the console gameplay with 84% expected to be played through smartphones by the year 2020 (Statista, 2018).

While yes, online gaming and creating online communities with friends is a great part of social online gaming there are definitely major concerns too! Wherever their is a big market, their will be companies trying to exploit people for extra profit. One of the most sneaky marketing campaigns in recent time is the ‘added bonuses’ in game that we can at times feel pressured into purchasing if we want to continue playing a game we downloaded for ‘free’.

These games are so easily available to everyone. No longer do we need to get in the car and go to the shop and fork out over $100 for a single video game, when can download endless amounts of games for free clogging up the space on our devices. Kids of any age can start playing these games so easily and most of them are quite addictive especially online casino games where introduction to gambling can start at a very young age.

Just a few questions here:

How can we stop under age kids purchasing and playing very popular casino style social online games?...

Would paying for all types of games or apps make us spend less time playing games on our mobile devices?...

Will chiropractors be under increasing pressure to perform neck adjustments with everyone spending so much time with their heads down looking at screens?...

References:

Pintrest, 2018, [image], viewed June 3, 2018, https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/444871269423604047

Retro Gamer, 2013, [image], Super Nintendo, Retro Gamer, viewed June 3, 2018, <https://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/hardware/super-nintendo/>

Statista, 2018, Social Gaming - Statistics & Facts, Statista, viewed June 3, 2018, <https://www.statista.com/topics/2965/social-gaming/>

#9 Visual Communities & Social Imaging

Fake Perfection

If we don’t see it for ourselves ‘in person’ is it really happening at all? Does the person pictured in a doctored edited Instagram picture look anything like the person we are looking at from our phones?.. Who would know. The pressure of creating the perfect self -image is probably going a bit too far and the pressure to look the best, secure the most ‘followers’ and attract the most ‘likes’ is now fierce competition not only from already famous celebrities but also local community members looking to be the next big social thing. .

The creation of such apps as Snap Chat and Instagram allow for all photos to be touched up and altered to communicate people not as they might actually be but who they have to be to be accepted by their peers. What happens when someone uploads a photo of yourself without permission and without filters added? We might look like our true selves!

These apps that we share photos and short videos with the wider communities aren’t really snaps of our lives but more snaps of only the best parts of our lives in most cases. I myself don’t care for uploading material about myself as maybe I’m a bit older than the younger generation but I do fear for the pressure this generation might feel to be ‘perfect’. Social Imaging and in particular body imaging problems can be a major problem with most users trying too hard to be ‘liked’ and fit in with an online society to avoid trolling and negative comments

“Social media can be toxic for body image. It is highly visual and interactive, and appearance is central to success”.

“Collecting “likes” and followers provides an immediate marker of achievement and popularity. These feed directly into users’ sense of self-worth.” (McLean, 2016).

Social media users can obviously decide to not post photos and videos of themselves but how would we know what they are currently doing or recently achieved? Talk to them? Haha, that's the other issue with the day to day need to post every moment of our life (real or unreal) the younger generation are loosing the ability to start and hold a conversation because they already know what someone is up to when they see them next time face to face.

Will we ever be able stop the posting? Is it so important to feel important?

References:

McLean, S, 2016, Social Media can damage Body Image - here’s how to counteract it, The Conversation, viewed June 2, 2018, <https://theconversation.com/social-media-can-damage-body-image-heres-how-to-counteract-it-65717>

McLean, S, 2016, [image], Social Media can damage Body Image - here’s how to counteract it, The Conversation, viewed June 2, 2018, <https://theconversation.com/social-media-can-damage-body-image-heres-how-to-counteract-it-65717>

Samuel, A, 2017, [image] Yes smartphones are destroying a generation but not of kids, European Business Review, viewed June 2, 2018, <http://www.europeanbusinessreview.eu/page.asp?pid=2119>

#mda20009 #selfie #fake

#8 Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

Gathering ‘trustful’ information from the masses.

Crowdsourcing, a great idea! In theory…

Tragedy strikes, and yes, we need as much information about what is happening ASAP, but we also need to trust the sources of the information gathered, how do we do this? Anyone connected has the ability post anything they want, and we like to believe that most of what is posted would be factually correct, but we just can’t trust anyone anymore right?

The use of crowdsourcing for events such as natural disasters and unfortunate acts of terrorism is a fantastic idea to get real time information from the point of contact. We have seen this used to great effects through the use of the popular program Ushahidi which was created after the Kenyan 2007 presidential elections, after rumours of hundreds of thousands of excessive violence claims and over 1000 deaths (Collins 2017). But somehow their needs to be a filter in place to weed out the incorrect posts submitting misinformation making efforts even harder to record.

We have seen in the past few years crazy marketing attempts involving the use of crowdsourcing with mixed and in some cases, bizarre results. Asking for the social media mass audiences to rename a product or come up with their own flavour for a food company is always going to spark some weird and wonderfully creative ideas. Unfortunately, in the case of RRS Boaty McBoatface, that was refused naming rights after it had been selected as the number one choice for an exploring vessel (Ellis-Peterson, 2016) asking for outsider opinions is a risky exercise. Do some of these company just want the extra media exposure coming up with a campaign like ones we have seen in the past that have gone horribly wrong? Of course, so asking a wider audience for a serious opinion or for information is always going to be fraught with scepticism.

I feel like with all aspects of the use of social media there are always going to be as many if not more people set to go out of their way to disrupt a system like a crowdsourcing app. Users would still like to be seen as outrageous and provoking when looking to provide useful information as unlike professional journalists their job and reputations are not on the line.

Is there a system where we can cross check who is posting and have a rating system per user for reliable information? Probably not, due to user never having to reveal his or her true identity and the ease of which a new account can be made for most programs.

References:

Collins, K, 2017, Facebook Messenger bots help monitor Kenya election violence, CNet, viewed May 30, 2018, https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-messenger-bots-help-monitor-kenya-election-violence/

Ellis Peterson, 2016, Boaty McBoatface win poll to name polar research vessel, The Guardian, viewed May 30, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/17/boaty-mcboatface-wins-poll-to-name-polar-research-vessel

YouTube, 2016, The public cant be trusted to name anything, YouTube, viewed May 30, 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91ky3ZMz47E>

Big Think, 2017, [image], Why Boaty McBoatface is the best thing to happen to science in a long time, Big Think, viewed May 30, 2018, <http://bigthink.com/laurie-vazquez/why-boaty-mcboatface-is-the-best-thing-to-happen-to-science-in-a-long-time>

#mda20009 #boaty mcboatface #spazzie

#7 Trolling & Social Media Conflict What can we do?...

Using all forms of social media is a great way to share one’s opinion about any particular topic, but where one person has their own belief or opinion there will always be someone with a differing one! Unfortunately, there are people scrolling through social media platforms looking to stir up trouble by writing something controversial about a topic or news related article and in turn looking to get spiteful responses themselves to outrage fellow platform users. There are a number of different types of ‘trolls’ out there including ones that correct grammar, send spam, stalkers, send hurtful messages or even use personal information and photos against other users. (Rampton, 2015).

(Creative Match, 2012)

I really feel for the younger generation who will all be raise as the ‘social generation’. I remember growing up and not being connected 24/7 where we would have to wait until the next day to talk at school about what happened from the previous day. Bullying at school is still an issue but the ease of ‘trolls’ to cyberbully with at times complete anonymity is a real concern. With the ease of which this sort of behaviour can take place I am also concerned with where this behaviour stops. Once a troll knows how to properly provoke a desired response from someone does it stop there? How far can it go and what are the wider ramifications? I notice there are policies in place such as lodging complaints to the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act (The criminal code) Part 10.6 (Find Law Australia, 2018) but this can be a long process.

How can this type of behaviour be properly policed if we can’t be completely sure who in fact it is we are communicating with?...

Can the youngest generation just turn themselves off from social media if this is becoming a problem for them?

I’m not so sure its that easy, as to be not connected leaves ourselves a step behind society.

References:

Find Law Australia, 2018, Internet Trolls can be Prosecuted under Australian Law, Find Law Australia, viewed May 23, 2018, http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/4259/internet-trolls-can-be-prosecuted-under-australian.aspx

Rampton, J, 2015, 15 Truths about online trolls, Entrepreneur, viewed May 23, 2018, < https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242924>

[image] Creative Match, 2012, viewed May 23, 2018,<http://creativematch.com/news_largeImage.cfm?newsID=101932>

#mda20009 #trolling #cyberhate

#6 Digital Activism & Digital Citizenship - The lasting effect

The introduction of smartphones has significantly changed the way political events, protests and movements are now run, assisting in reaching a far greater number of supporters to a wide range of causes (Eland, 2016).

Social online causes for good, such as raising awareness of diseases to create funds for research and prevention are becoming more common. Everyone has a voice now it seems and anyone can help raise awareness of something close to their heart by producing a smart online awareness campaign. We have seen recently in 2014 the campaign to raise awareness for ALS involving the ‘Ice-Bucket Challenge’. The promotional awareness campaign that had people from all around the world including high profile names tipping ice cold buckets of water on their heads and then passing on the challenge to others to complete. This was very successful at raising awareness in the short term with times the disease was mentioned in media outlets up by over 50% even after 12 months from the creation of the challenge (Vance, 2016). Were some of these numbers spreading the challenge ‘slacktivists’? Yes, most definitely but this campaign did raise much needed funds and media attention.

Do all campaigns like this have long lasting appeals?.. certainly not. The Doppler effect of social media explained here in detail:https://youtu.be/05Llbn3SAho is how a campaign like the above mentioned ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ can gain momentum and have its time in the spotlight before disappearing and being eventually out of sight and out of mind

There are also a range of people and groups going under the banner of ‘hacktavists’ or being involved in ‘leakism’ where they use the online world to spread highly secret and confidential information often coming under fire for breaking privacy laws. Although these people are potentially breaking some privacy laws, they bring up revealing information about, at times corrupt organisations such as Julian Assange’s creation of ‘Wikileaks’ revealing confidential information on Afghanistan and Iraq war logs and Cablegate.

In my opinion different public causes and movements will always appeal to some and have no consideration to others. The truly great social movements that capture the largest amount of appeal can have significant ramifications both changing a societies perception and even changing societies accepting beliefs that can lead to significant change in the way we live.

No longer are we told by media giants what we should watch and what we should believe in or support. Everyone their own eyes and has a voice, and with enough support through an increasing online society anyone can make a difference to our lifestyles.

References

Eland, A, 2016, Beyond Hashtags: how a new wave a digital activists is changing society, The Conversation, viewed May 23, 2018, https://theconversation.com/beyond-hashtags-how-a-new-wave-of-digital-activists-is-changing-society-57502

Vance, J, 2016, Social Media and PR: Insights from the Ice Bucket Challenge on Creating Lasting Impact, Meltwater, viewed May 23, 2018, https://www.meltwater.com/blog/social-media-and-pr-insights-from-the-ice-bucket-challenge-on-creating-lasting-impact/

#mda20009 #week6 #digital activism

#5 Politics & Civic Cultures #Everypoliticalvoice

Elections campaigns rely heavily on media exposure and more to the point ‘positive media exposure’ to help secure important voters interest.

In a now more media driven world than ever, anything can be broadcast out to the audiences to help influence voters. Also, nothing can be safe from emerging from the past, usually negative for prospecting candidates of a political election campaign.

We have seen time and time again all sorts of possible misdemeanours coming up from one’s past to hinder their chances of securing voters and being elected. With the additional media coverage in the modern era including social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter etc coverage of political campaigns is getting almost impossible to avoid and with that, become engaged to spread your own opinions on the candidates through your social media platforms.

Some recent candidates have used social media well to campaign while others have bitten the dust, sometimes through no fault of their own.

The two most recent American presidents have both used social media to help their electoral campaigns in Barrack Obama and Donald Trump. The now President of the USA Trump 9 months after being elected was quoted saying “I doubt I would be here if it weren’t for social media, to be honest with you” (McCaskill, 2017). Trump’s social media campaign involved a strong usage of Twitter to communicate to his large following which is now over 52 million (Twitter, 2018) and he believed using this platform gave him the best way to act on what was said by others as quickly as possible (McCaskill, 2017).

(Evan Vucci | AP Photo)

Obama used online media to help execute his political campaign including mass emails and links through Facebook to judge his voter’s numbers and with this got details of voters for further communication. A smart user of social media, I too subscribe to the line Obama once said to a bunch of high school political hopefuls when asked the question what do I need to do to be successful? He replied with the advice to be careful of anything you post on social media because in this age, whatever you have done in the past will be pulled up at some stage in your life (Jericho, 2012). This is a great warning that not only is social media a great way of reaching a larger audience, but it can also be very harmful as anything that has been said is out there for anyone to see, store and bring up at any time to possibly help but more than likely ruin someone’s chances of success, particularly if you intend to be a leader of a political party or country.

Do the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to the use of social media to help run your political election campaign?.

Check out this article on how social media has changed politics

https://www.thoughtco.com/how-social-media-has-changed-politics-3367534

Its hard to say, but one thing is for sure, its going to be a crucial part of every election moving forward and whoever can produce a winning social media strategy holds the upper hand.

#mda20009 #politics

References

Jericho, 2012, ‘How Many Voters are There on Twitter?, in the Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia, viewed May 16, 2018

McCaskill, N, 2017, Trump Credits Social Media For His Election, Politico, viewed May 16, 2018, https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/20/trump-social-media-election-244009

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#week5 #socialmedia #politics #mda20009

1A - Starting to learn social :)

Coming into a ‘Digital Communities’ unit through Swinburne online I thought I had a good grasp of social medias, what they were for and why they are so popular but I’ve learnt so much more already.

Learning about visual communities and the history from where we all came from socially to now has changed so much, especially since the evolution of the online world.

Reading about great social theorist such as Ferdinand Tonnies and his theory about the difference between (Gemeinschaft) or communal society based on natural will and (Gesellschaft) or associational society based on rational will (Britanica, 2018) was interesting.

Ferdinand Tonnies

Then moving onto to visual communities and learning about them being based not on shared locations as in the past but more in share interests in news and events. The ties aren't as strong as those we have formed in the past face to face but they can still be quite intimate.

The advancement with of social media apps on our new smartphones such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat just to name a few, makes becoming ‘social’ easier than ever. We no longer have to leave our own house to find out what others are doing, even in real time as photos and even live videos of activities people are doing are so accessible. Now, over 2.8 billion people, or over a third of the world’s population are using social media platforms to communicate (Willis, 2017). We only have to open our phones and we are bombarded with news and information about what other people or our own interests are up to at any given time.

I believe that the visual communities in which we now live in have many advantages to help out in our ever increasing busy lifestyles. I can’t even understand what the world would be like without smartphones now. Are we losing the skill of starting up a conversation with someone we meet or even our closest friends?... I feel like when I bump into someone in the street or at a party I already know what they've been up to because they post every single thing they do on some form of social media! It can feel like sometimes its easier just to text or tweet to the same people in the room than start up a verbal conversation.

Here is a great article on the way social media has changed the way we communicate.

http://circaedu.com/hemj/how-social-media-changed-the-way-we-communicate/

Will we lose the art of ‘talking’ having a proper verbal discussion?....

What makes sharing everything we do and everywhere we go so important?...

References:

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft Social Theory, Encyclopaedia Britannica, <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gemeinschaft-and-Gesellschaft>

Willis, A, 2017, 6 Ways Social Media Changed The Way We Communicate, Higher Ed Marketing Journal, <http://circaedu.com/hemj/how-social-media-changed-the-way-we-communicate/>

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