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v-marshall-mda20009-blog

How Trump keeps trumping the world of Twitter.

Week 5 - Digital Citizenship 1: Politics and civic cultures

Week 5 saw the exploration and collaboration of social media and politics. Over the last decade, politicians have been using innovative technologies to reach young and new audiences by introducing opportunities to ‘talk back’ and participate in political discussion. Studies show that nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of Internet users seeked news and information online throughout the 2008 US presidential election (Jericho, 2012).

So it’s no wonder that current presidential candidate Donald Trump has turned to Twitter to get his message out. Among the ever-increasing list of fascinating things about Donald Trump’s improbable presidential candidacy, this may just top the list: the outspoken political apprentice is boasting the number one spot in the Republican polls, even though he (as he has made us all aware on a number of occasions) has spent a tiny faction of the money his opponents have.

So, what is it (besides the never-ending, slightly entertaining and highly offensive jaw-dropping remarks) that makes his presidential campaign so successful? The answer - social media. Utilising Twitter as his most central tool, Trump is educating us all in the abandonment of traditional journalism methods by demonstrating the true capabilities of Twitter when used correctly. Currently boasting 5.1 million followers and gaining an average of 12,158 new followers each day, it is clear that Trump has mastered Twitter in a way no candidate for president ever has (Borchers 2015).

Ironically, this weeks readings shed light on Australian Prime Minister (then lower-house politician) Malcolm Turnball and the mastering of his Twitter skills. With 65,000+ followers, Turnball demonstrated that “the size of one’s Twitter following is irrelevant. It may look good at first glance, but it pales into significance when measured against real, honest and genuine online engagement” (Jericho, 2012). Like Turnball, Trump uses the social media platform to not only broadcast political statements, but to encourage and engage (at times, outrage) policy debates and conversation with online supporters. Using Twitter, Trump is able to amplify his message, make news, lob attacks or wage threats against those who disagree with him - in turn, creating a community of ever-growing supporters and voters.

Rather than using Twitter merely as an emotionless and formal announcement board, Trump’s tweets touch on pop culture, display unexpected personal insights, defend debate performances, talk to strangers, indulge in celebrity gossip and test rivals…all in an effort to personalise and encourage online engagement with his 5 million followers and supporters (Barbaro, 2015).

Having been retweeted more than 3.5 millions times since embarking on the presidential race in June, there’s no doubt this his efforts represent a methodical and disciplined campaign strategy, despite the appearance of chaos.

References:

Barbaro, M 2015, How Donald Trump uses twitter (hint: impulsively), NY Times, viewed 1 December 2015, <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/us/politics/how-donald-trump-uses-twitter.html>.

Borchers, C 2015, On Twitter, Donald Trump’s following pales to some prominent Muslims, The Washington Post, viewed 1 December 2015, <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/09/these-16-muslims-have-more-twitter-followers-than-donald-trump/>.

Jericho, G 2012, The rise of the fifth estate: social media and blogging in Australian politics, Scribe Publications Pty Ltd, Victoria Australia. #mda20009 #donaldtrump #twitter #socialmedia #politics #Borchers #WashingtonPost #presidentialcampaign

studentbridget

Agree 100% that all of Trumps posts have been cleverly orchestrated to appear chaotic however are probably the result of a team of ‘experts’ strategically planning what he can say next..

dig-comms-life-blog

Week Five: Managing the Political/Personal Balance on Social Media: How Trump trumps them all, and What's Next?

I would be lying if I didn’t say that a large portion of Western society; classmates, neighbours, and even our grandmothers alike, didn’t create for themselves a presence on social media.

Politicians are seemingly no different. From the US all the way to Australia, they are embracing and utilising new technologies in order to reach a larger, and often younger, audience (Swinburne Online 2015).

An idealistic optimist may argue that thanks to social media, politicians are certainly successfully able to connect with potential voters, and attract new ones.

But just like our grandparents’ inability to use Facebook properly (I promise I’m enforcing a stereotype merely to make a point!), most politicians are probably not as social media savvy as the younger generations. Therefore, their attempts at social media platforms in a way that serves to benefit them can turn awry.

In this week’s first reading, The Greens Senator Scott Ludlam is mentioned. Ludlam’s initial manner of using Twitter was to merely tweet press releases and information about The Greens Party (Jericho 2012, p. 266). Ludlam admitted that his followers complained that they felt like they were being ‘spammed’.

This robotic example of social media misuse brings to mind the notion of balance. As Jericho argues, politicians on social media dangle precariously between tweeting too little, with too much ‘political spam’, and tweeting too much, about matters unrelated to politics (Jericho 2012, p. 266).

A prime example of a politician (or an aspiring one) leaning too close towards a filter-less, ever-increasing Twitter feed would be that of US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Many of Trump’s tweets are political, yes. But many are also unrelated to politics; for example the one about British Royal Kate Middleton sunbathing nude, or potentially inflammatory and insensitive; like the one about gun control in France right after recent massacre in Paris.

Through his social media presence, Trump has projected his personal and political ideals and stances onto his Twitter profile, for an entire world to witness. We are certainly interested in what Trump will say next, in perhaps the same manner that a person is unable to look away from a gruesome car crash - Trump boasts over five million followers on Twitter (Donald J. Trump 2015

But will US citizens vote for Trump to be their President? Thanks to the fact that his overly personalised use of Twitter has alerted society to his ‘true colours’, maybe not. In a way, then, social media may be a bit of a blessing in disguise for members of society.

In this week’s second reading, Young discusses the idea that the days of a leisurely, half hour read through the newspaper may be over (Young 2010, p. 217). In fact, in 2007, visitors to Australian news websites stayed for under ten minutes, headline-checked, and skimmed through news content (Young 2010, p. 218).

What does this say about the future of political reporting? Niche political news websites like the US Political Wire may exist and develop within Australia, but will they be well-known enough to reach wide audiences? Further, will audiences even care to seek out these types of websites? As the ‘social media generation’ grows older, kicking aside the journalists and politicians of yesterday, we may see an increase in the exposure and credibility of citizen blogging, and possibly a proliferation of entirely online, headline-grabbing political news articles.

In terms of the future of politicians using social media, I will circle back to the beginning of my post, where I chastised the elderly for not knowing how to use ‘properly’ social media. I’m sure a great deal of older are apt at the language if Facebook or Twitter, but many aren’t.

Who can blame them? These people did not grow up with social media swimming above their heads 24/7. Our generation, however, did. Maybe this means that future politicians, both established and aspiring, will be able to strike a perfect balance between the personal and political. Or like Trump, they may fall headfirst onto either side, threatening their reputation (but increasing their Twitter followers).

REFERENCES

Jericho, G 2012, ‘How Many Votes are there on Twitter?’, Rise of the Fifth Estate: Social Media and Blogging in Australian Politics, Scribe Publications, EBL Ebook Library.

Swinburne Online 2015, 'Week Five: Digital Citizenship 1: Politics and Civic Cultures’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning Material on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, 14 September, viewed 1 December 2015.

Donald J. Trump 2015, viewed 4 December 2015, https//:twitter.com/realDonaldTrump.

Young, S 2010, 'News, Political Reporting, and the Internet’, How Australia Decides, Cambridge University Press, EBL Ebook Library.

v-marshall-mda20009-blog

Fantastic post Tina! I agree - hopefully in this case, social media will be a blessing in disguise for Americans when it comes time to vote!

theresesollazzo-blog

Great example with Trump’s US Presidency campaign for this week’s Politics and Civic Cultures theme. A recent article published on theguardian.com.au, discussed his popularity on social media campaign could possibly be his winning ticket! Dan Pfeiffer, US President Obama’s former digital and social media strategist, has been quoted saying that Trump is “way better at the internet than anyone else in the GOP which is partly why he is winning.”

studentbridget

Nice take on this weeks content. Social media is definitely risky for anyone let alone a politician who is trying to gain support. In some respects, politician’s social media accounts are merely used to show the public that they can cook/garden/shave (or not if you’re Kevin Rudd..) and try to connect them with their constituents on a personal level in a bid to get votes.

riceage-blog

Blog Post #4; Week 6

studentbridget

Love the term ‘feel good activism’. I remember the Kony 2012 craze and I felt kind of guilty for not reposting the video as so many of my Facebook friends had done.. But what good was it?

swinbloggermatt44-blog

Week 6

When activism meets social media it can often capture the imaginations of millions of people from around the globe with a clear and concise message for creating a better world. A persistent claim has circulated that rather than some revolution in civic participation, we seeing the rise of ‘slacktivism’ and 'clicktivism’, or the kinds of easy activism that has no real or lasting effect in the world. Another term used is ‘subactivism’, referring to the 'feeble motions immersed in the everyday many times removed from the hot arena of politics’ (Bakardjieva, 2009, p. 103). Although 'Slacktivism’ and “clicktivism’ is a lazy form activism it can be useful. Even though the "kony 2012” movement turned out to be extremely misleading its core message of justice and freedom for an oppressed people resonated with millions of people the world over from different cultures and walks of life. Despite their lack of physical involvement in such movements simply liking or sharing a video or post can create interest and alert others to such issues that can create positive change. Even on the smaller scale of liking a friends positive post on facebook when you know they’ve been through a rough patch in their lives can be enough to show them your support.

References

Kony 2012, Invisible Children, 5 March, viewed 22 September 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc>.

Bakardjieva, M 2009, 'Subactivism: Lifeworld and Politics in the Age of the Internet’, Information Society, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 91-104.

studentbridget

I agree - I think in some cases online petitioning is a bit of a lazy option as people can simply click a button and not actually have to understand what the campaign is about..

cameronmda20009-blog

Week 7: Digital Citizenship 3: Trolling and social media conflict

I feel that perhaps the debate and research into trolling may have missed the mark somewhat. While constructing a discourse that incorporates acts of citizenship, voluntarily or otherwise, researches have built a mesh cage around the subject without realising it is leaking. Some people troll for fun and attention, that is all, it is not an act of citizenship, it is not even social in the way that online society is being discussed by boyd (CITE) and McKosker (2014). By virtue of the decision to define internet social activity as a parallel to physical society researches are telling us the earth is flat, just ignore the curve. Online society needs to be viewed through a new lens rather than simply lumped in with face to face contemporary society, with a determination on cause and cure handed down up on a topic without a history of sufficient duration as to warrant such a determination.

While Olweus’s (cited in boyd 2014) components of bullying may transfer to the online environment at face value, aggression, repetition and imbalance in power, the implementation and background causes of these can be significantly different than in a physical environment. For example an online bully could be the result of, and an outlet for, the victim of physical bullying.

Likewise the concept of a cyber-safety or social media ombudsman employs a structure that has been applied to contemporary, physical, society in the expectation that it will work as well (or as ineffectually) as it has done in society.

This is not to say that nothing should be done about trolls or online bullies, of course something needs to be done about them however employing existing social practices ignores the differences in online communication and to face to face communication. Is there a call for a playground or park ombudsman to oversee playground bullying? No, because it can clearly be seen that such is an ineffectual manner in which to address playground bullying.

McCosker’s (2014) paper particularly seems desperate to carry the concept of an all-inclusive citizenship within which to explain trolling as an agent provocateur rather than identifying the different drivers underpinning differing types of comment. This fails to acknowledge that the online environment is hybrid, but separate, from existing social norms, online is a different society in which different rules exist. The reference to Agonist Public’s is unconvincing in this paper and the link between aggressive online behaviour and the agonist political movement is tenuous at best. Agonist politics can be seen where someone calls another a troll in an effort to remove that parties arguments from validity (Wilson et al (Eds) 2013), however, this strategy is employed when the comments themselves do not all ready scream “Troll”.

One approach that seem to head in the right direction is the government providing its eSafety website, where people, particularly children, who believe they are being bullied can go and talk about it (eSafety 2015). The nuances of the online environment may best be addressed in the same way children are socialised into established social norms, with a great deal of attention by parents and teachers.

Essentially, it is a social environment that requires skill and knowledge to navigate, like a car, like a masquerade, children are not simply given the keys or dropped off at the ball are they?

Boyd (2014) initially touches on this when interviewing the two girls, the younger was introduced to social media when it was already established, yet has not been taught to use it, just monitored, can this approach be seen as enabling online abuse? Where a proponent who does not understand the reality of the damage done attacks others from concealment for self-gratification out of ignorance?

References

Boyd, D 2014, ‘Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?’, in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp 128-52.

eSafety 2015, viewed 22 December 2015, <https://www.esafety.gov.au/>. McCosker, A 2014, YouTrolling as provocation: Tube’s agonistics publics, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.

Wilson, J, Fuller, G & McCrea, C (eds) 2013, Trolls and the negative space of the internet, Fibreculture Journal, Issue 22, viewed 22 September 2015, <http://twentytwo.fibreculturejournal.org>.

tiarnasaur-deactivated20160706

You’ve really acknowledged the fact that on any social situation these things are going to happen regardless of wether it’s online or not.

We seem to have just provided a new platform for an old form of provocation.

theresesollazzo-blog

Some really great points raised especially touching on the eSafety website as a channel online kids can reference and approach for support - confidentially and easily accessible.

studentbridget

Hi there

I also read boyds case study with the two girls (sisters I think?) and thought it was interesting especially considering their closeness in age and difference in opinion surrounding online bullying.

riceage-blog

Blog Post #5; Week 7

studentbridget

Hey Matt I agree that Facebook has made it easy to report abuse but in many cases this abuse is just removed from the person who reported it’s view and remains for everyone else to see which is concerning..

theresesollazzo-blog

Week 8: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis. #qldfloods, #prayforparis and #banjir

Traditionally, emergency information has been distributed via radio, TV and as shown below with communal boards for community and tourists.

Nowadays, with the advent of social media and digital apps, crisis communication has improved, especially around the speed of communication and its effective ‘cut through.’ Crowdsourcing in times of crisis allows alerts of danger to reach its immediate audience as well as be passed along and thus amplified many times over. As seen with #qldfloods, Twitter users became further information disseminators, especially at the height of the crisis. In addition, tweets containing situational information and advice, pointers to news media stories and multimedia updates, how to help or donate funds, were particularly “resonant” on social media. (Bruns et. al, 2012, pp. 7-10).

When a Qantas Airbus A380 had to make an emergency landing in Singapore last year, passengers Tweeting pictures of damage to the plane at a time when the airline were still saying they were unaware of any damage. We live in a world where not even the US Special Forces, never mind corporations, have the power to control the speed at which news travels (Morris 2015).

According to Morris, social media doesn’t change, but instead underlines, the basic rules of crisis communications. But the speed at which crises can travel in a digital age means you need to be fully prepared and have a plan ready to implement.

Since the Queensland floods more and more people have looked to social media in times of crisis, including the recent Paris terrorist attacks. During this time, Facebook activated its Safety Check tool, which allowed users in the Paris area and affected by the attacks to mark themselves or others as ‘safe’. No statistics are available currently to track and measure Safety Check’s role in these attacks. (Goel & Ember 2015) Twitter statistics available show, The hashtag #prayforparis, was very popular, with 6.7 million posts in 10 hours. And the hashtag #StrandedInUS gained a lot of traction in the United States to help French people whose flights had been canceled (Goel & Ember 2015).

Interestingly, Jakarta is flooded with information during disasters and the Indonesian capital is also the world’s most active Twitter city- however the value of social media as a disaster response in Indonesia is mostly discounted. According to iRevolution, ‘ actionable information on rising flood levels could somehow be gleaned from millions of tweets in real-time, these reports could be inaccurate or completely false. Besides, only 3% of tweets on average are geo-located, which means any reliable evidence of flooding reported via Twitter is typically not actionable—that is, unless local residents and responders know where waters are rising, they can’t take tactical action in a timely manner.” A report is considered verified when a confirmed geo-tagged tweet includes a picture of the flooding, like in the tweet below. These confirmed and verified tweets get automatically mapped and also shared with Jakarta’s Emergency Management Agency (Meier 2015).

References

Bruns, A, Burgess, J, Crawford, K & Shaw, F 2012, #qldfloods and @QPSMedia: Crisis Communication on Twitter in the 2011 South East Queensland Floods, Arc Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, pp 7-10, viewed 13 January 2015, <http://www.cci.edu.au/floodsreport.pdf>.

Morris, S, 2015, Using Digital and Social Media During a Crisis, The Quarterly: The Digital Edition, viewed 13 January 2015, http://www.portland-communications.com/publications/the-quarterly-issue-4/using-digital-and-social-media-during-a-crisis/

Meier, P 2015, iRevolution, viewed 13 January 2015 , <http://irevolution.net/>.

Goel V & Ember S 2015, As Paris Terror Attacks Unfolded, Social Media Tools Offered Help in Crisis, The New York Times, viewed 13 January 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/technology/as-paris-terror-attacks-unfolded-social-media-tools-offered-help-in-crisis.html?_r=0

v-marshall-mda20009-blog

You have brought up a very valid point of the verification of reports. While crowdsourcing tools like Facebook and Twitter can be extremely beneficial for crisis communication and emergency management, we mustn’t ignore the repercussions of falsely reported and unverified information when it comes to life and death.

krisosullivan

I think its important that you mentioned how all of this can happen in ‘real time’. Within a matter of seconds of something happening, it can be spread via social media - which could drastically change the outcome of a situation. On the other side of this, it is also important to note that not all information can be regarded as ‘reliable’ and should be evaluated before being taken on face value. Great post!

studentbridget

Hi there

I took a similar viewpoint to you for this week’s blog. Agree that not all information should be believed however the web and in particular social media platforms help to quickly spread messages in times of crisis.

tiarnasaur-deactivated20160706

Week 8 - Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

Recently one of the biggest movements amongst many digital communities has been crowd sourcing. Crowd sourcing provides information or funds to those in need, which is especially useful in times of crisis such as natural disasters and other tragic events.

The rise of crowdsourcing websites comes with the rise of recent websites such as Kickstarter which help companies develop and launch their own products with the help of committed contributors. Another form of crowdsourcing is actually Wikipedia. This website is considered a crowdsourcing website because it gives all members of society the chance to add and change useful information about relevant topics.

Other websites have now become prevalent in helping those in need. These websites rely on the donations of others that are then used to help a certain cause. Many of these causes are people affected by natural disaster as previously demonstrated in Nepal (Meir, 2015) or people who have had great tragedy in their life such as and unexpected death in the family. The use of drones in this event in Nepal has provided a new stepping stone in search and recovery. This is due to human life being saved the dangerous task of having to enter unidentified or dangerous areas. If a drone is able to complete a task such as this what is stopping other things such as driverless aid vehicles being used in situations where it is too dangerous to enter such as war torn zones. Ultimately you’re helping those in need and saving people from being involved in unnecessary conflict.

It does then further beg the question that if you have an event that you deem as terrible will everyone think the same or can you now use crowdsourcing to fund anything and just hope that people have the same view. Further from that, how is one to know the money or information they have donated to that particular cause is being used for what the cause says it is being used for. Crowdsourcing can definitely be used for the modern day con-artist that is for sure!

Recently in times of need it has become apparent that crowdsourcing can be used for good. The Boston Bombings were a recent tragedy that has the power to show the use of crowdsourcing. By using the available crowd police and investigators urged those with any photos or information to come forward and share (Swinburne Online, 2015). The result of this was the successful capture and trial of the major terrorist suspect involved. Without the use of crowdsourcing the suspect may not have been caught as quickly.

Crowdsourcing does generally have a long way to go before it becomes the most feasible and reliable option but currently it is off to a good start. If the technology and information is used correctly crowdsourcing will become a major tool especially in times of crisis.

References

Meir, P 2015,’Introducing WeRobotics’ viewed 10 January 2016, http://irevolution.net

Swinburne Online, 2015, ‘Week Eight: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis’ MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning Material on Blackboard, Swinburne University of technology, Teaching Period 3, September 14, Viewed 13 January 2016.

theresesollazzo-blog

Hi - great post! I agree Kickstarter is an awesome example of crowdsourcing and some great initiatives have come out of it.

studentbridget

Hi there - agree with the points you raised around the authenticity of some of the crowd sourcing movements on the web. I think this is just one of the many issues we have living in a digital world whereby we are so quick to believe everything we see without thinking to do some research to substantiate the information.

foraminutethereilostmyshelf-dea

Selfi(sh) week 9

So this week we covered Visual communities and social imaging.

And we looked at the selfie culture.

Funnily enough I just watched a season of ‘Selfie’ which follows a self absorbed 20-something girl called Eliza Dooley who seeks help from Henry Higgs for an image revamp. It’s a modern day spin on ‘My Fair Lady’ (Eliza Dooley - Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgs = Henry Higgins) where the premise of the film is to improve Eliza’s social status. I won’t spoil the rest.

Take a look at the trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcIFD5VJTpI

Unfortunately the show got cancelled *sad face

I grew up in the 80s 90s and I’m constantly thankful for that. I liked going out alot.

President Obama had some great advice for young kids, “be careful about what you post on Facebook, because in the YouTube age, whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life.” (Williams 2015)

References

clvever news 2004, Selfie Preview Trailer, viewed 20 January,<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcIFD5VJTpI>.

Williams, M 2015, Obama Warns Kids on Stupid Facebook Posts, PC World, viewed 20 January, <http://www.pcworld.com/article/171712/article.html>.

studentbridget

As soon as I read the title of your post I instantly thought of Kim Kardashian’s selfie book called Selfish. I think that in itself highlights the selfie culture we live in! Not sure who in their right mind would purchase a book of Kimmy K selfie’s but there are definitely people out there! On Amazon.com you can pay $13.36 for a copy of the book....

riceage-blog

Blog Post #7; Week 9

Social Media has seen communication around the world reach unprecedented levels. It seems new platforms are consistently being developed and allowing us to share where we have been, what we are doing, and how we feel along the way. This creates what I found to be the very interesting topic of affinity via Social Media and how the millennial generation are finding new ways to feel connected to one another.

Affinity can be described as the feeling of connection between people (Lange 2009, p. 73). Traditional forms of Social Media (Facebook, Twitter etc) are clear examples of how affinity can occur in the digital format, however this becomes more intricate when platforms evolve and the means of communication change. Enter Snapchat. The hugely popular photo & video sharing application is one I have always found odd, and my friends’ obsessions with it even stranger. However when viewed with a sociological mindset, the ingenuity of it becomes intriguing.

Nathan Jurgenson (Farman, 2014) explains “People are taking so many photos today, not because they have a camera with them all the time…the difference is now you have an audience.” This shows a distinct shift in the objective of amateur photography. Rather than the traditional format of taking photos during your vacation, coming home, putting an album together and then inviting your friends & family around to view them. Content is instantly shared and therefore communicates the experience and feelings at the exact time, increasing affinity. This traditional method of amateur photography promoted a thinking that every picture you take in the present, is in preparation of it being your futures past (Farman, 2014). Meaning it could only be enjoyed later in the future, by which time it was truly over. Snapchat has revolutionized this by introducing ephemerality to the formula.

Traditional Social Media provides you with a focal point of conversation. A photo may be posted, and then communication will ensue around that in the form of likes or comments. However by taking away the ability to comment or like, and making the content temporary (just like a real life moment), the content now becomes the communication itself (Harman, 2014).

When examined with a sociological view it becomes clear why Snapchat is the poster-child for a new generation of messaging apps (Herman, 2014). Broken down to its fundamentals, it changes the way we share experiences together and increases affinity between people. Rather than seeing a photo with bad lighting or a video with terrible sound a week after the event happened, the ephemeral Snapchat communicates the experience by plugging the recipient into the emotion and excitement of that exact moment.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go update ‘My Story’.

References

Farman, J 2014, Photography, Self-Documentation & Social Media: An Interview with Nathan Jurgenson, 16 June, viewed 20 January 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnPtZ5IKDHo>

Herman, J 2014, Meet the Man Who Got Inside Snapchat’s Head, BuzzFeed 28 January, viewed 20 January 2016, <http://www.buzzfeed.com/wherrman/meet-the-unlikely-academic-behind-snapchats-new-pitch#3dlvjg2>

Lange, P 2009, Videos of Affinity on YouTube, in P, Snickars & P, Vonderau (eds), The YouTube Reader, National Library of Sweden, Stockholm, pp70-88

studentbridget

Hi Matt

Agree with your opinion here. It is as if an event or milestone didn't happen unless someone puts it on their Snapchat story! I shouldn't be too quick to judge though as recently, I have been using Snapchat more frequently than Facebook and Instagram. I think part of the appeal with Snapchat is there is no permanency. So if you upload something which doesn't have the best lighting or sound (as you mentioned), it really doesn't matter because people will only glance at it as opposed to ‘liking’ it.

I’m currently watching the internet wage a meme war on Hillary Clinton, as Bernie Sanders supporters try to paint her as an out of touch robot, while he’s instead a cool, hip grandpa. It’s much more civilized than the Republican dogfight, given its distinct lack of Trump, and certainly nowhere near as harsh as the GOP’s 25+ year attempting nuking of Hillary Clinton, which continues to this day, though it’s a bit eye-rolling all the same. But there’s one aspect of Hillary Clinton’s career that sticks out in my mind and in the minds of probably quite a few gamers close to my age, her 2005 war on violent video games.

A different view to mine regarding violent online video games and relevant given the impending US Presidential election.

v-marshall-mda20009-blog

Gaming: the newly-found benefits

Week 10: Social gaming - playing the crowd

With up to 65 percent of gaming now social, it seems like the “loner game” is long gone (Fiegi, 2011). Nowadays, computer games can be played either online or in the same room with friends and family (Fiegi, 2011).

In May 2014, Siegal reported 34 million core gamers in the United States alone, with each gamer spending approximately 22 hours every week playing video games (Siegal, 2014). For online multiplayer games like FarmVille and World of Warcraft, gaming rules and boundaries are reinforced to establish a field of interaction - competitive, social, cultural and commercial exchange (de Zwart & Humphreys, 2014, p.77).

Gaming has traditionally come under fire for its ability to cause social exclusion and exposure to violent media. However, recent studies have gone to show that playing games with people can provide to have health and social benefits, such as increasing trust and the ability to collaborate with others (Fiegi, 2011).

So as gaming continues to combine our real and virtual worlds, how healthy can gaming really be?

There have been endless studies on the negative sides of gaming including addiction, depression, aggression, social exclusion and intellectual laziness. However, new research is shedding light on the social and psychological benefits of gaming and the importance of a more balanced perspective.

According to a review of research in ‘American Psychologist’, ‘playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning. health and social skills’ (Bowen, 2014). The review also credited gaming for helping to improve problem-solving skills, building resilience in the face of failure and other cognitive skills such as ‘spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception’ (Bowen, 2014).

So it can be argued - if antisocial games are believed to cause to antisocial behaviour, then perhaps playing prosocial games can lead to prosocial behaviour? A recent study published in the Journal of Psychology and Social Psychology, found that participants who had just participated in a prosocial game compared to individuals who had played a neutral game were ‘more likely to engage in helpful behaviours such as picking up a box of pencils spilled by the experimenter or agreeing to volunteer to take part in additional research without any further compensation’ (Rutledge, 2010).

For an old soul like myself, I personally value experiences that I can share with friends in real time. However, as our society becomes more and more technology based, it’s important that we understand and value the positive, social and communal aspects of gaming. To quote Isabela Granic, PhD of Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands, “if playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a fundamental emotional benefit to consider” (Bowen, 2014).

References:

Bowen, L 2014, Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits, review finds, American Psychological Association, vol. 45, no. 2, p.10.

Fiegi, A 2011, Jane McGonigal on how computer games make you smarter, Smithsonian Magazine, viewed 17 January 2016, <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/jane-mcgonigal-on-how-computer-games-make-you-smarter-22964/?no-ist>.

Fogerty, E 2016, Are there any social aspects or benefits to children’s video games?, viewed 31 January 2016, <http://comm482.weebly.com/erin-fogerty-final-paper.html>.

Routledge, C 2010, The social benefits of video gaming, Psychology Today, viewed 31 January 2016, <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/more-mortal/201006/the-social-benefits-video-gaming>.

Siegal, J 2014, This is how much time the average gamer spends playing games every week, BGR, viewed 17 January 2016, <http://bgr.com/2014/05/14/time-spent-playing-video-games/>.

Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014, The lawless frontier of deep space: code as law in EVE online, Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 77-99.

#mda20009 #gaming #computer #virtual #addiction #benefits #social

krisosullivan

I’m also not a huge gamer online - intact, i don’t even think I have any gaming apps on my phone. It’s interesting to see how many people really do interact games online. I am always getting notifications on Facebook saying “So and so has invited you to play Candy Crush!” - Personally, I think - who has the time?!

studentbridget

Hi there

I took a similar approach to this week’s blog as you, discussing the health risks and benefits of online gaming. I think that perhaps online gaming has a bad wrap due to some of the media coverage it has gotten in the past that has connected violent online video games with violent acts in real life. I agree with these reports in some instances, as playing a violent game for hours on end whereby there are no repercussions for killing people or committing violent acts cannot be good for someone. I personally don’t see the attraction of online video games however can see that for people who are not comfortable at communicating in real life, there is a real appeal.

Shy people are more likely to make more friends in online games, according to a new study by psychologists at the University of Münster.

Interesting article around people making friends through online gaming.

theresesollazzo-blog

Week 10: Social gaming: playing the crowd

This week I am bit of a fish out of water - When it comes to gaming I really haven’t a clue since the days of Nintendo 64! Therefore trying to understand this week’s readings on Eve Online was a bit challenging with no context, so like with anything foreign these days I ‘goggled’ it and a whole lot of spaceships came up! I’m sorry if you’re a gamer reading this. You probably just cringed… But if Penny can do it and beat Sheldon too, then there is still hope for me!

Particular characteristics of online games in facilitating digital communities and online publics can be defined by their type of massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs), which are online games that are capable of supporting large numbers of players simultaneously in the same instance, or world (Technopedia 2014).

So MMORPGs are ‘video games’ that allow hundreds or thousands of simultaneous players, on a PSP, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DSi - providing they are connected to the Internet! Right?

In exploring some of the processes of forming rules and norms (and breaking them) - or ‘codes of practice’ within online gaming communities, de Zwart and Humphreys’ article discusses that a typical MMOG such as EVE will involve layers of overlapping and potentially conflicting rule sets. The law, norms, architecture and the market are all factors that can affect the regulation, as present in the governance of MMO game EVE. In breaking the rules, this reading mentions that players learn to play with and against the code, and it is this tension between control and creativity that keeps the game space interesting (de Zwart and Humphreys 2014, p.79)

The growing popularity for MMOs I think is an implication of these cases for how we can understand digital communities more broadly. From what I have understood, your traditional single player games as a result are being developed into multi-player online games, with their own digital communities, that can include anything from ranking charts to their own official gaming events. Digital communities have reinvented the gaming world by connecting players from all over the world and as a result the gaming industry has exploded. Massively Multiplayer Online Games have now grown into 15 distinct categories:

MMORPG: MMO Role Playing Games – Harry Potter

MMOBA: MMO Battle Arena – League of Legends

MMORTS: MMO Real Time Strategy Games – Age of Empires, Rise of Nations, War of Legends

MMOFPS: MMO First Person Shooter Games – Counter Strike, Unreal Tournament, Halo, Planetside

MMOSG(sports): MMO Sports Games – FIFA, Pro-Evolution Soccer

MMOR: MMO Racing Games – Need for Speed, Drift City, Project Torque

MMORG/MMODG: MMO Rythm/Music Games or MMO Dancing Games – Dance Dance Revolution, Audition Online

MMOMG: MMO Management Games – The Sims Online, Monopoly City Streets, Virtonomics

MMOSG(social): MMO Social Games – Second Life, Club Caribe, Everquest, Dotsoul, Furcadia

MMOBBG/MMOBBRPG: MMO Bulletin Board Games or MMO Bulletin Board Role Playing Games – Quest For Magic, BladeMaster

MMOPG: MMO Puzzle Games – Three Rings, Puzzle Pirates

MMOCCG: MMO Collectible Card Games – Magic:The Gathering Online, Alteil, Astral Masters, Astral Tournament

MMO alternate reality games – Second Life

MMO Turn based Strategy Games – Ultracorps, Darkwind:War on Wheels

MMO Simulation Games: Equilibrium/Arbitrage, The Sims Online, Jumpgate

Apparently what makes MMOGs so addictive is the sense of meaningfully interacting with thousands of people halfway across the globe. Games like the World War II create an actual war-like simulation, while those like FIFA or Pro-Evolution Soccer reproduce an entire Soccer stadium virtually. And for a non-gamer like me, I think that’s pretty cool! (Germino 2013)

On that note I would like to conclude my last blog entry on a positive note. I have really enjoyed keeping this blog. It’s been a great way to share my learnings and interact with other students and I hope reading has been just as enjoyable for you.

Therese

Germino J, 2013, 16 Different Types of Massively Multiplayer (MMO) Online Games, Dragon Blogger, accessed 29/1/16

What is Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG)? - Definition from Techopedia, accessed 29/1/16

De Zwart, Melissa and Humphreys, Sal. The lawless frontier of deep space: Code as law in EVE online [online]. Cultural Studies Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, Mar 2014: 77-99. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=225934593111540;res=IELAPA> ISSN: 1446-8123. [cited 29 Jan 16].

dig-comms-life-blog

Hey Therese!

I must say I’m in the same boat as you - I was equally as lost, going through the Week 10 reading. Lots of re-reading and Googling was done!

Isn’t it great to witness/read about the enormous transition the gaming industry has made? From creating relatively solitary one-player games, to becoming a virtual community in itself, full of games hosting hundreds of thousands of players from all around the globe! It’s like a mini-real life community. What’s next? It’d be cool to see a virtual sort of futuristic reality, where fellow gamers are able to play the game as if it’s happening in real life, almost able to touch their competitors and team mates even though they’re on the other side of the globe. Maybe I’m just using my imagination a little too much! :P

It’s been great reading your posts. 😊

Tina

studentbridget

Hi Therese

Similar to you, I have absolutely no idea about the online gaming world so this week was difficult for me to understand also. I agree with your sentiments surrounding the multi-player games creating digital communities that are not bound by geographic location. Pretty amazing that people who have a common interest can convene online and become friends without ever meeting in real life

I posted an article about shy people making friends online which is quite interesting and relevant to our learning of digital communities

Bridget

Week 10: Social gaming: Playing the crowd

Online games are more often than not connected to a social media account. For example, Farmville and Candy Crush offer you more points and benefits if you invite some of your friends to play over social media. In many cases this results in people spamming their friends’ accounts and their game status becoming visible on their Facebook profile. Online games have become incredibly interactive and sophisticated whereby you are operating in a virtual reality and can communicate with others online using chat and videoing functions (Swinburne Online 2016). This creates an online community whereby people with similar interests such as the game can interact and share stories or in some case bully each other over the game under the guise of a username.

In the past, people who wanted to engage in a multiplayer game would have to be connected to the same gaming device in the same location, such as a PlayStation or Xbox whereas now people who live in opposing ends of the world can log on and play with or against each other without having to actually meet in real life.

Many of the top ranking online games involve the construction of virtual communities such as Sims, World of Warcraft and Farmville. Interestingly, people operate in these online environments as they would in a normal environment such as working, cleaning, buying goods and services etc.

Online games allow people to operate in virtual words where they trade goods and have an allocation of money which in some cases disassociates people from the real world. This is can be detrimental to a person’s ability to operate in a normal community and sometimes sees them retract back into their online world to avoid having to deal with real life trials and tribulations that we all face as functioning members of society (Ólafsson 2013, p. 45).

References Staksrud, E, Ólafsson, K & Livingstone, S 2013, ‘Does the use of social networking sites increase children’s risk of harm?’ Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 29, no. 1 pp.40-50.

Swinburne Online 2016, ‘Week 10: Social gaming: playing the crowd’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, teaching period 3, viewed 3 February 2016.

#mda20009

Week 9: Visual communities and social imaging

It is estimated that there is around 1.75 billion smartphone users around the world (Srivastava 2014) meaning that over 1.75 billion people have the capacity to take photos using their phones. Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and even the emailing site Outlook allow photo sharing which paves way for an array of ethical issues regarding the ownership of our own image (Swinburne Online 2016). Even by simply typing your name into Google Images there is a good change your Facebook profile picture will be evident which could compromise your personal security if it fell into the wrong hands.

Working in Government, there is very strict protocol surrounding the use of people’s personal images and talent release forms must be signed and submitted for any business use of anyone’s image. In my office this includes talent release forms for people who have submitted personal articles to feature in the Chief Executives monthly newsletter, which is only accessible by members of the department. While this seems like a bit of a hassle seeing as we are all colleagues, it highlights the importance of people having ownership over their personal images. On the talent release form it asks you to decide on what platforms your image can be used on for example, for social media campaigns, bus wraps, website content, in publications etc.

A social media matchmaking site such as Tinder is virtually based on a person’s image and relies heavily on the incredibly popular ‘selfie’. A selfie is defined as self-portrait which is shared on social media (Swinburne Online 2016) and is incredibly popular and present on other social media sites, not just matchmaking ones.

While people who are users of these types of social media and allow photos of themselves online consent to do this, there are some instances in which peoples images are stolen and used to create fake online accounts. The television program Catfish shows how easy it is for this to be done simply through copying someone’s profile picture on Facebook and recreating your profile content to be whatever you want it to be. This can be detrimental if someone uses another person’s image and identity and conducts menacing or bullying online behaviour.

Srivastava A 2014, ‘2 Billion Smartphone Users By 2015 : 83% of Internet Usage From Mobiles [Study]’ viewed 2 February 2016, <http://www.dazeinfo.com/2014/01/23/smartphone-users-growth-mobile-internet-2014-2017/>

Swinburne Online 2016, ‘Week 9: Visual communities and social imaging’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, teaching period 3, viewed 3 February 2016.

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#mda20009

Week 8: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

Social media has become an important tool and resource in times of crisis. For example weather warnings, emergency updates and even warnings to avoid certain areas because of car crashes are now primarily distributed through social media. This is due to the accessibly and fast paced nature of social media. In previous times warnings of this nature were typically delivered through radio however as the web have developed and evolved as to the popularity of smart phones, social media has become the preferred method of crisis communication. During the 2012 Queensland floods the hashtag #qldfloods was used over 35000 times (Bruns et. al. 2012 p. 8) to share stories, warnings and requests for help. This type of movement shows solidarity and can help people feel involved in times of need such as during a crisis. During the emergency over 50 percent of the hashtag usage was retweets (re-posting existing information) which meant that the messages were more visible to others and could help to keep them safe. The most powerful social media account accessed during the crisis was that of the Queensland Police Media Unit which saw all of its messaging being retweeted meaning that others who did not directly follow Queensland Police Media Unit’s account would also receive the information (Bruns et. al. 2012 p. 9).

Similarly, during the 2013 bushfires in New South Wales, social media was used to warn people of impending fires and keep people up to date on the status of the fires and their homes (onMedia 2014). Much like the Queensland floods the hashtag for the crisis was #nswfires which allowed people to share advice, experiences and photographs in an instant. Additionally, emergency crews could keep people up to date with what was going on. Some photographs that were shared became globally recognised and were used by overseas news sites (onMedia 2014). In some respects, despite the atrocity of the fires, the idea that people across the world were receiving the images and sympathising with the experience the victims were going through shows the positive nature of social media and the digital communities we live in.

References

Bruns, A, Burgess, J, Crawford, K & Shaw, F 2012, #qldfloods and @QPSMedia: Crisis Communication on Twitter in the 2011 South East Queensland Floods, Arc Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, pp 7-10, viewed 17 September 2015, <http://www.cci.edu.au/floodsreport.pdf>

onMedia 2014, Interactive and Social Media Documenting Australian Bushfires, viewed 22 September 2015, <http://onmedia.dw-akademie.de/english/?p=13759>.

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