Student Wizard

MDA20009 Learning Group 02 Assignment 1: Blog Jubillee Pagsuyuin, 9789855

[nathanielsamuels-blog]

Week 10 - Social Gaming

Social gaming is defined as the activity of playing na online game on a social media platform with the emphasis on communicating online with other players. It is now a very popular past time for many people in society as it allows users to immerse themselves in a different reality and enables them to express themselves in ways that they may not be able to in the real world.

Ever Quest and World of Warcraft were two of the first social games available to the public to and which gained traction through its use of 3d engines to make the game more realistic. These games became very popular due to the advancements in technology and internet connectivity. For example statistics show that in 2010 at its peak there were over 12 million subscribers to world of warcraft ! To put that into persepective that’s nearly half of Australia’s population!!.

Have a look at the trailer for the new expansion pack for WoW

Social gaming in society today is something that is seen as the norm, I can almost gurantee that you yourself or one of your friends is a social gamer. What makes this such a popular past time is the interaction between other players across the world, you can be storming an enemy’s base with people from China or Switzerland in battlefield to racing cars  against people from Dubai in gran turismo. Social gaming however like any past time needs to be done in moderation, gaming addiction is one of the issues that do effect many people and in some countries such as China and Korea where social gaming is part of daily life, rehabilitation centres have been setup to counter this issue. Recent studies have shown that addiction to online gaming can stem from social media itself. Offers that are promoted on these platforms such as try before you buy lure users into the game. Incentives such as in game purchases and items is another way to get users to keep playing.

[studentwizard99-blog]

What an informative post, I didn’t know that over half of the Australian population plays online games. Do you think online games benefit our society?

[nathanielsamuels-blog]

Week 9 - Visual Communities and Social Imaging

For this week we looked at visual communities and social imaging. The saying a picture is worth a thousand words is one that definitely portrays how important they can be with the use of social media. There are several platforms that are dedicated to visual communities, one of the most popular ones being youtube. Youtube began in April 23 2005 with the first video being uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim titled Me at the Zoo. From its inception back in 2005 youtub has grown exponentially to now be one of the largest repositories for videos and movies in the world. Whether you want to learn how to bake a cake to watching a review on the latest and greatest gadgets available today youtube has a video for you. What makes youtube so appealing is that anyone can upload a video and share it with other people around the world from videos taken on smartphones to properly edited videos from media companies it’s all on youtube for you to browse. I for example use youtube to upload videos of some of the trackdays and car races I complete in here in Sydney, so I can share these with my friends but also provide some knowledge on the best racing lines to take to go around faster. 

Heres a video i uploaded 

Videos and social media can be a powerful tool that can be used for things like protests and activism, showing a video or a picture of a riot or police brutality has a much greater impact that just words when stirring the community in trying to bring about reform or awareness.

Like many things designed for social media there is always an aspect of sharing videos and images that needs to be taken into account such as privacy and safety of social media users. Youtube,facebook (….lol!!)  and many other social media platforms have privacy policies that are moderated quite strongly to prevent unwanted images and videos being made available to the public.

[studentwizard99-blog]

The privacy issue in these social media platforms have been in the forefront of this week’s conversation. Many users seems to understand that there is a separation between your private and public lives but some are still gullible to know that there are people out there who will take advantage of this. 

[sarahcat26-blog]

Crowdsourcing in Time of Crisis

Whilst this weeks learning was about Crowdsourcing I was unaware of this being a particular topic related to digital communities. I had never thought of it in this aspect however upon researching this topic I discovered I use it more often than I thought. Crowdsourcing is traditionally referred to as an open call – or open invitation for a “crowd” (aka: a group of people) to offer their expertise to complete a task for your business (Business Review, 2014). CFA and local authorities express the current situations to all the followers to ensure we are all safe. On another level we express our concerns when a pet goes missing and with the power of social media and sharing threads some outcomes become positive ones due to the power of people online. We also can relate when a community doesn’t approve of a councils movement a petition will be created to try and be heard as a group of people with the same opinions.

While there are many benefits to Crowdsourcing, there are also some scenarios that have gone wrong. When customers become disgruntled by a business they may react in a negative way or just come up with very bad ideas. M&M’s put out to its consumers for some new flavour ideas. This resulted in chilli M&Ms, whilst dark chocolate and chilli does work this combination for M&Ms did not (Zetland 2016). Another similar experience of Lay’s crowdsourcing new flavours, consumers went to the vote with cappuccino flavoured chips. Who knew that this would even be thought of, I do love coffee however having it as a chip flavour just doesn’t sit well with me.

Throughout times of crisis the ability to reach multiple thousands of people within an instant can be a lifesaver for some. Whilst it’s cheap and easily accessed for many, emergencies authorities need to ensure that they are using the resources they have effectively otherwise crowds may share informations that can often be inaccurate or misrepresented, particularly in emergency response situations (Ford, 2012).

Overall crowdsourcing is an effective tool for many companies or crisis. With technology always improving the overall accuracy of crisis situations can be better managed with the use of crowdsourcing. There still may need improvements to legality of some crisis situations (due to the possibility of misleading events) however overall with newer adaptations continually evolving I look forward to seeing more adaptations with crowdsourcing in the near future.   

Business Review Australia 2014, Top 10 movers & shakers in Australian crowdsourcing, Businessreviewaustralia.com, viewed 15th May 2018, <http://www.businessreviewaustralia.com/top10/1172/Top-10-movers-shakers-in-Australian-crowdsourcing>.

Daily Mail 2014, “Lays to start selling ‘Cappuccino’ potato chips”, Mail Online, viewed 20 May, 2018, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2694519/Wake-smell-coffee-flavored-potato-chips-Lays-start-selling-Cappuccino-crisps.html>.

Ford, H 2012, ‘Crowd Wisdom’, Index on Censorship, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 33-39.

Zetland, M 2016, “The 5 Biggest Crowdsourcing Fails of All Time”, Inc.com, viewed 20 May, 2018, <https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/the-5-biggest-crowdsourcing-fails-of-all-time-.html>.

[studentwizard99-blog]

Crowdsourcing seems to be the way to go moving forward. It is useful not just in times of crisis but also when start ups require specialised talent and skill or publicly funded capital. 

[kateayoung-blog]

Dealing with cyberbullies in the online playground

Not so long ago, the internet was a very different place. In the year 2000, it was all dial tones and askjeeves.com, and social connectivity meant sending emails back and forth. Now the internet isn’t so much a tool as it is an augmentation of ourselves, where your online presence is just as (if not more) important, as your physical presence. Your friends, family and strangers alike are always with you, in a digital form at least, ready and willing to offer their two cents with the click of a button. But in this new virtual space, the rules are somehow different. There’s no need for niceties or genuine human interaction, and ethical norms and social conventions are challenged and renegotiated every day (boyd 2012, p. 75). We live in an “economy of attention”(McCosker 2014, p. 203), and being seen and heard matters above all else.

Code Name Melania - click here to see the rest - it’s worth it

Cyberbullying and trolling are hot topics in the media these days. Even Melania Trump, has named fighting cyberbullies as her chosen cause (an interesting choice, for obvious reasons). Taking schoolyard fights online is the norm now (boyd 2014, p. 130), following kids home with a relentless verbal bashing in the palm of their hand. And it’s not just the youths that have gone wild. Fully grown adults are tearing each other apart all over the internet from the comfort of their own homes, some more sinister, and others just messing with people for fun. Our inability to be decent human beings when given a platform has reached epidemic proportions, but the question remains – is this a social media issue, or have our real-world conflicts just found a new home?

My schooling experience seemed to coincide with a major shift in online behaviours. In primary school, I had nothing more than an e-mail address (cyber_kitty – in hindsight a terrible idea) and a Neopets account. My tweenage years saw a boom in instant messaging, and the couple of valuable hours of internet access I had each afternoon were spent discussing (and causing) drama amongst my friendship circles. The scariest things on the internet were perverted chat rooms, which I was strictly forbidden from entering. LiveJournal, Bebo and MySpace changed the game though. Suddenly our young lives and tortured teenage souls were on show to the outside world and an influx of ‘anonymous’ users. Meanness had always existed, but on notes passed around the classroom or in a lunchtime gossip session. With social media though, the attacks could come from anywhere and anyone, long after the school bell had rung. The difference for my Nokia 3310-wielding generation though was that we had the choice to disconnect – an affordance that isn’t plausible for many in 2018.

These online behaviours have serious consequences. Studies suggest that over 33% of youths in the U.S. have been the victim of cyberbullying and that young victims are twice as likely to attempt suicide and/or self-harm. Most alarmingly, there is a rising trend of young people bullying themselves via anonymous or fake social media accounts (boyd 2014, p. 141; Fraga 2018), perhaps for attention or maybe to validate their own feelings of hopelessness. There is no doubt that young people, who seem particularly attached to their devices, are especially susceptible to these kinds of attacks, however, it is also important to consider that many victims are often also perpetrators (Ewens 2017). The veil of anonymity that platforms offer, combined with this strange perceived notion that online activities don’t have real-world consequences, have taken “freedom of speech” to a scary new level. This “cyberbullying” umbrella term has also blurred the lines between plain old conflict and downright harassment, further changing our perceptions of how we are allowed to treat each other, and what the ramifications will be when we do so (boyd 2014, p. 132).

Bullying and general nastiness have always existed. And there is no doubt that this new constant state of connectivity and public exposure has upped the ante, and unpoliced social media platforms are the weapon of choice. It seems inappropriate to approach this as a “social media issue” though, and nor does it seem right to say our antics have moved to a “new home”. There is no longer a separation between cyberspace and the physical universe, and with the affordances of constant communication, it makes sense for an exponential rise in meanness to coincide. I see no end in sight, as platform-based regulation can only ever truly be as effective as our own abilities to be decent human beings. And is logging off truly worth the risk of becoming invisible?

References

boyd, d 2012, ‘Participating in the Always-On Lifestyle’, in M Mandiberg (ed.) The Social Media Reader,  NYU Press, New York, pp. 71-76.

boyd, d 2014, It’s complicated: the social lives of networked teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Ewens, H 2017, 'The Ugly Evolution of Cyberbullying’, Vice, 1 September, Available at <https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/gyy8kq/the-ugly-evolution-of-cyberbullying> (Accessed 22 May 2018).

Fraga, J 2018, 'When Teens Cyberbully Themselves’, NPR, 21 April, Available at <https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/21/604073315/when-teens-cyberbully-themselves> (Accessed 22 May 2018).

McCosker, A 2014, 'Trolling as provocation: YouTube’s agonistic publics’, Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.

Images and video

‘Celebrities Read Mean Tweets #7’ 2014 [video], Jimmy Kimmel Live, viewed 27 May 2018, <https://youtu.be/imW392e6XR0>.

‘Code Name Melania: Secret Agent Fighting Cyber Bullying’ 2017 [image], Ward Sutton, The New Yorker, viewed 27 May 2018, <https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/code-name-melania-secret-agent-fighting-cyberbullying>.

[studentwizard99-blog]

You are right when you said that ‘There is no longer a separation between cyberspace and the physical universe’. The question is, how do we truly disconnect? 

[kateayoung-blog]

Clicking your way to freedom - does social media activism translate to real world change?

In 2011, Time Magazine named Wael Ghonim as one of the Most Influential People of the Year. Via a Facebook group he had led the call for thousands to take to the streets of Cairo, the start of a series of events that would inevitably lead to the overthrow of a 30-year regime (ElBaradei 2011). Reaching the masses via Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, this “Facebook revolution”, as the media liked to call it (Shearlaw 2016), was one of many events that would occur in the middle east and surrounding areas during the Arab Spring. Social media platforms proved themselves as an incredibly useful tool for mobilisation, as well as for spreading news to the outside world in a regime-controlled media landscape, setting the benchmark for future activists. 

Indeed, two years later when revolution occurred again in Egypt, it was social media calls that brought the masses back to Tahrir Square (Shearlaw 2016). Across the Mediterranean, the people of Turkey too were feeling the buzz of the Arab Spring. When protests broke out in Istanbul, Twitter and Facebook became the primary sources of information for those occupying Gezi Park and foreign news outlets alike, circumventing the news blackouts sanctioned by the Turkish government and broadcasters (Hutchinson 2013). Rattled by the wavelike effect of social platforms, the Prime Minister of Turkey went as far as calling them a “menace to society” (Knibbs 2013). But looking back on these events, is it the hashtags or the images of thousands gathered in public squares that are burnt in your memory?

Whilst the likes of Facebook and Twitter undoubtedly played important roles in mobilising support, to credit them with the success of actual change is to do a disservice to those who were on the ground and their circumstances. In 2013, I decided to pack a bag and head off to Turkey and Egypt. Unbeknownst to me (or perhaps due to my inability to follow the news), I was about to waltz into two countries on the brink of revolution. I was quickly made aware of my error when I pranced out of my hostel in Istanbul on Day 1, straight into a cloud of tear gas – word to the wise, the term “tear gas” is a gross understatement of where exactly it’s going to hurt i.e. everywhere. On the day we went up to Taksim Square, we weren’t met with a mob of thousands, armed with their phones, fiercely tweeting, but rather a disillusioned public physically occupying a space, whilst being met with a violent pushback by police. The protests that defined these pro-democracy uprisings across the middle east certainly had social media in common, but so too were their factors of years of state repression and social issues, and a people ready for change (Shearlaw 2016; Youmans & York 2012, p. 316).

In the digital age, where the activist population is equipped with mobile technology, social media serves the same role that the newspaper or flyer did for previous movements (Gerbaudo 2012, p. 4). Offering a public space for expression and information distribution, anger, pride and shared experience combine in online forums and often translate into real world action (Gerbaudo 2012, p. 14; Youmans & York 2012, p. 315). Posting the locations and intentions of protestors on public forums, however, comes with its risks. Open to the public also means open to government security officials, and with that a risk to personal safety. These causes also fall victim to the trolls that run rampant on the internet and ever-present instigators of moral outrage. As put by Ghonim, when speaking about the current state of activism in Egypt, “the same tool that united us to topple dictators eventually tore us apart” (Shearlaw 2016). 

Opening the gates of a movement to anybody who has a social media account also places unrealistic expectations on its success. The ease of action means users are quick to identify as supporters when it comes to clicking ‘Join’ or ‘Like’, or adding the odd hashtag to a selfie at a safe distance from the action, but not so quick to picket. Yet those whose social feeds are filled with their symbolic good deeds reap the same satisfaction of meaningful impact as those camping out in city centres – and this mentality trickles all the way down from revolutions to charity fundraisers. In fact, studies suggest that those who offer token support are no more likely at all to offer substantial monetary or physical contributions to a cause (Kristofferson, White & Peloza 2014).

In a society driven by likes and followers, and the perceived social status they award, adding the title of ‘Activist’ to your profile is all too appealing. Whether it boils down to laziness or a genuine belief that a retweet will feed a starving child in Africa or end a civil war, the role of social media in creating meaningful change is dubious. I appreciate the positive effects social campaigns like #MeToo and #NeverAgainMSD have had on raising awareness of existing social issues and mobilising supporters, but I’m yet to be convinced that social media really deserves the “revolutionary” praise it receives. But unlike almost everything else in my life, I’d love to be proven wrong on this one!

References

ElBaradei, M 2011, ‘The 2011 Time 100: Wael Ghonim’, Time, 21 April 2011, Available at <http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066369_2066437,00.html> (Accessed 11 May 2018).

Gerbaudo, P 2012, Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Pluto Press, London.

Hutchinson, S 2013, 'Social media plays major role in Turkey protests’, BBC News, 4 June 2013, Available at <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22772352> (Accessed 12 May 2018).

Knibbs, K 2013, 'Arrested for tweeting in Turkey: The social media machine of the #Occupygezi movement’, Digital Trends, viewed 11 May 2018, <https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/the-invaluable-role-of-social-media-in-occupygezi-and-protest-culture/>.

Kristofferson, K, White, K & Peloza, J 2014, 'The Nature of Slacktivism: How the Social Observability of an Initial Act of Token Support Affects Subsequent Prosocial Action’, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 1149-1166.

Shearlaw, M 2016, 'Egypt five years on: was it ever a 'social media revolution’?’, The Guardian, 25 January 2016, Available at <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/25/egypt-5-years-on-was-it-ever-a-social-media-revolution> (Accessed 10 May 2018).

Images and video

‘A man during the 2011 Egyptian protests carrying a card saying “Facebook, #jan25, The Egyptian Social Network” illustrating the vital role played by social networks in initiating the uprising.’ 2011 [image], Essay Sharaf, viewed 12 May 2018, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2011_Egyptian_protests_Facebook_%26_jan25_card.jpg>.

‘Hashtag activism’ 2017 [image], Eric Allie, Furious Diaper, viewed 11 May 2018, <http://furiousdiaper.com/2014/05/14/hashtag-activism/>.

‘Your ‘Like’ Doesn’t Help Charities, It’s Just Slacktivism’ 2013 [video], DNews, Seeker, viewed 10 May 2018, <https://youtu.be/efVFiLigmbc>.

[studentwizard99-blog]

Social Media is really changing the way we protest and it gives us a platform on how to be heard. Growing up in the Philippines, I was a student activist against the Estrada Government. Back then we march on the streets to make a point, I was part of the ‘People Power 2′ revolution that ousted the Estrada Government. However, now it is much easier than that. To be called a social media activist, just post something regarding the latest campaign and place the hashtag associated to it like the #metoo and #alschallenge campaigns. 

[irenephillips79-blog]

To (delete-report-block) Troll, or not to (delete-report-block) Troll, that is the question?

In 2018 I’m one of the blessed citizens within a digital community who actively participates on social media sites that have not been trolled, and if I have, it has been unmemorable. But, I am a cautious user also, I have Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts (active) and have multiple other socials accounts which are mostly dormant. I use forums for professional use only and all of them are nurturing, inclusive and educational,  I am also well past my high school years (thankfully). In this day and age, I feel tremendous anxiety for teens as not only are they navigating self-discovery, their placement within a community, but have to contend with online interactions as well.

With all of this swirling around in their pubescence heads they then endeavour to cope with online trolling and cyberbullying behaviours also and sometimes participate in (frenemies anyone?). 67% of trolling victims are American young adults aged between 18 to 29 years of age (Duggan 2017), but Interesting Boyd noted teens do not look at trolling or bullying the same way as adults, after much research she found teens label most of these behaviours as ‘dramas’ instead (Boyd 2014).

Is this perhaps because they have grown up in a time where this is a common expectation of navigating adolescence, therefore under-play the intentions. Either way, Internet trolling has now become an epidemic with many celebrities and politicians closing their Twitter accounts to remove themselves from being victimised. The anonymity the Internet offers from consequences is obvious, as government bodies are now ever evolving their policies on online harassment and the term “just trolling” is commonplace and has begun to promote a “normalises hate and encourage an unlikely social dystopia defined by an idol, ironic, detachment arrived at the terms of the harnesser” (PBS 2016). This sentence is scary but true. To delve further into this statement click here to view PBS’s Youtube video on the subject.

But it is not only young adults affect, Donald Trump is renowned for promoting his followers into trolling his adversaries and has been said to have’ “indirectly got his Twitter followers to attack GOP political strategist Cheri Jacobus so severely that her lawyers sent him a cease-and-desist order” (Stein 2016). So how do we eradicate this behaviour if the leader of the free world is promoting it?

Sarah Silverman could answer that question. Silverman was recently trolled on Twitter and instead of evoking her inner soap-box, she responded with kindness, “I believe in you. I read ur [sic] timeline & I see what ur [sic] doing & your rage is thinly veiled pain” (Klein 2018). Bravo to her in leading the charge rendering this troll powerless.

Although there is still the ability to remain anonymous, especially on Twitter. To simply log-on, troll, log-off and forget damages done, it will not remain so as there is a big push for legislative changes and the spotlight is on. The time of the troll is coming to an end, and as Bob Dylan said in 1964 'The Times They Are A-Changin’ (54321p 2013). Trollers Beware.

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.

Duggan M, 2017, Online Harassment 2017, Pew Research Centre, viewed 29 April 2018, <http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/07/11/online-harassment-2017/>.

Klein A, 2018, A Sexist Troll Attacked Sarah Silverman. She Responded By Helping Him With His Problems, The Washinton Post, viewed 29 April 2018, <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/01/08/a-man-trolled-sarah-silverman-on-twitter-she-ended-up-helping-him-with-his-medical-problems/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a5ad7e87915d>.

PBS Idea Channel 2016, When Is A Troll No Longer A Troll, 21 September, viewed 29 April 2018 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x69Y61ThyV0>.

Stein J, 2016, How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet, Time, viewed 29 April 2018, <http://time.com/4457110/internet-trolls/>.

54321p 2013, The Times They Are A Changin, 27 December, viewed 29 April  2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ>.

[studentwizard99-blog]

I am not as lucky as you, I was bullied when I was growing up in the ‘90s. I was the ‘fat-ugly’ kid but I always had a way to escape. I feel the same as you, I feel anxious in thinking that our young people suffers bullying without a way of escaping. It is one of the downside of always being connected.

[gem-vs-ba-mcmns-blog]

1B: Week 9 - Visual communities and social imaging

The selfie.

(Source: https://giphy.com/gifs/superbowl-commercials-2016-butterfinger-xT0BKmiSjvaBgCh13G)

It’s certainly not a new concept.

(Source: https://gifer.com/en/AA2L)

From carving our own likenesses into cave walls 20,000 years ago (Vallencourt & Poolos 2015, p. viii) to artists painting self-portraits over the centuries, we’ve been selfie…ing since long before photography was invented in 1839 (Vallencourt & Poolos 2015, p. x).

That same year, the first recorded photographic selfie was taken (Dinius 2015, p. 446).

(Source: http://roonby.com/2016/03/16/robert-cornelius-the-first-person-that-perform-selfie-photo/)

It’s only since the advent of the internet and the subsequent ease with which images can be posted and shared via social media, that the selfie has become the epidemic it is today (Dinius 2015, p. 448).

Now it’s 2018 and there’s no escaping the selfie.

Five years ago, ‘selfie’ was even the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year (Dinius 2015, p. 445) and we’re now all used to posting our (very carefully constructed) photos without even giving it a second thought.

But should we think twice? After all, not everyone limits their selfie-taking to photos of their face.

WARNING – SEXUAL CONTENT 

We all know what a dick pic is. Some of you will have sent them with the receiver’s consent. Some of you will have asked for them. More often than not, the (dreaded) dick pic is unsolicited and unwelcome.

(Source: https://giphy.com/gifs/tipsyelves-halloween-text-l1J9LpewY0ZzIt692)

Listen.

As a general rule, if someone wants to see it, they’ll ask.

Otherwise what you’re doing is known as a little thing called SEXUAL HARASSMENT (Waling & Pym 2017, p. 2). A far too common form of harassment now synonymous with dick pics, as Whitney Bell discovered when putting together her exhibition “I Didn’t Ask For This: A Lifetime of Dick Pics” (Stevenson 2016).

(Source: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ppxjem/this-woman-turned-her-collection-of-unsolicited-dick-pics-into-an-art-show)

So…what happens when the protest against dick pics gets (*cough*) out of hand?

In 2013, feminist artist collective Future Femme (O’Connor 2013), staged a similar exhibition to Bell’s. On the surface, “Show Me More: A Collection of DickPix” seemed like a warranted expose of online harassment.

There was just one catch – none of the images in Future Femme’s exhibition was unsolicited. In fact, members of the collective set out to collect dick pics, openly asking men on online forums and dating sites to send them (Knibbs 2013).

These were then exhibited publicly without the senders’ consent or knowledge.

Which raises questions.

If the tables were turned and this was a non-consensual exhibition of female genitalia or revenge porn, would there have been more outrage?

Have men brought this upon themselves by engaging in this unwanted behaviour at other times?

Was Future Femme’s approach actually detrimental to their cause and protest?

Is the selfie culture to blame?

Let me know your thoughts…

References:

Dinius, M 2015, ‘The Long History of the “Selfie”’, Technologies of the Visible World, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 441-451, 454, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/docview/1716697848/fulltextPDF/F15418B08E1442E3PQ/1?accountid=14205>. Knibbs, K 2013, This intimate picture exhibition isn’t art or a statement, it’s exploitation, Digital Trends, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/dick-pic-art-show/>. O’Connor, M 2013, Art Gallery to Show Unknowing Men’s Dick Pics, The Cut, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://www.thecut.com/2013/08/art-gallery-to-show-unknowing-mens-dick-pics.html>. Stevenson, A 2016, This Woman Turned Her Collection of Unsolicited Dick Pics into an Art Show, VICE, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ppxjem/this-woman-turned-her-collection-of-unsolicited-dick-pics-into-an-art-show>. Vallencourt, M & Poolos, C 2015, History of Photography, Britannica Educational Publishing, New York, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swin/reader.action?docID=2101666&query=>. Waling, A & Pym, T 2017, ‘‘C’mon, No One Wants a Dick Pic’: exploring the cultural framings of the ‘Dick Pic’ in contemporary online publics’, Journal of Gender Studies, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/citedby/10.1080/09589236.2017.1394821?scroll=top&needAccess=true>.

[studentwizard99-blog]

I love the “...if they want to see it, they’ll ask” paragraph! A number of my single friends received the unsolicited 🍆 pic and most of them hate it, and some makes fun of it. In this world of digital media and connectivity it is quite hard to escape this awkward situations!

[florenciablogs-blog]

People Power

I recently listened to an interview where Howard Shultz, founder of Starbucks, outlined the trials and tribulations of creating a coffee empire.

Shultz began brewing in a small corner within an existing coffee manufacturing house. His overnight success sparked the independent move to his first store in 1986 christened ‘Il Giornale’. A loyal, consistent customer base fueled his desire to seek investors for further growth and expansion. During this key phase of investment, Shultz personally met and pitched the ‘Il Giornale Masterplan’ to 242 potential investors with the hope of raising 1,700,000 million.

In parallel, he was offered the opportunity to purchase all six ‘Starbucks’ stores. In his quest for investors, which had proven difficult in the past, Shultz’s lawyer Scott Greenburg urged him to meet a Senior Partner at his firm. This happened to be Bill Gates senior who after meeting, offered him the funds to purchase Starbucks. Shultz later fused and rebranded the companies under the Starbucks label. The rest, as they say, is history.

I use this story not to highlight the varying degrees of separation, but rather to show the many barriers entrepreneurs face faced. 

It’s not what you know it’s who you know. 

Right? 

Wrong.

Today, with an idea and an internet connection everyone is accessible and that changes everything. The internet has created an entirely new level environment in which platforms like change.org  and kickstarter.com can allow for an idea to be forged, fostered and grow. 

These virtual shark tanks cultivate inventors and game changers alike, allowing them to seek market feedback, specialist input and financial investments.

Additionally, it expands audience participation to (as much or little as desired) which determines the eventual success or demise of a product. Previously, this gatekeeping role was limited to those in senior positions of power or angel investors. Today, everyday citizens can partake in the innovative process which is only logical. Who knows what you want or need better than you, the buyer?

An informed consumer is a wise consumer hence this global understanding of products, their creation and distribution allows for a new notion of market supply and demand.

The public element also ensures any erroneous information or misinterpretation is corrected. The internet, much like your year 12 English teacher, will pick you up on every last detail. 

The internet has essentially demolished traditional business barriers and today there are no rules.

You can be as creatively flamboyant and inspired as you wish and potentially have a community to back your exploding kittens or backpack bed concept. “Nobody is as smart as everybody” and that is the magic of people power.

References 

CNBC, 2018, CNBC Tech Check Evening Edition: May 08, 2018, [online] Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/08/cnbc-tech-check-evening-edition-may-08-2018.html [Accessed 9 May 2018]

Elkington, J and Hartigan, P. 2008, The power of unreasonable people, 1st ed, Boston, Harvard Business Press, pp.105-148.

Gillespie, T 2014, The politics of platforms, Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hxcofU_o7Y [Accessed 8 May 2018]

 Howard, J 2006, ‘The Rise of Crowdsourcing’, Wired, 14 June, http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/crowds.html [Accessed 8 May 2018]

 NPR, 2017, Starbucks: Howard Schultz, [podcast] How I Built This with Guy Raz, Available at: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=551874532 [Accessed 8 May 2018]

 Image References

Board Game Geek, 2018, A selection of the cards in the World Wide Web pack. [image] Available at: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/2811461/cards-against-humanity-world-wide-web-pack [Accessed 9 May 2018]

Vinish, D 2018, 20 Years Old Starbucks Coffee Philippines - Where it All Began, [online] Steemit.com, Available at: https://steemit.com/busy/@davinsh/20-years-old-starbucks-coffee-philippines-where-it-all-began [Accessed 9 May 2018]

[studentwizard99-blog]

I love this post! I love the new opportunity that crowdsourcing brings. Somehow it is the future. I will always remember what my first boss told me: “Delegation is the key”. With crowdsourcing and various social media platforms you can delegate to specialists all around the world and get the best result for any of your projects.

[thoughtsofchanelle-deactivated2]

W10: The culture of social gaming

Social gaming is a term many people may feel familiar with.

Me? Not so much. In fact, there is zero familiarity here - so I’m going to start with a light refresher on what this term actually encompasses:

Social gaming; game applications integrated into social networking platforms (Hou, 2011).

This term still isn’t overly familiar to me. The most ‘social’ we got with our gaming as children was discussing how healthy our Tamogotchi’s were in the school playground. If you’re also over 25 - you might recall how hard it was to keep yourself healthy as a child let alone remember to feed a fictional pet. The struggle was real.

While I appreciate the definition above is relatively broad, I want to explore the reality behind the social gamers that choose to play in their spare time over actual non-digital human interaction – because I have heard there are millions around our globe that live for this lifestyle.

One question that pops into my mind – and again, I reiterate: I have no personal interest in social gaming, probably due to my childhood spent without hundreds of social platforms available to me, so this is only my opinion – is what are the health or social benefits these gamers are missing out on?

Facebook opened its platform to developers over 10 years ago, allowing gaming developers to jump onboard the social revolution (Swinburne Online, 2018) and subsequently, the trend has reached new heights. However, what about the facts surrounding the antisocial aspect or inactivity of online gaming culture?

Obesity rates in children have tripled in the last 30 years, with research concluding a strong link to sedentary lifestyles such as those devoted to online gaming (Bond, Calvert, and Staiano, 2013). Studies have also recently found that children aged between 8-18 years typically expose themselves to online gaming for 90 minutes per day (Rideout, Foehr & Roberts, 2010), exposing them to a MUCH higher risk of adolescent obesity and a decreased quality of life. Furthermore, researches have confirmed that those heavily associated with online gaming communities experience negative impacts to social engagements and at times may ‘withdraw’ in social circumstances which do not allow the anonymity or circumstantial control that online gaming typically affords them (Hou, 2011).

For me, this begs the question: how will future innovations and technologies positively or negatively impact this gaming culture – will it be enhanced, or redirected to encourage physically activity? Will societies value wellbeing one day influence, or eventually change the notion of gaming?

I guess only time will tell.

Share your thoughts on social gaming, and how you see this evolving in our future.

References

Rideout V, Foehr U, Roberts D, 2010, Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8-18 year olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation, viewed 28 May 2018, Link 

Bond, B, Calvert, S, and Staiano, A, 2013, Electronic Gaming and the Obesity Crisis, New Dir Child Adolesc Delv: 2013 Spring, vol. 139, pp. 51-57, Link 

Swinburne Online, 2018, ’10.2 Social Gaming: Playing the crowd’, Swinburne Online: MDA20009, viewed 28 May 2018, Link 

Hou, J, 2011, ‘Uses and gratifications of social games: Blending social networking and game play’, First Monday Journal, vol. 16, no. 7, viewed 28 May 2018, Link 

[studentwizard99-blog]

I am in a similar situation with you, I don’t have any first hand knowledge of online gaming and it’s community. My husband is an avid online gamer though, from ragnarok to PUBG! Although many studies regarding online gaming highlights its negativity, I can personally say that it has its redeeming qualities. My husband works 12 hours per day on a 12 days roster and this is his version of fishing. This is where he connects with friends in the comfort of our house where he looks after our 2 kids while I work during his break.

[iamemilyoulton]

Activism and protest

If someone had come up to me 10 years ago and mentioned the word activist, the first thing that would have popped into my mind would be the image of an angry protestor holding a sign or a celebrity donating their riches to charity. However, as the digital landscape has evolved, so has the way we interact with the world around us and the way we can contribute to society. This digital shift has helped to “mobilise thousands of new supporters to a diverse range of causes” (Karatzogianni, 2016) and make activism something that’s accessible to all.

As digital citizens, we all play a very small part in a very large ecosystem of people, ideas, patterns and beliefs. In any community, whether it be digital or not, people who hold similar views and values are often drawn together so it makes sense for people that are passionate about the same thing to join forces online. As Bakardjieva et.al suggest, “nowadays, when citizens, activists and participants in social movements want to voice their views and define their political identities they increasingly do so in hybrid media environments”. Technology allows us to involve ourselves in things that might be happening on the opposite side of the world or things we would usually only hear about on the news and enables us to contribute to a wider variety of causes. However much of the criticism towards online activism focuses around “activists” being lazy and condemns users for not doing enough to actually solve any issues.

In his article Activism vs. Slacktivism, Dennis McCafferty defines slacktivists as “people who are happy to click a like button about a cause and may make other nominal, supportive gestures” but aren’t inspired to go out of their way to make a difference.

Slacktivism is definitely alive and thriving and it has become much easier for people to feel like they’re involved in a cause with the click of a button. Despite this, social media can be a powerful and important tool to support and promote activism in the digital age, and much of this criticism focuses too heavily on social media use on its own.

Just because there is a lower level of participation or interaction with a cause, this doesn’t mean that these small actions can’t have an impact or lead to widespread change. Social media in itself cant be held accountable for entire campaigns or movements, however it is a vital part of almost all current-day activism and is a valuable channel to support and promote causes in the digital age. It allows people to voice their views and define their political identities (Barkardjieva et.al., 2012) as well as being able to facilitate things such as rallies and protests on Facebook events to gain a wider audience outreach. Each small act of “slacktivism” helps raise awareness and may bring something to the attention of someone who is able to make a real difference.

Yes, slacktivism might be the “lazy” approach to activism but isn’t it better than doing nothing at all?

REFERENCES 

Bakardjieva, M 2009, ‘Subactivism: Lifeworld and Politics in the Age of the Internet’, Information Society, retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=bfad6349-ac30-4fa1-a575-069933155f86%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=36801133&db=a9h

Bakardjieva, M, Svensson, J & Skoric, M (2012)  Digital Citizenship and Activism: Questions of Power and Participation Online in The eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government, CC Creative Commons Licence, retrieved from http://people.ucalgary.ca/~bakardji/files/pubs/journals/JeDEM_Editorial.pdf

Budish, RH (2012) 'CLICK TO CHANGE: OPTIMISM DESPITE ONLINE ACTIVISM’S UNMET EXPECTATIONS’, Emory International Law Review, vol. 26, no. 2, Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=516bc32b-ac5a-4b57-8b44-200e1eb2e07d%40sessionmgr4010  

Karatzogianni, A (2016) Beyond hashtags: how a new wave of digital activists is changing society from The Conversation, University of Leicester, UK retrieved from https://theconversation.com/beyond-hashtags-how-a-new-wave-of-digital-activists-is-changing-society-57502

McCafferty, D (2011) Activism vs. Slacktivism in Communications of the ACM, Vol. 54 Issue 12, retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=9e89532e-3109-4735-8ca0-c97b7595e6af%40sessionmgr4010&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=69924567&db=iih   

IMAGES  

https://onsizzle.com/t/french-flag?since=1477386000%2C3136782  

http://the-generation.net/the-slacktivism-of-generation-a-new-era-of-human-rights-activism/

[studentwizard99-blog]

As a student activist in the Philippines in the early ‘00s, I can agree that activism changed a lot through various digital communities. Like most things, there will be advantages and disadvantages of these improvement but what bothers me the most are those people who uses gullible people in liking or sharing posts like the below for their own gain.

[studentwizard99-blog]

Crowdsourcing at a time of crisis.

Crowdsourcing is defined as the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers (Merriam - Webster Dictionary, 2018). 

In recent years, crowdsourcing has been used during crisis tapping civilians’ knowledge regarding the crisis at play. One of the the leading platforms in crowdsourcing is Ushahidi, it was developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election violence in 2008 and the platform uses the idea of crowdsourcing for social activism and accountability (Ushahadi 2018). With the rising popularity of digital communities (i.e. social media) the way crowdsourcing works is continuously changing. The police and other government agencies are now using social media heavily to share information about missing people (Santana, nd.). The digital communities provides an alternative means for people to access and share information and support, and avoid delays (Anderson, James & Putt, 2008). Information of missing people are now available on most official and government websites. In Australia, the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre site is available through http://www.afp.gov.au/national/missing and official social media accounts of local police (Anderson, James & Putt, 2008). On a regular basis, photographs and profiles of missing persons are posted to assist with the investigation and location of the missing person. See below screen grabs: 

Digital communities like social media not only changed the way we look for missing people but it also changed other types of crowdsourcing like crowdfunding. One of the most renowned crowdfunding site is GoFundMe that allows individuals, organisations and charities to raise money for various causes and challenging circumstances (GoFundMe, 2018). 

Crowdfunding is no longer restricted for donations for charitable purposes but it is now also used for funding new and innovative products and services. Kickstarter is one of the most successful crowdfunding websites that helps artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other creators find the resources and support they need to make their ideas a reality. To date, thousands of creative projects — big and small — have come to life with the support of the Kickstarter community (Kickstarter, 2018). Before platforms like Kickstarter was available budding filmmakers are required to have the backing of big production companies but since the emergence these platforms, films like the fan-made Harry Potter spin-off movie ‘Voldemort: Origins of the Heir’ were made. 

Do you think crowdsourcing is changing our community one cause at a time? 

References: 

Anderson, J, James, M, & Putt, J 2008, Missing persons in Australia, Research and Public Policy Series No. 86, Australian Federal Police, viewed 31 May 2018, <https://aic.gov.au/file/5846/download?token=TKWVRIcY>. 

GoFundMe, 2018, ‘GoFundMe: About Us’, GoFundMe, viewed 31 May 2018, <https://www.gofundme.com/about-us>. 

Kickstarter, 2018, ‘Kickstarter: About us’, Kickstarter.com, viewed 31 May 2018, <https://www.kickstarter.com/about?ref=global-footer>. 

Merriam - Webster Dictionary, 2018, ‘Crowdsourcing’, Meriam - Webster Dictionary 2018, viewed 31 May 2018, <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowdsourcing>. 

Santana, D n.d., ‘Social Media’s Role in Finding the Missing’, The Missing, viewed 31 May 2018, <https://themissingny.nycitynewsservice.com/part-two/social-media-used-to-find-the-missing/>. 

[forgetmenothomes-blog]

Blog #3

Blog 3

Politics and Civic Cultures

Whilst the introduction of social media has brought connection and community into our immediate worlds it has also been used is the political arena as a tool to reach millions of potential voters. From Twitter to YouTube and Facebook, today’s Politicians and their entourage freely use social media as a communication device because it offers them an opportunity to reach a broad and diverse demographic (Carter 2017).

Their posts, tweets or videos are used to reinforce their party’s policy, causes or campaigns to a mass audience and also allows for that audience to give immediate feedback.

Example A – Julie Bishop MP Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/JBishopMP/

Social media is exactly that, it’s social and it offers users an opportunity to engage in online conversations as often or as little as they like and Fran is a great example of using social media by way of “voluntary association” (Lichterman 2012). Sadly, not many politicians really use social media in the way that the average everyday Australian does. We use it to stay in touch and communicate with others by responding to their posts. It’s a two way process but Politicians are yet to get on board with this and many simply use it as a means to broadcast their activity leaving their audience disengaged and unsatisfied.

Some studies suggest that social media can have either a positive or a negative effect on one’s political career due to how they use it. One train of thought is that social media may benefit or even enhance democracy because through dialogue it allows “transparency and accountability” creating dynamic and cohesive change (Khazaeli and Stockemer 2013). Other thoughts suggests that social media in terms of the political area can lead to radicalization and anarchy when not used with more care (Ceron 2017).

Barack Obama has been a great advocate for using social media to reach his audience during his 2007 – 2008 campaign. Claiming to be a “geek and “ tech nerd” Obama embraced social media knowing full well that in order to reach a younger demographic he would need to speak to them on their level.  He did the same again during his successful 2011 campaign even creating his own #Obama2012 reaching millions of Twitter followers (McComb-Gray 2017). But, Obama is mindful of the infiniteness of the Internet and that it is the responsibility of the poster as to what gets posted and by who (Jericho 2012). NXT (Nick Xenophon Team) Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore has recently found herself in the hot seat over some images of her taken in 2009. The young senator was holidaying in Vegas where pictures were taken of here posing inappropriately with a celebrity wax figure in a museum (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/rendezview/will-politicians-ever-get-social-media-right/news-story/b07250f8b7483a4d3027c75c92783dae). The photos were then uploaded on her Fathers Facebook page and found their way into the Press (Langerberg 2017). Now, whilst the pictures haven’t had any lasting effect on the young Senator career (oh….except they lost the last election!) perhaps we should all be more mindful regarding the appropriateness of our posts. 

References

Carter, L 2017. Politicians & social media. Municipal World, 127(10), 3-4,41. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/docview/1946946792?accountid=14205

Ceron, A, 2017.  Social Media and Political Accountability: Bridging the Gap between Citizens and Politicians, Springer International Publishing.

Jericho, G 2012, ‘How many votes are there on Twitter?’, in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia.

Khazaeli, S, Stockermer, D, 2013, The Internet: A new route to good governance, International Political Science Review, Accesed on April 14 2018, < http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0192512113494728>.

Langerberg, A 2017, NXT Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore pictured groping waxwork figure in Las Vegas, The Advertiser, Accessed April 14 2018, <http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/nxt-senator-skye-kakoschkemoore-pictured-groping-waxwork-figure-in-las-vegas/news-story/83f18f0d4eccb249ebb2392383f70f2b>.

Lichterman, P, 2012, Reinventing the Concept of Civic Culture, Online Print June 2017, 2012, viewed April 14 2018. <http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195377767.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195377767-e-8>.

McComb-Gray, D, 2017, Social media on the campaign trail: how Obama and Trump got the upper hand, ContentGroup, Viewed April 14 2018, <

https://contentgroup.com.au/2017/09/social-media-campaign-trail-obama-trump-got-upper-hand/

>.

 Images

Julie Bishop, Facebook, Accesses April 16 2018 < https://www.facebook.com/JBishopMP>.

What if I told you [image], Memegenerator, Accessed April 16 < http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3qp9qw>.

The Trouble with Mass Debating [image], Gareth Hill, Accessed April 16 2018, < http://www.garethjhill.com/the-trouble-with-mass-debating-on-social-media/>.

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[studentwizard99-blog]

I love this post and the meme from Matrix. Reminds me of this meme I saw in my Facebook feed!

[irenephillips79-blog]

Active Slacktivism

Social media platforms are a powerful tool for sending information into the world, whether this information is cat videos or the last disappointing move of our government into ceasing #liveexports, the use of platforms help the message spread. But how quickly do people ‘like’, forget and move onto the next trend?

We all remember the #icebucketchallenge, which originated to raise money for ALS research, but by the end of the campaigns run digital citizens were simply dumping ice cold water over their heads for fun. And so, the judge’s are still out as to how effective social media is for real results from these call to actions. The one thing this type of activism does is document social changes and attitudes for future research. But you can click here for some examples of where Internet activism was successful.

When it comes to social changes there is a general mentality of ‘what can I do, I’m only one person!’ and this is understandable as we are bombarded with information about our world’s dysfunctionality. Which is how I felt, recently though I have now signed up to be a member of two charities whose work I wholeheartedly support. This action came from a place of wanting change and not being able to actually participate in promoting change, so I decided to support the people out in the field the only way I could.

So rather than only signing online petitions, sharing posts on Facebook and sending letters to my governmental bodies like a ‘clickitivst’ or ‘slacktivist’; which is defined as “the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment” (English Oxford Dictionary 2018), I decided to help in a more direct way, with monthly donations.

But there are cases where social media has managed to galvanise the publics, during the ‘Arab Springs’ protests, which began in 2010 and became a series of protest through the Middle East Facebook was used to educated people and created groups. Twitter notified publics in real time of changes, dangers and the situation at large, and Youtube showed the evidence of the activism. Gerbaudo (2012, p.1) called this the “contemporary protest experience”.

And after being on the ground during several protest worldwide Gerbaudo (2012, p.1) also wondered “and did all this tweeting and re-tweeting really matter when it came to influencing collective action, mobilising and coordinating people on the ground?.” He may be right, as “social media provide the tools for organized dissent yet can constrain collective action” (Youmans & York, 2012 p.316), but not only that Youman and York (2012, p.316) also recognise these platforms are looking to boost revenue, find new markets and increase users by providing a positive experience. Even though they ultimately are a business within a public domain they do strive to provide “a variety of affordances that were important at different times” (Youmans & York 2012, p. 317).

But what about Culture Jamming as a form of activism? Noted cultural jammers are Banksy and Adbusters who have taken everyday adverts, promotions and billboards, redesigned them to draw back the curtain of hypocrisy within the advertising industry. Click here are some more examples of cultural jamming.

This type of activism could be thought of as harmless and perhaps ineffective, as opposed to in real-time like the #neveragain marched earlier this year, but this type of activism is extremely thought-provoking and direct in its pure simplicity. Perhaps because it reaches a wider audience and gives publics the chance to ponder without being intrusive, that they then become in fact more effective.

REFERENCES

English Oxford Dictionary, 2018, Slacktivism, English Oxford Dictionary, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/slacktivism>.

Gerbaudo, P 2012, Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Pluto, London.

Lewontin, Max 2016, Five times Internet activism made a difference, The Christian science monitor, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2016/0105/Five-times-Internet-activism-made-a-difference/SOPA-PIPA>.

Wain, A  2018, 20 Brilliant examples of cultural jamming, So good so bad, the best & worst of the web, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://sobadsogood.com/2012/07/22/22-brilliant-examples-of-culture-jamming/>.

Youmans, W, & York, J 2012, ‘Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements’, Journal Of Communication, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 315-329.

[studentwizard99-blog]

Our world is such a weird place to live in at the moment. To me, everyone seems to want to want to be perceived as social activists but that only a few really want to make a difference by actually doing something.  Have you seen this video by Unicef about likes? If not, here they are: 

[studentwizard99-blog]

Hopscotch no longer

Growing up in the ‘90s I used to remember playing hopscotch outside after school or school breaks but children these days now have an array of games and toys they can choose from and some no longer recognise what a hopscotch is. In an article in The Telegraph (2010) it was stated that nearly three quarters of children aged four to 11 who took part in the study by Persil have never played the playground favourite hopscotch, with ten per cent of kids thinking it was a soft drink. With decreasing number of people who participates in time-honoured pastimes like conkers, hopscotch and marbles, this is now being replaced by a growing interest on online games. According to Takahashi (2013) there are over 1.2 billion users of online games and one of those online gamers is my husband. My husband is an avid online gamer with particular interest in Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds. 

He works 12-hour shifts on an 8/4 roster in a small mining town, aside from us, this is his only way of relaxing. His gaming community is his real-life friends. As a migrant, this is one of his ways of connecting back this his childhood friends who he played hopscotch with. Not only does the online gaming community helps my husband keeps his childhood connections but according to Meixell (2012) online games are good for users. 

1. Video or online games help autistic students in classrooms: According to Nauert (n.d.) playing video games can teach autistic students on how to respond to visual and verbal queues that may greatly improve their social and learning skills. 

2. Improving Social Skills for older users: According to Meixell (2012), introverted and shy in nature individuals may prefer playing online games in group or online to stay connected in a controlled environment. 

3. Improvement of Hand-Eye coordination: Various game-based rehabilitation systems are now available to stroke patients and to encourage them in continuing rehabilitation exercises at home.

While there are numerous negative studies about online gaming and online gaming community, one must always remember that too much and excess of anything is bad while anything in moderation will be fine. 

What online games have you played in your past time? Farmville? Did you get addicted to it? 

References:

Nauret, R n.d., ‘Video games may enhance skills for autistic youths’, Psych Central, viewed 31 May 2018, <https://psychcentral.com/news/2012/09/06/video-games-may-enhance-social-skills-for-autistic-youth/44256.html>. 

Takahasi, D 2013, ‘More than 1.2 billion people are playing games’, Venture Beat, viewed 31 May 2018, <https://venturebeat.com/2013/11/25/more-than-1-2-billion-people-are-playing-games/>. 

[studentwizard99-blog]

Instalife vs Real life

In this age of relentless self promotion and visual community being defined by the number of ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ is seen to be important. This is where the selfie culture is being cultivated. In 2013, the word "Selfie" has been declared by Oxford Dictionaries as the 'Word of the Year' (Kilingsworth, 2013). The selfie culture together with documenting and sharing once life through social media is gaining popularity not just with celebrities and public figures but also with private individuals.

Many private citizens gained popularity and ‘celebrity’ status through social media like:

1. Murad Osmann - INSTAGRAM 

2. Nas Daily - FACEBOOK 

3. Pentatonix - YOUTUBE 

However, there is a long-standing question whether it is harmful to share once life through various social media platforms. In this modern age, it is the norm for a private individual to share their lives through social media. Social media is no longer just for celebrities, but it is also available for everyday people like you and me. Is it really harmful to share your personal lives and stories on social media? Like most things in life, too much sharing or ‘oversharing’ in social media is harmful according to Seidman (2015) but how much is too much? According to Seidman (2015) the following are research-backed advice on what we should, and shouldn’t, be sharing on Facebook or other social media:

1.Don’t whine.

2. Show, but don’t show off, your romantic relationship. 

3. Show who you are… but do it by being positive.

Screen grab from Soul Pancake. 

The last point is difficult and one can argue whether your online self is similar to your offline self, and if it’s not, who is the real you? This video by SoulPancake may help you to figure out who is the real you. 

How about you, who is the real you? Your offline or online self or both? 

References:

Herman, E., & Seidman, G 2015, ‘Accuracy in Facebook Self-Presentation: The Role of the “True Self”’, Poster to be presented at the Association for Psychological Science Annual Conference, New York. 

Seidman, G 2014, ‘Expressing the ‘true self’ on Facebook, Computers in Human Behavior p. 367-372.

Seudman, G 2015, ‘Are Selfies a Sign of Narcissism and Psychopathy?’, Psychology Today, view 9 May 2018, <https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/close-encounters/201501/are-selfies-sign-narcissism-and-psychopathy> 

Seudman, G 2015, ‘How Much Is Too Much to Share on Social Media??’, Psychology Today, view 9 May 2018, <https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/close-encounters/201503/how-much-is-too-much-share-social-media> 

[studentwizard99-blog]

Trolling and Social Media conflict

In the past decade, Trolls used to only exist in children’s books and fairytales but since the age of social media reached its renaissance we have seen the population of ‘trolls’ increase in number. I am not talking about Poppy from DreamWorks.

Nor Gunmar from Guillermo del Torro’s Trollhunters. 

I am talking about real trolls who is out there spreading hate through social media platforms and whose sole purpose is to embarrass, anger, and disrupt (Dahlberg 2001) digital citizens. These internet trolls also do this as merely for amusement purposes and is sometimes driven by more ‘serious’ motives including political and social goals (Dahlberg 2001). 

One may think that a mere comment in a social media post can rarely do damages but there are far too many Dolly Everette’s that fell victim to online trolling and bullying. Growing up as a ‘fat’ kid, I was a victim of bullying but growing up in the ‘90s I can easily escape these bullies through avoidance but we are not as lucky as we were in the ‘90s due to Social Media. It is now difficult to escape and ignore bullies and trolls due to the accessibility of social media and the internet. With over half of young people being bullied online and stories about relentless trolling of individuals still frequently in the news (Baraniuk 2016) how can we as digital citizens stop online trolling and bullying? Can a cyber-bullying commissioner protect our kids? Carrick (2014) from ABC News presented an article about the latter whereas he sited a proposal from a federal government discussion paper regarding setting up a children's e-safety commissioner to help protect children from cyber-bullying on social media but could another government commission really help? The eSafety Commission was established in 2015 and is responsible for promoting online safety for all Australians. The eSafety Commission offers tools and assistance for parents, children and other individuals who experience cyberbullying and trolling (eSafety Commission 2018). This Commission might not be the answer in completely removing cyberbullying and trolling but in partnership with individuals (especially parents) and by enlightening digital citizens on the harmful effect of bullying and how one may help, this commission is helping the digital community battle online trolls and bullies until they become extinct. 

Publications similar to the below are some of the ways the eSafety Commission is educating individuals and parents on how to have a safe online environment and how to report cyberbullying materials. 

In your own little way, how do you help in the battle against trolls? Will you be a trollhunter as well? 

References:

Baraniuk, C 2016, ‘What is the best way to stop bullying’ BBC.com, viewed 30 May 2018, <http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160318-what-is-the-best-way-to-stop-internet-trolls>.

Carrick, D 2014, ‘Can a cyber-bullying commissioner protect our kids?’, Law Report, ABC News, viewed 31 May 2018, <http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/5286036>. 

Australian Government, eSafety Commission, viewed 31 May 2018, <www.esafety.gov.au>. 

[studentwizard99-blog]

Changing the world through ‘likes’

Digital activism, also known as cyberactivism, is a form of activism that uses the Internet and digital media as key platforms for mass mobilization and political action (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018). Digital activism is a growing trend among Digital Citizens. Digital citizenship is a term that has been used to refer to the potential benefit for society as a whole that comes from new digital and social media tools and their ability to ‘facilitate the membership and participation of individuals within society’ (Mossberger et al. 2008, p. 1). According to Youmans and York (2012) social media platforms are currently utilized extensively by activists in a variety of political and social systems and that information technologies have become indispensable to reformers, revolutionaries, and contemporary democracy movements. However, there are arguments that online activism is a form of ‘Slacktivism’ or ‘hashtag activism’ whereas individuals continuously absorb social justice messages, but failed to act upon them (Robertson 2014). Political and social leaders continuously encourage individuals to use social media to promote social and political movement like #BringBackOurGirls, the ALS Ice bucket challenge, and various petitions through Change.org. While both the #BringBackOurGirls and the ALS Ice bucket challenge movements gained massive support from both civilians and well-known individuals, arguments were made that the fleeting monetary, compassion and attention made little difference to each individuals’ lives who were victims of both these circumstances (Robertson 2014).

Another form of ‘Slacktivism’ is liking posts in social media platforms thinking that these will somehow change and help the victims. In 2013, Unicef produced 3 campaign videos that takes direct aim at perhaps the most universal form of online activism — the Facebook "like" (Toor 2013).

These videos are available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcSZsjlqs4E&feature=youtu.be 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpBbOY2amnE&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_M0SDk3ZaM&feature=youtu.be

Another problem in digital activism is ‘like farming’, a scam called that uses attention-grabbing photos like the one pictured above to generate a large number of likes, comments, and shares. I am sure you’ve seen posts with headings similar to: “Every ‘like’ raises $1 for Emily’s treatment;” “Share this image and Mark Zuckerberg will donate $5 to a children’s hospital;” “Don’t scroll down without typing Amen.” (Bahler 2017).

These type of posts prey on the innocent and those who continuously absorb social justice messages but is not prepared to do anything about it aside from ‘liking’ or ‘commenting’ in the picture because it is easy to do.

Do you think digital activism really changes lives?

Reference:

Bahler, K 2017, ‘A Dangerous Scam Is Lurking on Facebook. Here’s How to Avoid It’, Time.com, viewed 30 May 2018, < http://time.com/money/4680180/a-dangerous-scam-is-lurking-on-facebook-heres-how-to-avoid-it/>.

Robertson, C 2014, ‘Slacktivism: The Downfall of Millennials’, Huffpost, viewed 30 May 2018, < https://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlotte-robertson/slacktivism-the-downfall-_b_5984336.html>.

Toor, A 2013, ‘UNICEF says Facebook 'likes' won't save children's lives’, The Verge, viewed 30 May 2018, < https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/3/4296194/unicef-facebook-activism-ad-campaign-likes-dont-save-lives>.

Youmans, W, York, J 2012, ‘Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements’, Journal of Communication.