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Week 9 | The Macro, Meso and Micro

Axel Bruns and Hallvard Moe this week discuss the communicative faculties of Twitter and the different modes upon which these faculties exist (Bruns and Moe 2013). Bruns and Moe discuss three key layers of communication that exist in Twitter: “the micro level of interpersonal communication, the meso level of follower-followee networks, and the macro level of hashtag-based exchanges,” (Bruns and Moe 2013).  These three levels of communication can widely affect the way in which a user intends to communicate a message. The same tweet has the potential for a completely different intention dependent upon the mode or layer of communication they are utilizing (based on the Bruns and Moe models). For example, hypothetically a user could tweet a message about something highly personal, such as becoming a father for the first time – where tweeting it in the Macro level (using hashtags) could represent a public outcry for the world to see, whereas if the user tweeted this on a closer level of communication such as Meso or Micro, the tweet would become more personal and private and would be more about informing followers and friends (in the case of the Meso level).

These three levels of communication clearly represent different intentions for discussion or social expression. “Including a hash tag in one’s tweets signals a wish to take part in a wider communicative process, potentially with anyone interested in the same topic,” (Bruns and Moe 2013). The differences between communication levels can be vast. Macro levels of communication in Twitter are more about wider messages, about discussing issues, topics, jokes and so on with the world. A quick example of this would be the thousands of tweets during and in the aftermath of the Tsunami and Earthquake that hit Japan in early March 2011. The world tuned into Twitter, as messages to loved ones, friends and family were sent throughout the site during this catastrophic natural disaster. On a smaller scale are the Meso and Micro layers of communication on Twitter, of followers and followees and replies within Twitter (Kelly 2011). Another quick example, this time of the Meso and Micro layers, is of star NBA player Kevin Durant who tweeted during the NBA lockout about his desire to play a casual game of flag football. After many retweets (within the Meso layer), a student from Oklahoma State replied (within the Micro layer) to Durant’s tweet, inviting him to join his game of college football that night. Surprisingly, the professional basketball player joined the flag football game, scoring four touchdowns. These two examples of the three different layers represent the different intentions and results they can have on society and on personal life. Kevin Durant’s Meso and Micro layered communications were on the more personal, low-scale level and so resulted in real-life personal outcomes exclusive to him. Contrary to that is the example of the Macro level, which affected not just one or two people within the Twitter circle but thousands, if not millions. These layers exhibit the different uses and techniques that social media and specifically Twitter can have on society and a user’s personal life.

Paige Talbot | n8579857

References:

Bruns, A. and H. Moe (2013). Structural Layers of Communication on Twitter; The Perils and Pleasures of Tweeting with Fans; Tweeting About the Telly: Live TV, Audiences, and Social Media. Twitter and Society. K. Weller. New York, Peter Lang: 15-28, 221-236, 237-248.

Kelly, S. M. (2011). "Twitter's Top 10 Remarkable Tweet Stories of the Year." Retrieved 11-May, 2014, from http://mashable.com/2011/12/01/twitters-top-10-stories/ - _.

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Week 8 | New Media Politics and Engagement

New media and social media are forever growing and becoming more and more part of everyday life, all over the world. This even includes countries some would assume would have zero access to these technologies – such as the third world and those corrupt by government. To some though, new media is shining a new light upon the difficult circumstances in these foreign lands. For some, new media and social media are a way to get their message across – to demonstrate the abuse, violence or overall everyday difficulties that have been forced upon them. For some people social media can be a form of protest against governments, organisations, war, and so much more. It can give them the voice of freedom in otherwise silenced nations. Social media is for the anonymous to speak out, to be given freedom otherwise not achievable in the physical world.

The readings this week by Clay Shirky and Malcolm Gladwell highlight the way social media and new media technologies have and can be used to rally protests, to create political change and to motivate the masses. This week I found it thoroughly challenging to find something I identified with in the political readings, as I am not very knowledgeable in politics or world news in general (which I do regret). What I did find after extensive research is a story, which I had realized I knew the entire time.

Some of you may remember the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, who held several protests against the Russian government and specifically Vladimir Putin, the Russian president and some would say, dictator. In 2012, 3 members of Pussy Riot were arrested and imprisoned for performing a punk protest song (also dubbed as performance art) in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Cadwalladr 2012). After 12 months the girls were released. Pussy Riot is made up of more than 10 anonymous women who create music as performance art to protest the Russian government. The members wear differently bright coloured dresses and tights and each member wears a balaclava to protect their identities and symbolise and represent their entire artistic vision (Cadwalladr 2012).

The reason I mention Pussy Riot in relation to these readings is because Pussy Riot has gained most of its fame and worldwide recognition from YouTube. By posting it’s performances on YouTube and creating music videos as a form of protest, Pussy Riot has gained interest and fans from all over the world – even people who do not necessarily understand Russia and the Russian government. As Shirky states, “The more promising way to think about social media is as long-term tools that can strengthen civil society and the public sphere,” (Shirky 2011).

Back before the Internet, Pussy Riot may have gained some attention, yes – but not even close to the scale of what they have accomplished. With the help of Web 2.0 and the rapid spreadability of YouTube, Pussy Riot were able to tell their messages to the world – to let anyone and everyone know what is going on and that they too, can have a voice.

For more about Pussy Riot: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/29/pussy-riot-protest-vladimir-putin-russia

Paige Talbot | n8579857

References:

Cadwalladr, C. (2012). "Pussy Riot: will Vladimir Putin regret taking on Russia's cool women punks?". from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/29/pussy-riot-protest-vladimir-putin-russia.

Shirky, C. (2011). "The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change." from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67038/clay-shirky/the-political-power-of-social-media.

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Week 6 | The New Language

This week reading’s centered around new media communication and language. Naomi Baron and Nancy K Baym discuss the effects of new media and technologies on the way people interact with each other.

Baron discusses the language of new media, “Could it actually be the more we write online, the worse writers we become? I’m not talking about whether the usual litany of abbreviations and acronyms (such as 2 for ‘to’ or ‘two’, or btw for ‘by the way’) is seeping into everyday writing, or whether our emails are laced with misspelled words or minimalist punctuation. These are issues we will address in due course,” (Baron 2008). The discussion led by both Baron and Baym prompted ideas in my mind to new media and how it has shifted the language we now speak. Anyone who had to sit through high school English knows that the English language has dramatically evolved since the era of Shakespeare. The youth of today can scarcely understand the illustrious metaphors and earlier classical terms that are inherent in Shakespeare’s scripts.

As I read Baym and Baron, I couldn’t help but be struck by a recent comedic video I watched depicting the current language of the technological age.

This College Humour video (Wilkerson 2014) represents how new media and new technologies have shifted the way we speak online and the vast differences between online written language and the spoken language.

Google along with other forms of new media, have changed the way we present ourselves and interact online – they have changed the way we search for information.

In an age not so long ago, scholars and students would visit a library or a store and search through journals, articles, papers and books to find the resources and information they needed. We picked it up and held it, we could feel the paper or material on our skin and if you rushed through it too quickly and carelessly, you could even be cut. When we needed or wanted to find information, we would ask someone, search through books or flick through archives. We would use structured formal sentences to explain what we were looking for or to frame a topic we might need to research.

These days, we type disjointed words strung together with quotation marks or plus symbols to try to please our search engine Gods (or should I say, God). To flip that fragmented written language into a spoken script is a complete culture shock. It creates a strong sense of realization of how our language has changed and how the search for information has really evolved. The sheer ridiculousness of speaking in a ‘Google language’ becomes a witty and satirical reflection on modern society and the interaction between people and new technology.

Video: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6947898/google-is-a-guy

Paige Talbot | n8579857

  References:

Baron, N. (2008). Email to Your Brain: Language in an Online and Mobile World. Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 3 - 10.

Wilkerson, T. (2014). Shorts / What If Google Was a Guy, College Humor.

            Everything you ask Google sounds a lot stupider when you actually ask Google.