#scoler

[tourdumondedescm1a]

Atelier Carbone scoleres sur le développement durable

[scoler]

▪️Частная начальная школ «Дари детям добро»./ ⠀ На прошлой недели за 2 дня накидал концепцию для дорогой частной школы. Поразительно, что люди которые вкладывают в проекты сотни миллионов рублей могут быть настолько безграмотными в визуальном плане. Например, на последний фотки их логотип, который нам не разрешили рестайлить. ⠀ Концепт основан на линиях и кругах, которые взяты из попытки рестайлинга их логотипа. Линия, как путь по которому ученик отправляется в путешествие по жизни. На концах линии появляются руки и ноги, это такой помощник на пути детей. Круги могут быть зонами, холмами, точками в пространстве. ⠀ Дизайнер — @scoler Менеджер — @ketryn74 #scoldesign #scoler #сколер #design #school #schooldesign #walldesign #wall #interiordesign #graphicdesign #moscowschool #moscow #spacedesign #navigation #children #teacher #школа #дизайнинтерьера #графическийдизайнер (at Moscow, Russia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B72jMQ0pIRT/?igshid=ldrm056w50nv

[localgay9919]

m hom now

m ha so muc fun!!! we cudleded los n Los n m acidlty fel eep n m ha goo eep n den m wok up n fel ba da m fel eel ba cau m droo on dem n den we cudee som mor n wen to da stor n m jump n alllll da pudles n den we sa som frens da wer Levin da stor n it wa fuky n dey erre ik "omg its a gay couple crossing the street, OH I KNOW THOSE PEOPLE" n it wa rely funy cau dey jus mad m hold der Han wile crosin da stret n den m go barsed n den insid der wer ik midle scolers n foun somdin n as m to pu it bac bu the shluve jus left it m din bu m pu it bac n dey sai dank u n m noded bu m Don dink dey her m n dey sai it loder n m jus sai "ya" cau baby brai wana b don wif da inet3catin n den dey loo at m weri n den m gota misner even doe buba didn wan m to n som tea n to hone buns n den we wen to der house n cudles n watced jwcpeitc6e n dey got m a stufie for crimis n dey waited n smel yumy n m ca pu dem in da microwav n war dem up cau m neve war n is weited 1 lb m din so is no to hevu fo m cau m wek

m ha los n Los of fun!!!!!!

[chaunek]

tumblr as a digital community

Tumblr had its start as a digital platform for bloggers and other creative types to post, share, and interact with one another in a virtual space. Short-form blogs were published in this "microblogging" online community, and readers may comment, repost, and like them.

Tumblr serves as a platform for creatives to express themselves. The user's digital portfolio is built using the elements of audio, video, and text. To create a 'dashboard' that is unique to each user, it collects information about their favorite topics and hobbies, similar to how YouTube and Twitter do. Tumblr has its own ecosystem.

You can be more anonymous and fully embrace your passions on the site, as McCracken's (2020, p. 36-37) put it. Tumblr's community helps new users feel more comfortable sharing their ideas with other Tumblr members.

Recent research by Scolere, Prunchniewska, and Duffy found that influencers and media firms use Tumblr and other social media platforms to 'self-brand' and 'self -promote.' To "market themselves, their firms, and their creative products," these 'creative professionals' turned to the new media era. It is the "expectation that you have to be everywhere" that motivates (Scolere, Pruchniewska and Duffy, 2018). The research indicated that people utilize social networking platforms like Tumblr to showcase their talents, as well as their companies. Tumblr exploits the collective nature of like-minded individuals to share and connect with one another, hence it may be seen as a 'digital community'.

References

McCracken, A., Cho, A., Stein, L. and Hoch, I., 2020. a tumblr book: platform and cultures. 1st ed. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Scolere, L., Pruchniewska, U. and Duffy, B., 2018. Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion. Social Media + Society, 4(3), p.4.

[pers-books]

Hey! Did ur UC thingy come through yet? Do you have some new shoes? I don't like thinking abt U walking round with wet feet and holes in ur shoes.

Hi Anon.

Thanks for asking. I’ve heard nothing more about my updated Universal Credit claim as yet. And no, I don’t have new shoes yet - my rent’s due to be paid on Monday so the money I have in my account has to stay there so I can pay the rent. 

Of course, I’m due a UC payment from the Government at the end of next week, but that money (unless it’s been updated) will have to go towards my rent as usual. My rent’s £550 and my UC payment is £400. As I’m sure you can figure, that leaves me short of my rent by £150 because the Govt thinks I’m still earning £800 a month. (I WISH! I didn’t even earn £800 a month when I was working - unless my boss had fucked off to visit his parents for 3 months, leaving me to run the shop full time. Otherwise, not so much!)

If anyone feels like helping out (and obviously I understand that this has been a difficult year for a lot of people AND that the holiday season’s approaching so please don’t leave yourself short), my Paypal link is: https://paypal.me/PublicPers?locale.x=en_GB  or you can buy me an egift card for Sainsbury’s, which is where I do most of my shopping: https://sainsburysgiftcard.co.uk/ (you’ll need my email address for the latter: scolere at gmail dot com).

Thanks.

[deansnelling-mda20009]

How does Tumblr function as a digital community?

Where to start!

Tumblr is an online micro-blogging and social networking platform founded by David Karp in 2007. This is the fancy way of saying a social media platform designed for anonymous or authored content sharing; predominantly text and images in an aesthetic manner. Much like the public sphere, Tumblr acts as a place where private (and non-private) people come together as a public for the purpose of using reason to further critical knowledge (Kruse, Norris & Flinchum 2017).

The social media site has an inherently addictive element to it that makes one want to scroll endlessly in the vast stream on content, and the flipside to viewing content, is to post it. The need and desire for sharing and co-experiencing content (Siapera 2012) is so strong and I think this is what has attracted the attention of the millions of users post regularly.

These users, identifying as millennials (Heine, 2015; Smith, 2017) come to Tumblr to congregate and share content whether it be informative, artistic, intended to challenge the status quo or with the goal being to garner a laugh. By nature, we are curious, social and want to understand and interact (Mandiberg 2012), therefore the want to come together as a digital community is instilled in us from birth.

Tumblr supports this notion as a platform, it relies on the calculated (or artistically not calculated) deployment of one’s digital self-representation (Scolere, Pruchniewska & Duffy 2018) and thrives as its many users curate and stylise their own section of the site. Although visual and textual content such as images and other material is spread rapidly each day, it is still important to understand the tone of the platform and constrain to using it for it is best for; reblogging and quick moving content (Keller 2019).

I think ultimately, the vast differences act as a positive on Tumblr as anyone is able to access the site and find something that interests and resonates with them. Much like a real life town where there’s anything and everything – a digital community if you will.

References

Heine, C. (2015, December 16). Here are the top 25 Tumblr posts sponsored by brands in 2015. Adweek. Retrieved from http:// www.adweek.com/digital/here-are-top-25-tumblr-posts-spon- sored-brands-2015-168653/

Keller, J 2019, "“Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms", Social Media + Society, vol. 5, no. 3, p. 205630511986744.

Kruse, L, Norris, D & Flinchum, J 2017, "Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media", The Sociological Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 62-84.

Mandiberg, M 2012, The Social Media Reader, New York University Press, New York. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [22 April 2020].

Scolere, L, Pruchniewska, U & Duffy, B 2018, "Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion", Social Media + Society, vol. 4, no. 3, p. 205630511878476.

Siapera, E 2012, Understanding new media, Sage, Los Angeles.

Smith, C. (2017). 96 amazing Tumblr stats. Retrieved from http:// expandedramblings.com/index.php/tumblr-user-stats-fact/

Tumblr, 2019, ‘About’, Tumblr. [online] Available at: < https://www.tumblr.com/about> [Accessed 26 April 2020].

[the-new-digital-era]

How does Tumblr function as a Digital Community?

The idea of a virtual landscape where content creators and creative individuals could come together to share, post and collaborate was the fundamental basis for establishing the digital platform that is now more commonly known as Tumblr. Founded in 2007 by David Karp, this ‘microblogging’ online community was used for people to publish “short-form” blogs, from which users could comment, repost and like.

Tumblr functions as a way of creators voicing their feelings and opinions. It uses the features of audio, video and text to construct a digital portfolio for the user. Similarly like YouTube and Twitter, it aggregates the topics and interests you interact with most and uses this to stylise a ‘dashboard’ that is personal to the user. 

Kruse, Norris and Flinchum demonstrates the way social media has an impact on the digital community by prompting that it “may revitalise the public sphere” (2018, p.63) and he cites “to challenge discourses, share alternative perspectives and publish their own opinions” (Loader and Mercea 2011:760). Furthermore, supporting the idea that Tumblr acts as an online space that is free from government intervention and is at liberty to express and voice reason.

In another study, Tumblr and many other social media platforms have been seen at the forefront for ‘self branding’ and ‘self-promotion’ for influencers and media companies . A set of interviews conducted by Scolere, Prunchniewska and Duffy found that these ‘creative professionals’ used the new media age to “promote themselves, their businesses, and their creative products.” (2018, p.4) with the intention of being across multiple media platforms as it is the “expectation that you have to be everywhere” (2018, p.4). Furthermore, this study found that individuals use media sites like ‘Tumblr’ to express themselves, their skills and even their businesses. Tumblr can be perceived as being a ‘digital community’ as it uses the collective nature of like-minded individuals to share, and communicate with one another. 

References:

Kruse, L.M Norris, D.R & Flinchum, J.R 2018, ‘Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media’, The Sociological Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 62-84.

Leah Scolere, Urszula Pruchniewska and Brooke Erin Duffy, “Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion”, Social Media + Society July-September 2018: 1–11.

[patrickswinburne]

3. Social Activism, The Fast Way to Promoting Slow Fashion

As a digital citizen, one can utilise any platform to spread awareness on a pressing issue. This week’s case study is the slow fashion movement, emphasising sustainable growth and fair work over cheap labour and potentially damaging practices.

“Garments act as a vessel of self-expression and create an identity” (Lai, Henninger & Panayiota, 2017). The quote above allows a direct parallel between social media and fashion. This textile industry allows people to demonstrate personality and emotion through a direct visual source, what you are wearing. This goes from such extremes as a baggy hoodie and tracksuit to a suede suit. The same can be said of social media, as “socially mediated self-expression” (Scolere, Pruchniewska, Duffy, 2018), platforms allowing the user to develop identity and portray this to a large following. Through this, it makes sense that the textile industry and social media are closely linked, allowing individuals to utilise the digital medium for expression of both fashion and self.

Within the current socioeconomic climate, issues surrounding the environment become an ever-pressing matter, the younger generation finding a larger voice through the use of social media. These young people exercise this digital citizenship to advocate for a greater future for the environment, social media facilitating this continuation of the slow fashion trend. This is largely seen through various renting pages on social media that allow the users to rent and return clothes, rather than buy and throw them out. This ensures a sustainable product industry. Additionally, influencers like Venetia La Manna employs her own digital freedom to advocate further progression in this slow fashion movement, recently pointing to fair work conditions as an avenue to stop charity t-shirt making in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. La Manna uses the voice given to her by digital media to get a message to her mass following and continue to improve the world. A link to her article can be found below: (https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/coronavirus-charity-tshirt-stay-home-fast-fashion-garment-workers-pollution-a9482351.html)

[lucydimaggio]

Tumblr as a Digital Community.

Hello! My name is Lucy and I am studying MDA20009 (Digital Communities) this semester! I am exploring the way in which this social media platform; Tumblr has played a role in creating and functioning the digital community individuals engage in every day. 

Tumblr allows for the expression of creativity and control over what content is produced (Bromwich, J, 2019) which enables users of the application to feel apart of a ‘digital community’. Tumblr has a range of specific features exploring how exactly it acts as a digital community, these features enable users of the application to come together virtually and connect, whether it be for personal or business purposes (Scolere, L, Pruchniewska, U & Duffy, B. E, 2018). 

Since July 2019, Tumblr has 472 million blog accounts, in comparison to Facebook, the worlds most popular application, it seems as though Tumblr is not used as often as other mediums (Petrov, C, 2019). Facebook has 2.5 billion active daily users, this highlights the extreme difference in numbers between the two platforms (Statista.com, 2019). However, these statistics do show that Tumblr is a unique medium which allows people to communicate in diverse ways, also though it may not be considered the ‘usual’ form of social media is can still be used for diverse purposes through its blog format. 

Unlike other applications, when you sign up to a Tumblr account, you have the ability to follow, create and share content by any digital user globally. Tumblr users have the capability to make new friends based off having similar interests and things they chose to follow. It also allows viewers to share content with friends or to a private blog, so users have the option to interact on a global level or just to their friends through the application (Menedez, S, 2013). These features create digital communities as users virtually come together through the sharing of content online. Tumblr’s simple user interface enables users to create unique portfolios which is another great way for people to communicate through the use of art. Portfolios allow for people to upload and view content that is relevant to their own, again, allowing for the creation of digital communities through the application (Menedez, S, 2013). 

As a result of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the use of digital media has become even more prevalent in recent times due to self-distancing and isolation. Hence why more and more people have turned to online sources and media outlets to spend time and communicate with others. According to the Digital Information World, it is predicted that the use of online media will increase due to the need to self-isolate as well as keep distracted during this time (Muhammad, Z, 2020). The ability to create digital communities is crucial in times such as this as people rely on each other to get through everyday activities, including work, socialising with family and friends and education. 

References: 

Bromwich, J, 2019, What’s next for Tumblr?, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/22/style/tumblr-matt-mullenweg-interview.html. 

Getty Images, 2020, ‘Coronavirus Outbreak through use of Social Media Platforms’, Volkin, S, 2020, SOCIAL MEDIA FUELS SPREAD OF COVID-19 INFORMATION—AND MISINFORMATION, John Hopkins University Hub, viewed 30 March 2020, https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/03/27/mark-dredze-social-media-misinformation/. 

Menendez, S, 2013, The 7 Best Uses for Tumblr, viewed 30 March 2020, https://mashable.com/2013/12/09/tumblr-uses/. 

Muhammad, Z, 2020, The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Increase Social Media Usage, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2020/03/66-percent-of-consumers-expect-their-social-media-consumption-to-increase-during-coronavirus-confinement.html. 

Petrov, C, 2019, Tumblr Statistics 2020, TechJury, viewed 30 March 2020, https://techjury.net/stats-about/tumblr/#gref. 

Scolere, L., Pruchniewska, U. and Duffy, B. E., 2018, Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion, SAGE Journals, viewed 30 March 2020, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305118784768#articleCitationDownloadContainer. 

Statista.com, 2019, Number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide as of 4th quarter 2019, Statista, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

[tourdumondedescm1a]

Dernier atelier de Carbone Scolere: Petite scènette créée par les élèves en groupe.

[taylorafergus]

How does Tumblr function as a Digital Community?’ - Week 5

Since its inception, the internet has quickly become a ubiquitous medium and a powerful tool for the digitisation and mobilisation of communities (Connelly 2015, pg. 1). The concept of 'digital community' was considered by scholar Mark Poster to be at the centre of what he described as the second media age (cited in Bury 2017, pg. 627). This time revolutionised the way people interacted and "heralded the creation of new platforms" that encouraged and afforded such communities (Connelly 2015, pg. 1). These 'digital communities' alluded to factions of shared interest, such as fandoms, that "rely on digital technologies... to communicate, network and disseminate information" as opposed to geographical proximity (IGI Global c. 2020). One leading platform that animates as such is Tumblr.

Tumblr is a New York-based microblogging and social networking platform. Whilst the site was built primarily to act as a microblogging site, it is [Tumblr] "flexible and has been appropriated by the Tumblr community to be[come so] much more" (Hillman et al. 2014:1, pg. 287). The 2007 released platform garnered mainstream attention when it was purchased by Yahoo! in mid-2013. At this point, Tumblr homed over 108 million blogs and announced that over 75 million posts were being made daily (Hillman et al. 2014:2, pg. 775). Much like its alternative blogging and social networking sites, Tumblr users can publish posts in the form of written text, images, quotes, links, audio, or video. Further, these posts can be hash-tagged with key words enabling a point of search for users to locate posts to read, share, like and re-blog; and users to follow and/or befriend (Hillman et al. 2014:2, pg. 775).

Figure 1. Jimmy Fallon Nbc GIF. Source; Giphy c. 2020.

These platforms and subsequent communities facilitate the creation and maintenance of an online space where individuals can “gather ‘en masse’"(Boyd 2012, p. 74) allowing them to “unite over something” (Hillman et al. 2014:1, pg. 287). This allows Tumblr to function as an open digital community that addresses an array of social and political subjects ranging from feminism to fandoms. Some practitioners argue that, as such, social media has brought on the return of Habermas’ 'public sphere' (Kruse et al. 2018, pg. 62). Habermas describes the 'public sphere' as a place where “private people come together as a public” (Kruse et al. 2018, pg. 62).

Not only does Tumblr function as a digital community itself, but it encourages the proliferation of sub-communities on its platform such as fandoms. Tumblr-enabled fandoms have played a pivotal role in the growth of online and digital communities. "Within Tumblr, fandoms—the community that surrounds a television show, movie or book—have become key contributors" (Hillman et al. 2014:2, pg. 775). The anonymity of the platform creates a safe space where people can be themselves and connect with what they love (Tumblr c. 2020) by bringing together individuals who are motivated, passionate and determined about a shared something (Blakemore 2019). That is, they can “talk about what matter[s] to them... and they need not ‘hold back’ on saying things that may offend others or be considered boring or unimportant" (Hillman et al. 2014:2, pg. 780). Further, this anonymity or "social privacy refers to the ability for an individual to exert control over how information flows, who has access to it, and in what context" (cited in Keller 2019, pg. 8). These features and affordances, such as anonymity, shape and co-evolve its user practices allowing them to be less conservative regarding their content as to not fearing social or political backlash to such an extent that would be experienced on alternative, more public, platforms allowing for the development of social identity (McCosker 2017).

The very “tone,” “feeling,” “flavor,” or “impression” of Tumblr exhibits its own ideologies towards the fan-directed content and functioning of its site in the direction of a community-based ethos that brings people together (Scolere et al. 2018, pg. 4). As such it is evident that not only does Tumblr function as a digital community in providing microblogging and social networking technology to connect geographically displaced individuals. But it allows users to behave in such a way that is true to themselves.

Figure 2. Chris Hemsworth Thor GIF. Source; Giphy c. 2020.

References:

Blackmore, P 2019, 'You Need To Hear Halsey's Empowering Fangirls Award Acceptance Speech', iHeartRadio, March 15th, viewed the 21st of April 2020, <https://www.iheart.com/content/2019-03-14-you-need-to-hear-halseys-empowering-fangirls-award-acceptance-speech/>

Boyd, D 2012, ‘Participating in The Always-On Lifestyle’, in M Mandiberg (ed.), The Social Media Reader, New York University Press, New York, pp. 71-76.

Bury, R 2017, 'Technology, fandom and community in the second media age', Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, December 2017, vol. 23, no. 6, pp.627-642.

Connelly, SM 2015, '“Welcome to the FEMINIST CULT”: Building a Feminist Community of Practice on Tumblr', Gettysburg College Institutional Repository: Student Publications, no. 328, viewed the 19th of April 2020, <https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1406&context=student_scholarship>

‘Chris Hemsworth Thor GIF’ [GIF], in in Giphy c. 2020, hashtag, Giphy, viewed the 26th of April 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/avengers-thor-chris-hemsworth-YsKbjF0eZDji0>

Hillman, S, Procyk, J, Neustaedter, C 2014:1, 'Tumblr fandoms, community & culture', Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on computer supported cooperative work & social computing, 15 February 2014, pp. 285-288.

Hillman, S, Procyk, J, Neustaedter, C 2014:2, '‘alksjdf;lksfd’: Tumblr and the Fandom User Experience', Proceedings of the 2014 conference on designing interactive systems, 21 June 2014, pp. 775-718.

IGI GLobal c. 2020,'What is Digital Communities', IGI Global, viewed the 23rd of April 2020, <https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/creating-analytical-lens-understanding-digital/7583>

‘Jimmy Fallon Nbc GIF’ [GIF], in in Giphy c. 2020, hashtag, Giphy, viewed the 26th of April 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/larrysprings-xTiQyw99MYXMazEZoc>

Keller, J 2019, ‘“Oh, she’s a Tumblr feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms’, Social Media + Society, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 1-9.

Kruse, L, Norris, D, Flinchum, J 2018, 'Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media', The Sociological Quarterly, 02 January 2018, vol. 59, no. 1, pp.62-84.

McCosker, A 2017, 'Data literacies for the postdemographic social media self',  First Monday, viewed the 24th of April 2020, <https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/7307/6550>

Scolere, L, Pruchniewska, U, Duffy, BE 2018, 'Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion', Social Media + Society, July 2018, vol. 4. no. 3, pp. 1–11.

Tumblr 2020, Tumblr Staff: 2019’s Top Tumblr Communities, Tumblr, viewed the 23rd of April 2020, <https://staff.tumblr.com/post/189479878120/2019-tumblr-communities>.

[mychemicalromance4ever]

Tumblr as an Online Society

Tumblr presents a unique insight into an online community that is not one public sphere, but rather the collection of many public spheres that comprise the platform. Due to the varying natures of these publics, Tumblr presents a diverse display of politics, religions, ideologies and interest groups. As a corporation, Tumblr “adheres to a strong public service ethic” and it “assumes the presence of a politically engaged, rationally deliberating public.”(Bruns.A.2016). Tumblr presents itself as a “many to many” model, as many internet base forms of communication from the 19902 to now often do, and its place as a social sphere is solidified in its deliverance of “free access and the ability for anyone to contribute information”(Kruse. 2018)

By these standards, it is clear that Tumblr connects to the idea of a public sphere, and the subcultures it harbours creates many different public spheres.

The numbers and data behind Tumblr are closely monitored by the company, and expressed freely to the public. This creates a bigger sense of community within the digital society, and gives a sense of transparency for it users

Tumblr separates itself from other social media platforms through its unique “Platform-Specific-Brand” (Leah. 2017) Tumblr has a real sense of community inclusion and is built on bringing people together based on interests, where as other social media brands focus on real world relationships, Tumblr focuses on a purely online community.

Tumblrs hyper specific subject matter in its communities has paved the way for a strong blogging culture that is equally specific to the communities they interact with. This was particularly important in the transition of feminism into the modern digital age. It is clear that online communities have “facilitated the visibility and spread of contemporary feminist politics” (Jessalyn.2019)  and Tumblr is no exception. Tumblr serves an online purpose that other social medias don’t, in that they can allow communities to talk and discuss without being berated by malignant outside communities. This in part allowed younger feminists to express there opinion without being subject to unfair ridicule 

Bruns, A & Highfield, T 2016 Is Habermas on Twitter? Social media and the public sphere. In A Bruns, G Enli, E Skogerbø, AO Larsson, & Christensen, C (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics. Routledge, New York, pp. 56-73

Kruse, LM Norris, DR & Flinchum, JR 2018 Social media as a public sphere? Politics on social media, The Sociological Quarterly, 59:1, 62-84,

Leah Scolere, Urszula Pruchniewska and Brooke Erin Duffy, “Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion”, (Links to an external site.) Social Media + Society July-September 2018: 1–11.

Jessalynn Keller, “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms, Social Media + Society Volume: 5 issue: 3, 2019.

[scoler]

▪️Частная школа «Lancman school»./ ⠀ Месяц назад выкладывал первые эскизы проекта, теперь проект завершен и давайте посмотрим, что получилось. Школа интересна тем, что обучение проходит по специальной методике Монтессори. Это методика направлена на воспитание самостоятельности и человека, как личности. ⠀ В середине мы организовали подиум для отдыха, игр и выступлений. Колонны стилизовали под деревья. Добавили много выс��авочных и функциональных поверхностей по школе. Зоны в пространстве выделили крупными цветовыми акцентами. Также у учеников появилась зона уединения. Навигацию на дверях выполнили с помощью типографики. ⠀ Сейчас проект ждет реализации надеемся, что все получится. Помойму вышло хорошо, а вы как думаете? ⠀ Дизайнер — @scoler Менеджер — @arevamur #scoldesign #scoler #сколер #design #school #schooldesign #walldesign #wall #interiordesign #graphicdesign #moscowschool #moscow #spacedesign #navigation #children #teacher #школа #дизайнинтерьера #графическийдизайн (at Moscow, Russia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7nOM8kpOm_/?igshid=j9vvj17yiqna

[kalegc]

How does Tumblr function as a digital community?

The digital communities found on Tumblr are vast and the members within are free to express themselves. This is mainly due to design of the platform, user customisation, and the social norms of not only Tumblr, but other social media sites also. However, Tumblrs tumultuous recent history cannot be overlooked while discussing its digital communities. 

Over the last few years Tumblr has been through quite a lot. Tumblr was once commonly known as a website for users to find NSFW content not permitted on other social media platforms. For these users Tumblr acted as a judgement-free platform for sexual self-expression and exploration. Leskin (2019) notes that Tumblr acted as a “haven” for these marginalised groups, due to their content not being accepted elsewhere on the internet. Collectively, these groups formed one of the largest digital communities found in Tumblr. However, in late 2018 the Tumblr app was removed from the App Store after child pornography was found on the platform. In response to this Tumblr announced that all NSFW content was to be banned. Consequently, Tumblr immediately lost a significant amount of page views and users. Three months after the ban, according to Mashable (2019), Tumblr had 29% less page views per month. Not only did Tumblr lose countless users in an instant, those that remained found that many of their posts were getting flagged for no logical reason. Naturally, these illogically flagged posts made for some great memes and perhaps acted as a silver lining, as these memes became quite popular on the internet. 

Design is an important factor in what determines what social media platform people use. However, an equally important factor can be the culture of the platform. These factors are what differentiates every social media platform. Scolere, Pruchniewska, and Erin Duffy (2018) detail the importance affordances and imagined affordances (pp.2-3). Affordances are the actual processes enabled and possible on the platform. For example; being able to post a photo on your page is an affordance. Imagined affordances are more complicated and nuanced. These are affordances imagined by the users of the platform based on a variety of factors. These factors are a combination of the ‘physical’ affordances of the platform as well as socio-cultural expectations and social norms of the platform. Tumblr is unique as it has an almost overwhelming amount of affordances. Cho (2015, p.43) describes first venturing into Tumblr as “disorientating” due to the fact that there is "no clear way to traverse or search the network” (p.43). Unlike other social network platforms, there are no friends or family to cling to while learning how to traverse the network. Tumblrs initial learning curve could perhaps be detrimental to its popularity. However, due to the vast array of features that Tumblr has, and due to the very lenient imagined affordances, Tumblr has a vast array of digital communities.

The communities and public spheres found on Tumblr feel more intimate and open than those found on other social media. Watercutter (2019) believes that Tumblr is important for the internet as “It was, and occasionally still is, a living embodiment of what the internet can and should be”. The possibilities of the internet are endless and all-encompassing. Similar is the nature of Tumblr. Watercutter details that (at its peak) Tumblr acted as a safe space while other, more popular, social media sites emerged. Racists, trolls and homophobes followed the popular sites, leaving Tumblr for people to openly express themselves without fear. This lead to Tumblr being used by a variety of communities including a very passionate feminist group. Tumblrs level of anonymity and user control attracted dedicated feminists to the platform to discuss topics that wouldn't be suitable on other platforms (Keller 2019, p.8). Even after the NSFW content ban Tumblr still feels very open and free in terms of content. Every page and community is built out of a desire to share something. Whether it be a topic to discuss or image to admire, Tumblr is more about creating communities rather than collecting ‘likes’.

The communities within Tumblr are endless and the public spheres found within these communities are open and free. While writing this assignment I found that using Tumblr was out of desire rather than routine or neccessity. However, I’ll let this gif below act as a summary of my final thoughts on the platform. 

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References are below...

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Cho, A 2015, 'Queer Reverb: Tumblr, Affect, Time', in K Hillis, S Paasonen & Ml Petit (eds), Networked Affect, The MIT Press, Cambridge, pp.43-59.

Dong M 2018, ‘[Flagged Lion Sketch]’, in M Dongs’ 2018, @sketchshark, Twitter, viewed 7 April 2020, <https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DthoT9tUwAAohMK?format=jpg&name=large>.

giphy 2014, ‘[Thumbs up Gif]’, in Giphys’ 2014, Great Job Reaction GIF, giphy, viewed 7 April 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/retro-thumbs-up-XreQmk7ETCak0?utm_source=media->.

Keller, J 2019, '“Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms', vol. 1, no. 3, viewed 14 April, <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2056305119867442>.

Leskin, P 2019, 'A year after Tumblr's porn ban, some users are still struggling to rebuild their communities and sense of belonging',Business Insider, 21 December, viewed 25 March, <https://www.businessinsider.com.au/tumblr-porn-ban-nsfw-flagged-reactions-fandom-art-erotica-communities-2019-8?r=US&IR=T>.

Ruocco M 201, ‘[Flagged Diner Sketch]’, in M Ruoccos’ 2018, @AGuyWhoDraws, Twitter, viewed 7 April 2020, <https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DthOaHsU4AAGI7G?format=jpg&name=900x900>.

Scolere, L, Pruchniewska, U & Erin Duffy, B 2018, 'Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion',Social Media + Society, vol. 4, no. 3, viewed 1 April, <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305118784768>

Sung, M 2019, 'Tumblr loses almost a third of its users after banning porn', Mashable, 15 March, viewed 25 March, <https://mashable.com/article/tumblr-lost-a-third-of-its-users-after-porn-ban/>.

Watercutter, A 2019, 'The Internet Needs Tumblr More Than Ever', WIRED, 14 August, viewed 1 April, <https://www.wired.com/story/tumblr-reinvigorated/>.

[thomaspaneghel]

How does Tumblr function as a digital community?

Tumblr functions as a digital community through the way it is universal used and how it is considered as a part of social media and a way to connect with other people around the world. Tumblr has the ability for people to post their own opinions through digital applications associated with this platform including images, hashtags and GIFs so assist in the pushing and projection of their opinion. Tumblr wouldn’t be considered as a major social platform used on a daily basis compared to the likes of Facebook and Instagram, but Tumblr uses hashtags and blogs to which people find useful and can use to express their feelings.  

The public sphere is associated with Tumblr through “mass media seeing a transformation towards a universal, nationwide public sphere’ which indicates that many social media platforms are  As a way to promote products and businesses, Tumblr would not be the ideal place for promotion due to the competition with Facebook predominantly being more superior. Majority of people would use “social media in a professional capacity” and in which would make things difficult to promote products and business on a platform like this. However, Tumblr is a great source to express common interest with other people and became a place for pop culture and fandoms to then engage people and can form many digital communities which makes Tumblr a great source for a chance of worldwide comradery in conjunction with data publics.  

Tumblr is considered to be functioned as a digital community as this site can be used to spread awareness with current issues and what you are passionate about. People who have current political views may not necessarily use Instagram or Facebook to spread the message but use Tumblr to focus on pure release of opinion. An example is through feminism and the way young females use Tumblr to show their opinion and this is done because Tumblr is the “easiest digital space to practice feminism as a young person.” Tumble even though not considered as the most popular of social media platforms is can still be considered functional as a digital community. 

References

Bruns, A & Highfield, T 2016 Is Habermas on Twitter? Social media and the public sphere. In A Bruns, G Enli, E Skogerbø, AO Larsson, & Christensen, C (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics. Routledge, New York, pp. 56-73 

Jessalynn Keller, “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms, Social Media + Society Volume: 5 issue: 3, 2019.   

Leah Scolere, Urszula Pruchniewska and Brooke Erin Duffy, “Constructing the Platform-Specific Self-Brand: The Labor of Social Media Promotion”, (Links to an external site.) Social Media + Society July-September 2018: 1–11.

[pers-books]

I am not the original berena anon but I also feel isolated from the fandom, for a slightly different reason though I think. Okay so I don’t want to cause any upset but perhaps you can help me understand something, from what I can see there aren’t any Bernie fans left? It’s very Serena heavy, and I’m not really as big a fan of hers as I am Bernie. Sometimes the clique of Serena/Catherine fans are so tight knit and defensive it’s not even worth engaging. If you don’t love her, you’re a hater :/

Well this Bernie fan will assure you that they are still here (I mean, I only just got here earlier this year, TBF!)! But I know what you mean. Most of the Berena fans I know seem to be huge Serena/Catherine fans and I do feel a bit like I’m standing in the corner with the blonde with messy hair, waving feebly at the rest. But you are very welcome to message me and talk about Bernie all you want. I would be glad to talk about our favourite tender-hearted trauma surgeon with you. If you prefer, you can send me Anon messages, but I’d like to get to know a fellow Bernie fan properly, so either message me or drop me an email: scolere at gmail dot com. I won’t divulge anything that you don’t want made public.