captainzitak

[captainzitak]

Enjoyed your blog; an interesting read.  So true about the reality being different to the online image presented.  All thanks to editing and the digital age.

Blog 7 #Wk 9 - Visual Communities and Social Imagery

Once upon a time we “connected” to others by visiting them face-to-face, writing a letter, posting a birthday card, sending a postcard from a holiday destination or taking photos on a camera (think Kodak instant photos or sending film to developed and picked up a few days later at the general store!). When I was 12, I had a pen pal, we used to exchange hand-written letters accompanied with photographs of each other, signed sealed and delivered in to the post. Within a couple of weeks or so, I would receive a letter and some photographs in the mail. It was such a buzz! Not long after however, the excitement soon wore off, given the time it took to keep connected.

In the now 21st Century, just about anyone with an internet connection or smart phone can opt to communicate to “the world” (literally), through visual imagery. The visibility of networked publics is prevalent more than ever, creating a global phenomenon of sharing stories through images. Anyone can literally take a selfie or photo and instantly “share” it to social media.

According to Week 9.1 class material, ‘Mobile cameras and image sharing platforms; from YouTube to Snapchat via Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, as well as Tumblr and Pinterest, have enabled new visual modes of expression, sharing and communication.’

Yes, what a great way to interact and express yourself through social networks, sharing with others your intimate moments..The flip side of this, is that it becomes problematic when one relies on the number of ‘likes’ or followers to validate the worthiness of their image posted.

‘Social media can be toxic for body image. It is highly visual and interactive, and appearance is central to success. Collecting “likes” and followers provides an immediate marker of achievement and popularity. These feed directly into users sense of self worth.The interactive and sometimes anonymous nature of social media means..the way people present themselves on social media can also contribute to problems for body image. People often strive to present themselves in the best light, especially in relation to how they look.’ (Paxton S 2016)

Celebrities are using images to market themselves and gain a fan base through Instagram where you can follow them, collaborate, comment and view their images. This can create an unrealistic view of how we perceive their lives in comparison to ours, we want to look and act like popular stars at the expense of our own truth.

’Selfies provide an opportunity to position ourselves (often against our competitors) to gain recognition, support and ultimately interaction from the targeted social circle. This is no different to consumer brand promotion.” (Nelson-Field K 2013, Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing).

Check out the Youtube clip below, Selfie Culture - Are We Missing Out On Real Life?

How fortunate we are to live in a society with Technology and its continual advancements in how we live our lives and connect to the world. However, is the price we pay for ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ worth portraying an unreal, fabricated perception of our true identity, where we are deceiving others and ourselves…??

 References

- Selfie city, 2014, viewed 16 January 2018, <http://selfiecity.net/>. 

- Susan J Paxton, September 26, 2016, theconversation.com ‘Social media can damage body image – here’s how to counteract it, viewed 16/1/17 <

https://theconversation.com/social-media-can-damage-body-image-heres-how-to-counteract-it-65717>.

- Herrmn J, January 28, 2014, BUZZFeedNEWS, ‘Meet The Man Who Got Inside Snapchat’s Head’< .viewed">https://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/meet-the-unlikely-academic-behind-snapchats-new-pitch?utm_term=.dqvMe4bag#.yn9JK17YW>.viewed 17/1/2018.

[captainzitak]

Enjoyed reading your blog and agree social gaming does limit social interaction in real life.  The video clip is a bit disturbing but highlights the negative side of social gaming and the impact on players health and wellbeing.

Blog 8 – Game on

Life really is a game for some people. Personally, I have never considered myself a gamer. Back in the days of computer games, video games, TV games and even arcades (which I know are still ‘a thing’ today), gaming is not something that has ever interested me. But like everything else, with the rise of social media, social gaming has also undergone a massive revolution right before our very eyes. Not many games can be played if you don’t have a username and password for a social media site.  

But how social have online games become? According to Swinburne Online (2018), “the term ‘social games’ has come to refer to those games specially made for, and profiting from, social network sites like Facebook.” Let’s look at some interesting statistics around gaming in the US.

Frank (2016) states that in an annual report published by The Entertainment Software Association, and after surveying 4,000 households, some gaming habits were:

63 per cent of US households include a minimum of one frequent gamer.

65 per cent of households own a video game-playing device.

48 per cent of households own a ‘dedicated game console.’

47 per cent of gamers are aged between 18 and 49 years old.

The average male gamer is 35 and the average female gamer is 44.

59 per cent of frequent gamers are male.

56 per cent of gamers play on a PC, 53 per cent on dedicated consoles and 36 per cent on smartphones.

54 per cent of gamers play with other people, including friends (40 per cent) and family members (21 per cent).

Online gamers spend, on average, 6.5 hours per week playing with others.

Consumers spent $23.5 billion on gaming in 2015

I think it’s safe to say that social gaming is pretty popular in the US. But it’s not all fun and games as such. According to Humphreys (2014, pp. 78-79), online environments, such as MMOgs, are often referred to as contractual environments. There are rules and limitations around conduct. They are determined by the very one-sided end user licence agreement (EULA) the player has to accept to enter into in order to access the gaming platform (Humphreys 2014, pp. 78-79). Game rules used to be loose guidelines (often on a physical playground) to ensure fair play for all participants, these days its actual online contracts gamers willingly enter into in order to get their gaming fix.

The question is though: As is always the case with social media, are these so-called ‘social games’ encouraging us to be more sociable in the virtual world and less available in the real one? And are they just another way of messing with our heads?

On that note, here’s some food for thought… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAgyR9Gwcp0

References

Frank, A 2016, Take a look at the average American gamer in new survey findings, Polygon, viewed 28 January 2018, <https://www.polygon.com/2016/4/29/11539102/gaming-stats-2016-esa-essential-facts>.

‘Households are under control in the US’ [image], in Polygon 2016, Take a look at the average American gamer in new survey findings, Polygon, viewed 28 January 2018, <https://www.polygon.com/2016/4/29/11539102/gaming-stats-2016-esa-essential-facts>.

Humphreys, S 2014, ‘The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online’, Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20(1), pp. 77-99.

Russkiipatsan 2009, GGM – Gamer Gone MAD, 24 June 2009, viewed 28 January 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAgyR9Gwcp0>.

‘Social gaming – plenty to choose from’ [image], in Game Overdrive 2018, What are social gaming?, Game Overdrive, viewed 28 January 2018, <http://www.game-overdrive.com/2017/social-gaming/>.

Swinburne Online 2018, ‘Week 10: Social gaming – playing the crowd’, MDA20009, Digital Communities, learning materials on Blackboard, Swinburne Online, January, viewed 28 January 2018.

[captainzitak]

Farmville to Eve Online, what’s your social online game?

Blog 8.  Social Gaming Playing the Crowd.

What is social gaming?  It is an online community of virtual players and the following YouTube video explains how MMORG (massively-multiplayer online role-playing game) or MMO for short works (plays 13 minutes).

A study conducted by University researchers, Gunwoo Yoon, Brittany Duff, and Seoungho Ryu, found that most social online gamers are male aged under 30 years.  The players continued with social gaming because of positive attitudes towards online gaming.  These factors included: “usefulness, enjoyment of the games, and its perceived economic value”.  The researcher also noted that gender and game type, resulted in differing attitudes towards MMORG (Yoon, Duff & Ryu 2013).

Farmville is an online game developed by social gaming company Zynga (Zynga games 2018).  I remember playing Farmville through Facebook years ago.  I used to love getting cherry trees for my farm.  I was so happy being a farmer tending my crops and taking care of the animals. It is easy to see how the number of players increased when Farmville was introduced to Facebook and many other social media platforms.  In its first two months, Farmville attracted 33 million Facebook players (Lovell 2009).

Farmville 3 (Themeplus 2013).

Eve Online is an online game that takes alliances and exploration into space, to another level.  It has been described as the most dangerous place to be in the online gaming world (Messner 2016).  Given the savagery of Eve Online, the game is not without its controversies.  

The Eve Online web link: https://www.eveonline.com/

Eve Online - Empyrean Age (CCP Games 2008).

Eve Online differs slightly from other online social games, in that players can negotiate with the developer through the Council of Stellar Management.  Players are encouraged to participate with creating the rules of engagement with Eve Online and must abide by the code of conduct policy.  This does present many challenges, given that the level of lawlessness in space (de Zwart & Humphreys 2014).

With over one billion online social gamers’ in the world, there can be some negative impact on players health. This includes social isolation, addiction, depressive moods, and neglect of one’s health with continued online engagement (Wolfe 2012).

The following YouTube video highlights some of the negative aspects of social gaming.

The following web link provides advise on how to stay cyber safe when gaming.

Link: https://www.getsafeonline.org/protecting-yourself/online-gaming/

Social gaming has captured the imagination of many people around the world and number only increases, as developers create ever more platforms for the online community of players.  The question we need to ask ourselves, is what does this hold for the future?  

References

CCP Games, 2008, Eve Online - Empyrean Age [image], viewed 2 February 2018, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Eve_Online_-_Empyrean_Age_screenshot.jpg

de Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014,' The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-99.

Lovell, N 2009, Secret of Farmville’s success and 33 million people agree, [website] 4 September, viewed 2 February <http://www.gamesbrief.com/2009/09/six-secrets-of-farmvilles-success-and-33-million-people-agree/>.

Messner, S 2016, How to get into EVE Online, gaming’s most savage and rewarding MMO, [website] viewed 2 February 2018, <http://www.pcgamer.com/eve-beginners-guide/>.

Themeplus 2013, Farmville 3 [image], viewed 2 February 2018, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/85217387@N04/8482850346>.

Wolfe, A 2012, Massively Multiplayer Online Gamers: Motivations and Risks. Dissertation, Georgia State University, [article] viewed 2 February 2018, <https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1073&context=cps_diss>.

Yoon, G Duff, B & Ryu, S 2013, Gamer’s just want to have fun? Toward an understanding of the online game acceptance, Journal of Applied Psychology, 30 August, vol. 43(9), pp.1814-1826 [peer reviewed journal], viewed 2 February 2018, <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/10.1111/jasp.12133/full>.

Zynga games 2018, Farmville [website], viewed 2 February 2018, <https://www.zynga.com/games/farmville>.

[captainzitak]

The rise of Selfies & Instagram - a form of expression & to connect to others

Blog 7.  Visual Communities and Social Imaging.

The use of imagery such as photographs and videos are an increasingly important component on many social media platforms.  The selfie aka taking a photo of oneself, abounds on many social media platforms, especially Instagram.

Instagram (Mark Proto 2016).

The photo sharing platform Instagram has increased with the increased use of mobile phones to take photographs and video.  It is way to share with others and only the best images make it to Instagram.   Instagram now offers Instagram stories, a feature that is like Snapchat where a series of photos can tell a story (Moreau 2017).

Who uses Instagram? Well, there are about 800 million people that use Instagram every month with 500 million being daily users.  Instagram is only increasing in members.  That equates to a lot of pictures online (Etherington 2017).

This gives us the number of accounts, however, what type of person is likely to use Instagram? According to Mediakix Team (2017), in the US women use Instagram more than men do and the 18 to 35-year old’s make up the largest age group.  Other interesting facts about the Instagram user is that: most live in urban areas, belong to non-white ethnic groups, and 80% of users are outside of the US.  

The following YouTube clip “How to use Instagram” provides a very easy to understand, step by step on how to get started using Instagram.

The use of images and photographs in an online arena has increased expression for many people, as a picture tells a thousand words.  Images can be filtered and edited to represent the subject in the best light. The use of Instagram and other visual social media platforms may not be an actual representation of the subject in real life.  

This aside, as we all know that all Instagram is fake in its representation.  Most of us would still rather look at something aesthetically pleasing, than not.  However, this is not the main cause of concern with the use of images on social media. The most concerning issues are to do with privacy as well as legal and ethical issues of what happens to these images once it is posted online (Vivienne and Burgess 2013).

Selfie (Emmylou 2016).

In 2017 the Instagram account with the most followers is Selena Gomez with over 130 million followers. In fact, the top 10 most followed, are celebrities – which comes as no surprise, as we all want to know what is going on in the lives of our favourite celebrities (Hartmans 2017).

The following YouTube clip is of Selena Gomez and her take on Instagram.

The use of photographs, images, and video via social media platforms has increased in popularity and the consumers’ appetite for Instagram shows no sign of abating any time soon, regardless of any potential pitfalls and negatives of an online presence.

References

Emmylou 2016, Selfie [image] viewed 2 February 2018, https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-beside-donkey-taking-selfie-on-grass-736508/

Etherington, D 2017, Why Instagram is the top Social Media platform for engagement (and how to use it). TechCrunch [website] 25 September, viewed 2 February 2018, <https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/25/instagram-now-has-800-million-monthly-and-500-million-daily-active-users/>.

Hartmans, A 2017, Here are the most-followed Instagram accounts in 2017, [website] viewed 2 February 2018, <https://www.businessinsider.com.au/instagram-top-10-people-2017-2017-11?r=US&IR=T>.

Mark Proto 2016, Instagram [image], viewed 2 February 2018, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Instagram-normal.png>.

Mediakix Team 2017, The Instagram demographics & usage statistics marketeers need to know in 2017[wesite] <http://mediakix.com/2016/09/13-impressive-instagram-demographics-user-statistics-to-see/#gs.GWWW54U>.

Moreau, E 2017, What is Instagram, anyway? 10 December, viewed 2 February, <https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-instagram-3486316>.

Vivienne, S & Burgess, J 2013, ‘The Remediation of the Personal Photograph’, Journal of Material Culture, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 279-98.

[captainzitak]

Enjoyed your blog and the comparison of an online troll from the trolls under a bridge in Norway.  Interesting to note that some websites/blogs monitor for trolling and act to keep their site safe for everyone.

Trolling and social media conflict

Week seven dealt with the increasingly troubling issues of Trolling and Social Media conflict.  I say troubling as it’s an issue that’s been around for quite some time, shows no sign of abating and can have a devastating impact on the targets of this abuse, at times leading to mental health issues, suffered by the recipient of the trolling.  A Troll, in this instance anyway, isn’t a short in stature bearded Norwegian man that lives under a bridge, but in regards to social media, has been defined as “a person whose real intention(s) is/are to cause disruption and/or to trigger or exacerbate conflict for the purposes of their own amusement”, (Hardaker, C 2010).  Trolling came into being when social media made it possible for individuals to anonymously harass, abuse and target anyone, (Jakubowicz, A 2017).  For whatever reason, whether they are a celebrity or a well-known person, for reasons of race, gender or just because you wear a funny hat, the reasons why somebody trolls another person are many. (Herring, S, Job-Sluder, K, Scheckler, R, Barab, S, 2002) mentions that trolling behaviours in cyberspace are in the main tolerated, due partly to the pervasiveness on the web of an individual’s civil rights and their right to freedom of speech.  That being the case, its then up to those that monitor, set up a code of conduct and a set of rules on their webpage or blog site, to decide what is and isn’t appropriate and if anybody disregards this, they need to step in and act appropriately.

A good example of this is The Association Cricket Lounge, which is a group of over 7,000 bloggers I joined 12 months ago on Facebook.  Based in the UK, it’s for cricket tragics like myself worldwide.  What I like best about this site is its very quick in dealing with trolls and people who use inappropriate or threatening language to fellow posters.  Usually they will get a warning first, then if they still misbehave they are cut from the group for good.  They promote a safe and positive site where we can all contribute without having to suffer trolls and trouble makers.  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/254094918412969/about/

Not everyone however regards trolling as a bad or evil thing, in fact some sites actually embrace the term and the whole concept of trolling.  4CHAN came into being in 2003 as its own blogging entity and with its own set of behavioural norms.  One of these norms was the use of the word troll for self-identification, (Phillips, W 2015).  Initially it started off with only a few boards, such as /a/-anime, /b/-random, /c/-cute and /h/-hentai.  While not all bloggers on 4CHAN would call themselves trolls, they are all aware that the term is embedded into the site’s ethos.  

http://www.4chan.org/

Jeff

References

4CHAN, 2016, ‘logo’, flickr [image], viewed 30 December 2017, https://www.flickr.com/photos/143742089@N08/27396351136

Hardaker, C, 2010, Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated communication: From user to discussions to academic definitions, De Gruyter, Google Scholar, https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jplr.2010.6.issue-2/jplr.2010.011/jplr.2010.011.xml

Herring, S., Job-Sluder, K., Scheckler, R., & Barab, S. (2002). Searching for safety online: Managing” trolling” in a feminist forum. The Information Society, 18(5), 371–384. doi:10.1080/01972240290108186[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]

Jakubowicz, A H, 2017, Alt_Right White Lite: Trolling, Hate Speech and Cyber Racism on Social Media, Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 12/01/2017, Vol.9(3), p.41, EBSChost Academic Search Complete

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=84fc7da7-d3bd-4a3e-bf37-5f3b266b3685%40sessionmgr120

Lim, W, 2015, ‘Don’t Feed The Troll’, flickr, [image], viewed 29 December 2017, https://www.flickr.com/photos/coolinsights/19700044515

Phillips, W 2015, This is why we can’t have nice thing: mapping the relationship between online trolling and mainstream culture, Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England : The MIT Press, EBSChost Academic Collection – World Wide,

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzk2NjEzMF9fQU41?sid=32781d81-1111-4f11-bc4b-5842f3e6d769@sessionmgr102&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

[captainzitak]

Enjoyed reading your blog. Interesting to note the different types of technology that can be used for crowdsourcing in a crisis.

Crowdsourcing a Crisis

The ubiquity of social media platforms has provided never before seen opportunities for people all over the globe to contribute immediate and relevant knowledge, especially in crisis situations. This is known as ‘crowdsourcing’.

First described by Jeff Howe in Wired magazine, crowdsourcing can be defined as a ‘method for recruiting and organising ad-hoc labour, using an open-call for participation’ (Schimak et al 2011). This method of generating up to date information has enormous potential in crisis management. Successful management of crowdsourcing ‘can result in nearly instantaneous situation awareness’ (Schimak et al 2011).

In the US there seems to be a lot of opportunities for crowd-sourcing - the recent shooting in Las Vegas unfolding in real time across social media, and Cyclone Harvey and Irma being prime examples from the last year. In Houston, a group of boatmen from Louisiana - the Cajun Navy - banded together, and with the help of an app called Zello (a walkie-talkie style cellphone app) along with Google Maps, set up their own search and rescue service (Flournoy 2017). The CEO of Zello (see video above) likened the app to a ‘crowdsourced 911 system’. Flood victims were asked to put their address into a centralised Google form which was then fed directly to rescuers in that area using Google maps to pinpoint their exact location. This app has been so successful that it’s been banned in several countries as it’s been an effective tool for organising protest activities (Flournoy 2017).

Image: Cajun Navy Rescue Operation, Texas, 2017. Source: <https://www.facebook.com/CajunNavy2016/photos/a.1184653214890259.1073741827.1184536864901894/1556260201062890/?type=3&theater>

One of the most popular crisis mapping tools internationally is Ushahidi (meaning ‘Witness’ in Kiswahili). Developed as ‘a way of reporting eye-witness accounts of violence’ during Kenya’s disputed elections in 2007 (Poblet and Casanovas 2012), Ushahidi is an interactive mapping platform. Users send text messages to Ushahidi volunteers who chart them onto Google Maps. A crowdsourced version of the app ‘Crowdmap’ was released in 2010, allowing people to ‘check-in’ their current location and add information pertaining to that location (Poblet and Casanovas 2012).

One site that has been actively using the Ushahidi platform since 2011 is ‘Syria Tracker’, which is a project of ‘Humanitarian Tracker’. Syria Tracker is a crisis mapping system that ‘uses crowdsourced text, photo and video reports and data mining techniques’ that form a live map of the conflict (Syria Tracker 2018).

The site provides:

A continually updated list of eye witness reports from within Syria, often accompanied by media links

Aggregate reports including analysis and visualisations of deaths and atrocities in Syria

A stream of content-filtered media from news, social media (Twitter and Facebook) and official sources

(Source: Syria Tracker 2018)

Reports filed in the first two weeks of 2018 alone include a story about a suspected government chlorine gas attack in Damascus, and a report on incidences of a cVDPV2 (vaccine-derived polio) outbreak in Syria.

Image: Reports filed on Syria Tracker Source: Syria Tracker 2018

Reports shown in the image above include everything from water tampering to revenge killings and are a sobering reminder of an as-yet-unresolved situation.

References

Flournoy, D 2017, The Power of Emergency Crowdsourcing: How Social Media Helped Rescuers During Harvey, Storyful, viewed 14 January 2018, <https://storyful.com/blog/2017/09/07/power-emergency-crowdsourcing-social-media-helped-rescuers-harvey/>.

Howe, J 2006, The Rise of Crowdsourcing, Wired, viewed 15 January 2018, <https://www.wired.com/2006/06/crowds/>.

Poblet, M & Casanovas, P 2012, Crowdsourced crisis mapping: how it works and why it matters, The Conversation, viewed 15 January 2018, <https://theconversation.com/crowdsourced-crisis-mapping-how-it-works-and-why-it-matters-7014>.

Schimak, G, Havlik, D & Pielorz, J 2011, Crowdsourcing in Crisis and Disaster Management – Challenges and Considerations, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna

Syria Tracker 2018, Humanitarian Tracker, Ushahidi, viewed 15 January 2018, <https://syriatracker.crowdmap.com/main>.

[captainzitak]

Liked your blog Hannah, and an interesting take on activism and the effect of clicktivism on the Kony 2012 campaign.    

Kony 2012

Remember when we all rallied together online and some in person for something to do with Kony? I do. I remember sharing videos, posts and status’ on Facebook about Kony 2012 with little understanding of the cause, but it must have made me feel some what powerful and part of a wider community coming together for.. Kony?!. 

But according to Park (2013), this type of social activism known as clicktivism isn’t doing the world an good. Apparently it is time and money that gets things done, whereas raising awareness on social media of political issues, charities and protests are only encouraging people to think that their job is done if they like, share or ‘react’ to a post instead of actually acting on it or donating time and money. 

Kony 2012 was done and dusted on social media shortly after it was launched, but surprisingly nothing happened. Barcia (2013) reports that in 2013, Joseph Kony was still at large and although the organisation running the protest raised a large amount of funds, their funds went predominantly into marketing campaigns and spreading the messages instead of actions to stop Kony. Instead of spreading the right messages, Drumbl (2012) explains that many images of children carrying weapons, young male soldiers and child abduction have been ‘Afrikanised’ and do not portray the right messages as they do not match the real situation. So is clicktivism promoted more on some social media platforms due to their affordances? Of course! Facebook and Instagram allow users to like, follower and re-post posts which gives users a sense of community and the feeling that they are contributing to a worthy cause. So in reality, social media is making it easier for charities to spread the message, but harder to promote the desirable actions of donating and volunteering. Think before you like, share or react for you could be adding to the damage that is clicktivism.

References: Barcia, M, 2013. Whatever happened to kony 2012?. Opinion / Afghanistan, accessed online 22 Jan 2018, <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/201311510541807406.html>

  Drumbl, M.A., 2012. Child soldiers and clicktivism: Justice, myths, and prevention. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 4(3), pp.481-485. Park, A, 2013. Clicktivism: why social media is not good for charity. SBS News, Accessed online 22 Jan 2018, <https://www.sbs.com.au/news/clicktivism-why-social-media-is-not-good-for-charity>

[captainzitak]

Liked reading your blog. Great explanation of crowdsourcing and social mapping, with the benefits and drawbacks of these platforms.  

CrowdSourcing in Times of Crisis

Ushahidi (https://goo.gl/fjny9Z)

In times of crisis and natural disasters such as earth quakes floods and fires communication can be key to saving lives and properties. Conventional traditional media is very limited and relies on data gathered over time on the ground, that results in delays while relaying information that might be critical. The emergence of numerous social media sites and platforms have given way to a new form of instantaneous information gathering and response through the use of crowd sourcing. Crowd sourcing is the practice of delegating a task to a large group of people in the hope that the combined group knowledge will improve the understanding of a chosen topic (Estelles-Arolas & Gonzalez-Ladron-De-Guevara, 2012, p. 1).

Crowd sourcing is used in many aspects in the online world, be it direct or none direct. Sites such as Twitter Facebook and google+ rely on user generated information to function in an indirect way. Whereas Wikipedia and Reddit function in a crowd sourcing manner to populate these sites with information directly that is for the purpose of enlighten others and making information available to all.

Other online sites completely function and depend on crowd sourced information to provide as much information as possible in times of crisis or disasters. Sites such as Ushahidi, give live and updated user generated information, this information can then be used by emergency services in these situations to provide support and help to the most effected and needed areas or situations. (Okolloh, 2009).

Japan Tsunami (https://goo.gl/44HhYu)

Social mapping is a real time visual representation of posts by public user giving emergency services and media a vital tool in accessing such information (Swinburne, 2017). These social maps have been key in saving many lives in the Haiti crisis where first responders where able to pin point the most affected areas (Meier, 2012).

Crowd Sourcing and social mapping are great tools for fast and mostly accurate information, some of the benefits of crowd sourcing include the immediacy of information gathering, pin pointing most affected and needy crisis areas, social mapping provides an easy to navigate map of the crisis area. There are also some draw backs to crowd sourcing including the reliability of information gathered from the public, what information is relevant and worthy, and anonymity makes it difficult to collect testimonies. A good example of the struggle of crowd sourcing is during the Egyptian election monitoring process in 2010, vandals tried to bring down the Ushahidi system by uploading more than 260,000 photos and crippling the system (Ford, 2012).

References:

Estelles-Arolas, E & Gonzalez-Ladron-De-Guevara, F 2012, ‘Towards an integrated crowdsourcing definition’, Journal of information Science, vol. 38, no. 2. Ford, H, 2012, Crowd wisdom, Index on censorship, vol. 41, no. 4.

Meier, P 2012, Mobile Technologies, Crisis Mapping & Disaster Response: My Talk at #MWC12, iRevolutions, <https://irevolutions.org/2012/02/26/mobile-technologies-crisis- mapping-disaster-response/>

Okolloh, O, 2009, ‘Ushahidi,or‘testimony’: Web 2.0 9 tools for crowdsourcing crisis information’, Participatory learning and action, vol. 59, no. 1.

[captainzitak]

Liked your blog with the technically challenged pollies and each country having their own dramas with politicians and social media.

Social medias influence on our twitterific politicians

Politics and social media websites have become synonymous with each other in past few years and it’s hard to tell if this has been good or terrible. From Donald Trump, who cannot seem to have a thought without Tweeting it, to Australian politicians who struggle with the concept of making human interactions, each country is having its own struggles with technologically challenged pollies (Jericho, 2013, p. 266). With 79% of Australians using social media (Sensis, 2016) it’s not hard to understand why politicians see this as a vital resource. But not all of them fully understand how to utilise it just yet. Could this be because the average age of a politician in Australia is 51? Or are they too busy to master the art of social media, I know which answer we are all hoping for! (Parliament of Australia, 2013).

The hope with social media and politics is that it will break down the barrier between voters and leaders and give everyone a line to communicate through (Loader & Mercea, 2011, p. 1). The unfortunate truth is that the majority of communication by politicians is one-sided and very rarely reciprocal. Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlum began his social media career by posting nothing but political information and media releases (Jericho, 2013, p. 266). It’s this type of behaviour that voters are disinterested in, they want to feel like they are following a functioning human being. Malcolm Turnbull was able to use this demand in his favour by replying to more tweets than he ever posted (Jericho, 2013, p. 265). This creates an equilibrium of content that ensures voters stay invested in the messages that are being posted.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has no trouble keeping followers engrossed in every post that he makes. In an interview with Fox News’ (not fake news), Maria Bartiromo Trump said: “I doubt I would be here if weren’t for social media, to be honest with you.” This shows how heavily even the president himself regards the use of social media websites such as Twitter. Even if Trump does have a rumoured 4 million bots following his Twitter account, he has enough real people paying attention to make a sizeable difference (Garcia, 2017). Will future elections be waged and won on the Twitter and Facebook battlefields? If current trends are to continue, the answer is likely yes!

Reference

Sensis, 2016, Sensis Social Media Report, Viewed 15th December 2017, https://chrislo.ca/sebastian-junger-knows-about-the-dangers-of-social-media/

Jericho, G, 2013, Rise of the fifth estate: Social media and blogging in Australian politics, Scribe Publications Pty Ltd.

Parliament of Australia, 2013, The 43rd parliament: Traits and trends, viewed 15th December 2017, https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1314/43rdParl Loader, B & Mercea, D, 2011, ‘Networking democracy? Social media innovations in participatory politics’, Information, Communication and Society, vol. 14, no. 6 pp. 1-20.

VW Articles, 2017, Full transcript of Donald Trump interview with Maria Bartiromo, viewed 15th December 2017, http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/10/trump-bartiromo/

Garcia, P, 2017, Donald Trump’s Twitter following may include 4 million bots, Vogue online, viewed 15th December 2017, https://www.vogue.com/article/trump-twitter-bots-fake-accounts-nicole-mincey

[captainzitak]

Ushahidi, crowdmapping in a crisis

Blog 6.  Crowd Sourcing in Times of Crisis.

(Ushahidi, Wikimedia 2012).

What is Ushahidi?  It is a technology platform founded in 2009.  It is the tools, that allows users to have information in real time.  The use of this technology is vital in times of crisis and can be reached by most people through social media, email, and text message on their phone.  The word Ushahidi means “witness or testimony” in the Swahili language of East and Southeast Africa.  It was first used during the Kenyan elections by ordinary citizens to expose the killings and violence.  It is now a not-for-profit organisation based in the USA and Africa (Jeffery, 2011).  

The following YouTube clip “Ushahidi’s crowdsourcing gives people a voice in times of crisis” explains how Ushahidi works and can help people in a crisis.  It is narrated by Nathaniel Manning, the CEO of Ushahidi.

The use of Ushahidi has enabled people to come together and share information in times of crisis. The sharing of information and collaborating with others, breaks down many barriers, as people work together to overcome a common disaster (Kobia 2010).

There are many challenges with using Ushahidi, including offline with verifying the information on the ground.  Mapping with Ushahidi enables voices to be heard that would otherwise not be heard through traditional media. However, the credibility and reliability of reports remains an issue (Ford, 2012).

Link to the Ushahidi website: https://www.ushahidi.com

Crowdsourcing 2011

Big data relates to the capturing, analysing and storage of vast amounts of data.  During a humanitarian crisis, crowd sourcing can provide vital information to assist in helping aid efforts.  With information from crowd sourcing platforms, Big data is processed, so that assistance can be given where needed, in a timely manner.  During a crisis, volunteers can map and set up hotlines and assist aid efforts.  The pooling of information and working together highlights online and offline communities working together on humanitarian efforts (Mulder, Ferguson, Groewegen, Boersma and Wolbers, 2016).

The following YouTube clip “Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding explained” is an easy to understand explanation of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding.  

Crowdsourcing in action - Haiti earthquake

An earthquake of magnitude 7 hit Haiti on 12th January 2010.  Volunteers on the ground, assisted with information to ensure help went where most needed.  As Haiti is a poor country, internet connection is not available to all people living there. The use of google maps and other mapping platforms had limited capability to assist in the crisis.  However, the Ushahidi platform worked well in Haiti because information could be relayed through mobile phone via text messages.  Through the VGI (volunteer geographical information) provided by these short messages and the work of volunteers, many lives were able to be saved (Zook, Graham, Shelton and Gorman 2010).

The use of Ushahidi during the Haitian earthquake, proves that crowdsourcing and crisis mapping is vital in responding to the needs of people during a crisis.

References:

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

Jeffery, S 2011. Ushahidi: crowdmapping collective that exposed Kenyan killings, 7 April, viewed 1 February 2018, <https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2011/apr/07/ushahidi-crowdmap-kenya-violence-hague>.

Kobia, D 2010. "Communicating during a crisis: social software, says David Kobia, can help during a catastrophe--and after." Technology Review [Cambridge, Mass.], Sept.-Oct. 2010, p. 11. Academic OneFile, viewed 1 Feb. 2018, <http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/apps/doc/A236878386/AONE?u=swinburne1&sid=AONE&xid=afdd29b5.

Mulder, F, Ferguson, J, Groewegen, P, Boersma, K, Wolbers, J 2016. Questioning big data: Crowdsourcing crisis data towards an inclusive humanitarian response. Big data & society.  Vol.3(2), [peer reviewed journal], viewed 1 February 2018, <http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1177/2053951716662054>.

Paolo Massa (2010) Crowdsourcing [image], 4 November, viewed 1 February 2018, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/phauly/5146322288>.

Wikimedia 2012, Ushahidi [image], viewed 1 February 2018, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ushahidi.png>.

Zook, M, Graham, M, Shelton, T and Gorman, S 2010, Volunteered geographical information and crowdsourcing disaster relief: a case study of the Haitian earthquake. World Medical & Health Policy. Vol. 2(2), PP.6-32. [peer reviewed journal], viewed 1 February 2018, <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/10.2202/1948-4682.1069/epdf>.

[captainzitak]

Nasty Trolls lurking behind the keyboard

Blog 5. Trolling and Social Media Conflict.

Troll by Max Pixel 2016

This week we looked at trolling and social media conflict.  Where conflict can easily arise given the nature of social media and how posts can be misinterpreted.  The anonymity of social media allows trolls to spread malicious havoc.

Who are trolls?  

Well, they can be anyone, who uses a fake identity to hide behind and be abusive to others online.  Australian researchers, Natalie Sest and Evita March from Federation University, did a study and to understand the personality traits of an online troll.  The questions were designed to test for psychopaths, sadism, and empathy.  The results showed that more men were trolls than women, with high levels of psychopaths and sadism.  The study also found that while those people who trolled, had high cognitive empathy and understanding of emotions, this did extend to considering how the abused person felt.  The researchers also noted that trolls have poor social skills and ultimately trolling negatively consumes them (Perry 2017).

The use of social media and YouTube, especially has given rise to many hateful comments and trolling.  YouTube clips are targeted in the comments section and can be shared in other online platforms such as Facebook.  (McCosker, 2013).  

The following YouTube clip, “the science of internet trolls” explains the background of a troll.

*Much like the movie Gremlins (1984) the rules for keeping the mogwai as a pet, included: do not give water, food or have bright lights after midnight.  

       The number one rule for dealing with trolls is: Do not feed. Ever!

“Don’t feed the trolls” takes on a whole new meaning. Giving attention to trolls only increases their appetite and results in further attacks.  The best advise is to ignore them and not give them what they want, which is to get an angry reaction from you (March 2016).  

Wikimedia 2016, Don’t feed the trolls

Boyd 2014 notes that social media can amplify cruelty and bullying online.  However, protecting young people from trolling may not be that easy to do.  It is complicated, as many teenagers engage in social media, there are more chances of conflicts with others. Teenagers who are trolls, are usually dealing with their own issues and this has manifested into trolling behaviour. The answer may lie in empowering young people to be resilient and overcome bullying online.

The following YouTube clip “10 worst internet trolls” highlights some of havoc trolls can cause.

This article by Joel Stein on “how trolls are ruining the internet” on the time.com website, explains trolling and how they negatively impact sites on the internet.

Link: http://time.com/4457110/internet-trolls/

The US ‘anti-troll alliance’ website, anti-troll.org, explains trolling and likens it to cyber stalking and bullying.  The alliance provides advise on dealing with trolls and the organisation is committed to have trolling recognised as a criminal offence.

Link: http://anti-troll.org/

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.

March, E 2016. Don’t feed the trolls’ is really good advice – here’s the evidence. 7 October. Viewed 1 February 2018 <https://theconversation.com/dont-feed-the-trolls-really-is-good-advice-heres-the-evidence-63657>.

McCosker, A 2014, YouTrolling as provocation: Tube's agonistics publics, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.

Max Pixel, 2016 Troll [image], <http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Krasnal-Face-Figure-Troll-Gnome-Norway-Ornament-2586060>.

Perry, P 2017, Who are trolls? Psychologists build a profile. 14 July. Viewed 1 February 2018, <http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/who-are-internet-trolls-psychologists-build-a-profile>.

Wikimedia 2016, Don’t feed the trolls [image], <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Don%27t_feed_the_trolls,_Fl%C3%B8yen.jpg>.

[captainzitak]

Clicktivism and showing support

Blog 4 Activism and Protest

Community (Pixabay, 2015).

During week 6, we looked at digital citizenship of activism and protest, culture jamming, and adbusters.  This was an interesting topic to explore and learn about how online communities can be involved in creating change.

Found this website ‘Permanent culture now’ that explains activism to be quite interesting http://www.permanentculturenow.com/what-is-activism/

The digital age has increased awareness of causes and online engagement, making it easier to participate in activism and protest through the click of a button. This is known as clicktivism and is a way in which participants can feel involved and part of the solution by clicking ‘like’ to a cause.  As this is such an easy thing to do, does this necessarily make the sender an active protester?  Is this an effective form of activism?  Clicktivism itself, does not generate money or make any changes in a purposeful way.  This is often referred to as ‘slacktivism’ as this action requires little effort (Halupka 2017).

PC mouse (Pixabay 2015).

The like or share buttons, can certainly raise awareness of a cause.  This in turn may encourage some to act by donating or becoming more involved.  However, if you are anything like me, I usually ignore these altogether.  I do not even bother to click the button.  Is there such a thing as ‘anti-clicktivism’?  Yes, I am aware of the cause or current issue.  Why do I need to prove that I care?  And in all honesty, how does pressing a button make any difference?        

The concept of Culture jamming, has been around a long time, however the digital age has increased awareness to the evil side of consumerism.  This has created a culture that is anti-establishment and questions the status quo.  Culture jamming objects to big corporations placing advertisements in public spaces and brain washing consumers into submission.  Activists take the same advertising mediums and use these against the corruption and degradation of multinational corporations (Dery 2010).

The following YouTube video explains culture jamming and included footage from the film ‘They live’ by John Carpenter.

Learning about Adbusters, and the effects of consumerism on the environment, was something I had not given any thought to.  Now, as I look around, it is just so much stuff!  What is the point?  And at what cost?  It has made me reconsider my spending habits.  Though, the ‘buy nothing day’, I can do and quite often.  Though, nothing to do with consideration for the environment and more to do with waiting for pay day (Activist facts 2018).

The following YouTube video has an interview with the co-founder of Adbusters, Kalle Lasn and his explanation of the damage consumerism in the West is doing to the environment.

This highlights the greed and consumption of the western world at the expense of the rest of the world.  

To learn more about Adbusters, this is the link to their website: http://www.adbusters.org/

References

Activist facts, 2018, Adbusters, viewed 23 January 2018, <https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/36-adbusters/>.

Dery, M 2010, Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing, and Sniping in the Empire of Signs, Shovelware, viewed 21 January 2018, <http://markdery.com/?page_id=154>.

Halupka 2017, ‘The legitimisation of clicktivism’, The Australian Journal of Political Science, 16 December, p1-12, [peer reviewed journal], viewed 23 January 2018, <http://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/10361146.2017.1416586?scroll=top&needAccess=true>.

Pixabay, 2015, Community [image], viewed 23 January 2018, <https://pixabay.com/en/community-friends-globe-continents-909149/>.

Pixabay, 2015, PC mouse [image], viewed 23 January 2018, <https://pixabay.com/en/pc-mouse-mouse-pc-625152/>. 

[captainzitak]

Enjoyed reading your blog, and how social media is changing political engagement and participation.

Blog 3 #Week 5 - How Social Media impacts our POLITICS AND CIVIC CULTURE

Port Macquarie News 2016,’2016 Council Election: Find a polling booth’,viewed 17/12/17,<http://www.portnews.com.au/story/4155659/2016-council-election-find-a-polling-booth/>.

Sans Twitter 2006 and Facebook 2004, there was TV and Newspaper articles to keep you up to date with the latest political campaign. I have recollections of a younger person seeing banners and polling booths in my local area promoting “VOTE LABOUR” or “VOTE LIBERAL.” My choice of political party was influenced by what my parents voted, because that was right! Right?

As a 36 year old in 2017, my ideologies and thought processes have swayed regarding the political sphere in the 21st Century!

When it comes to politics, I may not directly communicate my voice, especially via social media, but I still have opinions of politicians and those using social media to promote their campaigns.

Social Media provides a transactional communication platform between politicians and citizens where open dialogue is created and freedom of speech is advertised within in a democratic landscape. The younger generation can be a huge influential factor in a political campaign. Politicians need to seriously factor this target public who are the way and shape of our future.

US President, Donald Trump is a prime example of communicative capitalism through amplified communication of mass personalised media, with his often outlandish, controversial posts.

# donaldtrump

In the video presentation DCU School of Communications, participatory media has offered quick, easy universal democracy. Anyone with a mobile phone or access to the internet can make a voice heard, everyone has a voice and the internet lets us express them. In this setting, democracy is a marketing slogan…when linked to new media, democracy tags a political light that anyone can get behind (Dean 2013).

Social media may extend an open and democratic political communication platform, however, according to Dean it may also have an adverse effect.

This brings to mind, our Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull causing a stir coupled with mostly negative reactional posts to his twitter page #malcolmturnbull following his post of the Marriage Equality plebiscite coming to fruition. Check it out !! https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/938900296855576576

Connecting to our Youth

In Week 5 discussion board, we discussed that Australian politicians need to get on to the bandwagon of appealing to a younger audience at a grassroots level and creating open and transparent dialogue. I personally can take it or leave it, ‘I am happy to cast my vote’ be it with a Facebook ‘Like’ or postal vote or going back to my roots of ballot box vote!!

References

-          Blog – Using Social Media in Political Campains, Schossow C 2013, viewed 11/12/17, <<newmediacampaigns.com>.

-          DCU School of Communication 2013, IAMCR 2013 Plenary No. 3 - Jodi Dean, 3 July, viewed December 2017, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ABPuNQ6IU>.

-          Same-sex marriage ‘yes’ vote: How social media reacted’, Bowden E 2017, viewed December 17, < http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/samesex-marriage-yes-vote-how-social-media-reacted-20171114-gzljkg.html>.

[captainzitak]

Politicians & Social Media Campaigns

Blog 3.  Politics & Civic Cultures.

This week’s blog, looks at politics and civic cultures, and the relationship between political campaigns and social media.  It leads to the thought provoking questions that this relationship raises.

·         How effective are social media platforms when used as a part of a political campaign?  

·         Do social media platforms increase civic or political involvement and participation?

·         Is the use of social media platforms, such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, an effective strategy to engage constituents?

Social media (Jacob Mosolf, 2016).

It could be argued that political engagement with social media is a double edge sword.  It can generate immediate internet coverage that can reach a vast audience; and it can also decimate a political career just as quickly.  As noted by Jerico 2012, social media can come back to haunt you and cites political candidate Peter Watson’s homophobic words on a blog written as a teenager, forcing him to resign.  The author also provides the advice from former US president Barack Obama on social media use; to always be careful about what you write as your number one rule.

ABC news article, describes the prolific use of social media in Australian politics and notes there were 1,700 tweets using the #qldvotes in 24 hours, when the Queensland Premier, Annastascia Palaszczuk, called for a state election on 25th November 2017.  With ‘15 million Facebook users in the country’, a social media presence is vital for politicians to maintain as part of their political campaign (Bali 2017).

Many Australian politicians have embraced social media and used it to enhance their political coverage, especially with the under 30 demographics.  The use of social media as part of a political campaign can work effectively for politicians to increase their coverage (Thomas 2016).

The following YouTube clip from The Project, gives an insight into politicians and their use of social media.

Does the increased coverage for politicians using social media, correlate to an increase in political participation of constituents?  Or equate to more engagement and civic duty?  

Politicians that provide transparency, are deemed to be reliable and trustworthy by the public.  This leads to informed constituents, who are more likely to be politically engaged and participate in civic duties.  In turn, this results in improved governance and democracy in action (Khemani, et al. 2016).

The use of social media by politicians, seems to be a strategic move that can improve their coverage and engage the younger demographic.  It can create awareness of their policies, inform the public and promote participation of constituents.  Social media can be used effectively, and forms a vital part of any political campaign.  

On a lighter note, the following YouTube clip highlights 2017 and some laughable moments in Australian politics.

References

Bali, M 2017, Queensland Election: The power of the Social Media Campaign. Viewed 23 December 2017. Retrieved from <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-06/power-of-social-media-campaign-qld-election/9099402>.

Jacob Mosolf, 2016, Social media [image], viewed 19 January 2018, <http://www.dodlive.mil/files/2016/07/social-media-generic.jpg>.

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

Khemani, S., Dal Bó, E., Ferraz, C., Finan, F., Stephenson Johnson C., Odugbemi A., Thapa, D., Abrahams, S 2016. Making politics work for development: harnessing transparency and citizen engagement (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. Viewed 19 January, 2018, <http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/268021467831470443/Making-politics-work-for-development-harnessing-transparency-and-citizen-engagement>.

Thomas, J 2016, Young Australians aren’t disengaged, they’re just not interested in traditional ways of doing things in democracy, new research suggests <https://www.sbs.com.au/news/young-australians-are-more-political-than-we-think-research-suggests>.

[captainzitak]

Affordances of Social Media.

Blog 2.

Affordances as described by designer Don Norman are the uses that any object can provide.  The uses or affordances of an object may not necessarily adhere to the original intention of the designer. There can be many affordances of an object, which depends on the consumer and how they find use for that object (Interaction-Design.org 2011).  

The question of “how are our social experiences in each of these contexts bound up with social media platforms and their affordances, and how we make use of them?”  This question can create many more questions or discussions about online communities and how social media is used in different ways.

Social Media, 2016, Wikimedia, used under CC0 Creative Commons

There are many social media platforms, that serve different purposes.  The way that these platforms are used, depends on the user and the intended audience. Social media has changed the way that an online community can perceive communication.  Affordances of social media can be defined as the engagement with technology in society that is both relational and dependent upon the users’ social and cultural understandings (Zheng and Yu 2016).

Twitter has been described as an online communication tool. It has been used as a public forum for politicians and celebrities to tweet their causes and messages.  Anyone with a message they want to share, can use twitter to tweet away to followers.

Affordances of social media can change over time and can be attributed to the upgrades in technology and user behaviour.  Twitter has made it easier to retweet with the push of a button and in doing so the affordance or how people use twitter has changed in kind (Draucker and Collister 2015).

Twitter bird 2013, Pixabay, used under CC0 Creative Commons

I joined twitter to find out for myself exactly what it is all about.  It was an easy process to sign up to and note my areas of interest; news, politics, celebrities, and music.  I could also search for names I wanted to follow, and added Misha Collins and Dan Carter, check.  Immediately, I was inundated with tweets that I am now following.  Then there were lots of suggestions, friends, trends for me, popular in my area, today’s moments, and popular articles; so, have now added even more names to follow.  I like the idea of the tweets, the brevity of them, make it so easy to read and be informed.

This engagement with Twitter can be brief and fun.  As explained by Haughey (2012) Twitter is in the present moment and keeps the follower informed through an engaging and simple user-friendly format.

 References

Draucker, F. & Collister, L.B., (2015). Managing Participation through Modal Affordances on Twitter. Open Library of Humanities. 1(1), p.e8. doi:http://doi.org/10.16995/olh.21

Haughey, M (2012), Why I love Twitter and barely tolerate Facebook, viewed 10 December 2017, < https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/why-i-love-twitter-and-barely-tolerate-facebook-52a20d7a17de>.

Interaction-Design.org 2011, Affordances (Don Norman, 1994), 15 February, viewed 9 December 2017, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK1Zb_5VxuM>.

Social Media (2016) image, viewed 10 December 2017, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Socialmedia-pm.png>.

Twitter bird 2013, image, viewed 10 December 2017, < https://pixabay.com/en/twitter-tweet-bird-funny-cute-117595/>.

Zheng, Y., and Yu, A. (2016) Affordances of social media in collective action: the case of Free Lunch for Children in China. Info Systems J, 26: 289–313. doi: 10.1111/isj.12096.

[captainzitak]

Video clip that discusses Affordances of Snapchat and Facebook.

[captainzitak]

Insightful observations about being connected and alone at the same time.  Useful information about Linkedin - great video clip.

In Week 1 we looked at Digital Communities and Social Media Platforms.   Nearly all of us have a Social Media account (I’m guessing) and so are digitally included.  Digital Inclusion is defined as the ability of individuals and/or groups of people who have access to and engage in the use of information and communication technologies, (Caruso, S 2014).  So I guess we can say that those of us who use social media are digitally included. This I found interesting, as when listening to Sherry Turkle’s video in week one she spoke of being connected, but alone, (Turkle, S 2012).  I’d never really thought of social media that way, but the more I thought about it the more I thought it rang true.  So on the one hand we are included (digitally) but on the other hand we’re on our own.  I guess that’s a side of technology most of us don’t consider.  I hadn’t anyway.  It will be interesting to see how platforms like Facebook and Instagram, to name a couple evolve in the coming years.  Will they use technology like Virtual Reality?  Will Turkle’s ‘connected but alone?’ still apply even with the use of new technologies, some of which haven’t been invented yet?  Interesting times ahead.

LinkedIn is used to link up friends and work professionals.  Is basically a job searching and connecting site used for people looking for work and also for employers to post job advertisements.  One of the affordances of LinkedIn is you can tailor it to your profession.  You can set your feeds so you only get job notices in your particular field.  (Gowel, D 2012) states that LinkedIn isn’t just Social Media, its ‘mass utilization’ of your current relationships and using those to foster new relationships. Having just set up my own LinkedIn account in February this year, I’d agree this description is apt.  I’ve been doing exactly that to build my profile and expand my contacts, all in the hope it will help when I finish my studies and start job hunting again. 

(Degenne A, Forse M 2008) in discussing the theory of Human Capital, say that employers view employees as having differing levels and amounts of human capital.  That is, because of varying levels of education, training and experience that prospective employees may have, they would provide differing levels of productivity. So really anything you can do to ‘beef up’ or build your profile in the eyes of any potential employer is vital in today’s tough job market.

I’ve added in this YouTube clip on how to set up your profile for anyone interested in doing so?  It’s called ‘How to create a killer LinkedIn profile.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5xtQKLvX4U

Thanks Jeff

Caruso, S 2014, Creating digital communities: a resource to digital inclusion, New York: Nova Publishers, EBSChost Academic Collection – World Wide

Degenne A, Forse M 2008, Introducing Social Networks, London: Sage Productions, Ebook Central (Proquest)

Gowel, D 2012, The power in a link to open doors, close deals, and change the way you do business using LinkedIn, Books24x7 BusinessPro,

Scholzen, B 2012, ‘LinkedIn Office’, flickr [image], viewed 29 November 2017,

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dasprid/8148014478

The Effective Marketing Company 2014, How to create a killer LinkedIn profile, viewed 29 November 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5xtQKLvX4U

Turkle, S 2012, Connected but alone?, viewed 29 November 2017,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4