Tag Archives: Integrated Media 2

Week 5 Flip Lecture

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Social Media Producer flip lecture notes:

Jonathon Hutchison is a social media producer, he’s studied at Bachelor of Applied Communication at RMIT University in the past and have made a career for himself using his degree as a social media producer. The process of being a social media manager may be challenging, for example, the process of a new project titled The Stage Fight that explores performers stage fright before a performance, this is similar to the process of making a film, factors that must be considered are the pre-production, production and post-production stage of the project as well as the distribution period. During the early stages of working on a new project the producer needs to emphasise the core of his pitch so may the best pitch win some funding – Hutchison crowd sourced his funds to make his project happen.

Flip Lecture & Weekly Reading (Week 4)

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Trusting Strangers For The Better Good.

Have you ever watched those feel good videos on YouTube on a lazy Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea and a side of biscuits? Well, I have. I’m talking about those random acts of kindness videos where some random guy gives flowers to mothers on the street walk or pranks that make you laugh or smile. Growing up and identifying myself as a cis-female, I have trust issues with strangers, and obviously it’s common that most people do. You don’t know if they’re serial killers, stalkers or some clingy creep that just wants to talk to so they can stare at your beloved assets. How can you differentiate the good apples from the bad?

How can you give your complete trust to someone that may change your future, no matter how long or short that future may be, that can mean a day, a week or a month or even more? In the 2009 documentary Us Now directed by Ivo Gormley, explores the possibilities of humankind using social media as a form of resource to connect to other people and learning from them in the process. There is an evergreen of knowledge that society as a whole have, so why not share it?

 People are ‘connecting on the basis of relevant similarities’ (MT Rainey 2009), as social media advance through the years. ‘Connecting on the basis of relevant similarities’ (MT Rainey 2009), sounds like the blurb for dating applications doesn’t it? Us Now investigates the notion of being more involve in communities, and in society in general. Sometimes, people ‘need help from a friendly stranger’ (MT Rainey 2009) when they are either lost or feel uncertain about something.

There are people out there who are willing to help out those in need and when I say ‘help’, I don’t mean by giving money to those mental health organisations, donating to those poverty stricken kids in Africa or volunteering at the homeless shelter. I mean helping those in need, those people who need help right there and right then. It’s help that’s manageable and cost-effective for you, ‘its quite nice to give someone directions for example or by imparting a bit of your knowledge’ (Mikey Winkove 2009). In return of helping people, they feel good about themselves, making them feel all warm and fuzzy.

pay-it-forward-2014-random-act-of-kindnessFreedom and control’ (pp. 37) can be a couple of reasons why we use social media. Social media allows us to voice our opinions, there’s a reason why anyone who works in advertising says the most powerful tool is the word of mouth of others, ‘we have a mass-consumer technology that supports this and we’re only now beginning to discover what we can do with it’ (Lee Bryant 2009). There’s a reason why there are reviews on everything from books, iTunes applications and technological products, ‘the web can create large communities of informal knowledge and system ties it to make it very useful’ (Charles Leadbeater 2009). Trusting people to network on a peer-to-peer basis of helping one another using social media is still relatively new, people are using ‘social media to bring the gift economy out in the open’ (Sofia Parker 2009).

There is a growing number of online services, websites and applications that allows a person to help others, ‘once you deliver something that actually allows people to make a decision, it’s incredible how compelling it is how people are to participate’ (Saul Albert 2009), Us Now examines how the internet has become a playground for adults to gain and pass on knowledge to one another by participating in an online – and at times, offline – community. Whether that might be a couchsurfing community, a website about motherhood or a soccer team, attention is given to those who feel they need to participate in an event, comment or feel the need to inform others of a place or product. And it appears that the opinion of the majority rules.

References:

Banyak Films 2009, Us Now, video recording, viewed 5 August 2014, <http://vimeo.com/4489849>.

Hinton S & Hjorth L 2013, ‘What is Web 2.0?’, Understanding Contemporary Culture Series: Understanding Social Media, London, 31 July 2014, SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 37.

Weekly Reading (Week 3)

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imagesThere is a growing trend of people using crowdfunding platforms such as Pozible or Kickstarter to crowd source thus crowd fund their projects and using social media outlets such as Facebook to promote their endeavours. There have been a number of artists, bands and filmmakers requesting funding for the recording and production cost of their music video clips, CD’s, and films. Australian artist Butterfly Boucher, the Australian band Eskimo Joe and the American film Veronica Mars (2014) have all sought funding from the public to create their media project. As a reward for assisting the project, people will receive something beneficial to them, for example, a signed copy of the proposed music album or an exclusive film screening. The participation from the public and potential audience is required if people trust and engage themselves in these musicals and filmmakers pursuits (pp. 75). One has to ask how genuine are these people who are pitching these ideas in respects to asking help from the average person to fund their fastidious venture.

Reference:

Hinton S & Hjorth L 2013, ‘What is Web 2.0?’, Understanding Contemporary Culture Series: Understanding Social Media, London, 31 July 2014, SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 55-76.

Weekly Reading (Week 2)

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freedom‘Freedom and control’ (pp. 37) can be a couple of reasons why we use social media. If we can, we would all like to be in control and be free to do whatever we like all day and everyday throughout our lifetime. This may not be the case due to work and family life commitments, and for some, other limitations may be not having the monetary capacity to fund such extravagant indulges.

 Instead, we live our life – and sometimes through the lives of others – online. Our online life connects us to other people who are not with us at this current moment as we are huddled under a mountain of blankets in our cold, dark rooms, as well as people from diverse backgrounds and from a mixture of cultures that have may have unusual morals and values than you. Their perspective on life may alter the way we think about the world, certain types of people and situations such as the Arab Spring and the war on terrorism.

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We call have a voice online, the freedom of speech, we can say all the nonsense that we can’t say to people in our daily lives or in public as people may get heat up by our slurs and take offence of our public nuisance (pp. 31), and next thing you know, you’re in court for saying the very thing you could of said online and no one would have give a damn as you would just be perceived as a “troll”. Funny that.

 I am very surprised at the level of tracking used against all of social media users. Did we agree to the ‘‘terms and conditions’’ when we logged in on Facebook to be tracked? I fathom, that is the contract when you log in, that is, you allow Facebook to track what you like, the time of day/night you view your Facebook account. And what you do on that service provider, whether that be stalking your old mates from high school or checking out that hot chick that you grew fond after seeing her at a mutual friend’s birthday party or maybe you’re more interested in that new band’s song that you kept hearing on Fox FM or maybe you are just innocently connecting with other people by chatting them up. Who knows what you do, but you, or is it?

So, the question I pose is that, do we allow such third parties know who we are? You know, whether we are either male or female or in-between, where we’re from, the sort of music we like, or the friends we are friends with. Are we so blind to the fact of what the implication of those two mere words, “I agree”, actually means when we click on the button to allow third parties to receive information about us and/or receive information from them? Are our little minds capable of understanding the influences of such clever marketing techniques? These third parties or even a service provider such as Facebook collect our data so much so that the cooperation can use our data against us by exploiting our online personalities and what we ‘like’, or maybe Facebook will suggest to you to add these “people you may know” since you share a mutual friend with that particular person (pp. 32-33).

We may think that we have the freedom and control over our social media use (pp. 31), but do we actually do? Are we aiming to find fulfilment and satisfaction through our online life by using digital tools such as Facebook and Instagram, is it to equip us from the disappointment in our lives that we are unable to achieve our own desire? For example, whereas others may travel to Alaska and witness the Northern Lights, we live our dreams by viewing their selfies with a pillowy string of green and blue splash across the night sky in the background. That, we only know ourselves, and soon, the media service you use, will too.

 Whatever your reason may be for going online, keep one eye open and pray that the next Kim Kardashian news isn’t in your news feed on Facebook.

 

Reference:

Hinton S & Hjorth L 2013, ‘What is Web 2.0?’, Understanding Contemporary Culture Series: Understanding Social Media, London, 31 July 2014, SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 14-38.

 

Passed My First Semester of University!

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153929-uni-graduatesSo, here we are.

I passed my first semester of my degree program. Amazing isn’t it? How time passed so quickly? Last semester, I was enrolled as a second year, second semester RMIT University student. This semester, I’m ‘enrolled’ as a third year, first semester RMIT University student. If that’s not an accomplishment, I don’t know what is. I’ve studied film and television production for the past two years, so I guess it’s quite refreshing to learn about the theory part of media instead of learning of the practical part.

Hurrah to me! I’ve only got less than a year till I graduate from my Bachelor of Communications (Media) program. I’ve only needed to study 1.5 years since I’ve got my credits transferred from my past film and television production qualifications!!

INTEGRATED MEDIA 2 eh? More madness online? And more group work? Oh, how so? Through collaborations, collaborations, collaborations.

I attended my first lecture for this course last week. Seth pretty much read from his blog, giving all the students a basic understanding of what is to come in the months ahead as well as examples from past students work from last year. Outlining the course guide during the tutorials, my tutor Patrick gave me a “panic attack” when I realised how much work there is to be done in the next few months or so. Great joy!

There’s nothing else better than saying a massive welcome back from the mid-year break than to freak out students with the amount of work to be achieved. Well done folks, you’ve surely did make me go into panic mode in the first week of the second semester of my Uni life.

I’m feeling neutral about this Integrated Media 2 course, there’s group work involve.

Here’s hoping for a smooth road ahead!!

Generation (X/Y) Like This

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It’s Week 2 already!! Fast ain’t it? One week it’s orientation week, then, the week after. Actual work to be done.

Weeeeeeeeek 2 of the Integrated Media 2 lecture was a ‘flip lecture’, so what that means, and I may be paraphrasing here, is that you can stay home and ‘listen’ to the lecture. That is, this week, the flip lecture was a TV show program called Four Corners that’s on the TV station ABC, the title of the episode is Generation Like.

The blurb for the episode of Four Corners:  ‘How advertisers and big commercial brands are exploiting teenagers using social media – and making big dollars in the process’, (ABC 2014).

Click on the following link to view the episode: http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/four-corners/NC1404H025S00#playing

Generation Like explores social media use amongst Generations X and Y and their obsession with attaining ‘likes’ from their friends/fans/audience.

Questions meet Answers: answers meet questions…

How does this documentary alter your understanding of the way you use social media?

It is rather unnerving to know that my information is being gathered by third parties as I use social media, whether it be, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook. As I ‘share’ or ‘like’ or ‘comment’ on any content on social media, to know that my data is being collected by social media network analyst is not a very great feeling. To know that my information, my data, my PERSONAL information and PERSONAL data is being used against me, to know that I’m being targeted by these that social media outlets just amazes me (and not in a good way).

Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are all free services to use by the general public, I understand that in order to earn a reputable capital for the usage of these media outlets,  Facebook, Instagram and YouTube uses a wide range of advertising techniques, the sneakier it is, the better, they would say.

What connections can you make with the role of a Social Media Producer?

Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for example is a fantastic starting point to become a social media producer, as if you post something online, the content you post automatically makes you a social media producer. Funny that eh? In becoming a social media producer, you are capable of “brainwashing” and influencing eager, young minds, to the best of your benefit. The obsession with obtaining ‘likes’ with these social media producers can be what I call an epidemic. How so? It is because we are all guilty of posting or say, share a piece of content that we see fitting to our personality, our career, etc. etc. It is because we want to be heard. It’s natural to feel this way. As humans, we crave the attention of others and in this context, in a way, a social media producer can decipher what they seem fit in a world that seems to be missing something, if that even makes sense. In todays’ social media landscape, being a social media producer means that you capable of making millions of dollars from doing what you love, from doing what you enjoy. For example, Lauren Curtis and Michelle Pham have made a name for themselves on YouTube by posting videos of make-up tutorials and making who knows how much $$$$$ from it.

The association with a ‘star’ on social media and a brand in this context means recognition and recognition means money. It’s cheap marketing, or so it is said (by who I don’t particularly know). Even though when the ‘star’s’ audience acknowledges that they are being marketed towards, what makes them continue to watch, ‘follow’, ‘subscribe’, ‘like’ or ‘comment’, ‘heart’ or ‘share’ that content? Social media producers are very open to the possibilities to the global market in which their Facebook or Instagram post or videos may give them and those social media producers very much so crave exposure to a large audience in the online space.

What ideas does this documentary raise in regards to the event your group is planning and the task of achieving participatory engagement?

Exploit the audience aka passerby’s time as much as possible I suppose. Time. Time. Time. We are all often lacking in it. Social media producers tend to make sure that the content that they make is worth viewing, and in viewing the content, the audience may be asked to become an active viewer and ‘like’, ‘share’, or ‘comment’ their media product. My group and I are aiming to obtain as much participatory engagement from the general public as much as possible. The odds may be against us, but we can hope. Right?