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Blog Posts
Annotated Bibliography
Miles, A 2006, ‘Blogs in Media Education: A Beginning’, Australian Screen, vol. 41, pp.66-69.
In this article, Miles identifies the qualities of a blog that differentiate it from other publications, particularly print, and emphasise its role as a ‘post-print literacy.’ He discusses the usefulness of blogs as a teaching tool, ways blogging can be implemented in the classroom, and the resulting benefits.
Miles draws off his own teaching experience using blogs with university students and his general observations of them. His writing is fluid, academic enough to provide rich detail and information on this subject, but colloquial enough to be read by a modern media-oriented audience. The article is organised with subheadings like ‘What is a blog?’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ for easy signposting and navigation. Majority of the article is written text, with page 68 being devoted to a screenshot of Miles’s own blog, which in itself is text-based.
In terms of the course prompt, relating to the affordances of Instagram, this article provides a solid foundation on the pitfalls and benefits of posting online, such as the care and caution required in creating a piece of media intended for public audience and the ability of a blog to allow exploration of online identity. These are issues no more prevalent than in 2018, when the network is centralised and online image potentially more impactful than real life image. Though this article focuses on blogging, the points he raises are equally applicable to posting on 2018 social media platforms like Instagram. Such points include the sense of community that forms when a group of people post the same kind of media and how this can create an interwoven classroom where communication can thrive and learning is enriched by reading the contributions of others. This is relevant to the prompt as it reflects the benefits that can arise from modern centralised social media bringing together people of similar interests, for example, fan communities around Club Penguin, and how their knowledge grows from the sharing of information within the online community. Miles also highlights how the blog can be a place where writers can ‘express doubt and insecurity’ and be a powerful tool for reflection, both of which are qualities that can be found in modern social media platforms. Though this article is addressed to teachers of media education however, as a student, his information still feels relevant.
One potential limitation to this article’s relevance to my study is its age. Because the article was written twelve years ago, it lacks an awareness of the 2018 social media landscape and hence there are nuances of modern social media, like the ever-growing commercialism, that this article fails to encompass. Additionally, it identifies the internet as ‘decentralized’, which twelve years later, is not quite the case. All data used in this article is qualitative, drawn from Miles’s personal research or experience, and though he provides links to other sites at the end of his article, they don’t appear to be referenced, at least not by name, throughout the article. This article deals primarily with blogs and in particular, the text-based element of them. Though his information on the benefits of posting online is relevant, Instagram is a primarily visual-based platform so these elements are left unaddressed by this article.
Miles, A 2012, ‘Network Literacy: The New Path to Knowledge’, Soft Cinematic Hypertext (Other Literacies), RMIT University, pp.201-208.
In this article, Miles outlines the concept of network literacy, using the well-known concept of print literacy as a framework for understanding. He relates the implicit knowledge of the workings and elements of a book and a library, to implicit knowledge of the inner workings of the network. He goes on to lay a foundation of knowledge on protocols to underpin the interactions between the network and the network-literate.
Like his other article, Miles draws off his personal experiences as an academic in the field of online media, including anecdotes of his academic work day. His writing is accessible and descriptive, with an extended juxtaposition of books/libraries and the network to bring the foreign topic into familiar ground. As the sections of this article are lengthy, Miles prefaces each section with a subheading such as ‘Network Literacy’. At the end of the article, Miles also includes a reference list and a glossary of terms like CiteULike and RSS to ensure readers do not feel alienated or confused.
Regarding the course prompt of the affordances of Instagram and the authoring, publishing and distributing of photos and videos, this article was relevant to the latter part. Miles defines the concept of network literacy as the ability to participate in the network as a peer. This is relevant to Instagram because it helps explain why immersion in all parts of the platform—authoring, publishing and distributing—and hence sound network literacy, is imperative to successful Instagram usage. Another concept Miles uncaps is the idea of consumption as creation which is relevant to the fact that Instagram fulfils the social, entertainment and even business needs, all in one platform. Hence, this article is relevant as it helps to inform the notion that to make ample use of the affordances of Instagram, one must interact with the platform both as a user and a creator, consumer and advertiser. Miles’s observation that in the network, writing is a form of social collaboration is relevant to the authoring of any online media, from fanfictions and book reviews to the photos and videos that characterise Instagram. His point that the centralisation of the network blurs the line between consumer and creator, supported by the observation that publications can be created by weaving together content from disparate locations is also relevant to the authoring of photos and videos. It helps explain how postmodernist media such as the remix and the meme is enabled by the network, explaining why they are such iconic visual mediums in the 2010s, where the network has become more and more centralised. Overall, Miles provides a solid foundation for network literacy and its relevance to the interwoven interactions of modern networks and its platforms like Instagram.
Miles’s analysis of network literacy rings true to the centralised network of 2018, potentially because the article it more recent, only six years old. A potential limitation of this study could be the amount of references. Miles’s reference list includes only three sources, which could potentially suggest a limited scope, considering most of the article is written from personal knowledge and experience.
Siapera, E 2013, Understanding New Media, SAGE Publications, London.
In this book, Siapera illuminates the term ‘new media’ and in particular, the attributes afforded by the naming ‘new media’ as opposed to other names such as ‘digital media’ or ‘online media’. Additionally, she analyses how new media interacts with people and society through examination of the work of four authors: McLuhan, Kittler, Stiegler and Castells.
Siapera uses a wide range of sources, referencing four different authors and their works. These are analysed in detail with ample quotes and referencing, with attention drawn to both their strengths and their limitations. The writing can be dense at times, but through it exists a smooth flow between the terms, the theories and the implications. The sections are lengthy, but they are divided with subheadings like ‘Why New Media?’ with sub-subheadings like ‘Digital Media’ (Siapera 2013, p.3)
In terms of this course’s prompt about Instagram, its affordances, and the authoring, publishing and distributing of photos and videos, Siapera’s text is relevant in its discussion of the constant evolution of new media, the externalisation of human memory, and the social implications of the network. Siapera defines new media as constantly evolving and dynamic, which is relevant to the growing affordances of Instagram and how they keep the platform afloat. Another concept Siapera discusses is the externalisation of human memory, how we are beginning to rely on devices controlled by others for this memory. This is relevant to Instagram’s rise to popularity, as photos and videos become the preferred format for the preservation of memory. This concept of human memory stored in external devices helps illuminate the business side of Instagram, as users can manipulate this external memory to form a new persona for their lives or businesses, and even through the following of trends, set an ideal image of what lives we should be living. An interesting concept analysed by Siapera is the idea of the network replacing social organisation and the idea that we are entering a new era in which time and space become less important. To the prompt, this is relevant to the way Instagram adds features or affordances to their platform to become more than just a place to share photos, to become a centre of modern socialisation.
This article is the most recent of all on this bibliography as it was written in 2013 and hence Siapera is able to draw on many other authors and their studies on media. By analysing the etymology of the term ‘new media’, Siapera demonstrates an awareness of the importance of image to the landscape of the network. The analysis of multiple theories and authors situates the text in the dialogue with other studies on new media, and Siapera’s keen analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each theory provide rich and informed context upon which my study of Instagram and new media can sit. However, one potential limitation is the fact that this text doesn’t include many specifics on photos and videos in particular, rather new media as a collective.