NEW/SOCIAL MEDIA & THE IDEA OF USER DATA

Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter.

These are the social media platforms I interact with the most, alongside millions of other users. When I think of these social platforms, I don’t necessarily have to question how they fit into the category of “new media,” as it seems plainly obvious how they are. Social media is a concept and idea that is the result of the internet and advanced digital technologies. However, Elaine in our lecture today explained that the term “new media” shouldn’t just describe a growth in physical developments in technology. Instead, as stated in the reading by Eugenia Siapera Understanding New Media, “Understanding social media leads to an understanding of changes and transformations in social processes, norms, ideas and practices” (Siapera, 2013, pg.2). Hence, new media becomes more about understanding the culture behind using certain media concepts and products. Siapera uses the example of the television, and how this not so new invention can be classed as “new media” through how it is being used. Nowadays, it isn’t uncommon to find a television in multiple rooms of the home, as opposed to just the living room. This is the result of a change in social norms.

Elaine stated in the lecture how social media can be seen as the roots which grow within the “pot plant” of new media. If the pot was to expand and develop, the roots will form to take up the space. But what interested me the most was the idea of us people as users within these social networks, and the impact we ultimately have on the growth of the platform. Sam Hinton and Larissa Hjorth explains this more in Understanding Social Media, stating, “Unpacking social media necessities us tracing how internet cultures have shaped and been shaped by, the social” (Hinton & Hjorth, 2013, pg. 8).

One way we as users can have an impact on these “internet cultures” is simply by using a platform. From the moment you make an account on Facebook, for instance, your user data and habits are tracked. By agreeing to the platform’s terms and conditions, you are signing yourself up to be monitored. A big factor that comes into this is advertisements. When Elaine brought up how she is still seeing advertisements for products she searched up a long time ago, I couldn’t help but sympathise. I could simply think of a product inside my head and Facebook will somehow find out and show me a sponsored post of that exact product on my feed. Seems freaky, but honestly, this is just the result of your behaviour on Facebook being tracked.

Through a simple google search, I was able to find a guide created specifically for advertisers who want to target specific audiences on Facebook. The guide mentions that “interest-based targeting” is the most effective way to advertise to a specific consumer as it is based on a user’s likes, what app’s they engage with, pages they have liked etc. Another way is through “behaviour-based targeting,” which is through data consisting of purchase histories, personal anniversaries and events. This data can also reveal if you are planning a holiday! Hence, it doesn’t seem so insane how Facebook “knows what we are thinking” as every single click, like and post is gathered as data.

Website: https://adespresso.com/guides/facebook-ads-beginner/demographic-targeting/

Image: https://www.oberlo.co.uk/blog/the-beginners-guide-to-facebook-advertising

Readings: Siapera, E. 2013, Understanding New Media. SAGE Publications, London (Section: pp.1-16).

Hinton, S & Hjorth L 2013, Understanding Social Media. Sage Publications, London 2013. (Section: pp. 1-31.)

Filmed in Carlton Gardens, Melbourne.

A rough, 10-clip sequence:

AFFORDANCES AND CONSTRAINTS OF INSTAGRAM

At the beginning of February, I moved from a Unilodge on Swanston Street to a new apartment in Collingwood. The more spacious apartment and beautiful view of the city skyline was only a few of the key aspects which made me excited about the move. Personally, I was really thrilled about the included appliances which came with the apartment: a fridge, microwave, oven and washer/dryer. Being a University student on a budget, not having to spend extra cash on such appliances is always a plus. However, the common struggle which comes with new objects and new technology is learning how to use it; working out the object’s affordances. As expressed by Donald Norman, an affordance “refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used” (Norman,1998, pg. 9). Further explained in our tutorial, this in simpler terms means: to look at an object or environment and see how it can be interacted with and used. An example of this can be a microwave. The buttons on the microwave refer to an action (aka setting the time) that can only be done through pressing that exact button. Microwaves afford cooking, reheating food and sometimes even telling us the time (in the case of my microwave).

Yet, Norman is frustrated with how advanced “everyday objects” have become, and so am I.

I remember coming home last week to my roommate showcasing her annoyance with the dryer. “I spent half an hour just trying to get it to dry my sheets,” I recall her claiming. This is then questioned, why is it so difficult to set the machine to dry bed sheets? Why should we have to find the user manual in order to figure it out?

This same frustration can be linked to Instagram software and how, for someone not very educated with social media and technology, it can become difficult to understand its functions and properties. This is become of the constraints which are always linked to affordances. Norman explains, “Problems occur whenever there is more than one possibility. If there is only one part that can be operated and only one possible action to do, there will be no difficulty.” (Norman, 1998 pg. 82). A constraint can be either physical, semantic, cultural and logical. In terms of Instagram, I wanted to try and look deeper into the types of constraints that come with using the app.

One constraint which I could think of is the idea of lack of experience with social networking. For instance, I have extensive knowledge of social media app’s. If there was to be a new social networking app to become popular within the market, I am confident that my existing experience with using Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat would come in handy. However, what if I was to have never used such applications? Does this then become a constraint as I try to learn how to use the software?

My example of this is comparing my knowledge of Instagram and the way I use it to the way my dad interacts with the platform. In class, we discussed the use of the inbuilt camera on Instagram and if that is used. No one raised their hand in favour of it. Yet, my Dad, a 53-year-old man, does use this camera. I know this as one day at an Arctic Monkey’s concert, he whipped out his phone to present the Instagram camera for a selfie. I wasn’t surprised, as my dad probably just knew this was an easier option for him in regard to quick publication of this selfie of us. However, my dad doesn’t use filters like my generation loves to do. Is this because he doesn’t care for the way his photos look? Or does he not mind because his photos are only shared within an intimate group of friends and family due to the privacy setting?

I would love to actually ask my Dad if he even realises there is more to Instagram then just uploading a quick, unedited snap.

IMAGE: https://www.iabeurope.eu/best-practices/instagram-research-the-instagram-effect/

READING: Core: Norman, D 1998, The design of everyday things , Basic Book, New York (Sections: Preface vii-xv; Chapter one pp 1-13; Chapter 4 (constraints) pp 81-87; (computers) pp 177-186).

THE LONG TAIL & MARKETING THROUGH NETWORKS

Whilst catching up with lecture notes and readings this week, I am amused by how linked this week’s prompt of “Networks” is with my last blog post. Last week, I discussed my interest in the way Instagram content isn’t authentic to the platform itself, as images and video are stolen through the accessibility of other social media networks in our current day and age. My main priority was discussing networks and today this will be my same priority.

However, something which interests me more than just networks themselves is the concept of marketing through platforms such as Instagram and Facebook and how accessible and easy it has become for the everyday user to promote a product due to the existence of the Internet and the World Wide Web. A quote I really liked from Martin Lister’s New Media: A Critical Introduction was “we can note the way in which the development of the Internet has not only given rise to new cultural practices that have actually become a threat to the interests and business practices of huge corporations but at the same time given rise to new media behemoths in online distribution, retailing and services” (Lister, 2009, pg. 163.) More specifically, I like how Lister mentions that the creation of the Internet has become threatening towards traditional business practices that have worked well in the past. Traditional styles of advertising such as using the television, cinema and billboards (although still used today and effective in their own way) are now not as popular as opting for advertising through social media networks.

Scrolling through an Instagram feed, you are bound to come across some form of advertisement, whether it being a sponsored ad or an “influencer” promoting a product through their account.

My example, here is Tammy Hembrow: a popular social media influencer on Instagram with 9.3m followers. Due to her high exposure to an audience, Tammy commonly links up with fitness brands (due to that being her passion and interest) and promotes their product. In return for giving the brand exposure of their product, Tammy gets a % of profit gained by people using her code WB25 at checkout. This style of promotion is completely different to simply advertising a service or product by purchasing an advertisement slot in between breaks of a television program. As discussed further by Lister, this has become possible through the concept of the “Long Tail.” The “Long Tail” refers to two factors: the lowering of costs in regard to the production of digital media and the effects of search providers on modern digital marketing.

Lister mentions, “for most of the past century, companies of all types strove to introduce products and services that were blockbuster hits and could capture the mass market. Bigger was better” (Lister, 2009, pg. 198). However now, due to the lower costs associated with new digital advertising, companies are drawn to different approaches and appealing to niche markets rather than the mass. This is reflected through Tammy Hembrow and how her simple Instagram caption is an example of how the Long Tail culture has come into play.

I am really intrigued with the way the Internet has changed the concept of digital marketing and I believe I will further my knowledge on this topic as the weeks go by.

IMAGE: https://www.instagram.com/p/Burz2Ycg-lY/

READING: Lister, M et al 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction. Routledge, 2009. (Sections: Networks, Users and Economics pp 163-169; Wiki Worlds and Web 2.0 pp 204-209; The Long Tail pp 197-200; User-generated content, we are all users now pp 221-232.)

BIKES OF MELBOURNE: EMILY CONLIN

It has become unavoidable to walk around the city of Melbourne and not come across someone using a bike as transportation. Proven to be better for your health and the environment, many commuters opt for the use of a bike in order to get to and from their destination instead of trains, cars and buses. Hence, the CBD of Melbourne has become chaotic with thousands of bicycles being rode daily and not enough space to house them all. Within this collection, this chaos and variety of purpose that people exhibit while using a bike is displayed. Specifically around RMIT and the State Library, bike racks are overloaded by the common bicycle. Yet, not all of them are used for the same purpose.

This particular shot not only captures the chaos of Melbourne in the background; busy people crossing the intersection alongside the tram, but too presents the different purposes people have when riding a bike in the city. Food delivery services have risen in popularity in the recent years, so much so that there is high demand for riders in the city for services such as Uber Eats. Here in this photo is an Uber Eats Driver, signified by the bulky backpack (something I have come to recognise well whilst living in Melbourne.) The rider is using a bicycle which is common due to the bike’s capability in getting to and from a location faster and being able to cut through alleys. Not only is there a food service rider in the frame, but a normal commuter in an orange helmet. It shows how difficult it is to capture a shot of a single rider at a time in Melbourne due to the high amount of bike users within the city.

No matter what there will always be bikes within the city, it is what they are used for that can be intriguing.

THE APPROPRIATION OF CONTENT THROUGH NETWORKED IMAGERY

Due to it being recognised as the primary platform of discussion for Networked Media this semester, Instagram will hence become my primary focus for my week one blog. As a lover of this social media application, I was happy to discover we would be studying Instagram in detail during the course. Throughout the last decade, I have seen this app thrive and grow. More friends have created new Instagram accounts than Facebook accounts.

In fact, I created an Instagram account before I even wished to create a Facebook account!

I was excited by the aesthetics that could be created through Instagram; how photos told the story about a person rather than just words. However, as platforms such as Twitter and Tumblr become popular, I began to realise how visual content can be appropriated through it’s networking. As stated in Sabine Niederer’s text ‘Networked Images:visual methodologies for the digital age,’ “online images become ‘networked’ when users like, share, comment or tag them, and also when platforms and engines format, filter, feed and recommend them to others” (Niederer, 2018). Through this networking system, millions of viewers are able to take such content from any platform and use it for personal gain. For example, the rise in meme accounts on Instagram has led to the discussion of these users “stealing” content from Twitter and Reddit, without crediting the original owner or author of the content.

Upon researching a bit more into this, I came across an Instagram account which I do in fact follow myself, called “FuckJerry.”

Image: https://www.fastcompany.com/90300900/comedians-fight-back-against-wildly-popular-joke-stealing-instagram-account

User @FuckJerry has recently become under fire for stealing content from comedians off other platforms, and profiting off of it through the likes of advertising.

This account is not alone. Thousands of meme/comedy accounts on Instagram are doing the exact same thing. As Niederer discusses further in the reading, the existence of mass production of imagery on social media platforms is due to the act of appropriation; “Studying
the ways in which such publics repurpose existing images (e.g., by turning them
into memes or creatively appropriating them by using filters and other visual
and textual elements), provides new insights into the dynamic user cultures of a
particular platform,” (Niederer, 2018). Yet, users aren’t simply turning what they find into memes. They are without remorse stealing content for personal growth in profit and followers (FuckJerry currently has 14M followers, 300k less than when the Fast Company article was written a month ago.)

This is an interesting issue which I would enjoy delving deeper into as I learn more about Instagram and how it work’s within this networked media culture.

Image: https://www.fastcompany.com/90300900/comedians-fight-back-against-wildly-popular-joke-stealing-instagram-account

READING: Niederer, S 2018, Networked images: visual methodologies for the digital age. Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam. (read pp.1-20)

PEOPLE WATCHING, MELBOURNE. – EMILY CONLIN

The art of people watching. It is something we all do, whether it is in a busy café while you wait for your morning coffee or maybe it is at the library as you feel yourself fall deeper into procrastination. I had this in mind as I took this photo of Jonah, modelling perfectly in RMIT’s main library.

Melbourne is perfect for people watching as there are people almost everywhere, especially around RMIT where these photographs were taken. Taking turns with my two group members, Jonah and Ziggy, we ventured out with a single camera and began to capture these people caught up in their own lives. Now, taking perfect photos isn’t an easy task, especially when your subject is a stranger out the front of the State Library.

All three of us looked at each other nervously. Who was to take the photo of this well dressed man holding a bible? Who was going to ask him for his permission? It was Ziggy who took the reigns and captured the polite man who was nothing less than a delight. When finding people willing to snap proved its challenges, we enjoyed showcasing the beautiful architecture found within RMIT’s city campus. The windows found on these buildings in particular created a template for how we could capture the busy university student on their way too or from class on that busy Tuesday afternoon. Seen as almost a silhouette within the walls of Building 10, the subject watched us as he walked past, and disappeared as quickly as he appeared. He too, was people watching.

As i mentioned in the previous post about what I wanted to get out of the studio, I am currently also partaking in the course “True Lies: Documentary Studies.” I believe this class and the documentary we had to watch this week is a perfect option for this post as it reflects on non-fiction content and the art of documentaries.

Forbidden Lie$ is an Australian documentary which tells the story of Norma Khouri who published a “non fiction” book called Forbidden Love in 2003, only for it to be based on lies rather than the truth. Claiming to live in Jordan, Norma centres her book on the honour killing of her best friend “Dalia,” who was killed in the hands of her father for loving a man of another religion. Dalia was killed in order to cleanse the family name and hence, Norma wanted to avenge her death by getting justice and changing the laws that allow for these acts to take place.

However, that is what Norma wants YOU to believe. This documentary uncovers the lies and deception that Norma created in order to create personal gain. I won’t give everything away, however, it becomes very easily for you to soon tell what is truth and what is false when it comes to Norma. Like Elmyr from “F for Fake,” Norma is displayed as a con-artist with sociopathic tendencies. However, unlike Elmyr who admitted to committing fraud, Norma only admitted to small parts of the lies she created, and when she did, she made sure she could justify why she did it in order for people to sympathise with her. Norma displayed no remorse for what resulted from her actions, but rather only cared for herself and her image in the end.

This documentary takes on a very traditional documentary form, using interviews, re-enactments and following a ‘chronological order of events’ structure. What was interesting was the use of incorporating Anna Broinowski, the director, into the second half of the film as she appears on screen rather than off. However, unlike in F for Fake where Olson is a main subject and uses on-screen narration, Anna is shown just interviewing Norma, specifically in their time in Jordan when she becomes frustrated with the continues lies generated by the main “character” in her documentary. In many occasions, you can see the reality of the director becoming annoyed with the little progression that is occurring because of set backs. In this case, the set back was Norma, who was leading them on a trial of deception without letting them know until AFTER her actions had consequences. I believe showing this frustration was a great element in regard to showing the real effects Norma’s lies had on the people around on her. In terms of creating non-fictional content, this was perfect for adding to the authenticity.

This documentary also has a controversial and abrupt ending which for many viewers seemed not needed. Norma, at the end of the entire ordeal, told Anna and her audience that she had been sexually abused by her father as a child. This is confusing as earlier in the film, her father was interviewed alongside Norma in their journey through Jordan and seemed to have a good relationship with his daughter. It is here where the film ends, and text tells the audience watching that this was proven to be false. In fact, Anna in an interview after the creation of this documentary, revealed that she didn’t believe Norma’s father was even her true dad, as she was so good at lying.

Forbidden Lie$ was not only interesting to watch, but a great example of non-fictional content I can consider while working within my studio, Real to Reel.

Where do I begin with this film?

F for Fake truely confused but intrigued me throughout its entire duration. To define this film as non-fiction (for the first hour at least) is non-debatable, yet to try and define exactly HOW it displays itself as non-fictional is difficult. The film uses interviews with the true people who they discuss, hence, becoming like a documentary. Yet, it also incorporates the director as a significant part of the film. His narration dictates the direction of where the film proceeds to go. It continues to go from non-fiction to fiction through these techniques.

The film’s main purpose and contention was to uncover “fakes”; specifically con artists who create counterfeit paintings in order to grow personal gain. While the film goes on to speak about not just Elmyr de Hory but other subjects such as Clifford Irving and Oja Kodar, every new story is always linked back to Elmyr and his deception.

In terms of other film techniques, I was surprised by the choppiness in the editing, especially at the beginning of the movie. The fast cuts, the quick zooms and almost random stills or pauses of the shot were unique aspects which I believe were used to add to the authenticity the film wished to create.

I, however, don’t quite understand the portrayal of Oja and why it was so dramatic at times. I can see why the film chose to strongly sexualise her as she was their only female subject and they needed to show how men perceived women back in the 70’s and link that to their fictional story of Picasso. Yet it almost become uncomfortable to watch her be displayed in such a distasteful manner. The montage of men looking at her lasted for way too long, however, maybe this was the intention? Maybe Orson Welles, one of the directors, felt that it had to be uncomfortable in order to showcase how Oja herself may be feeling. Yet, I find myself believing this may not be the case as this movie was created in the 70’s, not in our recent decade.

From reflecting upon the studio prompt and the intention behind “Real to Reel,” I believe this course will encourage and motivate myself as a media student to learn about non-fictional content and what it truely means to create something based on truth. As a lover of documentaries and exploring factual ideas and stories, I am yet to dabble in creating something based on this interest. My favourite form of documentary series is based on true-crime. I’m not sure if this says anything about me, but yes I love learning about serial killers and what motivates them to commit such unlawful acts of violence.

In terms of my goals for this semester in this studio, I really hope not just to improve on my practical skills (which are a bit rusty since being on a three month break) but try photojournalism. I once wanted to be a photojournalist during high school as one of my biggest inspirations is social media photojournalist Sjana Elise. I wanted to travel the world and take photos of what I saw, and reflect on the stories behind them, just as she did and continues to do. However, the reality of becoming successful through such a practice was too slim for me to feel comfortable pursing it. Hence, when I saw we would be touching on photojournalism and photographic essays, the younger version of myself squealed in delight. At least this way, I can see if I enjoy being behind a camera as I already know that I love to write and reflect.

I am also in this semester taking the course “True Lies: Documentary Studies.” From the first week I can already see the connections between these two classes, and it will be interesting to see how I can take knowledge from that class and put it towards my practice in this one.