Blog Index
Annotated Bibliography
Lister, M 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction. Routledge, New York pp 163-169, 197-200, 204-209, 221-232.
The article above documents the beginnings and inner workings of the web, particularly during the transition to Web 2.0, and the changes it brought to the landscape of big media. Lister talks about the beginning of the web, and about the endless possibilities it had during the conception of Web 2.0, with its limitless potential to change the way society thinks and approaches concepts like digital ownership, creation and distribution. Ultimately, Lister argues that this format was perfect for advertisers, and how marketing on the web, ‘once it was stable’, would be ideal.
A strength of the work is Lister’s comprehensive study and history to back himself up on points raised without this article. He refreshers readers of the ‘dot com bubble’ and other significant historical moments, which give his points of a shaky and unstable internet a larger sense of credit as he juxtaposes web certainty with incidents that were thought to completely dismantle the world wide web as people knew it. However, Listers writing does get a little tiresome, with passages seemingly repeating themselves as they go on. Furthermore, another potential limitation of this reading is its publication date. Being published in 2009, Lister and others are not up to date on the latest developments in the web and social media as a whole, especially since this content is before Instagram entirely. Nevertheless, Lister raises two crucial points during the passages of this article, the first being ‘The Long Tail’ theory. The theory suggests that with the market for advertising drastically changing with the expansion of the web, the need to market safe and to large groups exclusively is no longer necessary. The interconnectedness to the web has made marketing to smaller, niche groups, more effective and profitable in the long term. Gone are the days of mass spread marketing, hoping something sticks. Companies are able to advertise and market to who they want, where they want, how they want. Another idea raised by Lister in this reading was the idea of the ‘Perpetual Beta’. That applications and services can be always updating and evolving, as no relevant product in new media is ever stagnant in process.
Both these terms and ideas raised by Lister are applicable to the course outlines and prompts of the class. An easy example is how the idea of the ‘Perpetual Beta’ is ever present in Instagram’s model, as well as many other social media platforms. Furthermore, Lister’s application of Anderson’s ‘The Long Tail’ theory can be used to analyse how Instagram uses advertisers and algorithms. Some of the main affordances of Instagram is its simple user interface and ability to hide ads within your feed. While this is not necessarily a positive affordance for consumers, it definitely is for corporations. Instagram is able to utilise your browsing data to identify your preferences and purchases, suggesting paid content throughout your feed seamlessly, attempting to make you associate it with the commonplace content from friends, celebrities and family. This knowledge and understanding of how advertisers market to small target audiences is shown in how Instagram distributes paid marketed content onto their site.
Norman, D 1999, ‘Affordance, conventions and design (Part 2)’, Nielsen Norman Group, http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/affordance_conv.html
In the article, Norman discusses and documents his extensive history with affordances, and how his perception of the concept has evolved over time, when relating it to his own work and practices. Norman is somewhat of a pioneer when it comes to affordances, even after previously stating that he ‘originally hated’ the idea. His discussion and recollection of his time with affordances covers the main basics of the concept, such as the difference between perceived and actual affordances and the constraints and conventions of affordances.
There are a large number of initial strengths to this piece. Norman is well written and researched, having an extensive understanding of affordances on both a macro and micro scale. He utilises a variety of digital and content specific phrases and terms, allowing readers to familiarise themselves with the inner workings of both affordances and their various constraints Furthermore, the layout of the article is very neat and well organised, with subheadings, and a relatively short and concise length, making it a very digestible read that can be easily repeated. Throughout these subheadings, Norman discusses key ideas of affordances. His language and use of examples when explaining an idea are all really helpful as a reader. Norman is able to relate a concept very easily to a physical or graphical example, such as when discussing the ‘physical affordances’ of computer and graphical content, such as scrolling and mouse clicking commands. Adding to that, the author discusses constraints in relation to the affordances with the same format, always relating the theory to an aspect of computer design and interface, such as how the physical constraint of having the mouse not be able to move ‘outside the screen’ on a typical one screen monitor setup keeps the user with the content. However, while Norman’s examples of constraints and affordances in this article always relate to technology, some basic groundwork examples of physical objects would make comprehending these somewhat complex theories easier to understand. For example, when outlining the main constraints of an objects affordance, using his classic example of a chair’s affordances and constraints could have helped new readers to the content get a grasp on these ideas sooner.
Nevertheless, Norman’s ideas and examples in relation to a programs perceived and actual affordances relates directly to the affordances and constraints of the social media platform Instagram. The perceived affordances of the developers of the platform originally would have been on a much smaller scale. However, with the mass marketing and publicity, user interactions and influencer activity, the perceived affordances of Instagram are drastically different to what the actual affordances of the application are in 2019, with a business and user integration focus, using a flow of hashtags and sponsored posts to boost both the clout of an ‘Instagramer’, as well as the products and businesses the platform is associated with it. However, there are cultural constraints to this idea, such as how the application itself is banned in China. These concepts of affordances and constraints of a digital product, specifically Instagram, are outlined clearly in the Norman article above.
Hinton, S & Hjorth L 2013, Understanding Social Media. Sage Publications, London 2013, pg. 1-31
In the digital copy of the book above, Hilton and Hjorth detail and outline the evolution and a brief history of Social Networking Sites (SNS). They begin this first with a general overview of Web 2.0, moving through to iconic social media services, the control and power of SNSs, then a brief overlook at how the world of social games has evolved alongside traditional messaging services. All these ideas come together to form the article above, and lay the groundwork for the authors’ overall points on ’empowerment and control’ as well as the new found way of intimacy after the adaptation of social networking sites into the everyday lives of consumers.
The book itself is quite poetic in many ways. Hinton and Hjorth open the first chapter with a visually stimulating scenario, which outlines their main point in that while SNS ‘were just for the young’, during the time of publication in 2013, these services were becoming everyday applications for people of any age. The structure of the book itself is very digestible and well set out, with the rest of the first chapter detailing what the following passages would contain, with a brief synopsis of each, allowing the reader to ‘cherry pick’ between them, or read the book as a whole. The range of content they discuss as well is extensive, the authors ensure the reader is caught up on everything they talk about, going back as far as Web 1.0, ensuring you are well versed before discussing the nuances of Web 2.0. Their main argument, however, is this idea of control, stating that the ‘term “user” has two connotations: controller and controlled’. Hinton and Hjorth question our idea of control within a digital space by bringing up the addictive natures SNSs have integrated into their platforms, such as the ease at which a user can continuously swipe down a feed for hours and how the ‘typical teenager’ can feel lost or out of place without the aid of their mobile and social services. They target Google specifically, suggesting that while their motto is to ‘focus on the user’ and their experience, they really see us as products with data that need to be marketed and sold. While there is nothing major to fault about this book, it does suffer by being somewhat dated when looking through a contemporary lens. While the content is not irrelevant in 2019, a lot more can be said and discussed in relation to this idea of control, and a revision by Hilton and Hjorth could garner a further read and look into the underbelly of SNS and services.
The two authors main ideas about control and addictive tendencies can definitely be related to the course prompt and Instagram as a platform. Bringing it back to affordances, a key affordance of Instagram as a platform for screentime is the ease at which users, new or acquainted, can scroll and interact with the service. The application is built around the idea of users continuously scrolling, stopping to like and comment every other post, only to continue scrolling once again. Furthermore, users can very easily develop an emotional connection to their Instagram, feeling a need to upload or stay active to keep followers and likes up. This related back to Hinton and Hjorth’s example of the ‘lost’ teenager, away from the online emotions and connections.
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