int media 2 – lecture 2

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

The four corners documentary reiterated just how much the data you create (through posts, photos, comments, likes etc) becomes a ‘currency’ or a ‘commodity’ for big companies. It has definitely opened my eyes to just how much these companies are able to target their advertising directly in order to cater for certain markets and demographics. I never thought about just how you are revealing about your personality, interests and associations through the way in which you interact on the online sphere.

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

A social media producer is like any media producer (including film and television) in the respect that they create content in the hope of getting it out into a wider sphere of reception. A social media producer is like a media producer (such as myself) as they need to consider the audience they are catering to when they are creating content and how to best appeal to the needs, desires and interests of that audience. When marketing a film or television show, social media can be implemented to further engage an audience and create interest or hype around a topic – I have experienced this very use of social media marketing in my own creative endeavours (ie. through Facebook pages advertising films I have been a part of, or through sharing music, events and photos through my band’s page).

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

When planning our event, the points in the documentary being made about ‘association’ and ‘likes as currency’ are both relevant. Participatory engagement is generally achieved (as pointed out in the documentary) when you give your audience something in return for ‘sharing’, ‘liking’ or engaging in your social media event. It also would be helpful to associate with other topics, brands, pages, figures etc which would share a similar market and already have an established audience base.