This weeks reading dealt with social media and how the way we interact with the internet changed in the early 2000’s post dotcom crash.

Before reading this article I never quite understood what the dotcom bubble or crash was, I just use to hear the phrase pop up from time to time. From what I now understand it came about from a huge amount of money being invested into internet based technologies in the 90’s with a promise of revenue that never really eventuated. Companies at that time really hadn’t worked out that essential part of their investment. After everything collapsed in the early 2000’s there was a shift in internet culture that involved more participation from the user..this was coined as Web 2.0.

“The Web will be understood, not as screenfuls of text and graphics but as a transport mechanism, the ether through which interaction happens” (Darcy DiNucci 1999)

This reading talked a lot about the paradox and contradictions of the social media platforms in the new era of Web 2.0. In one sense the user has a freedom to connect and create content (UCC) like never before as a lot of the technical aspects such as understanding programming and code were not needed to create content. On the other hand, the user’s internet movements were being recorded by the major companies as a way of monetising the user which in turn acted as a sense of corporate control.

“Web 2.0 can be regarded as internet companies embracing the user and giving them more controller what they can do online, it can also be regarded as a way for the same companies to gain more control over their operating environments by building better knowledge of their users” (Hinton,Hjorth 2013)

Hinton and Hjorth conclude the reading with the idea that this existing paradox of freedom vs control “represent extreme ends of a spectrum in which complex interactions play out.” I feel that they are talking about a ‘give and take’ situation between the everyday user and internet companies and that there’s many ways to look at the relationship.

This week’s reading is by Adrian Miles and explains the concept of “network literacy”. In this article Miles starts by taking a look at “print literacy” which has had a far longer history than the internet. He uses the example of a student borrowing a book from a library and all the processes that entails such as:

1. going to the library
2. using a catalogue to find the book
3. getting assistance from a librarian

and then the linear way in which we get information from books

1. read from left to right
2. use a table of contents
3. sequential page numbers

I personally hadn’t borrowed a book from a library for study purposes since I was first at Uni in the early 90’s (pre internet). Back then it was one of the only ways you could study…might explain why I dropped out after one year.

When he compares print to ‘network literacy’ and how it is an ever evolving source of information and media, you really get a sense of how non-linear and remarkable it is. Miles talks about the way the user interacts with information online as opposed to just consuming it.

“Network literacy is, in a nutshell, being able to participate as a peer within the emerging knowledge networks that are now the product of the Internet” (Miles 2007)

He also mentions how we can personalise and tailor where we get our information from by using RSS feeds, tags, links to blogs and so on.

I feel as time goes by we tend to take this relatively new wave of how we connect and share information for granted. When I was at Uni many years ago studying jazz, a friend of mine lent me this rare tape he found of the great Buddy Rich freaking out at his band..(they use to secretly record him) The tape got chewed up in my car stereo the time and we didn’t find another copy of it for about 5 years…I felt pretty bad! I just found it again on Youtube in about 5 seconds!!

“we often have trouble working devices that we expect to be simple” (Norman, 2013)

I found the readings from The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman pretty interesting this week. Before reading this I had never really thought a great deal about the frustrations of bad design and technology and how it can work against the user at times. It reminded me of the time i felt pretty stupid taking a tv back to a store thinking it wouldn’t power up, only to find out it had three separate standby switches…one that was particularly hidden. It took three technicians to work out how to turn a tv on…nuts!

Much of the technology we use in everyday life starts with exploration, if we find the technology particularly useful we might read small chunks of a manual or help file but try to avoid it most of the time, I know I do. The only types of software I’ll really delve into are music based apps which relate to my work and interests, anything outside of that such as social media platforms like Instagram, I want these to just work for me without having to think too much. After all, it is entertainment.

Norman’s use of everyday analogies helped explained the concept of user friendly design and how it should guide the user rather than confuse them. I’ve only really dabbled with Instagram up to this point in my life but will no doubt think more about Norman’s concepts the more I use it…look forward to reading the rest of the book at some stage.

Norman, D. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books, p.81.

One of the key points I found interesting about this weeks reading was the idea of class work and ideas being a collective experience. At first, the thought of everyone reading your work is a tad daunting, in my past experience of study it’s only been a few key people who read your work which feels like a fairly private transaction. The more I think about the collaborative approach to working as a group using blogging, the more it makes sense. Being able to view other peoples approaches to a task could be a really helpful way of getting something started which for me personally is the hardest part….starting that is. I’m looking forward to working on a subject in this blog setting to see how it affects the way we all work.

Even though I feel like I’ve never had a blog, reading this article made me reflect on how social media in general is pretty much blogging. Platforms like Instagram have become the new business card/website in many freelance industries. I’ve worked in the music industry for many years primarily as a freelance drummer and in recent years have noticed the way musicians promote themselves has changed. To keep getting work, people and colleagues need to know you are still relevant in your field but going around telling everyone what you’re up to professionally is not a great look sometimes.

Instagram has helped people in the arts promote themselves and their work in a blog setting rather than an official website in many cases. I’ve found it helps to create an interactive community as opposed to just online resumes that remain static and a lot of the time receive minimal internet traffic. There has also been a shift to separate personal Instagram pages from career focused pages. I use to find posting things on any social media account regarding my career a little uncomfortable and alienating for any friends who were probably uninterested or viewed it as some sort of humble brag when you post any work related achievements …I certainly have had that reaction occasionally to other peoples posts. I like to follow other drummers online to see what they’re doing around the world but most of the time I personally only really want to see drum related material…tour photos/videos etc. As soon as someone has branded their account to be career focused it makes more sense when you read about their achievements.. it’s certainly a lot less cringe worthy.

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