Week 4: Social Media

Social media has become such a broad and excessive term we use every single day. We use the term to whilst writing a post on a social media app. The term is used on social media sites for example in a post, to bash the very thing they are using. For example, when Caroline Flack took her own life following years of online abuse, people were quick to write posts bashing these very same social media networking sites they use every day.

Caroline Flack’s death and Social Media

This shows that we all know the harmful effects it can have, but we still use it as it is embedded in our daily lives in every single aspect.

Web 1.0 refers to the too technically inaccessible aspect of the internet, when it was harder to publish and produce content as you needed required technical skills for the software. This promoted passive usage habits and didn’t work well for marketing companies. Then, suddenly the term Web 2.0 was thrown into the mix and marketing just became a whole lot easier. Web 2.0 refers to mode of internet usage that allows users to produce their own online content easily, with it including a high level of participation. This means, advertisers can now capitalise on this and can essentially make users contribute to marketing and strategy. Most users who use the internet probably aren’t aware they are being targeted by marketing companies through every click and scroll they make. When you really focus and think on this topic, it shows us how the internet can become dark so very fast. We have no idea the level of surveillance that is on us right now. I remember when i was a child, i had a first generation ‘iPod’ and there was this free app on the app store that tapped into CCTV camera footage all over the world. Very scary. And we are just expected to be okay with this because this comes as a result from being just another user on Web 2.0!

One point i found really interesting was from Wendy Chun’s (2016) research. When focusing on the problem of control and freedom she discusses the update functions on all this software we encounter everyday and how it functions to destabilise online activity habits. Personally, i rarely update my apps because i am lazy to press the button ‘update’, but also because i get used to the already made changes and don’t want to have to learn a new layout. Chun explains that making updates constantly functions as a political appartus, so updates enforce behavioral changes in online activity.

References

Chun, Wendy Hui Kyong. 2016. ‘Introduction: Habitual New Media, or Updating to Remain (Close to) the Same’ in Updating to Remain the Same: Habitual New Media. Massachusetts, United States: MIT Press. 1-20.

Image of my own social networking apps from my iPhone. [2020].

Seymour, R. (2020) Caroline Flack’s death shows how social media has democratised cruelty. The Guardian [Online], 21 February. Available from: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/21/caroline-flack-death-social-media-cruelty-celebrities>.

Week 3: The Network

Web 2.0 has for sure took over the traditional media outlets. Every thing we do now concerning the internet is all multi-integrated. For example, recently Facebook bought Instagram, so now Facebook has the ability (and does) target user’s ad space with even more accuracy through major marketing companies by collecting data on both the apps.

One of the 4 insights that stuck with me was ‘User Generated Content Affects Us All’. After having a discussion with my friends over iMessage, we discussed how much data we actually all have online and how we have such limited access to how companies use it. So users are aware companies collect our data but the only thing we can really do is manage our cookies.

Ease-of-use is definitely an important part to the development of user generated content. Our days and lives are so busy, we wouldn’t give our limited time and attention to things we find difficult. This is why traditional media outlets have explored being online and the rise of social media and specifically user generated content apps in the 21st century. One of these apps include Tik Tok, an application i use myself, as it’s very easy to create videos and share them with my friends and strangers that also create their own videos. No one taught me how to use the app, i applied my own logic and understanding of other apps to figure out the logistics. Also, it is very easy to make our own memes across the web. We can use apps such as Twitter to share memes across the world, connecting us to so many people with similar humour. This is such a benefit of the internet as without it, lots of people wouldn’t have these experiences that might make their day positively interacting with people.

It is correct to assume media making and sharing has an exploitative edge.

“Between the dawn of civilsation and 2003, 5 exabytes of data was created. That much information is now created every 2 days.” (Youtube, 2014, 2:20)

This quote proves how much data we collect and how much material companies have to access. They are flooded with our free data that we give away without a second thought. Through learning about this week’s topic, i am reminded of the brilliant documentary, The Great Hack on Netflix.

The Great Hack – Trailer

It looks at how the data company, Cambridge Analytica collapsed after it was discovered to be mis-using Facebook data, using it to impact the voting of the UK Brexit referendum and U.S. 2016 Presidency election of Donald Trump. Even the ‘powerful’ Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, testified in front of the United States surrounding Facebook’s involvement with exploiting user’s data for targeted marketing strategies. We really don’t have access to our data and how it’s used, and something needs to change about it because user’s aren’t going to stop creating content and using the internet just because they don’t know where their invisible data is going.

References:

Image from my iMessage group chat with friends.

The Great Hack (2019) Netflix.

Youtube (2014) Dangers of the Internet. [Online] Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uquRzrcwA18>.

Youtube (2019) The Great Hack Trailer. [Online] Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX8GxLP1FHo>.

Week 2: Affordances

In my opinion ‘affordances’ is a difficult term to get your head around at first. It’s quite clear that every object around you right now has specific affordances and you may use different ones to the intended affordance. For example, right now, i have just drank a coffee,then i have put my sweet wrapper in my coffee cup, so that it is easier for me to carry back to my flat. Whoever created this coffee cup created it so the intended affordances would be to drink coffee/a hot drink out of it. However, i have just created my own affordance of putting rubbish in it to suit my own practicability at the time.

“…the term affordance refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine how the thing could possibly be used” (Norman, 1998, 9)

In relation to Instagram, we all have the power to use it for different functions to the intended. The affordance of Instagram is to post accurate photos and videos online to share. However, anybody can create an account and pose as someone else, creating a threat of cat fishing. Users can use fake accounts to cyber bully others and hide their true identity. Also, i know people that may use Instagram to ‘investigate’ other accounts. For example, checking their partners followers, messages, likes etc in a compulsive manner if they are perhaps insecure in their relationship.

Norman discusses constraints and the 4 types: physical, semantic, cultural and logical. (Norman, 1998, pp. 81-87) However, he also states,

“logic is wonderful but it doesn’t describe real behaviour“ (Norman, 2013, Youtube, 2:55)

This means, people that make and use products don’t always account for the other affordances they have.

Also, in terms of design media, he states,

“emotional design is a critical part of design” (Norman, 2013, Youtube, 3:19)

Instagram is all about emotional design, we get invested in using that application, its affordances are addicting. Therefore, emotions is such a big part of designing products in this modern digital world.

References:

Image from my iPhone of my coffee cup. (2020)

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

Norman, D (2013) User centered design. Youtube [Online], 1 Feb. Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl2LkzIkacM>.

Week 1: Network Media Blog

I was excited when I found out we would be completing weekly blog posts as part of the module for Networked Media. I enjoy reading other peoples travel and lifestyle blogs as it is a way to inspire a whole audience and personally, they inspired me to come and study abroad here in Melbourne! Reading inspirational texts and nice blogs positively impacts my mood and i hope my blogs will do the same for you! Welcome to my blog and my first post for Week 1!

The lecture focused on some key terms in reference to the prompt we will be focusing on.

How do the affordances of Instagram affect the way photos and videos are authored, published and distributed in the network?

Authoring can be shared with someone, making the content a multiple authored piece of work. In relation to the social networking service Instagram, authoring involves creating photo and video content to share to your followers, or whoever wants to see your posts. The process behind authoring involves using existing software on a mobile device to record a photographic image or video imagery. Then there is an additional, optional service to edit your content using Instagram’s own filters and features provided.

On Instagram, the author prepares the photo or video for upload to the platform via publishing. They may choose to include a location, tag other accounts, hashtags, use emojis and write a small descriptive caption text to their post. However, the lines between publication and distribution become blurred as they run parallel. For example, authors have the option to edit their posts even after publishing. This means they can tag accounts, update and edit their caption text, include a location and even can archive/delete their post.

Being a user myself, i understand that there is a complexity to using it and once you know how to work it, it becomes second nature. As mentioned in the lecture, a smooth accessible process is included in the publishing process as authors have the option to share their posts across other social media platforms, making this function an important part of their experience as it makes it very easy for users to distribute their content widely, for example through Facebook.

Software literacy and update software daily becomes something we forget happens behind the scenes of these demanded apps. It’s become very influential in user’s daily lives without them even knowing or understanding it. I believe software affects what we do and how we do it, with it influencing out critical thinking of the world, creating psychological affects on us unknowingly. This shows how media, specifically software media can be used to create so much power and influence generations, which can be problematic, as seen in election/political campaigns across Western societies i.e. Brexit and Trump. As Manovich states in his book,

“to understand media today we need to understand media software…” (Manovich, 2011, p. 1).

For example, we need to understand how interfaces work and/or the most accessible way to operate an application.

Additionally, the reading of Blogs in Media Education by Adrian Mills provided an insightful view on highlighting the importance of blogs. In a modern, digital age, where blogging is considered less important as other digital platforms, the relevance of it still stands for education. It provides students with a smooth platform to learn in/from and our engagement is as important as it once was when blogging started.

References

Khoo E, Hight C, Torrens R, Cowie B. (2017) ‘Introduction: Software and other Literacies’ in Software Literacy: Education and Beyond. Springer, Singapore. (pp.1-12).

Miles, Adrian. (2006) Blogs in Media Education: A Beginning. Australian Screen Ed 41: 66–9. Print.