KCB201 WK12 “I Believe…” New Media, Beliefs and Politics

Does New Media play an influential role in the beliefs and values that exist within society?

Of course it does.

Like the books, newspapers, radio and television before it all media platforms have played a pivotal role is distributing the information that helps us determine our values and beliefs. New media is no different although it does have a twist. The democratised nature of the internet through open source software now allows people to not only consume this information but also to create and distribute it.

Citizen Journalism is one movement that exemplifies this more than most. In a time when the role of traditional journalists is being eroded more than ever before opportunities for individuals to share their beliefs and values with a wider audience have never been greater. The “MyMissourian project” is one example of a format that promotes citizen journalism as a supplement to traditional journalism via an umbrella model (Bentley et al, 2007). Unlike successful existing citizen journalism models such as OhMyNews, MyMissourian decided to function as an addition to traditional news operations rather than a competitor. Uniquely, it created opportunities for amateurs to share their views and be mentored by professionals at the same time.

Religion is another interesting area to view with respect to the use of new media. The acceptance of new technologies into a religious belief systems steeped in old world tradition seems to be somewhat of an oxymoron. “Believers tend to be older and hence less likely to take up CMC technologies, while younger, more Internet-savvy persons are less likely to affiliate themselves with traditional religions”(Ess, 2007). I believe generational change within religious power bases will have more effect on the use of new media than the religious movements themselves.

References:

Bentley, C., Hamman, B., Littau, J., Meyer, H., Watson, B. and Welsh, B. (2007). Citizen Journalism: a Case Study. In Blogging, Citizenship, and the Future of Media, Tremayne, Mark (ed.). New York: Taylor & Francis: 239-259.

Ess, C. (2007). Cross-cultural perspectives on religion and computer-mediated communication. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3), article 9.

KCB201 WK11: Writing an essay

Writing an academic essay is predominately about research and structure. If you fail to meet the standard in either of these two categories, then it is likely you will present a substandard essay.

Personally I believe structure is the key component to a successful essay and I always begin my essays with the basic structure of Introduction, Body Paragraphs and Conclusion. After which I add concept ideas to each body subheading from the research I have undertaken.

My next step is to structure my individual paragraphs to support my argument. I use the Topic, Restriction and Illustration style (TRI) (Jenkins Thomas, 2009) as my paragraph structure and always try to ensure that I use relevant references to support my argument.

I often write an introduction to begin, however I always return to my introduction after writing the body of the essay to clarify my thesis statement and make sure it is relevant to the topics I have discussed.

Finally, my conclusion is designed to restate my initial argument and summarize the body of essay.

I find writing academic essays challenging, but highly rewarding. It is very different from the journalism style of writing that is my main interest. Academic writing gives me the opportunity to research an idea in great depth and present my point of view in a concise and professional way.

References:

Jenkins, G & Thomas, G. (2009), KKB101 Week 9 Lecture Slides: Accessed 5 May 2010, from. http://delicious.com/kkb101_09SE1/week09+lecture

KCB201 Week 10: Why and How to Blog Well

Writing this learning blog through this semester has contributed to my understanding of what a blog should be. Initially, I viewed it as a requirement to relay my understanding of unit topics in a mini-essay form. As the weeks have continued though I have begun to view it as an opportunity to relate those unit topics to my own experience and form an opinion thereafter.

Personally, this blog has encouraged me to do more regular work on my own sports blog www.mondaysexpert.com as it represents a passion and potential link to the next phase of my working life. As Martin Weller says in his blog “in the future I would like to think that instead of producing a CV and letter of application for a job you could just send someone to your blog” (The Ed Techie, 2007).

The suggestion that my blog can provide a window to my skills and knowledge is a powerful motivator to contribute the time required to maintain it. So from this point forward as Ewan McIntosh (2006) suggests, I intend to read more blogs on my chosen subject, actively engage in the conversation by leaving comments, and then engage more regularly with my on blog.

References:

Weller, M. 2007. The Ed Techie, Is blogging a good use of time?
http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_60765_1%26url%3D (accessed: April 30, 2010)


Mcintosh, E. 2006. Ewan McIntosh’s edu.blogs.com. Just because you can blog in one click doesn’t mean you should…
http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_60765_1%26url%3D (accessd: April 30, 2010)

KCB201: WK9 New Media, Health and Wellbeing

Amongst the plethora of uses the internet offers users it is not surprising that accessing health information is a rapidly growing sector. According to Lewis (2006), “there is no doubt that growing numbers of lay people throughout the world are accessing information about health online”. Personally I fall into this category. Often I will consult the internet for my own personal research regarding personal health concerns. Sometimes this may be to gauge more information about a condition after a doctors visit or possibly to investigate symptoms and potential causes. I agree that the availability of medical information online helps “facilitate a two-way, interactive relationship between patient and doctor” (Lewis 2006), and in my case this has improved my relationship with my GP. The major concerns that I hold with regards to the availability of this information in the online sphere is that some people will believe that their increased medical literacy via the web renders professional doctors unnecessary. The potentiality of a serious increase in the numbers of miss-diagnosis of medical conditions becomes a serious concern. Users will need to understand that the online world can be a positive supplement to the process of traditional health care but caution must be exercised when acting on medical information obtained from the internet and in turn deciphered by lay people.

References:

Lewis, T. 2006. Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria? Media, Culture and Society. 28 (4): 521–539.

KCB201 WK8 Getting Ahead: Working In and with New Media

The nature of the new media environment brings with it a wealth of challenges for those who wish to work and thrive in this industry. As a budding journalist myself, the growing insecurity of jobs within traditional journalism is a concern that is always at the back of my mind as I prepare to enter the industry. Being that it takes both experience and three years of study to gain the skills required to deliver professional content, it concerns me that there is a “sapping of economic and cultural power away from professional journalists to what I like to call ‘The People Formerly known as the Employers’ (TPFKATE)” (Deuze 2009). Additionally, like many industries, the movement towards “freelance, casualized, informal, and otherwise contingent labor arrangements” (Deuze 2009), leads to job insecurity and eventually the loss of talented people from the field.

The issues of job security and continuity are not only restricted to journalism. New media fields are filled with people who have an “extraordinary degree of creativity, passion and enthusiasm for this work” (Gill 2006, 43). Despite this commitment to the nature of the work, insecurities exist around income, work continuity and future prospects. Gill (2006, 41), notes that workers in the field found it very difficult to project forward to where they may be in five years time, so much so that many could not envision a long term career in the field at all. This level on insecurity in new media employment needs to be addressed for the long term betterment of the industry.

References:

Deuze, M. (2009). The people formerly known as the Employers. Journalism, Vol. 10, issue 3, pp. 315-318.

Gill, R. (2007). Informality is the New Black. In Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New Media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures: 24-30 & 38-43.

KCB201 WK6 Tell me more, Tell me more...Information, Education and Work

This weeks reading contained many themes that I could consider in today’s blog. However Castells theory of "timeless time" (Castells 1999, 405) is one I would first like to unpack. Castells hypothesises that the dominant logic of a network society is characterised by a relentless effort to annihilate time (Castells 1999, 405). He further argues that as time is measured by the succession of things the use of technology to compress years into seconds and so on suggests that time becomes an outdated concept within this society. The suggestion that within network society we can live “all our tenses at the same time” (Castells 1999, 405) suggests that time can be eliminated altogether. I agree that networks and new technology can compress the traditional concepts of time and space by connecting people with both, other people, concepts and products. However, I cannot agree that the concept of time can be eliminated by technology. Time is essentially a measurement and while technology may continue to compress more and more content and communication into each fraction of this measurement, it cannot eliminate the concept altogether. Indeed, I believe Castells makes this argument himself when he cites a fundamental societal struggle around “the redefinition of time” (Castells 1999, 406) where society members balance technological advancements with tradition biological concepts of time.

References:

Castells, M. 1999. Chapter 21: An introduction to the Information Age. In The media reader: continuity and transformation, ed. H. Mackay and T. O'Sullivan, 398-410. London: Sage Publications.

KCB201 Week 5 “Vital Signs of Life”: Maintaining Visibility on Social Stage

Social Networking Sites (SNS) are promoted as places to build networks of friends and stay in touch with friends, family and acquaintances. However, the nature of the sites featuring a digitalized presentation of self and a public display of connections lead many users to treat the domain as a performance space. Often, "displays can be done as a way of gaining social capital" (Donath, Boyd 2004, 72) and this is no more clearly displayed than by an analysis of the list of social connections on many users profiles. Many users will deliberately aim to gain notoriety by displaying connections with high profile acquaintances whether or not they have a real connection or relationship with those people outside of an online environment. This performance is not limited though to ones display of social connections. Many users also perform via their behaviour in the online space with "some exchanges, constructed with an awareness of the users beyond the glass walls and play to them, exchanging information and ideas using common signs and symbols" (Pearson 2009). This equally promotes the users depiction of self, rather than the true self that exists away from the online sphere. It is clear then that while SNS provide platforms for users to interact with others and promote online versions of themselves to their extended network, those depictions may be more of a performance piece than a true representation of the user’s identity.

References:

Donath, J and D, Boyd. 2004. Public Displays of Connection. BT Technology Journal, 22 (4): 71-82.

Pearson, E. 2009. All the World Wide Web’s a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks. First Monday, 14 (3)

"MyFace" or "Do you know what I did 5 seconds ago"

The fascination by many people in the digital age to project representations of themselves into cyberspace, leads to discussion over what factors contribute to the concept of self. Thompson challenges existing concepts by suggesting "the self is a symbolic project that the individual actively constructs" (Thompson 1995, 210). Thompson argues that unlike structuralist approaches that suggest self is determined by external factors, individuals actively engage with the world to create and nurture their own determination of self. More recently "the communication media has had a profound impact on the formation of self" (Thompson 1995, 211) as individuals increase their online presence and activity. Moreover, the freedom provided by the online environment allows individuals to alter or evolve their digital representations as often as they choose. Unlike the historical painted self portraits of previous generations that provide snapshots of both individuals and cultures of the past, today’s "self-portraits are democratic and digital" (Rosen 2007, 15) and by their very nature pliable. This ability to adapt our online representations to suit our changing attitudes and opinions suggest Thompson’s symbolic project is perhaps more relevant in this democratised digital world than ever before.

References:

Thompson, J. 1995. The Self as a Symbolic Project. In The Media and Modernity: a social theory of the media, 209-219. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Rosen, C. 2007. Virtual Friendship and New Narcissism. The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology and Science, 17 Summer: 15-31.

KCB102 Week 3 Branding Me: Viral Marketing, Buzz and Word-of-mouth

To many people, online digital representations or Avatars are a foreign concept seemingly common to social misfits who spend many of their waking hours playing computer games and avoiding real social contact. It has also been argued that prolonged sedentary behaviour such as playing video games and interacting in online worlds can have a negative effect on health and wellbeing. Recent studies however have challenged this belief suggesting the "Proteus Effect" (Dean, Cook, Keating, Murphy 2009) is present, meaning "users in online environments may conform to the expectations and stereotypes of the identity of their avatars" (Dean, Cook, Keating, Murphy 2009). The suggestion then, is that it is possible that users who create fit, athletic avatars to represent themselves in an online environment may be having a positive effect on their health and fitness in real life. While Yee and Bailenson's (2007) research did not suggest a causal link between avatar representations and exercise, they did find evidence to support their hypotheses. The preliminary findings that "People who are physically active in SL are also physically active in real life, and people with thinner avatars have lower real life BMIs" (Dean, Cook, Keating, Murphy 2009), perhaps poses more questions than it answers about the relationship between our real lives and our online representations of self. Further research will undoubtedly follow as society continues to become more and more plugged in.

References:

Dean, E. Cook, S. Keating, M. and Murphy, J. 2009. Does this Avatar Make Me Look Fat?: Obesity and Interviewing in Second Life. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2 (2): 4-11.

KCB102 Wk 2 Let me Entertain you

Some technological advancements filter slowly into social consciousness, while others automatically attract a subculture of users and quickly gain popularity to become part of mainstream society. Facebook and Youtube are examples of software applications that fit with the latter concept, while the IPod is a device that has quickly developed an important status for many in 21st century society. However, the widespread acceptance of the IPod has led to it becoming so much more than just a portable music device. Levy (2006, 23), notes that the design of the IPod as a portable device and the transparency of the screen allows users to easily broadcast their music tastes. Theoretically this device was designed to mobilise people's music libraries, however while achieving this it has also has contributed to a sub-cultural movement where one's "playlist is character" (Levy 2006, 5). Media devices then can have a more complex impact on society and individuals than their seemingly simplistic initial design purpose. McLuhan (1965, 8) argues that "the content of any medium is always another medium", which when related to the IPod example suggests that the content, i.e. Playlist, is a medium itself that also sends a message. New media technologies are therefore subject to their own evolutionary process where human creativity challenges the perceived limitations of new devices.


References:



Levy, S. 1996. Identity. In The perfect thing: how the ipod shuffles commerce, culture and coolness, 21-41. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks.



McLuhan, Marshall. 1965. The medium is the message. In Understanding media : the extensions of man, 7-21. New York: McGraw/Hill.

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