Final BlogPost

Network Society and the Media was a really interesting topic for me as I explored every angle of media and how we perceive it.

What I enjoyed was that all the post topics were related somehow, and that the previous posts could be something to keep in mind when writing the next one. One topic of this module that i enjoyed the most was “Online Visibility.” I found it fascinating how people visibility is different to other people and the way the moderate what they put on the internet. It really made me think about how one post on Facebook could affect your future career for instance.

The way “Online Communities” and “Online Visibility” links pretty well. By having platforms to express ourselves like YouTube and Facebook, it does fall into the online visibility category and what we post very much affects how other people see ourselves online too. The way we reserve ourself online and can almost become keyboard warriors is almost frightening but funny at the same time. Something id like to look into more is convergence and the research into that.

 

Copyright – Hulu

One form of online access to content is Hulu. This is an American online subscription company that offers currently airing shows, shows from the past and many movies available with subscription.

If Hulu was under the creative commons license there would be no need for a monthly subscription. What works with the subscription is that people are paying to see what they want on demand which is the beauty of online subscriptions. You pay for what you want. and under the license there wouldn’t be a need to pay monthly. Sites such as Flickr, Google, Wikipedia and many more use the creative commons license where are sites like Netflix and Hulu are under strict copyright licenses.

Unlike Netflix, Hulu base get most of their money from advertisements. I being an avid user of Hulu myself, there are quite a lot of adverts that understandably would make Netflix far more desirable. To the consumer they can very quite the hassle, but it does generate revenue which is then split from between networks and studios.

Having a strict copyright control basis could mean that no one would be able to view the content.

My Online Visibility

Social media for me has almost become a must for me to be part of. Not only because of my education, but because my social life matters on it. I like being part of different sites, but only in moderation.

My visibility on many social media platforms can vary. For example, if i google myself, the only thing that comes up is my Facebook page which is something I’m quite proud of as it just shows that i can keep parts of my life under wraps and have someone be able to simple google me and access parts of my life. To someone who isn’t my friend on Facebook, they can only view my profile picture and thats it. Being visible on Facebook isn’t necessary for me unless it is to share my opinions on serious views, which i can do by sharing posts etc, or for my course.

However, i like to stay visible on apps such as snapchat as i feel it isn’t as permanent as Facebook (although everything on the internet is permanent). The concept of 24 hour visibility on snapchat makes me more drawn to it as I don’t feel committed to it. With Facebook and Instagram i feel as if I don’t have much control on them, although with Instagram i do have the ability of privatising my page, I still don’t feel as if i don’t have much control as I do on Snapchat.

Do you feel we have much control over our visibility on the internet? Or do you feel that if we put ourselves out on the internet, that there is no such thing as being private?

 

Youtube’s Online Community

One website that springs to mind when i think of online community other than twitter is YouTube.

YouTube

I feel that YouTube brings a community together in a very visual way which a lot of online platforms don’t necessarily offer. Youtube is essentially a place where people can upload video content for a certain purpose. Many have structured their YouTube channel to suit a particular age group. For example, content creators such as “PewDiePie” who focuses his videos on gaming, and “Zoella” who creates beauty, lifestyle and fashion videos. However, both of these creators have faced challenges such as controlling what they say on the internet as they have such a mass following, many of them being younger children and teenagers. They are often seen as role models to these people, which can be very overwhelming but rewarding at the same time as some have said in their videos.

Other than this, one of the most positive influences that I have come across on YouTube is a person named Tyler Oakley. Since making his channel in 2007, he has gained a massive 8 million subscribers recently with over 535,000,000 views. One of his main ambitions is to raise money for an organisation called The Trevor Project. As he has been affected by bullying in the past due to his sexuality, he wanted to help the non-profit organisation by raising money as they help teenagers and young adults get through the same struggles as he did. On February 10, 2014 he raised $150,000, he then later extended the time of fundraising and ended up raising over $525,000. This was of course all through help with his viewers on his YouTube channel.

Tyler making a speech at a Trevor Project evening.

Tyler Oakley

It really shows how powerful and positive a platform YouTube can be, as well as it being visual, it really allows a fun way of either learning or viewing your favourite genres with just a search. However do you feel that YouTube itself might die out in the next few years, or grow much larger?

Audience Participation – Ice Bucket

Audience participation is really important online as it can make or break someone or something, which may be a trend or a company. We all reply on other people to participate whether it is from leading a seminar for our peers or running a company such as twitter.

The ALS ice bucket challenge was made for the audience who have access to the internet and social media platforms, to share a series of people throwing ice water over their bodies as a sign of recognition to the ALS foundation.

ALS short for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a disease that affects the nerve cells in a persons brain or spinal cord.

The ice water was in a way a short term substitute for what people with ALS actually go through. The cold water shocks the system leaving people feeling cold and unable to process what to do. More than a million people participation posting videos on Facebook and twitter and nominating people to do the same in order to raise awareness, almost like pressuring someone into doing it because it is a wonderful organisation.

The nominations of being able to “tag” your mum, dad or friends are a good way of getting the audience to participate in this as its almost guilt tripping them into doing it and if you didn’t then you were seen as a bad person and uncooperative.  It is also a good for both parties, as the person nominating it lets you see the people closest to you go through what you went through (almost satisfying.) It just shows how the audience participation it so important because the organisation raised so much money from just the recognition that it deserved.

 

The gifs above are of ALS ice bucket challenges people took part in.

Convergence. Twitter.

Media convergence is the merging (or joining together) of previously distinct media to create entirely new forms of communication expression.

Twitter is growing more and more as a convergence in media along with Facebook.

“Social media is now the worlds largest mass media” – AdvertisingAge

Its a place, for me, to get the latest information faster than average news outlets. One example of this was when the three young muslims were shot at Chapel Hill, US. It was reported on to main stream media until more than a week later. This just shows twitter as a platform for all voices to be heard and more information to be exchanged quickly.

Twitter is always a platform in which to fight back on what is being said on mainstream news. One example of this is when David Cameron was interviewed about immigrants needing to learn english or they would need to be deported after a certain period of time. In this, he also called muslim women least likely to integrate into society calling them “traditionally submissive.” People then shared their views on this on twitter, in particular, muslim women, posting photos like these.

To me Twitter is a very good example of a convergence of two media forms, one being previously extinct, and the other being opinion forming together to create a platform where people can communicate and become a community. The use of hashtags to collate information such as these, and market research from companies too, with this platform becoming in my opinion a fast growing media convergence.

Online Resource

This is a book titles “The Network Society” edited by Manuel Castells and Gustavo Cardosa.

ONLINE RESOURCE TO BE FOUND HERE

I find this link quite interesting as it covers a wide range of topics to do with our society and its connections to the world. As the book title is a very broad subject, i find it helpful that it breaks down that it talks about and gives you an idea of type of topics they want to go through in the book.

Some of these are:

• Information, Technology and the World Economy
• Challenges of the Global Information Society
• Societies in Transition to the Network Society
• Television and Internet in the Construction of identity

In particular to television and internet in the construction of identity, i think this is quite an important part of the book as it shows us how we construct our identity in this modern age and what the internet has done to be a part of this.

This also labels an issue about trust that a lot of people on the internet face on p.257. It has an aspect of citizens relationship with the state which could be interesting in terms of the privacy aspect of the module, as well as “online visibility.” Nonetheless, theres an topic in each of these pages that highlights a specific topic for the module, which is why this resource will definitely help others.

The History of the Internet

Steve Jobs co-founder of Apple Inc. 

The internet is developing everyday in more ways than one.

When we think of the internet and technology, with think of names such as Google the mass search engine that people cant seem to stay away from for more than a day, and Steve Job. A man who changed the way the internet could be viewed in a simpler and fashionable way making leaps in the computer world with Macintosh. This was mine blowing for people as we saw that there were vast changes happening in this field. Looking at devices today such as iPhone and Macs its crazy to think how everything has changed then and now. Back when computers fit whole rooms and could only do one thing at a time, it was all so simple. Now while we have multiple tabs up on google chrome and are flicking from YouTube to Facebook, some of us don’t realise the major construction that the internet has faced. All the way back in 1969, when a network was made to connect people making the ability to share military information much easier in the US.

The internet has revolutionised the ability to now communicate with people not only around you but all over the world with the help of site such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more. When places such as schools and other institutes of learning rely on the internet and search engines such a google to help them along they’re way in education, does this mean we’re becoming way too attached? This also makes me wonder how much the development of the will continue, what will the internet be like to us in 10 years, 20 years, 50 years?

A quote that I thought really summed up what in reality the internet is and what it means to us.

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” – Bill Gates

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/axelle-tessandier/citizens-of-the-internet_b_4495550.html