Can i just say WOW

After missing today's tute (thanks to my tank of a car engine) I spent the morning reading some very insightful blogs! Truth be told the quality of these blogs are so good that I would not want to trade places with the tutors for the world.

Marking these bad boys is going to be tough!

It had to end sometime

So as this assessment draws ever nearer the end date it has to be said that this is not how I expected the blogging adventure would go. I was truthfully terrified about blogging after so many years of 'and don't even think of using 1st person' being drilled into my high school mind, I wasn’t sure I could even do it. But after a couple of weeks of getting my mind around the concept I have actually enjoyed the experience – weird!

So who knows maybe this blog will be used in weeks to come anyway – despite the completion of this assessment piece!

Comment to Melinda's Power to the People (for submission)

Melinda, I found your article about citizen journalism very interesting and very valid. As a journalism student myself, I am often frustrated by the conflicting perspectives I receive about the benefits and credibility of citizen journalism. From the CI faculty, citizen journalism, allows for individuals to create and recreate work, as illustrated through produsage. From the Journalism faculty however, citizen journalism is simply freedom of speech in action, personal opinions on various topics of no more importance than the next.

I agree further with your statement that citizen journalism is no less significant or influential compared to credited media sources (Cunningham and Turner 2006, pg 57) as so clearly demonstrated with Lynx’s advertising campaign. This is further demonstrated through BASE, a Canadian branch of the Body Shop makeup company, declaring bankruptcy in 2005 due to backlash resulting from citizen journalism in the form of online blogs.

This company, similar to the Coke Zero advertising strategy, created a website and blog for collaborative discussion about their products. Unlike in Coke Zero’s case, which revealed Coca Cola employees posing as ‘fans’ to promote their product, BASE’s blog was used as a forum to discuss rumours that a particular product was created using unnatural ingredients. As more details were revealed and the rumour proven to be valid, the company was forced to publicly acknowledge its mistake, which cost the company millions followed by millions more in lawsuits from stakeholders and competitors. Whilst this is only one example, it clearly illustrates the influence that citizen journalism can have in society.

References
Cunningham, S and G. Turner. 2006. The Media and Communications in Australia. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest.

Comment to Bre's 'Internet and Jamming Culture' (for submission)

Hey Bre – I have to agree with the others on this, this was one of the best blogs I have read thus far. Previous to reading your blog I was unaware of what culture jamming meant (embarrassing considering this is far from my first CI subject). As I am now comfortable with the concept, I realize you structured your blog really well, including a clear understanding of this concept’s definition to cater to those of us not as familiar with the content that followed.

Once I had finished reading your blog and had time to digest its content I realized how correct you were in describing the significant effect that the internet has had on culture jamming. Based on your suggestion, I carried out a number of searches and was able to successfully amuse myself for an hour with the huge number of computer altered advertisements in circulation online. During my searches I even found a number of online communities, whose aim it were to alter the meanings of various advertisements, in an attempt to poke fun at popular culture (Lasn 1999, pg 77). There truly is an online community for everything.

It would have also been interesting had you explained in more depth the current legislation that control technological developments and usage of it for reputation tainting purposes. I suggest this because in 2007, legislation was passed in Australia, which enforces stricter policies on published works, which are an altered representation of someone else’s and it would have illustrated your point perfectly. Otherwise – fantastic read!

References
Lasn, K. 1999. Culture Jam. New York: Eagle Brook

Citizen journalism - Why not embrace the concept Time?

For those of you out there who have been keeping tabs, yes I do in fact reference Time Magazine a lot! During the course of my degree, I have developed a sick addiction to the publication, both physical and virtual, as a result of my journalism major. However Time Inc.’s recent announcement that it has again decided against public contribution as a source of news, unlike network broadcasters like CNN and ABC, has caused a sway in my opinion of the company.

As a student in the Creative Industries faculty also, I am continually introduced to innovative styles of relaying news to the public, which have been enabled through development of Web 2.0. An example of such a style includes citizen journalism.

As described in Bruns’ lecture, citizen journalism stems from individuals with no professional journalistic education who rely on the internet as a voice medium (Wilson, 2008). Consequently, people are using blogs, video sharing sites like YouTube and podcasts as a means of both publishing and consuming informative and up-to-date news broadcasts (Wilson, 2008).

Through this, dependence on the elite reporters for news information is reduced and replaced by reliance on a wider group of informal writers (Bruns, 2008, pg 77). This idea is expressed through Surowiecki’s theory (2005) which describes a group’s collective intelligence as more valuable compared with that of an elite few.

Through assessment of my own experiences, I found this to be of great reality. For assessment in another subject, students were divided into groups and presented with a number of facts on a recent incident. These facts were identical to those presented to Channel 7’s Brisbane reporters a month ago. Through this exercise it was concluded that often the material created within a group of students was of equal if not greater quality to the material produced by professionals.

Another description of citizen journalism is expressed by Saunders (2006), in his 2006 thesis Citizen Media and Investigative Journalism. In this thesis, Saunders claims that journalism is created through continual editing and public critique of existing stories (Saunders, 2006, pg 113). Consequently for Time Inc., a company recognised for innovative broadcast practices, to dispute the value of public contributions, seems very backwards.

Interestingly, Time Inc. did provide reasons for its decision, which largely focused on concerns about monitoring content quality of contributions associated with the Time name. Subsequently this apprehension is understandable as the company is acting in a manner which protects their interests. However I felt it naïve of Time Inc. to believe that the traditional news process of gatekeeping would not evolve to match the growth of citizen journalism.

This is evident through similarities existing between citizen journalism and open source software. Thereby, in citizen journalism the notion exists that pieces are never complete as there is always room for improvement (Wilson, 2008). Since production is made available to everyone, an illustration of produsage (Bruns, 2008, pg 78), better quality sources are realised through ‘power of the eyeball,’ a concept, which, through critique and debate of articles, results in better articles ‘rising to the top’ (Wilson, 2008).

References
Bruns, A. 2008. Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage. New York: Peter Lang.

Saunders, B. 2006. Citizen Media and Investigative Journalism . Honours these, Creative Industries - Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology.

Surowiecki, J. 2005. This Wisdom of Crowds. New York: NY Ingram International Inc.

Wilson, J. (2008). KCB201 Virtual Cultures: Week 10 lecture notes. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au (accessed May 8, 2008).

How strange!

After class discussions it has been agreed that in our collective efforts to do well on this assignment (as illustrated through our fantastic comment posting on one another's pages) we have in fact created another online community!
Go team!

Comment to Emmy's: Get Smarter Facebook! (for submission)

I could not agree more with your request for greater control of Facebook profiles. In the second half of last year, after weeks of irritating ‘your friend wants you to join Facebook’ emails, I created myself an account to see what all the fuss was about. It did not take long for friendships to be made and for embarrassing photos to appear. Like many others, I use this account to keep in contact with overseas relatives and friends. However it becomes awkward when you try and portray yourself in a positive light despite photos of you, in frankly a less than healthy state, following your post. Consequently I completely agree that a little more control on Facebook could go a long way!

Interestingly, I read recently in Time magazine that Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook.com, agreed to allow users to adjust his original settings of the site (Kirkpatrick, 2007, online), through individual programming (Grossman, 2008, online). In previous times, when users have attempted to alter a site and still use the trademark name, court cases have ensued. This is demonstrated through Yahoo’s 1996 case against a group of French teens who attempted to better its literature search engine (Yahoo!, 2008, online). Consequently, someone endeavouring to become the next Bill Gates might create a tool which allows Facebook users to control their own ‘online communities’ more successfully. Either way, your blog has brought about some interesting ideas!

References

Grossman, L. 2008. Facebook: the future. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,00.html (accessed May 1, 2008).

Kirkpatrick, D. 2007. Facebook’s new face. http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/24%20/fastforward_facebook.fortune/ (accessed April 31, 2008).

Yahoo! Developer Network. 2008. http://developer.yahoo.com/history (accessed April 31, 2008).

How does open source software differ from commercial production

Open source software and commercial production differ significantly from one another, particularly evident in the aim of each. Whilst commercial production seeks solely to realise profit through sale of a complete product, open source software seeks to provide communities with a service.

Businesses, which realise profit through sale of commercially produced software, including Bill Gates’ Microsoft, protect their codes from all individuals external to the company. This is evident through assessment of companies alike Microsoft, where in-house software developers are the sole individuals permitted access to the company’s software codes. Thereby the success of this business model is measured through economic performance analysis conducted by the corporation.

This is in direct contrast to open source software which provides communities with a service. This service provides all with the software’s source code. Individuals are thereby able to view, amend and use the software within a limited-restriction licence. Through this description it is illustrated that open source software development and Axel Bruns’ theory, Produsage, are closely tied. Bruns states that reasons an individual contributes to open source codes extends from gaining social recognition to gaining and showcasing skills (Bruns, 2008, pg. 43). This however leads to potential problems as the success of the software is dependent on continual contribution and interest of users.

It is interesting to note that a key difference between closed and open source software is the notion of complete. This is illustrated as companies, including Microsoft, sell to users what they have created as complete software, often a package, which has been created within certain boundaries. These boundaries are described by Shirky as resource horizons. The resource horizon provides an upper boundary of either money or time in which a project must be completed (quoted in Bruns, 2008, pg. 38). Anything that exists above this upper limit cannot be completed because of the company’s “size or scope” (quoted in Bruns, 2008, pg. 38). Thereby updates or amendments to software are released as separate packages at a later date.

This is unlike open source software, which is never considered as complete. With technological advancements comes immediate realisation of fault with pre-existing softwares. Thereby individuals are immediately able to amend faults in open source software and improve its content. A prime example of this is the open source software, Firefox. Firefox is an extremely popular web browser program, available on numerous operating systems, which assists users by instantly updating software registered to the hard drive (Rothman, 2006, online).

References

Bruns, A. 2008. Open Source Software Development: Probabilistic Eyeballs in Bruns, A. Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, New York: Peter Lang, pp.37-68.

Rothman, W. 2006. Why two browsers are better than one. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1551747,00.html (accessed April 29, 2008).

A short spiel about the long tail

My taste in music is what some call a combination of alternate and sounds from our parents’ generation. Although I can tolerate the occasional song by any pop starlet, my patience for this genre quickly runs thin. Recently I spent fruitless hours in a music store in an attempt to locate fresh sounds and instead merely located numerous CDs with scantily dressed women on the cover. Due to the frustration which resulted from this experience and the advice of a friend, I turned to the internet to provide me with some much needed variety. What I found was a refreshing selection of music, from bands, whose names I have never heard. This experience prompted my investigation of how some markets exist better online than they do in the physical and the topic of this blog.

Through researching this concept, I found that Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory best described this experience, illustrated as the web provides a medium with an ‘almost unlimited choice’ (Anderson, 2004, online). This theory identifies the differences between online and physical markets as varied focal points in the consumer demand curve (Anderson, 2004, online). Thereby in physical markets, the focus is on the high-volume end of the curve compared with online markets where the focus is on the ‘long tail’ of the curve (Anderson, 2004, online).

Anderson and other academics including US media scholar Jeffrey Ressner, claim that long tail markets are extremely common on the web (Ressner, 2006, online). This is illustrated through the existence of sites such as eBay and Amazon.com, both to which I am now an addict. Sites such as these are able to remain competitive and realise profit by selling smaller quantities of unusual products to many, compared with physical stores, which tend to sell large quantities of mainstream, popular items (Ressner, 2006, online). Furthermore, these virtual retailers have the benefit of unlimited window space and great amounts of information on all products, without the need for market prominence (Anderson, 2004, online). Understandably others, alike myself, that purchase these unusual products or “non-hit items” (Anderson, 2008, online) are classified as consumers from the long tail section of the consumer curve.

Furthermore, through existence of long tail markets, smaller niche markets are created with ‘virtual’ preferences being realised. This function, a particular favourite of my own, identifies products which were purchased by others who have also purchased identical items to your own. How else would I have located the Middle East’s latest music export – Little Egypt?

Interestingly, whilst I was unable to locate any alternative arguments to the long tail theory, my research illustrated that record companies have realised the validity of Anderson’s theory. According to Jack Schofield, IMG associate, record companies have realised that artists are now more able to target niche markets online and are therefore venturing out without representation (Eno, 2006, online). Time will tell if Anderson’s theory continues to exist in a time where technology is constantly changing.

Bibliography

Anderson, C. 2004. The Long Tail. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html (accessed April 29, 2008).

Eno, B. 2006. Just say no to record labels. http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2004/01/62050 (accessed April 26, 2008).

Ressner, J. 2006. Long Tail’s Tribe.
http://www.time.com/time/insidebiz/article/0,9171,1198903,00.html (accessed April 28, 2008).

You only live once²

The night was late, my eyes were weary and devastatingly I had nothing to show for the hours of study I had intended to complete. Instead, my time was spent developing friendships and spending enough Linden dollars on coffee to cause my Avatar to seizure. These details encapsulate my first encounter with Second Life, another real, only virtual, society.

I’ll be honest – I have often been sceptical of ‘games’ such as Second Life. This may have resulted from the fact that I barely classify myself literate in computer programs, exterior to Microsoft office, or the fact that I have never been an avid online gamer. Either way, I will admit to having passed judgement, an action Flew describes as common for many people, due to judgment of the unfamiliar (2002, pg 11).

Discussion in earlier tutorials frequently saw Second Life dominate debate around one of this unit’s key topics, online communities. These discussions revealed that many people share misconceptions about users of online social gaming sites, including Second Life and I was no exception. I believed that these individuals must have struggled to feel fulfilment in their real lives and as such lived vicariously through a second, virtual one. This, I believed, stemmed from evidence suggesting of a correlation between excessive gaming and antisocial behaviour (Huesmann 2006, pg 392). However, class discussions demonstrated how these sites allow for a virtual extension of ourselves, rather than a substitute.

In an attempt to understand what it was about this ‘game’ that successfully engaged so many users, I created myself an account. Within hours I was hooked, like my sister to Dawson’s Creek reruns.

In his book, New Media: An Introduction, Flew refers to Shenton and McNeely’s research to illustrate reasons for an individual’s involvement in online communities. He claims that whilst some individuals are drawn to the lack of boundaries, others involve themselves out of intrigue or routine (2002, pg 56).

Intrigue indeed! After much aimless wandering on the part of my Avatar, my very own virtual perception of myself (Stein 2006, online), I realised just how much is available in the virtual world. From Multinational corporations, like Wal-Mart and Starbucks, to local merchants, an individual can locate anything the imagination permits. According to Flew this situation is a consequence of the virtual world impacting greatly on the real world (2002, pg 54). This has lead to the development of a real economy in Second Life, in which venture capitalists have picked up on (Stein 2006, online). That’s correct – real money being spent on virtual items. Look at my Avatar’s virtual coffee addiction for proof!

Consequently it appears that Adam Marshall’s claim, you only live once, has since lost its meaning. If you can spend real money on virtual products and make real friendships with virtual faces, it does seem that you can actually live twice. After all that has been said, now who’s calling online gamers somewhat socially inept – not me that is for sure!

References

Flew, T. 2002. New Media: An Introduction. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Huesmann, L. 2006. The Role of Media in antisocial Behaviour. Annual Review Public Health, 27: 393-415. http://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1040921501&sid=4&Fmt=2&clientId=14394&RQT=309&VName=PQD (accessed May 10, 2008).

Stein, J. 2006. My so called Second Life. Time Magazine 11:43. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570708,00.html
(accessed May 9, 2008).

Online vs. Offline Communities

Recently I experienced what can only be described as a conflict of opinions, with my own a notable absence. Despite previously having claimed membership to numerous online communities with little participation credit to my name, it was not until recently that my virtual involvement grew immensely.

To begin, I will address my experience which lead to the topic of this blog, differences between online and offline communities, being chosen. As mentioned earlier whilst I have claimed virtual membership previously without participating, a characteristic Bruns, media academic, claims to be solely available to online communities (Bruns, 2008, online), one particular blog caught my emotions and was deserving of a reply. Since I attended a single-sex inner-city high school, I strongly believe in equality of opportunity between the sexes. This blog in particular, with hundreds of members, used derogatory language and snide comments to degrade one gender. It was these comments that prompted me to publish my opinions.

In Bruns’ lecture regarding online communities, reasons as to why individuals become involved were discussed. Yet blogging as a response to conflicting opinions between online communities was discussed through connections to negative outcomes. However, whilst I largely agree with Bruns’ view, what I experienced can be discussed through alternative view points.

Consequently, through further investigation of why individuals become involved, I established that two clear belief branches exist. The first is that individuals participate in online communities to communicate with others instantaneously about common interests. The second is that individuals become involved as a means of increasing their ability to partake in democratic practices stemming from online conflict.

Bruns describes reasons of involvement through the first view, analysing differences existing between online and offline communities. According to Bruns virtual communities are differentiated by boundaries, such that offline communities are restricted by geographical and physical boundaries compared with online communities, which are free of this restraint (Bruns, 2008, online). As a result of this freedom, individuals are therefore able to communicate instantaneously with any number of others about a range of topics (Flew, 2004, pg. 43), from the general to the more specific. Furthermore, Bruns indicates, that similar to my experience, individuals are able to claim membership to online groups irrespective of participation frequency. However, interesting I found myself disagreeing with Bruns’ view that as online communities can become quite insular (Bruns, 2008, online) many individuals join virtual communities only when they are accepting of the blog topic.

As this content was not demonstrated through my response, I located alternative perspectives, including those of Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg, and Harvard academic, Shalini Venturelli. This view indicates that conflict between online communities is what encourages others to themselves become involved – in an attempt to get their own opinions published. According to media academic Flew, online communities stemmed from social activism (2004, pg. 66), whereby the web is used as a means for differing views to be given equal opportunity. Whilst Bruns claims this can lead to some individuals using the web for self expression in a sinister manner (Bruns, 2008, online), it is the belief that individuals choose to blog in response to others opinions that was illustrated through my own actions.

Consequently, whilst it is Bruns’ view, which is largely marginalised, I found it interesting the way in which my actions were represented through alternative perspectives. It is these beliefs that will encourage me to continue to blog on topics that I am passionate about, even if others exist which oppose them.

Bibliography

Bruns, A. 2008. KCB201 Virtual Cultures: Week 6 Podcast, Online Communities. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1 (accessed April 15, 2008).

Flew, T. 2004. New Media: An Introduction, 2nd Ed., South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Do we truly remember a time pre-produsage?

Although the sound of dial up internet will forever be ingrained in my mind, this is one of the few reminders of Web 1.0 that I could gather. So I found myself asking, exactly how does Web 2.0 differ from its predecessor?

A fundamental understanding of this question led to the answer that it has to do with Web users and software developers. Whilst Web 1.0 and 2.0 share technical specifications, the manner in which users engage with each differs significantly. Jenkins furthers this notion, claiming that the transition between Web 1.0 and 2.0 represented a shift in emphasis from technological platforms to significance of cultural practices (Jenkins, 2007, online).

Existing through the nineties (Syken, 2000, pg. 35), Web 1.0 was a client-server facility, which provided individuals with a strictly one-way media form. The contents of the Web were primarily supplied by multinational corporations, who claimed ownership of all published (Jenkins, 2007, online).

Comparable with this is Web 2.0, which strongly encourages user participation and collaboration. Consequently, whilst Web 2.0 was build upon the interactive facilities of its predecessor, the manner in which users consume the web differs greatly. This transformation in user role is reflected through Axel Bruns’ term ‘produsage,’ which defines users of the web as active participants in creating and reproducing material, of others, on the web (Bruns, 2007, online).This definition in effect indicates that Web 2.0 provides its users with a base for individual expression through DIY media and collaboration, which Jenkins believes will lead to eventual collective intelligence (2007, online). This is clearly demonstrated through examples including open-source software, social networking websites like Facebook and Wikipedia, the collaboratively created online encyclopaedia.

To be honest it is examples like the two latter provided above that prevent me, and I presume many others of this generation, from recalling Web 1.0. Since these functions of the internet have existed the majority of our early teen and adult lives, they have become staples in our daily lives – something the majority take for granted. Sites such as Wikipedia are frequently visited by students (though obviously never acknowledged!) as a starting point for gathering general information on a topic of interest. Whilst many academics claim that Wikipedia provides students with uncorroborated information, James Surowiecki, author of the ‘The Wisdom of Crowds,’ claimed that large groups of people are inherently smarter than an elite few (Surowiecki, 2005, pg. 173). Furthermore social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, which were created around the time I entered high school, fast became a central means of maintaining contact with friends and family and quietly a means of ranking social standing – calculated by the number of friends one person has.

As a result of the continuing changing face of the World Wide Web, many of Gen Y can barely recall characteristics of Web 1.0, merely understanding what is current – Web 2.0. However it is likely that in future this situation will repeat itself when Web 2.0’s successor is launched and the memory of Web 2.0 is lost to whatever is in existence.

Bibliography

Bruns, A. 2007. Produsage: A Working Definition. http://produsage.org/produsage (accessed April 10, 2008).

Jenkins, H. 2007 Participartory Culture as a Commonplace practice. http://zero.newassignment.net/filed/henry_jenkins_participatory_culture_commonplace_pr

Surowiecki, J. 2005. The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: NY Ingram International Inc.Syken, B. 2000. An Evangelist for Free Software. Time Magazine 3: 35. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961,00.html (accessed April 10, 2008).

Third time's a charm (let's hope!)

So it seems the blogger gods truly are against me! Whilst this may appear to be my first blog - this is indeed far from it! Hence the title of this blog! Instead this is simply a new blog spot - because Mr. Blogger tends not to like it when I create a new blog using a hotmail account!

What about previous blogs you may ask? Thank goodness for USB’s is my response! So stay tuned for some interesting perspectives regarding topics of weekly lectures and readings - and enjoy (again!).