Throughout this course I've engaged the most through Twitter. I don't think I went a blog post without mentioning its use in some manner to the assignment at hand. Twitter is a clear leader in social media, and what I find unique about Twitter and a primary reason why it continues to lead as a social media platform is the freedom it allows its users. It really is a blank slate with a few tools for you woven in, what what you will. Facebook was always something I used to stay in touch with and communicate with friends. Considering Facebook and this course, my usage wasn't really affected but I definitely have a new perspective on its use personally and globally among society. Many of the other social media platforms and outlets left something to be desired. GetGlue was an attempt to add a lateral two-way element of interaction between fans of television programs and films, while the one-way binary between audience and the program/film persisted. Pinterest was more interesting as it contains its own culture of sharing ideas for many outdoor, home, kitchen, etc. projects. Slideshare is quite interesting in the fact that it makes accessible sharing PowerPoint style slideshows specifically, highly geared towards sharing educational materials. Storify, I think was by far the most interesting and out of the box. Allowing users to interperate media, cite, source and express their views and perspectives. Finally, YouTube, similar to Slideshare has become the primary method of sharing a specific type of media, in this case video.
Many of these platforms do have positive and negative effects. On one hand you have the power to unite and share information between the entire globe faster than ever. But paradoxically so many of us are using these platforms not only as our primary means of learning about the world but as increasingly primary means interaction as well. Diminishing natural interactions, face-to-face interaction. To take a Marxist perspective, it also diminishes the solidarity of the human race, disconnecting us from each other at an intimate level. Although it has the clear power to unite and inform indiscriminately. This is my meta concern of growing dependency on new media.
Part B:
Video Transcript:
Hello my fellow COMM 2F00 peers, I'm Andrew, also known to some of you as @othelol on Twitter and this is my module 8 video on three elements I feel I've really conceptualized well during the course.
1. Literacy in social media, has almost become its own language. And, to be literate in one that is constantly changing and its uses being socially defined is a real skill learned through constant participation. The rise of memes is an example of this, and one that continues to be redefined over and over by users and creators of memes.
2. New media's reach in terms of fund raising and raising awareness is my second point about new media i'd like to make, and focus on new media's ability as a platform to do great things. case in point would be Sharecraft wherein online video game personality and activist Athene raised millions of dollars for charity. projects like Sharecraft are made possible through new media platforms.
3. Net neutrality. so many of these services we've been using, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are commodities in a sense, driving ads and popular hegemony through the ads, ultimately leading up to the dismantling of net neutrality to further monetize the internet. What I have to say about this is that there must always be a new media.
So, those are my 3 things I feel I've really learned about in this course.
I hope you've enjoyed watching, mahalo
Video Transcript:
Hello my fellow COMM 2F00 peers, I'm Andrew, also known to some of you as @othelol on Twitter and this is my module 8 video on three elements I feel I've really conceptualized well during the course.
1. Literacy in social media, has almost become its own language. And, to be literate in one that is constantly changing and its uses being socially defined is a real skill learned through constant participation. The rise of memes is an example of this, and one that continues to be redefined over and over by users and creators of memes.
2. New media's reach in terms of fund raising and raising awareness is my second point about new media i'd like to make, and focus on new media's ability as a platform to do great things. case in point would be Sharecraft wherein online video game personality and activist Athene raised millions of dollars for charity. projects like Sharecraft are made possible through new media platforms.
3. Net neutrality. so many of these services we've been using, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are commodities in a sense, driving ads and popular hegemony through the ads, ultimately leading up to the dismantling of net neutrality to further monetize the internet. What I have to say about this is that there must always be a new media.
So, those are my 3 things I feel I've really learned about in this course.
I hope you've enjoyed watching, mahalo
