Media professionals - adaptors to change.

Many people that work in media today express a common understanding about how the industry is rapidly changing and developing, and feel the skills that they have or are building may become easily outdated (Gill 2007).

As a media and communication student, I admit I feel a little anxious about my future as a media practitioner. While I can’t say I long for a traditional or “linear” career (Gill 2007), I’d like to know that after completing a degree I can take on a consistent role that provides me with sufficient income. 


But uncertainty about the future of new media is common. Professionals have noted that one needs the “ability to live on very little money” within the industry (Gill 2007). This makes it hard for people to feel secure; and being new media, there aren’t too many role models we can aspire to (Gill 2007).

The fast paced world of new media.

(Image accessed: http://tinyurl.com/4xmdl2c).

In Ramblings on New Media on April 15 2011, Dave says the very ‘newness’ of the industry means “structure has yet to develop into one that offers improved opportunities” for practitioners. Dave has a point. I think today and tomorrow’s media practitioners are the ones who have to become the role models. There are already examples of how we are adapting to new media- particularly within the workplace - such as Skype interviewing or virtual assistants; so I’m confident we’re on the right track.

REFERENCE LIST

Dave. 2011. “Week 7 Entry,” KCB206 Blog- Ramblings on New Media, April 15. Accessed April 26. http://n6333869.blogspot.com

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.

Guile3d. 2010. “Virtual Assistant Denise 1.0 - Guile 3D Studio - Part 1.” YouTube video, posted March 23. Accessed April 26, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W52TL9Akv4

Pongo Resume. 2011."Skype Interview Tips." YouTube video, posted February 8. Accessed April 26, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RsuS2qoGsM

A healthy alternative.

In Digimediastudent on April 8, 2011, Pete discusses how new media facilitates empowerment in a political context, through the provision of platforms that enable us to produce and distribute content on a potentially global scale.

Similarly, Lewis (2006) explains how this increase in user generated content is reflected in a health context. New media plays a prominent role in changing the way individuals are managing their health, and “how people access, perceive and make use of health information” (Lewis 2006).

For example, people can now access medical forums, condition specific sites and support groups, thus expanding their knowledge, and in many cases, gaining a sense of belonging.  Interestingly, while some are skeptical of the trustworthiness of health information online, a sense of empowerment appears to be common among many online health management or information seekers (Lewis 2006);

“Illness…isolates, makes you feel passive and unable to act…telling your own story on the internet becomes an empowerment strategy” (Lewis 2006).

The doctor is still an option.

(Imaged accessed: http://tinyurl.com/3vlf5vo)

As for the skeptics; online empowerment generally means a two-way communication process. Therefore, depending on an individual’s health circumstances, they can surely judge the validity of information uncovered, and whether they want to disregard it, or compliment it with other sources such as the good old fashioned GP.

Health is important, and new media allows us to gather information in an alternative way. It shouldn’t be downtrodden.

REFERENCE LIST

ABC. 2011. “Consumer guides: patient support groups.” Accessed April 10, 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/health/consumerguides/stories/2004/08/05/1837060.htm

Bigpond. n.d. “Join the virtual medical centre forum.” Accessed April 10, 2011. http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/forum.asp

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

Pete. 2011. “A (virtual) apple a day,” Digimediastudent, April 8. Accessed April 8. http://digimediastudent.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/an-virtual-apple-a-day/

State Government of Victoria. 2010. “Diabetes type 2.” Last modified March 28, 2011. http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Diabetes_Type_2

Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

In his article Media Life, Deuze (2011, 137) argues that we have come to live a life in, not just with media. Today, the internet is a part of us,and we have the opportunity to create and edit multiple versions of ourselves online (Deuze 2011). However, this freedom of multiple identity construction isn’t always a good thing.

In New Media Interpretation, on April 2, Jess McIntyre explains the importance of carefully creating a consistent online identity across all media platforms, because we must consider how we are perceived on a global scale (Leong 2011).

A consistent identity is particularly important when considering your career. It is common for employers to search for you online to learn more about you, and if they discover tasteless photos of you online, there is a chance they will simply dismiss you as a candidate.

How not to get a job.

(Image accessed: www.google.com)

Then there’s the flip side. There are those who construct an online identity that they feel is perfectly wholesome, and in turn, receive great criticism. Case in point Rebecca Blacks’ Friday. Personally, I can’t believe the song is legitimate, and it seems many others agree, and have taken to parodying the original clip. However, despite being widely ridiculed, Friday has gone viral, the song is on Itunes, and Rebecca has achieved media fame.

So perhaps online identity criticism can be advantageous for some!

REFERENCE LIST

Dueze, Mark. 2011. "Media Life" Media, culture and society 33 (1): 137-148. Accessed March 30, 2011. http://mcs.sagepub.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/content/33/1/137.full.pdf+html

doi:  10.1177/016344371038651

Leong, S. KCB206 Media, Internet, Self and Beyond: Week 5 Lecture notes. Accessed April 1, 2011.http://blackboard.qut.edu.au

McIntyre, Jess. 2011. "How are we perceived on the internet and new media?," New Media Interpretation, April 2. Accessed April 3. 
http://jmcintyrekbc206.blogspot.com/

Toejappy. 2011."Rebecca Black- Friday (Official Parody Video) Toejappy." YouTube video, posted March 15. Accessed April 3, 2011. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHx1JIW1XaE&feature=related

AfricandancersENT. 2011. "Good Morning America: Worst Song Ever? Rebecca Black Responds: 'I don't think I'm the worst." YouTube video, posted March 18. Accessed April 3, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aATA60Vq6xo

Trizzy66. 2011. "Rebecca Black- Friday (official video)." YouTube video, posted February 10. Accessed April 3, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0

Power to the People.

New media promotes democracy, allowing people to generate social change in ways that were once impossible. As the communication realm becomes increasingly participatory, the networked population is able to gain “greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech, and an enhanced ability to undertake collective action” (Shirky 2011,3). 

However, this notion does not include everyone . Some governments try to “stifle communication”, fearing that they will lose control of their citizens (Shirky 2011, 3). Although, it seems traditional media and government regulatory bodies are losing a degree of power, as people connect through new media to affect change themselves.

Consider Days of My Life, a blog I follow, written by a young Iraqi woman, nicknamed Sunshine. Her words are her own; and it is through new media that Sunshine has become empowered, as discussed in Pete’s blog digimediastudent, on March 26, 2011. She can express herself and reflect her people in an alternative way, not often revealed by the media.

Peace One Day is another example of online empowerment, and embodies the idea of new media connecting people to create positive change where it is needed most. The project gained momentum around the world using social media platforms like Youtube and Facebook.
I feel incredibly lucky to live in a world where many people have the freedom to connect, communicate and collaborate for change.

Pump Aid- one of Peace One Day's many achievements - providing clean drinking water for over one million people in Africa. 

(Image accessed: http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/savinglives/life-saving-activity-archive).

REFERENCE LIST


Peace One Day. 2009."Introduction to Peace One Day." YouTube video, posted July 22. Accessed March 27, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6z_E3cen_I


Peace One Day. n.d. "Home". Accessed March 27, 2011. http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/welcome


Pete. 2011. "Freedom and Responsibility," Digimediastudent, March 26. Accessed March 27. http://digimediastudent.wordpress.com/ 


Shirky, Clay. 2011. "The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Political Sphere and Public Change in Foreign Affairs 90 (1): 1-3. Accessed March 23, 2011. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?hid=21&sid=eb3febea-5c69-4ebe-8c9f-02a139dd7943%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=56624549


Sunshine. 2011. "Determined to change...the Friday of anger and the palms' revolution," Days of My Life, February 26. Accessed March 27. http://www.livesstrong.blogspot.com/

Musical One-upmanship

Fashion and accessories are considered symbols of status and identity by many. Your hairstyle, your shoes, or the type of car you drive, all represent part of who you are. While these aspects of identity are still relevant, new media platforms, namely the iPod and online music communities like 8tracks and Last fm have become increasingly popular as tools of self expression.

Leong (2011) explains that one’s personal music playlist functions as a “rich, personal narrative”, and impacts upon an individuals’ “social, cultural and political capital”.

Levy (2006) expands upon this theory in his discussion of iPod wars, whereby an individual bombards another with the song they are currently playing on their iPod, and compares it to the song playing on the other persons’ iPod. Because playlists have become representative of identity, iPod wars function as a type of status battle, one that can be humiliating (Levy, 2006).

(Image accessed: http://chicagoist.com/attachments/jakeguidry/2010_05_07_ipod.jpg)

Indeed, it seems many people are willing to alter their musical playlist in order to better their social, cultural capital, a process Levy calls impression management (2006). This concept is not unlike the careful, but sometimes augmented construction of identity practiced by many online users, as outlined by Amie in her blog My-Take.

While some may view impression management as a negative pressure upon ones’ true self, it is clearly a process we have long practiced. New media has simply expanded our opportunity for self expression.

REFERENCE LIST

Leong, S. KCB206 Media, Internet, Self and Beyond: Week 3 Lecture notes. Accessed March 16, 2011. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au.

Levy, Steven. 2006. “Identity”. In The perfect thing: How the iPod shuffles commerce, culture and coolness, 21-41. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. Accessed March 15, 2011. https://cmd.library.qut.edu.au/KCB201/KCB201_BK_272671.pdf.

Identity Deception and Social Media

Social media platforms provide an online stage for performance, allowing us to construct and display an identity (Pearson, 2009). Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and online dating sites are used by people to build networks of friends, dates and business partners based on this identity (Donath and Boyd, 2004). However, while I don't discount that enhanced connectivity can be beneficial for society, I do wonder if the idea of networking has a way to go in terms of becoming a safe and reliable online environment.

Donath and Boyd (2004, 73) explain that "online, identity is mutable and unanchored by the body”; allowing one to establish an online self that closely resembles or wildly differs from reality (Pearson, 2009). So, how can one really know whether or not the person they are highly compatible with on Match.com is real, and has genuine intentions? Furthermore, what are the consequences if they are not real?

(Image accessed: www.google.com.au)

We are all aware of at least one form of online identity deception; whether it is an online scammer, a cheat, or a romance gone wrong. Perhaps you simply suspect a false identity?

Although most popular social networking sites have security settings, perhaps greater precautions and more effective methods of identity verification are needed?

REFERENCE LIST

Donath, J and D Boyd. 2004. “Public displays of connection”. BT Technology Journal 22(4). Accessed March 10, 2011. www.blackboard.qut.edu.au

Pearson, Erika. 2009. “All the world wide web’s a stage: the performance of identity in online social networks”.  First Monday 14 (3).Accessed March 8, 2011. www.blackboard.qut.edu.au

LINK REFERENCE LIST

Facebook. “Arj Barker”. Accessed March 14, 2011 . http://www.facebook.com/people/Arj-Barker/901595149

Herald Sun. “Online love leads to online loss”. Last modified March 14, 2011. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/online-love-leads-to-online-loss/story-e6frf7kx-1226007793864

Stungundotcom. 2008. “Online internet dating predators”. Youtube video, posted May 18 2008. Accessed March 14, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiIBsD4I1JA