benjiswinburneme-blog

[benjiswinburneme-blog]

Hey Hannah! 

Thank you for you’re interesting feedback and insight into this topic! 

Firstly, I knew that Facebook was banned, but for some reason never knew about Youtube, Google etc. I guess now looking back seems silly of me to think that they would ban one and leave the rest. 

It’s fascinating that a whole country has been able to shut out some of the worlds biggest tech giants, in my opinion I would find that extremely controlling, but hey I guess that was their plan all along right? 

Appreciate your personal touch towards the end, by adding that reference to your Chinese friend. I also work part-time for an airline, and we get a lot of Chinese tourist, and yes your right, every single one of them are using “WeChat” I guess it’s like a WhatsApp, Facebook, Youtube hybrid super social media platform! 

In other news though, countries have been embracing this sudden influx of Chinese tourism money buy adapting their digital technologies into our markets. So much like PayPal for us, Alipay can now be used by Chinese tourists right here in Australia now, and this isn't the first business to model this. 

Overall great submission :) - Benji 

http://www.afr.com/business/retail/cabcharge-takes-alipay-as-china-tourism-dollars-signal-mobile-payment-trend-20180204-h0tbst

Facebook? Why don’t you face book and study!

It’s almost old new now that China has banned Facebook, Google, YouTube and a list of other social media platforms that western countries visit daily, or hourly. But are they still functioning without it? Of course! According to Duncan Clark in the below video, China are copy-cats and have managed to keep social media platforms by creating their own (in most cases, better versions of their counterparts). 

DLD13 - How social media is changing China and Asia (2013) <http://bit.ly/1BHSpbp>

The Chinese government made the decision to ban the social media platforms to gain more control over what was shared and what was posted with regards to the government and/or political parties. In 2013 the Chinese Supreme Court ruled that people who committed slander by spreading roomers could face jail time up to three years if their original post was shared more than 500 times, or seen by 5000 people (China Uncensored, 2014). The first person to be arrested under this new policy was 16 year old, Yang Hui.

So is China becoming the new North Korea? According to Michael Anti (2012), China has the same ban from Facebook to that of Iran, Syria and North Korea. This ban has created wars in Iran and Syria, but China has been allowed to create their own version that is highly monitored by the government. 

According to CNN Tech (n.d.), the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has visited China a number of times – even shaking hands with President Xi Jinping. This relationship still has not reversed the law to have Facebook banned from usage. 

After speaking with a friend who has visited China many times, she explained that most Chinese youth use WeChat for everything from sharing images, chatting with friends, meeting new people and even paying for things. The application is easily accessible and provided a platform that has resulted in the Chinese not feeling the need to have a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account. 

References:

China Uncensored, 2014, ‘Is facebook a destabilizing force for chinese society?’, accessed 03 February 2018, <http://www.visiontimes.com/2015/03/28/is-facebook-a-destabilizing-force-for-chinese-society.html

CNN Tech, n.d., ‘Banned! 11 things you won’t find in China’, accessed online 03 February 2018, <http://money.cnn.com/gallery/technology/2016/05/23/banned-china-10/4.html>

[benjiswinburneme-blog]

Hello! 

First of all, great extensive, knowledgeable coverage on this unfortunate topic, like you mentioned in your blog post and I did mine, theres a fine line between trolling and cyber bullying, and I think from an early age we need to be better educated on this topic. 

I really liked the inclusion of “There’s a Troll lurking in us all” because it’s so true, no matter how cool calm and collected one may be, there’s always something that can make you tick. It’s how we react which we need to be careful off. 

I actually stumbled across this article today in the Daily Telegraph, which I took a photo off, and will be shared below. It highlights the seriousness that “trolling and cyber bullying” is now being taken. Thoughts on a “Social Media Apprehended Violence Orders”?? I know a lot of people think we are living in a cotton wool society, too protective of everything, but like the paper states, we lost another very young life again - 14 year old Amy Dolly - Like its crazy that 14 years old are getting to the point where they feel like they can't escape this torment and end their life - scary stuf!!!!!! 

Overall great Read and good luck with submission! - Benji 

Blog #5 Trolling and Social Media Conflict

Defining trolling

The participatory experience of online environments make for dynamic places in which people can explore and be affected by exciting new forms of media (McCosker 2014, p. 201). However, people also have the power to affect others in these spaces (McCosker 2014, p. 201) and, in some instances, the effects can be destructive. Just as it occurs in real life, in their exchanges with each other online, people have the capacity to tease, harass and bully. Some have questioned whether social media increases this harassment and bullying, or whether it is merely more visible (Boyd 2014, p. 130).

Today, digital citizens have become vigilant about online bullying and its effects upon those who are targeted. But what is bullying precisely? Psychologist Dan Olweus defined bullying as aggressive, repetitive harassment by someone in a position of greater power than the individual to whom this behaviour is directed towards (Olweus 1994, p. 97). In the online environment, this bullying is referred to as ‘trolling’.

When reports about trolling make the headlines, they are typically the most extreme cases in which the troll has significantly affected the victim (in some instances the victim has sadly taken their own life) and has done so with ruthless intent. However, in the majority of cases, trolling is conducted in the name of humour and amusement rather than in malice. In other instances, trolling aims to challenge global media norms (McCosker 2014, p. 205).

There’s a troll lurking in all of us

A recent study has suggested that, given the right set of circumstances, ordinary people can be driven to engage in trolling behaviour (Cheng et al. 2017). This challenges our perception of trolls as being sociopathic individuals who were born to engage in this behaviour (Cheng et al. 2017). And what are those circumstances, I hear you ask? Well, according to Cheng et al. (2017) mood, day of the week (Mondays are troll days – moods are lower at the beginning of the work week) and time of day (late nights) are all factors that increase trolling behaviour. Furthermore, the more trolling comments (particularly if they are the first comments) in a thread, the more likely others who contribute will troll too (Cheng et al. 2017).

Considering the above study, it is easy to see how ordinary individuals who intend only to stir the pot online, may be accused of serious trolling. Take, for example, online teen prankster Tristan Barker. In 2012, he uploaded a video to YouTube to talk about a recent teenage suicide victim and his distaste for the outpouring of grief generated by it online (Tristan Barker 2012). Whilst his comments may have been meant as a critique of the “tragedy-obsessed global media” (McCosker 2014, p. 205), they were met with disgust by the media, who labelled him a troll (Marshall 2013). Interestingly, whilst he is lambasted by the media, Barker has a significant online following among young people who view his videos as simply telling hard truths (Baker 2013).

The discrepancy between what the media and what teens think of Barker, aligns with Danah Boyd’s opinion. Boyd argues that we need to better understand the online habits of teens and the reasons why they engage in certain acts of cruelty and meanness in order to provide interventions for those who truly need them (Boyd 2014, p. 152).

References:

Baker, R 2013, ‘We’re punks of our generation, say teen ‘trolls’ behind Facebeef’, The Sydney Morning Herald’, 11 March, viewed 17 December 2017, <http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/were-punks-of-our-generation-say-teen-trolls-behind-facebeef-20130311-2fv9h.html>

Boyd, D 2014, ‘Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?’, in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp. 128-52.

Internet troll by Woody Hearn, n.d., image, viewed 26 January 2018, <http://www.bitrebels.com/lifestyle/what-internet-troll-looks-like/>

Marshall, J 2013, Unmasked: Tristan Barker, Australia’s worst internet troll, being investigated by police, viewed 17 December 2017, <http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/1307_news1.pdf>

McCosker, A 2014, YouTrolling as provocation: Tube’s agonistics publics, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.

Olweus, D 1994, ‘Bullying at school: long term outcomes for the victims and an effective school-based intervention program’, in Huesmann, L (eds), Aggressive Behaviour: Current Perspectives, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 97-98.

YouTube. (2012). Tristan Barker’s Thoughts on Sad Stories, Bandwagon Grief-Leeching, and Bullying. [Online Video]. 14 October 2012. Available from: https://youtu.be/1YSsJ2DakQg. [Accessed: 26 January 2018].

Ugh, n.d., image, viewed 26 January 2018, <https://mashable.com/2017/03/06/internet-trolls-average-people/#Rm4uYPMklaqd>

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Digital Friends 

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Social Gamming: Playing the crowd

Hi, my names Benji, and I had a World of Warcraft Addiction.

Yes, it’s true, growing up in High school a few of my friends started playing World of Warcraft or WoW as it was also known, which lead me to buy and begin playing the game. It only lasted about a year and a half, but you know what the scary part is? I don’t remember anything else in my life at that time but World of Warcraft.

So, what is it? As Techopedia (2010) explains, Warcraft is a Massively Multiple Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) which takes place in an online persistent state world with thousands, or even millions of players developing their avatars in a role-playing environment. The virtual world in which the game takes place is never stand still, meaning that even when you are logged off, events in the world are still occurring.

From what I remember of the game, I was an “Undead Priest” who’s name was “GotchaBack” I was a healing type of avatar, so 16-year-old me thought that name was LOL. I can honestly say I was addicted to this game, I could wake up at start playing at 6am and still be there until 3am in the morning the next day. Video Game addiction is a real thing by the way, as D’Anastasio (2015) notes, experts estimate that more than 3 million Americans between the ages of eight and 18 could be suffering from video game dependency. I was defiantly one of those people, but in Australia. Munger (2008) notes that World of Warcraft can be more engaging than other games, sucking away hours and hour in seemingly endless online quests. Unlike other games WoW doesn’t end, it goes on and on with characters roaming through different realms and meeting new people along the way. Lush (2011) states that people play MMORPG games often in desire to meet their social needs, there’s a sense of friendship and self-esteem you develop with your team-mates.

In some dramatic cases, there has been death’s due to extreme game play and exhaustion, but most people receive help like any other addiction. With some recovering addicts quoting D’Anastasio (2015) “I wanted to shut out real life totally. I just wanted to climb in the game and stay there” and “I decided that the progression of my WoW character was more meaningful than the progression of myself in real life”

This sense of escaping the real world seems to be a recurring factor with those who get hooked on MMORPG games like World of Warcraft. Being a part of an online community where you aren’t judge by physical appearance, what job you have, your gender or sexual orientation can be very appealing for some. I would know, I’ve been a part of it.   

Reference: 

 D’Anastasio, C 2015, “How video game addiction can destroy your life” VICE, viewed 2nd February 18 < https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/vdpwga/video-game-addiction-is-destroying-american-lives-456>

Lush, T 2011, “At war with World of Warcraft: an addict tells his story” The Guardian, viewed 2nd February 18 < https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/aug/29/world-of-warcraft-video-game-addict>

 Munger, D 2008, “Are MMORPG’s Addictive?” ScienceBlogs, viewed 2nd February 18 < http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/06/30/are-mmorpgs-addictive/>

Techopedia, 2010, “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG)” Techopedia, viewed 2nd February 18https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1919/massively-multiplayer-online-role-playing-game-mmorpg>

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#FacePalm 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

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Visual Communities & Social Imaging

Welcome to Week 9 – this week is all about exploring the concept of visual communities and social imaging. There’s no denying we as a global community love a good photo or two, or in some people’s cases 300 until they get the right one. This blog post I want to focus on the “selfie Culture” and look at the ways in which this is affecting us.

 Swinburne (2018) defines the “selfie” as an arms-length mobile phone camera self-portrait shared via social media, it’s a prominent part of the rise of ubiquitous photography and social imaging. Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest without social imaging these applications wouldn’t exist or be as popular as they are today. How many images do you consume when you scroll through your Instagram feed? Try to make a conscious effort next time you open the app, I think we have become so desensitised to our consumption of images, as we scroll through in half a second or less, what effect is this having on us mentally?

 As Sifferlin (2013) notes, skimming through photos of people’s life successes can trigger feelings of envy, misery and loneliness. But how about when you post “selfies”, do you care how many “likes” the photo receives? Seem silly right, digital validation in the form of a single “like” or “thumbs up”? Well as East (2016) reports, researchers at the UCLA Brain Mapping Centre have found that certain regions in the brain become activated by “likes” with the brains reward centre becoming especially active. “When teens learn their pictures have received a lot of likes, they show significantly greater activation in parts of the brains reward circuity” (East 2016). So, what happens to someone who doesn’t receive those likes? Or starts comparing their “likes” on their selfie to someone else’s? According to Dube (2016) the most pronounced concerns lie in; decreased self-esteem, anxiety, depression/depressive symptoms, feelings of inferiority.  

 I think all of us in one way or another, have looked at someone else’s picture-perfect life through the Instagram lens and had a few negative thoughts whether they be big or small, I think’s it’s only natural, we as human beings are a competitive bunch. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Instagram and social media in general, things aren’t always as they appear.

Reference: 

East, S 2016, “Teens: This is how social media affects your brain” CNN, viewed 1st February 18 < https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/12/health/social-media-brain/index.html>

Dube, Dabi-Elle 2016, “Internet, social media addiction linked to mental health risks: study.” Health. Global News, viewed 1st February 18  <http:// globalnews.ca/news/2948555/internet-social-media-addiction-linked-to-mental-health-risks-study/>.

Sifferlin, A 2013, “Why Facebook Makes you feel bad about yourself” Time Magazine, viewed 1st February 18 < http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/24/why-facebook-makes-you-feel-bad-about-yourself/>

Swinburne Online, 2018, “Networked Visuality” Digital Communities, viewed 1st February 18.

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We’ve all been there....

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Crowdsourcing in a time of crisis.

Now you wouldn’t wish a natural disaster or any type of crisis upon anyone, but when they do unfold, information and understanding are the key to success. Week 8’s focus topic was Crowdsourcing in a time of crisis - crowdsourcing is 'the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers'. (Merriam Webster Online 2014)

 The term “Social Mapping” and application “Ushahidi” where both new to me, so it was interesting learning about the both. It makes sense when you think about it though, our digital community is worldwide, and every day it’s growing, all connected through one way or another, why not band together to help each other out in times of need? As Poblet (2012) states, in a couple of years from now there’s going to 2 billion people with broadband internet access, but no toilet.

 Crowdsourcing Crisis mapping application Ushahidi ranks among the most popular crisis mapping tools, which was birthed in the wake of the disputed Kenyan elections of 2007 as a way of reporting eye-witness accounts of violence across the country. The tool has evolved quite a bit, but initially worked by integrating SMS, 'Twitter, Facebook as well as updates from the web, so that a crowdsourced picture of an event unfolding over time could be depicted on a single map' (Ford 2012, p. 35).

What application comes to mind that the majority of people are on, and connected to others through? Facebook – yes, you’re correct! #SmileySticker.

“Facebook Recognises its role in helping communities coordinate in a crisis” (Statt 2017). As Facebook (2018) notes, they have their own “Crisis Response” sub section to the social media application, where you can find information about recent or real-time crisis’s, use the “Safety Check” to connect with friends, family and loved during a crisis to let me know you’re okay. You can even offer or find help for people in affected area or create or donate to fundraisers to support recovery efforts. What can’t Facebook do?

All in all, the advantages of crowdsourcing greatly out way the negatives, if you own a mobile or smart phone and can either contribute or document information in order to help others in need, why not I say!

 Reference:

 'crowdsourcing entry' 2014, Merriam Webster, viewed 3 August 2016, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowdsourcing

Facebook, 2018, “Crisis Response” Facebook, viewed 31st January 18< https://www.facebook.com/about/crisisresponse/>

Ford, H 2012, 'Crowd Wisdom', Index on Censorship, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 33-39.

Poblet, M 2012, “Crowdsourced crisis mapping: how it works and why it matters” The Conversation, viewed 31st January 18 < https://theconversation.com/crowdsourced-crisis-mapping-how-it-works-and-why-it-matters-7014>

Statt, N 2017, “Facebook Launches Crisis Response hub to help users during disasters and attacks” The Verge, viewed 31st January 18< https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/14/16305206/facebook-crisis-response-center-safety-check-update>

TED, 2009, “How texting helped Kenyans Survive Crisis” TED Talks, viewed 31st January 18 < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBHIT9yEPh4>

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Connect, Engage, Contribute, Share, Like, Comment.

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Trolling and Social Media

When I grow up, I want to be a troll…...said no one ever!

 So why are there so many of them out there? Want to go troll hunting? You’ll find them hiding in the comment section of Facebook, sliding into your direct messages on Instagram, on Reedit under forums to do with Politics, Sex and Gender, Celebrity, Gun Laws, Race and Religion, their all pretty juicy go to topics for your average joe troll.

 But what is a troll? The term “trolling” evolved as a way to describe hateful provocation or bullying online. (Swinburne Online 2017) Or as UrbanDictionary (2018) puts it – The Art of deliberately, cleverly, and secretly pissing people off, usually via the internet. I much prefer and can relate to the second definition. Much of what might be considered trolling, appears to stem from multifaceted communication, cultural understanding, immaturity, boredom, entertainment and diverse thinking (Boyd 2014, p.139).  

It’s a very sensitive topic and there is a fine line between, trolling to piss people off and get a reaction because you might be bored. Then there is trolling with a malicious intent which falls under cyberbullying. Now according to LawStuff (2018) in New South Wales, if you are found cyber bullying someone in any way that intentionally encourages or causes them to kill themselves there is a maximum penalty of 5 years jail time. Serious stuff and unfortunately is seen more and more within young youth and teenagers. The use of anonymity also increases trolling amongst teenagers, who may not see the effects their online behaviour has on their victims (Ozden & Icellioglu 2014, p. 4383).

Personally, I’m not sure if it’s already happening, but I would love to see some sort of digital etiquette rolled out into schools as we continue further into this digital age. Teaching kids and teenagers the correct way to behave online, and reinforce the fact that while you may seem invincible hidden behind your laptop screen, actions have consequences, even on the internet.

 Now before I say goodbye and you go on your troll hunt the good people at Lifewire (2018) have put together a list of 10 types of Internet trolls you can look out for.

1.     The Insult Troll – pure hater, plain and simple.

2.     The Persistent Debate Troll – Loves a good argument

3.     The Grammar Spellcheck Troll – We all know this type of person

4.     The Forever Offended Troll – You’ll find these trolls when controversial topics are discussed.

5.     The Show-off, Know-it-All –Close relative to persistent debate troll.

6.     The Profanity and ALL CAPS TROLL – enough said.

7.     One Word Only Troll – “K” “Yes” “Lol” “no” “what”

8.     Exaggeration Troll – Love to blow everything out of proportion

9.     The Off-Topic Troll – Pretty straight forward

10.  Spammer Troll – Good luck getting a word in.

 I thought I’d add a few interesting reads I came across while researching for our groups presentation as well.

 https://jezebel.com/the-cops-dont-care-about-violent-online-threats-what-d-1682577343

 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/02/what-happened-confronted-cruellest-troll-lindy-west

 Reference List:

 Boyd, D 2014, 'Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?', in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp. 128-52.

 LawStuff, 2015, “Cyber bullying” LawStuff Organisation, viewed 29th January 2018< http://www.lawstuff.org.au/nsw_law/topics/bullying/cyber-bullying>

Moreau, E 2018, “10 Types of Internet Trolls You’ll meet online” LifeWire, viewed 29th January 18, < https://www.lifewire.com/types-of-internet-trolls-3485894>

 Ozden, M. S. & Icellioglu, S 2014, ‘The perception of cyberbullying and cyber victimization by university students in terms of their personality factors’, Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, vol. 16, pp. 4379-4383.

 Swinburne Online, 2017, ‘Week 7: Digital Communities’, viewed 22 December 2017, https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/77/pages/7-dot-2-trolling-and-provocation?module_item_id=6782.

 Urban Dictionary, 2018, “Trolling” UrbanDictionary, viewed 29th January 2018  <https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Trolling>

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Why you don't accept your parents on Facebook.

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Connected. 

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Activism and Protest

It’s Week 6 and we are half way through the unit – yay! In this week, we as a group looked at Activism and Protest through the digital realm #KeyboardWarrior!

 “Digital Activism also known as cyberactivism, is a form of activism that uses the Internet and digital media as key platforms for mass mobilization and political action” (Britannica 2018). Digital activism has transformed political protest since birth the of world wide web. The combination of the internet and smartphones have changed the way political events, protests and movements are organised, helping to mobilise hundreds of thousands of new supporters to a diverse range of causes.

 A recent and excellent example of this new age protest is the hashtag that rocked the world - #Metoo. What started with Alyssa Milano’s online call after the Harvey Weinstein revelations became a conversation about men’s behaviour towards women and power imbalances. “Facebook noted that within 24 hours, 4.7 million people around the world engaged in the #Metoo conversation, with over 12million posts, comments and reactions” (Khomami 2017). This simple hashtag has gone from a social campaign to a cry for social change, with several high-profile men under investigation or sacked from their positions due to these explosive allegations. While this movement currently has a lot of momentum behind it, some are speculating whether or not #Metoo will translate into literal action. As LaMotte (2017) notes, this isn’t the first time a hashtag has caused a lot of fuss, over the years we’ve had #ItsNotOkay, #YesAllWomen, #WhyIStayed etc which have all ended up in the viral graveyard. Some people argue that the media is to blame with lack of attention, others point to the term “Slacktivism” which is a conjunction of “Slacker” and “Activism” basically meaning someone who want to feel good about themselves and react to online movements but don’t actually do anything about it in the real world.

 From “Slacktivism” to “Hacktivism” and even “Leaktivism” as Karatzogianni (2016) notes, are all new terms of digital activism. So, called Hacktivist organisation such as “Anonymous” regularly attack computer networks of the rich and powerful and even terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State in order to expose classified information to the rest of the world also known as “leaktivism” example would include the Panama Paper, WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden.

Instead of taking it to the streets, I suppose these days it’s - take it to the web!

Reference: 

Britannica, 2018, “Digital Activism” Encyclopaedia Britannica, viewed 30th January 18 < https://www.britannica.com/topic/digital-activism>

Karatzogianni, A 2016, “Beyond Hashtags: how a new wave of digital activists is changing society” The Conversation, viewed 30th January 18

< https://theconversation.com/beyond-hashtags-how-a-new-wave-of-digital-activists-is-changing-society-57502>

 Khomami, N 2017, “#Metoo: How a hashtag became a rallying cry against sexual harassment” The Guardian, viewed 30th January 18

< https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/20/women-worldwide-use-hashtag-metoo-against-sexual-harassment>

 LaMotte, S 2017, “How #Metoo could move from social campaign to social change” CNN Edition, viewed 30th January 18

< https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/30/health/metoo-legacy/index.html>

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Decisions, decisions, decisions. 

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Politics and Civic Cultures

Okay before we begin I want to play a game of “Who Said that?” Politics and social media edition 2018! Where I’ll read out some tweets and you can guess who it might be.

1.     “I have never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke”. 

2.     “Arianna Huffingpost is unattractive both inside and out. I finally understand why her former husband left her for a man – he made a good decision”

3.     “The Media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania’s speech than the FBI spent on Hillary’s emails

4.     “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest -and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault”

5.     “Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!”

6.     Haiti, El Salvador and parts of Africa are all shithole countries

That’s correct these are quotes from the 45th and current President of the United States, the man of the hour Donald Trump! In week 5 we looked at the ever-growing relationship between Politician’s and social media and the effectiveness of these platforms when used as part of a political campaign. Can you name a more iconic politician who goes hand in hand with social media then Trump and his twitter account? “Facebook and Twitter were the reason we won this thing” (Lapowsky 2016) a quote from Trumps digital director Brad Parscale on how they won the election, shows just how powerful social media as a tool can be in the 21st century.

 As Murse (2017) notes, the prevalence of social media in politics has made elected officials and candidates more accountable and accessible to voters, and he’s right, in real time 24/7, if you want to voice your opinion to Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull feel free to send him a tweet @TurnbullMalcom while you’re there you may as well say hello to @JulieBishopMP or even former US president @BarackObama. It’s becoming increasingly easy for voters to interact with politicians elect, and vice versa, they have “the ability to publish content and broadcast it to millions of people instantaneously allowing campaigns to carefully manage their candidates image” (Murse 2027) all at the click of a few buttons. Carrying on from this idea of campaigning using social media, if we cast our gaze back to the 2016 US political campaign (I know, I’m sorry we had to go back #GrabHerByThePussy) “Facebook proved to be a powerful way for Trump’s team to hone the campaign’s message with the enormous sample sizes you can’t get with traditional polling” (Lapowsky 2016). Meaning Trump had the advantage of a platform where we as the audience are already conditioned to click, comment, share, which in doing so created feedback so he could figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Ultimately social media isn’t going anywhere fast, so if anything, we can probably expect to see a rise in political activity on Facebook and Twitter, as they pretend to be “real” and post selfies out and about to sway over potential voters for upcoming elections.

Let the digital games begin!

Reference: 

Murse, T 2017, “How social media has changed politics” ThoughtCo, viewed 28th January 18< https://www.thoughtco.com/how-social-media-has-changed-politics-3367534

 Lapowsky, I 2016, “Here’s how Facebook actually won Trump the Presidency” WIRED, viewed 28th January 18 < https://www.wired.com/2016/11/facebook-won-trump-election-not-just-fake-news/>

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#RealTalk 

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