digcomms1130-blog - Tumblr blog

[digcomms1130-blog]

Shit APH China Does #92

Calls Chinese internet censorship “The Great Firewall of China”

Bonus: Calls VPN and other proxy bypass methods “climbing the wall” or 爬墙 (pá qiáng)

[digcomms1130-blog]

CHINA’S CHASTITY

A new trend we see on social media and platforms these days is a multitude of people trying to be ‘indie’, different and unique. This never ends up being unique as everybody just copies and follows the same trends in the end. Have you ever heard of an entire country trying this though? How about the country with the largest population in the world? I sure hadn’t heard of it, but China in fact use the internet and social media completely uniquely. They have created all their own sites and choose not to conform to that of other countries, boycotting Facebook and traditional web browsers, for their own independent platforms within the country. It’s called ‘Chinanet’ and is in fact a firewall to all communication to the rest of the world.

One of my favourite things about the internet and social media is that I can share my life, and photos, etc. with friends from all over the world and they end up not seeming so far away. Just in the past week I have been able to have a free phone call through Facebook to my cousin in Hong Kong as well as share videos and photos with a friend who lives in England, which I find to be pretty amazing. China however, do not want this. They want to be their own unique, superior digital community within themselves that does not trend with the rest of the world.

China have in a way chastised themselves as a country on the internet. They want to seem better than everyone by being independent, something other countries probably won’t follow but it still makes them seem and feel dominating by having their own property on the internet. Imagine the web being like the world, China has their very own part while the rest share it, does that making them richer and better? Or does it just disconnect them and possibly cause a divide for possible future internet war?

[digcomms1130-blog]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/261136744344543/

The Facebook group I am part of is linked above!

[digcomms1130-blog]

GAMING GROUPS

With a rise of social networking has come a parallel growth of social gaming. They have provided a space for the presenting and sharing of information and connecting both online and offline communities as players can interact with friends and/or strangers. Whilst social games themselves have an element of networking and user to user interaction, this is extended onto more platforms, especially Facebook.

People can share their usernames and gaming progresses as well as tips and information on games with others that have an alike interest. Not only this those with an even more vested interest in launching business or developing games can connect with users in this way as well. I am personally actually part of a gaming business Facebook group in order to gain more of a business understanding of the opportunities that social gaming actually provides. There are hundreds of groups just like that across the world, connecting the world in a digital community for social gaming

Conflict management is an essential, yet very complex process in virtual communities as well. A small example for people like myself who may not use the main social games popular today , like Fortnite or COD, is club penguin. Most of our generation today has played this at some point or another and it is an easy example of social gaming. For issues like derogatory language and other conflict the game was managed by putting users accounts on probation or suspension to allow for another chance to continue use and discontinue any conflicts.

It is important for games to have a conflict management system in place for when issues arise that deal with the complexities and the interrelation with activity design and change management. Changes and redesign may need to take place when recurring conflicts arise. Users need to see action with large problems in order for these social gaming platforms to retain them.

Overall social gaming is an amazing way people with similar interests in similar games can strategize and interact in a more structured way as well as allowing for networking and engagement outside of the games.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1555412014535663

[digcomms1130-blog]

Me: *takes online quizzes about mental illness*

The quiz results: *say i have strong indications of disorders that i have been formally diagnosed with*

Me:

[digcomms1130-blog]

DIGITAL DIAGNOSIS’

“MUM, DAD, HELP, I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!!!” My concerned parents ran to my room to see me sitting by my computer in shock. “So I have this spot on my arm and well it’s cancer, I have cancer, I’m going to die, say goodbye now, see look look!”. My browser shows a multitude of tabs of diagnosis and pictures of all different types of spots that could be skin cancer. Long story, short, I literally have a freckle on my arm, and many of them, but by googling and searching the web you can find a million and one different digital diagnosis’ for a spot. There’s also that time I had a cough in winter and was ready to put myself into quarantine thinking it could be whooping cough (something I am already vaccinated against funnily enough), but I was fine and had a common virus. Whilst everyone has a million horror stories of self diagnosing themselves after a quick internet search, it is also an extremely useful tool to be able to quickly check if a real doctor check up is necessary when you have peculiar symptoms. 83% of internet users seek health information online and out of those I’m sure this has meant the difference between life and death.

Having critical information at our fingertips to online diagnose and then get this confirmed by a clinician would make such a difference. Whilst my dramatics about a freckle were unnecessary, I’ve had a family member be able to note that a spot they had was maybe not just a harmless spot, they had it checked, biopsied and found to be a skin cancer the size of a golf ball that needed to be removed immediately. Left for much longer, if there had been a lack of helpful online diagnosis, it may have been life threatening.

Social media platforms can be used as a tool having the ability to share useful health information, for instance about which spots should be checked, when new strains of a flu or disease are prevalent and simply what to be aware of. Awareness is one of the most important things in this day and age for all people, and social media has been able to spread this about any such issue, especially health including mental health.

[digcomms1130-blog]

@ dan make your snapchat public and turn on snapmaps i just wanna confirm your location

[digcomms1130-blog]

the losers club on snapchat

richie :

 - posts every single moment of every single day on his story.  

- literally won’t talk to stan when stan loses their streak 

- uses the puppy filter too much 

- uses snapmap against his friends ( “don’t lie to me mike I know you were at mcdonalds at two am today” )

 - takes snaps of eddie when he is asleep and puts filters on him 

- his bitmoji looks nothing like him 

 mike : 

 - opens his snapchats maybe once a month 

- posted once on his story when bill knocked down a bee hive and got chased and stung by thousands of bees 

 - left his phone at bill’s house once and bill and richie designed his bitmoji to look nothing like him and mike still does not know 

bill : 

- only snapchats in the odd hours of the morning when everyone is sleeping 

- his favorite filter is the one that makes your mouth really big and voice really high

 - sends no less than 10 snaps of him letting out one consecutive scream using that filter to stan at 3 in the morning 

- stan hates this

 eddie : 

 - does his best to keep his streaks but loses them every four or five days

 - every streak picture is just a picture of his aspirator 

 - richie often takes his phone and takes pictures of eddie at bad angles then adds them to eddie’s story 

 - changes the outfit of this bitmoji every week 

beverly :

 - has so. many. streaks.

 - uses the flower crown filter in every snap 

- was low key pissed when the golden butterfly filter went away

 - her & richie have a 297 day streak and have agreed that whoever breaks it must lick each member of the losers club’s shoes 

ben :

 - doesn’t use snapchat other than to look at the loser’s stories 

 - took days to design his bitmoji because he wanted it to be perfect 

- screenshots the losers stories (for blackmail) to look back on good memories 

- occasionally sends Bev a snap in the flower crown filter she uses all the time 

stan : 

 - watches people on snapmap

 - posts videos on his story of the losers attempting dumb ideas conducted by richie 

- finds out how to place his bitmoji anywhere in the world on snapmap and freaks the other losers out ( richie: STAN WHY ARE YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GULF OF MEXICO)

 - definitely adds his bird finds to his story

do you guys like these kinds of posts? I have another one I’ve been working on. and send me requests!!

[digcomms1130-blog]

CROWDSOURCING CAPTURING COMMOTIONS

One of the more recent updated features on the social platform Snapchat in the last year or so is ‘Snapmaps’. This is a feature I sue quite often. When users on my friends list have their location turned on it creates a map of my surrounding area extending to the rest of the world, pinpointing where exactly my friends are.

It is a quite clever feature and one of the more recent examples of social mapping at the moment. I am always using to see if friends are home, working, at something I haven’t been invited to or I’ve been caught out friends seeing boys several times on there. I don’t actual have my turned on for my friends to see because I don’t know how secure it makes me feel to have all these people knowing where I am at all time; I also like to keep a low profile if I’m studying to busy.

This snapchat feature is not only good to see where friends are, but to see what’s happening in actual locations themselves. When people post a public story in a region it accumulates on the map and you can see it all. You can basically watch 5, 10 or 100 different perspectives of an event unfolding depending on how big the event is and how many people have posted about it. I could watch an entire music concert from my bedroom and see what it looks like from left of the stage, right of, at the back or at the very front; how great is that !?

This goes for disastrous events as well. Footage of where for instance a brawl is taking place can mean that I can avoid an area and therefore watch out for my safety. I was once at home and saw via social mapping and platforms that a shooting was taking place on a popular clubbing strip in Melbourne. I was instantly able to see what was happening, where my friends were and whether they were safe from it or not. It is amazing how we can do this and how issues and events can be captured so frequently and aimlessly now.

[digcomms1130-blog]

TACTLESS TROLLS TRIGGERING TEARS

Banter and humour is a huge part of my personality. I can tease someone for how they take their coffee or something they said because it’s an ice breaker and often easy to do. In person, I can read their body language and see if they respond offensively or with a laugh and a quick comeback. This is how it often (if you know your boundaries and how to read people) doesn’t cross a line. Online however, where is the line? Trolls hide behind their keyboards and can continue what they think is funny without understanding how the recipient may feel or apologising. In fact, they may keep going before the recipient has a chance to back themselves up or take the time to see it in the first place. Some people just say what they want out of subjected opinion or anger, not just humour. People are able to say and post what they think in a negative and hateful way online without any consequence.

A site I  have used and experienced the wrath of trolls from is called qooh.me. It is a website where essentially people can send you anonymous questions or statements and you post and share your responses on it with your friends. The anonymity of this means that people can say just about anything without you knowing who it is. Whilst the site was used for funny get to know you questions, it was also used for people to send hate without owning up to it or facing any consequences. I personally, had once received extremely serious comments for example being told to kill myself, because it’s so easy for someone to say this anonymously and not see how I was affected. At a young age of 14 or so this was hurtful and affected my initial mental state; to avoid further issues I deleted my account altogether. These questionnaire sites used to be a huge trend as a social platform and were used quite frequently around 6 or so years ago in adolescents. This means that many people just like myself were receiving and being affected by trolls and cyberbullies. The contribution to poor mental health and social anxiety in teens because of this online abuse is immense.

Whilst social media and blogging platforms are an amazing tool for connecting and sharing information they also allow for a lot of negativity, harassment and bullying. The key to averting this is an awareness in using social platforms positively and safely. This is taught in schools and made very aware to most people to help reduce the prevalence of cyberbullying and as an accessory mental health issues. The platforms themselves have affordances that allow people to report comments or posts and are later taken down if the site deems it inappropriate. I believe people are getting better at being safer online and reporting anything negative, however there is still some way to go to reduce the trolls infesting our platforms.

[digcomms1130-blog]

An entire website dedicated to activism and shared through social media platforms

[digcomms1130-blog]

ACTIVISM ANTICS

When people think of activism they think of the protests that fill up the streets and people trying to force their opinions onto you, most people anyway. In this century activism is basically centralised around the use of social media. You don’t have to show up to protests and meetings or hand sign a petition anymore, you can do all of this from your keyboard. Even if you wanted to do these things, you find out how to online. Social platforms are the best way to spread awareness and get a following on an activist topic. This following is ever increased for issues through sharing, liking and commenting. If you wanted a petition signed all that needs to be done is to share a link with the quick press of a button and a virtual signature. It’s that easy. 

An example of this is the current activism occurring against the government called ‘Fight for the Bight’. A major oil company is proposing to damage the Great Australian Bight’s ecosystem in order to make money. #Fightforthebight has been plastered throughout my Facebook, Instagram and other platforms for months now, with myself and many people I know constantly sharing, commenting and liking the content about it. There have been physical protests in places like Torquay where surfers and others gather in the water with signs to campaign against the scheme. The whole point of this protest is to gain media attention and a media following. Hence again, social platforms being the basis for all activism today. The events for this are created online too. With this following and a virtual signature on online petitions the focus group can show the government that the majority is against the scheme.

Social media is so powerful for just about any opinion you have. The power of thousands of followers who essentially don’t even need to say anything, is more than the power of a group debating in person. A lot of content on social media is activism content and some people may not even know the impact they’re having with the quick millisecond of time they’ve taken to give the post a like, or page a follow. It goes a long way and can make great changes in our world. I don’t know about most others but these antics are scary sometimes but also so important, beyond what we realise sometimes.

[digcomms1130-blog]

Political use of memes: appealing to us millennial’s

Richard di natale @ the libs

[digcomms1130-blog]

Richard Di Natale’s speech that first resonated with me. Very strong words and something worth sharing to publics.

Richard Di Natale tears into the government for their petty squabbling, their irresponsible leadership, and their appalling track record on serious issues facing Australia. Absolutely amazing.

[digcomms1130-blog]

POWERFUL POLITICS IN POSTS

I have used social media platforms for probably the last 8 or so years. In earlier days I did not see much intellectual or political posts. In the last couple of years particularly recently there has been a huge spike in the political influence being harnessed on social media platforms. I am able to learn more about politics, important issues and therefore create my own opinions on what is happening because of it. Politicians and parties are well aware of the frequent use and exposure everyone, but particularly and more easily influenced, millennials are to social media.

A particular example I have come across lately is Richard Di Natale on Facebook who is senator for the Greens party. Having my first federal election coming up and not a huge interest in politics, I have been able to learn a thing or two about some of the policies being put forth through his and other parties social media. I followed Di Natale on Facebook after seeing a powerful speech he gave in government house about the lack of thought for the rest of Australia rather than just within the political parties. I have been able to become more passionate on some of the views the greens have, particularly their concern for our environment in the future. Whilst I cannot agree with every view, policy and speech given by any political party, I can become engaged in some of what they say and share it myself to spread this even further.

Politics then takes up a major part at the forefront of content on my social media platform, and that of others and the entire public sphere. Much of this content produced by political figures has affordances like hashtags, hyperlinks and captions with inclusive language like “together we can…” that invite viewers to comment and share the posts further. Whether people want to dispute the content or not, they aim to create the political engagement and discussion that I have seen persisting and increasing lately across social media platforms.

[digcomms1130-blog]

TUMBLR’S TYPE

Tumblr is an elaborate, well-know, frequently used, and ‘OG’ platform of social media. With Facebook, it was one of the first things online platforms I used in high school. But what type is Tumblr, should it be categorised with Facebook as a social network site or is it a blogging site?

Personally I would argue that it is both, depending on the way the user utilises it. There is the aspect of metrification that allows users to connect by reposting, adding notes, liking or following accounts. It is easily a way that people can network with one another. Some users may think their posting and account does not have much merit if they don’t have a following. Users are able to create this by following others, using hashtags and connected with other accounts easily. I have once had an account I used to share with friends and network on. However, I have used the site in both ways. These days I use it to outlet my own writing but don’t bother with hastags or trying to get followers as I don’t believe it necessary for my content. It is definitely a blogging site, predominantly for microblogging, where only short text posts, quotes and photos are shared. It can include a much longer word count on the other hand, unlike Twitter which is solely just for microblogging. It may be argued that because most accounts do not contain personal names and information, they have their own social identities, that connecting socially cannot be done to the full effect. On the other hand, we cannot always know that on other social networking sites the information, and identity stated is the right one and sometimes connecting through a shared interest rather than a name is much better anyway.

I don’t see any reason to have to label Tumblr as one or the other because it is both. People blog their lives and thoughts and interests as well as that of others by reblogging content and therefore connecting socially with other blogs. It is an amazing tool for socially connecting writing and people with individual interests and a great way for people to have mutual ideas. Essentially it encompasses the whole public sphere with themes overlapping between accounts who repost and a huge network being made that way.