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Global Social Media in China

Much has been written of late about the attempts of the PRC government to regulate and philtre the Internet. The censorship of websites by the government is an important issue, but it is not the top priority of the 420 million Internet users (netizens) in the world. Top priority of theirs? Connecting online with other Chinese people. For average Chinese people, the Internet has opened up access to information in ways that were unthinkable only a few years ago. China's Internet is freewheeling by contrast, coming from an environment where data has been pre-filtered by editors in state-run media (Crampton 2017).

More than 800 million Chinese internet users, after all are looking for a place to express their views, ask for product reviews, and communicate with others. That's a great deal of material. Although the western world continues to be dominated by Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, China has seen many creative new social networks emerge. This includes sites for video sharing like Douyin, as well as shopping groups such as Xiaohongshu (Chan 2020). 

Facebook (FB) has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users worldwide, with China largely without a footprint.1 This is because, as with many other global social media providers, Facebook is banned in China. Internet content is regulated by the Chinese government and content that it claims is not in the state's interest is limited, removed or prohibited. Following riots in Xinjiang, a special autonomous zone in western China, Chinese authorities blocked Facebook, along with Twitter and Google services, in July 2009. The crackdown was intended to curb interactions between independence activists (Zucchi 2019). 

The popular recipe from WeChat has been copied by many Chinese social networking sites and established their all-round entertainment ecosystems with additional services such as e-commerce, streaming, and gaming. In addition, artificial intelligence adoption has been growing. On social media sites, facial recognition, hyper-personalization, and virtual reality can be used more frequently. The next hype in Chinese social media is live streaming in terms of content format, aside from short videos. The early winners of this industry trend in rural China, where less entertainment choices are available for young people, are Huya, YY Live, and Douyu Live (Thomala 2020). While most international social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are blocked in China, there are still many social media channels based in China that companies can use for ads. Companies attempting to penetrate the Chinese market must advertise on these pages, as millions of people in China can easily be reached. For companies in China, social media is as critical as it is in the rest of the world. It is a perfect way to ensure one's compa's visibility and growth (Jones 2016). 

List of References

Crampton, T 2017, “Social Media in China: The Same, but Different”, Go Global Consulting Group, viewed 22 November 2020, <http://www.goglobalconsultinggroup.com/blog/social-media-in-china-the-same-but-different/>

Chan, J 2020, “All You Need to Know About the Chinese Social Media Landscape”, Linkfluence, viewed 22 November 2020, <https://www.linkfluence.com/blog/chinese-social-media-landscape>.

Zucchi, K 2019, “Why Facebook Is Banned in China & How to Access It”, Investopedia, viewed 22 November 2020, <https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/042915/why-facebook-banned-china.asp#:~:text=The%20'Great%20Firewall'%20in%20China,court%20China%20have%20been%20rebuffed.>

Jones, J 2020, “Social Media in China”, Nolasia, viewed 22 November 2020, <https://nolasia.net/social-media-in-china/>.

Thomala, L 2020, “Social Networking In China - Statistics & Facts”, Statista, viewed 22 November 2020, <https://www.statista.com/topics/1170/social-networks-in-china/>.

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Social Gaming

Most commonly, social gaming refers to online games that allow players to connect socially. They can include games for multiplayer cards, board games, games for social networks, as well as multiplayer interactive video games. One of the largest divisions of social gaming is social casinos that encourage gamblers to play and bet on casino games online (Gough 2019). It becomes obvious what counts or not when you spend a great deal of time playing social games. Most social games don't concentrate on the mechanics of the game, but on who you play with. It's when only with a certain group of individuals is a certain game really enjoyable. It doesn't matter whether the games are physical or digital / online or in-person, and the games are greatly improved by more players (Dempsey 2017).

Mobile social gaming and the demand for online gaming have continued to expand further. One crucial aspect of social gaming further amplified this development. It's one special kind of social gaming, for example. When cell phones were used exclusively for making calls and sending emails, it was not that long. But we can hardly imagine using a phone that's not smart nowadays. The advantages of mobile social gaming are very evident. Wherever you are, you should do it (The Insane Growth of Social Gaming 2020).

Here are the facts of social gaming. They may help people overcome dyslexia. Most parents wish that their children pick up a book rather than a game controller. But for kids with dyslexia, social and action video games may be just what the doctor ordered. As per study, the social and action games improve visual attention and reading ability. The researchers found those who had played the social and action games had better attention skills and they were able to read faster without losing any accuracy (Skentelbery 2019). In addition, according to (Guy 2011) mentioned “The social games development company Zynga, leader of the market has counted more that 80 million players on their game Farmville per month. Including all their games, Zynga counts more than 268 million active players per month on Facebook”.

(Skentelbery 2019) said “players who play social games tend to be more creative, regardless of whether the games are violent or nonviolent. All the social games challenge gamers in a way, forcing a player to create, improvise and think on the fly”. 

List of References

Dempsey, J 2017, “What is “Social Gaming”?”, Play Table, viewed 12 November 2020, <https://blog.playtable.com/what-is-social-gaming-911e6dd76cf>.

Gough, C 2019, “Social Gaming- Statistics & Facts”, Statista, viewed 12 November 2020, <https://www.statista.com/topics/2965/social-gaming/>.

“The Insane Growth Of Social Gaming”, Digicult, viewed 12 November 2020, <http://digicult.it/internet/the-insane-growth-of-social-gaming/>.

Skentelbery, H 2019, “Five Interesting Facts About Social Games”, Warrington Worldwide, viewed 12 November 2020, <https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2019/07/02/five-interesting-facts-about-social-games/>.

Guy, S 2011, “A Few Interesting Facts On Social Gaming - 55% Of Social Gamers Are Female”, Sociable Blog, viewed 12 November 2020, <https://www.sociableblog.com/2011/11/01/interesting-facts-on-social-gaming/>.

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Fandom

"Fandoms," as they have come to be known, are a community of individuals that in popular culture all worship or endorse a single person, typically in the case of television shows, book series, movies, artists or performers. While theoretically, the word could refer to other franchises, such as sports, it is normally reserved for actors, actresses, musicians, creators of content and the like. Fandoms evolved from the initial word "fangirl," which referred to female fans who were vocal (Wiest 2017). 

This week topic, we are not going to talk about K-Pop fandoms, but we are going to discuss about Marvel fandom. 

On 2019, There were several occasions for supporters to celebrate the MCU. Fans waited in lines for days during San Diego Comic-Con to see Kevin Feige and almost the entire Marvel cast takeover in Hall H to reveal what's next. And during D23, fans, from She-Hulk to Ms. Marvel, were all abuzz on social media about the latest projects coming to Disney+. (Let's not forget how the appeals of fans to get Tom Holland back into the MCU turned out easily in favour of everyone (Johnson 2019). According to (McMillan 2019), a nationally representative poll of 2,200 adults conducted between July 8 and 10 reported that Marvel is far and away the most popular when it comes to genre products, with 63 percent of those surveyed finding themselves fans. Marvel's Disney sister, Star Wars, with 60 percent fandom, was the next most famous property, and DC followed with 59 percent.

A culture that includes superhero films (62 percent of respondents identified themselves as a fan) and movies based on comic books (58 percent were fans), but not comic books themselves, with just 37 percent of those surveyed declaring themselves fans. Elsewhere, the survey showed the current state of mainstream fandom at large (McMillan 2019). Moreover, (Johnson 2019) mentioned that “Of 250 fandoms, Marvel ranked as the absolute number 1 fandom, including in the movies category. Marvel may be big, but don’t forget, it’s the fans who put Marvel on the map”. 

But fandoms typically provide a sense of belonging and community that many teenagers struggle to feel profoundly linked to, even with the darker aspects known. If on the weekends you don't build that kind of bond with peers at school or in friend groups, it provides a jumping off point to find people in some small (or significant) way who are like you. It is not anything to understate to be part of a fandom. There is strength in numbers, and there is strength in society (Wiest 2017)

Reference Lists

Wiest, B 2017, “Psychologists Say That Belonging To A Fandom Is Amazing For Your Mental Health”, Teen Vogue, viewed 4 November 2020, <https://www.teenvogue.com/story/psychologists-say-fandoms-are-amazing-for-your-mental-health>.

Johnson, M 2019, “FanSided 250: Marvel was the hottest movie fandom of 2019″, Fansided, viewed 4 November 2020, <https://fansided.com/2019/12/10/fansided-250-marvel-absolute-best-fans-world/>.

McMillan, G 2019, “Among Fandoms, Marvel May Reign Supreme, Poll Finds”, Hollywood Reporter, viewed 4 November 2020, <https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fandoms-marvel-may-reign-supreme-poll-finds-1224706>.

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Crowdsourcing v Crowdfunding

First things first, what is the definition between crowdsourcing and crowdfunding?

The method of using a group's wisdom for a shared purpose is crowdsourcing. It is best applied when trying to innovatively solve complicated problems or streamline nuanced procedures. In a 2006 article about the procedure, the term was first coined by Jeff Howe. Although crowdsourcing has existed in some form for decades, the practise rose to prominence at the same time as the advent of commerce, social media, and the culture of smartphones. The largest contributor to the increasing interest in the discipline has been increased communication amongst individuals around the world (White 2019).

While to raise donations, nonprofits use crowdfunding. They also refer to crowdfunding as "online fundraising," "fundraising for social media" or "peer-to - peer fundraising." Generally speaking, when non-profits refer to online fundraising, they talk of adding email and social media to conventional direct mail and telephone solicitation techniques. With broad-ranging complexity and performance, they do this. This strategy usually remains centralised and is a campaign of one-to-many styles. The same is essentially true of fundraising on social media (Thorpe 2018).

So if this is crowdsourcing, what is crowdfunding then?Crowdfunding, very literally, is the collection of funds from a crowd. Currently, crowdfunding is a special form of crowdsourcing (Hebert 2015). 

How does crowdsourcing works?

Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing where, at the concept or pre-production level, individuals pledge money towards an idea. This means that before it becomes available, customers are backing an idea, financing its creation through crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Although some crowdsourcing includes crowdfunding, the issue of funding is not at all included with most forms of crowdsourcing.  Instead, crowdsourcing essentially asks a diverse community of individuals to offer their experience and expertise in solving a problem (Livescault 2019). 

And how does crowdfunding works? 

Crowdfunding projects usually have a fixed target and give rewards to those who invest. Usually, if the aim is met, the supporters profit from funding the initiative. Backers can receive cash or shares if the company has an exit event in the future, such as an acquisition or initial public offering (Kurani 2020). 

List of reference:

Hebert, C 2015, “The Difference Between Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing”, crowdfunding hacks,viewed 1 November 2020, <http://crowdfundinghacks.com/crowdfunding-vs-crowdsourcing/#:~:text=Very%20simply%2C%20crowdfunding%20is%20the%20sourcing%20of%20funds%20from%20a%20crowd.&text=So%20to%20recap%2C%20crowdsourcing%20is,ideas%20or%20information%2C%20it's%20crowdsourcing.>.

White, J 2019, “ What Is Crowdsourcing and How Does It Work? Definition and Example”, The Street, viewed 1 November 2020, <https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/education/what-is-crowdsourcing-15026002>.

Thorpe, D 2018, “What is Crowdfunding?”, Forbes, viewed 1 November 2020, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/2018/06/25/what-is-crowdfunding/?sh=18b01d6165c5>.

Livescault, J 2019, “What is Crowdsourcing? (in 2019)”, brain neet, viewed 1 November 2020, <https://www.braineet.com/blog/crowdsourcing/>.

Kurani, S 2020, “What is crowdfunding and how does it work?”, Republic.co, viewed 1 November 2020, <https://republic.co/blog/what-is-crowdfunding-and-how-does-it-work>.

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Public Health Campaign

Public health initiatives include presenting information to the public strategically, which may help them lead a healthy life by avoiding potential health risks or facilitating behavioural improvements. A broad range of media platforms, including television , radio, press, film, are used to promote the initiative, depending on the target audience, aims and budget (Public Health Campaigns 2020). 

In order to compete in this increasingly competitive and complex environment, those of us in public health must make the science and art of communication as integral a part of our everyday activities as the science of epidemiology and disease control.” – Patrick Remington, author of Communicating Public Health Information Effectively

In reducing unhealthy habits and encouraging good ones among at-risk populations and individuals, health communication professionals who spearhead these initiatives play a strong role. Creating an efficient campaign, however, is not just a matter of raising awareness. Such programmes are carefully designed to ensure that the health issue they set out to tackle is tackled effectively (Public Health Campaigns That Change Minds 2016). 

According to (Watson 2020), on last 18th August 2020, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock announced that Public Health England (PHE) was to be dissolved, announcing that Dido Harding, the Conservative peer who led the problematic track-and-trace programme in England, would temporarily head up the 'National Institute for Health Safety' new agency. For instance, ‘NHS: Help Us, Help You - Get It Seen To by M&C Saatchi’. The National Health Service ( NHS) commissioned a satirical ad that poked fun at overreactions to minor ailments to inspire more individuals to count on their pharmacist before consulting their GP. Taking a leaf out of unrealistic reactions from overblown films,' Support Us, Support You - Get It Seen To' flicks across different types of films - horror, romcom, and action - as a way to raise awareness of the free, private and confidential consultations provided by high street chemists.

Next, Organ Donation Wales now has an outstanding track record in inspiring individuals to talk more about the benefit in donating organs. They have took the courageous decision to hijack the coffee orders of people in a very clever way to illustrate the issue created by families overriding their loved ones' wishes. In addition, Matt Damon Surprises People with ‘The Wait for Water’. Matt Damon does a fantastic job in this case, bringing the attention of people to the fact that women in the developing world have to wait up to six hours per day to collect water. For "The Wait for Water," Matt Damon and his foundation Water.org joined Stella Artois, explaining what happens when unsuspecting restaurant clients are told that water will not be available for up to six hours (The World’s Best Public Health Social Media Campaigns 2020). 

This campaign is an essential contact role in modern society is the promotion of public health and the prevention of the spread of hazardous health risks. A convergence of theory and experience in communication is urgently required to direct successful promotion activities, whether the emphasis is on the prevention and management of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( AIDS), cancer , heart disease, or community abuse (Public Health Campaigns 2020). 

List of Reference

Watson, I 2020, “Just what the doctor ordered: the best public health campaigns”, the drum, viewed 23 October 2020, <https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/08/19/just-what-the-doctor-ordered-the-best-public-health-campaigns>.

Public Health Campaigns, 2020, The Aspiring Medics, viewed 23 October 2020, <https://www.theaspiringmedics.co.uk/post/public-health-campaign>.

Public Health Campaigns That Change Minds, 2016, One Public Health, viewed 23 October 2020, <https://onlinepublichealth.gwu.edu/resources/health-communication-campaigns/>.

The World’s Best Public Health Social Media Campaigns, 2020, Bang The Table, viewed 23 October 2020, <https://www.bangthetable.com/blog/public-health-social-media-campaigns/>.

Public Health Campaigns, 2020, Encyclopedia.com, viewed 23 October 2020, <https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/public-health-campaigns#:~:text=Promoting%20public%20health%20and%20preventing,communication%20function%20in%20modern%20society.&text=Health%20campaigns%20are%20generally%20designed,in%20support%20of%20public%20health>.

#mda2009 #public health campaign

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Activism

Is activism good for us? Or, do we have to against it?

In this week’s topic is all about activism. 

First thing first, what is activism? According to (Introduction to activism 2020), activism is basically taking action to affect social change; in a multitude of ways and in a number of forms, this can happen. It is also concerned with 'how the future can be improved' by social , political , economic or environmental change. This can be led by people, but through social movements, it is also achieved collectively. It is possible to identify certain individuals as activists and to view certain actions as activism, but this does not mean that all activism is carried out by activists. The word activist itself is controversial, as what constitutes an activist is sometimes disputed and what acts can be characterised as activism.

There is an update news regarding activism. In Indonesia, there are protests regarding the “omnibus law’, and it is still happening till now. On Wednesday, 6 October 2020, thousands of Indonesian students and workers protested against a new law that they fear would cripple labour rights and harm the environment, with some clashing with the police. The new Job Creation Law, which was approved on Monday, is expected to bring drastic reforms to the labour system in Indonesia and the management of natural resources. 79 previous laws were revised, including the Labor Law, the Law on Spatial Planning, and the Law on Environmental Management.More than 3,000 protestors attempted to enter the heavily guarded parliament building, including staff and high school and university students. Protesters set fires on tyres along closed highways, pelted rocks and gasoline bombs at the police and broke down the parliament compound doors. Riot police replied by firing water cannons and tear gas (Marsiela & Karmani 2020)

Now, back to the question. Is this a good or bad deeds?

I would say its a good deed! But, you have to do it in a right way. You have to do it in peaceful way, without making any problem or circumstances that could make riot happens. Activism is a positive sign, according to Nancy Deutsch, professor and director of the Youth-Nex Center to Encourage Successful Youth Growth at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education (Daniels 2017). Why is this kind of involvement so positive? Civic and political participation gives young people the ability to use, improve and develop a variety of essential skills, including, communication among others and analytical thought. And to do so in a real-life context with an impact on the real world. It also exercises the citizenship muscles of children, positioning public participation behaviours in places that are more likely to persist into adulthood (Daniels 2017). 

Reference Lists

Marsiela, A & Karmani, N 2020, Thousands of students, workers protest Indonesia labor law, viewed 9 October, 2020, <http://Thousands of students, workers protest Indonesia labor law>.

Introduction to Activism, 2020, viewed 9 October 2020, <https://www.permanentculturenow.com/what-is-activism/>.

Daniels, E 2017, Activism in Youth; It’s a Good Thing, viewed 9 October 2020, <https://news.virginia.edu/content/activism-youth-its-good-thing>.

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Political Engagement

What is the first thing that crosses your mind when you hear ‘political engagement’? 

As a cognitive process, political engagement is described here. In this case, when the brain is activated by external stimuli relating to politics, elaboration takes place. Elaboration here means the correlation of ideas, the identification of interesting and significant new facts, a process that leads to an attitudinal reaction. Political participation is an integral precursor to political participation and is therefore necessary for a vibrant civic culture (Understanding Political Engagement, 2020).

There are some research about many countries in the world are disengaged from politics. 

According to (Wike, 2018), aside from voting, relatively few individuals take part in other aspects of political and civic participation, the survey shows. Nevertheless, certain forms of participation are more prevalent among young people, those with more schooling, those on the political left, and users of social networks. And certain problems , especially health care, poverty and education, are more likely to motivate political action than others. Young people vote less often. People aged 50 and older are more likely than 18- to 29-year-olds in 10 of the nations surveyed to say they have voted in at least one referendum. In Tunisia and South Africa, the difference between the oldest and youngest respondents who voted is more than 40 percentage points, and in Mexico, Poland, Greece and Kenya, it is more than 20 points. The top motivators for political participation are health care, poverty and education. When asked what kinds of problems could get them to take political action, such as contacting an elected official or engaging in a protest, individuals in 13 out of 14 countries rate inadequate health care among the issues tested as either their first or second preference. Several also put poverty and poor-quality schools among the top two problems. 

Then, how to increase and sustain political engagement?

Here are some tips for you! 

Choose your identity-fitting political actions. Staying involved in political activities that closely fit with your identity is simpler. In the postcard analysis, by asking volunteers to report how closely political engagement matches with their sense of self, we checked the correlation between identity and political commitment. It found that people who associated with political engagement appeared to report more satisfaction from writing postcards, greater social closeness with other volunteers, greater desire to take potential political action, and less burnout. And take action with others. When you take action for your mates, continuing long-term political participation will be simpler. In our postcard research, during postcard writing, volunteers who wrote while in social settings reported having more positive experiences, a greater sense of identity around postcard writing, greater intentions to take potential political action, and less burnout. The research also found that postcard writers who indicated higher levels of positive social proximity with other volunteers had higher intentions in the future to take political action again. These results indicate that it may be necessary to develop substantive and personal relationships with others when taking political action to maintain long-term commitment (Major, 2018). 

So there it is! A very interesting topic to discuss.

I would like to know what are your opinion regarding this topic by commenting down below :)

List of Reference

The Public, The Political System and American Democracy, 2018, ‘Political Engagement, knowledge, and the midterms’, Pew Research Center, viewed 2 October 2020, <https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/04/26/10-political-engagement-knowledge-and-the-midterms/>.

Wike, R 2018, ‘Many Around the World Are Disengaged From Politics’, Pew Research, viewed 2 October 2020, <https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/10/17/international-political-engagement/>.

Major, B 2018, ‘How to Increase (and Sustain) Political Engagement?’, Behavioural Scientist, viewed 2 October 2020, <https://behavioralscientist.org/how-to-increase-and-sustain-political-engagement/>.

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Is Tumblr a Blog or a Social Networking Site?

https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics/2020When you hear Tumblr, what do you think about it? Is it a social media or a blog? In this section, will discuss more about “Tumblr”.

Let’s start defining it one by one.

What is a blog?

A blog (the shortened version of "weblog") is an online publication or informative website presenting material in reverse chronological order, with the most recent entries appearing at the top of the page first. It is a forum where writers or groups of writers express their opinions on a particular topic (Skrba, A 2020).  According to (Kyers, B 2019), There are currently more than 600 million blogs on the internet out of the 1.7 billion websites and 86 percent of content marketers use blog posts as part of their marketing strategy (Petrova, A 2020).

What is Social Networking Site?

A social networking site a.k.a social media is websites and apps designed to allow users to exchange content easily, securely and in real time. Although many people have access to social media via mobile applications, this networking platform has originated with computers, and social media can refer to any internet contact mechanism that helps users to exchange information freely and connect with the public. Social networks excel in sharing and communicating thoughts , ideas and information with other users — often with users who have tastes and preferences. Examples of social networks include Facebook and Twitter. While more formal than most, LinkedIn may also be called a social network (Hudson, M 2020). Social networking may take the form of a number of technological activities. 

These practises include photo uploading, tweeting, social games, social networks, video sharing, social networks, virtual worlds, reviews and more.

Now, back to the question. Is Tumblr a blog or a social media platform?

Well, I would say the answer is both.

As I mentioned earlier, a blog is a platform for people to express their thoughts and opinion on a certain topic. We can see that on Tumblr, all of the people use this platform freely and to let know their ideas. So, we can call Tumblr is a blog. It is also a social networking site. Why? Because, people can connect through this app. They can follow, chatting, uploading photos or videos, and commenting on other people’s posts. Even we can see how many our followings and followers, it is the same as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

To summarise, Tumblr is a blog and a social networking site, due to it attains all of the criteria. Please, let me know what’s your thought on this topic :D

List of References

Skrba, A 2020, ‘What is a Blog? – The Definition of Blog, Blogging, and Blogger’, firstsiteguide, viewed 25 September 2020, <https://firstsiteguide.com/what-is-blog/>.

Kyers, B 2019, ‘How Many Blogs Are There? (And 141 Other Blogging Stats)‘, Growth Badger, viewed 25 September 2020, <https://growthbadger.com/blog-stats/>.

Petrova, A 2020, ‘Content Marketing Statistics You Need To Know For 2020‘, Semrush, viewed 25 September 2020, <https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics/>.

Hudson, M 2020, ‘What Is Social Media?‘, the balance small business, viewed 25 September 2020, <https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-social-media-2890301>.