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Big Brother is watching: China and its surveillance.

China has made a name for itself for being not only the county with the most population of people living in it with 1.4 billion people in 2020 but also the country with the highest amount of people online with around 854 million people surfing the web at any given time. This raises the question, how much of an impact does China influence the internet that we know.

Well, for one, China does not have the same sets of social media platforms that we can pick and choose. This is due to the countless numbers of sites and platforms that has been deemed harmful for the interest of the nations. Sites and platform like Google and even YouTube is unavailable to be accessed easily in China. This allowed for other government operated platforms to be created and enforced as the platform of choice. Sites like, WeiBo as an alternative to Twitter or BiliBili as an alternative to YouTube becomes the sites that is frequent and promoted to be the more superior platform of choice.

It's to the point that only recently had they switched certain websites that were first accessible into a more government-approved port of the site. An example is Steam which is a video game distribution and storefront created by Valve that provides easy access to buying games was changed with a version that was exclusive to china dubbed Steam China that was made with partnership with companies that are local in China. Steam China while still the same Steam client, has some features changed such as, game titles that are only available if approved by the government and the lack of a community page for discussions and marketplace.

At the end of the day, China's social media presence makes little changes to the world globally. But with the large majority of people online there daily, there is some loss that there will not be able to access the free internet easily.

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How monetisation makes playing games a chore

Gaming like other forms of hobbies is an activity that occurs on your free time that involves playing some form of game be it physically or digitally to enjoy the gaming experience. But what happens when a game that you play becomes a chore and you don't enjoy the game any longer?

Monetisation happens to be one aspect that I believe affects the perception of gaming for fun. It is the process of converting something into monetary value that can generate revenue and this can be in the form of all the recent things games have started to come up with to monetize itself such as battlepasses; which provides content through a tiered system that you slowly unlock the more you play and lootboxes which are consumable virtual item crate that when redeemed with virtual premium currency allows for a randomized selection of loot.

While these practices aren't inherently bad, it has created a narrative for people that plays games to have to 'grind' and put in hours of time to access contents of the game or as an alternative, cash in real money to just unlock it quickly which ruins the gaming experience.

And with time being a very important commodity, not everyone is free enough to spend hours to play a game just to unlock one little thing. Monetization fixes this by allowing individuals to bypass the grind and unlock the content by paying for it. This practice allows for the game to survive years of services because of the monetization practice and that is perfectly fine. A game that you enjoy is supposed to bring enjoyment to the individual that makes them want to continue playing the game

At the end of the day, time spent on a game, if it is enjoyable and fills you with happiness, is worth the investment you put into it, and if it improves your experience with the game, it is perfectly fine to support the creator of the game. What's important is if the game brings joy to the individual.

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Using fandom during a time of isolation: how fandom helps people during times of being all alone

Like all ordinary people generally surfing the internet, you may come across people that are avid fans of something and shows enormous interest and love for the thing, be it anime, K-pop or comics and even creating a community based on the interest. This shows fandom at its finest which is, a social community that was created based on the interest with the intention of showcasing creative participation of the interest while also creating a safe space for the topic to be held.

Fandom culture when found online on social media culture all share the same two things in common: they are expressive in the things that they love being very vocal about it and they are very open with people in the community creating fan-curated works. And when times of isolation happens to someone, a community like this that shows social belonging and engages with people tends to be the most warmest experience someone can feel.

Fandom culture has also helped people to feel needed and feel like they are a part of something bigger. fandom culture is a participatory culture that allows people in the fandom to express and enables them to participate in creating new content in the fandom. Feeling this way, you can see that someone that engages in fandom feels like they are worth something and has value. This makes them want to continue engaging in this fandom because it is a place they feel at home in.

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Crowdsourcing and how it improves the Internet we live in.

Most times, many things on the Internet that we interact with and see are user-generated content, be it art, articles or even music. it was created by someone with the intention to be creative, to be informative and share their creativity with other like-minded people. The internet itself was first invented to be a system to share information through a network.

Sharing information and ideas then becomes the way the internet is heading into. A hivemind of collective information at the fingertips of a person that is all crowdsourced. Crowdsourcing is a process of exploring ideas and information that is available from a significant source of people with the intent of using the information to solve a problem or improve some form of quality work.

One way that crowdsourcing improves the internet is the improvement of information that is being shared to people all around. websites like Wikipedia happens to be a free encyclopedia that is created and edited by people all around the world. This means that anyone is able to share their information about a topic. But that also means that fake information can spread but this is not an issue as long as it is factual and there is references to back it up.

Besides just Wikipedia, crowdsourcing helps people that just needs help with things that they need to troubleshoot. Have you ever had the issue where you're suddenly faced with a problem and the first thing you do is either call your parents or Google it. Googling a solution has become such a common way of trying to figure out how to solve a problem that it becomes the first thing we think of doing. People that shared their problems and the ways they have solved the problem become information crowdsourced for the next batch of people to search for.

Another way crowdsourcing improves the internet is the way it shares things. While not just sharing written information, crowdsourcing can also be a form of sharing digital data. Sharing happen in networks all around the internet such as in centralised network with a server centered around it or like a decentralised network that acts like peer-to-peer sharing.

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Bringing Mental Health Awareness into Social Media

Social media has generally been used to keep up with people that you genuinely want to keep up with online, be it friends, influencers or just topics that you are interested in. It allows oneself to connect with people that have interests that are in common, and this grows the bond between people that you follow.

Mental health is generally a very important part of someone's health and bringing that awareness is important to ensure stability and balance for everyone to have a strong mental health literacy.

Today, mental health awareness needs more exposure to, not just the younger generation but to the older ones as well. With social media, this allows for a platform for people to share their experiences regarding mental health towards less informed people, combating misinformation being spread online and generally creating platforms where people can exchange experiences with one another that are experiencing the same thing.

But sharing things online also brings about people that are not sensitive and brings out toxic online behaviour. Because everyone online can be anonymous, it sometimes makes people forget behind the screen name you see, another person is talking back to you that is real and not a robot. The mistake of forgetting this sometimes makes people become more critical and rude online thinking that their actions have no consequences and hurting another person in the process. While you don't see this happen all the time, it does occur and becomes a reason poor mental health happens in individuals.

Finally, with social media's help, mental health awareness can be improved by the help of people that can answer common questions people have about it by directing individuals to articles and sources that are factually correct and up to data, therefore, reducing misinformation.

[saltedeggrobot]

welcome to digital activism. ticket for one?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many bad things happening in the world nowadays compared to when you were a kid? Well, it could be due to how much social media and the internet has taken over our lives. We eat, breathe and live on social media, and we can't run away from it.

Compare that to when you were a child in the early 2000s. At most, you'll only hear significant events that are happening either from the news internationally or nationally. Fast forward to the early 2010s, and you start hearing and seeing more news being shared on social media spreading awareness to these issues. Social media has allowed for everyone to know anything that is going on in the world. You could be way out in the outback of Australia and know that the Amazon rainforest is catching fire in 2019 because of illegal deforestation.

With the rise of social media and the Internet also comes the rise of more and more people being geographically aware of the world around them and not just looking at the little things that concern their own country. This has allowed for more expression of speech to be heard and for the new media to challenge the narrative if the mainstream media is changing the narrative. This unfiltered journalism allows for the full story to be seen and easily shared and viral.

I would remember Kony 2012 being one of the first major awareness campaigns that I saw online during these times. Everywhere you go online you see it being shared across all social media creating awareness, and during that time it was really going strong with people going full-on to support the cause while others mainly liked and shared the post to create awareness. But, it only gained so much traction until it just stopped later on that year. This form of clicktivism while only being major for a time being still sparked changes to happen and voices to be heard and ultimately did change for the better. But then the next big issue then roles up and sometimes the digital citizen just forgets about the previous one.

[saltedeggrobot]

The Internet Meme Culture and how Political Engagement occurs because of it

Being in the times where everyone is online and sharing things left and right. You will surely come across a meme or two as you aimlessly scroll online. While most memes can be considered relatable, others are just plain weird.

Political memes, on the other hand, try to relate to the viewers. Many people say a picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes, a meme is like maybe five hundred words. The ability to be relevant, as well as humorous, allows it to be easy to be shared without any context or comment to showcase a personal opinion upon it.

This makes memes one of the ways younger generations nowadays absorb information online. But not all memes suddenly become viral sensations. At most, it'll remain relevant in some social media atmosphere and die there; others will suddenly erupt and be posted everywhere.

Memes allow for more exposure to the issues a country face, be it politically or others and allows for a potential change to happen if the circumstances are right. While not only memes, viral videos as well as trends stand to be another method of political engagement, where politicians engage in the trend to engage with a demographic and act relatable. When looked at in a positive light, it will look down to earth and comes from a genuine want to connect with the demographics

Whereas, if it is looked at negatively, it may look pretentious and "try hard" to garner support. This may negatively affect the politician to not be viewed as a strong candidate or the right person for the job or to even be viewed as a laughingstock.

To recap, memes highlight many meaningful cultural experiences we all share as well as the political events that transpire in our country. Because of this, memes can be attributed as a way of archiving and preserving events that have happened in the past, be it good or bad. This allows history to not repeat itself in the days to come

[saltedeggrobot]

Is blogging still relevant in the age of TikToks and Instagram?

When I think of blogging, I think of the 2010-2012 era of the internet where people just expressed a little bit too much of themselves online. There was less virality and things were generally slow-paced.

While in the age of TikTok and Instagram nowadays, I believe blogging is not as relevant as what it once was. TikTok is the era of being in the loop and being trendy and it's face-paced. In that sense, a blog would not be everyone's cup of tea.

The Solution

But there is still hope for the ones that blog. TikTok and Instagram while being trendy does not do well with the written medium. A post on Instagram with a long written message tends to not be read by the majority and is easily ignored.

Meanwhile, blogs would be able to utilize the written medium well because that is what the platform was meant for. But, that does not mean that blogs should stay stagnant in the past, evolving the content is needed for engagement and user retention today and that means utilizing visual and auditory senses when crafting a blog. Take for example this current page you're reading, it's pretty boring if it's all words right? Here's a cat to rest your weary eyes.

In terms of archiving information or content that was made by someone, it's easier for me to be able to find a blog that was made years ago (if it was not deleted) compared to finding content that was posted on either TikTok or Instagram if it was not saved or bookmarked at that exact moment.

Conclusion

Blogging in the past is definitely not as relevant as what it was prior, but that change and evolution is what led to the birth of so many other social media platforms that created instantaneous interactions amongst people all around. And with the trend of coming back to old trends or habits of the past, you might even see the resurgence of a blogging outbreak again. idk. you never know.