The advance of technology has meant a strong shift in how we understand and consume media. Previously, media was understood in terms of information being dictated to us. We now have an element of control over how we interact with this media, which was limited previously. This includes areas such as the Guardian’s Comment Is Free function, where people can comment and question aspects of the news on the newspaper’s internet site. The ‘democratisation’ of media is an extremely positive move, yet there are problems which we must be aware are becoming increasingly prevalent. The rise of ‘citizen journalism’ can help enrich one’s understanding of current events, but can also give rise to a huge amount of information with no ‘filter’ option. This applies to areas of social media which we are familiar with, such as Facebook and Twitter.
The Viral Video
It seems like every day we are told that a particular video has gone ‘viral’. Does this mean that the particular video is newsworthy? Often these ‘viral’ videos can hide political persuasions or marketing ideas. A recent example was the Kony video.
There is no question that this video was a powerful documentary whose popularity was due to people on sites such as Facebook and Twitter sharing the video, similar to the ‘word-of-mouth’ stories which spread like wildfire in our youth. What was interesting was how quickly other facts about the story emerged, such as the hidden political agendas behind the group responsible for the original video, including allegations concerning their evangelical Christian doctrine. That a group of hipsters sporting guns in the jungle in Uganda didn’t arise suspicions from the outset was worrying in itself.
Determing What The Product Is
Perhaps that should read ‘Determing Who The Product Is? Facebook is a hugely powerful tool in promoting your ‘product’, whether that is a traditional product that you wish to sell, or whether that product is a personal endevour such as a blog or non-commercial enterprise. When I worked for Waterstone’s, I was in charge of managing the Facebook feed for the shop in the Jervis Shopping Centre. What I found was an easy way to promote discounts and new books in the shop, but extremely difficult to determine who was actually reading and valuing the information.
What is more subtle is the advertising that Facebook enables on your page. Some of it can be particularly perplexing and bemusing, including advertisements that are clearly directed at different genders. Some of them are remarkably apt, however, and are clearly utilising functions such as the ones that you ‘like’ and advertising similar products. People complain about the ‘invasion of privacy’, but it is important to note that if you are using a free service on the internet, the chances are likely that it is you that is the product.
Twitter has not quite reached this point yet. There are no advertisements (yet) and you can quickly ignore or report those people or companies who have clearly signed up to the service purely to advertise a product that is not necessarily relevant to your interests. Although I have tried to resist Twitter for many years, I recently signed up, purely because of the increasing prevalence of some companies advertising jobs in particular feeds that I may be interested in. The future of Twitter is surely to move towards a ‘Facebook model’ where advertisements are used based on the amount of personal information you have provided to the service. A cynic might argue that they have not immediately embraced this model in the hope that you will become hooked first and so will find it more difficult to cancel your account once this becomes central to the service.
mydigimediablog 
Social Media And You
31 MarA New Kind of Media
The advance of technology has meant a strong shift in how we understand and consume media. Previously, media was understood in terms of information being dictated to us. We now have an element of control over how we interact with this media, which was limited previously. This includes areas such as the Guardian’s Comment Is Free function, where people can comment and question aspects of the news on the newspaper’s internet site. The ‘democratisation’ of media is an extremely positive move, yet there are problems which we must be aware are becoming increasingly prevalent. The rise of ‘citizen journalism’ can help enrich one’s understanding of current events, but can also give rise to a huge amount of information with no ‘filter’ option. This applies to areas of social media which we are familiar with, such as Facebook and Twitter.
The Viral Video
It seems like every day we are told that a particular video has gone ‘viral’. Does this mean that the particular video is newsworthy? Often these ‘viral’ videos can hide political persuasions or marketing ideas. A recent example was the Kony video.
There is no question that this video was a powerful documentary whose popularity was due to people on sites such as Facebook and Twitter sharing the video, similar to the ‘word-of-mouth’ stories which spread like wildfire in our youth. What was interesting was how quickly other facts about the story emerged, such as the hidden political agendas behind the group responsible for the original video, including allegations concerning their evangelical Christian doctrine. That a group of hipsters sporting guns in the jungle in Uganda didn’t arise suspicions from the outset was worrying in itself.
Determing What The Product Is
Perhaps that should read ‘Determing Who The Product Is? Facebook is a hugely powerful tool in promoting your ‘product’, whether that is a traditional product that you wish to sell, or whether that product is a personal endevour such as a blog or non-commercial enterprise. When I worked for Waterstone’s, I was in charge of managing the Facebook feed for the shop in the Jervis Shopping Centre. What I found was an easy way to promote discounts and new books in the shop, but extremely difficult to determine who was actually reading and valuing the information.
What is more subtle is the advertising that Facebook enables on your page. Some of it can be particularly perplexing and bemusing, including advertisements that are clearly directed at different genders. Some of them are remarkably apt, however, and are clearly utilising functions such as the ones that you ‘like’ and advertising similar products. People complain about the ‘invasion of privacy’, but it is important to note that if you are using a free service on the internet, the chances are likely that it is you that is the product.
Twitter has not quite reached this point yet. There are no advertisements (yet) and you can quickly ignore or report those people or companies who have clearly signed up to the service purely to advertise a product that is not necessarily relevant to your interests. Although I have tried to resist Twitter for many years, I recently signed up, purely because of the increasing prevalence of some companies advertising jobs in particular feeds that I may be interested in. The future of Twitter is surely to move towards a ‘Facebook model’ where advertisements are used based on the amount of personal information you have provided to the service. A cynic might argue that they have not immediately embraced this model in the hope that you will become hooked first and so will find it more difficult to cancel your account once this becomes central to the service.
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Tags: advertising, citizen journalism, Comment Is Free, democratisation, Facebook, Kony 2012, media, privacy, social media, technology, The Guardian, Twitter, viral video