Extended post

Source;      

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSnxH-IRi5lvdkriC07T714XexfBUE2aRMB9-V76cF-BX-P4nufXA

Over the last few decades, following the increase and availability of news and technology, we have seen a growth not just in celebrity culture itself, but its lifestyles, behaviours and impacts upon a wider audience (Marshall, 2010). The celebrity culture has aided many associated culture industries and as part of that becomes a supporting network and economy of its own. We can find celebrity ‘stars’ in almost every industry, from politics, to academics, to medical personal simply from the amount of time they spend on media platforms (Marshall, 2010). In previous times media has been restricted to a type of one-way flow, such as TV, film, newspapers etc. in which the content was formed and shaped by a select number of individuals that controlled these resources. Through the growth of technology and in particular the Internet and the launch of social media platforms, there has been an obvious change in the way in which people choose to present themselves to others, in particular when online. The 'specular economy' refers to a type of two way mirror in which every day people are becoming more involved in developing social media 'persona's' the way in which celebrities do (Marshall, 2010). However this two way mirror is not limited to a one-way flow, like that of old media which was restricted by certain ‘gate-keeping’ (Marshall, 2010), but allows other people, ‘friends,’ ‘followers,’ or our ‘micro-publics’ (Marshall, 2013), to comment upon, share and participate in the circulation of our online persona’s and content, as well as their own. Through this mirror we are not only engaged, but are constantly speculating and reviewing ourselves and the actions of others, and can sometimes allow us to imagine a ‘better version’ of ourselves (Marshall, 2010).

We are becoming more and more concerned with how people judge us, or how they speculate upon our appearance, behaviours and attitudes. With the growth of new technology, in particular social media via the Internet such as FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube and many others, we are becoming ever more obsessed with sharing our private lives and intimate details with the public sphere (Marshall, 2010). However these pieces of information are not always completely truthful and are often a ‘mediated’ or a self-censored version of the truth, (Marshall, 2010) to ensure maximum feedback; to ensure a certain opinion is formed of oneself; or to convince our ‘micro-publics’ that our lives are lived a certain way. The first part of the "mirror" is that which we project outwards, the things we say, photos we post and the overall image we present. However, unlike television and film, social media allows for the audience to respond and interact with the media in a way like never before. This is the second half of the mirror (Marshall, 2010).

For many years print media has controlled the 'gossip' of celebrity life, but with outlets like Facebook and Twitter, this gate-keeping is circumvented and we are even more able to see into the private lives of individuals, even more able to stalk, lurk and follow the people of interest to us. The norms of celebrity culture have expanded into the everyday lives of regular individuals, who create online “personas” which can reflect many different parts of their lives, from social, to work, to academic achievements (Barbour & Marshall, 2011). It has become a pre-occupation of modern culture to build these persona’s, to gain a following and to grow our reputations through the things which we make available online, and how we interact with the information of others (Barbour & Marshall, 2011).`

                The influence of celebrity culture can be seen to be quite large. Through the use of advertising and marketing, such as targeting certain demographics with the use of particular celebrities on the cover of magazines, the media and celebrity culture has been able to organise and inform us of what is significant, valuable and desirable (Marshall 2013). Marshall (2013) claims that the influence of celebrity culture goes so far as to tell us what is ‘newsworthy’ and worthy of our attention, time, and energy. Celebrity ‘news’ has found its way from the back-pages of newspapers, onto the headlines and feature stories, with this culture and lifestyle becoming normalised in the eyes of the public (Marshall, 2010). Contemporary culture is becoming ever more comfortable with a society of surveillance (Marshall, 2010), and the values which some celebrity figures promote such as capitalism, over indulgence, wastefulness, and excessiveness, could be seen to be the triggers for worldwide issues such as the Global Financial Crisis and an inept populace in which people cannot decipher between these faux ‘personas’ and real life (Marshall, 2013).

The growth of ‘individualism’ and ‘individualisation’ has been linked to the ever growing presence of celebrity culture. The number of options and variations of nearly every item is limitless in contemporary culture; from the range of breakfast cereals, to the number of TV channels available, to the personal customizations of cars, homes, and mobile phones, just to name a few (Marshall, 2013). Celebrity culture has put a pressure upon the wider public to value and have the same sentimentality to material possessions which celebrities do, or at least appear to (Marshall, 2013). The idea that news in itself symbolises and discusses ‘dis-order’, in ways to keep us informed and involved in events around the world, and that by bringing celebrity ‘news’ to the forefront of our news exposure,  the’ dis-order’ within celebrity lives is being ‘glamorised’ in a way that contradicts the sole purpose of producing news (Marshall, 2013). Is it simply spreading gossip, or is it actual news?

As being part of this generation and western society myself, and having had established and maintained social media outlets, such as MySpace, Facebook and Instagram -  just to name a few -  I have often thought about how people might perceive the things I post. Whether I'm coming off as 'too depressed' or 'too fake' or 'too weird,' I have often shaped the 'mediated version' of myself to how I want to be best represented and how I want my ‘friends’ to perceive and interact with this online persona. I have often seen friends post very private information, often to do with relationships for example, that really shouldn't, in my opinion, be in the public domain.  I have other friends who appear to have the most perfect life; happy relationship, great job, great friends, everything is great. But it is all simply by what they choose to share, how they choose to share and share it, and what they choose to keep private. These types of things emphasize the shift from private and intimate boundaries to the public world where you are put on show. It also allows the chance to view how others react to someone else’s post or image, or whatever content they choose. This then allows me as a participant of social media, to make an educated guess on how others would react if  I were to post something similar and whether or not this is what I wanted for myself and how I wanted to be viewed. For example, I have often seen friends who are having a rough time post numerous negative things over a period of time. Some people believe it is okay to ‘vent’ upon social media and others believe some things are more private. For the most part people were pretty patient and understanding of this friend, but it becomes evident after a number of re-occurring negative or ‘attention-seeking’ posts that people begin to ‘mediate’ this friends content. We are in a society where there is a constant surveillance, not just by CCTV cameras on the streets, but where our social interactions and representations are constantly monitored by the cyber-world which we engage in.

It could be believed that social networks, in their many various forms, online or not, have been at the heart of culture since the beginning of time and that it what is occurring in contemporary culture is exactly the same, just in a new form (Marshall, 2013). The creation of the Internet and other social media technologies have allowed for a new form of expression, engagement and interchange of information, knowledge and ‘personas’ across the globe (Marshall, 2013). There has been a shift from ‘representational,’ traditional media platforms like TV, books, newspapers, magazines, film, to a new ‘presentational’ platform which attempts to embody and work with society. Content is shaped and created by the users of social media, whether it be Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, or Joe Blow from next door. The power lies in the hands of a completely different player and the impacts of this are only just beginning to be realised. Gate-keeping, regulations, and filters are by-passed as individuals are able to freely post, blog, vlog or tweet any opinion, attitude or statement that they choose with little to no consequence other than the opinions of their peers.

Source; http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4027/4470486685_448425a880.jpg

References;

Barbour K. and Marshall P.D 2012, The Academic Online: Constructing persona through the world wide web, First Monday, vol. 17, no. 9, [available: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3969/3292]

Marshall, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

Marshall, P.D 2013, Persona studies: mapping the proliferation of the public self, Journalism, June 4, online edition.

Hollywoodization

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQTYk4A3_WVE76wN0HSqA5EiDhwq2FwKO3MdA_z8J7G0z2BE1af

This week looked at the influence of American film upon the Asian film industry, in the form of 'Hollywoodization' but also the return effect of 'Asianization.' (Klein, 2004)
Klein looks at the ways in which the separate industries are becoming more and more integrated and have come to feature and include aspects of the other in increasing numbers, such as martial arts fight scenes in action films.

With an increase in cross-cultural exchange, both consumer preferences have increased as well as the exchange of aesthetic and material dimensions of the films themselves, as foreign stars are 'imported,' such as Jackie Chan, screen writes from south Koran and Japan are used in American stories, and even using sets or shooting in Asian countries and allowing the local producers to learn of American techniques and technologies which they can in turn use to produce their own films (Klein, 2004).

With big USA films making majority of their money outside of the USA it is important for these films to have a global appeal, and incorporating other elements, such as those traditionally found in Asian film, they open their consumer market up to a much larger audience (Klein, 2004).

However, over time and the increasing effects of globalisation, these cross-cultural exchanges can be found almost everywhere, from food to music and everything in between. I remember reading work by Gramsci explaining cultural hegemony, in which the diversities of nations become less and the dominant power seems to override them all, or to include them all to have a type of singular global culture. I believe this covers the idea of 'Americanization' with America as the dominant power, having huge impacts upon the Asian film industry and the way that it operates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNJdcTXQlQc

Resource; Klein, C 2004,'Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian film industries', Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384.

Specular Economy

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSnxH-IRi5lvdkriC07T714XexfBUE2aRMB9-V76cF-BX-P4nufXA

The 'specular economy' refers to a type of two way mirror in which every day people are becoming more involved in developing social media 'persona's' the way in which celebrities do (Marshall, 2010).

We are becoming more and more concerned with how people judge us, or how they speculate.

With the growth of new technology, in particular social media via the Internet, we are becoming ever more obsessed with sharing our private lives and intimate details with the public sphere (Marshall, 2010). The first part of the "mirror" is that which we project outwards, the things we say, photos we post and the overall image we present. However, unlike television and film, social media allows for the audience to respond and interact with the media in a way like never before. This is the second half of the mirror (Marshall, 2010).

For many years print media has controlled the 'gossip' of celebrity life, but with outlets like Facebook and Twitter, this gate-keeping is circumvented and we are even more able to see into the private lives of individuals, even more able to stalk, lurk and follow the people of interest to us.

As being part of this generation myself and establishing social media outlets, such as MySpace, Facebook and Instagram, just to name a few, I have often thought about how people might perceive the things I post. Whether I'm coming off 'too depressed' or 'too fake' or 'too weird,' I have often shaped my 'mediated version' of myself to how I want to be best represented. 

I have often seen friends post very private information, usually often to do with relationships for example, that really shouldn't be in the public domain. I have other friends who appear to have the most perfect life, happy relationship, great job, great friends, everything is great. But it is all simply by what they choose to share, and what they choose to keep private. These types of things emphasize the shift from private and intimate boundaries to the public world where you are put on show.
We are in a society where there is a constant surveillance, not just by CCTV cameras on the streets, but where our social interactions and representations are constantly monitored by the cyber-world which we engage in.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4027/4470486685_448425a880.jpg

Resource; Marshal, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

Computer Games as Participatory Media Culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgZ4ph3dSmY

The theme this week of participatory culture, with a particular focus on games, involves many elements which act to engage an audience in a way that is not passive, such as for film or TV; but elements that cause the audience to be involved in the interpretation, configuration and construction of the game itself. (RAESSENS)

In recent years games have changed from a simple item you buy, to an experience in which you take part. I myself have spent many hours in my teenage years playing the game 'The Sims.' I have played every update and every expansion as they come out. One element that stands out in terms of participation in playing The Sims, is the ability to construct the way the game is played and the results from such actions.

In the latest version of the game, from the very initial moment of game play, I can customize my character in any way I wish, I can make them rich or poor, fat or thin, black or white, smart or dumb, male, female, adult, child, the list goes on.

I choose how their house is built, what furniture they have, even the patterns of material.

I choose their career, education, friendships, romances, enemies and skills to work on.

In having played every 'new generation' of The Sims, I can reflect on how the developers have increased the interactivity of players over the years. Gamers are increasingly given more and more options in order to construct their virtual world exactly how they want it, making it near life-like in many of the options available.

You can see in the below clips just how much freedom, especially in the last clip, a gamer is given in constructing their virtual Sim life. You can re-create people and experiences from real life, or simply make it up as you go, but the main point is; you choose.

Sims 1;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6UHmDPZ3eQ

Sims 2;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h7cLEtSdlY

Sims 3 ;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRrJGVod0ag&list=PLD8AF08EBDBE4E876&index=51

Sims 4;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPPjU8OARg

Resource; Raessens, J. 2005, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’, Handbook of

Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 373-388 

Blogging as Global Media

http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/files/publicsphere/Duncan%20Blog%20pic.jpg

To begin with, I found the task of writing a blog, about blogging, quite perplexing.

I had never really thought about the various uses for blogs and how important they can be.
Sure, I've heard of people who have become famous from their blogs, but they're usually quite quirky and different. 

It was through this study of blogs that I came to understand the full variety of uses for every day citizens, students, and even for  the tracking and mapping of media stories.

http://adfi.usq.edu.au/starlog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/blogmap2.jpg

I had never thought of blogging as a form of 'self directed learning' (Robertson, 2011) until this week. The idea that students, such as myself, given the task of blogging, which includes planning, evaluating, and re-evaluating, are "learning how to learn" (Robertson, 2011). As university students it is important to develop independence and thinking skills in order to be able to cope with future studies, and this is what blogging emphasises, with a supportive audience to share ideas with. It also opens the possibility of coming into contact with other viewpoints other than the dominant media, which I believe is crucial in developing critical thinking skills as not just a student, but as a consumer and a citizen. 

The use of blogs is also common among employees who express 'employee cynicism' (Richards & Kosmala, 2013). They use this "work blogging" as a platform to vent things that they could not ordinarily say at work, for fear of being seen as a "whinger" and it is the only place they can go to when they are fed up with management. The use of a blog offers them a voice. Although still dedicated employees, the use of a blog gives them a sense of power and control against the corporate culture initiatives (Richards & Kosmala, 2013).

There have been a number of studies which have attempted to map the Australian blogosphere and how information is spread from blog to blog (Bruns, et al 2011). It became apparent that bloggers with interest in Australian politics were consistently addressing current affairs (Bruns, et al 2011). As noted in the video below, it can take newspapers days or weeks to print a story, but blogs are instantaneous; A constant supply of new information from a variety of sources. There has been a significant change in the way that we choose to communicate in our every day lives, and this is represented in the expansion of social media platforms, such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter (Bruns, et al 2011). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCY2ZKrsUuE

Resources;

Bruns, A., Burgess, J., Highfield, T., and Nicolai, T. 2011 ‘Mapping the Australian Networked Public Sphere’, Social Science Computer Review, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 277-287.

Richards, J., and Kosmala, K., 2013 ‘In the end, you can only slag people off for so long’: employee cynicism through work blogging’, New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 68 – 77.

 Robertson, J. 2011 ‘The educational affordances of blog for self-directed learning’, Computers and Education, vol. 57, pp. 1628 – 1644.

Identities and Uberveillance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S33Xx01yIm8

In today's society we are not simply producers or consumers, but ever more becoming 'prosumers;' a combination of the two. Through the technological advances of the internet (in particular web 2.0) and the rise of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and many other websites, the power is given to the people to 'produce' the information, content and features of these outlets, at the same time as 'consuming' or using them.

We are able to choose and manipulate the information we share, altering or enhancing our identities as we choose, and even the identities of others.

George Ritzer (2008) coined the term 'McDonaldization' of society, in which every day citizens are being put to work more and more as the producers of their services, in societies in which consumption is increasing and production decreasing. eg USA.
Some examples include, DIY renovations or small building tasks, pumping your own gas, checking  yourself in electronically at the airport, self serve at supermarkets, and the list continues (Ritzer and Jurgenson, 2010).

Through this new wave of prosumers, the age of capitalism will shift, as there will be little to no control in shaping individuals actions to the extent that once was. It is becoming even harder to exploit prosumers, as they are often the ones who shape the services they use, and with technology becoming more and more available world wide, there is a constant availability to a large audience (Ritzer and Jurgenson, 2010).

With this constant availability to information, both private and public the use of surveillance, or even "Uberveillance" comes in to play. Not only can this refer to governments identifying persons who may be threats to the nation or particular people, but also to the use of CCTV in towns. For instance this morning as I walked to work in the CBD I noticed a security camera and continued to spot them as I went. I began to question how much of this was about safety and security, and how much was simply an invasion of privacy?

Although I do not agree with all the lyrics of the below clip, I think it raises some interesting points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yiu26WFnY-A

Reference; Ritzer and Jurgenson  2010, ‘Production, Consumption, Prosumption,’ Journal of Consumer Culture, University of Maryland, USA, pp. 13-36

Ownership and Regulation of Ideas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmZm8vNHBSU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg

The issues of ownership, copyright, and regulations have become of major importance in relation to file-sharing by p2p (peer-to-peer) users. With the music industry in particular in a constant battle, since the development of the internet and MP3 files, against the 'pirates' and 'thieves' of the cyber world who 'rob' them of the money once earned in traditional CD sales. However, what is seen is injustice by one person, varies greatly from another. Many claim the industry is robbing them of musical creativity, and as a type of revenge against overpriced CDs, concert tickets and other media restrictions.

(Martin, Moore and Salter, 2010)

There are five methods used by the music industry to discourage file sharing;

- cover up the action

- devalue the target

- reinterpret what happened by, lying, minimising, blaming, framing

- use official channels to give an appearance of justice

- intimidate or bribe the people involved

(Martin, Moore and Salter, 2010)

Although all five are based upon the music industry using their power, money, and resources against individuals and smaller targets, I will focus on the tactic of 'covering up the action.'

Through the rise of Napster and other file-sharing outlets, the number of users grew world wide and the ways in which they operated, in order to avoid prosecution expanded as well.

Although Napster made it easier for users to share files and demonstrated the advantages of file-sharing, it also brought upon greater attacks from the music industry. Through the use of campaigns and ads, such as the first video clip I have included, users, every day normal people, are portrayed as criminals and thieves, which ties into the tactic of 'devaluing the target.' I remember as a kid I saw these clips every time I watched a movie and thought negatively about people who might be file-sharing. It wasn't until when I became older, had friends who did it regularly, and didn't really see much harm in it on a large scale, that my attitude towards file-sharing changed.

However, the music industry also covers up their actions. It would be a lot different if the expenses of the industry became more transparent to the public, such as their returns to artists, companies, and retail outlets. They also attempt to cover up their actions of tracking users or take the step of 'seeding' virus-infected copies of files, in an attempt to deter file-sharers.

The use of file-sharing, whether music, video, or otherwise, allows the media's to be shared globally with the click of a mouse. There is no need to wait for 'release dates' in your country when it is at your fingertips. These developments reflect the technological flows of globalisation and carries both pros and cons.

(Martin, Moore and Salter, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U3RE_NB0EA

Resources; Martin, B, Moore, C and Salter, C. 2010, ‘Sharing music files: tactics of a challenge to the industry’, First Monday, vol. 15, no. 12, [available:http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2986/2680].