Reflection Essay - Digc101

Reflection Essay – DIGC 101 Emma Langley ‘Using and Experiencing the Web as a Communication Form’

Technology, in turn New Media Technologies, has made the communication process between other individuals all around the world, possible to interact with. Having the ability to communicate through numerous alternatives, which traditional models of communication could not make possible. Technology and its development therefore, has come a long way in terms of communication, and is primarily through the Web which is allowing for these new communication patterns to form. Through the interactivity of the Web, social networking sites, blogs, image/video sharing sites and thousands of personal web pages are allowing for all levels of communication to occur. The Web therefore can be classified as an effective Communication form for today’s technological audience.

According to Jenkins (2006), convergence is “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the corporation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want” (pp.2). Convergence is the Web today, having the ability to converge the old and the new, to create a flow of information and communication from user to user. It is through convergence that the Web is an effective tool of communication.

Online Worlds or Social Network Sites, revolve around this concept of convergence. Through the Web today, almost anything seems possible and as a daily user of various social networking sites, it seems that it is continuously

upgrading to meet the demands of its interactive audience. Social Networking sites offer their users numerous applications across multiple platforms to stay entertained or to simply waste time. With applications such as instant messenger, status updates, music, photo and video sharing, communication is continuously growing through this new web sensation.

Social Networking is continuously growing and expanding through the Web and is forming a daily routine within millions of people’s lives. “With Australians spending one in every 10 minutes online… [accounting for] 10 per cent of all Internet time worldwide” (Bloomtools 2009), it is clear that communication, as well as entertainment, plays a large role to why people are so addicted to interacting through the Web.

According to Eloise Langley when interviewed on 20 August 2009, “it is my generation’s way of communication, to stay up to date with the social dilemmas which are happening, and to find out these dilemmas/gossip instantly, without the traditional hassle of the phone or face to face communication.” This response coming directly from the so-called technological generation, who are perceived as being the most technologically advanced, however this does not make it exclusion to the younger populations. With a growing amount of generation x, y and baby boomers all becoming involved within the new form of communication of social networking sites through the web. Evans (2009), states that, “With the social networks, people may feel like they are 'left out of the loop' if they don't have an online persona because so much information flows through these social networks”. This flow of content across different multiple media platforms, is why the web today is an effective form of communication.

The history of Social Networking is also essential to fully understand the effectiveness of these sites and the Web as a form of communication. Through personal reflection, Myspace was the first social networking site that reached a massive population of users, including myself. The main interactive period of Myspace therefore was between 2003 and 2006 (DIGC101, Wk5 Lecture Slides), with many users after this period moving to the newer and better social network site, FaceBook, which is presently dominating the social networking realm. Overall, Social Networking Sites are an effective communication form through the Web, as they offer “an entrance into another reality” (Flew 2008, pp.42), without the constraints of the traditional communication forms.

Blogs or Weblogs are another interactive communication form which is accessed through the Web. “'Blogging' [is an] contraction of the term 'web logging' [and] is perhaps best described as a form of micro-publishing. Easy to use, from any Internet connection point, blogging has become firmly established as a web based communications tool” (Williams, JB & Jacobs, JS 2004). Blogs therefore, having the ability to communicate personal information, which any user of the web can become interactive within, to the blogs created for business firms and academic students, via the web.

“The blogging phenomenon has evolved from its early origin as a medium for the publication of simple, online personal diaries, to the latest disruptive technology, the 'killer app' that has the capacity to engage people in collaborative activity, knowledge sharing, reflection and debate” (Williams, JB & Jacobs, JS 2004). This aspect of interactivity, again like social networking sites, is continuously allowing users to become involved in the web, in result to use the web as a modern form of communication.

Gender and Politics within Blogging, is also important to address in reflecting upon blogs as a communication form of the web. According to Doorns, NV et al 2007, “weblog writers present their gender identity through narratives of `everyday life' that remain closely related to the binary gender system”. That people subconsciously write with a personal bias and a personal gender preference, which reflects through their blog submissions. Further stating that, “the act of diary writing on weblogs can be understood as challenging the masculine connotation of the weblog as an ICT, demonstrating that the use of a technology is pivotal in shaping the ways in which technologies themselves are conceived of as `masculine' or `feminine'” (Doorns NV et al 2007). With many people assuming that the act of writing these online diaries is a feminine act, rather than a masculine one. However with a continuously growing database of users, both female and male, this stereotype is leading away from gender classifications and allowing any user the ability to express themselves through the web. Resulting in the web being an effective communication form for today’s technologically advanced audience.

Computer-mediated-communication (CMC) therefore is growing in popularity, as discussed through both the social networking sites on the web (SNS) and through the act of Blogging, however also can include the interactivity of image and video sharing sites. These image/video sharing sites allow users to again become interactive and to communicate a part of themselves through the web. YouTube is a great example of how people create, upload and share content across multiple media platforms.

YouTube can be described as a social networking site, allowing users to communicate and interact with eachother through its many features such as comments, like/dislike tools, and through the embedding tool. These features of YouTube

make

communication

between

users

simple,

accessible

and

entertaining. According to Cha, M et al 2007, in ‘I tube, you tube, everybody tubes: analyzing the world's largest user generated content video system’, YouTube is definitely a new form of communication through the web, focusing on the new flows of visual communication. Stating that, “User Generated Content (UGC) is re-shaping the way people watch video and TV, with millions of video producers and consumers. In particular, UGC sites are creating new viewing patterns and social interactions, empowering users to be more creative, and developing new business opportunities”.

Image sharing sites are also common features of the web today and another way in which creative communication can flow through. According to Danica Barbagallo when interviewed on the 23 August 2009, “I love to search the web for interesting and creative photos, using sites like Photobucket, Flickr and Google Images to find them. They are great in communicating passion and creativity… I also use these sites to upload my own personal images and to then be able to embed them into my profile pages like Myspace”. It is clear through this interview that many people use image sharing sites through the web, as an effective form of communication.

The Web therefore can be classified as an effective communication form for today’s technologically advanced users. Allowing for communication to occur across multiple media platforms and having the ability to make communicating through the Web a daily routine. These factors proven through the continual

growth in Social Networking Sites, through the millions of self-generated Blogs and through the various image/video sharing sites which all allow for communication in some form to be shared with the rest of the world. The Web therefore, is and will continue to be for many generations, the greatest sensation in communication!

Reference List

Bloomtools 2009, ‘Facebook and MySpace still growing in popularity’, accessed 14/04/2009, http://www.bloomtools.com/articles/facebook-andmyspace-still-growing-in-popularity.html

Cha, M, Kwak, H, Rodriguez, P, Ahn, Y & Moon, S 2007, I tube, you tube, everybody tubes: analyzing the world's largest user generated content video system, ACM, New York, NY, USA.

Doorns, NV, Zoonen, LV & Wyatt, S 2007, ‘Writing from Experience: Presentations of Gender Identity on Weblogs’, European Journal of Women’s Studies, vol.14, no.2, pp143-159.

Evans, K 2009, Online Worlds, weblog, accessed 14/6/2009, http://twitwall.com/view/?what=020D070A06

Flew, T 2008, ‘Approaches to new media’, in New Media: an Introduction, 3rd (ed.), Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, pp38-57.

Jenkins, H 2006, ‘Introduction’, in Convergence Culture: where old and new media collide, NYU Press, United States, pp1-24.

Moore, C 2009, Social Network/ing, lecture slides, DIGC101, New Media Communication, University of Wollongong, accessed 26 August, http://www.pdfcoke.com/doc/19091227/DIGC101-Week-5-Slides.

Williams, JB & Jacobs, JS 2004, ‘Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector’, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, vol.20, no.2, pp232-247.

**See also Interviews (in text referencing only required, according to Harvard Referencing)