What was missing from Digital Culture?

Throughout this unit, I've felt a constant absence of an explanation of how most of the themes and topics covered are relevant to journalism, and therefore me. As I said previously, I understand how things such as the digital mind and body are important and it's good to have a general knowledge, but I feel there could have been other things covered which would be a lot more relevant and useful. This could be anything from discussing the history of newspaper phone apps and what they've done for the news industries, or perhaps about pay walls and the future of interactive news.

I also received minimal if any feedback on my work, which honestly made me feel like it wasn't that important which made me more inclined to be lazy and sloppy, specifically within the first term. I feel it would have been extremely useful and motivating to have a one to one session in the workshops, even just 5 minutes alone with the lecturer for them to look at my work and tell me what to do and what not to do, even just for some reassurance that what I was doing was right, which I wasn't sure about.

I honestly enjoyed writing some of the posts, particularly those where I felt I could be a bit more informal and didn't have to keep using scientific and technical jargon which I quite honestly didn't, and still don't understand. I think the method of blogging is useful where you can videos and pictures to explain your ideas, as it makes it much more enjoyable as you don't feel you're writing as much as you are!

I found it a lot easier toward the end of the course where I was much more comfortable with what I was doing and the topics got more relevant and interesting to write about (such as the digital democracy post). These included more of the themes and topics that I enjoy and want to be part of in my journalistic career. (Hopefully!)

Looking back...

Now I'm at the end of my time looking at the effects of Digital Culture on society, I can reflect back on what I've learnt and compare and contrast to the start of the term. At the start of the course, I was optimistic however didn't really know what to expect. I was relieved when I discovered we weren't going to have to write any long essays as all the other modules on the course use essay writing as their core examination method. I was grateful for this as I knew it'd be a relief at the end of the year when we had lots of deadlines, that we had already done the work throughout the year.

When I discovered it was a weekly blog I was relieved as I have my own blog anyway which I really enjoy doing and I was quite excited to have something else to write about besides my own ramblings. I understood that as a Journalism student, a lot of the media is produced through blogging and it's a valuable skill to have. While I still agree that blogging is a very good, relevant and useful method to use, my main concern with the course was the content and the relevance to my own course.

I understand that as a journalist we need to understand the background of the internet and the development in technology and things that would concern us in our career with the internet, for example the digital democracy and WikiLeaks part, which are directed at journalists. I can also understand how Augmented Reality and phone apps can affect us as they can transform the way news is delivered and received by our audience. However I really don't understand how learning things about 'the digital body' is relevant to a journalism course. I understand how it is valuable to know anyway, but I honestly don't believe it's correctly suited to the course.

Personally I found it quite difficult to find the motivation to actually write the blogs as we never saw a template or example work at the start of the year. I struggled to find a good balance between being too informal and being too technical. I also had to do quite a lot of extra research in order to understand some terms which weren't explained.

For future years, I think the module 'Digital Culture' needs some adapting to suit the needs of journalists more, as from personal experience the majority of people taking the module are journalism and media students, but more about that in the next post!

WikiLeaks

It wasn't until I read this page on WikiLeaks that I fully understood what it was, which is quite embarrassing for a journalism student. My first impression after reading that their main goal is "to bring important news and information to the public... One of our most important activities is to publish original source material alongside our news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth.'' This sounds like a good and honest proposal, however it's easy to see where the problems would lie.

The media have regulations and ethics for a reason. Issues such as privacy, personal and national come into matter here. WikiLeaks has faced high criticism and a lot of controversy for what it has published, even getting as serious as life sentences in prison. They wanted to be able to freely publish information without any journalists or writers coming under legal battles, however was this necessarily the right thing to do?

For example, U.S army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning is accused of leaking confidential information and even footage of the U.S army, specifically of an Apache helicopter killing 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007.  One charge 'aiding the enemy' can be worth the death sentence, which shows the severity of the case. When asked why he submitted the footage and information, he simply replied he believed the American people had the right to know the 'true cost of war'. The footage delivered is thought to show the killing of 2 Reuters workers and children. While we should have the right to know what goes on in our own armies and institutions, and know where our tax money goes, do we really need to know everything? This caused the U.S government huge embarrassment and could have been a massive risk in that footage and information leaked can be seen by anyone, including the enemy. 




WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been accused multiple crimes including the most serious of rape. It is unclear and still undecided whether he is guilty or not. This timeline of his accusations leads up to recently where he has spent the last 6 months as an asylum seeker in Ecuador, despite not being charged with a single crime in any country. His official accusation name is 'sexual misconduct' in Sweden. Mr Assange has made many powerful enemies over time, so it's honestly no surprise that this has been blown way out of proportion. Not to say that sexual crime isn't something to take seriously, but extradition is nearly unheard of for a crime of that degree. 

OK so I'm not technical in any way shape or form, but what I've grasped from all the big fancy technical words, Wikileaks is accused of hacking into certain computers to find their information, however they protest they are just a 'platform' for other writers. Mark Stephens, WikiLeaks's London attorney, called the claim "completely false in every regard." Phone hacking has caused a massive uproar recently with the whole News of the World fiasco. 

Hackers, or stereotypically labelled 'geeks' are usually perceived to be highly anti-social and fixated with computers and the digital world. There are different types of hackers, but inevitably they all access websites they're not supposed to have access too and cause havoc. These self labelled 'hacktivists' use their cyber skills to 'fight the powers-that-be when they overstep the lines'. One hacker stated:

"I'm not under the illusion that we're going to change the 

world, but if we can make a big enough noise for people to 

notice there's a problem and scream loud enough, 

someone's going to take notice.'' 


In a way, hackers and WikiLeaks are similar, in that they both want to give a voice to people without there being any consequences. How effective this is debatable, looking at the examples of the amount of people imprisoned because of their actions for Wikileaks, and also looking at how people can be physically arrested and prosecuted for hacking. 


References/Read more:

Bradley Manning: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/30/wikileaks-cables-bradley-manning and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11874276 and http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/28/bradley-manning-trial-plea-statement
Aiding the enemy: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/punitivearticles/a/mcm104.htm
Julian Assange accusations: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/9343503/Julian-Assange-rape-accusations-timeline.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8579045/Wikileaks-Julian-Assange-records-video-blog-of-his-house-arrest.html
Is WikiLeaks hacking? http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_07/b4215046290051.htm
News of the World hacking: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14045952
What are hackers? http://www.howstuffworks.com/hacker2.htm
Hacktivism: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20446048

Paratext - Blurring the lines of reality?

According to wiseGeek, Paratext is ''any additional text or other reference material that is added to an author’s published work. One of the most common ways to think of this type of material is in the form of the various items that publishers include in the average book, such as a book jacket, inside or back cover blurb, and author profile.'' 

In digital terms, Genette defined the paratext as ''those liminal devices which wrap or accompany the text in order to make it both present and presentable – from titles to tables of content and from footnotes to notebooks.''

Put simply, it means that a story or a literacy work is open for development, it keeps on going through a majority of mediums. It could start as a book or a game, it will develop into morph into new things such as fan fictions or spin off's  Depending on the context and the background, it can sometimes blur the lines of reality, in that it becomes unclear to the audience what is real and what is fake. This can also alter the meaning or reading of a certain text, as Genette argues that paratexts take a text and 'surround it and extend it'. 

For example, when a new film is released, it starts with teaser posters and teaser snippets/mini trailers before the actual trailer is released. When it is, there are often billboards and commercials on and off TV advertising the release of the film. The film would have a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account before it's even released. When it is, the characters from the film may have a Parody twitter account or Facebook page, such as 'Fat Amy' from the recent film 'Pitch Perfect'. This does blur the lines of reality as it is if the character is an actual person because of the personal Twitter account  and the interactions with other Twitter users. Fan Fiction is a very popular form of paratext. These written texts take already created stories and characters into different situations. I first came across these when I was a much younger devout Harry Potter fan, and was eagerly awaiting the release of the next few books. Whilst trawling the internet I came across what I thought was a sneak preview of the next book, however what I got was a poorly written account of what Hogwarts would be like if it were a school for sexually confused and frustrated homosexual wizards. 



Similar to paratext is the concept of the 'open product', this means that something could start off as a game or a book book however will transform itself to fit different audiences. It usually does have an beginning, middle and an ending like any usual narrative, however it usually has some form of alternate ending where the ending isn't actually the ending. For example the Pokemon franchise started off as a game. You have to follow the story line, however when you think you've finished the game, you actually have to go back through the game and complete the Pokedex, where you have to capture one of each Pokemon.

In the workshop this week, we had a guest lecturer who introduced us to the idea of Augmented Reality, which had been discussed before however this time in more depth and with physical evidence before our own eyes. We were shown a smartphone app which simply needed to scan a bar code  this time in a newspaper, and the images and words on the page would become 3D on your phone screen. The context we were shown was a continuing story, almost game like where you had to scan a different code every week to get the next part of the story. I can see how this would enjoyable and interesting however personally It doesn't reach to me as I prefer the old fashioned way of reading and watching films, however I can understand why someone else would be attracted to it, for the technical and new side of it.



In terms of journalism, there are already phone apps for newspapers that are literally just links and articles laid out like a newspaper on your phone. With augmented reality, the app for newspapers could be a lot more exciting and informative, in that videos and pictures can pop up which relate to a specific story. It could give you much more accurate detail in terms of location and time of events, particularly if they are near you. It could also give much faster news as breaking news headlines will be the first thing you see and it would be incredibly noticeable.

The downside to  this could the continuing decline in the popularity of traditional newspapers and news delivery. Also as mentioned previously in my posts about digital democracy, if electricity and the internet were to be completely obliterated, the new mainstream way of giving and receiving news and information would be no more, and with the assumed destruction of everyday newspapers, there would be no way of getting out news and information.



References/Read More:

Genette, Gerard. Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation and http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/node/50663
More on augmented reality: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/augmented-reality
http://www.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2013/apr/23/independent-plus-media-monkey

How does Digital Democracy affect you?

OK, so we've covered the basics of democracy and the concept of the Public Sphere. We know that journalists act as a reflector for society and the bourgeoisie, or the 'ruling class', or the government if you prefer. But what has this got to do with the digital world?

Well, as naive, internet obsessed teenagers we don't realise just how much political and topical influence there is on the internet, even on places we consider to be quite personal such as Facebook. I've pointed out countless times in this blog how influential the internet is and dependent we are as a society on technology as a whole, however we really don't realise how much we depend on them for literally everything.

According to Forbes, Mark Zuckerburg has claimed there are over 1 billion Facebook users. It's hard to find someone in contemporary UK without a profile, granting they're under 70 years old. We don't realise how much time we spend on Facebook, as soon as I turn on my laptop my fingers get a mind of their own and immediately tap on to Facebook without me even thinking about it.



Although Facebook is plainly a social networking site, it's developed into a place for news and topical discussion, with Facebook pages and groups being made almost instantly in discussion of a certain topic. For example, on March 5th 2012, this video was put onto YouTube and linked onto Facebook. Within minutes there were thousands of views and shares. These statistics show that within a week the video had over 100million views, making it the fastest ever video to reach this target. The video was seriously enlightening as personally I was completely unaware of Kony and what went on in the African countries, and I honestly felt empowered to do something. But what could I do? The fact is that because of the flexibility and broadness of social media, the video and therefore the issue was brought to the attention of the world, and pressure was put on to the top dogs to do something about it.


Unfortunately, KONY 2012 never really stayed around for long. I got plenty of Facebook event invites made my activists in my local area wanting to stage marches and sleep outs in support of the cause. This again shows how digital democracy and social networking combine together to create a physical reaction.

We all get annoyed when our 'friends' on Facebook rattle on about a political event or figure currently in the media because they may want to seem intelligent and attentive, or they may just be looking for attention, but fact is that social media sites the Internet in general has opened up a new space for sharing and for discussion, and not just about funny cat videos. Things like e-petitions are actually used in political movements now, simply because of the convenience and ease of them. This just goes to show how digital democracy affects reality and builds an accessible bridge between the public and the politics.





References/Read More

1 billion Facebook users: http://www.forbes.com/sites/limyunghui/2012/09/30/1-billion-facebook-users-on-earth-are-we-there-yet/
Kony statistics: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/apr/20/kony-2012-facts-numbers
E-petitions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19266497

Digital Politics and Power: The dream of democracy/The public sphere

In this lecture we looked at how digital media has effected concepts of democracy. As a journalism student want wannabe know-it-all, it's important for me in my chosen career to be aware of how journalism and the media does and has affected society. I mean I haven't got the brains to be a doctor, the patience to be a teacher or the attention span to be a lawyer so I might as well do something worthwhile with my life. It's also important for me and for everyone to be honest to be up to date with Politics and know the simple background of key concepts and events.




Ok, so we are a democratic society. We use Representative Democracy, which basically means we choose as a society who to give the power of decision making too, and they have the final say in what goes and what  doesn't. We choose representatives of political parties who have different ideas, who all want to be in power. As we are such a diverse nation we would never all agree on anything, so we choose who we personally think would control the country in the way that would best advantage us. For example, a student wishing to go to University may vote for the Liberal  Democrats because one Mr Clegg promised not to raise the fee's but it turns out Mr Clegg is a liar. He said 'Sorry' though.

''I'm Sorry''

Moving on, another type of democracy used in places such as Switzerland is 'straight democracy'. It is literally what it says on the tin. This is the most straightforward form, where people physically congregate to make joint decisions on things, and majority rules. The other kind is Liberal Democracy.

 Ok, so now we're all politicians, what on earth has this got to do with Journalism?

Well, in the lecture and in other areas of my Journalism course, I've come across this strange character Jurgen Habermas. This sociologist and philosopher defines the Public Sphere simply as a group of people combining together to make a 'public'. This was traditionally thought to be 18th Century men who would join together and discuss topics in that weeks newspapers, mainly politics and current affairs. They would then transmit their opinions and ideas on the topics to the rest of the public, and they would therefore have a voice in society. Habermas says this links to modern times, looking at it as if the 'public sphere' were journalists who spread political news and put it in ways for the general public to understand and so everyone can debate on. It could be argued this is a key point for democracy, as everyone is supposed to have a say in the way politicians run the country.



References/Further Reading:

What is Democracy? http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/democracy and http://www.stanford.edu/~ldiamond/iraq/WhaIsDemocracy012004.htm
Types of Democracy: http://samaunvong.hubpages.com/hub/Types-of-Democracy
Liberal Democracy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_democracy
Habermas Explained: http://culturalstudiesnow.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/jurgen-habermass-public-sphere.html

Gaming culture - part 2. ''Flow''.

Having previously looked at the process and evolution of gaming culture and how important it's become to modern culture. This week we looked at why people play games and what it means for them and for society. With such a wide variety of the genre of games aimed at different audiences, there are many different reasons as to why someone might play games.

These ideas have been turned into theories which relate to why different people play games and for what reason. One of these theories is that of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who is a Hungarian professor of Psychology.  He is famous for studying happiness and creativity. He is also most famous for coming up with the concept of 'flow'.


''What makes a life worth living?''



Flow generally relates to the balance between your level of skill and your level of challenge being presented to you. When you're in 'flow' it means you're being the most productive without being stressed. This then links to balance between boredom and anxiety/panic. This relates to games as we like playing games that challenge us in different ways as we are stimulated and we get more enjoyment out of it. However when it becomes too challenging or stressful we tend to get bored quicker and panic depending on the game. This concept can also apply to every day life as we all like a challenge that tests us however when it gets too much it's a human trait to become stressed and anxious and generally give up.



This can explain the evolution of games, in that simple games such as Pong or Pacman work well in flow as they get harder with each levels however the actual content is fairly boring and you find yourself unable to play them for too long.


Games that offer narrative and special effects are on top of markets in the 21st century. These games more often than not revolve around the theme of war and or fantasy. A list of the US best selling games show:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
2. Madden NFL 13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, Wii U)
3. Halo 4 (Xbox 360)
4. Assassin's Creed 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
5. Just Dance 4 (Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, PS3)
6. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, Wii U, PC)
7. Borderlands 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC)
9. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, Xbox 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, Vita, PC)
10. FIFA 13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, Wii U, PSP)

These games, apart from Just Dance 4 are predominantly male orientated, with the stereotypical view that mainly men enjoy gaming that involves shooting, racing and sport, however females are not ruled out of the gaming audience. These games, as previously mentioned all have narrative and story lines, as well as being so technologically and graphically advanced that the special effects are always new and interesting to the gamer. This means that there is a constant 'flow' as there is a constant challenge however you are enthusiastic about the challenge, and enjoying it which means you're more likely to succeed and the flow will be constant.

In our workshop we discussed flow and talked about how we could make University seminars and lectures more capable of the concept. We discussed what made a lecture boring and what made it exciting. Personally I find it incredibly boring and hard to concentrate when I just have to sit and listen to a Power point, as I never give it my full attention and always wonder what the point is in being there, as the Power points are always available online anyway. This unit in particular usually consists of this in the lectures, which I find really hard to concentrate as personally I find the content sometimes irrelevant and frankly doesn't interest me. However, whilst posting blogs some of the content does interest me and I'm really able to delve deep into the topic, which does prove the concept of flow. On the other hand, when the blog post is uninteresting I find it hard to concentrate and get enough content into the post to match the criteria as I'm simply uninterested and find it hard to care.

The fact that most units are assessed through coursework of some kind (in my case anyway), and all have deadlines around the same time at the end of the year makes it seem like an easy ride for the first 6-7 months and then a mad roller-coaster of panic, cheap energy drinks and all night cramming to get it all done. as Rhiannon discusses in her blog entitled ''Applying game theory to education'' feedback would be desirable throughout the duration of the coursework for at least some reassurance that you are on the right track.