Spreadable Media is content that we spread via cyberspace. We use tools like Facebook and Twitter to inform others about certain deals, photos, music, current events and also to become the producers of media. Much of the content on sites like YouTube is content that is created by us. By uploading content that is related to other content, we create a viral chain as others spread it around. The above video is an example of a funny video that goes viral.
There are videos online making fun of events in history and popular inventions, while also merging rap culture into the mix. Below is Mario Brothers Rapping with The Wright Brothers:
Plunder
When the content goes viral, it has the potential to be reinterpreted and misunderstood. People from other cultures reenact the video taking it out of its original culture and meaning.
Elvis's song "A Little Less Conversation" meant something far different when it was first made back in the 70's, but with today's DJ generation, the meaning and feel of the song was remixed by JLX. Listen to the remix below:
The band Daughtry, make it big with song "What about now?" The feel of the song has totally change as it has switched genres. From rock culture into boyband pop culture, Westlife redoes this song perfectly.
Websites like Amazon.com and iTunes have incorporated free listening so that if you like the music you will either buy the song or the album. This is certainly a good advertising ploy: try the product for free, and then you will want to purchase it. Amazon has recently revealed their AutoRip, which lets you own a free digital company of any album, if you buy the actual disc. Piracy is also a big thing nowadays with sites like PirateBay and Mp3.com. Sites like YouTube offer a way to find music, full albums and concert footage for download. There are sites like Video2mp3 which allow you to rip the music and video right from YouTube.
Domains like MegaUpload.com and Rapidshare.net allow internet users to upload anything they want for free. Others who search the domain can find links that allow access to this content.
This discussion of social media continues to explore how people use the internet to connect in different ways. Being an active user of Facebook, I have seen and participated in spreading media. Everyday I log onto Facebook, I see on my wall lots of content that has been generated by the public. Since I am a huge dog love, many memes and videos are posted to me. I pass these media items around to my friends who find other videos and post back to me. This spreading and trade of content is fun for everyone involved, but really helps out companies like Atlanta Humane Society or Petsmart get their brand name popular. I also spread the above videos for a great laugh. I love being an active user of Facebook, checking on my friends and feeds while also helping companies and organizations advertise themselves.
Participating in a Digital World of Collaborative Publics and Audiences
Chapter 4 of Henry Jenkins book, "Spreadable Media", jumps into a 360 look at what part we play as a vast array of collaborative communities. The internet and social media platforms have opened doors to a whole new interactive business model. Social platforms like Myspace, Facebook, Linked In and YouTube have become far more collaborative than the founders expected. Advertising agencies put up footage about their products letting the public chat, like, forward, share and reproduce the original footage. This collaborative aspect lets audience members become 'producers'. As producers we have the responsibility to inform others about products that we like whether it be music, groceries, fashion or a type of automobile. By sharing and tweeting song lyrics, photos, memes and parodies of what we like, a chain reaction occurs among the public. The more views, likes and comments an original or reproduced media has, the more interactive the company should be with their audiences. Companies are not always listeners, but they do hear and see what we have to say.
As collaborators and producers we are involved in a three-way communication system. Being a member of this system, we give advice and opinions, create new story-lines, alter media, and impact the outcome of products.
The Crank Dat Fandom
Soulja Boy created his own dance routine that sparked a crazed of online videos. These videos of people showing that they have dance skills circulated the choreography to surplus audiences. People who didn't really like his music, but wanted to try the dance became his fans after uploading their footage or remix of the song. This started dance battles between friends and record sales and downloads skyrocketed. Soulja Boy is not the only hip-hop artist who has had a dance trend following. Artists like Lil Jon, Outkast, Chris Brown and many others have also had popular dance numbers that went to social media by the collection of circulated 'look at me dancing' videos. YouTube has become the main social media platform for this type of collaborative fandom. Song mash-ups, DJ and fan remixes, and music parody are popular trends there. This trendy use of social media has now expanded over all genres of music.
A group of folks trying to dance to Soulja Boy - see the video below:
Another new trend on YouTube - Collaborative Beat-Boxing Quintet (*N SYNC Medley):
Adobe, a software company, has made it easy to edit, reproduce, and alter photos, videos and sound clips. Adobe's Photoshop, FinalCut Pro and Dreamweaver have made it possible for fans to have fun with the free interactive properties of social media tools. Sharing their creations on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram has become the leading entertainment for today's youth. Not only do fans of a product use social media tools like these, but business have become investors as well Companies pay for digital billboards that catch the eye of the public. Gas stations have also jumped on board creating digital signage and touchscreen gas pumps. In Asia, vending machines have become more interactive by using Twitter as the main platform for item access. A person in need of a snack must tweet the machine for what they want.
Companies Who Listen
A new campaign by Lays Potato Chips has excited their public consumers by handing them the choice of future products. A commercial explaining the rules and advertising three products for choice shows that Lays is listening. Their fans had the choice between three flavors and their Facebook page is buzzing with discussion.
Hidden Valley Ranch's Facebook page also creates an interactive fanbase by asking for insight concerning the pros and cons of their products. Fans on this page can talk about the ingredients, texture and usage of Hidden Valley Dressings. This collaborative process also involves asking about what the next flavor of Ranch should be.
In my opinion, this collaborative effort between fan-bases and publics is helpful for creating stickiness and popularity of products and services. Ever since the late 90s, cyberspace was to be used as an interactive medium between family, friends and businesses. Today the idea of connectivity is a far overachieved concept that has been enhanced through the use of Smartphones and Tablets. People are using Web 2.0 to engage, entertain and do work. I see social media tools making a huge impact in the ease of connecting, trading and entertaining in the near future. The phenomenon of cyberspace sociability and interactivity has already come so far, I can't wait to see what's next!
Human Rights & Economic Discussions Find A New Medium
Cyberspace is also known as the "information highway." this highway has many four way stops that branch out to a wide variety of subject oriented information. The use of the world wide web is always being redefined In the past decade the internet has become a platform for political debates, human rights discussion and a place to keep with with current events around the globe. Human Rights activists use social media to connect with others who share the same ideas. These social media platforms are used as a three-way connection with peers and followers who feel strongly about the issue and can share their opinions with others.
Should there be an Internet Bill of Rights? Get an analysis of the situation in the video below:
Children's Safety Online
Much of the majority of Human Rights organizations that are connecting globally via cyberspace are discussions about gay marriage, abortion, governments around the world, piracy acts, privacy rights, cyber-crime and issues in the communities of third world countries.
One of the biggest concerns online is that in America we have the freedom of speech and digital sharing, but when it comes to child pornography these lines of these rights are crossed. Cellular devices and laptops with built in cameras are causing a privacy scare with parents of young children. With online chatrooms these kids are being a target for sickos online. With Skype and other social media applications, anonymous people can connect with children and talk them into sharing their picture or even hack their camera; taking many shots. Human Rights activists are buzzing around this subject and trying to form boundaries, but when it comes to inappropriate activity online that involves children, there is no way to block each sexual offender that connects to cyberspace. Create better tactics and guidelines for children are a must in today school systems; children need to understand how public the internet can be and that not everyone using a chat room is there to be your friend.
Another huge privacy right also concern children using cyberspace for leisure activities while other sources are accessing the computer. Sexual and porn related pop-ups are becoming a serious problem for parents who have family computers. Kids as young as six years old are seeing sexual ads while playing online games.
Below is a brief video about Saftey Online with Kids
Gay Marriage
Changing subject to another prominent issue using social media is gay marriage. Facebook users are changing their profile picture to support the right for gay marriage. See the video below for a better depiction of the situation:
Social Media and Poverty
Poverty is a huge concern is most of the third world countries. Social media tools like YouTube and Facebook are used to discuss and inform cyberspace users about their struggles.
Click on the right to see how Christian Aid is broadcasting poverty issues via Facebook and other social media platforms.
Websites like "FreeRice.com" are allowing interactive proticipation in poverty. Playing a game or questionaire on this website allows third world countries to be feed. Each point a visitor to the website gets right is translated to ten grains of rice.
World Hunger Public Service Announcement - How Social Media Can Help!
Since the creation of Cyberspace, the world's economic systems have been changed. By changed, I mean the way we handle our money, the way we trade and buy products, the way we protect our identity and find a new medium to discuss the economic situation. The World Wide Web is not completely global meaning some countries do not have the resources or money to be connected, but while they are not online, other areas around the world have access to information explaining their cultures and norms. Globalization is not a new idea; it has been around since the begining of the Industrial Revolution. The term globalization has expanded to include a new form of cultural collaboration called Cyberglobalization. The World Wide Web allows easy spread of cultures and religions around the world. Globalization is not just how North America affects foreign cultures, but is broader to include how other cultures and subcultures affect one another. Social tools like Wikipedia allow anyone, anywhere to access information about any culture. This international access to information is the new way of defining globalization. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Zoosk, Socialmediatoday.com, Amazon.com, Ebay.com and Gemm (Global Electronic Music Market) are only a few from the hundrends of tools used to promote, trade, create and consume cultural values and products around the world. Cyberconsumerism is our evergrowing understanding of cultures near and far by allowing us access to art, literature, entertainment, fashion, cuisine, lodging and marketing around the world.
Below is a video tutorial on Social Media and how its tool are used for E-Commerce:
Today, the web is not used just for business collaboration, but also for political discussion, human rights, weather, current events, entertainment and self pleasure. This broad scope of what we use the internet for is not written in stone, but is also evolving with new tools to access information.
Looking back at the chapter on Wikinomics, one can find an example of how social media has affected e-commerce and business growth. The example given was about Rob McEwen, CEO at Goldcorp, Inc. Rob was excited when he went to a lecture about a new type of computer system called Lenux. Rob turned to his geologist and said, "We're going to find more gold on this property, and we won't leave this room until we have a plan to find it." This plan involved using social media was quote, "I'd like to take all of our geology, all the data we have that goes back to 1948, and put it into a computer file for global access." Within weeks, Goldcorp had submissions from around the world about where to find the largest amount of gold. This use of the internet catapulted Goldcorp into a $9 billion dollar company; a huge jump upward from $100 million from before using cyberspace.
A tutorial on Wikinomics by author Don Tapscott himself:
Through my eyes, I have seen since I was a little boy, the change social media tools have brought to communication norms, consumption and marketing and the way we time-manage ourselves. At the begining of the enhanced cellphone, the Blackberry and Palm Pilots were the first of their kind.
The new social media tools and internet browsing technology were merged with the idea of a mobile phone. Since the invention of the mobile phone, enhanced devices like the Iphone and Android have made communication and business more efficient. I have witnessed the evolution of the mobile phone and smartphone. Owning a smartphone and desktop computer myself, I have witnessed e-commerce and the advancement of social media communication throughout cyberspace. In my opinion, cyberculture and being cybersocial (using digital means to communicate) is a positive adaptation the human race is making. As cyberspace grows and communication advances, I see great progress in consumerism, political collaboration, new medicine, international studies and social abilities. As the Wikinomics article discusses, globalization and peer collaboration are the keys to success on the evergrowning cyberspace. The article states, "To innovate and succeed, the new mass collaboration must become part of every leader's playbook. Learning how to coexist and engage in a diverse lingual and cultural cyberspace is the key for productive business planning."
Below is a recent chart showing how relevant social media tools are:
The World Wide Web itself is an untouchable structure of electronic information that is used for communicate with others. This cyberstructure is not of brick and mortar, but of accessible information that has no direction or territory limits. Cyberspace being a body of limitless information is like DNA from our body. Each website, blog, video, audio source and scholarly article is a strand making up the body of information that is cyberspace. The endless amount of digital information on the Internet is untouchable. Internet information consists of a language of code, graphics, sound and inputted data.
Soundwaves heard from our radios can be felt through vibration, but the notes heard can not be held as solid matter in the hands. The same goes for digital information. We use our eyes for seeing what cyberspace has to offer.
Cyberspace exists because structures like engineering, labor, marketing, and technological constructions enable it to exist. The expansion of the web is driven these many structures. Global cities are information cities (spaces) that are linked to global flows of finance, demographic data, human rights, and social media. A term increasingly used to describe the wired nature of information cities and societies around the world is Network Society.
Information Spaces
Information spaces are online social media spaces for information exchange. Listservs, databases, blogs, email, chat platforms, and newsgroups are examples of information spaces. Electronic mail came into use in 1970. Like all forms of communication, email is a social process, a mode of interaction. Internet Browsers like Earthlink, Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer were early pioneers in cyberspace information surfing. America Online was one of the first multitasking social media web browsers. Texting platform software like America Online Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft Network Messenger opened the door to quick peer to peer conversations. A symbol system used by these social messengers was Emoticons. These are small facial punctuation graphics used during texting.
Connectivity
With the creation of networking, businesses and homes could be linked together regardless of location. With the more recent hotspot technology, people can carry their laptop and mobile devices anywhere to find a connection. This idea of the portable Internet excited the masses, creating the need for more hotspot friendly venues (shops, cafes, condominiums, schools, etc.). Information and Internet web pages were more accessible, but made cyberspace seem more unmeasurable in terms of endless space than ever. Cyberspace is nicknamed "Cloud" because it is always filled with information like a rain cloud. Cyberspace is never too full with information because it has no capacity limit. It is endless...
With wireless routers people could be anywhere in the office or home to view and share information with others. The reliability and connectivity of wireless routers, network servers and hotspots created the need for new electronic devices like tablets, wireless USB cards and Internet apps for an array of mobile devices. The Apple company were the first major innovators when it came to wireless Internet and smart phones. Android quickly took after Apple's iPhone, creating a huge line of competitive mobile devices.
As an aside that I found interesting, the text stated that for women, the "intrusion' of the Internet and Personal Computer has transformed everyday life in significant ways. "Home office" is the new space for women to occupy where they carry out daily tasks.
Cybercities are intersections of the material and immaterial, the real and the virtual, the social and technical, in a world of unpredictable social communication and leisure entertainment. Sites like Wikipedia, Ask.com, WebMD, GoogleandAmazon.com, allow us to look up information on a chosen subject regardless of global location, gender or age. This allows people of all cultures and lifestyles to look up information about a subject that informs you about another culture. This form of globalization is not just America influencing the world, but the world influencing the United States. The ease of access to cultural information from around the world has made cyberspace the most interconnecting tool of the past 40 years.
Below is a video about how the governments make decisions about what goes and stays on the internet.
Accessing Documents, Music, Film and Photography
Cyberspace in recent decades has open the door to digital file accessibility. Music sharing sites like Napster and iTunes have made connecting with friends a new world fulled with sound and motion picture. With Microsoft's Windows Media Player, playing your downloaded files while multitasking on your computer has now been made easier. iTunes allows you to use your digital MP3 players to create your own playlists. Sites like Photo Bucket, Flickr, Instagram and Facebook create a way to share and archive pictures online. This new form of connectivity has its flaws. The youth of today are stressed as to how they should display their 'real' identities online through Myspace, Facebook and texting. The use of Avatar profiling has helped us share our musical tastes, monumental photos and stories while hiding behind a digital profile. Businesses can share work files through e-mail, FTP sites, peer to peer programs and USB thumb-drive. Google Docs allows collaboration on business and school related projects. Security systems allow companies to archive activity in a certain business. Electronic connectivity has come a long way since the beginning of the Internet.
Using Cyberspace as a Reference Desk
There are now more and more sites that allow Internet surfers to search for home improvement, travel, health and fitness, resturant reviews and more. New sites like Angieslist, Kayak, UrbanSpoon, Zagat and HomeAdviser and Care4Hire let people research this information. Business now have a closer relationship between consumer and product, archiving opinions of how people rate a service or item. HomeAdviser lets someone find the perfect plumber, carpenter or electrician, while Kayak shows you the best hotel rates and airline deals. The use of websites like Yelp and MashSpots allow Internet users to research the nearest restaurant with reviews from clientele. The newest website to hit cyberspace is Care4Hire.com, letting someone search for the best rated babysitter in the area with the click of a mouse.
Modern society has been consumed by digital and social media. Instead of using a type-writer to put together news, entertainment and political information. people of the twenty-first century are using digital electronics. Computers offer word processing software and Internet tools that are widely globalized. A form of this new digital culture is Blogging. Blogs are constructed of online entries that are for personal enjoyment or public reading. A definition in Promad K. Nayar's book "Introductions to New Media and Cybercultures" says "blogging is refered to as 'reverse-chronological posting by an individual that incorporate hyperlinks, videos and photos." Another form of posting online are social websites like Facebook, Pintrest, Instagram and Twitter. Below I have included a chart dividing the use of social and digital communication. As you can see in the second chart, Blogging is expected to rise 2% (about 10 million readers each year) by 2014.
Webcams and Online Self Pleasure
Web cam technology is not new, but its use is always being redefined. Web cams were first used as a means of showing ones self to those who they are chatting with. Softwares like Microsoft Net Meeting, Skype and IMovie allow people to chat with video imagery. Webcams are now used by men and women for online pleasure and sex chats. Websites like Live Jasmin and Adult Finder make soft porn accessible through webcam interfaces. Web cams are not just used for sexual pleasure, they are used for business conferences and for recording personal videos of the family or friends. These webcams through software like Skype, bring families together even though they might live apart.
Fansites and Fan-Communities
Today, just about everything you can think of has a website. It just takes one person as a fan to sit down and create a website. These pages are public so the fan community grows quickly. Fansites can be on any subject including sports, cars, music, art, books, movies, digital culture and more. For kids there are fansites on Pokeman, Curious George, Yo Gabba Gabba, Spongebob, Hanna Barbera cartoons, The Peanuts, Disney characters and music groups like Jonas Brothers or Backstreet Boys. For high school and college students there are fansites for Star Trek, Comic books, bands, tattoos, fashion, muscle cars, fitness and more. These fansites allow anyone to see recent updates on their favorite subject and links to videos on Youtube.
The Avatar Self is a new subculture that has attracted millions to cybergaming. Online gaming communities include Worlds of Warcraft, SIMS, Second Life, Ultima Forever and now Enterprise (a business oriented game).
Tpyes of Cyberculture Through Movies and The Internet
In the last decade, social media has become a new dominating tool for communicating with friends and loved ones. What I mean by Cyber-tension is the overworked social muscle caused by peer presure and anxiety to keep up with your internet tools like Facebook, Twitter, Outlook and Google Email Accounts, Pintrest and everything else we use online. Just like working out in the gym for other muscles, the anxiety to keep up with internet tools can be overworked causing "Cyber-Tension" in the left temporal lobe . Side affects are headache, frustration, loss of energy and mental fatigue.
Most children and young adults feel as if it is their perogative to connect digitally with their friends. Preeschoolers and Middleschoolers see older students and other parents using digital tools to connect through the internet. These children complain to their family for a smartphone or ipad for Christmas. Today's internet is not just a way to connect with friends online, but a cyber-nightmare. Creating online profiles of yourself wondering if you should stay true to who you are at a young age causes anxiety. Having little of knowledge of who your child is actually talking to is a stress for the family. Parents have to monitor their child by going through their texts after the computer time is over for their young adult. Monitoring what your child is up to on the internet is a major stress for moms and dads. Highschoolers have anxiety to be the most popular online by keeping their Facebook profile full of friends and messages.
Do you have FOMO?
Mobile Texting -- Eternal Communication With Friends
Children feel the need to have easy access to friends in today's world of digital companionship. Being alone doodling by yourself is more together than in previous decades. Having your smartphone near creates the feeling of eternal communication. Friends are more accesible to communicate with by cellular texting and Facebook. The digital devices are just the venue for eternal communication with friends. This feeling of "I'm not alone" is also a stresser because the communication process never turns off. There is anxiety with replying to all the texts daily. Keeping up with digital connections does not only refer to mobile texting, but to e-mail messages and Facebook updates.
Attention 50/50
Having our anxiety with our digital agenda leaves us to spend more attention online. We are less present when at school, at a movie or when hanging with friends. Texting our friends and updating Facebook are new norms subscribed in our everyday culture. We are pressured to view every message as it comes in, and the anxiety from staying connected with your friends has become for most, a constant minute by minute hassle.
Personal Experiences and Views of Modern Social Media
When I was young, the term connected meant something different. For me it meant connection of a mouse to a computer or a the way a pad of paper sticks together. The internet was a new form of using our personal computers. I had trouble grasping the idea that the computer goes to a world of information outside of itself. I even thought using the telephone was a magical experience. Fastforwarding to 1990's, I saw technology advancing at a fast rate. Items like the Walkie-Talkie was a huge communication tool for friends, family and business use. At this time cellphones were just phones. The ability to text with friends was just developing and was a pain to do on phones. I never felt the anxiety of today until I had a smartphone. the ease of communication and all the tools made it easier and harder at the same time. What to push and how to use each tool became a constant hassle. For me at first, I wanted my friends to be available only by calling them; them texting me was invasive. I never responded to text, but I would call my friends.
Understanding Modern Texting Technology
With my smartphone, I got used to the idea of texting, but still had the anxiety to be available at all times incase a text came through. When I texted my friends and didnt recieve a response for more than 5 hours, I got worried. I felt as if I did something wrong and my friend was mad at me. Being stuck in this constant guessing game, I reverted back to using my smartphone for just a phone. The same thing happend though if it went to voice mail. I never used profiling websites like Facebook or Twitter and felt no anxiety about it. Today the pengilum has swung to constant use of smartphones and profile websites. It is like we are brainwashed to invest our time in these new communication tools. In my opinion, these tools help us, but they are not what our life depends on. I still call my friends on occation to catch up. Having the newest and most modern version of these devices is a obsetion for most people. These devices are updating at such a constant rate it creates anxiety for those who dont have the money to get the latest version. Overall, I think these devices create more anxiety then they are worth because our lives are hard enough as it is.
Overview Video:
Questions:
How has owning a smartphone and an internet connection changed your life and those around you?
Are you experiencing anxiety? If so, what stresses you the most?
If we could rewind time, before celluar phones, would you feel less or more anxious without the ability to communicate through texting? (Discuss and explain why)
Do you see social media anxiety affecting adolecents of the next generation?
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