The new media industry is exemplifying the saying ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ in a more explicit way than ever. Gill (2007) states that “the entire economy of [new media] work opportunities operates through contacts.” This is in line with Megan Cole’s blog as she quotes Gill (2007) stating “Informal connections are the lifeblood of new media.”
With a vast and constantly changing work force the industry has almost completely turned its back on all forms of traditional employment. Criteria such as tertiary education has been replaced by networking abilities. This is exemplified in a study completed by Gill (2007) where only 2 out of 34 respondents reported ever having found work in new media through traditional means of job searching.
These new employment strategies and standards raise issues of equality and fair opportunity. With the emergence of these attitudes and practices it is feasible if not probable that a candidate with more merit or talent in the field will be overlooked for a candidate with a larger network. “In general, informal practices tend to reinforce, rather than challenge, existing inequalities, and do not serve equal opportunities practices well” (Gill 2007).
In contradiction other industries, including law, have employed measures of regulation with the intent of achieving transparency and equity. (Gill, 2007)
Despite inequalities, informal methods of employment can create opportunities for creativity and so called ‘Technoprenuers’ as discussed in Clay Thompsons Blog.
References:
Gill, R. (2007). Informality is the New Black. In Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New Media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures: 24-30 & 38-43.
Thompson, Clay. (2011). “You got the job,” I’m…, April 17. Accessed May 1, 2011. http://wordoftheclay.tumblr.com/post/4708331581/you-got-the-job
Cole, Megan. (2011). “Week 7: Working In/With New Media. April 27. Accessed May 1, 2011. http://megancolequt.tumblr.com/post/4980431439/week-7-working-in-with-new-media
New media, in particular Web 2.0, has given individuals access to a vast range of information, including medical advice. The search engine “Google reports 150 million searches per day on all regional partner sites combined, which means 6.75 million health related searches per day in Google alone.” (Eysenbach and Kohler, 2003) The freedom of information exhibited by the internet has potential to enable quick, easy and most importantly cheap diagnoses of simple illness. However this information acts as double edged sword as discussed in Andrew Hu’s blog More Health= Better Health?
The merger of content creators and consumers and the lack of a formal “gatekeeper” raises issues surrounding reliability of information on the internet. Tania Lewis (2006, 527). Ignoring the possibility of intentionally fraudulent material there is also the risk of misdiagnoses. The week 6 tutorial demonstrated this as individuals came to a range of conclusions when provided the same list of symptoms.
As users look to access information without professional advice there is a shift of responsibility as the individual is forced to become more ‘medically literate’ (Lewis 2006, 526). Rebecca Newman discuss’ this in her blog entitled New Media: Impacts on Health & Wellbeing. A wider audience is now able to access health information online (Chou et al. 2009). However users must tread lightly as they ride a line of becoming overly independent and placing themselves at risk of serious illness.
References
Chou, W, Hunt, Y M, Beckjord, E B, Moser, R P and Hesse B W. (2009). “Social Media Use in the United States: Implications for Health Communication.” J Med Internet Res, 11 (4): 48.
Lewis, Tania. (2006). “Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria?” Media, Culture & Society, 28 (4): 521-539.
Eysenbach and Kohler. (2003). “How do consumers search for and appraise health information on the world wide web?” accessed http://www.bmj.com/content/324/7337/573.abstract
Blogs
Rebecca Newman. (2011). New Media: Impacts on Health & Wellbeing
Andrew Hu. (2011). More Health= Better Health?
Deuze’s (2011, 137) theory regarding new media suggests that media is not located outside of lived experience, but that our life is lived in, rather than with media. This theory is demonstrated as constant evolution of technology ensures that media becomes increasingly embedded in our lives. Our connection capabilities continue to expand allowing individuals to have a larger audience than ever. The evolution of mobile phones, emails and social networking has fed our reliance on technology and created many forums in which we can connect, narrate and brad ourselves.
Using new technologies individuals have the power to choose what they narrate about themselves; so, they can exaggerate or deemphasize whatever they want about themselves (Zhao, Grasmuck and Martin 2008, 1821). This concept links closely to what Leela Varghese discusses about identity in the week two blog. Each social networking site offers a different mehtod of branding. For example the individual can use video content on yoututbe as a branding tool, Susan Leong (2011) disscussed Rebecca Black, while Ping can be used to display music interests. Ping is especially relevant to Katrina Shimmin-Clarke’s week three blog disscussing playlist.
Regardless of what technology we use to connect, narate and brand it is clear that these technologies have become more than “objects and technology; but also a system of ideas—of family, of intimacy, emergency and work” (Bell, 2006, 55).
References:
Bell, G. (2006). The Age of the Thumb: a Cultural Reading of Mobile Technologies from Asia! Knowledge, Technology, & Policy”!19 (2), 41-57.
Deuze, M. (2011). Media Life. In!Media, Culture & Society”!Volume 33, issue 1, pp. 137-148. !
Leong, Susan. “KCB206 New Media: Internet, Self & Beyond: Week 5 Lecture notes.” Accessed March 31, 2011. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/.
Zhoa, Shanyang and Sherri Grasmuck and Jason Martin. 2008. “Identity construction on! Facebook:Digital empowerment in anchored relationships”.!Computers in Human Behavior
The power vested in the individual continues to grow with new technologies arising. Technologies including the cell phone and the internet have allowed communications to reach new and unprecedented heights. The ability to rapidly spread information to mass audiences has forever changed media practices, ethics, beliefs and politics.
New models of communication have given more power to the public than ever. The public’s ability to create and spread information rapidly has allowed for influential events to be organised in hours. Shirky (2011) stated “As the communications landscape gets denser, more complex, and more participatory, the networked population is gaining greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech, and an enhanced ability to undertake collective action.” However the power vested in the public by new media can be dangerous.
New methods of communication open gates for fraudulent, biased, or even prejudiced content to be created. “It is conceivable that one persuasive person could, through the use of mass media, bend the will of the world’s population to his [sic] will”(Dorwin Cartwright in Harrington 2009).
“The Internet in particular lends itself conveniently to deceptive communications. Its anonymous nature renders lies and deceit easy and attractive (Hamelink, 2006).” The online creation of identity allows content creators to hide behind a specifically branded persona.
For more information on online identity refer to the following blogs:
http://leelavarghese.tumblr.com/ BLOG ONE: Week two readings- Performing Me: Maintaining Visibility on the Social Stage
http://camillekeating.tumblr.com Identity Deception within Social Networks
References:
Shirky, C. (2011). The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change in Foreign Affairs. Volume 90, Issue 1; pg. 28, 15 pgs.
Hamelink, C. (2006). The Ethics of the Internet: Can we cope with Lies and Deceit on the Net? In Ideologies of the Internet, K. Sarikakis & Daya Thussu, pp. 115-130. New Jersey: Hampton Press.
Dorwin Cartwright in Harrington, S. 2009. KCB102 Media Myth Busting 1: Week 2 lecture notes. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/ (accessed 27 March, 2011)
As changing models of distribution make music more accessible than ever an increasingly high importance is being place on musical taste. This importance has become so elevated that Stephen Levy states “playlist is character.”
Musical taste has become somewhat embedded in our personality and can now strongly determine how one is viewed in society. Music is “not just what you like-it’s who you are(Levy, S.2006).” The internet along with the ipod and itunes has gone a long way to increasing this importance on musical choice. On websites like myspace musical taste can be identified immediately to the point where “musical choice is as much a badge of identity as is gender or geography (Levy, S.2006).”
The playlist has had a significant effect on the portrayal of ones musical taste. An individual can now be represented by a collection of artists and specific songs that show character. Celebrities and even politicians are now recognised by musical taste with Apple’s iPod downloading headquarters playing host to over a hundred celebrity playlists (Levy, S.2006).
Although these technical advances have increased the importance of musical taste to identity it is not exactly a new concept. For decades now music has formed an integral part of ones personality. It may not have been blatantly displayed on a myspace profile but hints could be taken from how people dressed and behaved (Levy, S.2006).
The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness, New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 21-41.
Donath and Boyd’s (2004) “Public displays of connection” explores the similarities and differences between the portrayal of online identity and identity in the ‘physical world.’ The portrayal of online identity has become increasingly important as “social status, political beliefs, musical taste, etc, may be inferred from the company one keeps (Donath and Boyd, 2004).” In the physical world one may display connections by holding a party, name dropping, placing photos around the house or being seen in public friends, associates or acquaintances (Donath and Boyd, 2004). However the emergence of social networking sites allows users to do all these things in just a few clicks. This would suggest that it has become increasingly simple to create and portray an identity, wether it be genuine or false, to a mass audience.
The online identity exists in a state where all interactions are on display in a metaphoric glass bedroom. “The metaphor describes a bedroom with walls made of glass. Inside the bedroom, private conversations and intimate exchanges occur, each with varying awareness of distant friends and strangers moving past transparent walls (Pearson, 2009).” The glass bedroom metaphor draws attention to the fact that any interaction made with an online associate can alter your online perception. This explains the amount of time spent on these websites attempting to create and foster a desirable online identity.
Donath, J. and boyd, d. (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal , volume 22 (4): 71-82.
Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web’s a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks . First Monday, volume 14, Number 3.
