The Power of Social Media

The introduction of social media has created a platform for many people from all over the world to come together. With a simple text message, email, Facebook invitation or even a blog post, hundreds and even thousands of people can unite for a common or dis-common purpose. An example of this is when the president of the Philippines Joseph Estrada was overthrown by public demand. It just shows how social media can be used for political communication and in this case, political upheaval.

Shirky (2011) presented two arguments against social media in national politics; "the first is that the tools are themselves ineffective, and the second is that they produce as much harm to democratization as good, because repressive governments are becoming better at using these tools to suppress dissent." I somewhat disagree with the first because it could be used to target people who are more tech-savvy so generally the younger generation. I feel neutral towards the second point because using social media will not always suppress dissent.

Therefore, social media can be used in many ways, but mostly to communicate and connect with others. Most of us have probably brought many people together through social media without even realising. For example, using Facebook to create events.

References:

Shirky, Clay. "The Political Power of Social Media." Foreign Affairs 90 (1). Accessed March 28, 2011. doi: 00157120.

The iPod Revolution

During the past few years, the iPod has become a part of popular culture has created a music revolution. It has completely changed the way we listen to music and how we share our personal playlists with others. The iPod with its trademark white earphones is used as a tool to identify ourselves with other iPod owners and creates a sense of 'belonging.'

iPod People
Image by Paul Burd
http://www.onedigitallife.com/downloads/

Apple has developed a unique device that is able to hold thousands of songs and media files that can be accessed all with the push of a button. This isn't anything new, there are plenty of music players that do the same thing; but what's so different about iPods? Apple has seemingly created a cult of followers who are loyal to the brand, whether it is the iPhone, iPod, iPad or MacBook. Most people consider these products as 'hip' and feel obliged to buy them or risk being j ridiculed for not engaging in popular culture.

iTunes has a feature that allows iPod users to share their entire music library to complete strangers and also explore peoples' playlists. Levy (2006, 16) says, "naturally, when you look at someone's music, you make judgements." Sharing playlists enables people to judge each other on musical taste. Levy (2006, 14) states that "a subject's playlist can be as revealing as a diary." A playlist can determine a person's mood, age and of course their preferences.

Reference List

Levy, S. 2006. "Identity" in The perfect thing: how the ipod shuffle commerce,  culture and coolness, edited by Steven Levy, 21-41. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Accessed March 21, 2011. https://cmd.library.qut.edu.au/KCB201/KCB201_BK_272671.pdf

Performing on the Online Stage

The online world provides access to an endless amount of virtual platforms to facilitate communication and interaction in a private or public setting. But what happens when the line between public and private blurs? Should we be acting in a way that we would not normally behave?

The concept of the 'glass bedroom' was introduced by Pearson (2009) and basically "describes a bedroom with walls made of glass." Within those walls intimate conversations occur and our online performance comes into play. The way we depict our online personalities and image on social networking sites can encourage other users to engage or disengage. Online, we are able to create a more sociable, confident and outspoken image of ourselves in order to entertain our virtual audience. 

Our audience can range from family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers. Although communicating online reduces face-to-face interaction, sometimes it is beneficial in creating and maintaining online relationships without the awkwardness of 'getting to know' someone via more traditional methods. What makes it easier is that users are able to cease interaction whenever they choose and once again avoiding the awkwardness of 'letting someone down.' The glass bedroom has become a norm in today's society and although some may find this 'anti-social' others see it as a networking tool. 

Reference List 

Pearson, E. 2009. "All the World Wide Web's a Stage: The performance of identity in online social   networks." First Monday 14 (3). Accessed March 14, 2011. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au