Social Media: Week Four - Social Media Ecologies - Revised 4/12

Week Four

“We believe that current youth adoption of digital media production and ‘social media’ is happening in a unique historical moment, tied to longer-term and

systemic changes in sociability and culture.”

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/full_pdfs/Hanging_Out.pdf

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/full_pdfs/Hanging_Out.pdf

Hanging OutHanging Out

1. Getting Together and Being Together – socializing on line and off for identity construction – it is often online first to set up getting together.

a) Sharing, Posting, Linking, and Forwardingb) Music first, then videos – youtube watched offline together

2. Hanging out through back channels – text, Facebook, Myspace, blogs..under no special control from home or school.

Messing AroundMessing Around• More intense engagement – looking around,

“lurking” – chat roulette

““Messing AroundMessing Around””• Experimental play – photo-tools, media

creation, techie monitoring (e.g. free ringtone creation)

• Messing around involves a more open-ended genre of participation

““Geeking OutGeeking Out””

• Intense commitment or engagement with media or technology, often one particular media property, genre, or a type of technology

• involves learning to navigate esoteric domains of knowledge and practice and being able to participate in communities that traffic in these forms of expertise.Blogs, remizes, games, podscasts

• Participate in closed IRC groups or specialized forums rather than general fan discussion forums, which they see as catering to less knowledgeable fans. –Second Life

• Rewriting the rules - code hacking, creating and exploiting cheats, and making derivative works such as machinima (real time animated movie techniques – using game engines) and game modifications – Limewire – avoiding copyright rules

Why Does it Matter?Why Does it Matter?understanding the new digital

generationThe following video and slides are my edited remix of Michael Wesch’s

presentation done on Slideshare.com and YouTube. Dr. Wesch is a pioneer in social media education and was recently named Professor of the Year

“What we are encountering is a panicky, an almost hysterical, attempt to escape from the deadly anonymity of modern life ... and the prime cause is not vanity ... but the craving of people who feel their personality sinking lower and lower into the whirl of indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization."

“What we are encountering is a panicky, an almost hysterical, attempt to escape from the deadly anonymity of modern life ... and the prime cause is not vanity ... but the craving of people who feel their personality sinking lower and lower into the whirl of indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization."

- Henry Seidel Canby 1926

Once upon a time…..

TV created a one-wayTV created a one-wayconversationconversation

You have to be on TVYou have to be on TVto have a voiceto have a voice

You have to be on TVYou have to be on TVto be significantto be significant

And then cameThe MTV Generation

• Short attention spans• Materialistic• Narcissistic• Not easily impressed

“in the midst of a fabulous array of historically unprecedented and utterly mind-boggling stimuli ...

the search for identity and recognitionthe search for identity and recognition

the search for the authentic selfthe search for the authentic self

the search for the authentic selfthe search for the authentic self

Charles Taylor's Charles Taylor's ““Ethics of AuthenticityEthics of Authenticity”” (1991) (1991)

towards ...towards ...



1. 1. ““self-centered modes of self-fulfilmentself-centered modes of self-fulfilment””



1. 1. ““self-centered modes of self-fulfilmentself-centered modes of self-fulfilment”” 2. 2. ““negation of all horizons of significancenegation of all horizons of significance””



1. 1. ““self-centered modes of self-fulfilmentself-centered modes of self-fulfilment”” disengagementdisengagement 2. 2. ““negation of all horizons of significancenegation of all horizons of significance””



1. 1. ““self-centered modes of self-fulfilmentself-centered modes of self-fulfilment”” disengagement disengagement 2. 2. ““negation of all horizons of significancenegation of all horizons of significance”” fragmentationfragmentation



1. 1. ““self-centered modes of self-fulfilmentself-centered modes of self-fulfilment”” disengagement disengagement 2. 2. ““negation of all horizons of significancenegation of all horizons of significance”” fragmentationfragmentation special interest sound bite politics special interest sound bite politics


If the conversations of our cultureIf the conversations of our culturenow happen here ...now happen here ...

Why this matters ...Why this matters ...not controlled by the few not controlled by the few not one-waynot one-waycreated by, for, and around networks, not created by, for, and around networks, not

massesmassestransform individual pursuits into collective transform individual pursuits into collective

actionactionmakes makes ““groupgroup”” formation formation ““ridiculously easyridiculously easy””

(Paquet/Shirky) (Paquet/Shirky)

Why this might Why this might deeplydeeply matter ...matter ...

We know ourselves We know ourselves through our relations with others. through our relations with others.

New media create new ways of New media create new ways of relating to others.relating to others.

New media create new ways New media create new ways of knowing ourselves.of knowing ourselves.

Hello……………Me!

1,728,000 minutes/day

Over 1,000x faster than you can watch

493,714 videos/day

493,714 videos/day(just on YouTube)

1,000,000+ online videos per day

over 99.9% irrelevant to you (estimated)

viewed by less than 1% of Americansviewed by less than 1% of Americans

Who is on YouTube

(percentage of videos featuring people of different ages)

And yet …..

we connect!

What are the Components of What are the Components of Digital Citizenship Digital Citizenship

1. Digital Etiquette: rules and policy

2. Digital Communication: electronic exchange of information

3. Digital Literacy: process of learning about technology and the use of technology

4. Digital Access: full electronic participation in society.

5. Digital Commerce: electronic buying and selling of goods.

6. Digital Law & Ethics: electronic responsibility for actions and deeds

7. Digital Rights & Responsibilities: those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world.

8. Digital Health & Wellness: physical and psychological well-being in a digital world.

9. Digital Security (self-protection): electronic precautions to guarantee safety.

Can 140 Characters Make a Difference?Can 140 Characters Make a Difference?http://www.splashmedia.com/resources/blog/changing-the-world-in-140-characters-or-less/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgjIgMdsEuk

http://www.splashmedia.com/resources/blog/changing-the-world-in-140-characters-or-less/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgjIgMdsEuk

How a 22-year-old used Change.org to challenge one of America's largest financial institutions. ABC World News With Diane

Sawyer 28-10-2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfaQaz0J_a8

Education

Social Media: Week Four - Social Media Ecologies - Revised 4/12