Author Archives: Dominic Davis

Twitter’s Path to Citizen Journalism

The current state of social media seems to be facing an intersection, what ensues next will decide how reliable these platforms will truly be. I have been reflecting lots on how I consume my news, information, and speculation online; whether I am looking for it or it is being presented to me. Is the social media we all are consumed by truly democratic? Who is reliable and who calls the shots? After doing some research, I wanted to share my findings regarding our present-day processes of news and journalism as well as the foresight on what may be coming to social networks in the future.

I began this analysis of our social media platforms current state on censorship and free speech with those that have been banned from them. We find ourselves at a confusing point in time where society is craving freedom and truth, yet simultaneously all acknowledging and accepting the misinformation we are provided. As most know, there have been some well-known individuals being removed from all socials across the board. Where I do understand the reasoning behind these decisions, it also reiterates the lack of control us users have over our online profiles and posting. As a society we utilize socials for much more than seeing how our friend’s vacation was, we are given all the recent news and stories occurring around the world (some true, some false). This is one of the best parts to this technology but deciphering what’s reliable and true is what has become difficult. Now seeing people being removed from these platforms with no say revokes our free speech, why is it a journalist can write a full story on a topic they know minimal about with insignificant fact checking but others with a bigger spotlight do? Reading the question, “Is a person with two million followers less likely to get locked out of Twitter for saying the same things as someone with 100 followers?” really got me thinking. We do live in a world filled with noise and much of it is pointless intake, we need to decide what we consume. When I realized there is more of emphasis on who says what rather than what is said is scary. The larger your audience, the more caution you need to take; this removes the whole point of free speech in its truest essence because someone has more followers, they are supposed to expect censorship? “The instinct is to shut them down, shut them up…” (King et al., 2022). This not how we must go about controlling someone else’s speech. Censorship will not restore the problems of those involved, lied to, or excluded from social media. “Libel has been the last defense… Libel laws are clearly inadequate and puny against the enormity of social media, but they are a place to begin. A new reality must, and will in time, get new mechanisms to contend with it” (King et al., 2022).

A new reality, a new social network… This is what brings me to where we are today and what may be coming in the future to our beloved social media platforms. As most know by now, Elon Musk has acquired Twitter, one of the bigger deals we have seen in this space for a while. Now many do not love this move by Musk, but one thing users have connected lots too is citizens journalism. As someone working in the crypto space, more than 90% of my news/information comes from Twitter. Of course, there are unethical and dishonest actors in this space but when you move past them, we are able to gather the most reliable and timely info that would not be brought to society for days in the traditional news space. I am not looking for revolutionary capabilities from Musk and Twitter but rather emphasis and refinement on the current platform. “The concept of the citizen journalist is that they’re on the ground, ordinary people in extraordinary situations, whether they’re Twitter Blue or not” (Bloomberg, 2022). How does this plan get put into place though? Musk shared via Twitter how he loves the platform and its ability to “… disseminate news without an establishment bias” (Musk, 2022). A concept, I had not heard much of until recently but Musk being somewhat in tap with the crypto space understands the high-quality content being produced on Twitter and spoke briefly on it in a Twitter Space that I was in (very cool experience). Each day, we are flooded with misinformation and influential posts that carry much more weight in our mind than we realize. Elon has taken notice to this and has shared his vision for the platform, and I believe there is something special that could be built. As of today, Elon has been trying to formulate a plan to effectively instill a new way of verification for the platform. His recent attempt to change the requirements for Twitter Blue by offering a paid verification in which relies on users acting honestly. Now this received plenty of flack as it appeared more as an economic stunt but nevertheless it is giving the power to regular joes to contribute. (HT, 2022) Musk tweeted, “As Twitter pursues the goal of elevating citizen journalism, media elite will try everything to stop that from happening.” Following this, he does share that “Mainstream media will still thrive, but increased competition from citizens will cause them to be more accurate, as their oligopoly on information is disrupted”(Musk, 2022). With all this being said, I understand both sides respective views, as someone who recently witnessed the false news coming from well-respected sources as the people on the “ground” discussed the real true it was wild to see how mainstream media jumps to conclusions just as fast as the next person.

Taking this all into account, we are at an interesting time for social platforms with regards to censorship, freedom of speech and honesty online. I am thrilled for the growth we will see with respect to citizens journalism and its contribution to effective truthful news deployment. There is still a lot of work to be done but I see Elon’s plan for Twitter and free speech as a positive for our platforms.

References
Atske, S. (2022, October 6). The role of alternative social media in the news and information environment. Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/10/06/the-role-of-alternative-social-media-in-the-news-and-information-environment/
Bloomberg, G. R. |. (2022, November 24). Elon Musk must preserve Twitter’s most vital function – citizen journalism. Business Standard News. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/elon-musk-must-preserve-twitter-s-most-vital-function-citizen-journalism-122112400132_1.html
Elon Musk on ‘citizen journalism’ and ‘oligopoly on information’ in fresh tweet. Hindustan Times. (2022, November 12). Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/elon-musk-on-citizen-journalism-and-oligopoly-on-information-in-fresh-tweet-101668225522284.html
Elon Musk, 2022. Quoted Tweets via Twitter
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585292083610279936
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1591121142961799168
King, L., Williams, R., & Clay, G. (2022, May 19). Censorship isn’t the solution to social media’s ills. InsideSources. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://insidesources.com/censorship-isnt-the-solution-to-social-medias-ills/
MacCarthy, M. (2022, October 12). Government efforts to censor social media should be transparent. Forbes. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/washingtonbytes/2022/10/05/government-efforts-to-censor-social-media-should-be-transparent/?sh=48f7036270cf

Community guidelines

Reflecting on my site and its values, it is important I clearly state my guidelines for optimal functionality. I am looking to share content that brings value. For this reason, my platform is a welcoming environment where I wish to build a community of likeminded individuals as well as onboard others into this awesome new space. My inbox is always open, though I expect those who contact me through any of my social channels are respectful and amicable as I will do the same.  If there are ever questions or topics you wish to speak more on I am happy to organize a time to speak. Please feel free share new findings or trends occurring in the space if you are following it as well because the more information the better.

I believe these are the guidelines that suit my platform the best as I wish to engage my audience in conversation as much as possible. I believe clearly stating my wish for amicable discussion is effective as there will always be individuals who do not agree with all my perspectives. I will implement them via posting my guidelines for all users to see as the earlier it is known the better.

Peer Review #3

Site Development

As I complete my third peer review of website developments, this process has been great experience in bettering my own content through analysis of other successful individuals work. For this review, I was tasked with assessing Brianna’s website Perfume Log”. I really enjoyed reading through this website as it was super easy to navigate and explore. The focus of the site is for readers to learn about new perfumes and use this information to make informed decisions on perfume purchasing. When first entering the site, you are greeted with a simple and fitting home page where navigation to posts is direct. She has a variety of different reviews and a super engaging rating system that helps consumers clearly understand the product.

Typography

I felt that the typography of Brianna’s website is suitable for her content, as this site has a clear focus, and the chosen fonts and flavour is a great match for the perfume industry. I would advise considering the centering decision for the home page description. I feel as though it may be more suitable to reorganize the setting of the writing as it makes it slightly confusing. As for the image choice for the home page, I think there may be a better way of placing the image. Considering a layer of the image with text could be a fun change or else maybe clearer portion of writing and add extras picture in between.

Content Development and Categories

Brianna’s content was very enjoyable to read, she is engaging and provides valuable reviews. I found that her content is very solid and the only suggestions I would think to mention revolves mainly on the categories she has set. The PUB 101 section is great and clearly stated so not edits in that regard but where I believe could benefit from refinement would be in the perfume log. I think that creating subcategories for the perfumes whether they are split up based on review score, type of perfume or even a price point could be super interesting.

Marketability and Intended audience

Most importantly of this peer review is the emphasis on the marketability of Brianna’s website and how has she aligned the intended audience. Firstly, the marketability of the “Perfume Log” is well established. The ability to interpret and enjoy the high level content with great reviews as well.

Understanding analytics, understanding your consumers

Understanding analytics and consumer habits is such a crucial factor to being a successful content creator and business owner. As I dive deeper into the growth and marketing side to business I have begun taken much more notice into these processes. I have just recently started utilizing the analytics functions for my sites but it has been super helpful when it comes to understanding the way people interact and navigate your site/platform. Something I have noticed for myself is that my general site navigation needs to be optimized, when your site entices users to continue to explore and consume the job is being done and I found that through analytical assessment there are certain categories that tend to block users from continuing. With this new information I have made alterations and look forward to reassessing in a few weeks to see the results.

“Two’s, Seven’s, and E’s for F’s” – Remix

What would someone working in the crazy industry of crypto choose to remix? I decided no better option than Tyler Hobbs, Texas born digital artists collection; “Fidenzas”.

The newly remixed image below is a combination of three separate NFTs from his collection released earlier last year. It may seem abstract but I utilized Adobe Express to mash his top sellers into one masterpiece.

I call it… “Two’s, Seven’s, and E’s for F’s”.

Each one of these pieces of digital art were purchased on the secondary market at the outrageous prices above. So maybe I should try and sell this powerhouse too?

“Two’s, Seven’s, and E’s for F’s”

Remixing something? Hmmm… I created a piece of art for my remix, so if you are interested why I chose what I did- this is why. As I work in this abstract sector we call crypto, I see astonishing art and digital collectibles traded all day. When I began, it all seemed so confusing and bizarre but as time past I became addicted.

Do not get me wrong, there is plenty of garbage out there but hidden in all this noise I have found some of the most impressing artists and people. The work I chose to remix is by an man name Tyler Hobbs. Texas born, digital artist produced many collections but this one specifically resulted in some of the biggest sales in web3. When I say big, I mean big… like millions.

His collection called “Fidenzas” was my focus and I decided to utilize Adobe and combine the 3 most expensive pieces sold on secondary market into one. I called it the “Two’s, Seven’s, and E’s for F’s”, now why in the world would I call it that? Well because in total there was 2727 Ethereum transacted for pieces of art called Fidenza’s.

Go check it out in the mini assignments section!!

What is MEV? Why is MEV so relevant after the Ethereum merge?

MEV: “Maximal Extractable Value”. To understand MEV and its relevance post Merge, you must first grasp who will perform block confirmations on the network. While Proof-of-Work (PoW) $ETH relies on miners to secure the network, Proof-of-Stake (PoS) $ETH will rely on “validators”.

In both consensus processes, pending transactions are held in the network’s “visible waiting area” known as the “Mempool”. Transactions will sit until a miner or validator selects them, orders them and creates a block out of the information.

Once complete, that block is then validated by nodes in a network and added to the official chain. When the pending transactions sits in that mempool, miners and validators have found ways to profit from them by including, excluding or reordering transactions in a block.

This strategy is the maximal (formerly miner) extractable value (MEV). In other words, MEV can be viewed as an “invisible tax” that miners/validators can collect from users. Think of it as the maximum value a miner can extract from moving around transactions when producing a block on a blockchain network.

Over the next little while we will begin to see more and more activity. Competition between block building protocols, validators and former miners will all be present as they aim to take hold of this market

Do not copy copy

For a process post, I thought to share my thoughts around copying content and what I believe is the ethical approach worth considering. I have always been an observant individual and when it comes to content consumption, I continue to see many similar posts in the crypto twitter space. I personally believe content comes mainly from iteration and that is why I see it as a great utility to improve the content you are creating. That being said, it is not about copying directly but more consuming and adding your own flavour will translate to better pieces of online work. It is something difficult to grasp but very important in understanding. I have been listening to many Twitter spaces and I was listening to a very well respected individual in my respective industry that was adamant in being ok with copying as long as it does not involve plagiarism. It is something to be weary of as you do not want to put yourself in a situation that can discredit your work.