Tag Archives: pub101

Essay 2

Ever since I could remember, I’ve loved gaming. Not just video gaming, but also board games and various other recreational games. On September 18th 2018, I made my first blog post. This was the Encounter With a Stranger post, it wasn’t particularly exciting nor accomplishing, but it was a step in the right direction. After 12 weeks of posting on my blog, I feel that I’d discovered an interest into content creation in the gaming genre.

The Online Self

Through all my process posts, there is a consistent theme of my bringing up of “The Online Self”. The online self is s persona that one creates or invents when they create content, such as Youtubers like Pewdiepie. The mannerisms and personality help the content creator engage with their audience, creating a coherent and loyal fanbase. I’ve had issues with developing an online persona around the first 3-4 weeks of the course, thinking that it’s awkward to be someone else. This led to the narrative of the blog being slightly dull, and my post introducing the game Overwatch perfectly illustrates a bland persona. There was no greeting to my audience at the introduction, I only focused on the technical analysis of the game, instead of cracking a few jokes, eliciting emotion or making connections to my real life. It was after I read John Suler’s The Online Disinhibition Effect, where I started to realize how I can develop my persona on my platform. Suler mentions seven different effects the online platform has on one’s personality, and the Dissociative Anonymity (Suler, 2004) effect resonated with me the most. Dissociative anonymity is the phenomena such that, a lot of times people interact with stranger on the internet, not knowing their true identity, and this anonymity empowers one to speak their true thoughts (Suler, 2004). This had taught me that I could display an even more “real” personality online, than I would with strangers in real life. From the post Infamous Second Son (PS4), I’ve started to incorporate greetings, and a few weeks later through Puzzles & Dragons (Mobile), I’ve integrated some of my real-life events like talking about my midterms. It is evident through my posts, that I was growing as a content creator, taking baby steps to engage with my audience.

The Design

At around week 10 of developing my blog, I started being more mindful on my Google Analytics, reflecting upon what the data tells me about my audience. According to my analytics by Monster Insights – a widget that I downloaded as an alternative to Google – there was a 62.96% bounce rate on my site. This means that around 63% of the sessions, the viewer leaves the site without going further than the homepage. My course of action against that was to drastically change the design of my webpage. The initial design of the banner, as I’ve been told by my peers, had too busy of a background which took the attention away from the navigation menu, which was integrated within the banner. This might have caused the user experience to lack in affordance. Affordance, according to Victor Kaptelinin in The Encyclopedia of Human Interaction, is design based on human intuitiveness (Kaptelinin, 2013). In order to create a more intuitive user experience, I changed the theme of my blog into having the banner on the left side of the page, taking up about 30% of the homepage. I feel that this puts more focus on the navigation menu, which helps the user explore my blog posts in a more robust manner. Furthermore, Mauve Page, a guest speaker from week 5 had given a presentation on web design and user experience. According to Page, contrast in the color and general content is critical in creating a point of focus for the audience (Page, 2018). This is also reflected on the change of banner on my blog, I chose a mostly white background for the banner, to create a contrast with the dark font of the navigation menu. This helps create a focal point for my audience, and ultimately develop an affordance in the navigation of my blog.

Final Thoughts

Over the course of the 12 weeks of this course, I feel that how my blog has evolved in terms of the Online Self and the Design and what I’ve learnt in this process is a skill that I will continue to explore. Blogging every week about gaming has been an eye-opening experience, as this is my first time creating content and a presence online. I’d like to continue this journey, expanding it to streaming games, creating Youtube commentaries or even podcasts. Developing an online persona has taught me how to engage with my audience, to create a coherent fan base.

Works Cited

  1. Soegaard, Mads & Friis Dam, Rikke. (2013). The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed..
  2. Suler, J. (2002). The basic psychological features of cyberspace. In The Psychology of Cyberspace, www.rider.edu/suler/psycyber/basicfeat.html (article orig. pub. 1996)
  3. Page, M. (2018). Some Considerations On Web Design And Type On Screens

 

 

 

Process Post 12 (Community Guidelines)

Community guidelines for any social media platform is an important element to have in order to lessen the risk of possible inappropriate behaviour with your site. For this week’s process post, we were to develop our own community guidelines and think of how we would implement them.

My site and its content can be a very touchy subject as it deals with very real and personal issues that many individuals have to face on a day to day basis. The content can also be different for those who may not be comfortable yet with such diversity and it may either clash with certain beliefs or challenge their thinking. It is important that my blog does not force any opinions, but merely highlights and brings to attention the importance of having diverse narratives and identities published online.

Four core community guidelines could go as follows (more could be added with further development of the blog):

  1. Create a Welcoming Space

Here, There stresses on diversity and opening up to listening and understanding multiple narratives, thus, it is important that the site creates an open and welcome space for all voices. By not offering a welcoming space, we are inhibiting the ability of those who may feel marginalized or already silenced to not be able to speak up and feel included within the discourse. No matter where someone may come from or who they may be, by creating an open space, Here, There will be able to carry out its objective of challenging hegemony and the “single narrative”.

2. No Hateful Comments

As a space that opens up to topics about issues regarding race, gender, and sexuality, topics can sometimes be very personal. As a space that encourages the freedom of speech, it is key to note that Here, There will carefully look at separating free speech from hate speech. We each have a perspective on how we view the world, but it is important to understand that hateful comments will not be tolerated and often come with negative repercussions.

3. Outright Discrimination Will Not be Tolerated

In conjunction with the second guideline, it is crucial that users do not make comments or post content that is discriminatory. As a blog that deals with the marginalized, discrimination is not uncommon for certain groups of people, so, having a no discrimination policy will help reduce what many have to face on a day to day basis.

4. Privacy

It is crucial for Here, There to make it aware that all comments and activity from users will be kept confidential. As the topics discussed can enter very complex and complicated situations that some may feel uncomfortable or uneasy telling, it will be the utmost importance to keep this information private – unless given permission by the individual to publish and share.

But How Will It Be Implemented?

The community guidelines for Here, There, would be a separate page to click at the top so that it is apparent and visible for visitors to the site. It will also be linked at the footer of the site as well so that when scrolling and navigating, it is easy and obvious to read and get to. The community guidelines will continue to grow as I learn from my audience as well as continue to learn of what constitutes a good blog of my subject matter.

But How Do We Regulate This?

The importance of having community guidelines is not to add heightened censorship to the site, but to enforce certain rules to minimize certain actions that will have negative implications towards the blog and its users. It will be key to have these guidelines carefully looked at so as not to create problems regarding the freedom of speech. Additional community guidelines that would be implemented would have to go under careful analysis to make sure that it continues to provide an open space for all, but still enforces the reduction of hateful and discriminatory behaviour and action.

 

Week 11: Remarkables

Darren  Barefoot from Capulet Communications accompanied by Sarah came into our class and talked about remarkables. For those who are unaware like I was, Capulet explains it well: Remarkables are high impact digital marketing campaigns meant to attract attention. These are the campaigns you remember even if you are not the target audience. These are the campaigns that stand out because they can easily take a simple idea and turn its head to be memorable. What I appreciate most about this presentation was that it gave context to how impactful it can be. Despite it being rooted in capital and business, the messages and content can easily transcend that.

For example, the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides pediatric palliative care to families across British Columbia. This can be a stressful and depressing place for everyone because it’s taking care of very sick children and making their end a bit easier. Capulet did a fantastic remarkable where they created a blanket fort with a complete library and toys for the kids to play just for the afternoon. This gave such a positive environment for everyone involved. For a grim place, they turned it to a place where they can be happy in.

It’s a great example in how it reaches multiple channels and then getting their messages across through these. The local news channels started covering it. They were posting in social media. It is posted on different blogs. Different people and networks are talking about and that’s powerful. They don’t have to be vested in the hospice or the people who are involved, but a remarkable can transcend the oversaturation of media content felt by many online users. There’s enough “feel good” on the internet but there’s also too many depressing topics and articles. Remarkables can leave an impact and be spoken above these.

Process Post – 9 (Developing Community Guidelines)

Online trolls are an inevitable subsection of a content creator’s audience as the content gains more attention. This is why all social medias and platforms for content creators have community guidelines, to control the toxicity nature of the comment section.

In my blog’s niche, a community guideline is prominent, because the gaming community is full of kids and teenagers who don’t think that they’ll have to be held accountable for what they say. However, as a gamer myself, I dont believe that there should be a profanity filter because being censored takes some fun out of engaging with the community. That being said, I strive to build a harmonious community where everyone is welcome to engage in.

(tentative) Community Guidelines:

  1. No pornography (links, videos, comments)
  2. No discriminatory comments towards and not limiting to – Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation
  3. No spam advertisements
  4. No exchanging personal information (emails, phone numbers)

I feel that the above tentative community guidelines are a good starting point to creating a safe and harmonious environment for my audience.

Process Post 11 (Transmedia Integration)

With plenty of media outlets in the world today, there is without a doubt plenty of ways to implement transmedia integration to your site. As described by Henry Jenkins, transmedia storytelling, “represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience.” (Jenkins 2007). This can be highly beneficial in enhancing the experience for users on the site and the possible objectives and message that you envision.

Luckily for my site, I already have one form of transmedia integration added, which is through the use of Soundcloud playlists on my “Let’s Listen” posts. This form of transmedia integration helps enhance the entertainment experience whilst aligning with my message for Here, There in terms of representing diversity within the arts and entertainment industry. This media integration also connects with my target audience of artistic individuals who have an appreciation for music and who are interested in discovering diverse artists. An additional benefit of including Soundcloud playlists would be the option to implement audience recommendations, both to increase engagement, but to also make full use of this type of transmedia integration.

Another way of adding transmedia integration for the future development of my blog could be through YouTube videos. As a blog that focuses on the arts, but also societal issues of race, gender, and sexuality, there are many opportunities to have visual and auditory media implemented. Possibly, having my own Buzzfeed or Cut style videos could help enhance the entertainment experience, in addition to videos posted that are partnered with, or directly connected to my site. This can help build relationships with other artists and individuals, help develop the blog and its audience, and enhance my message and objective.

Inspired by sites like Them. who provide subscription emails for important posts and issues, my blog could also implement this form of transmedia integration. As Henry Jenkins notes, the use of dispersing elements systematically across multiple channels can be beneficial in spreading a message. Having an option to subscribe through an email may not only offer a means of engagement and audience retention, but also spread awareness of my website and of important topics and issues.

Lastly, an additional transmedia integration for my site would be including multiple social media accounts. Nowadays, it is a given that most businesses, organizations, sites, and individuals use multiple social media accounts. The use of social media for my site would be a core element as it would not only link my Instagram (in order to establish a personality behind my blog), but also link a specific Instagram for Here, There. Photos would fit a certain aesthetic that relates to my blog, but also highlight diverse people, events, artists, shows, and current events. Additional social media integration would include a Facebook page and Twitter account, in which there would be specific posts on events and key topics discussed. These accounts would also create an additional place for engagement between the audience and my blog and hopefully maintain a welcoming and communicative space.

Process Post 10 (Monetization of the Site)

Many websites have options implemented to help the publisher or developer obtain some form of income from it – whether it is through advertisements or the actual selling of a product. For this week’s process post, we were to think of whether or not we would monetize our site and if so, how we would go about this. As my blog focuses on societal issues, similar to that of a nonprofit organization, it is a little challenging to think of monetization so as not to diverge from the message and objective of Here, There. It would be key to not become driven by monetary means and risk diverging from the core meaning and value of what my blog entails. However, there could be a few ways in which monetization can be implemented for the site and how it could be altered so that it would be beneficial.

The first way that Here, There could be monetized is if there are advertisements implemented. These would not just be random advertisements, but carefully reviewed advertisements that align with the focus for the blog. It would be key to have advertisements that would relate to issues regarding race, gender, and sexuality so that it not only fits my site aesthetically but also provides further ways to explore the ways to challenge the norms within society.

Another option for monetizing my site would be adding affiliate links to other sites. This could also work in terms of partnering with other groups, organizations, or sites that have a similar objective. Affiliate links that could be posted on a “Let’s Listen” playlist could direct my users to albums, artist’s sites, concerts and live shows, in addition to possible organizations that the artists themselves have started or are a part of. Affiliate links within a “Let’s Talk” post could direct users to something I am either discussing, such as a book or talk, or to an organization that may have partnered with my site in order to help a cause. Lastly, there could also be a donation option on my site where the proceeds would go towards a new organization every month.

Logo for Here, There to be put on merchandise

Apart from the online ways of monetizing my site, I could also implement more physical means such as going to events and being a representative for, Here, There, and possibly making connections and getting partnerships. Another way I could help monetize my site is creating merchandise, such as tote bags, T-shirts, posters, or phone cases. I would go about this by having my header image on every merchandise in order to have Here, There recognizable and to help bring new visitors to the site (and hopefully purchase merchandise as well). This would also connect with my target audience of artistic individuals and hopefully would help engage new and old users.

All in all, it is key to note that much of the monetization for my site would go towards specific causes. The majority of money that is gained from the site would go towards specific organizations (a new one every month as mentioned earlier) in hopes that this would increase audience engagement with the knowledge that their actions would have a positive impact.

Peer Review 3: Taking Life by the Love Handles

For my peer review, I am reviewing Jenella’s blog titled Taking Life by the Love Handles.

A quick glance of her homepage, I know why she chooses this theme. The pink tones and colorful photos of food are welcoming. The white is a nice contrast to highlight her blog content and it helps accentuate the colors of her photos. It’s appealing and easy on the eyes. It compels me to read more!

As you scroll down her homepage, her social media pages are easily available. To me, this is showing that she markets her personality with her blog. They go hand in hand and I believe she includes her own ‘self’ into her content. Where she eats tells something a little bit more about herself.

Food is the center of her brand, and she makes it clear. On her About page, she explains why she loves food and why it’s important to her. This idea and how she presents it is creating a space where she expresses herself and why she writes about food. She even addresses this when she shares her personal experience on doing something other than food on her Food and Friends blog.

These ideas are present and explained danah boyd’s It’s Complicated where she writes about the feeling of togetherness and through networked publics, communities can be connected through technology. For Jenella, she is creating this blog of togetherness. Almost all her times eating out are with friends! She shares her physical experiences through this network and her other channels.

She does a great job showcasing this physical space too. With her social media presence and her appealing photos, she is spreading wide on multiple channels. The pictures serve as a tangible step to a purely networked space. As seen in the Youtube stars’ trend on publishing books,  it’s good to have a balance of online and offline content. Her blog posts have a balance of media and text. It’s a bonus that she takes great photos!

I do want to suggest a way to have these ideas better presented in her blog. I feel that she has a lot to say, and it doesn’t have to sacrifice the content she already writes.

Hot Ones on Youtube

Hot Ones is one of my favorite web series because it brings a fresh take on interviews; eating very spicy wings and talking. What I want to highlight for Jenella’s blog is the fact that some guests do a great job conversing about the wings and about their careers well that it becomes an interview for both. Alton Brown comes to mind. Each restaurant she goes to does not necessarily need a ‘deep’ or ‘introspective’ conversation with her friends, but I see her as being part of the content too. I’m curious to see why she chooses this restaurant or what is exciting or familiar about this restaurant? These elements would give more ‘food’ to the readers about who she is and exemplify the reasons she loves the food.

Week 10: Internet For All

I remember seeing the Internet.org advertisements on the bus stops. They were everywhere. It was a call to have internet for all. I remember the ad wanted to give voice to areas that didn’t have internet. It wanted to connect the great minds and make it an equal field for the passionate ones. Until I read Mike Elgan’s The surprising truth about Facebook’s Internet.org for the class this week that I was reminded of that advertisement and, knowing Facebook’s reputation, I’m not surprised to find out the truth.

Internet.org, instead of connecting people with harder access of the internet, is actually just bringing in more people to sign up to their platform. They’re not interested in connecting people. They’re interested in the data that’s being surrendered. Now called Free Basics, Facebook targets countries that charge internet by the minute. They also take these users away and put them in Facebook’s own servers as a way to ‘save data usage’. They keep the users in Facebook in disguise of connecting them because they want to take complete control of their internet use and box them in using Facebook services. I like the metaphor that Elgan uses. It’s like giving a poor person a free sesame seed and claiming credit for giving them a free Big Mac.

This is important to speak about because these are multi billion dollar companies playing with user information. There’s no reason to fully trust these companies because they’re in for the business. If they claim some altruistic interest, it’s probably going to earn them money. Social networks have been controlled by capital and it will continue to take advantage of our use if we don’t question it. When I read this article, I consciously forgot the good and hope I felt when I saw the advertisement. I needed to be critical and realize that the ad played on my emotions and feel goodness. It just wanted to take my information. And by being critical and aware, I remember the ad for what it is, not what it was selling to me.

Process Post – 8

As we integrate our everyday lives with technology, there are undeniably limitless marketing/business opportunities. Creation, curation, and dissemination of free content comes with advertising opportunities, and as we’ve learnt, there are multiple channels to do so. I think that this is another fantastic way to engage with my audience, to establish my brand as a publisher. Furthermore it offers me an opportunity to think about putting advertisements on my blog to monetize this process. In my opinion, one of the channels with the most potential would be social media, especially Snapchat and Instagram. These two apps are perfect for my blog because of the target audience it can reach. According to Statista, Snapchat is a social media with one of the most pre-teens/ teenage users, with 23% of users being between the ages of 13-17 years old. This is perfect for my blog because my target audience would be gamers, and most teens/pre-teens game.

With the knowledge that social media is a profitable channel for my blog, I think my next course of action would be to create a Snapchat, and create more content on social media that would attract more users to my blog.

Links:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/326452/snapchat-age-group-usa/

Peer Review #3

Introduction

For the third peer review of this course, I’ve been assigned to review Joaquin’s blog – Belly Good Food Review. From the about page and the general recent content on his blog, it is apparent that this is a food review blog. I’m going to be categorizing the review of this blog in terms of general user experience (design) and content, relative to the demographic of the blog.

User Experience (Design)

Joaquin’s primary demographic for his blog would be foodies, or other food reviewers. I’ve personally known quite a few foodies myself and from hundreds and thousands of Instagram posts, it is common knowledge that they are famous for their appreciation for art and aesthetics. This brings us to the homepage of Belly Good Food Review, which is in my opinion, fantastic. The background of a picture with a filter of cool colors is complimented by the white texts of the name of this blog and the introductory statement. Further down the page, the background transitions to what looks like wooden panels, overlaid by individual posts with white borders and a picture that’s relevant to the post. The layout of the posts on the homepage is probably one of my favorite aspects to the blog as a user. I appreciate that the sizes of the posts are sufficient to showcase the content with a large picture, but not large enough to become a nuisance to have to scroll through.

The design of this blog is simply aesthetic, and generally a pleasant experience to surf through. That being said, there are some minor tweaks that I would suggest for this blog to make the user experience even better. As I scrolled through the posts, and commuted my way to page 3, I wanted to take a look at the “About” page, however, I could not find a navigation menu. I feel that a navigation menu is critical to help keep your audience oriented on your website, even more so as you add more content. Adding a navigation menu is a means of saving time and hassle for users, though a few seconds to go back to the home page and click on the “About” page might sound insignificant, but in my opinion, I feel that every second is valuable from the user’s perspective.

Content

The first impression of the blog from the homepage that I had was that it was going to be a fun read. This is because the introductory statement showed a sense of humor, that I just haven’t found in other blogs. “Peas to meat you! Orange you glad you discovered this site? Lettuce get right to it and taco ‘bout some gouda food!” word play genuinely brightened my mood, and I feel that it has and will continue to do that for his other viewers as well.

The first impression of the blog from the homepage that I had was that it was going to be a fun read. This is because the introductory statement, and the title from some of the blog posts like “New Design, Who Dis?” showed a sense of humor, that I just haven’t found in other blogs. The word plays in the introductory statement on the homepage “Peas to meat you! Orange you glad you discovered this site? Lettuce get right to it and taco ‘bout some gouda food!” genuinely brightened my mood, and I feel that it has and will continue to that for his other viewers as well.

Conclusion

After reading some of Joaquin’s blog posts, I feel that Belly Good Food Review’s most marketable trait is Joaquin himself. The personality and rapport that’s created on this blog is phenomenal, the light-hearted comedy would be the secondary or even the primary factor that people return to this site. With more functionality that’s based towards the user experience like adding a navigation bar, I feel that this is a website that I’d visit daily, even when I’m not quite a foodie!

 

 

 

Process Post 9 (Our Analytics)

This was an interesting week for a process post as we had to focus on the analytics of our website and the data collected. I never had an opportunity to create something where I would be able to look at a detailed analysis of user data. My experience with analytics has only been with my Instagram account, but I was unaware of the amount of information that could be accessed through Google Analytics. Unfortunately, because I have not promoted my site very much (as I was unaware coming into this class that we were going to be working with analytics) the data for my blog was marginal. This did make it a little more challenging to work with.

Audience data (Sept 23 – Nov 11)

Since I have not had experience working with Google Analytics, I must admit that it is quite overwhelming and complex to understand. Luckily, with Monique Sherrett’s presentation, some clarification was made in regards to Google Analytics. However, I will definitely have to continue to take some additional time navigating the site and understanding the data in order to fully grasp what I am looking at. Nevertheless, there was still information that provided insight as to how my audience was interacting with Here, There.

Looking at the basics of what is shown (from the start of syncing Google Analytics to the week of this Process Post), it is apparent that visitors to my site came in waves. I was not surprised by this as it was most likely due to certain moments within the course when we were to edit, observe or look at our peer’s sites. The audience overview shows that most users are new with only a few returning visitors. One aspect that I was most surprised by was seeing that a few users came from outside of Canada, such as the United States and even as far as India; I had to question how people found the blog when it was not publicly advertised.

More detail of users and visitors to site (Sept 23 – Nov 11)

Looking at the acquisitions, what surprised me was the average session duration at around 8:12, which was much longer than I expected. In addition, after adding goals for my conversions (having visitors enter my site), it was apparent that I was meeting them, which is also something that I did not expect given that I was not able to frequently update my blog as much as I intended.

Acquisitions of site (Sept 28 – Nov 11).

Seeing that most users and visitors landed and spent most of the time on the homepage, ways that I could change my online publication is making sure that the homepage is visually appealing and captivating. It would also be important to make sure the content on the homepage will have users continue to navigate and explore my blog, instead of leaving. Overall, having the ability to look at the analytics for my site was an eye-opening experience into how our work can create certain outcomes. It would be interesting to publish and share my blog throughout more media outlets in order to obtain more data and further insight into my audience and visitor engagement.

Peer Review #3

Welcome to the third and final peer review for Publications 101!

For this peer review, we were asked to focus on audiences and channels and analyze our peer’s marketability of the blog to their intended audience group. For this review, I was paired with Lil Waldegger’s blog, Keeping Up with Recipes. To give a brief breakdown of the blog, Lil focuses on “trying out new and trending recipes”, whether it’s a microwaveable mug recipe or a trending recipe that’s not worth all the hype. As Monique Sherrett from Boxcar Media discussed, two major things to think about when marketing your site or business includes your objectives and understanding who your intended audience is. Keeping Up with Recipes looks to have both of these key ideas – an objective and a clear target audience.

Before entering the site, what caught my attention was the name of the blog, Keeping Up with Recipes, as it reminded me of the popular television series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. I am not entirely sure if this was intentional, but I would argue that this name would catch the attention and do well with a younger demographic who understands the nuances of popular culture. Additionally, the name of the blog also speaks to the current information overload of the online environment – trying to keep up with all the trending and shared recipes definitely poses a problem, but Lil is here to help that. So, users who are both interested in cooking and recipes, plus active users of the Internet seems to be an appropriate audience. In some ways, this blog makes me think the Buzzfeed’s popular posts on trending recipes and sites like, Tasty, all which have that “millennial” audience appeal.

Keeping Up With Recipes Homepage

In regards to the layout of the blog, the intended audience that I also envision for Keeping Up with Recipes are individuals who appreciate a contemporary and minimalistic lifestyle. The header image and the images chosen for Lil’s posts align quite well in evoking a feeling of simplicity and modernity. I myself find the aesthetics of this homepage appealing and it feels like Lil understands what her blog’s objective is and the aesthetic she is aiming for.

After viewing more of Lil’s posts, it is clear that my initial understanding of her intended audience rings true. All the posts and recipes are kept quite simple and to the point, which can help especially in this digital age of skim reading. Alongside each post, there is a meme that relates to the discussed topic, which further exemplifies the younger, more online-centric audience who are familiar with popular media and trends. As Karina Tama from Forbes notes, “memes are engaging to all audiences, especially millennials.”, which is why  I feel that Lil’s implementation of memes adds a more entertaining, youthful, and unique value to the site, whilst drawing attention and engagement from meme-lovers alike.

Take a look at some of the entertaining and relatable memes provided by Lil:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, Lil’s blog, Keeping Up With Recipes, has a marketable element to it, especially towards the younger generation of meme-lovers. Although, apart from the memes, Lil seems to understand other aspects of her targeted audience of those who appreciate simplicity and minimalism. The content of the blog speaks to the current generation of people who enjoy internet trends and keeping life simple and easy. As Travis Gertz explains, designing from the heart is important and being able to speak to a specific audience creates a personality for your blog or business. I can see that Lil has put thought into her target audience and thus, her design and content of her site brings out her personality.

Week 9: My Infographic

I had very little experience with creating infographics. I’m not capable of making one from scratch so I opted for the free ones! Thankfully, I’ve used Piktochart to create mine and it’s very simple. With free software (and limited knowledge of the software), I came up with a very simple one.

my desktop screen

I wasn’t comfortable showing who I am online because I still have this unfamiliarity with blogs. So, I focused on my own online activities and how that represents me.

Discord and Reddit are big time spenders I have online. I like to be on Reddit because I can browse for news and find updates on topics that I follow. I don’t usually engage because I’m content with reading. I occasionally comment, but I prefer to stay anonymous. I use Discord because a few of my close friends are on there, and it’s an easy way to communicate when we play games online. These 2 are part of my online self. I am active in my own circles, but curious in others.

Instagram is the closest platform for me that represents my ideal online. I also want to create content that’s eye catching and interesting. I do have pieces of my personal life on there, but I try to keep it vague. I use it the most often because it’s a good aggregation of content that I want to see (especially the many dog accounts). All this combined represents who I am online, and I kept the theme neutral to focus on these aspects.

Process Post – 7

This week, I’ve been trying to set up the Google Analytics plugin for my blog. By installing Google Analytics, it can help me look at different user statistics on my blog. This will allow me to identify demographics on my website, user behavior on different pages (how long people stay), and adjust my site functionality accordingly. That being said, I had trouble setting up the Google Analytics plugin, because somehow it wouldn’t let me authenticate my google account. Thus, I tried using an alternative produced by Monster Insights, which also produces Google Analytics but simply an alternative plugin. I was able to authenticate my Google account for this plugin, however, it seems to be malfunctioning because it wouldn’t display any user activity (page views and sessions show 0). This means that there’s definitely some malfunction because I’ve visited the sites myself, my classmate has visited it, and my TA Ellen has also viewed it.

In conclusion, I will be focusing on setting up and troubleshooting Google Analytics plugin in the following week. Perhaps I will look at more forums and videos as guides.

Process Post 8 (Analytics)

Our online activity plays an important role for many businesses in terms of understanding their audience and the activity of users online. For this week’s process post, we were to discuss analytics and some of the pros and cons of collected data.

According to the business dictionary, analytics “often involves studying past historical data to research potential trends, to analyze the effects of certain decisions or events, or to evaluate the performance of a given tool or scenario.”. Understanding analytics can be key in improving one’s business or site and to confirm whether or not certain elements of your work actually have an impact on users. It is quite interesting to be able to track your audience’s activity and be able to make any necessary changes in order to create a desired objective or message. According to Hugo Moreno from Forbes, the concept of analytics is no longer just a nice option, but the core of the enterprise; they drive an enterprise and the formation of a strategy. The fact that technology has progressed to allow us to view, analyze, and dissect the analytics and data of our work and be able to alter our decisions based on this information is something quite profound for our time.

Although analytics is proven to be helpful, there can also me downfalls. Things that I find to be of a challenge would come from the creator and publisher’s side, but also as a user. As a publisher, such as myself, looking at analytics can sometimes be of a burden and diverting my attention to actually enjoying the work I put in. People may resort to unethical decisions just so they can improve their analytics or social profile, but disregard anything important about their own mental health. Take for example Instagram, by constantly viewing the analytics of a personal profile, the worry of what to post and when to post becomes more important than the actual enjoyment and freedom of the social media platform.

When does it become something for your own pleasure versus something only for the sake of others?

In addition, from a user’s perspective, knowing that websites (Facebook anyone??) can record and track your data may also be worrisome. How do we know what is being tracked and where our information is going? For large companies like Facebook, I tend to wonder parts of my online activity is being tracked and if I would want my activity to be tracked in the first place for monetization purposes. Are we really free to do what we please online? Or, is our every move just crucial sets of data for large companies to record and sell? Analytics has its pros and cons – I would argue that, especially in today’s technological age, that it is very important for us to understand what happens with our data online and when it can be of use and when we should take precautions.

Essay 1: Social Media is Capitalistic, Not Democratic

On February 2014, Facebook introduced an update called the real name policy (Bivens, 2017). This introduction increased gender identifications from 2 to 58 (Bivens, 2017). As an attempt of inclusivity, Facebook is perceived to be giving a democratic response to a growing concern of minorities in online spaces. More users can now choose who they identify themselves as without compromising their self-identity. However, after the policy has been implemented, many queer and LGBTQ members reported that they can no longer access their profile because their names do not fit with their supposed identity (Bivens, 2017). Facebook may be giving power to its queer users, but I argue that’s not the case. I argue that social media is capitalistic, not democratic. LGBTQ users’ names and genders are to fit in the heteronormative standard in order for marketers and the state to keep track of its citizens through surveillance and protection (MacAulay & Moldes, 2016). Non-binary users are always recoded back to the binary system, exposing the inauthentic gesture of Facebook as inclusive and democratic (Bivens, 2017). LGBTQ users’ fluid and changing experiences cannot be truly represented online. Thus, hindering their entrepreneurial pursuits and community building (Lingel & Golub, 2015).

On Facebook’s Help Center, there is a section that acknowledges names on Facebook (Facebook, 2018). Aside from the things to keep in mind, the standards specify that the name should appear on and ID or part of their ID document list (Facebook, 2018). This means that an expected first and last name must be created for the user. This may not necessarily reflect on queer identities and that already causes conflicts. 

The PEW Research conducted a survey on 1197 self-identified LGBT adults 18 years or older asking about their online use (PEW, 2013). Eighty percent of respondents use sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but the survey shows prohibiting behaviours online (PEW, 2013). Fifty six percent of surveyors said that they have not revealed their sexual identities online, and 83% do not regularly discuss LGBT issues online (PEW, 2013). LGBT groups experience different treatment in these online spaces, but still continue to use it. With Facebook’s real name policy, there was an attempt to be inclusive. Facebook is now in support of these minorities, and empowering them through their profiles. But as seen in MacAulay & Moldes, Bivens, and Lingel & Golub’s works, Facebook is driven by capitalistic notions, disguising their authentic gestures to mask its market driven responses.

MacAulay & Moldes acknowledges that Facebook uses the real name policy to justify legal precedents and cite harmful actions towards others such as harassment, impersonation and trolling (2016). While these seem legitimate concerns, they find that they’re less interested in protecting them rather than making the users ‘transparent to the market and the state’ (MacAulay & Moldes, 2016). A key concept they identify stemming from queer theory is normativity (or heteronormativity). This is described as a regulatory system that naturalizes sex and gender (MacAulay & Moldes, 2016). This process of normativity means that agents and groups take the effort to impose and force individuals to fit into existing systems to keep order or regulate easier. Heteronormativity then entails that binary systems (male and female) are the correct and only way to follow due to economic and legal precedents. This means that anyone who deviates from it are not ‘performing correctly’ (MacAulay & Moldes, 2016). Data collection is another issue that they bring up because this forces users who actively avoid as part of Facebook’s marketer aggregation. They have to choose between binary choices that will not fit them, and that can result in their accounts being banned or ultimately not use the service anymore. A democratic practice in social media will allow any individual to self-express and create within their own public spaces, but the notion of heteronormativity does not give that space to queer users. It simply favours what funds the company running the service. They also cite the increase of market shares that occurred in 2014 after the real name policy was introduced. Market shares in 2011 decreased to 19.82 USD after reports of fake users on Facebook surfaced and after the real name policy was implemented, the shares rose to 78.02 USD in December 2014 (MacAulay & Moldes, 2016). The theory of normativity serves as a great interest to what can be marketed and how that affects minorities who want to use Facebook. And these experiences continue to exist.

Bivens examined Facebook’s gender coding system and found that when coding the genders, females were assigned 1, males were assigned 2, and the ‘undefined’ were assigned 0 (2017). This undefined category has been the standard for coding non-binary genders and how that allows Facebook to include so many gender options. On one hand, the number 0 allows for the existence of non-binaries, but does not exactly fit into the binary code (Bivens, 2017). Bivens found that later updates to the code see that newly assigned genders and their code will default to the undefined because the codes were not established since creating it (2017). The 56 additional genders are now, in the back end, defaulted to 0 even if it is given a defined gender (Bivens, 2017). This allowed Facebook to easily aggregate data that can be sent to marketers who are only interested in the binary genders (Bivens, 2017). The nuances and multiple gender identities have been devolved to 0 and continuously will not receive the technological support on Facebook. These regulations are masked as authenticity, and it does not seem democratic. Rather, it forces its users into shaping to what is acceptable online and what numbers can be easily assigned to them so that it can be quickly shared and sold online. 

It does not support the lives and work of other members of the community too. Drag users are greatly affected by restricting user information flexibility to fit with their fluid and changing personalities to continuously be entertaining drag queens (Lingel & Golub, 2015). Online identity work has become an extension of their own work, and that continuity allows them to stay connected with their fans and fellow queens. It supports them in a capitalistic sense that allows them to advertise their shows and market their identities, but it does not allow multiple identities (Lingel & Golub, 2015). This, again, falls into the notion of normativity where they are forced into one trackable identity. Facebook acknowledges an inclusivity of users, but does not acknowledge multiple and fluid online identities (Lingel & Golub, 2015). Instead, it advocates a unifying and unitary profile (Lingel & Golub, 2015). While drags do not represent the majority of the LGBTQ community, these collective experiences contribute to a shared, limited, and constrained online experience that does not allow the desired expectation to freely express themselves. Rather, they have to fit the normative mold to appease Facebook’s marketers and regulators. The real name policy is just another example in online social spaces that operates to generate revenue. Facebook acts for money, not for its users.

Reference

Bivens, R. (2017). The gender binary will not be deprogrammed: Ten years of coding gender on Facebook. New Media & Society, 19(6), 880–898. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1177/1461444815621527.

Facebook (2018). What names are allowed on Facebook? Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/help/112146705538576?helpref=faq_content.

Lingel, J., & Golub, A. (2015). In Face on Facebook: Brooklyn’s Drag Community and Sociotechnical Practices of Online Communication: IN FACE ON FACEBOOK. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(5), 536-553.

MacAulay, M., & Moldes, M. (2016). Queen don’t compute: Reading and casting shade on Facebook’s real names policy. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 33(1), 6-22.

PEW Research Center (2013, June 13). A survey of LGBT Americans: LGBT adults online. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/06/13/a-survey-of-lgbt-americans/.

Mini Assignment 4: Remix Something!

Hi, my girlfriend took a really cute interaction of 2 dogs. We both love a Shiba Inu so this is extra great to me. She did her own edit to it, but I wanted to make my own remix to it. This is my mood for how aggressive all this productivity is to me. I chose the biggest looming figure over me that’s intimidating me. It’s not the smartphones that I’m writing about. It’s this:

yup.