User talk:Beespence1

Beespence1 (discuss • contribs) 15:49, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Hello, this my user discussion page. I will use this to register my work on my project. If you would like to get in touch please reply on my discussion page.

Wiki exercise #1: Educational assignment
During Super Bowl 50 there was an advertisement aired which aimed to spread awareness about the dangers of opium and heroin. The ad produced by NCADA and entitled "All American Girl" portrays what one can lose under the influence of heroin by showing a teenage girl abandoning various commodities of life, such as, school, friends and family, and how detachment from these commodities can leave someone helpless and alone. The ad encouraged the use of #heroin in order to effectively spread its message through social media services such as Twitter and Instagram.

Critical Response
Since its debut at Super Bowl 50, "All American Girl" has received overall favourable reviews with many using social media to applaud the NCADA for their boldness and decision to create an advertisement with the aim of increasing awareness towards drug dependency. Blogger Jessica Rawden from Cinema Blend has commented on the memorable qualities of the advertisement and its striking nature, even though she also highlights the juxtaposition about airing the advertisement after a spectacular half-time show featuring Beyonce, Bruno Mars and Coldplay.

Juliet Roxspin from A.A.R.M.E.D With Facts, however, has a less than appealing response towards "All American Girl". Roxspin directs her attention to wider social implications that are exhibited throughout the advertisement. Such implications that are noted are lack of racial diversification as the advertisement only portrays a white young girl and promotes her as an all American girl. Roxspin further criticises the NCADA by stating how the portrayal of an attractive young blonde girl who eventually begins to lose her looks, wanders into perverse and sexist territory, even going as far as to say "But I guess underage sexual objectification sells?" and questioning the NCADA on their choice of demographic, arguably jesting towards it being child predators who sell heroin.

Social Media as a Therapeutic Tool
The employment of #heroin, accompanied with NCADA's slogan, "share your story on Instagram", can undoubtedly act as a gateway for victims of drug abuse to escape from the shadows of solidarity by using social media services such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and even Youtube to, as the slogan suggests, share experiences, progression and personal victories on a global scale. The conversing of stories told by people around the world can allow such victims to detach oneself from the crippling inhibitions of social judgement, paving the way for a gradual and confident recovery. By sharing stories and experiences, progressions can be made to the invitation to chat-rooms with a dedication towards the rehabilitation of victims of drug abuse. This can be much more effective than conversing with a therapist as it is extremely difficult to connect to someone who has no experience with drug abuse, and it an be challenging to understand the strife of someone who is currently abusing drugs.

Marker’s Comment

 * You can certainly write very well, and this comes through in abundance in terms of the critical approach you maintain in your post. Although I think that you could have been a little more explicit in terms of reference to specific module themes and concerns, this is still a really good example of how to interpret the brief and respond to it in a critical, engaged and thoughtful manner. Good use of markup to present the work in a neat and orderly fashion.


 * A post of this standard roughly corresponds to the following grade descriptor - at the lower end, perhaps, but nonetheless very good work so far:
 * Excellent. Among other things, these entries will probably demonstrate a complex, critical understanding of the themes of the module. They will communicate very effectively, making excellent and creative use of the possibilities of the form (including links, as well as perhaps copyright-free videos and images, linked to from Wiki Commons), and may be written with some skill and flair. They will address the assignment tasks in a thoughtful way. They will make insightful connections between original examples and relevant concepts. They will be informed by serious reading and reflection, are likely to demonstrate originality of thought, and will probably be rewarding and informative for the reader. The wiki markup formatting will be impeccable.

RE: Comments on others’ work

 * These are on time and provide an excellent example of how the format can be used to exchange ideas and discuss work-in-progress - lots of content, scope and reference to module themes is made explicit. Remember that your comments on other people's work is weighted as heavily as your own post when it comes to grades - in this case your comments have, if anything, enabled you to pull your marks up a little. Keep this up, good work!! GregXenon01 (discuss • contribs) 14:51, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

Comments
I welcome any feedback or queries. Beespence1 (discuss • contribs) 02:40, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

Really interesting article! this is something which I personally had no idea about due to the amount of time spent talking about the halftime show instead of issues like this. I also like how you have laid out your page just like the wiki pages with headings. Lubo95 (discuss • contribs) 11:42, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

Wiki exercise #2: Visibility and Online Footprint (Educational Assignment)
Visibility online can be hard to determine. After all, many of us try and keep as much information about ourselves as private as possible. However, no matter how hard we try to stay private in the digital realm, there is always someone there to remind us that whatever we upload online can be made available for the whole world to see.

Facebook
My primary usage of Facebook is communicating with contacts via messenger or communication within private groups that I am part of. While I like to believe that my conversations within messenger are only able to be viewed by those also involved in the private conversation, it's all to easy to screenshot the discussion and post to your Facebook wall, making it readable to friends and their friends and potentially the world, as other social platforms such as the Lad bibile or 9GAG, routinely have messenger conversations uploaded to their site meaning individuals from around the globe can see a discussion from a supposedly private feature on Facebook.

Reddit
Reddit is a social networking service allowing members to upload text, images, links to bulletin board style pages within the site called "subreddits". It is extremely public and any uploaded content is viewed by the masses. As such, this means I am completely visible to strangers and, these strangers can actively comment on my activity and contributions. Because this site is practically unmediated, it means it is monitored by governing organisations such as, local police and F.B.I, significantly increasing how easily I can be tracked in terms of ISP and location. The reasoning for this site being monitored is due to other similar sites such as 4chan being used for criminal activities.

Instagram
I seldom use Instagram to upload pictures of myself or where I've been, in fact I have never actually taken a selfie before, something I am oddly proud of. My use on Instagram is to browse the latest products of some of my favourite brands and keep up-to-date with any information surrounding the products. Knowing that Instagram is an image sharing service operating within the digital sphere, I am under no illusion that if I was to upload any images of myself that not only does that image become public, but third party organisations can also use that image, without my consent, as it is no longer my property once uploaded to any social networking site.

How Visible Am I?
I am always going to be visible online in some aspect, even when I'm not logged in to any social media services. I can use various privacy settings that may limit how visible I am to strangers, but with most social media sites, my profile picture and basic information are still displayed, so my name and appearance are visible in the digital sphere 24/7. The only real control I have within my digitised social sphere is what I populate it with, whether it is posts, images or shared files. If the only aspect of social services I have control over is what I populate it with, then self-control must align with self-mediation as I must be sure that whatever I upload will not lead to repercussions. Once something is in the public sphere, it is there forever.

Comments
Beespence1 (discuss • contribs) 21:57, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

I find quite interesting your points about the online visibility, and the difference that any kind of social media bring to this concept, and how is something the difference between privacy and visibility that define the social media itself and the way to use it. I think it is quite important to praise your awareness of the medium and the fact that you said “Once something is in the public sphere (on internet), it is there forever.” and I will add “is there forever, for anybody who wants to see it” I think it is quite important to stress the idea that almost everybody can check your private life when you upload it on the social media, and if you think about it may sound like something scary; what if in the real world anybody that you know was constantly there to check what you are doing; by the end of the second hour you would be scared hiding yourself by the rest of the world. In my opinion the really interesting thing about any social media is the fake protection that you think you have while you are sharing your life with the others, sometime without not really understanding what you are really putting on the line.Wecandobetter (discuss • contribs) 04:57, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

Wiki exercise #3: Information Overload (Educational Assignment)
Information overload. A fairly self explanatory term in which an individual may have difficulty rationalising or understanding issues due to over exposure of information. It has gained prominence with societies propulsion into the Information Age and, as a result of it's ubiquitous nature, theorists from various fields of science, including sociology and psychology, and media scholars have elected it as a subject of scrutinous studies.

Causes of Information Overload
Information overload is a highly digitised concept not exclusive to printed advertisements or the ubiquity of the written word. Instead, the over abundance of information is more commonly experienced while networking, watching television or listening to the radio. The most prolific form of information overload is located while using the internet or telecommunication. This is due to many causes, such as, the ease of duplicated and excessively transmitted information over the internet, the ever growing channels that mediums can use to communicate with individuals- after all, Marshall McLuhan's notion that "the medium is the message" when discussing the effects of technological determinism only encourages the creation of new channels in order for the message (medium) to reach the masses. Some examples of these channels are: telephone, television, instant messaging and e-mail. In the aspect of television, particularly news broadcasts, the overload of information can be traced to the tactic of journalism of assertion. Due to ease of transmission and access to a growing number of channels, in essence what is being created is the definite possibility for contradiction and false information, which leads to an inability to properly make rational decisions.

How To Deal With Information Overload
In an effort to stay in control while inundated with information, some personal uses I employ are simply disciplining myself while online or using devices such as phones, tablets and laptops. I may not always be successful, but through continuous employment I can gradually uncouple my desire to check notifications, which are a pulling force that pry my attention away from tasks I should be doing. Media studies has helped with this as it trains me to process information more critically and consciously, for example Clay Shirky states that information overload is not the problem, but instead a failure to filter information. Clay Johnson builds upon this statement by using the metaphor of dieting to deal with information overload. Johnson states that people tend to "eat dessert first" when absorbing information by only absorbing topics which interest them. These topics are then spread online contributing to 'Information Obesity'.

Comments
Beespence1 (discuss • contribs) 02:35, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

I found your article very informative and interesting, particularly the notion you site from Clay Shirky that information overload is simply a lack of filtering. However, even though I do agree that we now have a responsibility to filter information, and it comes as a consequence of being part of an "always-on" culture, I do not think we should be held entirely responsible for the constant advertisement and links which prey on our natural curiosity. I would therefore say that sites which project information at us are sometimes culpable for the media burnout that we often feel, which leads us to swearing off the web for a couple days. Even though we are the ones which look at the information, if the information was not there piquing our interest, there would not be such a problem or even stress when surfing the web. Of course this is an idealistic notion however we can make certain efforts to filter out information such as ad-blockers or banning certain words from our search engines.--DunkyNG (discuss • contribs) 10:42, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

I found your essay really interesting, especially the Johnson study you referred to. Their "eat dessert first" theory is fundamental to my understanding of how information overload affects and distracts us the most - by being so easy to access we are inherently drawn to the things that will please us most, and have only moral hesitation in doing so, there are no physical barriers to this anymore. I certainly agree it is our responsibility to cope with this, however I feel some of the blame has to go to Internet and service providers as well - take a look at the new ad blocking service the Three Mobile company are rolling out in the UK and Germany soon Lyndzcmedia (discuss • contribs) 11:30, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

Wiki exercise #4: Wikibook Project Reflective Account (Educational Assignment)
The format of the Wikibooks project and the format of Wikipedia itself is a clear example of cognitive surplus. It encourages the individual submission of content to be remixed to a collective state of satisfaction. This was a primary objective of the Wikibooks project as it relied on a large proportion of online communication between individuals and groups to promote a structure, initial content, and content that could be refined by larger groups as democratically as possible.

However, there are some critiques regarding the project that were a direct result of the cognitive surplus mode of content submission. As cognitive surplus can be partly defined as the voluntary and free submission of content, there were limitations that opposed voluntary submission, most notably the consequences to ones overall grade for the project if failing to submit anything or very little. I feel as if this project had the intention of being democratic, which is why such a large proportion of the final grade is based on individual contributions to encourage critical discussions about the content and structure, although considering the large number of individuals involved in the project, it is near impossible to engage in offline discussions with everyone, therefore not everyone started the project at the same time. This caused the project to become overwhelmingly political. For those who engaged with the project early on, a small democratic party was created which set guidelines for structure and content, with each member of this party routinely discussing with one another. For those starting to engage with the project at a later stage, they were subject to a light form of dictatorship. The pre-set guidelines could be altered (in theory), but it wasn't the majority that had to agree or be convinced, it was the ironically named democratic party, and the majority of suggested alterations were answered with a resounding refusal. Regardless of which political party one resided in, the emphasis on contributions resulted in individuals becoming too dependent on this aspect of the project as it bears the highest percentage of the final grade. Consequently, this led to unnecessary discussions and view of the bigger picture, so to speak, to be blurred. The task was to produce a detailed wikibook using the tools on offer, one of which is the ability to communicate with other contributors, not produce a transcript.

Following on with the political observations of the Wikibooks project, one can argue that using freeware to host crowdsourced content can classify this project as a form of info-communism. This is because the mode of production shares similarities with the basic principles of communism for the production of information. Further arguments for the Wikibooks project being a form of info-communism is due to the fact that the means of production belongs to the contributors as the content can be freely modified, analysed and used. The contributions aspect of the project justifies how the contributors manage the production of content by agreeing on decisions related to structure and what is required to be included in the content, this adoption of a participatory democracy in actually a foundation principle of info-communism. The free to use nature of Wikibooks means that the content is owned by all contributors and can be easily accessed by anyone, unlike capitalism for example whereby any product or values would be exchanged for commodities. After all, Wikipedia's motto is "Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge" proving that even Wikipedia's intrinsic values are aligned with info-communism, promoting free and voluntarily produced content rather than a capitalist structure.

Comments
Beespence1 (discuss • contribs) 01:50, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

Marker’s Feedback on Wikibook Project Work
You seem to be the author of one major edit, and also contribute some content to another section (including some formatting work) on the chapter page. The main contrib is fairly well written and includes some interwiki and external links, as well as citation. One of the sources you use appears to be a student essay found online? Sustained engagement in the background during the whole project period meant that you were able to help develop work on the discussion pages and significantly help improve the chapter content overall. The exercise posts improved as the project developed, evidencing a clear learning curve – some exceptional work in Exercise 4 especially, showcases deep understanding of processes in the project and how they relate to the modules concerns!

Wiki Exercises


 * Excellent. Among other things, these entries will probably demonstrate a complex, critical understanding of the themes of the module. They will communicate very effectively, making excellent and creative use of the possibilities of the form (including links, as well as perhaps copyright-free videos and images, linked to from Wiki Commons), and may be written with some skill and flair. They will address the assignment tasks in a thoughtful way. They will make insightful connections between original examples and relevant concepts. They will be informed by serious reading and reflection, are likely to demonstrate originality of thought, and will probably be rewarding and informative for the reader. The wiki markup formatting will be impeccable.

Content (weighted 20%)

 * Your contribution to the book page gives a good brief overview of the subject under discussion in your chosen themed chapter. There is a good range of concepts associated with your subject, and the effort to deliver critical definitions, drawing from relevant literature and scholarship, and your own critical voice in the building of a robust argument is very much in evidence. The primary and secondary sources you found about the chapter’s themes cover a good range and depth of subject matter.

Understanding (weighted 30%)

 * Reading and research:
 * evidence of critical engagement with set materials, featuring discriminating command of a comprehensive  range of relevant materials and analyses
 * evidence of independent reading of appropriate academic and peer-reviewed material to an exemplary level
 * Argument and analysis:
 * well-articulated and well-supported argument through considered judgement relating to key issues, concepts or procedures
 * exemplary evidence of critical thinking (through taking a position in relation to key ideas from the module, and supporting this position);
 * comprehensive evidence of relational thinking (through making connections between key ideas from the module and wider literature, and supporting these connections);
 * considerable evidence of independent critical ability

Engagement (weighted 50%)

 * Evidence from contributions to both editing and discussion of content to an appreciable standard (i.e. volume and breadth of activity as evidenced through contribs)
 * Good engagement with and learning from other Wikipedians about the task of writing/editing content for a Wikibook
 * Reflexive, creative and well-managed use of discussion pages using deployment of judgement relating to key issues, concepts and procedures

Overall Mark % available on Succeed

FMSU9A4marker (discuss • contribs) 15:01, 3 May 2016 (UTC)