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Annotated Bibliography : Wiki Exercise

Media convergence - Michael Latzer - April 2013 University of Zurich Switzerland - Mediachange.ch

This piece of academic writing allowed me to broaden my understanding of media convergence. Later describes the process as a "change of uniformity or union" of media. The term convergence is analysed and made clear when it first began however there are many definitions of convergence which gave me different paths to reasearch. Latzer describes the process as "Convergence-induced changes in communications and the digital creative economy are driven by the interplay of technical, economic, political and socio-cultural factors." It was designed to analyse the different sorts of blurring boundaries within the media industry. The increase in uniformity of programming of public and commercial broadcasters has lead to development in the discovery of media convergence. He explores the concepts of convergence as it embraces both blurring traditional boundaries between old media and novel diversification and differentiation of new media. I found this piece of writing very helpful when considering my collaborative essay topic, I have a clear understanding and better depth into the subject. Later suggested that new digital media is the outcome of media convergence, which drives the digital economy. This is an interesting topic to think about and analyse. However, some of the article included some unnecessary information, which I had to distinguish from. Overall, I enjoyed reading it and gave me ideas on what to discuss when approaching the essay.

Comments
(discuss • contribs) 18:26, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Online Visibility
I would say I am very active online.

Instagram

Snapchat

Facebook

I have Facebook which I have 2,000 friends and family on, However I rarely use this media platform anymore, I think with all the other media platforms Facebook is now dying down. Its not as popular as it was when I First started going on it (12 years old). I only really use it to keep in contact with people I met when I was younger. The main platform I use is Instagram, I have nearly 3,000 followers and follow around 600 people. I think this platform holds most of the power when it comes to online activity, celebrities make most of their income off advertising on Instagram. I am very careful about what I post as I feel my page has to have the right look to it, sad I know, I post rarely due to this. I have noticed when I don't post for a while I start to loose followers so I have to keep posting to keep my followers. I would really like to achieve 10,000 by the end of the year. If I keep posting it shouldn't be too hard. I have friends that have over 80,000 which is quite scary to think about. On Instagram not a lot of my personal information is available in comparison to Facebook, Instagram doesn't ask for this unlike Facebook. I regularly use snapchat as-well ,I post more on this than I do on anything due to the fact it is more commonly used. I don't post anything exiting just pictures of my meals if I'm out or just anything random. due to the recent update I haven't been using it as much because it is more difficult to work. Overall, I don't post personal information about myself or family, Im quite private that way, I use Instagram to advertise Herbalife which I have paid partnership with, so I feel that platform is vital for business to work.

That being said, I don't know all my followers personally I only know a selected few but on Facebook I know most of them because i consider that quite personal. In relation to my collaborative essay, I can see how Instagram has evolved due to previous platforms, Facebook was getting too business orientated with its constant adverts that people now can't be bothered with, Overtime Instagram has now became similar. It arranges your posts in order of what you will like instead of recent pictures. This has caused a lot of controversy due to the fact some peoples posts may not be seen. small business are also struggling to survive.

When it comes to media they are the three I use, I don't game or anything else, but I would say I am addicted to instagram. The popularity of snapchat has lead Instagram to introduce their own story features which is also a sign of media convergence. the popular aspects of other platforms are manipulated into others in order to enhance it. Instead of creating new ideas, all platforms are conform into the same practices.

Collective Intelligence
Collective Intelligence occurs in convergence culture this happens as information is transferred between different media platforms, different people and across multiple industries. users engage interactively with each other and the material therefore creating collective intelligence. It was a term first created by a French Cybertheorist, Pierre Levy. He called on-line communities using collective intelligence "knowledge communities" as we begin to share more and interact there will be more ideas taking place.

In Henry Jenkins' book, Convergence Culture, he states that "None of us know everything; each of us knows something; and we we can put the pieces together if we pool our resouces and combine our skills." by using the different resources and combining the knowledge we achieve collective intelligence. Jenkins thinks that collective intelligence can be "seen as an alternative source of media power. We are learning how to use that power through our day-to-day interactions within convergence culture." Due to the growing power it has created it has allowed organisations to change their structure, such as Military, Religion, Law and Politics.

The internet is the main cause of of collective intelligence as it is changing the relationship between people and interactivity. More people are voicing their opinions which can then have an influence on other organisations such as laws. Platforms such as Twitter and Instagram allows people to express themselves which can therefore effect policies. It is easier for people to communicate through the internet, one person alone could not make a big impact however, a group of people with similar morals or point of view could create a massive difference especially when it comes to politics and laws. The disadvantage is that not many people on twitter or instagram are using collective intelligence to influence the way we live, instead use the tool to critize others to comment on entertainment industries. Many television programmes such as Gogglebox have no introduced their own hashtag on twitter to enable them to see the comments and criticism about the show, this draws people in to watch and join in the trend. However, Collective intelligence if used correctly can alter certain rules and effect how people live. Fans are a good example of collective intelligence, Star Trek fans gathered online to share stories and thoughts about the programme, Nancy Baym has discussed the important functions of talk within on-line soap fandom: 'Fans share knowledge of the show's history, in part, because the genre demands it. Any soap has broadcast more material than any single fan can remember.' they may inform each other about what they may have missed previously no single fan can know everything about the programme to fully appreciate the series. Lexi states that within a knowledge community, 'no one knows everything, everyone knows something, all knowledge resides in humanity.' the online communities of fans allow people to "show off too each other" (Baym). For the community and online society collective intelligence is important for the growth of knowledge. Younger generations can learn more about politics and other subjects by being involved in online groups.

http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2006/06/welcome_to_convergence_culture.html

Nancy Baym, "Talking about Soaps: Communication Practices in a Computer-Mediated an Culture," in Cheryl Harris and Alison Alexander (Eds.) Theorizing Fandom: Fans, Subculture, and Identity (New York: Hampton Press, 1998).

Pierre Levy, Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace (Cambridge: Perseus, 1997), p.217.

Wiki Exercise 4
What Kind of platform is wikibooks?

Wikibooks is a collaborative book authoring website, that allows people all over the world to work together and share ideas. It provides a collection of books, journals, guides, manuals and allows users to interact. For this module, we were able to construct a collaborative essay through Wikibooks. With the help of their resources we were able to gather information. The website is therefore a community based platform.

In what ways does it emphasis visibility, and why?

Wikibooks is a very visible platform in terms of contribution and activity. Anyone with an account can view each other’s published work or contributions which shows how much you have added or deleted from a page or discussion. For example, all those in my collaborative essay group can view how interactive I have been with the project.

In what ways can it be used to help facilitate collaborative research?

When creating a collaborative essay, I found It extreamly helpful. You are able to discuss certain areas of the essay as well as edit other people’s paragraphs. Its easy to get comment and get feedback from others which would have been difficult without this platform. This high visibility also encourages people to be more interactive and reachable. We are able to discuss what needs changing and give each other ideas. For example, I posted one of my paragraphs in the early stages of writing, to make sure I was on the right track. I then received feedback that it needed to include more references, the quick feedback allowed me to improve my work.

In what ways does Wikibooks foster a community?

For me personally, there was a sense of community as I was able to conenect with people taking my module and exchange information to help with my essay. The back and forth discussions helped created a community like atmosphere. Due to this my research was made easier.

In what ways does online collaboration represent a digital commons? Online collaboration represents digital commons in the way that people are able to share and connect with one another, un like other platforms It has a document of all the times and dates of your input. We all have equal ownership of the shared space.

'''Do wiki platforms offer potential for online emancipation? Why/not?'''

Wiki platforms in some aspects do in the way that users are able to express their views and opinions and not be contradicted or shut down. The immense interaction allows everyone to have their input which creates a learning environment as people are gaining l=knowledge from others inputs. However, users can go on each other’s pages and delete comments or edit their work which could prevent emancipation. This act can therefore prevent people from saying their opinion or views. Personally, When someone in my group edited my work I didn't know what to think. I was grateful for their input yet was slightly offended that it was changed. therefore wikibooks in my opinion is both for and against emancipation.

Hello, Erin. I leave comments because I also learnt about media convergence by group project with you. I also thought yhr contribution and activity makes wikibooks visible. However, I also recommend you to think anonymous environment as the reason of visibility as well as them. This is because, I think the reason why people can leave comment and can state their opoinion freely is came from anonymity. When we share own knowledge in the past, writer has to have strong responsibility for sharing. However, as technology has been developed and anonymous environment has been created on the online, people could get rid off pressure of sharing opinion. In addition, I also felt comfortable when I create a collaborative essay. We could freely discuss about our topic by comments and edits. I think the fact that eilibooks allows users to edit others’ sentences easily makes wilibooks facilitate.

Sok00011 (discuss • contribs) 09:15, 16 April 2018 (UTC)

INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK: DISCUSSION, ENGAGEMENT, CONTRIBS

 * Engagement on discussion pages of this standard attain the following grade descriptor for contribs. Whereas not all of the elements here will be directly relevant to your particular response to the brief, this will give you a clearer idea of how the grade you have been given relates to the standards and quality expected of work at this level:
 * Fail. Contributions of this standard do not address the assignment requirements. They offer little to no engagement with the concerns of the module. They are poorly written. Entries of this grade may have been subject to admin warnings or take-down notices for copyright infringement. The wiki markup formatting will be more or less non-existent.

Students should be engaging at least once a day, for the duration of the project. The following points illustrate how this engagement is evaluated.


 * This was clearly not the case here – only 5 days registered as having logged a contrib, and a handful of entries in total. Most of these that weren’t draft work (you can’t get marked twice for the same work) were on 23rd March. When you did engage, these seemed to be genuine contributions in terms of moving the project forward, however, this really was a case of too little, too late.

Evidence from contribs to both editing and discussion of content (i.e. volume and breadth of editorial activity as evidenced through ‘contribs’). These are primarily considered for quality rather than quantity, but as a broad guideline: o	Each item on a contribs list that are 3000+ characters are deemed “considerable” o	Each item on a contribs list that are 2000+ characters are deemed “significant” o	Each item on a contribs list that are 1000+ characters are deemed “substantial” o	Items on a contribs list that are <1000 characters are important, and are considered in the round when evaluating contribs as a whole because of their aggregate value


 * This was minimal.

•	Engagement with and learning from the community on Discussion Pages o	Evidence of peer-assisted learning and collaboration o	Evidence of reading, sharing, and application of research to the essay o	Evidence of peer-review of others’ work


 * This was minimal.

•	Reflexive, creative and well-managed use of Discussion Pages o	Clear delegation of tasks o	Clearly labelled sections and subsections o	Contributions are all signed


 * This was minimal.

•	Civility. Your conduct is a key component of any collaboration, especially in the context of an online knowledge-building community. Please respect others, as well as observe the rules for civility on wiki projects. All contribs are moderated.


 * You conducted yourself well.

GregXenon01 (discuss • contribs) 12:26, 23 April 2018 (UTC)

Instructor Feedback on Wiki Exercise Portfolio
Posts and comments on other people’s work, of this standard, roughly corresponds to the following grade descriptor. Depending on where your actual mark is in relation to the making criteria as outlined in the relevant documentation, it should give you an idea of strengths and weaknesses within the achieved grade band overall.

Satisfactory. Among other things, satisfactory entries may try to relate an idea from the module to an original example, but might not be very convincing. They may waste space on synopsis or description, rather than making a point. They may have spelling or grammatical errors and typos. They might not demonstrate more than a single quick pass at the assignment, informed only by lecture and/or cursory reading. They may suggest reading but not thinking (or indeed the reverse). The wiki markup formatting will need some work.


 * This work is at the lower end of this grade band, so there’s clearly room for improvement here. I think in order to engage with the wiki exercises a bit more, it might be useful for you to look at the Grade Descriptors and (especially for this, perhaps, the Understanding) criteria in the module handbook to get more of an idea of how to hit those targets. The annotated bibliography is very detailed, but not quite following the brief.


 * Making more use of the wiki functionality and markup would have gone a long way to improving fluidity and functionality of posts. I suspect that, if you become more familiar and proficient with the platform, that this would have made a considerable difference. For example, signing regularly on the discussion pages (a simple but effective task) would have helped.


 * Re: responses to other people’s posts – these are fairly good, if a little brief. Remember that the comments are "worth" as much as posts themselves. The reason for this is not only to help encourage discussion (a key element of wiki collaboration!) but also to get you to reflect upon your own work. This can all, of course be used to fuel ideas that might form part of your project work.

General:
 * Reading and research: some engagement with this aspect as evidenced with your comparative use of two sources in exercise #2.
 * Argument and analysis: Some evidence of this at various points in the portfolio.
 * Presentation: more work could be done on improving this.

GregXenon01 (discuss • contribs) 10:59, 9 May 2018 (UTC)