Riding the Wave....

Yes unfortunately our unit may be coming to an end, although, this is defiantly not the case for technology. Its power and abilities in today’s society is nothing less than incredible and the thought of it continuing to increase over time is a somewhat scary concept.

Unman aircraft's in the air force are becoming increasingly popular, Yes who would have thought a pilot can fly his plane from a desk 75,000 km away from his aircraft. Technology has made this possible, along with Bionic hands, digital photo frames and a lot more. With skin put technologies making it possible to use skin as a form to hold information I guess we don’t need to worry about forgetting the iPad .. Oh and the common mum rule of no balls in the house has been abolished with the ability to play tennis in your own home without even needing a racket, just a remote.

Reading and Understanding social media can be greater understood by looking into theories. Whether it be Rheingold’s view of a ‘virtual community’ Jenkins’ views of participatory culture these theories are ways of understanding and explaining the concepts of technology and the online world.

Social media has a major impact on society and communication. Friends no longer hug, kiss each other hello hear each other’s laugh or wipe each other’s tears, friends can be derived from a simple click of a friend request. People can have thousands of friends they have never even met? Are these really friends? Is social media promoting the production of friends in our virtual world leaving us with few in the real one? Yes social media is a way of keeping people connected but the physical connection is lost and I see this as an important aspect to any relationship with another being. Social media is also a major distraction from the real world. People get so caught up in their virtual world they forget about the real one, the real relationships, the real activity, there real lives! After watching an excellent Prezi '712:Digital Media Group Project' created by Virtual Experience it stated that 75% of people who undertook a quiz preferred the real world (Virtual Experience,2011). Do the other 25% prefer the virtual experience or is it this just the start in humanity preferring the virtual world to the real one?

The thought of the future of social media to be totally honest scares me. The past 10 years has already seen a massive change in society with the increase of social media and the possibilities are endless. Social media is forever increasing and will continue to do so. Advertising will become more common as it’s a way of making money and that’s what the worlds about New virtual worlds will be introduced and one day majority will most likely prefer these virtual worlds and the world will live in virtual worlds. The ability to hold multiple identities and knowing you can steal, cheat, kill, lie etc. with no serious consequences for your actions knowing it can all be switched off with the flick of a button is why these worlds are so captivating and appealing to the human being.

http://www.agent-seo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/social-evolution.jpg

I definitely think we are at the beginning of entering the third wave of social media. Social media has now become a dominant part of our everyday lives and it’s now beginning to be difficult to reject cyber culture. Whether it be shopping, banking or communicating we live in a society where almost everything can be done online. Not only can it be done online something’s are now required to be completed online. Most recent example of this was when looking for a new part time job, 70% of modern stores will not accept resumes over the counter you now need to ‘apply online’.

Nothing we do can change the rapid growth of technology and it’s just fate and the modern world taking its cause. Time is inevitable, things change, we grow and different eras are introduced. Social media and technology is a wave in the pool of life, whether the second of third wave, we just have to ride it.

REFERENCE 

Virtual Experience, 2011,’ 712: Digital Media Group Project’, Prezi, viewed 12^th February 2013, http://prezi.com/w1ffotfhpgwe/712-digital-media-group-project

Power Of Produser's...

Hi,

My names Luzinda and Im a produser.

No it’s not a transcript of an AA meeting but it is just as addictive.

Don’t believe me?? Ask the hundreds of millions of YouTube users throughout the world.

Being able to produce as well as consume I believe is an amazing thing. The way social media has formed especially over the past 10 years has left us in a world of ability. We can edit wikis, express our feelings through blogs or create YouTube videos to get our voices heard. Having the ability to express something to such a wide audience throughout the world is an addictive activity. You want to get a reaction, you want to see if people are interested and their views on what you have to say. Years ago you could speak to family and friends about a topic, now you can speak to the world.

I access content that has been created through produsage on a daily basis. If I ever get bored I jump straight onto YouTube and find hours of entertainment from thousands of produsers. Along with these hundreds of thousands of produsers comes ethics of copyright and law infringements. YouTube claim to take copyright very seriously and have introduced ground breaking technology called ContentID which helps uses find their content on YouTube and have the ability to block it, leave it up or make money from it “Content ID scans over 100 years of video every day and is used by over 1000 partners, including every major US network broadcaster, movie studio, and record label.” (Frequently Asked Questions). 

Podusage fits in perfectly and is a major example of Jenkins’ views of participatory culture. People are acting not only as consumer, but produsers also. It is though recent technology advancements that has given ability for Participatory culture to enhance rapidly.  From ‘Charlie Bit Me’ to the discovery of ‘Justin Beiber’ YouTube has given the ability for superstars to be found and acknowledged (Not_It, 2012). That and a whole lot of Bieber Fever. Audience attention and numbers are a very important part of produsage “contributions may be major or minor, substantial or insubstantial, take the form of useful content or the form of social engagement in or administrative services to the community, but they are nonetheless all valuable to the overall project. (Snurb, 2007)”

Produsage has exploded, especially in the last ten years. It is so popular because voices are being heard and people are free to express their ideas, talent and abilities to the world. It will continue to grow in the future I am sure of it. Not only because of the audience numbers it has attracted, but the power of some of these viewers. Through more hits comes more views, through ore views increases interest, through interest attracts media and through media anything is possible.

References

Not_It, 2012, ‘Five People who got Famous because of YouTube’, ItThing, viewed 29^th January 2013, http://itthing.com/5-people-who-got-famous-because-of-youtube

Frequently Asked Questions, YouTube, viewed 29^th January 2013, http://www.youtube.com/t/faq

Snurb, 2007, ‘Open Participation, Communal Evaluation’, Producage.org, viewed 29^th January 2012, http://produsage.org/node/11