The future of social media.

When I decided to chose Social Media as an elective in my business degree, I wondered, "Why do I want to study this?".

A lot of people around me thought of I was doing it because it would have been a breeze to do and although it was quite a straightforward subject, what made it so much better is that it is such an amazing and interesting concept. In fact, it was just so much fun! I was very eager to study the topic about social media as I knew that there would be so much more to it than what meets the eye. Lets think about it, almost everything we do is through the internet and social media just continues to grow and surely enough, businesses around the world will continue to use this platform for the benefit of their firm.

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

I find it amazing how much technology has grown so fast and become such a vital part of our existence. When we really look at it, we can barely cope without our mobile phones for a minute, we are constantly staying connected with people online through social media and we're pretty much finding robotic alternatives to do our jobs for us.

What's more is that when you think all social media concepts have been thought of and introduced, there comes another one! I truly did not think that anything else would come up after Instagram and Pinterest. But now a new iPhone application called Vine (my favourite of them all!) has begun in the social media circuit, where you can make a 10 second video clip of ANYTHING you want. You can hashtag or tag people to the clip like you would on Twitter and Instagram.

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSLCc3Rr_GJsQ0UeSxwKNr1sdVSYPtWGmpKkzDolrXNt1WF1zBeBA)

 

With what we have been able to achieve in such a short amount of time, I can only imagine that technology will be far more intense as time goes on. Whether it's a great move for the future or it completely changes the dynamic of life we are so accustomed to, social media is here for the long run.

The Extreme of the Extremists

In a world like today, it's very hard keeping our opinions to ourselves and not blurting out how "real" (credit to J.Lo for this reference) we are and how passionate we are about our beliefs. That's not to say that we should be neglecting the beliefs of others around us, either. I do believe that being a person that is open to the ideas of what others believe makes us individuals, great individuals in fact. It's what helps mold our society into such a diverse culture, making it an interesting and colourful world that we live in. 

However, not everyone in the world agrees to this world of individual thinkers and a world full of multi-cultural concepts. What's worse is that while people continue to express their freedom of speech on their own social media sites, this has introduced the "dark side" of our freedom on social media. From racists to fascists, closed minded people to anti-anything groups, social media has definitely opened another door that experiment with the cultural mishap of extremism.

(http://media.salon.com/2013/02/pc_twitter-620x412.jpg)

When the word "extremist" is mentioned, a majority of people think of Islamic extremism, the 9/11 attacks and suicide bombers. I don't believe that it is necessarily a racist reaction (although I don't entirely scratch it off the list), but it's a thought that goes straight through to our minds because of what the media has influenced us to think. Islam extremists act on behalf their intense conservative views of Islam, and take the initiative to bomb and assassinate for achieving their Islamic goals as they perceive it. This does NOT define that all people who follow the Islamic faith are extremists or terrorists, but there have unfortunately been classic examples to show that there are some existing in the world today. In saying that, we must consider that there are MANY extremists of all kinds across the world, and they are more than happy to be representatives of such hate crimes across the board of social media, giving them the title of being eExtremists (extremists online).

(Personal screenshot)

In such an advanced time of technology and social media, I'm sure that a majority of us have come across a number of "pages" and "links" that promote the severity of how much hate and prejudice continue today. Whether it be "Death to Americans / Muslims / homosexuals" etc (all of which I do not condone, under ANY circumstances), it's unfortunate that we still see so much of this in the world, even though we have been able to create greater equality for people. 

(https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR9egCV-JbrxXbbGpRVWaUR535RY1J_FS8WoYp7A9XW6aKYBDnx)

However, social media does also shed some light to extremist issues. Because it is all online, it provides evidence of how certain people around the world are continuing to act in this prejudice way. They way I see it, if people have "the right" to post their opinions as extremists, the majority of the public have the right to fight against them and fight for equality in society.

I look fabulous!........ as an avatar.

Don't lie, we all have a particular vision of what we should look like. Whether it be taller, shorter, slimmer or more curvy, we want it! Since the beginning of social media, I believe that we have all been given the advantage to alter the way that we want people to perceive the way we are.
"Crop this photo"
 "Cut out my behind"
 "Show a little more breast" (IF you have them to work with).
But what this really tells me is that we are quite reliant on fixating our social image and truly avoiding what reality is. 

(http://www.roflcat.com/facebook-cat)

In saying so, what is reality itself? Yes, it is defined as the things that are existing in the 'real world', but in these current days, what is the 'real world'!? (My gosh, so many questions in such a short time). So much of what we invest in life happens to be online. It goes from being a socialite on Facebook or Twitter, running our errands through BPAY or shopping online (which I happy yet regretfully did just a moment ago, I NEED MY PAY TO GO THROUGH!).

Because of this, I do believe that we have mixed together the 'real' and 'cyber' life to a certain point where it has genuinely redefined what we classify as reality. However, it does seem that some people in the world do take cyberspace to the next level, where they spend almost all of their time online.

This kind of world does unfortunately have the impression that it attracts a certain stereotype of what some say are outcasts. These alleged outcast then create their perfect self where they can create a new version of themselves to the extreme, with outrageous hair, barely there outfits and a body even models dream to have. One way that these people are expressing their creativity and, well, their lives is through a particular 3D virtual world called 'Second Life'.

 
 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLA4A56B2AB33F7723&feature=player_embedded&v=r74hkI-JcHY)

'Second Life' is basically self titled in its definition of what this "world" is about. It's a second life where people (like I've stated before) create themselves the way they want to be noticed. It is quite an amazing concept in theory though, where you can communicate with real life people across the world and live a life that many of us dream to be real.

Even in practice, 'Second Life' offers a multitude of opportunities for people to explore the world that really is first of its kind. Organisations around the world have create their own islands in 'Second Life', for example, ABC made 'ABC Island', Dell created their own fort in 'Second Life' and I can't even continue the list of how many organisations have invested so much of their time and money into this world to be a part of a virtual revolution.

Even 'American Apparel' took advantage of 'Second Life' and had stores in which they sold their products online where people would purchase clothes for their avatars, and had the chance to actually shop for themselves in real life, all in the one virtual store. Just because these large organisations take part in this doesn't necessarily mean that they are successful in it. Although they were grateful to be able to be a part of what some say is a phenomenon, 'ABC' closed its island down in September 2012, not enough users (or interest) it seems.

(http://www.3pointd.com/20060615/american-apparel-to-open-in-second-life/)

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2009/mar/10/video-games-theatre)

What we cannot forget is that 'Second Life' is not a game. It isn't like 'The Sims', where you play as God, create characters and tell them what to do in their life and how they'll do it. In essence, 'Second Life' is a virtual reality! People legitimately live another life and do their everyday things and more, online. This does, on the other hand, make me feel that all of these virtual worlds and simulations can get to our heads faster than you can say YOLO.

I mean, are we honestly willing to spend our lives on the computer, missing out the real life opportunities that can brighten our future and give a new meaning to what life is about?
What are your thoughts?
Are we hiding away behind our computers to avoid society?
Or are we simply experimenting the possibilities that 'Second Life' and the virtual world in general can give us?

All in all, there are pros and cons in anything that we go through in life, but I do believe that everything, like a diet, should be done in moderation and we mustn't get lost in between the many worlds we have.

Produsage

Oh, the internet.

Its a magical force that has truly made things as easy in life as it could get. Whether it be paying bills online, shopping in the comfort of your own home or downloading the most amazing track on iTunes, the internet is clearly what keeps our lives stable, no? In fact, the internet has made things so easy, that we have basically become 'produsers'. Now don't expect to find this word in the dictionary. In fact, as I write this, spell check is underlining the word in red yelling at me me, "YOU'VE SPELT THE WORD PRODUCER WRONG!". Little do you know spell check, YOU are wrong in this argument. Produser or produsage come from the words, producer and consumer. These words should basically provide the definition itself. Producer and User.

(http://www.solutionsoutsourced.com.au/blog/n/the-internet-is-all-grown-up-120828)

If you want to look at a classic case of produsage, then look no further than Wikipedia. Wikipedia is an internet mecca of information on anything you need, basically acting as an internet encyclopedia. The beauty of Wikipedia is that you pick any topic and I'm sure that you can find it there. Also, anyone can update the information on it to make it more relevant and in with the times, rather than what traditional encyclopedia books would have. But the question that rises out of this is whether Wikipedia can really be recognised as a credible source?

Granted the fact that anyone can update or correct things on Wikipedia, which makes it more precise, but that also means that anyone can update anything on this website and can in fact produce an incorrect balance of information that will later be used and referred to by others in the world. 

 

 

(http://majerus.hypotheses.org/645)

What else are we producers in that we also consume the finish product? YouTube ofcourse! Where we upload videos to our YouTube channels and we all search and watch video clips of celebrity interviews, fail compilations and whatever else you can think of, you name it! Even the amazing gaming revolution of 'The Sims' is a great example of produsage, creating a simulation of a life in a game, where we basically play God and tell them what to do, when to do it.

Produsage has only begun within the last decade so it can only become bigger and better in the future. There are things that will need to be considered, such as the accuracy and consistency of information online, but the idea of it overall will only intensify into the rest of the internet world.

Political figures gone viral.

(http://www.thesocialfirm.com/social/political-social-media-for-politicians)

For as long as we can remember, the traditional intake of politics and politicians has always carried a highly strung approach, where the public feel very strong to argue an opinion for what they believe is right for their legal system. Of course this brings up an endless amount of debates about how a country should be run, but in hindsight, politics falls under a category that recent generations of voters find, well, extremely boring. In my eyes, politics has always been a dull subject when I was growing up and I'm sure that many young people can agree with that because:

A) We don't necessarily care about the bland subject of politics or find an interest in it.

B) Refer to point A).

However, I suppose due to growing up and maturing, I can see how the perception of politics by the young people in current times is an issue and can be problematic for our future. When we REALLY think about it, politics (apart from money, and yes I understand that eternal happiness should be the answer) makes the world go 'round and sets the tone of how people function. Over the past few years, it seems that politicians worldwide have considered that the interest of politics has been fading and is becoming to be an issue as well. This is where politicians have come to realise their opportunity of growth and becoming more relevant to the younger society lies in the hands of being active in social media. 

Social media has most definitely made quite a big impact in the world of politics. Politicians use it to communicate to its public to spread immediate awareness on their party, their views and their beliefs on how they can be a better representative for the majority of the nation.

 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3G-lMZxjo)

(http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/rudd-takes-kevin07-online/2007/08/07/1186252674988.html)

 

 

Nevertheless, I do believe that the genuine world of politics has lost that traditional professionalism that it once had. With the ease of social media at their hands, politicians have found ways to be on trend with the public, generally the younger population, to a point where it seems that they think they can get away with being more, what word would they use?... cool or hip! But I believe it should be in their best interest to maintain professionalism in their job because at the end of the day, we all should have the right to have someone willing to take their time and power to contribute to their passion of running a country and building a better economy and environment at a world class standard.

Because politicians are putting themselves more in the spotlight through social media and other digital tools for promotion of their political party, it seems that technology has somewhat taken them a step behind, where they are under more scrutiny than ever before. One of the most successful and longest running journalists, Barbara Walters, stated in her show on 'The View', that The U.S. government is not the same as it used to be and that the White House Correspondance Dinner has become so much more celebrity and fame based, rather than a political inspiration that it should be.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/barbara-walters-whcd-criticism_n_3178542.html

What do you think about this?
Are politicians losing their voice in the midst of connecting through social media?
Are we taking advantage of how we can rebut against politician in a less than respectful manner behind the screens of our computers?

Whether we like it or not, social media has pretty much taken over a majority of our lives and it will only grow bigger, faster and stronger.

Anti-corruption: Where the rebels have a cause.

For some strange reason, the first word that comes to mind when I here the word "corruption" happens to be "POLITICS"! (Pshh, as if there is corruption in politics, right?) 

(http://www.haitian-truth.org/prebendes-commissions-ou-pots-de-vin-a-l%E2%80%99oavct-des-compagnies-de-construction-de-la-rep-dominican-dom-toujours-a-la-affiche/corruption-2/)

 

Throughout history, corruption has just seemed to be trending every decade by people that are stereotyped as powerful, greedy, selfish, arrogant (do I carry on?). These are the people that will do anything to get to the top or are people who are hiding something that is almost way bigger than life, where if it were to get out, it could essentially destroy their lives and reputation. It does seem, however, that corruption is definitely becoming far more harder to control by the 'corrupt-ors', as the information a part of the corruption could be leaked for the world to find, thanks to the internet and social media.

(http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/14926/i-want-to-be-part-of-the-corruption-brigade-dont-you/)

Any information on any computer that is connected to the internet immediately faces the chance of being hacked by online, well, hackers. Although its quite a scary fact, I don't think anyone and I mean anyone would imagine this happening to them. Take Rupert Murdoch for example; his media firms were caught hacking into celebrities mobile phones about who they talked to, who they messaged and what their conversations were about. Most of the information that was basically stolen off of people was used to create stories in the tabloids that Murdoch's empire runs. These stories usually consisted of things that really didn't matter but, let's be real, we all wanted to know any inside scoop about celebrities. 

Someone who was a born hacker is Julian Assange. Assange is a Queensland-born owner of one of the most outlandish and notorious websites, WikiLeaks, that basically reports and presents the TRUTH behind what those in higher power than us, like the government and massive business empires, do behind closed doors to get away with immoral and most likely illicit actions. But does this make WikiLeaks a detrimental website that aims to inflict harmful and negative claims on people? The answer is simply, no.

(http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/julian-assange-leads-time-magazine-person-of-the-year-poll/story-e6frf7lf-1225967642823)

In my eyes, WikiLeaks is paramount in anti-corruption, where it aims to inform the public about the corrupupt acts that these groups and individuals are doing in confidentiality. It aims to find the truth about what is happening in this world and the crazy, unjust things that people are committing at the risk of so many innocent peoples lives. 

In 2010, Julian Assange and the team at WikiLeaks released a video, where we saw an innocent Iraqi family in Baghdad getting fired at and killed by the U.S. military, where two of the children within that family got badly injured. We also see other innocent by standers in the city getting shot and killed as they were trying to help the injured. You can bet that the U.S. government would not have been pleased about this and they tried to keep this video hidden from public eyes. It's leaks like these that make everyone thing, "what on earth are governments doing to this world!?"

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0)

Social media is one of those outlets where people express a lot about what they feel about a topic and provide their own opinions on matters in the world. So, in this case, it most definitely helps spread awareness about things like this and makes it go viral. Social media itself has the power to bring people together to fight for what's right. To see such a sad turn of events happen to people around the world due to the war, really puts in perspective about what we should do to help stop this nonsense and create as much peace equality throughout the world.

This video leak had put Julian Assange in a lot of problems that led to legal battles for him. But what's worse, is that people where questioning about who this man was and hated him for what he did. But, what did he do?

Show the world how untrustworthy the U.S. government is, fighting battles in the middle east with innocent people who are unarmed?

Get on to WikiLeaks and look at the facts. You might be surprised when you have a look at what's going on in the "real' world.

Digital Activism

The world consists of more than 6 billion people across the continents and hemispheres that suffer from the extreme struggles such as homelessness, to the unthinkable wealth that many of us can only dream about. With that, there comes every persons opinion for what they believe is right and what should be forbidden. In the 1960s, when the hippie revolution came about, thousands of protestors would march the streets and challenge the government for freedom and peace. Their long locks and rebellious actions, against a pro-war government and closed-minded society of judgmental and conforming citizens, would be seen singing together about love, not war, carrying the signs and banners with a message to spread as far as they can across the world.

(http://www.boomerslife.org/protests_rally_iran_neda_agha_soltan.htm)

It's great to see that people still have a passion to fight for rights and have petitions against the immoral propositions that are likely to move ahead (like fighting for the legalisation of gay marriage and protesting against animal cruelty to name a few). Although many of the traditional techniques of protesting and activism continues in the current time, the use of social media and technology has increasingly helped the ways in which we can all take part in fighting for a cause. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, you name it, we can do it. 

It's a new world of digital activism where one can make a Facebook page and share it to the cyber world to get 'likes' and raise awareness of the issues that are actively persuading on the world to make a change. We find that on Twitter, people displaying an example of digital activism by hash-tagging their cause, such as #PrayForBoston after the unfortunate bombing in Boston on the 16/04/13, during the city's marathon as a memory of the 1 year anniversary to the Boston massacre.

The beauty of digital activism is that it helps raise global awareness with the possibility of rapid effects. People posting photos, videos and petitions about what is going on in their part of the world and how it effects their life (whether it be for educational, economical or environmental reasons), can be spread to us and we can all help by signing their petition and spreading their cause, no matter how big or small. Lets take Kony 2012 for example. Do we all remember the campaign that was release on YouTube and shared across social media websites to make the world aware of the kidnapping head of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Rao Kony? As soon as that video hit the online community, it went viral across the world within 48 hours, and we even saw celebrities playing as activists to find Kony. Straight away, everywhere you looked in the streets, you'd see signs and graffiti saying 'Kony 2012'. The link below is a clip that shows what the Kony 2012 campaign was used for.

http://www.news.com.au/world-old/its-all-over-the-webs-but-what-is-a-kony/story-e6frfkyi-1226292956990

(http://dayumn.com/2012/03/should-we-be-critical-of-kony/)

(http://cmcforum.com/opinion/03092012-defending-the-kony-2012-campaign)

One of the most successful examples of digital activism is change.org. Change.org is a website that enables digital petitions online that any person with a cause can start up and run their own petition throughout the world wide web, by sharing their cause and the link on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and anything else that you can think of online. Change.org has an outstanding 13 million registered users signing into the website and signing petitions and taking part in activism.

(http://www.change.org/en-AU)

In the end, I think that it's great that we can all take part in making a positive difference in our world through the possibilities of digital activism.

What are your thoughts? 

Is digital activism opening a new world of opportunities, or is it opening windows to more problems and disagreements?

Have your say.

Privacy is a thing of the past.

Do you remember a little thing called privacy?

It seems to be something that was respected and understood way back, when people had what we called a life. This was long before mobile phones and the internet were a part of our lives altogether, let alone in the palm of our hands, on our smartphones and tablets. Now, the world can catch up with our lives in an instant and get our own itinerary of where we are, who we're with and what we are doing. But lets face it, we've all put ourselves in this situation by making it the worlds business and shoving, what we're eating for breakfast and the new pair of shoes we bought online, down peoples throats. As we speak I'm clicking on my phone to check if there are any Facebook notifications on my page and flicking through the latest photo uploads on Instagram.

 (http://tbonecafe.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/a-month-of-letters/)

The advanced mobile technology we have become so immune to (this includes all smartphones and lets not forget about tablets) has become one of the biggest reasons as to why there are problems in social media, it can be reached anywhere, at anytime. These include all smartphones and tablets that have become so advanced within the past decade, that we can manage all phone calls, text messages, emails, social media, music and photos on one simple and compact device, and lets not forget about google-ing our queries instantaneously.

When mobile phones where first introduced with an in-built camera, all over the media, we kept hearing about perverts taking photo's up women's skirts on trains or as they were walking past, without the women's acknowledgement. Ten years later, I find it funny how we've all become unwilling to accept the fact that this issue still continues in our society, and that we still crave that the technological evolution only grows greater and stronger. What's worse is that we allow people to check us out and in a certain way, want them to see the best of us, by uploading outlandish photo's of us in swimwear, selfies and (if we're confident enough) selfies in front of the mirror wearing barely anything, except out underwear.

(http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/05/the-evolution-of-cell-phone-design-between-1983-2009/)

In Aprill 2012, the team at Google started testing their new product, Google Glass, a new eyepiece that wears like your everyday glasses, but with innovative capabilities that can start google-ing at your voice command or take a picture and video when you tell it to. 

(http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/google-glass)

                               A clip of how Google Glass works and how it feels.                              

 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=v1uyQZNg2vE)

Although Google Glass seems like an AMAZING and life changing concept (I have to say, I actually got goosebumps just watching the YouTube clip above), how are we all going to feel with everyone wearing them in the streets? With a simple "record" anyone could be recording us eating in public, strutting the street or (if we ever dare to) giving our partners a passionate kiss goodbye. With Google Glass, privacy will well and truly be over. We'll constantly have to be hyper aware of who and what is around us. Are we safe to talk about private issues with friends at the park? Are we going to make a fool of ourselves when we've had one too many wines at the bar? Google Glass gives people the ability to photograph or record anything they want without being obvious, no more sneaky sneaky shots with with their phones at the risk of being caught!!

                                          (http://www.memecenter.com/search/google%20glass)                                             
(http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3omz3t/)

  How do you feel with social media and its mobility? 

 Are you craving for more? Are you begging for less?

Are you immune to it, or do you feel it effects your life?

At the end of the day Google Glass is coming soon and you never know, our reality may be exactly like the picture below.

(http://www.memecenter.com/search/google%20glass)

Introduction

Welcome to Peter Floydd. A blog dedicated to analysing the world of social media and what it has contributed to the change of how we live our lives vicariously online.

Firstly, I'll introduce myself. My name is Peter and I'm a 21 year old student finalising my degree in Business and Public Relations. I have a strong passion for working within the fashion retail industry and how communications can help play a massive role in businesses connecting with clients, customers and their employees.

However, on this blog there will be weekly discuss on topics of of social and how we've all noticed the immense change of it, from being used to connect with long distance people such as friends, family and acquaintance to living in an alternate universe through online networks and how we've made a secondary life of how we want to be portrayed in the online universe.

I hope you enjoy Peter Floydd and that we will stay connected.