#Blogpost Fifteen, Week five – Thankyou for the Music.

Spotify

Soundcloud

Apple Music

Pandora.

Do these words sound familiar to you? Maybe yes, Maybe no. However with the rise of the internet comes a rise in audio streaming platform’s, so you may begin hear these words, much more often than you already do now.

Normally walking teenagers past a bus stop, to a class at school or a lecture at  university, or even on some public transport on your way to work, I am almost 100% sure that you will walk past someone with their earphones in or headphones on. Most likely utilising one of these four platforms, (or any other audio streaming platforms I have not listed). These days music has become an outlet for many long individuals to express their thoughts, or a way to hear their thoughts spoken and sung by somebody else, or even just a way to rock out. So no wonder the downloads of these audio applications have sky rocketed in recent years. However many individuals believe it is these platforms that have caused a decline in radio listeners. This may be true. But many critics predicted radio to have declined far more than it already has in this day and age, thereby I created a short survey, to try and understand and analyse what your (the public’s) most preferred source of audio and songs are. The use of Radio as a source of music remains has remained overwhelmingly analogue in a world where digital switchover of television currently preoccupies many governments and audiences alike. (G. Starkey, 2016). What you think the future for these streaming apps and the radio will be and do you believe the radio will still exist in ten years time?

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CHG9CMD

The results I have so far from the responses I have is that online music/audio streaming platforms are your most preferred source of music/audio, and the reason for this is mostly  because of the diversity of musical applications today, in being able to create playlists to your own liking, follow artists, keep up to date with new music and to access the literal hundreds and thousands of songs and albums available to you. However the paid subscriptions in order to access all the premium features does deter some, but not all.

On the other hand many individuals listed the advantages of radio is that you can discover artists or songs you have never heard of before, you can keep up with the news and other goings on. However many have become deterred from using the radio as a source of free music due to the significant amount of advertisements and air time dedicated to interviewing people and discussing topics, not actually playing the music.

 

To be honest, not many of the responses I have received surprised me much. What about you?

–Lucy

 

References:

• Starkey, G. 2017, “Radio: The resilient medium in today’s increasingly diverse multiplatform media environment”, Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 660-670.

#Blogpost Fourteen, Week Five – This is Arab Spring

Arab Spring

These two words probably do not mean much to you at all. Nor do you probably actually know what it is. Thats okay. Most of us do not.

The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in early 2011. The protest movement was much to do with deep seated resentment about Arab Dictatorships, unemployment, poverty, political corruption amongst other sorts of corruption within Arab nations, various human rights violations, inflation and rising prices. To name just a few. These protests continued for a number of years but was ultimately deemed a failure, that however could be a catalyst for more long term change.

The role of Social Media  within these years during the Arab Spring protests was unprecedented and ultimately resulted in the term, that we now define as Cyber Activism. Cyber activism is otherwise known as digital activism, online activism or internet activism. It is exactly that. The use of new communication technology such as various forms of social media for example for various forms of activism to to enable faster and more effective communication. Cyber activism can be created by any individual. You, or me. New technology appears to be able to provide a movement with powerful, speedy and relatively low cost tools for recruitment, fundraising, the distribution of images and information, collective discussions and mobilisation for action. (Bennett 2006; Bimber et al. 2005, 2012; Earl and Kimport 2011). Thereby it can be seen that social media is the perfect platform in which to spread awareness and information about political causes and campaigns. This is exactly what this citizen individuals did during the Arab Spring Revolution. Social media acted as a primary source of communication between individuals of Arab nations that facilitated participation in political protests. Where protestors utilised social media to organise and facilitate protests and demonstrations. The penetration of social media platforms such as Facebook and twitter in various Arab Nations was unprecedented, to the point where online protests preceded those mass protests on the ground. The government also utilised social media in order to encourage social media users to participate in more government process.

Ultimately the role of new communication technology and social media during the Arab Spring protest was huge. It changed the role of technology, internet and social media in Arab Nations forever.

That was Arab Spring

–Lucy

• https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-the-arab-spring-2353029

• Bennett, L. 2006. “Communicating Global Activism: Strength and Vulnerabilities of Networked. Politics.” In Cyberprotest: New Media, Citizens and Social Movements, ed. W. van de Donk, B. D. Loader, P. G. Nixon, and D. Rucht. London: Routledge.

#Blogpost Thirteen, Week Five – Cyber Activism

Cyber Activism.

Two words that are extremely powerful when put to good use.

Cyber activism involves the use of communication technology, most specifically the internet and social media in being able to carry out various forms of activism and the processes within it. Cyber activism is nearly taking over traditional protests and campaigns, as social media platforms have the ability to reach, inform and broadcast important messages to a large extent of people. Often such protests involve moral, justice, political, government and anti government agenda’s. Digital media in relation to digital activism are often considered as universal in the ways in which activist use them for political purposes. (Kahn & Uldman, 2017). In fact there is a whole online site (that I have found) dedicated to signing petition’s to support a protest or campaign in order to encourage or discourage individuals or a group of individuals action’s. This site has taken advantage of the effectiveness of online technologies in being able to reach a large extent of people, that allows for individuals or groups of people to create a petition, online in order to gain support, recognition and exposure. This  site is a prime example of Cyber Activism as it allows for activists  to spread their key messages of the campaign or protest, online. This site known as Change.Org

(Source: Screenshot of Change.org online website)

The Site has made it extremely user friendly to use to be able to explore and sign petitions about campaigns you feel strongest about. An example of a petition below is #StopYulin, the famous Chinese festival renound for their horrific treatment and murder of innocent dogs. 

If you want to support something you are passionate about you can search it on Change.org and make a difference.

 

 

–Lucy

References:

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27973/cyberactivism

• Kaun, A., Uldam, J., Institutionen för kultur och lärande, Södertörns högskola, Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, Centrum för Östersjö- och Östeuropaforskning (CBEES) & Baltic & East European Graduate School (BEEGS) 2017, “Digital Activism: After the Hype”, New Media and Society, .

 

#Blogpost Twelve, Week Four – Evolution + Timeline of WhatsApp

Yes, you may have noticed this is my second post about WhatsApp, but after analysing the company and its launching of new and improved privacy software ‘end to end encryption’ I thought it was worth researching  a little more into the history evolution of the WhatsApp application, hence I made a timeline of the major milestones of WhatsApp that has contributed to what it is today.

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/1807410

–Hope you found this post interesting and

 

#Blogpost Eleven, Week Four – Web 3.0

We have all heard of the World Wide Web (WWW), haven’t we? Yep, I thought so. I also I thought it would be a proper idea to but our history caps on and take a trip back in time to the very first phases of the our old pal the WWW.

First we had Web 1.0 which was the very first stage of the World Wide Web, most of Web 1.0 was communicative and informative but not interactive. Web 1.0 is the perfect example of top down communication which was read only, and did not offer any form of two way communication. It was mostly hyperlinked websites that acted as sources of information on topics such as Economics, the environment, politics, news and technology.

Next we had Web 2.0, – which was first acknowledged by Darci DeNusse in 1999 and later popularised by Tim O’rielly in 2004. Web 2.0 acted as an interactive social platform that allowed for two way communication between the content creator and the user and involved features such as blogs, social media platforms, website creation tools and ‘like’ buttons. Essentially Web 2.0 enabled folksonomy, prompted user participation, but most of all saw a new era of technology be created and took a huge step in the evolution of human communication through the creation of various social media websites such as Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter.

Now that we’ve discussed the past, lets take off our history caps and focus on the future shall we?

We have all had that one conversation with a friend about the next iPhone we want to buy but 9 times out of 10, cannot afford, never mind that. Somehow with whatever technology that has evoluted, our devices have subconsciously heard this discussion with our friend and we see pop up ad’s everywhere of the latest iPhone. This may make you wonder, if our devices have ears, this is not an entirely stupid question. Because in some way, they do. This evolution of the WWW is called Web 3.0.

Now we are on the verge of something incredible yet quite frightening. Web 3.0, otherwise referred to as the Semantic Web. Web 3.0 is so broad that it cannot be defined, however it can loosely explained. This is my attempt: Many people wonder if the use of artificial intelligence as being the next big breakthrough on the web (1). These people are not wrong. Because the semantic web utilises artificial intelligence  to categorise, store and understand information in the same way of that of a human being. Web 3.0 entails an integrated web experience where the machine will essentially be able to understand and catalogue data in a manner similar to humans. (R. Rudman, 2016). Furthermore, Web 3.0 technologies include artificial intelligence, personalised learning, search using natural language, ad filtering personalised search results and a collective intelligence (synergy) between computers and humans .(Binti, M.S 2014).  Along with the evolution of the WWW and with the merging of computers with our iPhones and other tablet-like devices, whether it be as a source for music (Spotify, iTunes, Youtube), movies (Netflix) and information (News Sites), the internet will always be on our mind. (1) Thus making the internet always present in our lives, whether we like it or not.

I know this is a lot to take in, thereby I advise further research if you are interested or still a little overwhelmed or confused.

— Lucy

References:

Source 1 = https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-web-3-0-3486623

• Rudman, R. & Bruwer, R. 2016, “Defining Web 3.0: opportunities and challenges”, The Electronic Library, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 132-154.
• binti, M.S. 2014, “Sustainable development, e-learning and Web 3.0”, Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 157-176.

 

 

#Blogpost Ten – Week Four – Operating Systems.

When I was asked what I thought Operating Systems are, I was completely and utterly without words. I had heard of the phrase before but never really gave it much thought. After much research it turns out that Operating Systems are extremely important and provide the technology we use now with the basic foundations on which they function.

The English Oxford Dictionary defines an Operating System as “The low-level software that support’s a computer’s basic functions, such as scheduling task’s and controlling peripheral’s”. In addition, extended definitions of Operating systems stress the importance of Operating Systems as being the function  of hardware components, processors and computer drives that manage a computer’s operations and stores digital data beneficial for the consumer. In modern society and computing, operating systems are essential components, which computers cannot function without. Essentially a modern device such as a phone, tablet or computer without a basic low level operating System is useless to the everyday tech consumer. M Suresh Babu acknowledges that the architecture of technology and computers have had a great influence on Operating Systems, and that one simply cannot exist without the other. And as Operating systems were designed and used, it became obvious that changes in the design of the hardware could simplify them. (M.S Babu, 2002, p.19)

Common examples of Operating Systems developed and utilised in technology today are that of ‘iOs’ developed by Apple exclusively for (handheld) Apple products such as iPods, iPhones and iPads. Apple have also developed ‘Mac OSX’ for Apple computers such as MacBooks and iMacs. ‘Microsoft Window’s’ is also another example of an operating system that has evolved and improved over time to support the functions of Microsoft Computers, tablets and other devices.

If I haven’t explained it to you in enough words for you to understand what an Operating System is, the video attached below surely will!

Source: Creative Commons.

References:

• Babu, M.S. 2002, “Operating systems: 1. Objectives and evolution”, Resonance, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 18-24.

 

#Blogpost Nine, Week Three – Realizd

 

Problematic smartphone use is an emerging public health problem since the launch of the first smartphone 10 years ago. (van Velthoven et al, 2018). And with multiple studies showing how smartphones are killing conversation aswell as our brain cells, contributing to growing depression and anxiety levels in teens and young adults it has become increasingly important to track and limit our usage of smartphones and tablet. This is where I introduce the application ‘RealizD, an app that does just that, track the usage of your smartphone all day, every day. RealizD also tracks

• How many times you have picked your phone us during the day
• The average time between each pick up (known as pickup interval)
• The time at which you picked your phone up
• How long you are on your phone each time
• How long each day (in hours, and minutes) you have spent on your smartphone.
• When are the times you are most on your phone on average during each

Now with this data you receive, you may or may not be surprised at your level of usage though each day, for the day I thought was a pretty screen free day I still managed to clock in an hour 1 hr and 29 minutes, with an astonishing 42 pick ups during the day. Realizd has also let me know that I use my device most between 5pm and 6pm each day. The most time I have spent on my phone during a single day in the past couple of weeks was 3 hours and 15 minutes, with a whopping 79 pick ups, Realizd notified me that my most screen time was between lunch time and 6pm during this particular day.

Realizd has help me realise how much I do infact rely on my phone for such trivial purposes, however I must say I have been more aware of my usage since having downloaded the application. Realizd won’t completely change the way we use our phones but it could act as a catalyst for change amongst young adults, teens and those who have downloaded the app to become more aware of their usage, and its ‘screen free challenge’ feature of the app may help decrease and limit our screen time.

So I strongly recommend downloading this app, to track your usage because you may find out some surprising results! And if you ever, think about trying to slow down or even stop your smartphone addiction, I have attached a video (yes it may be slightly cliche) to help guide you during this process! Hope it helps!

• Source, youtube/creative commons

Lucy

References:

• van Velthoven, M H, Powell, G & J 2018, ‘Problematic smartphone use: Digital approaches to an emerging public health problem‘, Digital Health, vol. 4, pp. 1
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXYHIiYdCb4

#Blogpost Eight, Week Three – Sources, Sources, and more Sources!

The explosion of technology in recent years has prompted the creation of online libraries everywhere. In contemporary society today, many students prefer to sit in the comfort of their own home to search for articles, books and study resources on the online library rather than having to sift through the hundreds of books stored at the local/university library.

The online library have made it extremely simple for students to sift through a plethora of books, articles, newsletters, and newspapers etc in order to find the one relevant for them. Although not tangible, the idea that you can access a critical source for your study, in the comfort of your own home, is extremely appealing and beneficial to most, if not, all students. Furthermore, with the search of just a few key words relevant to their specific section of study, students can find the perfect sources for any assessment task.

The sources I have utilised in most of my assessments are specifically academic sources, that are written with professors with PHD’s and doctorates. Most university assessments will require you to back up your information with a scholarly source, thereby I have used the Griffith online library quite frequently in order to boost my marks and do the best I can!

Griffith’s online library offers a plethora of scholarly articles written by academics that are most frequently required in many university assessments to support the information you provide.

As seen in the two images below, a  click on the ‘Journal Articles’ option in the drop down bar of the Griffith library tab, few quick key words on your study topic and a tick of the box that enables a search on only scholarly source’s,  and bam! you have thousands of scholarly sources (690,690 to be exact) written on your specific topic, that can be used to back up what you have written in your assessment!.

Ultimately, the Griffith Online Library has proved extremely helpful in assisting me search through the plethora of online scholarly articles in order to find the one most relevant to my topic of study.

If you acquaint yourself with this extremely user friendly online source finding tool and will never write an un credible or implausible essay ever again.

Your welcome! 🙂

— Lucy

 

References:

• Stewart, T. 2014, “Digital communication”, BEHAVIOUR & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 33, no. 7, pp. 663-665.

 

 

 

 

#Blogpost Seven, Week Three – Creative Commons

Sourced from: Jenna Marbles. (Creative Commons):

Now, you may not understand why I have attached this extremely entertaining yet not at all relevant video of the cutest dog licking a spoon of peanut butter for three minutes straight.

All you answers will be answered my friend…

(Hot tip: skip to 1.20 to get straight to the peanut butter licking)

Today we are going to chat about Creative Commons (CC). An organisation dedicated to providing images, videos and audio files to individuals for reuse without the consequences of copyright. Additionally, Creative Commons also allows individuals to upload and share their content for use, CC allows such content creators to specify their  own set of personalised copyright details if someone desire’s to use their content for external purposes.

Furthermore a ‘Creative Commons License’ is a public license that content creators can utilise to enable the free distribution of their own content. Two examples of platforms that allow content creators to utilise the ‘Creative Commons License’ are Soundcloud and Youtube. Creators of content on Youtube and audio files on Soundcloud can utilise this license which then allows for the free distribution of their online content.

The Web based, intellectual property platform ‘Creative Commons’ acted as a catalyst for the ‘Copyleft movement’. One that Academic Sharee L. Broussand defines as being a “movement that encourages the distribution of software and other content online at no charge for noncommercial users” (Broussand, 2007). Furthermore, the copyleft movement with the assistance of ‘Creative Commons’ “seeks to build a richer public domain by changing the rights of content from that of ‘all rights reserved’ to a more egalitarian version dubbed ‘some rights reserved'”. (Broussard, 2007). The copyleft movement is becoming ever so popular for young content creators wanting to get their work out there, they don’t mind if it is changed or manipulated, as long as it is on their own terms.

I know, this is a lot to get your head around, but to put it more simply, Creative Commons is an organisation at the forefront of a movement that allows for the free streaming, sharing and online distribution of content constructed by creative individuals that want their work to be shared, appropriated and admired. Not to mention some of the content created is pretty damn cool!

Now you may not understand the relevance of the video above, if you click the link to the actual Youtube page of the content creator, you can clearly observe that the creator has a ‘Creative Commons License’ which has then gone on to allow me to attach the video to this blog post without the consequences of copyright. Pretty cool, huh?!

Yes, now that you understand, you can go back to watching the dog licking peanut butter now.

Hope this post was as enlightening for you as it was for me.

– Lucy

 

References: 

Broussard, S.L. 2007, “The copyleft movement: creative commons licensing”, Communication Research Trends, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 3.

 

 

 

 

#Blogpost Six, Week Two – When did you first start caring about your online privacy?

Source: EFForg (Creative Commons)

Do you remember the first time you started caring about your online privacy?

Perhaps it was the very first spam email you received, or perhaps it was the moment your friend’s first found out about your moody blog, or maybe even it was the moment your parents found your Facebook account. Either, which way that first moment is pretty freakish and quite unsettling.

As we all know, the majority of our details and personal information is something we add on almost every single online profile, whether it be on gmail, Facebook, tumblr etc. However this information is usually only required to add when you are signing up for an online profile and is protected from being seen by the public. And these sites are usually effective in keeping these private details…private. However, this makes me wonder, how do emails that end in our spam folder find our email, and name or how completely random phone numbers find our name and mobile? This question for me, is yet to be answered.

Furthermore, in the video above, a number of individuals were asked when they first realised the importance of their online privacy. Common themes of unexpectedness, uncertainty and discomfort were brought up and described when individuals answered the question. I think I can speak for many of us when I say that these are common things that are felt when our privacy is invaded just in the slightest.

I myself, believe online privacy to be extremely important. I am quite a private person and am extremely conscious of the amount of personal details I add to each online profile, thereby I have taken every possible measure to keep my personal information to myself, and my images, post’s and status’s limited to be only be seen by my friends, or approved followers. And being the private person that I am which s directly attributed to my infrequent, or limited sharing of peronsla photos or posts online, I believe being conscious of your online privacy helps to create and maintain an era of mystery, which of course, everybody thinks, right?

So I pose to you this question,

How important really, is your online privacy to you? 

– Lucy