#topicoftheweek

Hello! Welcome to my first ever post on Tumblr ( Although I had Tumblr few years back, it was a little too complicated for me too handle, probably cause I wasn’t a social media addict yet!) Let’s jump straight to the main point of this post!

First of all, in order for us to know whether tumblr is a blog or a social network website, we need to understand what is this platform called Tumblr. Based on my research on this website (Thank you Mr.Google), Tumblr (Pronounced “tumbler”) is an American owned website that was created in 2007. The founder and former CEO, David Karp had an interest in tumblelogs which are short-form blogs. He had this idea of creating Tumblr, a blogging platform because no one else had the idea of creating a tumblelogging platform. As of today, there are over 400 million users on Tumblr. 

For those who are lazy to read, check out the video attached below on “What is Tumblr?”;

I guess i kind of answered the “is tumblr a blog?” part right? If not, let me clarify, YES tumblr is a blog! A blog is normally written in an informal or conversational style. Tumblr lets you create your own original content, post up photographs, video clips, links, voice out opinions and also reblog someone else’s content. You can even customise your tumblr page like any other blogging website. 

But is it a social networking site? Although Tumblr is not established as social network site, it does have strong social component. What actually defines “a social network”? Let me give you an easy comparison, between a well-known social networking website, Facebook.

Facebook 

You write posts

You communicate with friends

You read posts

You view images, videos and links

Tumblr

You ALSO write posts

You ALSO communicate with friends and even strangers (Isn’t that creating a social networking space?)

You ALSO read posts

You ALSO view images, videos, links

Comparing both, they are very much alike. So, how is it not a social network?

To conclude, Tumblr is very much a blog at the same time a social networking site. Kind of like Facebook and Twitter put together. You know, write rants or voice out opinions simultaneously we communicate with friends and strangers alike. At least on Tumblr, you don’t get tweet limits or random Aunties/Uncles judging your posts!

The Early Days...

Life was tough during 14th century England. Workers were forced to work with a minimum wage while some had to work without pay due to the feudalism. Adding insult to injury, taxes were raised in order to fund the war with France. Subsequently, people were starting to realise the importance of freedom; they want equal rights. It escalated to an open rebellion when the people of Essex refused to pay their taxes. Local leaders contacted countryside communities through letters, they rallied and marched to London (Bbc.com 2019). The revolution was ultimately a failure; however, The Peasant’s Revolt was an early example of an organised protest among the common folk.

21st Century

Centuries later, London was occupied by protestors yet again. During the 2011 London Riots, the city was in flames, buildings looted and destroyed. It was the largest post-world-war era disorder in UK’s history (Vice 2016). The protest was triggered by the shooting of Mark Duggan, disadvantaged communities took this opportunity to protest the unequal treatment of the police specifically over the excessive use of stop and search (Vice 2016). Unlike in ancient times, the method of communication had significantly evolved with the aid of technology. Nowadays, protestors and activists seek technology solutions that are straightforward and reachable (Sigal and Biddle 2015). As social media has become a crucial part of life, it was used as the medium to organise the London Riots. 

According to Sigal and Biddle (2015), story-elements bring people to protest or start a movement together. The movement started when netizens gathered on a Facebook page to mourn the death of Duggan (Halliday 2011). The initial sadness subsequently transforms into anger, thus triggering the riots. To prevent more chaos, Facebook and Twitter were closely monitored by the authorities, they were ready to react. As the main social media platforms were under governance, protestors pivoted to another platform (Youmans and York 2012). BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) became the designated platform for protestors to deploy or rally people. It was a better alternative as BlackBerry phones were common among teens, it’s a free text messenger and most importantly it is UNTRACEABLE. BlackBerry refused to shut down its services (MailOnline 2011); but agreed to enable police to track and arrest users who spread ‘fake news’ (Halliday 2011). Law enforcement was heavy and they ultimately put an end to the riots.

Double-Edged Sword

Without a doubt, social media is important if one is to become an activist. The power of social media as a tool to rally the people can no longer be denied. Nonetheless, it is unsafe. Fundamentally, a social media platform is not designed as a tool to organise movements and protests. Social media’s core purpose is to connect people and gain revenue, it is a business-oriented service (Youmans and York 2012). Hence, they comply with government requests in order to keep their services intact. Moreover, there is no solid proof that social media companies will not ‘sell-out’ to tyrants or despotic regimes to undermine their consumer base. Therefore, activists have to proceed with caution when wielding the influence of social media.

References:

Bbc.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z2c2pv4/revision/1 [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].

Halliday, J. (2011). London riots: BlackBerry to help police probe Messenger looting 'role'. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/08/london-riots-blackberry-messenger-looting [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].

Halliday, J. (2011). London riots: how BlackBerry Messenger played a key role. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/aug/08/london-riots-facebook-twitter-blackberry [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].

Mail Online. (2011). 'It's unbelievable BlackBerry Messenger hasn't been shut down': Mayor's aide calls for ban on riot 'tool'. [online] Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023924/London-riots-2011-BlackBerry-Messenger-shut-unbelievable.html [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].

Sigal, I. and Biddle, E. (2015). FCJMESH-007 Our Enduring Confusion About the Power of Digital Tools in Protest. The Fibreculture Journal, (26), pp.290-296.

Vice. (2016). What the 2011 Summer Riots Were Really About. [online] Available at: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/kwkbde/england-riots-2011-five-years-later-analysis [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].

When asked about blogs, millennials would say Blogger, Wix or Wordpress; Generation z may go on forever about Tumblr and its latest memes. We get it, today’s generation knows a lot about blogs. So, what are they? Geert Lovink (2011) considers blogs as the epitome of “productive contradiction between public and private” as they exist as “public journals”. Blogging 101 would have you know that blogs at their outset, involved individuals logging journals onto their personal “web logs” which coined the term “blog” (Duermyer 2018). Blogs could be explained as a personalized self-expression; an accessible technological extension for the personal home page; asynchronous; mainly public; have entries that are time-stamped and appear in reverse chronological order (Week 4, slide 8) and are predominantly used for ‘citizen journalism’ as they:

Generally focus on specific subject matters,

has an area for readers to comment or respond to posts,

an archive of previous blog posts,

allows visitor subscription and can be managed by software where many features are automatically created (Saddington 2010).

In another light, social network sites (SNS) are comprehended as web-based services allowing individuals to create a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system; articulate a list of other users who they share a connection with; and view and cross their list of connections and those made by others within the system (boyd & Ellison 2007). Majority of SNS participants primarily seek to communicate with people they have pre-existing social ties with rather than to network or befriend strangers (boyd & Ellison 2007). If one were to ask a teenager – the SNS-addicts of our generation – on what to expect when joining an SNS, they would tell you to start by setting up a public or private profile and working on your home feed,

From there, you acquire friends or followers, 

receive likes and comments from other users, 

and participate in groups and tags (Nations 2018). 

But what exactly differs blogs from SNS?

Their central but sometimes interrelated differences are that blogging generates content to be kept on the blog itself while SNS enables users’ engagement about content (Gussif 2014). SNS traffic also typically comes from user-to-user interaction while blog’s traffic mainly occurs from searches done by potential first-time readers (Collier 2016). Additionally, while SNS posts tend to be shallow in media richness, short in length and are less descriptive, blogs are generally flexible with word count and media content format though it is still not the best medium to host 10-paged articles (Scheidies 2013).

And so, we arrive at the climax of the discourse – is Tumblr a blog or SNS? 

I say both. Maybe a little more blog than SNS, but ultimately both.

Tumblr, as I understand it, is a hub for pictures of someone’s daily lives; amusing memes and gifs; art in the forms of drawings and writings; and porn. All of which, I believe, are personalized self-expressions. At Tumblr-signups, we set up a profile (both blogs and SNS require the creation a public or semi-public profile) then gain access to our dashboard (an accessible technological extension for the personal home page), customize our blog theme (similar to working on our home feed on SNS) and explore Tumblr to find blogs to follow (Moreau 2018). 

Once familiarized with the Tumblr mechanics, we start liking or re-blogging followed blogs’ asynchronous content that are time-stamped and appear in reverse chronological order (both blogs and SNS are asynchronous and have posts that are time-stamped and appear in that order), maybe even start posting our own blog content to receive likes, re-blogs, comments (an SNS activity), to gain “mutuals” or followers (similar to SNS’ articulation of a list of users to share a connection with; acquiring friends or followers), and interact with other users (blogs have ribbons for users to send messages, comment or respond to entries which have also been adopted by recent SNS). And like SNS, Tumblr incorporates tags/hashtags. 

Moreover, microblogging – a combination of blogging and instant messaging enabling users to generate short messages to be posted and shared with publics popularized by Twitter, a SNS (Nations 2018), have been adopted by Tumblr users, further blurring the lines between blog and SNS. Thus, it is safe to say that Tumblr of 2018 is part blog, part SNS. 

Be that as it may, Tumblr’s blogging origins remain indisputable as it fundamentally focuses on specific subject matters, has a properly organized archive of previous blog posts and can be managed by software that automatically creates blog features. It also emphasizes on content generation rather than the enablement of user engagements about content, has the most traffic from searches than user-to-user interaction and are flexible with entry length and content format.

References

boyd, dm & Ellison, NB 2007, ‘Social network sites: definition, history and scholarship’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 13, issue. 1.

Collier, M 2016, ‘The key difference between your blog and other social media channels that most companies miss’, MarkCollier.com, viewed 27 September 2018, <http://www.mackcollier.com/difference-your-blog-social-media-company/>.

Duermyer, R 2018, ‘What is blogging and why is it popular’?’, The Balance, viewed 27 September 2018, <https://www.thebalancesmb.com/blogging-what-is-it-1794405>.

Gussif, A 2014, ‘Blogging vs. social media: here’s the difference’, Gussif Marketing Group, viewed 27 September 2018, <http://www.gusiff.com/marketing-posts/blogging-vs-social-media-heres-difference/>.

Lovink, G 2011, ‘Networks without a cause: a critique of social media’, viewed 27 September 2018, <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254810120_Networks_Without_a_Cause_A_Critique_of_Social_Media>.

Moreau, E 2018, ‘How to use Tumblr for blogging and social networking’, Lifewire, viewed 28 September 2018, <https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-tumblr-4049305>.

Nations, D 2018, ‘What is microblogging?’, Lifewire, viewed 28 September 2018, <https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-microblogging-3486200>.

Nations, D 2018, ‘What is social networking?’, Lifewire, viewed 27 September 2018, <https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-social-networking-3486513>.

Saddington, J 2010, ‘What is a blog? What is a blogger? What is blogging?’, viewed 27 September 2018, <https://john.do/blog-blogger-blogging/>.

Scheidies, N 2013, ‘The 20 biggest benefits of blogging’, Income Diary, viewed 27 September 2018, <https://www.incomediary.com/biggest-blogging-benefits>.

Blogs known as a major phenomenon of digital culture which written by a person or a group of people and regularly published on the Internet however social networking sites defined as a web-based service that creates public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, clarify a list of other users with who they share a connection with, view their list of connection and those made by others within the system (boyd and Ellision,2007). So, Tumblr consider a blog or social networking sites

In my opinion, I considered Tumblr as social networking and microblogging platform. Tumblr not only a place to share daily lifestyle, pop culture memes and GIFs, it allows the user to write long blog posts, share photo and video to all the users. Tumblr allows the user to re-blogging and comments on other users post with shared interest which similar like retweeting on Twitter. Besides that, Tumblr allows crazy customization by providing hundreds of free themes and HTML of the users also can be fully customized.  According to Jen Refat, founder of Craftic, Tumblr allow the user to customize their profile. It is easy to develop and public within a week, built-in social media features have proved helpful in sharing content. Jen Refat also stated Tumblr has DIY and craft community which allows interest-based communities to have a look at it (Driver S,2018). 

Furthermore, we always wanted to search for current trends on social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram. Tumblr also can be used to search for popular posts, trending topics and blogs. Tumblr considered as social network sites it is because of popular Tumblr users able to get lots of engagement from their followers. Examples, if a popular artist makes a post on their profile, it could attract a lot of visitors to comment and repost the content. This is how they interact and communicate with each other through Tumblr. Lastly, there are fandoms everywhere on the Tumblr. Fandoms defined as a huge group of people share the same interests. These interests can include movies, music, video games, comic books and more.

In a nutshell, Tumblr also can be knowns as Facebook 2.0. It says so because Facebook is a social network platform which allows parents, friends, co-workers to communicate and keep in touch with each other’s, Tumblr is a place where younger people express themselves to the social network sites. In common sense, Tumblr and Facebook associated with social networking sites because it is related to have a connection with other people who have similar interest, activities and much more.

Reference

Boyn d, Ellision N 2017, “Social Network Sites “Definition, History, and Scholarship’, Wiley Online Library, Viewed 22 March 2018, < https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x >

Being a Prick Just Because You Can

Trolling is a huge part of modern digital citizenship. It’s a deliberate behaviour that attempts to torment digital citizens in a provocative and insulting manner (Nicol 2012). According to Coles and West (2016), trolling could manifest as a subtle or unsubtle offensive message directed to offend, start an argument or lure people to pointless debates. Its core purpose is to garner strong and emotional reactions. Emotionally trigger those who are unable to resist this provocative behaviour.

Have you ever wondered why do people troll? The answer: anonymity. Anonymity facilitates the condition for trolling. When people hide behind their computers, they assume that they are invisible and they are under minimal authority. Therefore, it motivates them to do things that they wouldn’t dare do in daily life (Nicol 2012). Essentially, they are ‘keyboard warriors’, through the power of the internet, they do unthinkable things under their virtual disguise.

Just a Prank?

It’s just a prank! Or is it? Trolling can have serious consequences online and in daily life. It results in harsher opinions or judgements being formed, acting as a mechanism for prejudice behaviour (Coles and West 2016). If an individual troll decided to spread false news, he might just receive verbal backlash. However, when a collective group of trolls decided to spread false news, the impact of their behaviour might be dire than you think. People who are unaware of the legitimacy of the news might assume it to be true as it is constantly spread. Besides, trolling has other severe consequences such as the increase of suicidal thoughts and self-harm (Coles and West 2016). Hence, we could conclude that trolling is more than unpleasant; it is, in fact, unethical in some cases.

Trolling ≠ Bad

There is another concept of trolling called ‘kudos trolling’, where users will post irrelevant information in good faith (Coles and West 2016). Hence, the disruption caused by the interactions here is considered as an unfortunate or unintended consequence.

Some brands use trolling as a strategy for marketing. It gives the brand a chance to go viral without spending a lot of cash (Vox 2019). Besides, it humanizes the brand, proving to customers they can be funny (Vox 2019). Spotify celebrated the end of 2017 by sharing reflection videos and statistics to their users. They took the information they had and turned it into an ad campaign, poking fun of their user’s habits (Adweek 2017). The campaign was very successful, garnering huge attention from consumers.

Grey Area

Now that we’ve covered both sides of trolling, is there a way to limit negative trolling? When it comes to online content, digital media companies are the governing authority. They have the power to control who they want on their platform. Recently, Facebook and Instagram banned controversial right-wing figures that include Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos due to their policies on hate speech and promoting violence (Bloomberg 2019). While some applaud Facebook’s decision, critics might say that Facebook is suppressing conservative voices and violating freedom of speech. In my opinion, trolls can never die off, it’s a part of internet culture. Therefore, banning trolls from digital platforms might not be the best solution. However, I do agree that trolls have to be liable to their online behaviours. They have to be identified and face legal consequences if they broke the law.

 References

Adweek. (2017). Spotify Unearths More Hilarious User Habits in Global Outdoor Ads for the Holidays. [online] Adweek.com. Available at: https://www.adweek.com/creativity/spotify-unearths-more-hilarious-user-habits-in-global-outdoor-ads-for-the-holidays/ [Accessed 6 May 2019].

Bloomberg.com. (2019). Facebook Bans Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Other Far-Right Figures. [online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-02/facebook-bans-alex-jones-yiannopoulos-other-far-right-figures [Accessed 6 May 2019].

Coles, B.A. & West, M. 2016, "Trolling the trolls: Online forum users constructions of the nature and properties of trolling", Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 60, pp. 233-244.

Nicol, S. 2012, "Cyber-bullying and trolling", Youth Studies Australia, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 3-4.

This week’s topic: “Is Tumblr a Blog or Social Media?”

Let’s see what the experts say.

What is a blog: Rettberg (2014) says that blogs are similar to ‘daily logs’, its posts are chronological, has a recurring layout and genre. The blog could be operated an individual or a group of people, the content on the blog varies from personal to professional. It can be argued as a medium for people to share and update without any constraints.

What is social media: Merriam Webster (2019) defines social media as “forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.

Both definitions sound pretty much the same to me.

First time user’s take on Tumblr: Tumblr is confusing (mostly due to its awful UI); I had personally experienced most if not all of the social media platforms. However, when I got my hands on my first Tumblr account a few weeks ago, the experience was lackluster and I closed the Tumblr tab on my browser within the first 15 minutes. At first, I was asked to pick a couple of topics that might interest me. Then, I was redirected to my dashboard and random posts just show up. It’s like the second coming of Pinterest. Art post, unrelatable memes, lame GIFs keeps on appearing AND APPEARING. I genuinely don’t care what a random person is doing in his/her life right now, the fact that Tumblr is feeding me all these useless content is mind-boggling.

The social media aspect exists, in a way at least. Content is shared but what about social communication? Sure, people can comment, share posts but is that the main focus of Tumblr? OK, Tumblr has loads of content but the social interaction part seems forced and minimal. When I click on the comment section on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Reddit, immediately I’m introduced to thousands and thousands of users discussing the related post. Comments are given the spotlight as they become big chunks that cover the majority of the UI. I can jump into a familiar/unfamiliar topic, know what people think and interact with them instantly.

However, on Tumblr, whenever I click on a post, likes and shares significantly exceed the comments. Comments exist in a small panel and most of the time it’s too personal to understand or just emojis. I guess that’s where the personal blogging aspect comes in, people interacting within their communities within a common genre. You can’t really start a conversation unless you’re interested in that particular topic or you’re in their circle. But why do these posts exist on someone’s (my) wall? If I’m interested in a topic, I’ll go to that community, the community doesn’t have to find me. Just like Reddit; if I like Family Guy I’ll go to r/ Family Guy, simple as that.

What I’m saying is, Tumblr allows content sharing but users get minimal control on what they want to see. If you’re interested in art, they’ll shove everything they have on their platform to your wall regardless of relevancy. Not all things have to be publicly shared. The blogging aspect has a strong presence on Tumblr due to its genre driven communities; nevertheless, Tumblr’s (poorly executed) content sharing and social interaction features enable them to be more than just a blog. Therefore, based on my personal opinion, I believe that Tumblr is both a blog and a social media platform.

Reference

Merriam-webster.com. (2019). Definition of SOCIAL MEDIA. [online] Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

Is the Social Credit System a way to instil good behaviour and provide safety to citizens? At what cost?

Let me tell you; China has a history of breaking its beautiful cultures and ancient history. The Chinese authorities and the government break their society for their own good and are not in it for the people. I'm aware of the wrongdoings of the CCP and that citizens fight for justice and freedom. Still, it gets silenced immediately in a censored country like China.

Firstly, let's talk about what the Social Credit System is proclaiming to be according to CCP; the system intends to monitor, put ratings, and regulate the different socioeconomic aspects such as financials, political, morals, and social behaviors of Chinese citizens in China. The Company also has a system, either settling for punishments or rewards based on your rates. According to CCP, they claim this will improve the social issues they have in their society. We praise the ones loyal and trustworthy to the government and bash the opposite through disciplinary actions. The Social Credit System also claimed to raise the economy of the country. (Cho 2020)

How does it work?

Every individual is constantly providing data for the government. Based on human tracking, a given social credit score will either increase or decrease if you follow the credit system's rules. The data collected comes from various sources such as your financials, interactions online, official records, search history, et cetera. The system is heavily relied on video monitoring and tracking your location as well as you in an aesthetic form via your facial recognition.

Many empty promises are there if you get rated as a high-scored citizen. The scores give you many privileges, which is absurd because these things mentioned are unsustainable and would not work in their society when there is no freedom of movement due to their Zero-Covid scheme. According to this Infographic by Bertelsmann Stiftung, once you have a high score, you will be rewarded with priorities in work and school admissions as well as public housing, taking tax breaks, free access to gym facilities and activities, and so forth.

On the contrary, if you are labeled as untrustworthy (low scores) by the government, you get suspended licenses and admissions, no freedom to travel by any means, public shaming on broadcasting TV and the net, and no right to government jobs and private schools. Your life gets tarnished if you are not an "Ideal" citizen. That does not promote good behavior, like controlling a population to satisfy the government's evil laws.

It's a way for CCP to control the citizens by restricting every right one could have. Imagine continuously being monitored for everything you do; if it is against the government, there is a punishment. That is not disciplining citizens; it is taking their freedom as a way of living in peace with their own choices and passions. We cannot compare their system to our social justice systems; we live by laws, but our rules, the severity of punishments they have for doing things that would be legal here; that's the volume we are speaking.

Reference

Bertrlsmann Stiftung, ‘China’s Social Credit System’, viewed 10 December 2022, <https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/files/aam/Asia-Book_A_03_China_Social_Credit_System.pdf>

Covid-19 and Gaming?

The Pandemic turned the world into a more digitized society; due to lockdowns and isolation, people tried to deal with their private personal time to the fullest. Some felt bored and tried to explore new hobbies, one of the common hobbies discovered among a large demographic was GAMING!

First and foremost, I was a gamer when I was seven. I played all these Lego and Cartoon Network Flash games, and I drifted apart from Gaming the older I got. I haven’t yet grasped the cause, but the person I am today does not play games. You may think, WOW, what a boring person, but I don’t know, it doesn’t make me any happier I feel like it’s a waste of time #unpopularopinion. Instead, I enjoy my environment, chilling, eating, and relaxing, the sloth I am.

What has Gaming to do with the Covid-19 Outbreak? Has the perception changed?

Gaming has become a part of the youth’s daily lives because it makes them feel a sort of escapism from reality, the coping mechanism of relaxation and thinking of other things than the scary, negative.

Another factor presented by Barr et al. (2022) could be the lack of socializing during the lockdowns. People needed a sense of interaction other than with their family members to improve their well-being. This was accomplished through multi-player games.

Before the Pandemic, people could not sit down and play games to the fullest, but when they had nothing to occupy with during quarantine, the time spent on Gaming changed 180 and created a sense of belongingness and stress relief.

Mental health-wise, Gaming positively impacted how individuals deal with, for instance, anxiety. Many responses from the youth clarified that the game Animal crossing saved their lives and put them in a good mood. The cognitive simulation mentioned that students could balance work and fun time without feeling burnt out and overwhelmed.

Even though I was not a part of these demographics, Gaming helped youth in terms of coping with Covid-19 and spreading more fun into life when it 

was its darkest period.

Reference