Distance No Object » week 8

week 8 – summary

Giraf87 — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:51:00 +0000

This week directed my focus on a new (google) blog I developed for the micro ethnography, incorporating a study on YouTube. My choice of a BBC documentary (Schama on Mark Rothko) is relating to my forthcoming dissertation topic on aesthetic spaces.

My activity on the Google blog turned my attention away from the WordPress course blog, extending the ensuing narrative and course interactions into different directions – it gave me the ‘rizhomatic’ insight which I then used to illustrate the blog.

The choice of online platforms to illustrate the ethnography was overwhelming in view of the time constraints. I looked at Timetoast, Glogster, Prezi and Issuu, but in the end settled for Thinglink. Here I opted for an image that could visually map or draw together my blog posts and ideas.

I am interested in how technology affects online academic discussion and attempted at using my blog along an X and Y axe as a 2-D timeline, with X representing the linear timeline and Y some of the emerging concepts. This resulted in writings on ‘rhizome’ and ‘alloy’, with future suggestions (‘affordance’) to be developed.

In the meantime I also continued with the online serial of ‘love sick’, and illustrated the ethnographic blog with a soundscape (another YouTube upload, a cover of an old favourite).

The diverse ethnographies of my fellow students have offered me a better perspective on how to create visuality within the various online platforms.

Love sick – on the road again

Giraf87 — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:34:00 +0000

The journey continues in the streets of Edinburgh, looking for clues, where does love lead to…?

tagging for narratives

Giraf87 — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 01:00:00 +0000

‘In this project, the author(s) tried to understand “What happens in nicovideo [a service similar to YouTube] by visualizing the inherent tag co-occuring networks. Tag co-ocurring networks on Nicovideo represent relationships of content and subsequently, evolution of content. ‘

I thought the idea of ‘evolution of content’ was an interesting concept. The internet grows discussion, like a digital farm, it is being cultivated and harvested.

(more)

The sound of a YouTube Rhizome

Giraf87 — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:38:00 +0000

Typology of consumption

Giraf87 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:09:06 +0000

Correll (1995) suggests that online community experience is mediated by impressions of the real-world locations as well as the unique contingencies of computer-mediated communications.

There are four styles of online community membership and participation: regulars, newbies, lurkers and bashers. Over time, a shift develops, from newbie, lurker to regular; bashers come from the outside.

Members of online community have 2 main elements bringing them together which can interrelate in many ways.

The first element considers the relationship between person and the central consumption activity that they are engaging in, with and through the online community.

The more central this plays a role in the identity or the persuit of a new skill or activity – central to self-image and core self-concept – the more the person is to pursue and value membership of the community which is considered a pathway to knowledge.

If this is not considered important then the relationship to the online community is going to be more distanced.

The second element is the actual social relationship of the particular online community itself. How deep, long-lasting, meaningful and intense are those relationships?

both elements are interrelated

from Kozinets, Robert V., (2010) “Understanding Culture Online” from Kozinets, Robert V., Netnography : doing ethnographic research online pp.21-40, London: Sage

I uploaded this photo showing fans recording video and/or still photos. No doubt these end up on a platform such as YouTube. In a comment I made regarding YouTube, I am suggesting that some uploads may have a better ‘alloy’ than other uploads due to the nature of the ‘consumption’.

Ehtnography – YouTube Mark Rothko

Giraf87 — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:34:00 +0000

YouTube musing

Giraf87 — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:39:00 +0000

YouTube community rules

Giraf87 — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:31:00 +0000

“Let folks know what you think. Feedback’s part of the experience, and when done with respect, can be a great way to make friends, share stories, and make your time on YouTube richer. So leave comments, rate videos, make your own responses to videos that affect you, enter contests of interest—there’s a lot going on and a lot of ways to participate here.”

Not too sure how easy it is to make friends on YouTube