Further to my comments (and yours - thank you!) on the Daily Telegraph's #StopTheTrolls campaign, has it actually stopped the trolls? Or was it a cynical, front-page headline-grabbing exercise complete with brand ambasadors? Traditional 20th Century media's attempt to influence emergent media I'd say.
A recently published article from the ABC, Twitter's final word on the Stop The Trolls campaign failure paints an interesting picture.
- The campaign was heavily criticised for calling for legislation which would curtail freedom of expression and the right to criticise or satirise.
- The Daily Telegraph ran a campaign for a fortnight. However, three weeks in, the petition has ground to a halt at just 732 signatures. In the meantime an anti-Alan Jones petition quickly stormed to over 100,000 signatures.
- Twitter came under pressure from Senator Conroy and despite claims to the contrary by Conroy, the company refused to go into specifics about the discussions it could say "We have not changed our policy or process for working with law enforcement."
However...
Applying political economy theory to social media would show that for an 'emergent' media, most platofrms have already been colonised by economic forces. Perhaps not the heavy hand of goverment on a particular platform, but most have been colonised by advertisers, or are now private companies with shareholders to please. Sure, social media platfroms are 'open' and can be used by just about anyone with a phone and WiFi connection, but it is hard to argue against Robert McChesney who noted that despite its claims of openness, the internet is likely to be dominated by the same corporations but with the addition of a few more players (in Macnamara 2010)
This leads me to my next question: Is our collective engagement on and through popular social media platforms turning us into a self-moderating public? One that is all too observant of guidelines, protocols, and community standards? With every comment, photo, video or update we post online on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or any of the other social media sites, I'd argue that we are simply contributing to creating a homogenic audience.
Hey Sam, these days on the web, people are finding themselves connected in ways that were never before imagined. With these ways of networking, there also comes a new type of personal responsibility when it comes to how people receive and interpret your internet behaviour. Twitter and Facebook both have status updates can instantly send any random thought you post to every contact on your list - or further for those who have a public profile. We need to seriously consider the repercussions of what we type.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been guilty of not self-moderating my own FB timeline at times. I have often regretted some of the things that I’ve posted online. At 140 characters, what can be typed may not always be an accurate reflection of what was thought or felt at the time. At the same time, the internet usually forgives quickly and most of the time people forget and move on.
Hi Sam, you raise some interesting points here. I think anyone would be crazy not to self moderate to some degree on SM. It is no longer just a social network it extends to work colleagues and can very easily burn you if your 'random thoughts' fall into the wrong hands. Sometimes I find myself self-moderating and try to 'freer' but I have to be realistic. Do I want everything accessible to everyone? No. The luxury I have is I'm not in the public eye and no-one really cares if I have the odd stupid posting. However others aren't so lucky, and besides you never know how that could change!
ReplyDeleteSarah, I also find myself self-moderating constantly on social media, and wonder if it's a good thing. It's definitely a safer approach, but perhaps it is creating a "homogenic audience" as Sam puts it; or rather "homogenic" content. Perhaps taking more risks would create more engagement.
DeleteI must say though that I don't see much homogeneity among even more exclusive (I'm not sure I've reached triple figures . . .) Facebook friends. I am frequently in awe of their contributions to collective intelligence and count myself fortunate to be able to take advantage of what they offer!
And speaking of Facebook and being taken over by the usual corporate suspects - you bet!
Thanks for your comments ladies. I find myself thinking twice about personal posts on FB. MareeEllen, glad you agree that that the usual corporate subjects are taking over FB. As long as there are groups such as what Anita has been looking at in her FB group: http://www.facebook.com/#!/extremistgroupsrecruitmobilise content will never always be homogenic, but I'd argue that for 80% of society it is.
ReplyDeleteCheers