What is the attraction of alternate realities like Second life?

In the words of Godin Second life lets players “find their tribe”(TED2009 2009) be it vampires, sports fanatics or single people looking for dates, all kinds of groups exist in second life and players can communicate and form relationships within the virtual reality game. Unlike real life people in second life represent themselves through self-constructed avatars enabling then to project the image they wish people to see.

Second life has its own currency which can be exchanged for real money (Linden 2011) therefore people can get real paying jobs, buy clothes, houses, attend events, learn, invent, create etc through the virtual environment. Therefore it is possible to make money from second life to support your real life.

Therefore it could be said that alternate realities like second life allow people to transcend their physical location and embodiment and in order to live in an virtual world, although as Malpas points out this doesn’t “release from the limitations of embodiment” (Malpas 2009) in the real world. In order to contribute to this online society users still need to operate a form of ICT of some description, therefore second life doesn’t replace real life it just an alternative way for people to connect and to contribute to their tribe.

 Linden, R. 2011. How to sell Linden dollars. http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/How-to-sell-Linden-dollars/ta-p/1018151 (accessed 16/11/11).

Malpas, J. 2009. On the Non-Autonomy of the Virtual. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 15 (2): 135-139. http://con.sagepub.com (accessed

TED2009. 2009. Seth Godin on the tribes we lead. TED Ideas worth Spreading.

3.4: In what ways are virtual worlds different from the 'real world'? In what way are they the same?

From what I understand of the Malpas reading it is incorrect to think of the real world virtual worlds as separate entities as virtual worlds are depended upon and based upon the structures of real life.

Malpas states  “There is thus only the one world, and the virtual is a part of it”  (Malpas 2009 p.136)

He notes that real and virtual worlds share similarities such as

o   Communication models

·      Linguistics:  the same languages are used in and out of virtual worlds for people to communicate

·      Reading of content: we attach and associate meaning with objects in the real world and these associations are reflected in the virtual world

o   Relationships

·      The basis of a virtual relationship relies on “honesty trust and respect” (Malpas 2009 p. 138) which are the same things we value in face to face relationships

o   Ethics and Law

·      Virtual life is still answerable to the laws of real life e.g. you still have to sign legal terms of agreement to play a game of join Facebook, these are laws made in the real world

·      The ethical beliefs of people in the real world are reflected in the virtual

The difference between the real world and the virtual are

·      That the virtual world cannot operate without the infrastructure that exists in the real world – the real world can operate without the virtual

·      Virtual worlds can be constrained by “genre-specific frameworks”(Malpas 2009 p. 138) and as such do not offer as much diversity as the real world.

Malpas, J. 2009. On the Non-Autonomy of the Virtual. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 15 (2): 135-139. http://con.sagepub.com (accessed 16/11/11)

3.3: Are you worried about surveillance on or through Facebook? Why? Why not?

“Teens today grow up in a state of constant surveillance where there is no privacy. So they can’t really have an idea of it being lost. The risk of the government or a corporation coming in and looking at their MySpace site is beyond their consideration” (Westlake 2009 p. 32 quoting Berton 2006:A1).

My days of being a teenager are long gone, but I am also not worried about Facebook surveillance. I am aware that Facebook is in many ways a public place and, as with any public place, I understand that I do not have full control over what happens in it. I can only control what I submit to the site.

I could be filmed on CCTV when walking down the street, or be filmed on security cameras when entering a shop. I assume someone, somewhere is keeping a record of my credit card transactions, phone calls, TV shows I watch through pay TV,  tax returns, when I pay my rent, travel overseas, get a parking fine or visit the doctors. Be it they are different government departments and different businesses monitoring all these things that make up daily life but they are still monitored. Facebook to me just feels like an inevitable extension of this. I am not sure if its right, but it is reality.

 I am fine with Facebook collecting my data, as I am with other businesses and government departments doing the same thing, but in the same regard I don't want it used for immoral, unethical or illegal purposes. Facebook surveillance seems to me to be a big issue when put into the context of surveillance in every day life.

Westlake, E. J. 2008. Friend Me if You Facebook Generation Y and Performative Surveillance. Project Muse 52 (4): 21-40. https://auth.lis.curtin.edu.au/cgi-bin/auth-ng/walkin.cgi?url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/the_drama_review/v052/52.4.westlake.pdf (accessed 14/11/11).

3.3: Can you really build a community on Facebook or is it all just a bit meaningless? Give me some examples of Facebook communities.

I think now more than ever Facebook offers a huge scope for creating communities.

My personal Facebook account follows along the same line as Westlake discusses when she states  that the "online world of Facebook reflects the local, “on ground” life of its specific users" (Westlake 2008 p. 23). My account is made up of friends I have met face to face, its a little community of people in my life.

Facebook today also allows users to create pages based on common interests and themes such as
"Local Business or  Place", "Company Organization or Institution", "Brand or Product", "Artist, Band or Public Figure", "Entertainment", or "Cause or Community" (Create a Page 2011) so the commonality that people form communities around no longer needs to mimic outside social circles and personal relationships. I imaging this type of pigeonholing of interests makes good business sense - as a way of collecting and packaging data for resale, but it still does allow communities to form while it performs this function.

 Create a Page. 2011. http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php?ref_id=20531316728 (accessed 15/11/11).

Westlake, E. J. 2008. Friend Me if You Facebook Generation Y and Performative Surveillance. Project Muse 52 (4): 21-40. https://auth.lis.curtin.edu.au/cgi-bin/auth-ng/walkin.cgi?url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/the_drama_review/v052/52.4.westlake.pdf (accessed 14/11/11).

3.3 What is a 'participatory reading'?

Westlake refers to participatory readings as when:

"An internet reader contributes to the text in several ways, not only by connecting pages and text through links and Hypertext, but often by amending or editing content." (Westlake 2008 p. 26)

Therefore adding content to Wikipedia is a part of participatory reading, as is using hyperlinks to direct your reading. I also think participatory reading is when you collect hyperlinks and add comments ( in Facebook, or a blog for example) in order to keep a record of what you have read, or to gather information.

Westlake, E. J. 2008. Friend Me if You Facebook Generation Y and Performative Surveillance. Project Muse 52 (4): 21-40. https://auth.lis.curtin.edu.au/cgi-bin/auth-ng/walkin.cgi?url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/the_drama_review/v052/52.4.westlake.pdf (accessed 14/11/11).

3.3 How do you use Facebook? Do you chat? Update? Link? Share? Poke? Create fake profiles?

I'm on Facebook. I update my status occasionally, chat with friends and upload photos. I've created a group around the production of a short film my husband was involved in making as a way of keeping in touch with all our new contacts and I have also created a fake profile for an art unit I studied last year. The unit was called Art and Creativity and the assignment was to think of  "100 things to do with a bucket" - my bucket gained a persona and joined Facebook.

I found it interesting to read about Facebook as a performance (Westlake 2008) as I find that I tend to "perform" or alter my personality more to suit the face to face interactions of a work environment than I do on my Facebook profile.

Office jobs require professionalism that in turn, I feel, requires you to keep parts of your personality under wraps. For example - in work life you should ignore the rude comments of a customer and tolerate the nasty witch you sit next to in order to maintain and air of professionalism, keep the peace and get the job done.

While on Facebook you can unfriend people you don't like, or hide their comments, and choose the things about yourself that you want to let people know. Facebook is a social performance while professionalism could be explained as a corporate one. Or maybe this is more reflective of my desire to avoid confrontation which according to Westlake is a typical attribute of Generation Y. (Westlake 2008 p 37)

Westlake, E. J. 2008. Friend Me if You Facebook Generation Y and Performative Surveillance. Project Muse 52 (4): 21-40. https://auth.lis.curtin.edu.au/cgi-bin/auth-ng/walkin.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmuse.jhu.edu%2Fjournals%2Fthe_drama_review%2Fv052%2F52.4.westlake.pdf (accessed 14/11/11).

3.2 - Notes on Networks or Information

In the ilecture this week Dr Tama Leaver discussed the evolution of blogs, stemming from the creation of blogging software (such as the one I’m using Blogger.com) that made publishing on the net accessible to the average web surfer. In terms of news, Leaver states that the amalgamation of media companies in the past means that the majority news corporations are owned by a small few, and as such the content they publish is viewed by the general public with a sense of skepticism (Leaver 2011). Therefore news blogs have become a popular part of today’s media landscape, as a way for people to seek differing points of view, or to read or add opinions about news items. As discussed in the readings for this week, Blogs too have issues with credibility.

Reading 1: Blogs of War by Melissa Wall gave an overview of the history of Journalism including those who create news-based weblogs. War believes that blogs offer society a new form of Journalism that is forms a symbiotic relationship with traditional media sources. As Wall states “news blogs typically don’t generate original content but rely on other sources for their links as inspiration for commentary”(Wall 2005 p. 156) meaning that blogs rarely uncover new news items but do critique, comment on, offer opinion and new information to news items  from existing sources such as a traditional newspapers. Wall states that while although bloggers are not journalists in the traditional meaning of the word, they do gain credibility by providing links to their sources of information, and through their more personalised, opinionated writing style.

Reading 2: The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere by Janey Gordon looked at how mobile phones are used to report news and circulate information focusing on the relationship between citizen journalists and the gatekeepers of information. Gordon's research into the reporting of the SARs epidemic in China found that despite the general public having access to the technology to broadcast news to the world , the exchange of information can be controlled by governments via laws and firewalls the prevent information getting through. Her  research into the London bombings found that citizen journalism by victims and witnesses supported the traditional news institutions by operating as an source of information and images that they then used as a part of their coverage (Gordon 2007).

A ted talk on the creation of wikipedia by Jimmy Wales discussed the virtues of collective intelligence through his creation of a free encyclopedia of which content is added to entirely by volunteers. Wales has managed to harness the peoples desire to participate in the way history his told. His talk revealed that there are gatekeepers within wikipedia, volunteers who vote, administrators that hold more wight than voters and himself, the “monarch” who makes the rules. Although Wall states the information on wikipedia is a credible and reliable source he encourages people to test it for Quality assurance.

The task this week was to note the blogs I visit and what attracts me to them, I read a lot of trade blogs but no news blogs so decided instead to take a look at one news items across multiple platforms – blogs owned by newspapers, a weblog about news and wikipedia to see which one I found more credible. The news item I chose was the News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal which I found interesting as it questions the ethical collection of information by large media corporations in order to sell news as a commodity.

The Daily Telegraph:

Searches on this site brought denied access to articles with headlines that looked to have the potential to shine the Murdoch's in a poor light such as Murdoch accused of false blame shifting. The first news article I could actually access was entitled James Murdoch denies knowledge of hacking . While the author does acknowledge that the article was written for a paper that is owned by the same parent company involved in the scandal, to me it is not a credible news source. A news company embroiled in legal scandal over ethical reporting is not the one I turn to for the facts.

 

ABC NEWS:

This is a source I feel I can trust, mainly because it is government owned although I am now a questioning my judgment as isn't the role of journalists to report on the running of government? How does this work when it is owned by government? Anyway in regards to the phone hacking scandal, the ABC uploaded a short clip from a news bulletin called “A quick guide to thephone hackingscandal”. This clip reminds me of educational lectures from university which is perhaps why I trust it and proves Walls theory of credibility through the style in which information is presented. I feel as I have been educated after watching this, not as if I have had the wool pulled over my eyes.

 

LSE Blog:

Well I think Ive just found a blog to read that discusses news topics. LSE is the The London School of Economics and Political Science and I think proves that not all blogs are uneducated one sided drivel. The post entitled Phone-hacking and press reforms: British journalism needs anew sense of ethics but politicians should not be allowed to move the goalposts stands back from the sensationalist headlines and places the phone hacking scandal in the context of politics and law to reveal more sides to the story. I like the wider angle view point and the idea that the information presented is not done so as part of a mud slinging match between news corporation and news corporation. Hyperlinks is what gives this story credibility as I can access the writers (Charlie Beckett) biography, other blogs, books etc which brings as sense of trust due to his willingness to be accountable for the information presented, and not posting anonymously.

 

Wikipedia:

There is a lot of information in the wiki post called News International Phone Hacking Scandal, and to be honest too much to read. I tend to follow up on information presented on Wikipedia, it could be credible but as there is no one person accountable, I find it good to check the facts they present. For this news story alone it is a great resource to find articles about the phone hacking scandal (there are 288 references at this point in time) and it is great having links to all people involved, but in my mind is not credible information on its own.

 

Gordon, J. 2007. The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 13 (3): 307-319. http://cvg.sagepub.com (accessed 9/11/11).

Leaver, D. T. 2011. Networks of Information: Blogging, citizen Journalism & collective intelligence. Curtin University of Technology.

Wall, M. 2005. Blogs of war: Weblogs as news. Journalism 6 (2): 153 - 172. http://jou.sagepub.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/content/6/2/153.full.pdf+html (accessed 8/11/11).

What does 'personal journalism' mean, and what are the consequences?

According to Wall, bloggers who use  a personal narrative style, who share personal accounts of events and include personal information in their blog posts can be seen as non-professional as they are not remaining impartial during their report.

On the flip side Wall notes that use of personal opinion can also create a sense of intimacy between the blogger and the viewers and conveys "a sense of transparency" of "someone who is not manipulated by a corporate boss"(Wall 2005 p.165).

For people who are not totally trusting of news corporations, this sense of intimacy can  make personal journalists seem more credible as their reports are not seen to be tainted or influenced by the corporate world.

Wall, M. 2005. Blogs of war: Weblogs as news. Journalism 6 (2): 153 - 172. http://jou.sagepub.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/content/6/2/153.full.pdf+html (accessed 8/11/11).

3.2 - Can you suggest any problems with the concept of postmodern journalism?

As Wall states in her article that Post modernity is the counter argument to Modernity.

 Modernity is explained as “a worldview associated with scientific knowledge and other so-called grand narratives that legitimize certain epistemologies and focus on professional/elite control over knowledge (Wall 2005 p. 158 referencing Lyotard)

In working against this worldview - Postmodern journalism revolves around the idea that there are many versions of the truth and each persons take on reality differs according to their own experience. The role of the postmodern journalist would therefore be to collect as many different versions of reality based on personal experiences.

A good example a postmodern gathering of information would be Wikipedia that works with the collective intelligence of volunteers to provide and check information. As Wales stated in the Ted talk Wikipedia is “open-ended” - new information can be entered at any time (TEDGlobal 2006); therefore the history of certain events is never set in stone. Although Wikipedia is not a relay of totally experiential stories it does include the viewpoints of many.

The problem with the concept of postmodern journalism is the issue of credibility and the reliability of the journalist to gather stories wide and varied range of people. Wall also states (quoting Moore) that postmodern journalism “rejects the meta-narrative” (Wall 2005 p.158) meaning that no-one ever steps back and takes a look at the bigger picture and facts are not checked, making a system solely reliable to the words of others.

To me the top down model of journalism and bottoms up models are two extreme ends of the scale. Journalism should encompass facts, figures, scientific evidence and the recollections of people in order to maintain balance.

TEDGlobal. 2006. Jimmy Wales on the birth of Wikipedia. In TED Talks. online video. TED Ideas Worth Spreading.

Wall, M. 2005. Blogs of war: Weblogs as news. Journalism 6 (2): 153 - 172. http://jou.sagepub.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/content/6/2/153.full.pdf+html (accessed 8/11/11).

3.2: What is News?

In her article Blogs of War,  Wall quotes Carey as stating “News is the media’s interpretation of events”, quotes Stephens as stating “news is about a subject of some public interest that is shared with some portion of the public” and MacDougal and Reid as saying news is “timely, it concerns the nearby, it involves the well know and the prominent” (Wall 2005 p.154).

Wall also notes that traditionally news reported to the general public was about primary institutions within society but since its commodifiation – news items have been subjected to an editorial process (Wall 2005 p.155) in order to boost sales figures. Therefore news does fit Stephens definition of being “about a subject of public interest” but could also be said to control the subjects the public are interested in by only reporting on certain news items.

Blogging adds another sector - as it allows people to comment on news stories, to add opinion, to critique reporting or to add more information. Therefore news as it stands today could be seen not only as “the medias interpretation of events” but also includes the public’s interpretation of the information presented.

One thing that can be said is that news is timely. Blogging and other forms of social media allow companies and and the general public alike to report news stories quickly and efficiently. While news today doesn't necessarily concern the nearby (as we are now a more global community thanks to the internet) it does usually involve the well known and prominent  (be it a heiress of a hotel chain or a politician) so maybe MacDougal and Reid sum it up best.

Wall, M. 2005. Blogs of war: Weblogs as news. Journalism 6 (2): 153 - 172. http://jou.sagepub.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/content/6/2/153.full.pdf+html (accessed 8/11/11).

ASSMT 1: 3.1 Notes on News Media

The ilecture this week by Mingnon Hardlow really opened my eyes to the role news media plays in a democracy. Hardlow states that the four estates that make up a democracy are the Judiciary, the Government, the Executive Government and Free Press who plays a watchdog function and keeps the general public informed (Harlow 2011).

With such an important role in society, I started to wonder about the credibility of news sources. It has long been known that magazines pay people for interviews and report gossip and rumor - often referred to as tabloids but does this cross over into the world of news? Especially online news, where anyone with an internet connection can become a reporter, quickly and easily uploading video, photos, sounds and text at any given time.  Who controls it? Who reads it? And does anyone believe it?

The power and control of traditional news sources was discussed by Harper in his article Journalism in the digital age where he notes that “many online publications depend on major brand names as the primary sources of information” (Harper 2003) inferring that while we may be able access news in more places than ever, it is likely that what we are reading online comes from the traditional media sources. This certainly rings true for me. I tend to read the smh online rather than blog posts and if news is ever reported by friend on facebook I will usually go to traditional news sites to validate it or seek further information.

Harper also outlined the power of editors in the news world who act as gatekeepers – determining which stories are newsworthy enough for publish, and therefore controlling the issues that are thought about and discussed by the general public. Prior to the internet there were not many alternative ways to find out about news stories not presented in the press and although online news is still dominated by traditional media there are alternatives. For example twitter allows people to follow multiple new sites, celebrities and friends from all over the world – a news item published in one country can circulate via social media and become public knowledge before publishing by traditional sources as was the case of the Occupy Wall Street protests (Gruen Planet: Episode 6  2011).

Then comes the issue of money. As much as free press is good for a Democracy it is also a business so who pays for online newspapers? Harlow advised that traditionally classified advertising paid for newspapers. Upon flicking through the October 28 edition of the Daily telegraph I found nothing more that 5 pages of classifieds - 3 of which were dedicated to jobs, cars, real estate and obituaries and the other 2 solely decided to "personals" (Classifieds  2011) . Classifieds in newspapers it seems are no longer popular, and with the benefits of online sites such as my career and eBay its not hard to see why,  although there were also sections that mixed journalism with commercial products such as the card guide. 


Harlow also stated that some online news sites are part of larger conglomerates that also own online classified sections with the online newspaper works as branding for their other products (Harlow 2011). This is certainly the case with the new site for The West Australian who belongs to a group of companies owned by 7 west media. 7 west media also own channel 7 and Yahoo 7 (The West Australian  2011)and their products, services and media entertainment area advertised heavily on the site. A look at three other news sites found:

·      Crikey.com uses a pay wall model to make money from their news content. While some stories are published on the site viewers need to subscribe to unlock access to even better ones (so they say) at a cost of $185 per year. Subscribers then get the extra privilege of providing content if they wish. (Subscriber Help  2011).

·      Perth Indi Media wholly operates on citizen journalism but stories added to these site still go through a gatekeeper who monitors them against the sites criteria. This site runs off donations and covers local community issues (About Indymedia Australia  2011).

·      Finally the Huffington Post website is owned by a big corporation AOL and gets its content from anywhere its free – liking to the blog sites of others and combining the days blogs into one new site. This site also involves readers by having them comment and rate stories. This site is huge and has multiple strands not just in news but also entertainment and sport etc. AOL sells adverting on the Huffington post site. (The Huffington Post  2011)

SO the main points to remember this week are that:

·      Online news media raises challenges the profitability of news and new ways to raise revenue are being trialed

·      Online news sites are often another branch traditional news media companies which are trusted by many users

·      Online news sites can target niche markets and source news for free from citizen journalists and bloggers

·      Online news allows Journalists to link their reports to other news reports and source documents

·      Online news allows people to research news reports therefore ethical journalism is important

·      Gatekeepers still exist in the online environment (see gatekeepers blog entry for further info) controlling and monitoring the stories and comments uploaded

 About Indymedia Australia. 2011. http://www.indymedia.org.au/about (accessed 7/11/11).

Classifieds. 2011. The Daily Telegraph, 119 - 124  (accessed 7/11/11)
Gruen Planet: Episode 6. 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruenplanet/pages/s3354190.htm (accessed 8/11/11).

Harlow, M. 2011. Inform me! News Media. Week 8. http://dbs.ilectures.curtin.edu.au/lectopia/lectopia.lasso?-MaxRecords=50&-SkipRecords=0&-Op=bw&ut=2908&CallbackID=928d2167f0cc56656c84409b4f366e45&usr=15055147 (accessed 8/11/11).

Harper, C. 2003. Journalism in a Digital Age. Democracy and new media: 271-280. lms.curtin.edu.au/@@59FE5910C5E0F0C6A9542F9A2E4F0BF9/courses/1/312160-Vice-Chancello-935083018/db/_2975043_1/embedded/Christopher%20Harper.pdf (accessed 7/11/11).

  The Huffington Post. 2011. http://advertising.aol.com/brands/huffington-post (accessed 8/11/11).

  Subscriber Help. 2011. http://www.crikey.com.au/about/subscriber-help/#nuts1 (accessed 8/11/11).

  The West Australian. 2011. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/ (accessed 7/11/11).

online journalism stands to alter dramatically the traditional role of the reporter and editor" (Harper, 2003, p. 272) Do you agree? Why?

I think this question boils down to the trustworthiness of the reporter.  The online environment allows for anyone with an internet connection to become a citizen journalist and report news – be it on a blog, Twitter, Facebook or submitting an article to the Huffington Post. But does having the ability to broadcast news necessarily make you a trustworthy news source?

The Media Alliance Code of Ethics describes the fundamental principles of journalism as the “respect for truth and the publics right to information” and that journalist commit themselves to “honesty, fairness and independence”. Their 12 bullet points on what makes an ethical journalist cover things such as “striving for accuracy”, “giving a fair opportunity for reply”, “attributing a source” and not allowing “personal internet, or any believe, commitment, payment, gift of benefit, to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence”(Media Alliance Code of Ethics  2005). All of which relate to the gathering of information and the telling of a story, not on medium used to present it to a wider audience.

Harper also touches on this in the reading quoting computer consultant Leah Gentry as saying “It took a while for radio and TV journalists to discover how to use the strengths of their particular media to tell stories. On the web, we have the same challenge” (Harper 2003)p 276. Here Gentry doesn’t see role of the journalist as different in the online environment, the underlying fundamentals remain the same.

Therefore overall I would say that I don’t agree with the above statement as it is still the role of reporters (be it journalist or citizen journalist) and editors to gather information and check facts in order to present news to an audience. The online environment doesn’t change this; it just means that there are more places for news to be consumed and more opportunity for ethical journalists and editors to rise to the top as trustworthy sources of information.

Harper, C. 2003. Journalism in a Digital Age. Democracy and new media: 271-280. lms.curtin.edu.au/@@59FE5910C5E0F0C6A9542F9A2E4F0BF9/courses/1/312160-Vice-Chancello-935083018/db/_2975043_1/embedded/Christopher%20Harper.pdf (accessed 7/11/11).

  Media Alliance Code of Ethics. 2005. http://www.alliance.org.au/information-centre/media/view-category (accessed 8/11/11)

3.1 News Media: What is a gatekeeper? What is their role online?

“Gatekeepers highlight particular stories, promote trends, sort the journalistic wheat from the chaff, and, some would argue, restrict the flow of information” (Harper 2003).

A gatekeeper decides which stories to run on various new sites and papers. They do so by reviewing articles, checking facts and according to Harper  review against the following criteria, publishing stores that:

o   Are considered big, breaking news of large magnitude or increased magnitude

o   Report on an unexpected event

o   Reflect the values of the gatekeeper and the audience

o   Continue on from a previously reported story

o   Culturally and geographically relate to the audience.

(Harper 2003)

Therefore a gatekeepers role in an online environment could be said to ensure the stories fit both the brand of the new site and its target audience in order to encourage repeat viewership.

According Harper the choices gatekeepers make can determine the topics people think about which is referred to as “agenda setting”. Although Harper spoke about this in terms of old media, I believe examples can still be seen in online news media sites.

The West Australian website puts (slightly anti – labor) political stories front and centre on the homepage despite its “most viewed” list being choc full of human interest stories (The West Australian  2011).  This enables viewers to browse the political headlines before going to the search box to find something that better suites their interests. In contrast – sites like the Huffington Post rely on viewers to “like” and comment on the stories published on their site which are displayed according to popularity. This gives the feeling that the viewer then becomes the gatekeeper but the fine print shows that comments and are moderated by Huffington post staff (FAQ: Comments & Moderation  2011) who could be said to be the real gatekeepers of this online news community.

  FAQ: Comments & Moderation. 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/p/frequently-asked-question.html#moderation (accessed 7/11/11).

Harper, C. 2003. Journalism in a Digital Age. Democracy and new media: 271-280. lms.curtin.edu.au/@@59FE5910C5E0F0C6A9542F9A2E4F0BF9/courses/1/312160-Vice-Chancello-935083018/db/_2975043_1/embedded/Christopher%20Harper.pdf (accessed 7/11/11).

  The West Australian. 2011. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/ (accessed 7/11/11).

ASSMT 1: 2.5 Notes on games, ARGs and digital commons

The topic of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) was an interesting one this week that I think fits well with my remediation project and essay. Although I have chosen to remediate and write an essay about the sub plot of a television series - the way in which the characters story intertwines with real life scenarios is similar to the way in which ARGs are operate.

Örnebring states: "Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are a form of internet-based mystery game in which participants are immersed in a fictional world and engage in collective problem-solving" (Örnebring 2007 p. 445).

And they work by:

  "Events and things mentioned in the episodes of the TV series itself will also provide clues. Bit by bit, these clues form a separate narrative set in the fictional world" (Örnebring 2007 p. 446).

In the TV show Gavin and Stacey - Nessa's back story is never fully told and she remains somewhat of a mystery. A series of clues are dropped by Nessa in her stories that reflect upon past conquests involving famous people from the real world. If viewers choose to investigate these clues they will find that these stories not only reference real life people but also real life scenarios that have been reported in the press. Nessa turns out to be someone that has escaped the limelight while being involved in a great deal of scandal.

Therefore the TV show follows a similar line to ARGs in that:

• A mystery is created
• Clues are given
• Clues can be investigated by audiences
• Clues link to real world people and scenarios through press reports

My remediation project sets out to join these clues together through a blog that presents Nessa as if she is a real life person and further the idea that the stories are true. Unlike a game there is no puzzle solving winning at the end, it is merely a site for investigating clues and filling in the back story - a kind of virtual reality blog based on a virtual reality storyline in a TV show.

In this regard my blog could be seen as an example cultural labor  described by Fiske and quoted by  Örnebring as " ‘filling in the syntagmatic gaps in the original narrative’ (Örnebring 2007 p. 451 quoting Fiske, 1992). In other words the blog pieces together a back story that enriches the characters in TV show. Örnebring believes that this type of culture labor supports marketing for television shows (as does other fan created content) - as it stays within the storyline and concept of the show rather than changing it, and disseminates to a wider audience

This same idea was covered in our second reading about Digital Commons - especially in the sections about mods which are fan produced modifications for games. The point was made here too that modders stick to the boundaries of the originating text source as per the following quote:

"most mods are thematically conservative, undertaken by technically accomplished fans who love a particular game and want more of it – more weapons and monstrous opponents for shooters, different campaigns and battles for war games – in variants that don’t stray far from the spirit of the original" (Coleman and Dyer-Witheford 2007).

Both readings link fan culture, virtual reality and media institutions all of which relate to my remediation project. As the blog is aimed at fans and new watchers of the show Gavin and Stacey -  this topic would be good to cover in my essay.

Coleman, S., and N. Dyer-Witheford. 2007. Playing on the digital commons: collectivities, capital and contestation in videogame culture. Media Culture Society 29:  Sage publications. http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/29/6/934 (accessed 26/10/11).

Örnebring, H. 2007. Alternate reality gaming and convergence culture. International Journal of Cultural Studies 10: 445 - 462. Sage Publications. http://ics.sagepub.com/content/10/4/445 (accessed 20/10/11).