Net204: Internet Communities and Social Networks - Stage 2: Communities & Web 2.0

Stage 2 is about preparing for the 2000-2500 word paper for the Online Conference. There are 4 streams:

1. Communities and Web 2.0
2. Social Networks
3. Identity in Communities and Networks
4. Communities and Online Gaming

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Communities and Web 2.0

Personal Networks and the Personal Communication System
This paper by Jeffrey Boase discusses how social interactions are affected by online communication. Interesting points from this reader:

• Although it is true that individuals may sometimes form new social ties through one medium such as the Internet, as these ties become close they are often contacted through other means, either in person or by phone
• Social ties have two important dimensions - cognition and behaviour. The cognitive dimension includes the belief that a social tie exists as well as feelings of closeness, memory of past interaction and knowledge about that tie. The behavioural dimension is interaction that typically occurs by way of mediated and unmediated communication.

Web 2.0 Technologies and Community Building Online

This paper by Palloff and Pratt defines Web 2.0 as the second generation of the World Wide Web, offering higher levels of user interaction and collaboration. Much of Web 2.0 emerged from the desire of young people for self-expression through creation of content posted on the Web, easy communication with peers, and ways to stay connected to friends. However many adults are now using Web 2.0 technologies to also stay connected with their networks, as are businesses for marketing purposes.

The more common forms of Web 2.0 technology include, but are not limited to:

• blogs
• learner generated content (aka Collective Intelligence)
• wikis
• podcasts
• RSS
• social networking
• Skype
• Second Life

There are many pros and cons when using Web 2.0 technology. Some negatives include:

• copyright issues (ie Facebook owns whatever you share)
• people can wander into suspect areas or sites by accident
• archiving and loss of content with uploaded files
• social networking sites may blur the lines of formality

References:

Boase, J. (2008). Personal Networks and The Personal Communication System: Using Multiple Media to connect. Information, Communication & Society, 11.4, 490-508

Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2009). Web 2.0 Technologies and Community Building Online. Paper presented at the 25th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning

Web206: Topic 2.3: The Public Voice

This week we were required to write another blog post similar to last week. The difference is that this week's post was to be an introduction to our topic that demonstrates to the reader why the topic might be of interest, not just to us, but to our readers.

I explained what a food allergy was and and gave information on causes of such for adults and children. I included an image of an Epipen and an instructional video on how to use if you're ever in the situation where you need to help a person having an allergic reaction.

We learned the definition and differences between blogs and reasons why people blog. There are four categories concerning the relation between author and audience of a blog. A blog can be described as a frequently modified web page which dated entries are listed in reverse chronological order. Blogs can be text based, photo based, audio based and video based or could include all four types of media. Blog communication can be:

• one-to-one
• one-to-many
• many-to-many
• a communicative blog for self therapy with no intended audience (Lomberg, 2009).

The advantage blogs have over websites is ease of use. A person doesn't need to have technical, computer or programming skills to create a blog.

Reference:

Lomborg, S. (2009). Navigating the Blogosphere: Towards a genre-based Typology of Weblogs. First Monday, 14(5). Retrieved from : http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2329/2178

Web206: Topic 2.1: Narrating The Self

This week we talked about how we portray ourselves on the Internet. Do we keep our professional lives separate to our personal lives? We discussed the topic of avatars and personally I can live without them. Avatars or lack thereof make no difference to my web experience.  In fact when I do have to choose an avatar I stress over it for so long that I end up making a rubbish one just to get it out of the way.  Every time we choose an avatar or nickname for an online service, we perform a small act of self-presentation. We choose whether to use our real names, to choose a name that reflects something about our personality or situation in the world or we create a fictitious personality (Walker, 2005).

Identity is characterised by the tension between how a person defines themselves as an individual and how they connect to others and social groups in affiliative relationships. In cyberspace meaning is communicated far beyond the people in proximity to the communicator; instead the world is watching (Gilly & Schau, 2003).


We were asked why we were doing this subject. I've always been interested in computers and began building basic websites in the 90s. When my last job was made redundant I decided to enrol in uni and follow my dreams of becoming a web designer. Well I'm only a third of the way along this journey but am loving every minute.

I feel it is important as a web designer to learn about web publishing, different platforms, different online spaces, copyright and creative commons among other topics. I've only been blogging for about 3yrs so am fairly new. I want to learn more about increasing my followers, getting more of an audience, writing in an appealing and creative way to get attention, because the more people I get to notice me (my blogs, my website, my social media profiles) the more potential customers my business will attract. On that note - Mojo Online Solutions is the name of my business. We have a Facebook Page, Twitter account and blog. I use all platforms on a regular basis to increase my 'followers' and 'likes' in the hope of securing some work.

We are creating a blog for this subject on a topic of our choice. My blog is called Pure & Simple Food and is about food allergies and special diets. This is my bio:

My name is Michelle and my passion is cooking. It wasn't always! For as long as I can remember I have always cooked fairly plain, boring but familiar meals. However last year my husband and I decided to renovate our house. The first job on our list was a new kitchen. I was very excited and it was a challenge being without a kitchen for a few weeks. The BBQ and microwave got a work-out and we had no kitchen sink for a month and had to wash up in the bath!

Now I have my new kitchen, my love for cooking has really increased. With a family of fussy eaters - dinner time can be a challenge, but with forward planning cooking can definitely be enjoyable.

We have many friends and family members with food intolerances, food allergies, have special diets like Veganism and Vegetarianism, and others require either a gluten-free diet, nut-free diet, egg-free diet, or dairy-free diet. Over time I have researched these conditions and have gained useful information which I believe is important to share with others.

References:


Schau, H. J., & Gilly, M. (2003). We Are What We Post? Self-Presentation in Personal Web Space. The Journal of Consumer Research, 30(3), 385-404.

Walker, J. (2005). Mirrors and Shadows: The Digital Aestheticisation of Oneself. Paper presented at the Digital Arts and Culture Conference. Retrieved from : https://bora.uib.no/handle/1956/1136

My business takes off

I've started my own business offering web design and social media solutions. We create and manage Facebook Business Pages, Twitter accounts, blogs and websites

for small businesses affordably.

Mojo Online Solutions

Facebook Page

Twitter

Mojo's blog

Don't ignore the power of social media!