Ask.fm - The Inside: Out of Reality.

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As of June 2010 Ask.fm was launched on android and iPhone in a few countries. 
Today there are over 65 million registered users in 150 countries that have access on mobile, desktop or tablet; keeping in mind an unregistered user can participate by solely asking questions and not having to answer any. (Henley, 2013)

What makes Ask.fm so popular and can we identify the space being created among users that is just so addictive and potentially destructive to the individual?!

Since joining the ask.fm forum a couple weeks before BA1002 started, I observed a number of events.  Over the last few weeks I spoke about my friend “Tim” who had agreed to meet me based on an anonymous conversation I had engaged him in.  That was just a slight reflection of how easy people are willing to trust on a social network and the potential risks involved when you carry social networking into a “real life” space. 

I believe that to really and truly understand how Ask.fm can be so addictive and destructive there need to be the correct conditions in place: you need to create a profile where content can be stored, reviewed and easily accessible.  You would also need to be following a collection of close friends, it is assumed that once you follow a friend the norm is that they will follow you in return.  This creates a little “community” within the forum where you can often see the activity of friends around you and how they interact with each other.

The social linguistics on Ask.fm is not always about the content of questions and responses but the effectiveness of speech that impacts on the individual when receiving personal questions, especially at a high volume. (Tuan, 2011, p. 685)  Some “Safety Tips” are available on Ask.fm as a guideline for users which states “Anonymity should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful... This can be useful if you’re feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.” (SIA, 2013). 

To what degree do you think that teenagers or anyone for that matter is going to refrain from using mean or hurtful language? They don’t.
By regularly browsing your “friends” profiles you may come across a question that was asked about you from an anonymous user, which ultimately installs a sense of paranoia and growing anxiety that you’re constantly being talked about.  This could be in a positive or negative light.  Some popular personal questions include “What are your thoughts on Tim/Sarah/Mr. White?”, “Who are the top 5 hottest girls/boys from high school?” or furthermore confronting questions that users still choose to answer such as “Are you a virgin? If so how many times have you had sex?”, “What is your annual income after tax?” or “What is your ultimate sexual fantasy?”. 

“If people have the power to build, they also have the power to destroy, and on the whole, it is easier to destroy than to build. It takes skill to put up even a modest house and little skill to deface or burn it down.” (Tuan, 2011, p. 693)  Based on the little “community” that I have formed on Ask.fm and the increasing time I’ve spent on it, there is a real sense of space and time that we are all back on the school playground telling fibs and passing on your best friends secrets to others.  We, the users are allowing and promoting the behavior that as a child, would consequently result in a lunch time detention.  We are not asking valuable questions, we are asking to be bullied, judged, have our personal beliefs questioned and lives being exploited for all to see.

Furthermore I would like to look at next week’s blog topic: ‘Genre and Identity’ where I will draw personally from the content of my perspective and how the narrative network can affect the individual. 

 Bibliography

1. Henley, J. (2013). Ask.fm: is there a way to make it safe? The Guardian.

2. SIA. (2013). Ask. Retrieved from www.ask.fm

3. Tuan, Y.-F. (2011). Languages and the Making of Place: N Narrative-Discriptive Approach. Explorers and Pioneers, p. 688.

Blog 3

Facebook: Space or Place?

Facebook Chat: image retrieved from http://logo-studio.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/facebook-chat-icon-vector.html

        Dr Ariella Van Luyn (2013) stated in her lecture that “space becomes place through humans imposing meaning on it.” The online space of Facebook becomes a place because its users give it power and meaning beyond that of a simple webpage. Its sheer prevalence in our everyday life is a testimony to how much it means to us. A recent survey by ReadWrite.com (2011) found that most people check their Facebook around 4 or 5 times a day, with some people having it permanently open on their computer while they work. Many people noted that, for them, Facebook has already replaced email. Staying in touch with our family and friends has never been easier than it is with social networking. Our desire to stay up to date and ‘in the loop’ has caused us to give enormous meaning to the Facebook website, creating a strong sense of place for many people.

But how exactly does this sense of meaning transform space into place? Yi-Fu Tuan (1991) states that while language alone is unable to physically transform a place, “it can direct attention, organise insignificant composite wholes, and in so doing, make things formerly overlooked - and hence invisible and nonexistent - visible and real.” This theory applies especially to the online social network Facebook. Language plays a huge role in the transformation of Facebook because Facebook is not a physical place. While language is merely a tool to direct attention to a physical place, in the online world it is everything.

References

Tippins, R. (2011). Big Question (Answered): “How often do you check Facebook?” Retrieved from: http://readwrite.com/2011/11/22/big_question_answered_how_often_do_you_check_faceb#awesm=~ofYdUzMrPd5XGJ

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A narrative-descriptive approach. In Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696.

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 5: Stories and Places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from: http://learnjcu.edu.au

Image Credits

Vector Logos (2012). Facebook Chat Vector Icon. Retrieved August 20, 2013 from http://logo-studio.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/facebook-chat-icon-vector.html

YOU GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!

One of the greatest aspects of the Internet is being able to create a new identity. Yes, I may be 18, white, female, who resides in Australia; but I can also be a sassy, 21 year old, Spaniard living in the States. From this weeks lecture recap, it was stated that power is relational (Van Luyn, 2013). I am connecting to my other identity, channeling my inner Hannah Montana if you will. I can establish my new identity in my chosen viral network by creating a place that can allow my new thoughts and interests to be heard or seen. 

Tuan described that a sense of place is created through humans perceiving and constructing that location (Tuan, 1991, pp. 689). Sadly, I have indeed found a strong sense of place to my virtual network, Tumblr. When I began Tumblr, I started a personal blog, my name and detailed were published in an “about me” page for the world to see. From a few months in, I gained 120 followers. But the more I published personal thoughts, opinions, and even photos, I did in fact loose about half of those followers. Yay!

So, instead of just moving on from the site, I decided to just recreate my blog and not publish anything personal about myself, not even my real name. I still use that blog today and I have over the span of two and half years just gained over 2,000 followers. Despite the fact that I didn’t reveal my person details on this blog, I still felt that I was myself. I felt it through what I posted, the photos, videos, text posts, and even audio. However, I do feel as if I am more like myself online than I am in real life. I can express myself more clearly and I don’t feel as much judgment. Sometimes, yes, I do like to think of myself as Hannah Montana, just minus the international pop star bit.     



Reference list 

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: a narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the association of American geographers, 81(4), 684-696. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au 

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our space: network, narrative and the making of place, week 5 notes. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Blog Three - Week Five

Facebook:  Space or Place?

Image retrieved:  http://mytechgal.com

Every single place we experience in our day to day lives, whether it be a physical location or just a virtual world, is shaped and effected by our actions and contributions that essentially, make it what it is. As stated by Ariella Van Luyn during this week's lecture, "Space becomes places through humans imposing meaning on it." (2013). This exact same thing can definitely be related to my chosen virtual networking site, Facebook.

Facebook, through its many aspects and functions, has been transformed from just an online website to an internationally known and used network that involves the online interactions between over one billion people throughout the world. I think it is safe to say that this space, has now become it's very own place. "All places are small worlds: the sense of the world may be called forth by art as much by the tangible web of human relations." (Tuan, 1979). For example, if it weren't for the number of friends you have on Facebook, the status' you see in your news feed, and the familiar photos of family and friends... Where would that sense of 'place' be found? All you would have is any old networking site that proves to have no emotional or personal connection to yourself.

However, in saying all of this, the contributions of humans upon this online world can cause the development of a place, yes, but the impact can be a negative one. For example, when you log on to your account, how often is it these days that you are confronted with nasty words being exchanged by those in an online fight, or even explicit photos and videos that just take away from the positive connection each of us have with our Facebook place. I recently read an online blog about how to handle these kinds of online disagreements, and this blog provided all the answers that would allow anybody in this situation to ensure their Facebook remains a 'place' of peace and personal connection. Not a battle ground for those who choose to use it as such.

References

JackieC1989. (2012, August 22). Respectful Disagreement. Retrieved 2013, from The Truth as I Understand It: http://jackiec1989.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/respectful-disagreement.html

Tuan, Y.-F. (1979). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative Descriptive Approach. In Y.-F. Tuan. Wisconsin, Madison: Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Blog Three: Space,Place and Language in My Virtual World

by Tee2013

Image 1:  Facebook space, place and language

Tuan, demonstrated that speech and written words should be taken into account as an essential part in the creation of place,and that as students,we should recognize its importance, if we want to understand space and place, that language is  an important  power  that will make us understand the process making of  place and its characteristics.(Tuan,1991.p 686)

In week five, I tried to imagine Facebook as a space,where people interact and share pictures and do all sorts of things, the making use of this space ''Facebook'' is partly what makes this space into a place and gives it its  distinctive identity.For example, the familiarity I feel when I open my page, the comfort in seeing my  friends and family's pictures through this virtual network, my interactions with them from every corner of the world or with a click of a button I can like or write a comment on these profiles, the ability to simply extend my communication this way,  with ease, and feel the human relations in this virtual space, is my sense of place,  once more,Tuan, (1970, p417) words describe this feeling better,by saying,'' the emotion felt by humans finds expression and anchorage in things and place.''

Having say this, one cannot exclude, the important role language plays in making all the above mentioned possible; Language does not limit our representation but rather widens it, by giving us a platform, giving us the use of words to help us decrypt  and name this space, it direct our eyes to fellow members, shape sensitivity, provide insight of this space and place, by simply giving us the tools 'words' to communicate,express our ideas and making our feelings more visible

References

 Image 1:  Facebook space, place and language:

 http://fromsnickerstomarathon.files.wordpress.com

Tuan, J. (1991) Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative –Descriptive Approach

                          Annals of the Association of American Geographers,81(4)1991,pp.684-694

                          Department of Geography,University of Wisconsin,Madison,WI 53706

Facebook is a place

When sitting down to write this blog I was stumped as to how to connect language and the making of place to Facebook. Then the links became quite clear, when going on pages that are created for  certain uses such as Townsville Buy, Swap and Sell creates a place of trading.  As Yi-Fu Tuan (1991) states  if a place is not talked about it will fade from consciousness. Is it is not kept alive by social support it will fade from our minds.  This is supported by the members of Facebook and how true their identities are.

The person you choose to be on Facebook can that of a true or false nature.  Mine is that of a true nature although I am always aware of what is posted on my page. Although I know quite a few people who have multiple accounts or create fake accounts so that they control who is friends with them and so it would never affect them in a working environment. As Ariella VanLyun (2013) said it is all about the perception other people have. So when  Posting comments or trying to create a place on Facebook with your words you have to imagine how a complete stranger would perceive it and whether or not that post would give them power over you or not.

References

Tuan, y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. In Annals of the Association os American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Networks, narratives and the making of place, week 5 lecture. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Image credits

Facebook like, (2013). Retrieved from https://www.google.com.au/search?gs_rn=26&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=SDM85_Gzu5IeOAoRDwWH0w&cp=9&gs_id=km&xhr=t&q=facebook+login&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.51495398,d.dGI&biw=1525&bih=715&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=e9sfUq3SL8mmlAW024Aw

Language and Facebook: Blog 3

Language and Facebook

By Tasman Murch

 

“Places are created by language, oral and written” (Tuan, 1991). This is evident in a place and virtual network such as Facebook. After this week’s readings and lecture I can now understand how language is used and depicted over Facebook creating space and place.

 

Tuan (1991), states that ‘the quality of human communication, including the kinds of words used, seems to infect the material environment’. Language in this sense can be seen on Facebook, in a both negative and positive way. When I log onto Facebook and see someone’s statues saying, “Just got accepted into JCU”, with comments under it saying well done and encouraging words, I automatically feel happy that people you know are saying nice things. However, when I log into Facebook and see fights with rude language you feel disgusted and it puts me in a bad mood for the day.  This is what Tuan is saying, that the language that people use, infects the environment on Facebook.

 

“Warm conversation between friends can make the place itself seem warm, by contrast, malicious speech has the power to destroy a place’s reputation and hereby its visibility (Tuan, 1991). After analysing this social network, I have noticed how Facebook is getting a bad reputation by the amount of fights and explicit photos and language that is seen every day on Facebook. By this kind of language being on Facebook a ‘warm’ environment is not being created therefore ruining this network.

 

As Dr. Van Luyn, (2013), said in Mondays lecture, “A sense of place is created through humans perceiving the location”. Therefore, by us Facebook users’ perceiving both a negative (due to ‘porn’ and rude language) and a positive environment (Due to friends encouraging and posting happy things), Facebook can be seen to be heavily reliant on the language of users.

 

References:

 

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: a narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 689-696

 

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Networks, narratives and the making of place, week 5 lecture. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

 

Image credits:

 

Facebook: Good or evil, [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from: http://myweb.fsu.edu/aat09d/project_communication.html 

 

 

 

 

 

Sensation, Perception and Conception

In previous weeks I have discussed how we can create our own narrative in the way we share events and tell stories on Facebook. This week in our lecture the focus and concept was the use of Art and symbols and the way we use language to create a sense of place; to design a location that is alive, that expresses a situational emotion and creates its own sensation.

In this week’s reading, Tuan (1979) explains ‘Humans know the world through sensation, perception and conception.’ An image or photo creates an emotional sensation, which we, as humans perceive and subsequently design our own, or a common conception of the event. A perfect example of this is the descriptive exercise which our lecturer, Ariella (2013) asked we attempt at the start of this week’s lecture.

She asked us to describe an image of a beautiful coastline, without knowledge of the location’s history; many students’ answers were similar to my own: “I’m sitting on a beautifully serene rock ledge, looking into the crystal clear water at the edge of the ocean. A clash of sharp and smooth flowing shapes and sounds, the wind gushing past, the waves bashing against the rock barrier, and the chatter of the seagulls in the clear blue sky.”

This is a perfect example of Tuan’s statement and the description of our, as Human’s, way of knowing. In the same way that the image used in the descriptive task creates it’s very own emotion, the photo feature in Facebook allows users to emphasise an emotion by adding a photo with their status; such as a ‘terrific day at the beach’ group photo, or a ‘feeling lonely’ selfie. These allow us as humans to expand emotionally how we perceive, and conceive the event.

References

 Tuan, Y. (1979). Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach, 81(4), 684-696.

Image retrieved from: Here

Van luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 5: Stories and Places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au