Week Five: I Need My Space, My Virtual Space

Image received from: http://andrew.tumblr.com/

During this week’s lecture, we were told about how space becomes place through the meanings and symbols given by humans. At first I was at a loss for how I was going to relate this to my virtual network, tumblr. But then I saw that the PowerPoint slides explained that “a sense of place is created through humans perceiving and constructing that location.” (Van Luyn, 2013). This applies to places which aren’t necessarily physical. On tumblr, your blog is your own space, constructed by your own perceptions.

This has a lot to do with the naming of blogs. In this week’s reading, the author talks about how giving a feature in the landscape a name, such as “Mount Misery,” makes it stand out from other features which are not named as inventively (Tuan, 1991). In the same way, the name of a person’s blog can make it stand out from other blogs if it is good enough.

For example, a blog name such as this, does not give any indication of the blog style. However with Lost in Paradise as a blog name, you can tell that the blog has things to do with paradise and things that a person loves. Also, with a blog name such as Sweet Dreams*, you can tell that the blog is based around things seemingly innocent or beautiful, such as pretty girls. The names create a “space” where images, text and videos are presented in regards to the name.

Reference List:

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.

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Description Approach, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696.

Blog Three: Can Pictures Say More Than Words?

Blog Three: Can Pictures Say More Than Words?

By Hollie Gill.

Place can be established through language, whether it be spoken, written, or read (Tuan, 1991). Is this the same for establishing place within cyber space? There are many ways of constructing a sense of place on the internet, from written words to pictures. There are some social networks that center on the idea that a picture can say more than words. In some cases this is absolutely true. On the Facebook network, Stories That Shocked The World, the pictures can almost always be more powerful than the stories that they accompany. Although a story is necessary to explain what is happening, the image can build on this and evoke thought. These bizarre and sometimes controversial or gut wrenching images establish a sense of place for the members.

In this week’s lecture, Dr Van Luyn (2013) describes that a sense of place can be established in a space by people enforcing meaning within. The same can be said for creating place on the virtual network mentioned above. It is not only language that can create place, but pictures as well and in this case, very effectively. If you take this example shown in the picture of the peaceful protest in late 20^th Century Europe against Soviet occupation, the picture adds something that words cannot, it builds on the written language.

Each member on this page shares a desire to learn about the odd and bizarre occurrences in our world throughout the course of history. This desire is fed through the layout of the page. Through effectively depicting historical events which captivate and awaken an interest on this network, the shared experience can, not only through the stories but perhaps even more so through the pictures, create a sense of place and meaning for this virtual community.

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

Image Credits:

Stories That Shocked The World. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/STSTW

Blog 3: What is in a Name?

What is in a Name?

By Nicole Clinkaberry

 On Instagram, users can choose to accompany a photo with a caption, title or status or just let the picture speak for itself. A friend and I often joke about how other mutual friends will post a photo of themselves (known as a “selfie”) and caption it with something along the lines of, “Heading out for breakfast”, when in fact that photo has nothing to do with breakfast at all. However, by giving this meaningless “selfie” a caption, our mind builds a story that this person has gotten up in the morning and made themselves pretty for a breakfast date and they just had to share that with everyone. The words have given an identity to the image.

This weeks’ reading from Tuan (1991) spoke about the power of language and how naming creates character and meaning more than the physicality of a space can. When you quickly scroll through Instagram it seems just like one picture after another, but when you add language, the images can take on a whole new meaning. The words extend on the idea that the photo is bringing and allow for more substantial layers of a narrative when others comment and conversation starts. Dr. Van Luyn (2013) referred to how narratives can take something simple and make it complex by drawing on memory and events that may have occurred and therefore give it meaning. A photo can invoke human memories and emotions, but without the human interaction in the first place the photo is not really anything to begin with, “[t]he visual alone does not rise to the full potential of its power. Words must also be used” (Tuan, 1991, p. 691).

I chose to name my Instagram account simply nicoleclinkaberry because that is in fact my name and a part of my identity. I wanted to keep Instagram simple and to contain no falsehoods or mixed interpretations about what I was putting online. But what is in a name? Kalabarian Philosophy (1995) believe not only that language, symbols and power play a role in naming but that it also equates to mathematical findings to determine the force a name can hold. Their website offers a free name analysis and upon searching mine I agreed with some statements such as I need things explained to me in great detail before I can fully understand. However, I did not agree with the stance that the name ‘Nicole’ means I crave heavy rich foods. I would rather a salad any day.

References

Kalabarian Philosophy. (1996). Name meanings – what they really mean. Retrieved from http://www.kalabarians.com

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

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Networks, narratives and the making of place, week 5 notes. [Power Point]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Image:

Name Tag [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.catholicphoenix.com

 

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question

Blog 2:

In the virtual network of twitter, the idea of embracing equality and diversity has serious limitations. Although, users can be based globally allowing for individuals to express themselves regardless of their language or perceived power/ status, the perceived influence is most dramatically evident in western culture (eg, political, celebrity etc.).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter apart from the limitation of only allowing 140 characters per ‘tweet’, twitter has been distributed around the world with other 500 million registered users as of 2012. This virtual network has spans the globe with constant updates to software and distribution made simultaneously, regardless of headquarters being based in the United States only.
Laure McNeill describes in ‘There is no “I” in network, that since the creation of the world wide web 20 years ago the distinctions between real life and virtual have become blurred. Meaning that as technology advances are ability to influence others directly will be limited to virtual networks and anonymity. The concept that as technology increases the authenticity does coincide isn't factual; uses aren't limited to factual behaviour and can misrepresent themselves without consequences.
In the twitter universe there are many communities functions in their own ‘space’, twitter users distinguish their posting using #example that allows others to search specific communities. Structurally this system makes the most sense, however, due to the popularity of some topics rather than others many voices are simply ignored.

References:

Wikipedia, Twitter

McNeill, L. (2012) There is no “I” in network: social networking sites and posthuman auto/biography. 35, 1. 

Blog 2. Is Facebook a self narrative?

A narrative can tell a story, as well as certain events in someone's life. BA1002 learned about narratives and networks during week 4 of University and how narratives can be strongly shaped by social networks. My first blog discussed the idea of power in Facebook and how it can be abused by certain groups of people. Dr Van Lyn explained to us in the lecture how power is relevant when discussing narratives in social networks, especially when looking at how people their Facebook timeline's in order to appear differently to how they actually are.

Facebook introduced their Timeline  idea in late 2011. The idea was to allow people to access all information that you have posted during the time that you have had a Facebook. This essentially means that Facebook can turn into a huge self narrative of the users life. McNeil discusses how Facebook is designed to become a part of people's everyday lives and how it shapes their offline narratives and selves. Friends and family can post on your Facebook, tagging you in pictures or checking you into places that you have been which is helping to create a certain identity. (Van Lyn, 2013). Although Facebook is the chosen social network of this blog it is also important to view other examples of narratives. 

The book Songlines by Bruce Chatwin tells of the Indigenous Australians and how they would use Songlines to navigate through the Australian bushland. These methods were passed down through narratives to other generations creating an identity and culture within the Indigenous Australians. This is a clear example of how narratives can be used not just through social networks but other networks and ways of life as well. 

Reference Page

Chatwin, B. (1987). The Songlines. Retrieved from http://masterfile.jcu.edu.au.elibrary.jcu.edu.au

Luyn, A.V. (2013). Week 4 lecture. Retrieved from www.learnjcu.com

McNeill, l. (2012). There is no "I" in network: Social Networking sites and posthuman auto/biography. Biographical Research Centre, 65-82

Image Reference

Facebook narrative [image]. (2013). Retrieved from: https://www.google.com.au/search?

Community of Fans

With over four million users and growing, Tumblr has established a strong sense of community in a number of ways. There are different sections of Tumblr that all depend on what type of content or style you wish to have on your blog. So, for example last week I discussed how social justice blogs used their follower count and popularity to engage various communities about the inequalities that were occurring in certain areas. Because Tumblr has such a diverse range of content, it does become a little frustrating trying to establish a personal blog as a self-narrative.

In the McNeil reading, the major point that was discussed was that people who use social networking sites narrate their lives to Western notions of the humanist self, even if social networks challenge those notions of the older self. It was motioned also in the reading that social roles in different social circles can be seen through social networks, which in the case of Tumblr is very true. The sense of community is dependent upon the type of blog style a user has, which is very similar to how social circles and roles work.(McNeil, 2013, pp. 67-68)

So to break it down, the social circles are the type of blog, and the roles are whose top blog in style of blog (aka who has the most followers for that type of blog or “Tumblr Famous”). An example can be seen from one of the largest communities on Tumblr, the "Fandoms". Think of anything that has to with your favorite TV series, movie trilogies, band or person and there will 9 times outta 10 be a dedicated fandom blog in the realm of Tumblr, and they will consume and ruin your life.

However, one point that stuck for me in the lecture that within a virtual network, you are not the only person constructing your identity (Van Luyn, 2013). This can be related to Tumblr in the sense that certain popular blogs have built up the image of only liking a particular genre of photos, so therefore if they reblogged something completely different, their followers might unfollow because it doesn't reflect all that that blogs tried to established and in many ways, a reflection of their ‘true’ self.

Reference:

McNeill, L. (2012).  There is no “I” in network: social networking sites and post-human auto/biography. Biography 35(1), 67-69. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 4: Networked Narratives. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au.

Image retrieved from: 

http://randomness-by-ririko.tumblr.com/post/59044218504#notes

Facebook Blog 2

Facebook

During week four of semester 2 the BA1002 class focused on the sense of personal narrative and how it affected the truth within stories being told. Every single event that happens in an individual’s life can become a narrative to tell. A narrative is a retelling of an event that has previously occurred. While a story is just a recount of events, a narrative retrieves the events, perhaps leaving sketchy details out to avoid drama, consequences ect. People become emotionally attached to memories which then leads them to telling a narrative in more ways than once. One way to hold on to this memory is expressing it over social media.

          

     Facebook is a classic example for this. In 2011 Facebook updated the settings to having a personal timeline of events that have occurred in the user’s life on their page. When first creating your Facebook account, you are already forming the narrative by writing in your details that are required. Some of the narratives expressed over Facebook are not appealing at all and could later come to regret. “I can’t believe she’s writing these things.” “Not she,” I say. “Me.” “Why would anyone say this stuff about themselves on the Internet? It’s crazy!” “Exactly,” I say (Jay Asher). This timeline does not only let yourself view it as many times as you please, but also the many friends that you have on the social media page. This timeline expresses the narratives that have been said since the first day the person signed up for Facebook. However, Facebook has allowed an individual to delete any posts, statuses or photos on their page at any given moment. This can turn the narrative into a lie very quickly. Once the moment has been deleted off Facebook it is very easy not to mention that occurrence in the narrative at all as it may be shameful to the storyteller. This delete the narrative or not.

               As mentioned in this week’s lecture; the internet allows for mash-ups re-edits and collaboration, which in conclusion stretches the truth. In the sense of the timeline Facebook has created a life narrative on every single person who has the social media site. However the truth can be played around with a lot over this page as many posts can be deleted or edited to protect the facts. This creates the narrative to be incomplete of the event. Some recollections have reasons not to be published any longer as it can bring back the past in one’s life, causing many difficult issues.

References

1.      Goodreads. Quotes about facebook. Jay Asher, the future of us. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/facebook

2.     Definition of narratives. N/A - name, date. http://www.units.miamioh.edu/technologyandhumanities/index.html

3.     McNeill, L. (2012). There is no “I” in network: Social networking sites and posthuman auto-biography.