The Trolls and the Trolled

Trolls. And no I’m not referring to the mountain cave dwelling monster that eats goats passing over the bridge, but the emergence of the new cyber species of troll. Internet trolls are known as those who deliberately post provocative or upsetting content or responses, on a variety of social media platforms, with the intention to provoke a reaction causing maximum disruption and outrage. These reactions are what feed the fire of the trolls, which in turn becomes a game of internet abuse, a cycle of reacting to a reaction, tit for tat.

Recently a news article by The Age titled Confessions of a Troll: Trolling is an Art, brought light to the issue, specifically as seen from the point of view of avid self-confessed troll Jamie Cochran.

In the past five years the prevalence of trolling has increased dramatically. The rise in popularity and accessibility of social media has widened the trolling platform, as they plague online forums, Facebook pages, twitter feeds, and blog and website comment sections looking for the spark to start the fire. These pages are then bombarded with insults, provocations or threats, with the intent to shock or outrage their target.

 An article by BBC News Magazine claims ‘supporters (of trolling) argue it's about humour, mischief and freedom of speech. But for many the ferocity and personal nature of the abuse verges on hate speech’. For Jamie Cochran, a self-confessed troll, she justifies her abuse calling it ‘performance art… it’s a way of evoking a reaction’.

In a country where freedom of speech is our greatest human right, how does this affect the trolls and the trolled? Is trolling merely trivial, as Cochran claims ‘some people need to learn how to take criticism, especially on the internet’. Or is there a more deep seeded viciousness to trolling as witnessed by Steven Deguara, as his late daughter’s online tribute page was defaced by a group of anonymous trolls.

In any case, the line is thin. Trivial or otherwise, troll abuse is something no one asks to be subjected to, nor should they be expected to ‘just deal with it’. Who are we to judge a person based on their social media page, and how does this really represent the person’s true identity? As a wise person once told me, if you don’t have something nice to say to someone, don’t say anything at all.

Image Source:

<http://www.dailywaffle.co.uk/2011/04/internet-trolls-the-webs-version-of-happy-slapping/>

Blogging Communities and Genre Classification

There are many genres of blogs, just as there are genres of books, movies, journals or magazines. The concept of genre is not only concerned with categorising various texts, but also ‘names the ways in which texts can relate to each other’ (Thwaites, Davis & Mules, 2002, p.99). Meaning, texts or sources with similarities in structure or theme can be grouped in order to easily identify them, and moreover to develop a set of norms that the sources observe as being part of that particular genre. 

With regards to online communities, blogs can also be classified in terms of content. Blogs are often set up for a specific purpose, whether it be to provide commentary and reflection in the form of an online diary, inspire through fashion and art, teach through cooking, food or travel or educate through professional or business blogs, each of these categories can be classified.

Fashion blogs have surged in recent years as blogging has become big business in the fashion world, and now generates revenue through brand endorsement, in both editorial and advertorial style shoots and articles. One such blog is Harper and Harley, founded by Sydney-sider Sara Donaldson, who endorses fashion, jewellery and accessory labels through her creative styling and photography. Similarly, New York based journalist Leandra Medine is the brains behind her blog Man Repeller, which delivers a more magazine-inspired format of the fashion blog genre. According to The Telegraph, since starting her blog, Medine has collaborated on films with top American designer Michael Kors, as well as creative ambassador at large of Barney’s New York Simon Doonan, and has just secured a book deal.

The Man Repeller blog

Another increasingly popular genre of blogs concerns food and home cooking. The interactive nature of food blogs enables readers to follow recipes, watch demonstrations and communicate with other readers for feedback and discussion. Additionally, this interactivity offers much more to the home cooking ‘experience’ than a cookbook may provide and is especially beneficial to first time cooks seeking tips and tricks. My New Roots, Bake or Break, Aapplemint and 80 Breakfasts are all greatly successful examples of this genre of blog.

This discussion is just a taste of the vast number of blogging communities in existence, and new genres of blogs being created constantly!

Reference:

Thwaites, T, Davis, L & Mules, W, 2002, Introducing Cultural and Media Studies A Semiotic Approach, Palgrave Macmillan, Great Britain.

Alan Jones in Hot Water

Alan Jones has come under great scrutiny recently for his comments relating to Prime Minister Julia Gillard. An article by The Age writes, the 2GB talkback host made extremely careless comments in a Liberal Party function, claiming:

“Every person in the caucus of the Labour Party knows that Julia Gillard is a liar, everybody. I will come to that in a moment. The old man recently died a few weeks ago of shame. To think that he has a daughter who told lies every time she stood for Parliament.”

The article goes on to say ‘in a tape recording of the dinner, laughter can be heard in the background as Jones makes his remarks’. Unbeknown to Jones, his remarks were captured by a journalist present at the function and later released to the media.

In hot water: 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones

Comments from rival broadcaster John Laws in an ABC 7:30 Report interview, described Jones’ statements as “out of line… exceedingly cruel and exceedingly hasty”. When questioned about whether he thought advertisers would pull their quota on Jones’ 2GB show, Laws said it was not necessarily a matter for the station. While they were said off air, the comments had in fact ended up on air and Jones’ is known for his on air presence.

Rival 2SM broadcaster John Laws

So how does off air conduct affect on air presence? In the media industry, and particularly radio and television, personalities are recognised not only for their broadcast but for their personal lives also. This applies to anyone in the public spotlight for that matter, as human nature feels the need to connect with these personalities on a personal level in an attempt to relate. Really, these celebrities are selling not only their radio or television segments but also themselves and their image as an entity.

Therefore obviously Jones’ comments are a matter for the station because while they are not directed related, it is the image they are selling that has been affected. This may very possibly have a flow on affect with advertising for the show, but as a new scandal surfaces and this week’s news becomes old news, who knows if Jones has enough of a fan base to survive the heat?

Image Sources:

<http://www.news.com.au/national/alan-jones-women-are-destroying-the-joint/story-fndo4eg9-1226462326339>

<http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/30/2105932.htm?site=news>

To Blog or Not to Blog?

As the digital age evolves we find ourselves moving away from traditional communication systems and diving headfirst into a seemingly bottomless pool of digital communications. Largely attributable to the popularity and accessibility of the internet, media and communications in the 21^st century have undergone extensive restructuring in every sense. The way we read, see and hear news has changed even in the last 5 years.

One such outlet for news is the phenomena known as blogging. A somewhat household term, blogging or web-logging has been employed by people from across the globe, in an effort to self-publish and broadcast their views to whoever will listen. In its inception, Jorn Barger coined the term weblog in 1997, which described the practice of “logging the web”. This later was shortened to the popularised term “blog” by Peter Merholz in 1997.

The accessibility of blogging has translated into the creation of literally millions of blogs, on an array of topics, from online diaries to food blogs, fashion blogs to business and professional work blogs. The fact of the matter is, blogging gives people a voice. It is an expression of thought, a collation of information or images, set out in a reverse chronological layout, which can be viewed by anyone around the globe via the power of the internet. Just as ideas evolve over time so too do blogs. Bloggers are often influenced by others in their blogging community, as they interact via commenting and giving feedback on posts, subscribing to a blog and following their activity. Essentially, anyone with a computer and internet access has the capacity to create a blog… Provided they have something to say!

To put this all into perspective, the following video gives a creative insight into the phenomena:

I hope this post has sparked some discussion, I would love to know your thoughts! 
Blog away!

Image Source: 
<http://everythingandnothing.typepad.com/mississippi/2008/05/blogging-or-non.html>

Hug For a Like?

With all this buzz about blogging, I thought I would try my hand at my own blog. Welcome to Sophie's Back Chat, a professional media and communications blog where I will discuss current media issues, comment on the world of blogging and critique public opinion surrounding these topics.

As a media and communications student, I am particularly interested in media effects and the role of the media in contemporary Australian society. Weekly, I will analyse current media news topics and discuss the influence of the type of broadcast and way in which the news event has been presented by various media channels.

This week, the Facebook revolution is the hot topic as Mark Zuckerberg and his team celebrate a billion users since the social networking site’s inception. In a media release, the company has described its new brand campaign launch, in an effort to drive advertising and maintain shareholder confidence. In the media release, Facebook claims central to its mission is ‘to fulfil a fundamental need: to connect’. In a world where social interaction has moved away from the real and towards the virtual, is this not a contradiction? Our lives have become mediated by the internet, as work, personal life and the internet are now fiercely intertwined. But how do the breadth of our connections compare to the depth of connection?

Recent studies conducted in Germany by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business claim even ‘checking social network tweets, pictures, comments and other posts as stronger than sex and cigarettes in terms of temptation’. Even when facebook claims in its mission, ‘to fufill a fundamental need: to connect’, when we are turning down sex, intimacy and real human connection in preference for virtual status updates and likes, how deeply are we really connecting? 

In an effort to re-establish connection on a sensory level, designers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a vest, which when worn, inflates to embrace the participant when other users ‘like’ their facebook activity. The Like-a-Hug vest aims to associate the internet with the physical, connecting the feeling of satisfaction and worth gained through someone ‘liking’ your facebook activity, with the physical act of a hug in an effort to ‘bring back sensory perception’.

The Like-a-Hug Vest, designed by MIT student Melissa Chow

So what does it all mean for the future of human interaction? Are we connecting in more ways and more globally than anyone could have envisaged through the endless possibilities of Facebook? So i ask the question, is this 'connection' really deep, or merely wifi enabled?

Image sources: 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Masswelcomemat.jpg>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Masswelcomemat.jpg>