Portraying yourself differently online to how you are in reality is not an uncommon practice, infact 74% of girls surveyed by the USA girl scouts say that they believe their peers use social networking sites to make themselves “cooler than they really are”.

A recent example of someone admitting to not being themselves online is Ennessa oneil. Her story became very controversial as she spoke up to raise awareness that not everything you see on the internet is real. She decideed that she was going to quit social media in protest as she felt that she was loosing herself in this world of fame and glamour of instagram.

I really like this video in particular as it shows the real and raw emotions of someone that has been in this world.

I made a Soundcloud talking about the things that people do on social media to appear better then their real and authentic self. I also talk about a study conducted by HTC and discussed the findings. It is very common and easy for us to portray ourselves differently online and I am sure that everyone has done it atleast once whether they are aware or not as I think its only a natural instinct to want to appear as best as you can.

Here is a further in depth academic article that goes into detail about the persona we portray online.

 

What do you think?

References:

http://www.clevelandwomen.com/times/teen-online.htm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3274749/Welcome-Fakebook-75-people-admit-making-lives-exciting-social-media.html

Citizen journalism can be defined as the collection, dissemination, and analysis of news and information by the general public, especially by means of the internet.
There is much debate that surrounds citizen journalism, some argue that content created by citizen journalists should be considered a valid source as it democratises the media while on the flip side some argue that citizen journalism leads to large amounts of incorrect and under-researched being put out there. Here is a Prezi I have curated outlining the points for and against citizen journalism.

https://prezi.com/z21oewwwsexl/for-and-against-citizen-journalism/

Personally I think citizen journalism is a positive thing as it allows everyone to have their own point of view and opinion. Although I do believe that citizen journalism is becoming increasing popular, I do still think there will always be a place for professional journalism, however perhaps on a lesser scale, as this article from my BCM112 pre reading suggests.

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/mapping-digital-media-citizen-journalism-and-internet

This article made some really valid points that I had not considered before and made me think about the issue of citizen journalism from different angles.

http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar_url?url=http://ruraleconomics.fib.ugm.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/Luke-Goode-Social-News-Citizen-Journalism-and-Democracy.pdf&hl=en&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm2fu7ALML3UGcqk2heDrTdphaeysA&nossl=1&oi=scholarr&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiDtMXCq8rMAhUkJqYKHSiTDDYQgAMIGigAMAA

This additional source discusses the differing arguments in further depth if you are interested in deepening your knowledge regarding this topic. It really allows the reader to grasp the concept further and be educated by an academic source.

If you are more of a visual learner, I believe this video was very insightful into the role of citizen journalists.

 

What are your thoughts? Are you for or against citizen journalism and why?

-P

References:

Bruns, A 2009, ‘News Blogs and Citizen Journalism: New Directions for e-Journalism’,

Steinman, R 2009, ‘Citizen Journalism: A Recipe for Disaster’

Keen, A 2007, ‘The Cult of the Amateur: How blogs, MySpace, YouTube, and the rest of today’s user-generated media are destroying our economy, our culture, and our values’

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/mapping-digital-media-citizen-journalism-and-internet

 

 

 

http://theodysseyonline.com/louisiana-tech/makeup-companies-test-animals/282253

This source was very eye opening for me, a lot of my favorite brands that I frequently use, to my surprise are actually tested on animals, something that is often not publicized. Big name companies such as MAC, Benefit and Estee Lauder are all tested on animals, however do not reveal such information readily. It is often very hidden.

This relates to my digital artefact as eventually I would like to start doing videos on my YouTube channel in which I only use cruelty free products as I believe that animal testing is an extremely bad practice that needs to be stopped.

 

This source titled “20 tips to become a sucessful YouTuber” was very informative and raw. The reason I felt that this was helpful was because the creator of this video started from the bottom herself and had to build up her following. Therefore I feel as though she is a very good person to give advice and help upcoming YouTubers. The source gave me insight into many good tips and hints to making my videos more interesting, some tips I hadn’t heard of before, so it definitely broadened my knowledge.

This source is relevant to my digital artefact as I personally found this very thought provoking as it sparked a creative nerve in me and gave me ideas to improve my digital artefact.

I found this source quite intriguing, there is often many things that will tell you the keys to success and what to do when creating a YouTube persona and channel however there arn’t many that tell you what not to do. The author of this source has clearly researched peoples pet peeves when it comes to beauty videos and put them into a condensed and informative source. She found that pet hates of beauty watches range from misleading titles to even having chipped nail polish.

This relates to my digital artefact as I will be doing these types of videos and I will definitely keep these things in mind before posting a video to ensure a positive as possible rating.

http://theconversation.com/who-really-suffers-in-michelle-phans-youtube-copyright-case-29691

This article demonstrates that even big name celebrities are not exempt from harsh copyright laws. Michelle Phan, one of the most viewed beauty YouTubers was targeted by electronic dance music label Ultra Records, when they claimed Phan’s videos infringe their copyrights in nearly 50 cases. However this sparked controversy and some argue that using other peoples music is actually good exposure and is doing more good then harm! Some companies such as Disney are more relaxed about the use of their materials being used however there are many companies that are not so that is why it is still important to acknowledge the source. This source is a very informative and relevant source as it gives high quality examples that allow the message of the source to be easily interpreted.

This relates to my digital artefact as I will be often putting in music into my video that I do not own myself, so I need to make sure I gain permission to use music before just putting it into my videos as there can be very high consequences.

This source titled “My Imaginary Friends: The Beauty YouTuber Economy” is a very well researched and written article that discusses many aspects of the beauty industry on YouTube however one of the main points that is discussed is the way in which YouTubers engage with their audience. YouTubers often have a very good way of giving off a relatable vibe through the use of their over exaggerated ways that creates the link between the themselves and the viewer. Through self proclaiming that they are a “weirdo” or  “dork” they appear as “one of us”. Audience engagement and relatability is said to be key ingredient for a successful channel.

I found this source very informative and helpful as this is relevant to my digital artefact. I want to make my videos as engaging as I possibly can and hope that people relate to me! If people can relate to me or feel as though they are part of the experience they will find my videos much more enjoyable. I think this source is very useful as it gives readers insight into the behind the scenes action of YouTube.

http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6883&context=etd

This source is a primary source that is highly academic and formatted in a researched case study. Although quite long, I found this source to be very valuable as it has supporting arguments for the claims they make and are not just based on assumptions. This case study was assessing whether audience trust branded or non branded YouTubers more. After assessing this through 316 questionnaires they came to a conclusion that these woman were more willing to trust those opinions of YouTubers who were NOT branded. This is because those who are not branded are more likely to give true opinions rather then opinions they are being paid to say. This is related to my digital artifact as I have a beauty channel and I think it is very important to keep this study in mind. It is very important that you be honest, especially when it comes to products you would or wouldn’t buy because people will spend the money if someone they idolise says to buy it. I will always remain 100% honest with my viewers.

This is an extremely powerful source that is very valuable. This source depicts a popular YouTuber, who goes by the name of “my pale skin” showing the difference in the comments and feedback wearing no makeup vs when she wears makeup. The message behind this video is that you are beautiful with or without makeup and that people can be very negative and nasty if society’s definition of beautiful isn’t met. Peoples opinions of someone can change so quickly depending if they wear makeup or not and things like acne or scars are often associated with ugliness, however this is not true. This source shows what a strong woman this lady is, despite all of her criticisms she pushed through and continued to pursue her dreams and now she is a successful YouTuber, with this video in particular having over 19 million views.

This relates to my digital artefact because like this lady, I have a beauty channel and will often be wearing no makeup on camera. People, especially behind computer screens are so quick to write negative comments to bring you down and you just have to realise that these people are insignificant in your journey and to keep following your dreams. This source is highly insightful and relevant.