THE POWER OF THE HASHTAG

Hi, I’m Kira WELCOME to my blog and thank you for exploring my little slice of the internet!

I have to say I am very much looking forward to BCM312 this semester. Steve Irwin once said, “I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message”. Directly correlating to how I feel about this project, I have chosen a topic that interests me and which; I hope to build my knowledge. My research project; will be constructed around Week 7’s topic ‘Planting Trees and Greening Hollywood’. I am currently studying a double degree, majoring in Global Sustainable Development. So, it is not surprising that I have chosen a topic that explores all things pollution, e-waste and climate change.

In the last decade, there has been increasing global acknowledgement that climate change poses a harmful threat to ecological stability and life as we know it. Caused by human activity, climate change is a social concern that calls for co-operation across countries for a global response (Fownes, Yu & Margolin, 2018). Several consequences of climate change arise unexpectedly, fuelling public debate in a manner that labels climate change as ‘distinct’ (Fownes, Yu & Margolin, p3, 2018). With a predominant focus on the scientific data employed to validate international action, climate change is widely debated online (Pearce et al, 2014).

We live in a world consumed by social media, and for many of us, we spend a lot of time scrolling, liking and commenting on various types of content. Social media is a transformative digital technology, placing the world at users’ fingertips, notifying them of news and events instantaneously. It is hard to go online these days and not see countless posts of news and current affairs. Pearce et al (2018) articulate how social media platforms have ‘disrupted established hierarchies of communication’ shifting; the control of conventional leaders such as political organisations (p1). Anderson (2017) stipulates the correlation of social media engagement and its link to climate change views, behaviour and knowledge propose numerous positive qualities. Advancing one’s familiarity with climate change is a leading benefit of social media use. From this, we understand the powerful nature of social media platforms and their influence to change views and opinions internationally.

In contrast, social media can provide an arena for framing climate change cynically and motivating individuals with these outlooks to post remarks online (Anderson, 2017). Twitter, in particular, has assisted in breaking down communication barriers, offering opportunities for open global discussions. Moreover, it has revolutionised the communication of leading global issues, such as climate change (Pearce et al, 2018).

Conducting secondary research and exploring potential options has led me to a rough research question that I believe has the potential to produce a robust and fascinating project! My question will likely change in the weeks to come; however, for the moment, I will be exploring: How is Twitter a powerful platform for raising awareness of climate change issues?

I have only recently become an active Twitter user. Before I became a communications and media student, I was oblivious to the world of tweeting and the power of the ‘hashtag’. Research exhibits how Twitter acts as an agent for examining public discussions concerning climate change. It is a world-wide problem that heightens scientific and political arguments across borders (Fownes, Yu & Margolin, 2018). One piece of research I found particularly interesting was a 2020 article by Sejung Park. He explored the roles celebrities play on Twitter, advocating for climate change and sparking thought-provoking debate. The role celebrities play online was uncovered through a mixed theoretical approach (Park, 2020).

Why is this topic worth any significance and, to whom does it matter?

Climate change is an ever-increasing problem which globally, we should all be aware of and understand how we can minimise the effects. User engagement with online communication platforms has grown at a rapid rate. In 2019 there were 317 million active Twitter users and, of this statistic, 4.6 million were from Australia. Additionally, between 2005 and 2013, the number of individuals engaged with social networking forums in the United States rose from 8% to 72% (Brenner & Smith, 2013). Twitter is a user-friendly platform that permits freedom of speech and international discussion with tweets generally consisting of 30-150 characters. Twitter is an online arena for public debate and, the inclusion of hashtags makes it easier for users with similar interests to discover one another, for instance, #climatechange or #climateaction (Romero, Meeder & Kleinberg, 2011). Opposed to Facebook, I have selected Twitter as my focus as it is a speedy platform for spreading information. Furthermore, its retweet system and straight to the point format allows viewers to consume information quickly and directly.

I believe it would be interesting to focus my research more specifically by exploring climate change events such as the Australian bushfires of 2020 and the recent Amazon Rainforest fires. I look forward to the weeks to come as I develop my research project, diving deeper into the world of Twitter!

References:

Anderson, A., (2017). Effects of Social Media Use on Climate Change Opinion, Knowledge, and Behavior. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science, [Accessed 22 March 2021].

Brenner, J., & Smith, A. (2013). 72% of online adults are social networking site users. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project. [Accessed 22 March 2021].

Fownes, J., Yu, C. and Margolin, D., (2018). Twitter and climate change. Sociology Compass, 12(6). [Accessed 22 March 2021].

Park, S., (2020). How Celebrities’ Green Messages on Twitter Influence Public Attitudes and Behavioural Intentions to Mitigate Climate Change. Sustainability, 12(19), p.7948. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12197948. [Accessed 23 March 2021].

Pearce, W., Holmberg, K., Hellsten, I. and Nerlich, B., (2014). Climate Change on Twitter: Topics, Communities and Conversations about the 2013 IPCC Working Group 1 Report. PLoS ONE, 9(4). [Accessed 21 March 2021].

Pearce, W., Niederer, S., Özkula, S. and Sánchez Querubín, N., (2018). The social media life of climate change: Platforms, publics, and future imaginaries. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 10(2), pp.1-2. [Accessed 21 March 2021].

Romero, Daniel M., Brendan Meeder, and Jon Kleinberg. (2011). “Differences in the Mechanics of Information Diffusion across Topics: Idioms, Political Hashtags, and Complex Contagion on Twitter.” Pp. 695–704 in Proceedings of the 20th international conference on World wide web. ACM. [Accessed 21 March 2021].

DIGITAL ARTEFACT

Here we have it!! My Digital Artefact: An ethnographic exploration intp the world of aesthetics

Script:

INTRODUCTION – Alex Intro bit: Ethnography is defined as the study of a particular group of people, wherein their customs, habits, and everyday life are researched through various methods of observation and fieldwork. Similarly, autoethnography is when one analyses their own personal experiences to gain a better understanding of different cultures (Adams et al, 2015).

Kira Intro bit: The term ‘aesthetic’ can refer to various things, and in this circumstance, it refers to the appearance of some form of content. The aesthetic of something assists in establishing a style, tone, mood or in the case of social media, it helps illustrate personality. From a theoretical standpoint, aesthetics is closely aligned with the philosophy of art, which explores the nature of art and how individual representations are evaluated or interpreted by others (Scruton & Munro, 2019).

Exploring aesthetics was a media niche Christine, Alex and I were quite interested in and so we have ethnographically explored the Almond Milk aesthetic. This aesthetic generally comprises photos with shades of whites, creams and light browns, giving it its coffee like appeal. Observations of this aesthetics are primarily shown on platforms such as Instagram or Pinterest. Due to the colour scheme of this particular aesthetic, images typically consist of sandy beaches, historical architecture, coffee cups and linen. The almond milk aesthetic creates a positive and calming connection and is the main reason we chose it as our media niche,

Chrissy Intro bit: As there are three of us working together, we split the research into three main questions. We each investigated one question pulling our research to form the basis for our digital artefact. I will be focusing on question number one. My main focus is to reflexively answer why all three of us are drawn to the Almond Milk aesthetic. Alex will be researching question number two. Her main focus will be to understand why there is such a big following on this particular aesthetic. Lastly, Kira, will be focusing on question number three. She will research what the audience would like to see when it comes to subject matter of the image. These three questions, when answered, will give us a better understanding of our media niche.

“Because of technological advances, which have made it possible to create, access, and disseminate visual images far more easily and cheaply than ever before” (Al Zou’bi et al)

The almond milk aesthetic is present across a wide range of social media platforms but has the strongest presence on Instagram. As ethnographers must immerse themselves within the culture, we decided to make our own Instagram account called @almondmlk.co. We uploaded photos that adhered to our aesthetic which allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of our media niche by observing the experience of people that interact with our page, as well our own experiences. By doing this we gained a deeper insight into our respective focus questions by looking through an interpretivist lens. Throughout our research we were able to further develop our Field Site Maps as pictured in the following slides.

Kira – Research bit: My focus area for our digital artefact was investigating what our audience wanted to see in terms of the image subject matter. This embodied what was being photographed and what edits, for example, colour and composition, were most appealing. To answer this research question I had to adopt an interpretive lens as the world of aesthetics is a subjective topic. How you or I perceive an image will not be the same as how others like your friends or family will. Within a few weeks of posting on our Instagram account, it became apparent patterns existed with the types of images our viewers were most drawn to. From this, we understood travel-based images and coffee images were highly popular as we observed them receive greater likes.

After gaining a closer look into our audience, we posted several polls on our account to observe why certain images were appealing and how they made the audience feel. Images with warm tones created a positive and emotional connection with our audience. Coffee images may be our most appealing image to viewers as it conveys a social activity; and for myself, coffee is something that brings me happiness. Our viewership was of a similar demographic, sharing similar characteristics such as gender and age, therefore, this shows why they may hold similar views. From this data, we can confidently say the Almond Milk aesthetic features images of a welcoming and relaxing nature.

Alex – Research bit: To answer my research question, I had to observe the presence of the almond milk aesthetic on Instagram, as well as conduct secondary research into the field of aesthetics in general. I found that all of the images have a similar colour scheme, featuring brown and beige tones, which are soft colours that are not too loud. I also noticed that the images being posted to social media had a pattern in terms of the contents. The top 13 reoccurring photos include images of coffee, fashion, books, interior design, architecture, make up, art, pets, perfume bottles, accessories, beaches, fabrics, and food. Something these posts had in common was the simplicity, and the air of relaxation, which is something that is consistent within the almond milk aesthetic. This aesthetic is different to the usually chaotic nature of Instagram. But why do people enjoy this?

Secondary research highlighted that aestheticization assumes existential projection. In other words, aesthetics turn an image into something that is existentially significant to the viewer in a way that allows them to experience the opportunities of life in the most appealing way (Orlov, 2020). This coincides with the paradigm of interpretivism, that emphasises seeing the world through the eyes of the people being studied by taking into account the audiences’ ideas, ways of thinking, and what they consider important (Chowdhury, 2014). This relates to the concept of ethnography (Pham, 2018). The almond milk aesthetic features images that portray a sense of relaxation, and comfort, and the brown tones add to this feeling. And so, my proposed answer to why the audience likes this aesthetic, is because of the significance to the viewer. The images each symbolise a simple and soothing lifestyle, which is why it is so popular, and why the photos categorised under this aesthetic are so pleasing to look at.

Chrissy – Research bit: Slide one: In order to answer the question, “Why does the aesthetic appeal to each of us” I had to reflexively answer this as well as uncover Alex and Kira’s reasoning. Images that we all agreed on and found appealing were then posted on our Instagram page to then see how the audience would then respond. There was a recurring theme within the images that appealed to each of us most, which can be broken down into three key parts: Subject matter, visual composition and emotion.

Subject matter pictured in the images that pleased us most included coffee, architecture, literature, fashion and lifestyle. The visual composition of the most appealing images had a similar colour palette where brown was most predominant. The image itself was simple and the lighting throughout the images depicted a sunny day. Our most liked images stirred up an emotion within us. The commonly felt emotions when looking at the image included its ability to make us feel calm and relaxed, warm, peaceful and a sense of joy. The images also had the ability to make us feel nostalgic as they reminded us each of an old memory.

Sources highlighted that an aesthetic experience encompasses an affective process of aesthetic judgement and emotion experienced with an image (Dorothee et al, 2012). This coincides with the reflexive paradigm as it allows for a personal evaluation of aesthetic images as they have varying terms of perceived pleasantries, enabling different emotional responses amongst each individual (Kätsyri et al, 2012) relating to the concept of auto-ethnography (Thomas, 2014). The almond milk aesthetic has provoked a positive emotional response between Alex, Kira and myself.

Through my observations, I noticed that images of travel induced emotions of longing for a relaxing getaway, whilst images of various fabrics stimulated a calming and warm feeling. Images as such are very prominent within this aesthetic, and all have a similar tone. These images made us feel both relaxed and peaceful, and these emotions are prompted even more when the photos are collated together to form a cohesive feed. And so, the answer to the question of why this aesthetic appeals to us, is because of the calming emotions evoked within each of us.

CONCLUSION – To conclude, through both ethnographic, and auto-ethnographic research, we were able to provide some answers to the questions we sought out. The almond milk aesthetic provided us with insight into the world of Instagram aesthetics and its audience, which we will remain a part of.

DA PITCH

The wait is over… here is my digital artefact pitch!!

Over the past four weeks we have described our media niche, mapped out a field site, problematised issues involved with the niche and finally laid down plans for our research process, including ethical standards, methods of observation, auto-ethnography, and a detailed schedule for the completion of the project. Altogether, these four blog posts have allowed for the ideation of Christine, Alex and I’s digital artefact project, which we will ethnographically explore. To allow for greater awareness into this aesthetic, we have created an Instagram account, @almondmlk.co whereby we will be sourcing and posting images that resonate with this media niche. Although this aesthetic is present on various platforms like Pinterest or Tumblr, we decided on Instagram as we believe we will gain a wider audience and hence, more interactions.

In addition to applying an observation research approach, I will be analysing and observing this niche/community through the concept of interpretivism. I believe this concept is most applicable as the world of Instagram and how we view images is entirely up to our interpretations. I will be focusing my ethnographic research on ‘what do audiences want to see and what is being posted’. To achieve this, I will be observing and taking notes on what the most popular categories/images are e.g. lifestyle, fashion etc. Understanding what this community is posting and why will allow me to source and create a similar tone and mood for our Instagram page.

I am very keen to start our ethnographic research and see where our Instagram page may take us!!

References:

Caulfield, J., (2020). An Introduction To Ethnography | What Is It And How Is It Used?. Scribbr. Available at: <https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/ethnography/> [Accessed 1 September 2020].

Dam, R. and Siang, T., (2020). What Is Ideation – And How To Prepare For Ideation Sessions. The Interaction Design Foundation. Available at: <https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-ideation-and-how-to-prepare-for-ideation-sessions> [Accessed 2 September 2020].

Dudovskiy, J., 2020. Interpretivism (Interpretivist) Research Philosophy – Research-Methodology. Research-Methodology. Available at: <https://research-methodology.net/research-philosophy/interpretivism/> [Accessed 2 September 2020].

RESEARCH & ETHICS

Welcome to the fourth and finale blog post! We are only four weeks in, and already so much has changed and our digital artefact ‘Almondmlk&co’ has progressed quite a bit. I thought I would start this post with a bit of contextual knowledge. As stated in last weeks post, aesthetics is a branch of philosophy which deals with the nature of taste and beauty. Aesthetics often assists in establishing a tone, mood or style, as well as exploring subjective or sensory-emotional values (Zangwill, 2019). If an Instagram account has an aesthetic, it generally means the feed follows the same theme and tones throughout, creating an aesthetically pleasing and appealing look.

From a theoretical standpoint of research, a paradigm is considered a way of viewing the world. In ethnography, this is even more pronounced as the methodology is subjective. A paradigm is a set of ideas which influences how we analyse and interpret data. There are numerous paradigmatic frameworks one may adopt in a research project to assist in analysing research findings. For my digital artefact, I will be adopting the framework of interpretivism as I believe it is best suited to my niche. Interpretivism is commonly linked to topics with grey areas, for instance, society. Gaining insight into how or why someone acts or feels can not be determined through statistics or numerical data. Instead, it is uncovered through words, behaviours and actions. An interpretive researcher focuses on the meanings that people bring to experiences and their behaviours, and the ways they employ this to interpret the world. Myer (2008) states “interpretive researchers assume that access to reality is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness, shared meanings and instruments” (p1).

In every research project, there are several considerations researchers must be aware of to ensure they conduct appropriate practices. A vital aspect of this is ethics. Ethics is a moral philosophy or discipline concerned with what is morally good against what is morally bad or wrong. Upholding ethical principles in research practices is crucial for various reasons. Firstly, ethical conduct promotes the aims of research e.g. truth, knowledge and avoidance of error. Secondly, since research involves collaboration and cooperation with other people, ethical standards promote the values vital to collaborative work e.g. accountability, trust and anonymity. (Resnik, 2015). Principles such as integrity, validity and confidentiality are all significant components when conducting research.

Appropriate credibility and the fair use of other’s photos is our primary ethical consideration for our project. We are aiming to source our own pictures for our Instagram page. However, considering the current pandemic, it may be difficult to take new ones that illustrate the almond milk aesthetic. In response, we will be crediting every photo we post as well as crediting the source in the caption. In addition to this, our Instagram feed will maintain a clean and appropriate appeal to reduce any potential harm or unrest amongst viewers.

All participants who engage in our digital artefact will be aware of our objectives and observations as we ethnographically research our niche. To uphold ethical principles, all participants will remain anonymous and any information they provide us will remain confidential. If at any point they wish to be removed from our study we will be more than happy to do so. Ensuring all participants feel comfortable throughout the research process is one of our primary focuses. By implementing these ethical standards I believe we will conduct a well-rounded, ethical project.

References:

Moore, C., (2020). BCM241: Ethnographic Research Methods And Methodologies. UOW [Accessed 20 August 2020].

Myers, M.D. (2008) “Qualitative Research in Business & Management” SAGE Publications

Resnik, D., (2015). What Is Ethics In Research & Why Is It Important?. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, pp.1-2. Available at: <http://nook.cs.ucdavis.edu/~koehl/Teaching/ECS188/Reprints/Ethics_Research_NIH.pdf> [Accessed 13 August 2020].

Zangwill, N., (2019) “Aesthetic Judgment”, The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2019/entries/aesthetic-judgment/>.

WHAT’S THE PLAN?

Big changes have occurred in the past couple of weeks!! In my previous blog, I wrote about my interest in lifestyle content and how I was going to focus on Sarah’s Day. However, after a lot of thought and discussions with other BCM241 students, I have decided to take an alternate approach for my digital artefact. To a degree I am still focusing on lifestyle content, particularly on Instagram however, due to its multifaceted nature, my media niche is now focusing on aesthetics! And not just any aesthetics, but the coffee house aesthetic or ‘almond milk aesthetic’. My project will be a collaboration between myself and two other BCM students who have expressed their interest in aesthetics. We will be creating an Instagram page titled ‘Almondmlk&co’ where we will be sourcing and posting photos that fit into this genre. My original plan has altered quite a lot, however, I believe it fits well with lifestyle content as various influencers have taken on this aesthetic.

So what exactly is an aesthetic? The term ‘aesthetic’ can denote to various things, in this circumstance, it refers to the appearance of some form of content. The aesthetic of something assists in establishing a style, tone, mood or in the case of lifestyle content creators, it helps in illustrating personality. From a theoretical standpoint, aesthetics is closely aligned with the philosophy of art, which explores the nature of art and how individual representations are evaluated or interpreted by others (Scruton & Munro, 2019). The coffee house aesthetic generally comprises photos with shades of whites, creams and light browns as illustrated in the collage above.

This week is all about the research plan, but in order to construct one we must first come up with a problem to ethnographically explore. Considering there is three of us collaborating on this project we have decided to each take a different path to gather a comprehensive understanding of aesthetics. For my research, I will be exploring and analysing what the audience wants to see, whilst my group members focus on why we, ourselves are drawn to this aesthetic and why the audience is drawn to the almond milk aesthetic. To better understand our media niche, conducting first-hand investigation is crucial. By doing this I will attain insight into the demographic of users who are typically engaging with the aesthetic. Moreover, I will be observing the types of images (e.g. lifestyle, fashion etc) influencers or Instagram users are posting for the coffee house aesthetic.

Ethnographic research relies on observation, either participatory or non-participatory. This idea relates to sensors and senses, human and non-human as a path for establishing judgement and gathering data for analysis (Moore, 2020). In media ethnography, direct observation is valuable in comparing the way platforms, practices and processes are represented and paralleled with their lived experiences (Moore, 2020). I will be employing participant observation as I source, capture and post photos for our Instagram page. Moreover, I will research various accounts to gain inspiration. . Auto-ethnography is equally as important and is considered a method of qualitative research which seeks to systematically analyse and convey personal experiences to grasp cultural understandings (Holman Jone, 2005). This will allow me to put myself at the heart of this community and fully grasp the dynamics of this niche.

My research plan schedule is as follows:

My schedule is quite repetitive, however it is subject to change as I uncover new experiences and pathways for my niche, which I may be unaware of right now. I am very excited to get cracking on this project as I am an adamant Instagram user and absolutely adore this aesthetic!

References:

Holman Jones, Stacy. (2005). Autoethnography: Making the personal political. In Handbook of qualitative research, ed. Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln, 763-791. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hughes, J (2019), 6 Tips for Creating a Social Media Brand Aesthetic, blog post, Revive Social. <https://revive.social/creating-social-brand-aesthetic/#:~:text=The%20benefits%20of%20creating%20a,social%20channels%20to%20ensure%20consistency.> [Accessed 27 August 2020]

Moore, C., (2020). BCM241: Ethnographic Research Methods And Methodologies. UOW

Scruton, R. and Munro, T., (2019). Aesthetics. In: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc. https://www.britannica.com/topic/aesthetics [Accessed 18th August 2020].

NARROWING THE FIELD

In the previous week, I wrote about my interest in lifestyle content, which I will be exploring ethnographically for my digital artefact. Lifestyle content presents various avenues and opportunities, and in contemporary society, it is ever-increasing. Due to its broad nature, I have decided to refine my topic and focus my ethnographic research on one channel, in particular, Sarah’s Day. By doing this, I will be able to focus on one perspective and one voice of lifestyle content. I have been a loyal subscriber to Sarah’s Day for quite a few years now and have chosen her as my focus as she is excelling as a content creator on a global scale. As stated by Burrell (2009), a field site denotes to the ‘spatial characteristics of a field-based research project’, the phase where social process under focus occur (p.182). This site is built in terms of how a phenomenon, in this case, lifestyle content, is viewed and acted on by participants (Burrell, 2009). Moreover, the field site is defined by places embedded in speech and text, social imaginings and physical movements. Another element of field research is whether the topic under focus involves observation or participant observation. In this case, I will be employing participant observation as I am part of the target audience.

“Ethnographic research allows us to regard and represent the actors as creators as well as executants of their own meanings. The very way in which they tell us about what they do tells the researcher a great deal about what is meaningful for an in the research. It adds richness and texture to the experience of conducting research”
Hannabuss, 2000, p.99

https://www.youtube.com/c/SarahsDay/videos

Sarah’s Day began her YouTube career around seven years ago and has now gained 1.46 million subscribers on YouTube. Her YouTube channel is full of day in the life vlogs, healthy recipes, home workouts, clothing hauls and so much more. One thing I love about this channel is how raw her videos are. Today, many YouTubers glamorise their life and often neglect to show the nitty-gritty aspects of life. Moreover, I love her overall aesthetic and style. Influencers these days all have their unique look and feel on social media. Creating a visually appealing aesthetic is an important part of reaching wider audiences as they are drawn in by the look of an account. Sarah’s Day also manages various side jobs and projects including a health-based podcast, whilst posting regularly on Instagram and YouTube. I have included a mind map below illustrating the network and connections associated with just one lifestyle content creator. In recent years, a growing amount of literature has examined celebrity studies with digital media theory, exploring the role of the “micro-celebrity” (Lawson, 2020). Marwick (2015) defines a micro-celebrity as “a self-presentation technique in which people view themselves as a public persona to be consumed by others, use strategic intimacy to appeal to followers, and regard their audience as fans” (p.333).

Edit 29/8 – below i have inserted the field site for the almond milk aesthetic, with our primary focus on the #creamaesthetic hashtag

Personally, I love engaging with Sarah’s Day’s content as I find her life and views inspiring and motivating. Her content is tailored to my interests and I always come out feeling happy and having learned something after watching her YouTube videos. Through her weekly engagements, she creates a close community who feels as though they are a part of her life and visa versa. Sarah’s Day further reinforces this by referring to her audience as ‘Sezzy’s Squad’. I have included one of Sarah’s videos below as it conveys a true and raw depiction of her life.

Gaining a more in-depth awareness of lifestyle content will be beneficial for those in the creative industries, particularly those with an online following. For instance, individuals may learn the importance of regular engagement across platforms to connect with their audience. In addition to this, my findings may also be advantageous to those wanting to start up their own YouTube channel or Instagram account as they can gain inspiration as well as compare and contrast what various lifestyle content creators are publishing.

References:

Burrell, J., (2009). The Field Site as a Network: A Strategy for Locating Ethnographic Research. Field Methods, 21(2), pp.181-196. Available at: <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1177/1525822X08329699> [Accessed 9 August 2020].

Hannabuss, S. (2000), “Being there: ethnographic research and autobiography”, Library Management, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 99-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120010309425

Lawson, C. E. (2020) ‘Skin deep: Callout strategies, influencers, and racism in the online beauty community’, New Media & Society.

Marwick AE (2015) You may know me from YouTube. In: Marshall DP and Redmond S (eds) A Companion to Celebrity. Chichester: Wiley, p. 333.

MY MEDIA NICHE

In today’s day and age, we all consume media in some way or another. For the majority of us, it is something we engage with daily whether that be for entertainment purposes, as a source of information or to keep in contact with friends, family and the world. When first hearing the term ‘media niche’ I was struck with confusion as I was not sure what my primary interest was. However, after scrolling through Instagram, YouTube and Spotify it became quite clear there was a pattern in what I watch, view and listen to. The content, which sparks most joy for me is all things lifestyle! Lifestyle content is such a diverse media niche that ranges from health, fitness, beauty, sustainable living and fashion… the list goes on!!

BCM241 (Media Ethnography) will allow me to obtain a deeper understanding of media niches as I ethnographically research this topic for my digital artefact. Ethnography is often considered a qualitative research method whereby individuals immerse themselves in a community or group, gaining insight into their social dynamics and shared culture. Taking a look at the lifestyle channels and pages I follow, it is clear the viewership would primarily consist of females aged 16-25. An important feature of ethnography is the concept of ‘social media influencer marketing’ (Glucksman, 2017). This explores how influencer marketing on social media opens up a new method for brands to build relationships with audiences directly. Social media influencers promote brands through their everyday lives, depicting them as relatable to the viewer (Glucksman, 2017).

My interest in lifestyle content began a few years ago and it is now something I engage with on a weekly basis. There are so many great influencers out there, sharing life hacks, healthy recipes, motivational tips and so much more! These types of videos resonate with me as I share a lot of similar interests and passions as the influencers. This is particularly true with UK content creator Zanna Van Dijk as we both share a passion for fitness, living consciously whether that be using sustainable products or being more environmentally aware. Many lifestyle content creators have a large presence, which exists separately to Youtube including platforms like Instagram or Facebook. These two global platforms allow for greater audiences to become engaged in a community that shares similar interests and ideas. Some of my favourite influencers including Sarah’s Day and Georgie Stevenson who also run their personal podcasts on Spotify where they explore all things fitness, relationships, manifestation and motivational hacks.

As stated by Erikson (2018:87) “Qualitative inquiry seeks to discover and to describe narratively what particular people do in their everyday lives and what actions mean to them”. This quote links up directly when looking towards lifestyle content online, in particular on YouTube. One thing that intrigues me with lifestyle content creators is the whole idea of how they run their various platforms and are continuously creating innovative projects. I am quite positive that my chosen media niche will resonate and interest others in the BCM241 cohort as lifestyle content tailors to a range of aspects in everyday life. Advancing my knowledge on lifestyle content and popular influencers will allow for a deeper understanding of such communities and the social dynamics present.

References:

Caulfield, J., 2020. An Introduction To Ethnography | What Is It And How Is It Used?. Scribbr. Available at: <https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/ethnography/> [Accessed 7 August 2020].

Glucksman, M., 2017. The rise of social media influencer marketing on lifestyle branding: A case study of Lucie Fink. Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, pp.77-87. [Accessed 7 August 2020].

“10 Reasons Why Influencer Marketing is the Next Big Thing.”Adweek. N.p., 14 July 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. [Accessed 8 August 2020].

Image references:

Day, S., (2020). Day In The Life. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh1vdPK_81U> [Accessed 6 August 2020].

Day, S., (2020). The Health Code [image]. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/show/1dlfl4rDkWMQTGPOfRdcLQ

Day, S., (2020). Vlog [image]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpDvcX84l8

Mescia Twins, T., 2020. We DIY’d Our Clothes. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCW46G0jSKg> [Accessed 6 August 2020].

Stevenson, G., 2020. Follow Along Low Impact HIIT Workout. [image] Available at: <https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIumdQCR6idU&psig=AOvVaw3tp4YyA6mhO64_RzvmTvpj&ust=1597210284873000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNjomYC2kusCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD> [Accessed 6 August 2020].

Stevenson, G., 2020. Rise and Conquer [image] Available at <https://www.georgiestevenson.net/pages/about-rise-conquer> [Accessed 6 August 2020].

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REFLECTION POST

Looking back, I am very happy with my project! In the beginning, it took some time to find a research topic, which fascinated me. After reading Susan Cain’s 2012 novel ‘Quiet’ I was intrigued to the inner workings of personality traits and learning of the various ways introverts and extroverts deal with activities. Initially, I was going to focus purely on the learning environment at university with character traits. However, after discussions with peers and my tutor, I chose to also incorporate varying features of the university experience e.g. social life. By doing this I was able to acquire a holistic view of university and account for all the aspects, which influence it.

Predominantly, I consider myself an introvert, I am not one to jump into class discussions, even when it is a topic, which interests me. In saying this, when I am surrounded by friends and family, I present myself as more outgoing as I feel comfortable. After obtaining my first survey results it was clear there is a need for innovative methods, which tailor to the broad spectrum of personality types. This research project was eye-opening as I now understand the extent to which we all learn and take in information differently. From the results, I attained I was able to form an argument that to give students the best chance at succeeding, learning environments must make adjustments.

This research project was a learning experience, for starters, I learnt that putting out a poll on Twitter and receiving responses is not as easy as it seems. Gathering a comprehensive number of responses meant I had to reach out and directly message BCM212 students. This proved to be beneficial as I became in close contact with a few students, and we helped one another with each other’s projects, sharing ideas and filling out surveys and interviews. Since this was such a broad topic, I had to learn about the most effective methods to employ when conducting my research. This was particularly important as our designated sample was restricted to BCM212 students.

Conducting surveys via google forms was beneficial as it formulates the responses into graphs and pie charts. Equally important was to uphold ethical practices and to be considerate towards participants. Having previous experience with research projects I was somewhat aware of the ethical guidelines. However, this project reinforced the importance of consent and making sure the participants are aware of the project’s objectives and that they feel comfortable. If I was to do my project over, I would reach out to more students as I found this is where I had the greatest success in responses.

Looking back at my project I am happy with the result. I have not only learnt about the multifaceted topic of introverts and extroverts, but I have also learnt a lot about myself, and I can apply my feelings regarding learning environments to the research explored.

PROGRESS POST

WK 7: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Considering it is research week, I thought I would write a progress post on what I have been doing these last weeks and how my project is doing!

I posted my first survey last week on Twitter, which consisted of 10 questions ranging from multiple choice to short answer questions. I was so overwhelmed with the number of responses I received in a short period. It is so nice to see how supportive the BCM212 cohort is of one another. I have attained some really useful primary data, which will prove to be valuable towards my project. This first survey mainly focused on a general overview of personality traits concerning learning.

At the moment I’m not 100% sure with what my second survey will primarily focus on. In saying this, the data I have already obtained has given me a rough idea. Over the next few weeks, I aim to conduct more secondary data to gain an in-depth understanding of personality traits, taking into account factors that have been raised in my survey.

I have recently finished reading Susan Cain’s book ‘Quiet’, which is what sparked my interest in this area of study. There were so many interesting and eye-opening concepts and here are a couple of points I found particularly interesting:

The basis of the differences between introverts and extroverts is well beyond just a list of characteristics. Instead, research illustrates how introverts and extroverts process information differently, using different parts of the brain (Isaacs, 2009). For example, extroverts use a small amount of data from the short‐term memory for developing thoughts, while, introverts recall thoughts situated in the long‐term memory to produce more complex associations, which requires more time. The outcome of these different processing strategies is observed in a classroom daily.

For instance, as stated by Isaacs (2009), “in a lively classroom the extrovert appears excited by the discussion and eager to participate, while the introvert may seem unenthusiastic and unsociable. These perceptions are not presenting a complete picture of our students. The introvert is so busy reflecting on the ideas that it does not occur to him to volunteer to answer questions.”

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

INTROVERSION & EXTROVERSION

Class discussions, group projects and public speaking can often be a daunting experience for many of us and if you’re like me then you try and steer away from these stress-inducing activities. Nevertheless, these are all things we as university students must engage in. These activities ultimately prepare us as students for the workforce, however, the method in which we attack these tasks differs greatly. I am hoping to research a scope of aspects of university life relating to the personality traits of introversion and extroversion. The introvert/extrovert divide is a fundamental dimension of personality, and at least one-third of us are on the introvert side (Cain, 2012, p 1). This is an area of study I am particularly interested in. Currently, I am reading ‘Quiet’ by Susan Cain, hence why I have based my research project around this topic. This novel explores how the brain chemistry of introverts and extroverts varies, and how throughout history society continues to under-appreciate introverts. Without introverts, we wouldn’t have the Apple computer, the Theory of Relativity or even Van Gogh’s sunflowers.

Such research is relevant and achievable as to some extent we all fall into the spectrum of introversion and extroversion which, impacts on our learning and participation. Our lives are shaped as profoundly by personality as by race or gender. Our position on the introvert/extrovert continuum influences our choice of friends, how we engage in conversations, resolve conflicts as well as various other aspects of life (Cain, 2012, p 1.)

Based on the results I received from my first Twitter poll asking whether students consider themselves introverts or extroverts and whether they engage in class discussions, the majority of the BCM cohort who voted stated they consider themselves an extrovert however they do not engage in class discussions.

The best research draws on the most current work in the field and is considered timely when the results are based on continuous research which is context linked, meaning the studies originate from well-identified contexts (Raynald et al, 2006). Theories of introverts and extroverts have been apparent in psychological literature for over 100 years. Reading Susan Cain’s non-fiction novel sparked some inspiration for my research project. Whilst researching my research topic, I came across an article exploring the influence of personality on social participation in learning environments. Caspi, Chajut, Saporta and Beyth-Maron (2006) investigated 214 university students concerning their attendance, inclination to participate and actual participation. In comparison, Voorn and Kommer’s (2013) article delves into introversion and the influence of collaborative learning through the assistance of social media. The study revealed that majority of introverted students perceive that social media is highly beneficial for advancing their collaborative learning performance and self-confidence. These students believe that their true presence is impeded in face-to-face conversations and favour communicating via social media (Voorn & Kommer, 2013).

My objective is to pose questions to the BCM cohort, such as, do you engage in class discussions? Do you think this impacts your grades? Do you wish university catered their lessons differently to encourage participation? What are your feelings about class participation and group presentations? Personally, I find standing up in front of the class or even calling out an answer can be daunting, especially when you are surrounded by more outspoken confident students.

My chosen research topic as we can see is widely relevant as its foundations originate in primary school, continuing through to university. Our level of interaction with peers and teachers ultimately comes down to our personality traits. Such an area of study is achievable as all BCM students will at some point in their university life engage in group participation and class discussions. Furthermore, my chosen field of interest is timely as it has been investigated for many years. After investigating this topic it is already clear there is a wide scope of information surrounding characteristics and academic traits of introverts and extroverts.

REFERENCES:

Cain, S., 2012. Quiet. Thorndike, Me.: Center Point Pub., pp.1-20.

Caspi, A., Chajut, E., Saporta, K. and Beyth-Marom, R., 2006. The influence of personality on social participation in learning environments. Learning and Individual Differences, [online] 16(2), pp.129-144. Available at: <http://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608005000403> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Raynald, P, Tousignant, P, Roberge, D, Lamarche, P, Reinharz, D, Larouche, D, Beaulne, G & Lesage, D 2006, ‘The Research Collective: A Tool for Producing Timely, Context-linked Research Syntheses’, Health Policy, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 58-75, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2585353/> [Accessed 25 March 2020].

Voorn, R. and Kommers, P., 2013. Social media and higher education: introversion and collaborative learning from the student’s perspective. International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, [online] 1(1), p.1. Available at <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ronald_Voorn3/publication/259396982_Voorn_R_J_Kommers_P_A_2013_Social_media_and_higher_education_introversion_and_collaborative_learning_from_the_student’s_perspective_International_Journal_of_Social_Media_and_Interactive_Learning_Envir/links/0deec533be36cb5193000000/Voorn-R-J-Kommers-P-A-2013-Social-media-and-higher-education-introversion-and-collaborative-learning-from-the-students-perspective-International-Journal-of-Social-Media-and-Interactive-Learning-E.pdf> [Accessed 22 March 2020].