Visual Communication Online

 

(https://dxb402groupssjr.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/compositional-interpretation-image-analysis-wk2-2/)

        I actually had a hard time figuring out what exactly Social Semiotics was. Everything I seemed to google brought up different results. I guess from what I gather it's all about how you interpret it. For me what I concluded is that Social Semiotics is seeing the world through signs and symbols. These signs can mean different things however based on one's own culture and history. It is all based on interpretation. The idea and term Social Semiotics was first introduced by linguist theorist Michael Halliday. 

        According to an article called, Visual Social Semiotics: Understanding How Still Images Make Meaning by Claire Harrison, the elements of an image and where they are located create great meaning. If the represented participant (RP) is located on the left it gives a sense of knowledge. While RPs on the right are considered an issue, problem or solution. RPs at the top have the sense of being ideal while the bottom is more factual or down to earth. The center is also important because it is what all the information around corresponds to.

Using the article by Claire Harrison here is what I concluded about the images below:

Washington looking off to the left gives him the sense of knowledge that he knows what he is doing. The American flag in the center shows why this image is important. It is the fight for Independence and freedom. The right is where they have come from and I believe represents what they are leaving behind to accomplish.

As with the Washington image, Napoleon is looking off and even pointing to the right. Again portraying his knowledge and determinism. He is also portrayed in the center because he embodies the French spirit and therefore France itself. He and his horse are also facing towards the top of the image showing that he is the idealistic leader.

    

Research Podcast

    

Podcast link

    For my podcast I listened to "Become a Better Communicator" by Jeff Shirk. Jeff talked about his passion for helping people and watching them develop. This reminds me of the definition of Communitarian ethics from the reading. This is "a moral responsibility to promote community, mutuality, and persons-in-relation who live simultaneously for others and for themselves"(p.153). He stated that he uses online tools and communication to help accomplish this. He talked about trying to develop what he calls "Masterminders." He described it as a set of tools he uses to make people better leaders. One point he made is that when developing people he does not talk at them, he states that "no one wants to be talked at." Jeff says that communication is one of the most important things to help a person be professional and a good leader. One thing he says is it is important when communicating, is to make sure no one is intimated and no one is bored. There needs to be a sense of relatability between communicators. An interesting point that was made by Jeff is that you need to make sure people can hear your smile. Basically I took it to mean that you want to take measures so that the person you are communicating with picks up on the general vibe of what is being said without coming straight out and saying it. Even if it is something as simple as an emoji. Jeff explains that now communication online and through phones is more important than ever and it is imperative that we learn how to use it effectively. However, in person communication can never be replaced.

Green, Julia M. Communicating Online. McGraw Hill Education Create, 2017.

Shirk, Jeff. “EP 23: Become A Better Communicator - with Jeff Shirk: High Performance Leadership Podcast.” Acast, 15 Apr. 2017, https://shows.acast.com/hpleadershippodcast/episodes/5a6122a1c392708165a467e5.

The Battle For Public Opinion

 

• How is social media changing the way people document history?

    Not so long ago, people would get their news from either news channels, news websites, or the newspaper. Now because of social media, people can see first hand accounts of events from people who are/were at an event. We are now able to see things unfold from several different perspectives. This has helped cut down on only delivering and documenting events based on a news station's personal agenda. It is becoming harder for things to be covered up because almost everyone has a camera in their pocket that links to the internet in real time. In this way, I think social media is actually beneficial to how we document history now.

• Give an example of how it’s been used in a positive, or negative way.

    Social media can be used as a powerful tool both positively and negatively. One way I've seen it used negatively is creating environments where people become radicalized on an idea. Below is a chart showing how much more social media is being used in the radicalization of extremists.

What happens is people surround themselves with others on social media who think  the same way they do. Since they can avoid others that have opposing views they start to believe that they're right and almost everyone thinks like them. Then they are fed lines about how terrible a group or person is and start getting angrier and angrier until they take action.

• How have people used social media to win the hearts and minds of people? Provide examples

    One of my favorite examples of how social media is used to win the hearts and minds of people is Wendy's. Wendy's uses humor and a laid back attitude to market to customers. I think it is a simple a brilliant way to market. I enjoy that they are willing to go where it seems most companies are scared to go. They really stand out amongst the competition when it comes to social media presence. I have never felt the need to go on a fast food company's social media but I will visit Wendy's every once and a while just for a good laugh. Here is a link to 32 of Wendy's tweets: click here.

Online Communication, Business Assessment

     For my business assessment I decided to choose Psyonix. Psyonix is a video game developer that has created one of my most favorite games of all time, Rocket League. At the top of their main website Psyonix.com, there are links for home, careers, support, and Rocket League's website. It then has the image I've posted at the top of this blog. Under that it has an about section that clearly states what the company is "Based in San Diego, California, Psyonix is a critically-acclaimed video game developer behind some of the most entertaining video games in the industry, including the hit sports-action hybrid Rocket League." Below this is another link for careers, a company history, and an about San Diego section. There is not much more to the site which I found interesting. It states all the information you need without much flash. The Rocket League site itself is much more engaging and attractive. 

    Their social media is also interesting. Their Instagram has absolutely no posts. It only has a link to the Psyonix website. Their Twitter is just retweets from the Rocket League Twitter. It seems that their main focus is posting things through the Rocket League social medias. I found this interesting because I could not figure out easily what other games they've developed. According to their about me they've created other games but only their Twitter listed them. They are @ARCSquadron and @SARP_BattleCars. I believe they could do a better job promoting these games. 

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

     According to Prensky the digital immigrant/native divide are those who where raised on technology (natives) and those who are learning how to use it (immigrant). Prensky talks about how teachers need to change the way they are teaching because students have changed the way they are learning. In the article Prensky states that students who have "Digital Immigrant instructors make their education not worth paying attention to compared to everything else they experience." I would say maybe this was more a problem back when the article was written in 2001. If using Prensky's definitions, I would consider myself a digital immigrant. I did not have a smartphone until I was a senior in high school. That was back in 2009. But I did have the internet on my computer since middle school. I noticed back then, it seemed like the internet was a scary tool my teachers would avoid. Going back to school now it is practically impossible not to have the internet or knowledge of it implemented within your classroom. On this website:https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/chart/internet-use-by-education/ there is a chart that shows a graph of internet usage by those at different stages of education through the years.

    I enjoyed Kirschner's article which argues against Prensky. Kirschner states that just because a student knows how to use technology for social media, texting, etc. it does not mean they know how to use it to further their learning. I've experienced this myself in one of my classes. I was assigned a group project where I had to add information to a "PowerPoint." One of my group members sent me an email with a link. It led me to google slides, which I did not know even existed. I felt so "old" because I had to work on this project and try and teach myself how to enter things on google slides. I'm glad I know it exists now but I couldn't believe I did not know about it beforehand. I think it is bad to assume that a student knows or doesn't know how to use, do, or think something based off of when they were born.

I'm listing google slides just in case there is anyone out there, who like me didn't know it existed:

https://www.google.com/slides/about/

Knapp's Relational Model

 

(https://www.communicationtheory.org/knapps-relationship-model/)

    Knapp's Relationship model goes through several stages of  relationships from introductions to termination. I have social anxiety so I feel that some of these stages look different for me. You can learn more about social anxiety here. I don't really have any friends and most of my relationships remain in the initiation stage, especially recently since I have been travelling and moving around. Many times I will meet someone at a bar or restaurant and we will strike up a conversation. Sometimes if I truly enjoyed the conversation I will offer my social media. However, I have noticed that I will receive a few likes on my posts from that person but a conversation never really picks up again. I feel that with social media I can see most of what's going on in their lives (at least what they want to display) and they can see what's going on in mine. I would love to get to the integration stage with someone at some point. I know I would have to work hard to achieve this because many people perceive my social anxiety as standoffish and that I don't care about the relationship. 

Oversharing Online

   I believe that all social media websites can have both positives and negatives. It depends on how a person uses the social media. I think there is a very dangerous trend that is currently happening where a user can get stuck in an "echo chamber." What I mean by this is that people can view content that they want to see which is created by people who think like them and avoid content of opposing views. This means that people are becoming more radicalized in their ideals. They are only seeing social media that is enforcing their beliefs. You can read how the terrorist group ISIS is doing this by clicking here. I do think there are positives though. A lot of my friends and family members are spread out across the USA as well as other countries. It’s nice being able to stay in contact with them as well as seeing what’s going on in their lives.

I do think social media sites should hold some responsibility for the mental health of their users. If customers at a store were constantly coming out of it depressed or angry, there would be an investigation and policies would need to be put in place to prevent this. I do think it would be tricky to figure out how a social media platform could go about doing this though. There are so many factors involved. How to censor things without censoring them to the point of some kind of agenda. For example, to say “they should block all hate speech” is easier said than done. If there were to politicians running against each other and the site blocked anyone saying something bad about either politician it goes against freedom of speech. If the site only blocked it for one of the candidates this would also be a huge problem. I believe this is why social media platforms are not held accountable yet because it is extremely hard to judge exactly what they should be doing.