Since our midterm exam we’ve primarily explored social media
from numerous angles. We’ve also talked quite a bit about DJ culture, “the
remix”, copyright law, and intellectual property. I sort of feel like the issue
of remixing/sampling, for me, has been kind of beaten into the ground (see footnote), so
I’d like to direct this blog towards a discussion of social media, its use, its
function, best practices, and how important it is that we maintain an effort to
continue to evaluate how social media might be changing the way we operate in
society.
Throughout
the second half of the semester we’ve covered social media topics such as the
elements and attributes of social network sites (such as Facebook, LinkedIn,
YouTube and Twitter), the ways in which most people use these services, how non-profit organizations use social
media, how businesses, both large and small, use these public websites to
promote products and build customer relationships, as well as privacy issues
and how we (the class) respond to our understanding of what online privacy
means to us and how businesses such as Google collect our personal information.
(That was a long sentence. Sorry!)
I think the
fact that just about everyone we know uses some kind of social media site on a
somewhat regular bases demonstrates how entrenched in online social activities
we’ve become in the last decade or so. By this I mean that so many people are
using the Internet so frequently, and that a lot of us, just about every time
we log onto the Net, check our Facebook. Or we watch a YouTube video. Or maybe
we just got online to send a TED talk to a friend that would really be
interested in the topic. Because of the change I’ve seen in the way people use
the Internet since I was younger, I think that it’s kind of strange that
Internet users use these services as frequently as we do, but at the same time
I think that this really isn’t strange at all. Keeping in touch on Facebook
doesn’t seem so far away from keeping in touch with people via email, or snail
mail, or even through phones. Social network sites simply allow us to be more
involved with communicating in new and interesting ways.
Non-Profit
businesses have been using social media services to connect with people in new
ways as well. Organizations like PETA have developed an incredibly strong
Internet presence by creating expansive profiles on all the major (and probably
minor) social media sites. PETA wants to be seen by the public. And thanks to
the multiple social media sites available, they have a way to provide people
with numerous ways to connect, engage, and explore their organization at little
or no cost at all. Users who are really interested can continue to explore
additional sites to get even more info, become more immersed in the groups
efforts.
Similarly,
for-profit businesses use social media to promote services and build customer
relationships. Companies know that people like to surf the web and explore new
things. We’ve got a million different things out there to buy and companies are
only too happy to make those products and services available for us to browse,
explore, and BUY! Additionally, social media services allow companies to
communicate with their customers or fans in ways that build stronger
relationships, right the wrongs, and advertise, advertise, (you know we can
never get enough ads), advertise.
Social
media is also a great tool for building a behind-the-scenes profile about you
as a consumer. When we think of how companies are tracking who we are, where we
go, and what we do online we often feel a little stressed out. I don’t think
any of us really love the idea that Google can tell us where we are at any
given time (or that this info could be obtained by people we don’t even know),
but we do appreciate it when Google tells us to avoid a potentially bad traffic
jam, or that it is indeed 5 o’clock somewhere and happy hour just started at a
dive around the corner. As we continue to become more immersed in the Net we
need to be increasingly aware of our increased online visibility to others and
subsequent vulnerability as well.
The most
important thing that I’ve had the opportunity to learn about this semester is
an overarching understanding of how significantly (not to mention rapidly) the
Internet has impacted our lives, our society, and our culture. Times are
a-changin’! I feel that it is extremely important for us to constantly examine
and evaluate the influence that digital technologies are having on the way we
operate in society, and how our technologically enhanced society influences the
way we operate within it.
Footnote!
My personal opinions on this matter are fairly cut and dry.
I think that it is impossible to avoid creative or artistic influences, and I
also think it’s great to rethink/refresh/remix old ideas. The legality of the
issue is something that fewer artists are concerned with and is primarily an
issue with, believe it or not, people that have no creative abilities at all
and only hope to gain by suing people who do create art. However, artists that
do use material from other artists should definitely consider the importance of
crediting their sources – and paying up when necessary.
