Apocalypse Now And Then (The Changing Media Environment)

As addressed by Bowman and Willis, the Internet “is a unique phenomenon that has delivered not just technological innovations but become a conduit for change, accelerating the rate, diversity and circulation of ideas.” It can also be seen that over the course of its existence, the Internet and its associated technologies, applications and services have created many new forms of media consumption and cultures of use. This has consequently marked a change in audience media consumption.

According to Jenkins, convergence is “where old and new media intersect, where grassroots and corporate media collide” and represents both a top-down corporate driven process and a bottom-up consumer driven process. This paradigm shift has forced media companies to re-think old assumptions of consumer behaviour, and acknowledge their presence and importance as produsers. Jenkins argues that if old consumers were to be considered predictable and stationary, isolated individuals who were compliant, then new consumers are to be regarded as migratory, socially connected and resistant, demonstrating a declining loyalty to networks and media, who prefer to take media into their own hands. This characterisation successfully demonstrates the power of the consumer on the media.

As suggested by Jenkins, media companies need to re-think their assumptions and approach to audiences in order to maintain their presence within the creative industries. User-driven content, in particular citizen journalism, demonstrates the capabilities of audiences as producers. If companies fail to subscribe to the demands of their audience, then the migratory nature of the new consumer may subsequently result in that company or product having no audience. And no audience nullifies the product’s commercial appeal. Advertising has traditionally provided the main source of income for media owners, and has historically represented a force which sustains all commercial media. Jenkins argues that the political economy will need to “shed its assumption that all participation in the consumer economy constitutes cooptation” he also argues that emphasis should be placed upon how consumers are influencing the production and distribution of media content. Conglomerates must cease resting upon their laurels of market concentration significantly aided by government policy, and instead find a way to reverse public dissatisfaction with corporate media.

In addition to restricting media ownership attention needs to be placed upon redefining intellectual property rights and redesigning the digital economy. In addition to governmental censorship and corporate control, the new media environment has raised concerns surrounding the ownership of intellectual property. Organisations such as the Creative Commons exist for this purpose, but more needs to be done to manage the exchange and ownership of intellectual property rights within the new economy. The current commercialisation of online content is believed to responsible for significantly hindering the development of the Internet and its content. In order to begin identifying a successful digital economy, the relationship between the traditional media producers and the consumer requires renegotiation. Hereby an understanding needs to be reached between the two parties in order to establish a cohesive and balanced new media environment that is productive and that effectively communicates the needs of producers and consumers alike.

Therefore in order to sustain a successful and productive new media environment, mutual appreciation between media companies and producers and consumers must be established. Rather than concentrating on hindering legal action and commercial gain, interest needs to be placed upon developing a strategy for the future which satisfies all parties. To make this possible media companies must recognise the importance and value of the consumer, and re-think their assumptions subsequently refocusing their product and content towards the modern audience and the digital environment.

References:

Goggin, Gerard. (2006) “The Internet, Online and Mobile Cultures”, in S. Cunningham and G. Turner (eds) The Media and Communications in Australia, Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, pp. 259-278

Jenkins, Henry. (2004). The cultural logic of media convergence International Journal of Cultural Studies, 7 (1), 33-43.

Sinclair, John. (2006) “Advertising”, in S. Cunningham and G. Turner (eds) The Media and Communications in Australia, Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, pp. 209-226.

Maybe Music Isn’t Dead (DIY Media and Collaboration)

As suggested by Axel Bruns “The rise of what is now described as social software or Web 2.0 environments stands to have a profound impact on social practices, the media, economic and legal frameworks, and democratic society itself.” Consequently this shift has facilitated the increasing importance of user-led content creation now present in numerous online environments. Such consumer behaviour is commonly referred to as produsage, whereby; the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement. Produsage actively communicates Jenkins’ ideal of the new media consumer. He argues that as a result of convergence culture, new consumers are active, migratory and socially connected. He also suggests that if old consumers were compliant, then new consumers are resistant, and take media production into their own hands. He also continued, stating that media consumers were once silent and invisible, and are now noisy and public. He subsequently argues that consumers are no longer passive, and that they actively seek new content. And consequentially if such content does not exist, it is created by users, or produsers.

The augmentation of user-driven content has seen to a substantial rise in DIY media and collaboration, hereby affecting such media industries as music and film. A current example of DIY media and produsage is the movement referred to as ‘Swarm of Angels’. This online collective of produsers is an open source film project, operating with the intention to create the first Internet funded, crewed, produced and distributed feature film. Functioning as a creative challenge to mainstream media, describing themselves as an; “evolutionary process to create cult cinema for the digital age.” This project actively demonstrates the process of produsage, and demonstrates the strength and importance of user driven content.

Another such example of social software facilitated by DIY media exists within the music industry, specifically the technological shift facing the industry in terms of downloadable content. Beginning with the introduction of the peer-to-peer file sharing program Napster in 1999, audiences were able to bypass traditional media processes for obtaining and listening to music. At its peak the site had 26.4 million users worldwide, which consequentially fostered the eruption of virtual music piracy. The practice was however illegal and Napster was subsequently shut down after numerous legal challenges with commercial artists such as Metallica, Dr Dre and Madonna. Regardless, Napster marked a shift in the way audiences received their music, with the focus on music as an intangible product able to be downloaded.

Digital development and success is guaranteed with the increasing popularity and distribution of broadband Internet and multi-purpose devices such as 3G mobile phones and portable digital music players. And consequently the worldwide Online Music market is expected to reach US$8.9 billion in sales by 2010. The impact of online environments upon the industry can be gauged from the fact that downloaded music revenues exceeded online sales of physical media during 2006. A great shift has occurred within the music industry, a shift which was forced by the consumer. Consumers have re-developed the framework and delivery system of music, whereby popular opinion has dictated that for the majority music should no longer be a physical commodity. Consequently there are numerous outlets offering music downloads at competitive prices such as Apple iTunes and Bigpond Music. The consumer dictates how they purchase the music, whether it is an entire album or individual songs.

This transition has facilitated the emergence of social software as an important aspect of the way audiences receive content. Websites such as MySpace and Last.fm allow users free music downloads or the chance to stream online, at the artists discretion. Online environments such as this remove the commercial aspects of record companies and the like, and allow a direct relationship between producer and consumer, rather the artist and their listener. The increasing availability of free music has highlighted problems for commercial digital music providers. Naturally audiences would rather receive their music for free than paying inflated rates for protection encrypted products from iTunes, which has subsequently fostered the development of what can be described as ‘blogspot sharing’. Utilising social software interfaces users have begun to upload music content to sites such as MediaFire and RapidShare, allowing other users to bypass commercial outlets for their music, an example is The Leakage Channel on LiveJournal. The practice has become so increasingly popular that a download link for an album can be ascertained via a simple Google search.

Figure 1 - Google Search
("watch out" + alexisonfire + rapidshare)

This practice is of course illegal, and marks a return to Napster-esque consumer mentality. Regardless, the popularity and effect of these kinds of services demonstrates the power of the modern consumer. And perhaps will facilitate another user-led revolution within the industry just as peer-to-peer file sharing did. Similarly the majority of artists embrace the paradigm shift, and encourage users to download their music as a way of gaining exposure and finding new audiences. With new audiences offering potential for support through other outlets such as tours or merchandise, from which the artist receives a greater financial gain.

The only thing in danger is the capitalistic ideals of major labels hindering the development and progression of the industry for their own commercial gain. The industry has the potential to exhibit many new forms of innovative DIY media and collaboration, to which everyone should be excited to be a part of.

References:

Bruns, Axel. (2008). Wikipedia: Representations of Knowledge in Axel Bruns, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, New York: Peter Lang, pp.101-136. Queensland University of Technology: Course Materials Database https://cmd.qut.edu.au/cmd//KCB201/KCB201_BK_163521.pdf (accessed May 12, 2008)

Global Industry Analysts, Inc. 2008. Global Online Music Sales to Total US$8.9 Billion By 2010. http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/News/r022508c.asp (accessed May 10, 2008)

Jenkins, Henry. (2004). The cultural logic of media convergence International Journal of Cultural Studies, 7 (1), 33-43.

Produsage.org. 2008. Definition, Key Principles, Necessary Preconditions.
http://produsage.org/produsage (accessed May 10, 2008)

Personal response to 'All Dressed Up With No Where to Go'

The following represents my opinion on the viability and importance (or lack thereof) of emo as a subculture, as addressed in my previous blog 'All Dressed Up With No Where to Go (Virtual Communities)'.

The musical and social importance surrounding the word ‘emo’ is arguably the most ambiguous and unexplained area of genre categorisation and sociology. Yet the subculture is one of the most prominent and prolific in modern society. Existing in scenes, members of this subculture are visually striking and recognisable by their uniform like appearance and affectations and their supposed affiliation to music categorised as emo. The ageing and expansion of the movement has adopted elements of mainstream culture and has been borrowed by mass culture for commercial purposes. And as a result the subcultural homology of emo has been blurred and consequentially emo is now a misrepresentation of the core ideals and social purposes of subcultures, where emo has become nothing more than an image.

Subcultures have traditionally existed and been sociologically defined as countercultures, therefore used to explain the values and homology of the subculture and their opposition to popular mainstream culture. And as according to Theodore Roszak, refers to the ‘more significant, visible phenomenon that reaches critical mass and persists for a period of time … [that] expresses the ethos, aspirations and dreams of a specific population during an era’. Subcultures have traditionally facilitated a historically important position in society, often as a reaction against popular culture and mainstream media. Examples of these movements include; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, Russian/Soviet and Asian countercultures. These groups broke away from traditionalist society and held continual opposition for and from conservative and/or oppressive elements of society. However more specifically, musical subcultures have historically represented successful alternatives to mainstream culture, the most prominent example being the punk movement of the mid to late 1970’s. This hereby encompassed a subcultural narrative of distinct styles of music, ideologies, fashion, visual art, dance, literature and film. Punk represented a lifestyle and was a community in which the members fought to resist the commercialisation and appropriation of popular culture.

The most commonly known and publicised period of emo is that of the third wave. Operating within the height of internet culture from 2000 and into the present, the third wave represents the transition from an underground scene to a commercially viable pawn of mainstream media, hereby facilitating the emergence of emo as a subculture. Emo became less about the music and a sense of community and began to represent an image, categorised by dark attire, styled hair, heavy eye makeup and a general sense of brooding and teenage angst. The symbology of the music was lost as genres stemmed new genres and lines became blurred. Bands typically referred to as emo transcended from Mineral to Jimmy Eat World to My Chemical Romance and the traditionally underground style found itself gaining attention from commercial media outlets such as MTV. Where in a movement which had traditionally drawn so heavily upon the ideology of DIY, bands tagged as emo were being signed to major labels such as Capitol and Warner Reprise. With time emo has mutated into a contrived and generic label in which the music of supposedly emo bands holds no cohesive linkages. This in turn has fostered the emergence of countless genres such as grindxcore, mathxcore, nintendoxcore, screamo etc; where the only similarities in existence are in the band members’ physical appearance and clothing. Understanding of the music was lost, and now found itself vulnerable to mainstream and commercial exploitation, where emo was defined by the appearances, affectations and behaviours of the scene members, and rarely by the music.

Historically the purpose of subcultures was to offer a community of belonging for individuals ostracised by mainstream society. Conservative society rejected the ideologies and social practices of individuals because they differed from those of popular culture. Whereas the current wave of emo mimics popular culture and borrows elements of mainstream media, hereby failing to demonstrate the necessary rejection of the popular and mainstream culture present in traditional subcultures. Emo represents a culture of people who find themselves ostracised from society because they want to be. The music has become obsolete and irrelevant within emo, and instead the focus is placed upon appearance. Increased media attention has cultivated the intended perception of a member of the societal movement of emo. Whereby in its own fantastic paradoxical hypocrisy members construct their appearance upon a popular mainstream understanding of emo. The movement feeds off the mainstream presumption of what they should wear, listen to and how they should behave. Consequentially nullifying the social purpose of emo as a subculture and condemning its existence as cosmetic. Therefore hypothesising that emo represents nothing more than a societal trend functioning by a set of guidelines conceived by mainstream media, dictating the way in which members should dress, socialise and behave.

Emo no longer represents a movement of people empowered by a sense of music based community; rather it represents an incorrigible counterculture of socially impeded and intolerant image obsessed fashionistas more preoccupied with their physical appearance than the music they are supposedly connected by. Hereby establishing that the mainstream hybrid of emo is a misrepresentation of the core ideals and social purposes of subcultures, therefore concluding that emo has become nothing more than a commercially viable and exploitable image.

All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go (Virtual Communities)

Virtual communities provide people with similar interests the opportunity to interact and share ideas in an online environment, regardless of geographic location. This facilitates a plethora of online collectives hosting environments of interaction for members of minority groups that often find themselves ostracized from mainstream society. Flew cites the following explanation for such participatory behaviour; “They will be communities not of common location, but of common interest. In each geographic sector the total number of users will be large enough to support extensive general purpose information processing and storage facilities. Life will be happier [for] the online individual because the people with whom one interacts with most strongly will be selected more by commonality of interests and goals than by accidents of proximity.” Whereby online hubs are established for interests groups, hereby promoting development and expansion of the group, be it ethnic, socio-political and subcultural.

The most publicised and notable virtual community is the subculture of emo. Hartley defines a subculture as "a group of individuals who share particular interests, ideologies and practices," which often challenges mainstream and popular culture. Virtual communities enable the cultivation of subcultures in an online environment, whereby users can establish their identity. According to Thornton, communities are not forming out of resistance, and rather out of shared tastes and interests. Thornton refers to these communities as ‘taste cultures’, whereby members oppose mainstream discourses in a shared online experience.

Social networking interfaces, most significantly MySpace and forums, have rapidly expanded the global networking potential of the emo subculture. Brian Bailey of the University of Rochester defines emo as a “youth subculture that listens to a specific genre of music, which is characterized by feelings of vulnerability and a willingness to express heart-felt confessions about adolescence.” Emo emerged in the mid to late 1980’s from the Washington D.C hardcore punk scene with bands such as Minor Threat. The style differed from the typical punk in terms of lyrical content and sound. Whereby hardcore punk was about aggression, emo focussed more specifically upon emotion and personal experiences, hence the name. It began with bands such as The Promise Ring and Rites of Spring. Emo then experienced three separate waves of expansion and evolution, the third (and present) wave began operating within the height of internet culture from 2000 and into the present. It represents the transition from an underground scene to a globally recognised subculture. Emo is categorised by a style of music, dark attire, styled hair, heavy eye makeup and a general sense of brooding and teenage angst.

Virtual communities helped to mold the subculture by allowing followers to network with other likeminded people and establish a sense of uniformity and identity across the global subculture. Operating upon the idea of collective intelligence, whereby no one knows everything, but everyone knows something, and together resources and ideas can be pooled and combined.

However consequentially the rapid expansion of emo as a virtual community has left the subculture open to mainstream exploitation in what Thornton describes as the “subcultural kiss of death”. Whereby over time the music transitioned from bands such as Mineral to Jimmy Eat World to My Chemical Romance and the traditionally underground style found itself gaining attention from commercial media outlets such as MTV. Where in a movement which had traditionally drawn so heavily upon the ideology of DIY, bands tagged as emo were being signed to major labels such as Capitol and Warner Reprise. And where the expansion in online participatory culture has led to excessive media attention has cultivated the intended perception of a member of the societal movement of emo. Whereby in its own fantastic paradoxical hypocrisy members construct their appearance upon a popular mainstream understanding of emo. The movement feeds off the mainstream presumption of what they should wear, listen to and how they should behave. Consequentially nullifying the social purpose of emo as a subculture and condemning its existence as cosmetic.

However that is not to say that emo is not a successful and important virtual community. It merely demonstrates the powerful effect online and virtual communities can have upon subcultures, which as demonstrated can be either positive or negative. Mainstream exploitation may have signalled the decline in the social importance of emo as a subculture, however the commercial opportunities within the movement have rapidly expanded, and the subsidiary music genres have experienced a massive growth in exposure and popularity, which for many could be heralded as a positive. Consequences aside, it is irrefutable to say that virtual communities have a critical importance in society and hold a powerful position on society.

References:

Jones. (1998) cited in; Flew, Terry. (2004). Virtual Cultures in Flew, Terry, New Media: an introduction, Melbourne: OUP, pp.61-82. Queensland University of Technology: Course Materials Database https://cmd.qut.edu.au./cmd/KCB295/KCB295_BK_57409.pdf (accessed May 1, 2008)

Hartley, J. (2002). Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: The Key Concepts, 3^rd Edition. London: Routledge

Thornton. (1995) cited in Hartley, J. (2002). Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: The Key Concepts, 3^rd Edition. London: Routledge

Welcome to the Metaverse (Virtual and Online Communities)

The Internet induced modernisation of society has fostered the establishment and highlighted the importance of virtual and online communities. These virtual communities represent the shift in media audience and user trends, exemplifying Jenkins’ theory of migratory and active new consumers. It represents the virtualisation of society, whereby people utilise technological communication methods such as email to communicate in favour of traditional methods of face-to-face interaction. In many instances virtual communication has become the primary method of interaction between people. Virtual communities are essentially characterised by Web 2.0, hereby depending upon the interactions and exchanges on of online users through software such as Flickr, MySpace, Facebook and Del.icio.us.

Virtual communities give us the opportunity to rethink theories of communication. From which many theories of reasoning for online participation have been put forward including the following:

• The opportunity to form friendships and relationships that may be perceived to be more difficult to develop in the ‘off-line’ community
• The ability to play with new personas
• The capacity to circulate new ideas amongst a group of like minded people
• The chance to find people who share the same interests, however obscure or odd they appear to others
• The search for romantic or sexual relations
• The ability for those who feel marginalised or persecuted by society to express views and disseminate opinions, in ways that are not possible by mainstream outlets.

Quite significantly and as aforementioned, virtual communities host online environments for users who find themselves ostracized from mainstream society. Online communities provide an antidote for alienation and disenfranchisement. It has been argued that similarly like society, than when the industry fails users, they turn to each other for solutions. Where in the theory of a networked world, these online communities are knowledge communities where; online communities identify, debate and provide solutions for faulty, complex or restrictive technologies.

This is interactivity can be described as interlocution and interchange, where communities present publishing platforms for alienated ethnic, socio-political and subcultural groups. Therefore it can be seen that virtual communities facilitate social interaction between users regardless of geographical constraints, and allow for the culmination of ideas and opinions of multiple communities in an online environment. Hereby altering methods of human communication and interaction through the embodiment and celebration of technology.

References:

Baym, Nancy. (2002) cited in; Flew, Terry. (2004). Virtual Cultures in Flew, Terry, New Media: an introduction, Melbourne: OUP, pp.61-82. Queensland University of Technology: Course Materials Database https://cmd.qut.edu.au./cmd/KCB295/KCB295_BK_57409.pdf (accessed April 29, 2008)

Flew, Terry. (2004). Virtual Cultures in Flew, Terry, New Media: an introduction, Melbourne: OUP, pp.61-82. Queensland University of Technology: Course Materials Database https://cmd.qut.edu.au./cmd/KCB295/KCB295_BK_57409.pdf (accessed April 29, 2008)

Jenkins, Henry. (2004). The cultural logic of media convergence International Journal of Cultural Studies, 7 (1), 33-43.

Martin, Fiona. (2006) “New Media, New Audiences”, in S. Cunningham and G. Turner (eds) The Media and Communications in Australia, Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, pp. 315-328

Mitra (2001), Gross. (2003) & Williams cited in; Martin, Fiona. (2006) “New Media, New Audiences”, in S. Cunningham and G. Turner (eds) The Media and Communications in Australia, Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, pp. 315-328

Shenton & McNeely. (1997) cited in; Flew, Terry. (2004). Virtual Cultures in Flew, Terry, New Media: an introduction, Melbourne: OUP, pp.61-82. Queensland University of Technology: Course Materials Database https://cmd.qut.edu.au./cmd/KCB295/KCB295_BK_57409.pdf (accessed April 29, 2008)

Anxiety. Anxieties.

Hello and welcome to yet another thrilling installment of my blog, todays topic (yes I am aware, that this is my third post in one day, but in the world of blogging its free game!) is music. Music, but more specifically the social software targeted at the online music listening community, such as Last.fm

For twelve months I was actively participating in last.fm by listening to music on a regular basis, adding show information, posting in shoutbox's and making friends with people with a similar taste in music to me. This was up until a few weeks ago where I finally decided to delete my account and cease scrobbling.

To accurately explain my reasons for ending my participation I shall first explain the general concept and purpose of last.fm. The program operates seemingly anonymously with your default music player (iTunes, winamp, media player etc) and keeps note of the tracks you play through a process known as 'scrobbling'.


With this, the program keeps a recorded online history of your recently listened tracks, weekly top artists, overall top artists and overall most played songs in a public profile.





From here, last.fm suggests new artists for you to listen to that have been deemed as a 'similar artist' to those you listen to most frequently. Therefore, last.fm is an excellent way to discover new music. Based upon your charts last.fm also reveal other users with similar listening patterns as you, allowing social potential with like-minded users.

However, whilst proving itself as an excellent source of new music and social networking possibilities, the website has a few downsides, which in turn drove me to leave the site. Due to the tallying nature of overall top tracks, some users view the statistics as a competition. Hereby challenging to be a particular artists 'weekly top listener' and have their profile displayed on the bands page. Users also compete against each other, claiming to be bigger fans of certain bands.

For example these are actual comments received in my shout box:

user: i betz i've listened to moar Thrice than you this week!@!@



user: 400 plays for Trophy Scars last week, not to mention the 480 for .Moneen. ^___^ You don't even come close to matching me suckaaaaa.

Are you starting to share my disdain? Users such as this also feel the need to 'cheat' or falsify their charts by leaving their music playing at all possible moments during the day to ensure a high weekly tally. Which I might point out, achieves nothing! As previously mentioned last.fm allows users to comment on artists, albums, songs and users profiles. This can be harmless discussion of a concert, new album release or lyrics to a song, but often it results in all out verbal sparring between users about how much a band suck, how bad they are live or how emo they are. Which in reality can create a pretty negative environment and isolate many users.

It was a combination of these things that led to my eventual deletion of the software from my computer. However, I may no longer use the software, but I certainly use the website as a source of artist information and to find similar artists. The site is essentially designed to best accommodate users with active profiles, but is not exclusive. Anyone can visit the website and perform a search and be provided with links to both the artist they are searching for, similar artists pages and opportunities to listen/download or purchase the music online. The website, although no longer scrobbling my data, is still a highly relevant and useful social software and networking website.

[My intentions not to leave you coming back for more
It’s a game. It’s a game. It’s fun.
See you later, adios and have fun]

Under the Weight of Their Mistakes

With every new piece of technology comes a period of time where experimentation and innovation outweigh logic and practicality. The following are examples of really bad convergence...ideas that never should have made it past the drawing board!

Welcome to the world of tomorrow!!















NB// Products may not actually exist, and may simply be photoshop creations (which is probably a very good thing). To see more please visit here.