Week 6

The foaf-a-matic web site you visited in exercise 6.3a suggests that you can post the foaf.rdf code generated onto your website somewhere where it is publically accessible. It says that if you do, then programs that utilise the foaf RDF may readily access it.

Discuss why you might or why you might not make such a foaf file available to the world at large? Using readings from this week and other items you may have researched for yourself about ‘Social Graph’, discuss the pros and cons of this kind of personal data interlinking.

When I first glanced at this page I thought it was quite revealing in the sense that there is information on there that I would not normally give out to complete strangers and I would not want strangers having access to. But then I realised the only bit of information on this page that a stranger could not find on my Facebook or Twitter page is my phone number. However my Facebook page is set up with the security that strangers cannot access my information unless they are friends with me so my information still remains quite private. So the down side to a page like this foaf-a-matic site, in my opinion, it’s not something that I think is really that fashionable when there is information available in other methods. And if the information got into the wrong hands then there could be trouble.

However, the good side of being able to use this type of information and make it publicly accessible could be popular for anyone who wants to make themselves a public figure. Someone wanting to promote their services or business could use such a method to get their information out to the public, which is a much faster and easier way than actually handing out flyers or business cards to get their name and services out there to people.

Week 5

Exercise 5.3

The maps I have chosen to embed into my blog this week are all places in the world that I would like to some day visit. And the last map, is of all the places I would like to see in the USA (I have documented a trail).

Eiffel Tower, France

View Larger Map

Niagra Falls

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

View Larger Map

Florence, Italy

View Larger Map

USA Map

View Larger Map

Exercise 5.4

I cant really think of a "unique" service that linking maps could be useful for, however the first useful idea I could think of was providing location information to whoever may be in need of it. For example, my mum and dad live in a "spaghetti junction" location at Bargara that is quite difficult to navigate to. In the past, if I have had a birthday party or gathering of some sort I have needed to provide a map of how to get to my parents house. However, in the world of Web 2.0, embedding a map into an electronic invitation is much easier than having to draw the map from scratch myself. And if I knew the addresses of everyone that I was inviting, I could embed a map that shows the directions from their house as well.

Week 4

Week 4 question

Social media music video project

http://oneframeoffame.com/

Referring to either the above website, or another you know of that employs crowdsourcing, briefly discuss whether or not you think this is innovative in terms of social media, produsage and crowdsourcing. Refer to concepts introduced this week in the lecture and course resources. If you use another site be sure to provide a link in your blog. Also make use of an image if possible. With screen captures, make sure you note the URL where you sourced the image and, the date viewed, as part of your caption.

The creativity of this website is great! What a wonderful idea to introduce crowdsourcing to produce a fun and innovative video! No doubt it is not a new-to-the-world idea, but due to it being part of the study materials for this week’s lecture, I found it interesting and very clever because I had never seen anything like it before!

The constant produsage enables product improvement of the video as it gets lengthier. Some positions or lighting conditions in the images may be better and more effective than others, and through the crowdsourcing of this project, the ideas are endless because everybody thinks differently and their creativity varies.

This is definitely a form of social media purely for the fact that it is bringing people together from all parts of the world with a single snapshot of themselves for everyone in the world to view online. It makes all of the contributors feel involved in the product-modification and enables everyday people (who are contributing their images) feel special – because everyone wants their ‘fifteen minutes of fame’ or to be recognised. (I’m not saying this video is making the everyday people featured in it famous, but it would give them a sense of worth and excitement to see themselves on the internet being included in the video. This, in turn, would make them want to share the website for their friends to see - then more people would see it - then more people would participate - which generates more hype about the site and helps it become popular. And the implementation of this particular social media design, ultimately creates fame and major innovation for the originators of the website.

Week 3

WEEK 3 BLOG QUESTION

In 2009 CumminsNitro, a Brisbane-based advertising agency won multiple awards across the international media landscape for their ground-breaking campaign for Tourism Queensland: Best Job in the World. The campaign was unique in the way it harnessed traditional media advertising (positions vacant advertising) and linked this with various kinds of social media interactivity. Through inviting video applications the campaign utilised what Bruns calls “produsage” and others have called “crowdsourcing”. It also made sophisticated use of the viral connectivity that can result from online social networking. Then, once the social media success became newsworthy, the campaign also benefitted from the traditional current affairs media attention, amplifying the overall impact and effect. This campaign continues to attract attention through a blog maintained by the successful applicant.

Visit the links provided and discuss in your tutorial group or online. Write a review analysing the types of interactivity that the campaign engaged.

Once again use screen captures and your own words to document and interpret what you see. Note that if you do copy statements from a web site these must be in quotation marks and the source URL referenced.

With screen captures, make sure you note the URL where you sourced the image and, the date viewed, as part of your caption.

The best job in the world seemed to have promoted Australia in ways that other countries can only dream about. We have the beautiful oceans and landscapes that are so enticing and welcoming, that who could NOT want the best job in the world, in a country that is so incredibly beautiful? In my opinion, it was the perfect strategy to promote Australian and Queensland tourism, while also rewarding one successful person with a fulfilling 6-month position as caretaker to the islands, based at Hamilton Island. 

Bright and engaging blog by Ben Southall - An innovative way to promote Tourism Queensland

I think that the blog of the successful applicant, who won the ‘best job in the world’ (Ben Southall), is very bright, colorful and inviting (www.bestjobben.com). The interactivity on his page is minimal (user-to-documents) but the content is so engaging that he doesn’t need to employ much interactivity to make his blog successful. However, the interactivity incorporated on his blog includes things such as weather widgets – which is quite appropriate to have on a website promoting beautiful sunny weather. If someone was reading his blog and wanting to visit Hamilton Island, then the weather widget is very handy for the reader to keep track of the usually bright sunny Queensland weather. Other use of interactivity on the blog, is a search option, and many links including: an ‘about’ page – telling readers how it all started with the best job in the world and what Ben has done since then; Other links include photos, videos, activities, Tourism Queensland,  links to all of Ben’s sponsors and many more interesting marvels. These are all ways of drawing in the reader and making them want to visit Queensland/Australia. Such simple interactivity and information can be so powerful. The phrase “less is more” really comes to mind for me when visiting this website. It is not bombarded with information everywhere and you can choose material you wish to read about.

To read about Ben’s wonderful adventures since he moved over here is not only invigorating, but it is also a brilliant way to promote Australian tourism. With each blog entry he tells his readers about his latest accomplishments and explorations of our beautiful country. The pictures he posts are magnificent and entice his readers to want to come to Australia.

I’m not entirely sure how or when Ben started the blog (i.e. if he started it while working as the island caretaker or whether he started it after he completed his 6-month contract) but I do think it is a clever and successful way for Tourism Queensland to engage potential tourism. I think even though the campaign for the world’s best job is over, the reminiscence of it still lives on in Ben’s blog and so too does the attraction of Queensland.

Week 2

Choose at least two out of the six of the following terms of reference to make further comments about the site you have been reviewing and the services it offers:

·         Trustworthiness (of the site)

·         Reputation (of members)

·         Ownership (of content)

·         Moderation

·         Management of content

·         User interface and customisation.

Once again use screen captures and your own words to document and interpret what you see. Note that if you do copy statements or policies from a web site these must be in quotation marks and the source URL referenced.

With screen captures, make sure you note the URL where you sourced the image and, the date viewed, as part of your caption.

TRUSTWORTHINESS – The trustworthiness of Facebook has been a topic of conversation for many people and for lots of different reasons. Lately it has been criticised because of the lack of trustworthiness it offers to its users. Not only does it change its privacy settings all the time, but it does not make its users aware of the changes being made and people are unaware of the altered settings. This can be very irritating for people who are private and do not want their information out there for everyone to see or do not want their details given out to any other sites.

USER INTERFACE AND CUSTOMISATION – Facebook has been simple when it comes to customisation and user interface. In comparison to social media websites like MySpace, it is very modest. With MySpace, users are allowed to change their profiles to be as simple or extravagant as they like and can incorporate photos and videos on their actual profile page. Whereas Facebook allows users to have a profile but there is only one design.

The layout of Facebook has changed several times since I have become a user of this social media website and I have noticed that each time it changes, there is always chaos and users complain because it seems to be hard to use and understand in comparison to the previous layout, but over time people forget about it and just go on using Facebook despite their annoyance at the layout change. Then in a year or so, the same thing happens all over again.

Week 1

Week 1 question

I personally use Facebook. I engage with it fairly regularly, mostly because I like to see what all my friends and family are up to and to be perfectly honest it is a great way to keep in touch with people who I am ‘lazy’ to contact in other ways. I think it is a great tool to see what people are up to especially in instances like mine where I normally wouldn’t see many people who I went to school with, either because they have moved away or we weren’t the sort of people who kept in touch. But with Facebook, it’s easy enough to add people as a friend (I only add people I know) and see what they are up to. That way, we don’t have to wait till our ten year reunion to see what everyone has been doing with themselves.

I do however, get annoyed at the people who I have on my friends list, that only post attention seeking material. This is one of my Facebook pet hates. It is a way for people to gain unnecessary attention and not deal with things in ‘real-life’. Instead of talking to someone in person about (for example) the loss of a family member, people choose to put statuses on Facebook such as a mere ‘RIP’. This consequently leaves the status open to nosy people who want to know who died (instead of the status updater informing people of this information, which in itself is also seeking more attention) and then once people know who has passed away, they post how sorry they feel for the status updater. I think using such events for attention seeking is quite shallow and not very mature. I have no problem with people posting that they have lost a loved one but there are way to word it, that can make them seem more caring and less attention seeking.

Another thing I find irritating about Facebook is that the current layout of the website makes every single click of a ‘like’ or comment on a photo, visible to everyone on that person’s friends list, no matter who or what page they have interacted with. I am interested when people interact with me, but I do not need to know every single photo that all my friends ‘like’ or if a friend of mine has commented on a photo of a friend of theirs who is not friends with me.

Other than those couple of foibles, I think Facebook is a great tool for social communication and interaction.