Entering with a message.
Photo from How Stuff Works
Photo from How Stuff Works
The Aboriginal view of land – that it “must first exist as a concept in the mind… Then it must be sung” (Chatwin, 1987, p.14) also describes a virtual community, which must be ‘dreamed up’ – and even then doesn’t exist until the people ‘create’ it by posting.
While any narrative omits information (VanLuyn, 2013),
Facebook members present as profiles of relationship status, likes and
dislikes, political and religious affiliations and similar statistics; their
narrative is directed by site owners (McNeill, 2012). There is no such
circumscription on the Uncommon Forum, where members are advised on sign-up to
invent a username. Admin use real names, as do people with a product to sell
and about half of the moderators. The majority consider English their first
language.
“It was something
else to convince [a surveyor] that a featureless stretch of gravel was the
musical equivalent of Beethoven’s Opus III” (Chatwin, 1987, p.14). The European
and the Aborigine saw land differently. While constructing meaning, as we all
do constantly, one saw something to be subdued while the other saw something to be revered. On the Uncommon Forum, as elsewhere, long-term members are closely
aligned with the site owners’ intent while people who sign up in order to upset members are speedily removed.
Forum divisions encourage separation of mind, body, spirit,
personality and name as much as did 1953’s “modern understanding” (Stanner,
1979, p.25). Marijuana users detail the
long-term mental effects of regular consumption; nutritionists recommend
dietary changes and testing for various deficiencies. Soldiers who have
returned to England from Afghanistan with missing limbs and faces began by
posting en masse in the Depression forum and are now advising other members.
Whether we’re speaking of a country or an internet site, the
power of control and exploitation lies with those who impose and enforce rules.
REFERENCES
Chatwin, B. (1987) Chapter 3. In The Songlines (11-15). London, UK: Jonathan Cape Ltd.
McNeill, L. (2012). “There Is No "I" in Network:
Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography.” Biography 35.1,
65-82. Biographical Research Center.
Stanner, W.E.H. (1979) The Dreaming (1953). In White Man Got No Dreaming: Essays 1938-1973
(23-30) Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.
VanLuyn, A. (2013) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives
and the Making of Place, Lecture 4: Narrative.
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Hi Vicky, your statement that, virtual communities need to be ‘dreamed up’ and do not exist until people ‘create’ it by posting, was really intriguing. McNeill (2012, pp. 110) made a similar statement about the role users play, ‘Members act as mutual “coaxers, coaches, and coercers” ensuring that the stories, and the network itself, continue.’ Basically, without people engaging in the activity of social networking, by posting and responding to others posts, it cannot operate, or like you stated be ‘created’. Therefore, the members of a site are integral to its existence. This McNeill (2012) describes as ‘produsage’, actively engaging and sharing information. However, without a doubt being a ‘produser’ makes you more susceptible to that sometimes scary ‘big brother’ figure. Advertising constantly changing to ‘suit your every need’, determined by carefully written algorithms. I’m wondering whether this has its use or is just simply consumer manipulation.
ReplyDeleteMcNeill, L. (2012). There is no “I” in network: Social networking sites and posthuman auto-biography. In Biography, 35(1), 101-118.