Website Analysis

The website that I have chosen to analyse is MTV’s www.mtv.co.uk, this website is a part of a bigger corporation. MTV was established as a TV channel within America, and now reaches as far as Europe.

The MTV website offers consumers a variety of links to choose from such as online catch up with popular reality TV shows from The Hills to My Super Sweet 16, News in the celebrity world, live performances from artists, videos and games etc.

The hypertext for the MTV website enables you to download the Latest The Hills by providing a hyperlink to ITunes online store. At the same time the website makes available hyperlinks to news such as Rhianna “see shocking Rhianna photo,” consumers have the option to pick and choose what interests them. MTV therefore does not take on a linear structure such as that found with books, and so in these terms the Internet is not restrictive. As Ray Mc Aleese puts it hypertext users “should be able to explore information freely in multiple parallel paths, instead of being confined to a fixed path or structure” (Ray Mc Aleese, 1999: 80) The hypertext on the MTV website allows individuals to follow the comments made by other consumers as well as follow their personal profile. This ability of consumer to pick and choose what interest them is much more natural, this demonstrates how Hypertexts offer “a better model of consciousness than linear storage systems” (Lister, 2003: 35).

MTV website goes against the linear structure because individuals can look at information that they find interesting and completely disregard other elements within the site through hypertexts. Individuals as a result do not have to take into account all of the information available to them and this can potentially have negative effects. Hypertexts through their “multilinear” pathways could “threaten to overturn the organisation and management of knowledge,”(Lister, 2003:27) leading to confusion.

Culture

MTV encourages Registrational intereactivity between individuals on the message boards, for example the forum “the drama of the hills” enables people to comment on their favourite TV programs that MTV provides. The audience are essentially given the ability to “write back to the text, “ (Lister, 2003: 21) which isn’t possible with the likes of book. The Internet therefore has allowed for individuals to be active consumers, instead of passive ones who are easily “injected” with media messages as the effects theory suggest in relation to television (Bradford and Stafford, 2006: 271) although the levels of such passivity are questionable.

Online communities have been considered to have the ability to “reconstitute the public sphere of political and cultural debate.”(Lister, 2003) But this doesn’t necessarily mean that these are real communities, because surely to constitute a true community there needs to be an element of trust. In considering the MTV forum “Chris Brown and Rhianna,” the individuals that comment on them use names such as “CB4Ms” and “lil brooks.” These individuals are therefore hiding their true identity as a result Lister in some respects is incorrect in suggesting that with online “a sense of community can be found” (Lister, 2003: 178). The false name and images on this MTV forum makes it impossible to identify whom these individuals truly are. In general terms McMillan and Challis identify a sense of community by “Feelings of belonging to, and identifying with, the community;” (Mc millan and Challis, in Blanchard 2004) so if these individuals are hiding their true selves how can you essentially identify with them? MTV’s forum doesn’t provide individuals with a community because “online communities do not have (emotional) qualities” instead they’re based on “special interests,” (Wilbru in Heckman 1995: 67) which for MTV website consumers means music and RTV. Who’s to say they’re not forming a character whose race, sex and general personality is completely different to their true identity and is instead one that is constructed through stereotypes. MTV highlights that there isn’t that sense of “trust” (Jack and Sear, 2003: 600) that there is in face-to-face interactions.

New media in terms of Techno-determinsm is suggested to be a “technological development to become an unstoppable force driving change by itself,”(Aungri, 2005: 200) this change is essentially outside of societies grasps and bringing about great improvements to the world. However, MTV’s website seems nothing more than imitation. The content of MTV website is similar to that of the channel itself, mainly because it offers the same reality TV shows and the ability to listen to the same music that the program itself does. Surely this is Remediation in which new media “refashion older media” (Lister, 2003: 40) the website does give consumers greater choice and the ability to watch programs when they choose but this doesn’t mean the website and new media is “cutting edge,” and “avante garde” (lister , 2003: ). Instead the concept of New media is merely ideological and nothing more than hype. As Sonia Livingston points out “The skills and conventions required to engage with the Internet may or may not be new.”

With the interactivity between users on the MTV website through the likes of forums, it is easy to assume that the MTV website has a fair amount of openness through it’s apparent shifting in “the boundary of who gets to speak” and “contribute.” (Meikle, 17) But at the end of the day the producers of MTV decide the layout of the website, what information is essentially posted on the site and basically what stories and programs etc are given prominence in advertisement. At the top of the page there are sub headings Shows, Music, News, Galleries, Videos etc and at the bottom of the page is Contact us in which you can put your opinions forwards to the website producers. But these comments can be easily ignored. Individuals don’t seem to have played a role in producing the MTV website. As Bruns puts it produsage involves “collaborative and continuous building extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement” (Bruns: 3) In terms of Bruns concept of produsers who “lead in the development of news content and ideas” (Bruns:3) MTV consumers don’t have this sort of role.

I personally enjoy the MTV website as it enables me to be interactive with others who enjoy the same types of music and interests as myself. At the same times I can watch my favourite programme the Hills when I want to and catch up on anything I may have missed. There is a wide range of music to choose from the website allows you to keep up to date with the most popular bands at a click of the button. Also the MTV web page is visually enticing very modern and up to date so it generally appeals to someone of my age.

Week 6: 4

The forum is a joint enterprise; we are all working to the same goal, producing our own opinions forward about new media and at the same time gathering information from others. The forum allows us to publish what we have written and when we wrote it on the blog. The experts are obviously Dave and Sue they are the one with great knowledge and understanding of new media, we look to them for guidance and advice. They comment on the forum if we need their help and need something explaining. We as students are obviously newcomers what we are learning is completely new in comparison to what we’ve come across before. Ok so were used to using maybe music forums etc but the media forum is for a different purpose, educational. Therefore the use of the forum takes place of traditional seminars.

Week 6: 3

Organization units involve following the rules sets by the unit, learning is gathered by the “unit they report to,” and so are rather strict. Whereas for communities of practice individuals join in discussions about what they have “done” or learned “together” allowing for flexibility.

For Organizational units individuals are limited to discuss the “project” that they are working on, in this sense the level of communication is more formal than for communities of practice.With organizational units there are limits to what is considered relevant to talk about, these units are therefore structured. In contrast, communities of practice are everywhere they can be a particular film group trying to create a new genre, essentially they are “self organizing systems” and for this reason they are not bound by structures but instead develop their “own understanding.”

Meikle Part A

With online news there doesn’t appear to be those restriction that large and well known institutions such as the BBC and The times news papers decide to print. News is obviously about gathering information but with online News we are given a “wider search” as Meikle implies, a bigger access to world affairs. Meikle is fair in suggesting that consumers have become “researchers” themselves, who sift through information posted on the Internet. With online news producers there doesn’t seem to be that pressure to involve exciting, shocking or dramatic which seems prominent with the like of broadcast and prints news of today, Therefore there doesn’t appear to be a great bias taken on from individuals who publish news within for example blogs they choose themselves what to write.

Meile Part c

Indymedia provides a basis for “new musical sounds experiences” (George McKay, 14) Individuals and even bands have the ability to put their music across to music fans without the help of big music industry names. MySpace is great evidence of this independence now available to the artists within the music industry. The online world in particular that of Myspace is inevitably an alternative culture to what went before them. Bands etc can now put their music to audiences on a huge scale and gather interest from them. This interest is gathered from the ability of fans to interact with these artists. No longer do these artists take reliance upon others, especially that of labels. This is evident from the likes of the Artic Monkeys who born from the world of MySpace. This “DIY” nature of online artist is extremely positive, no longer is there pressure from labels to change their identity when already there is such a fan base gathered.

It appears that the online world isn’t the only place of progress for new music artists. There are many individuals with their own recording studio starting their business from scratch. The Internet networks such as MySpace and Facebook however help put these artists in full view of consumers. These consumers can not only listen to the artist music but also have an interact active relationship with them and so form a sort of community. So although this independence does exist offline it isn’t as opportunistic as that of the online world.

Meikle part D

Open news doesn’t have the restriction of general news that often involves melodreamtic news. General day to day news of that considered ordinary has become less popular with well known news institutions BBC, SKY news etc, because of the increasing pressure to keep audiences enticed. Open news is quality because it “offer radical alternatives to mainstream debate” (Meikle) through it’s employment of realistic and day-to-day goings on. Individuals are given the ability to comment on what is troubling them, “everyone” apparently is a “journalist”(Meikle). They can comment on family troubles or nightmare next-door neighbours, the likes of Indymedia enables people “share.” What I will say is I think the comment about everyone is a journalist should be taken lightly yes like journalist everyone can comment. However the field of Journalism is extremely complicated and highly academic, not held by every open news commentator

However open news can often not involve quality, people can talk about essentially anything. For example the price of bake beans. Despite feeling that individuals have the right to express themselves, there are just certain things that people are not interested in and so people aren’t encouraged to participate in discussions because they appear boring. “Spam” etc are often found on these open sites, this can only draw away from open news as quality. Therefore I feel that Indymedia’s change from overly “open publishing” is a positive things because now any old rubbish can’t be contributed. But does anyone really have the right to constitute what is news?

BRuns part B

The typical sense of the word producers involves one particular institution providing knowledge and information for the benefit of others.

However in the post industrial and informational / economic model sense production takes place in “collaborative, participatory environment” in which both consumers and producer take part in production of information and knowledge. It seems then that the produsage is the continual passing between producers and users produsers to improve their knowledge and information. These producers use what is produced but are also actively involved them selves’ as a Produser, they essentially result in Produsage of new ideas. I suppose DIY blogs are similar in that information is not only provided by the people that produce the site but also the people that consume these blogs also can comment and give advice.

Also this is similar to the introduction of the XBOX 360 in which consumers are given the basic outline of a game from producers. Then the consumers become produsers who actually discover cheats etc for these games and share them online within interactive forums.

Bruns part C

Bruns part C

week 4 task 1 b

The Internet through blogs, email forums etc gives us the ability to interact with different people around the world, these online groups provides us with a “public sphere.” New media appears is unlike traditional broadcast forms such as the television that encourage “Passive audiences” as we are lead to believe by Michael (Michael Rosman in Lister 193) Television through programs such soaps appear to encourage “unhealthy” (Habermas) practices in society, through their stereotypical representations that they portray. The Internet seems to be refreshing because it offers opportunities to “scrutinize” these stereotypes with others online, hence people are given “expression and empowerment.” Therefore the Internet is a great “public sphere” to debate to with people across a great spectrum. The Internet in the United States make possible to “challenge the existing order of identity politics in the” (Janott, 2004: 261).


It is fair to say that the Internet allows for greater interaction and opinion between people online, in this sense the online world is a “public sphere” available to all. However, online engagement with others online is not at that personal level that you find in face to face interactions. You life is very much "public" but your really identity isn't properly revealed so online can't really be a "public sphere."

week 4 task 1 a

New media such as the Internet provides us with online communities such as forums, blobs etc. Therefore the Internet gives consumer the ability to dispute the power of society validating that “we all have something to contribute.”( Rokin, 2005: 165) We are able to criticise policies enforced by Gordon Brown as forums gives us access to “political and cultural debate.” (Lister et al 174) This is a good thing for consumer like Durkheim suggest we are not simply consumers to the degree that broadcast media seems to entail but actively involved an so “the internets virtual communities are empowering”(Rokin, 2005: 165).

Although these sites may in fact encourage debate about political policies, the empowerment of the government could be highly ideologically driven within society to such a degree that the Internet could not be as powerful as Durkheim suggests. But instead a medium that helps reinforce stereotypes.

week4 task 1 c

The Internet world provides us with new ways of communicating and receviing free information’s from people online, as Koolock puts it online is a “gift economy.” We can see that in this sense the Internet is a useful device. However as active consumers of the Internet we have to be careful with the types of information we receive. For example, if we were to search online for health advise we have to be careful what sites are trustworthy, that of the government obviously would be useful and one to trust. But general online sites and especially the likes of wikipedia make it easy to acquire information that maybe false. The suggestion that the internet is a “gift economy,” is true but these gifts may in fact be unpleasant. Cookies, viruses, unwanted spam such as that from advertisers for lipo suction and so on are all types of “dangerous materials” that lack use. Viruses especially “have caused so much damage that in the last few years many Internet users have become extremely cautious” (White: 47). Because there are fewer restrictions online, the freedom to essentially search and do what you want will mean you will always encounter the unsafe and unreliable. Despite the fact that freedom allows for greater involvement in academic discussions around the world as Durkheim would have us believe. There are in fact negative implications to such freedom, who and what do we trust?

week 4 task 2 a

In terms of community and what my opinion of a community is, ebay doesn’t appear to acquire this status or even the attitudes that I feel define the term community, with the term community there appears to be an “overuse” of this meaning as suggested by (Blanchard). The internet communities allow for those who maybe outcast from general society to express themselves and in this sense community has an “emotionally positive effect” (Blanchard). My opinion is with a virtual community there still needs to be some form of relationship with the people you interact with online similar to that offline. Additionally, the belief that you have influence as well as receive it, is important because otherwise you would feel worthless(McMillan and Chavis’s (1986). I think within a community it is important to be able to relate them to provide a basis of conversation. To some degree in a community you have to trust what the people say online otherwise it isn’t a community but instead just a group of people.

Topic 2 Week 4 b

Blanchard defines Virtual settlement as a “virtual place in which people interact,” which is identified by its postings structure and content. Real life settlements and communities are not set in stone they can be altered, this is the same for Virtual settlements, you don’t have to stay within that settlement. Within the online world their isn't a need to give your real identity, it’s easier to leave a settlement whether it is a virtual community or a virtual group than it is in real life. Real life settlements there appears to be a more intense emotional bond with people of a community than the virtual ones previously discussed. Within a virtual settlement posting are similar to real settlement conversations of peoples opinions, but for virtual settlements whether virtual groups or virtual communities interactions are different to real life this is mainly because immediate response isn’t necessary.

The term virtual settlement is good because it gives the impression of interaction between people as in real life. However I find the concept complicated to grasp because the word settlement gives the impression that something is permanent, this isn’t true for online communities that you can easily leave because there are no restriction online.

Topic 3 week 4 d

Unlike Kallok and Smith suggests that lurkers are not useful because they do not “contribute” to online discussions and some writers even suggesting they are "harassing" (Inkine, 353: 1998). It is my opinion that these beliefs are over the top and the idea of booting them out of an online community seems unfair. As within school there are those that are more expressive in debates and who have a greater confidence to put their message across. Although it has been suggested that there is greater confidence online, the confidence of these lurkers may not have reached the point that will enable them to comment. If people online want their message to be herd, then banning online lurkers wouldn’t this just reduce the producers and writers audience?

week 3 task 1 c

Without using a web cam on msn , chat rooms and facebook etc it is  easy for interactive consumers of new media to change their identity online. Our race and gender can be completely different to our real selves, we are able portray different selves online “techno-determinism”(Reading from Lister). The Internets multiple personas allows people “to go outside of the socially constructed boundaries that guide the ‘real world’ relationships" (Rudestam, 2002: 141)and so the internet provides greater freedom. However, at this stage it is important to suggest that not everyone uses these internet chat rooms etc for the same reason, mainly because not everybody wants to change their identity online. There are in fact people online who are happy with their personality and physical appearance.

Those who portray themselves by means of a different race and gender etc go on pre existing assumptions about people in society. These assumptions are created by ideology and stereotypes already imbedded into our society. With stereotypes “We are told about the world before we see it. We imagine most things before we experience them” they govern our “perception.” (Lipman in Corner and Hawthorn, 1993: 137) Therefore those who decide to change their identity online follow the stereotypes and constructions of society rather than the truth and reality. As a result people are not free online from signs. The Internet simply allows for a more worldwide representation of stereotypes, the world in the online domain to some degree magnifies the problem of stereotyping.

week 3 task 1 a

Licklider’s concept of “Open Culture” is one way of looking at the net. He suggests that the Internet has no rules as to “how data flows and where.” For instance someone on the Internet could portray their personality in a completely different manner to who they are in real life. The Internet thus allows people to create a façade and multiple identities, more worryingly pedophiles often pretend to be younger children online, in order to lure unsuspecting and innocent children. Therefore the Internet sadly “will provide one more means to the child abusers and exploiters”(Amaldo, 2001: 3). New media as we know is a virtual reality thus any reality in real life we cannot be sure of within the Internet world.

Although it appears there are no rules to “how” data flows and “where,” this concept made by Licklider isn’t necessarily true. Despite choosing to join networking sites such as Facebook, MSN and MySpace, these networks do have some level of impact on how we Interact. This is dependent up on how chat rooms such Facebook are structured and the regulations that they enforce.

week 3 task 2 section a

Ethics
If we were to take a look at the world without the Internet in general it is seen as ethically wrong to hide your identity. It is important to take into consideration what sort of lie is a terrible lie. Firstly to tell someone that a person is dieing when there not, everyone can understand that this is ethically wrong. However if a woman had been sexually abused by her husband, it is her right to lie and even keep secret in an event of an abortion.

Therefore to purposely mislead people online for example within chat rooms could be ethically wrong. Mainly because if a person is going online for a relationship trust is an important issue, if people cant be truthful in the first instance then this seems somewhat ridiculous.

At the same time the withholding of bank details and addresses that could reveal someone’s identity and personal information is ethically normal because of the worrying increase in identidy theft. 

Again, it is ethically acceptable to keep children’s personal details private, keeping their name and address in order to keep paedophiles at bay is understandable and rational. This is mainly because with chat rooms "you can never tell who anyone is" (Sanderson, 2004: 291)Children  are young and vulnerable and so are easily manipulated and thus are at risk of sex offenders. Schomburget suggests “children needing attention and affections may respond to an offender in positive ways” (Schomburget, 2008: 398). In the analysis of a Harry Potter forum http://www.harrypotterforum.com/ forum, quintessentially directed at children the commentators on the forum kept their identities secret. For example the commentators use name such as “angelix” and nothing about their age or real names are released. Even photos were virtual images and not their own.

week 3 task 2 section B

work will not paste will shortly be resolved

Week 3 Task 2 section d

Revealing your feelings online tends to be easier on the internet. Within the online domain you are in a virtual world, there is not that one to one connection that seems much more deeper in a face to face interaction. On the Internet people are much more confident, it is a virtual world not the real  therefore  it is “easy to reveal intimate secrets online” (Rudestan, 2002: 141). However, this confidence could be potentially detrimental for online relationships because some people can be more revealing that others.

Week 3 Task 3

As regards the The Guardian newspaper forum online “As British Jews come under attack the liberal left must not remain silent.” Reader’s response to this particular forum is extremely serious, the language use is formal and very academic especially seeing as Bolandifin even uses references. This particular commentator uses his words carefully and represents himself as in opposition to racism towards the Jewish community. As well as the "anti-Semite" behaviour evident during the Gaza crisis. The commentator Bolandifin does not give any other information about himself; instead he keeps every last private detail under raps. The commentators name would suggest that they are male but without visual proof this conception is debateable. However, despite Bolandifin’s personal identity remaining secret his comments remain reasonable. Other commentators involve gondwanaland’s who disputes Bolandifns claims. Here the guardian appears to be extremely interactive whereby readers give a high degree of contribution to the debate placed forward by The Guardian. What I do find most strange is that both readers keep their identidy completely private, giving the impression that they are debating greatly and so do not want to be revealed.