EXTENDED BLOG POST- How have celebrities changed in response to the rise of social, digital or mobile media?

With one click of a mouse, it is so easy to see what a celebrity is doing in their everyday lives. Whether it be on their social media pages, in magazines or on TV, it is quite easy to keep up with celebrities. A concept invented by Marshall McLuhan suggests that “the world is unified through the use of media technologies”. He calls this “a global village”.“Celebrity has developed into a particularly powerful and pervasive trope for contemporary culture. Celebrity has been well documented in terms of its capacity to shape our entertainment”. (Marshall, 2013) Stardom is something which we all find fascinating and it is in our public interest to create and listen to stories whether they be fact or fiction. Celebrity news and information has been normalized in newspapers and magazines since the 1970‘s and is in demand larger than ever in todays world with magazines being dedicated solely for celebrity news and gossip.(Marshall, 2013) 

GOSSIP MAGAZINES

As technology develops and there is more competition between celebrities trying to “make it”, the "rich and famous" need to find sufficient ways to communicate and create a larger fan base. Today, celebrities can be a gossip magazines life saver by posting images and statuses online that can potentially create a scandal and interesting news story without the journalists digging for information about them. Due to the rise of social, digital and mobile media, celebrities can use these new media to the best of their ability and are able to showcase their everyday lifestyle. This can allow them to interact with fans, bring their lifestyle into the public eye, promote themselves/their brand/endorsements and defend themselves if any negative issues/publicity arises. In other words, celebrities are sharing their privileged lifestyles with the rest of the world which is something that 20 years ago would not have even been heard of. Throughout this piece I will be using examples from the family we all know and either love or hate; The Kardashians. I believe the Kardashians are a family who allow the public to see and follow them and their life with no secrets or privacy about them. 

There can be advantages and disadvantages of the new media being developed every day. It can have benefits and limitations for the public as well as the celebrity themselves. The benefits can potentially be what I outlined above and which I will go into detail with some examples later; celebrities are able to interact with their fans and promote their lifestyle. If these forms of media are used by the celebrity in a positive way it can be largely beneficial to their career and create them an enormous fan base solely due to the way they communicate on social media. The Kardashian’s are an example of this. Kim Kardashian has 10 million followers on Instagram (Instagram, 2013) and approximately 18 million followers on Twitter (Twitter, 2013) and approximately 14 million likes on her Facebook Page (Facebook, 2013) 

KIM'S OFFICIAL TWITTER PAGE

Again, communication with fans on social media is something which the public would benefit from due to the connection they desire to have with celebrities and the emotional connection they feel they have with them. (Marshall, 2013) ‘From the 1970’s the expansion of lifestyle sections and the development of pull-out entertainment ‘magazines’ ensured that the stories devoted to the famous were regularised in interview after interview.’ This again is evidence of how the public have always had a large interest in the celebrity lifestyle. It is also interesting to note the things you learn from celebrities and what they post and share with you. 

For example following the Kardashians on social media and also watching their reality TV Show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” has given me an insight into their lifestyles in Hollywood and what they do everyday. If I never watched them, I wouldn’t know anything about that particular culture. Whilst I do believe most reality TV shows are fake, scripted and entertainment based, you can learn a lot about people and their lives which I believe is interesting. Another example is the Kardashians cultural background; the family is American but also Armenian. They are always using Armenian words, eating Armenian food and talking about their traditions and culture. From watching the show and following their social media I have learnt about this Armenian culture that otherwise I may never have even known about. 

Something that Marshall (2010) covers in “The Specular Economy” stands out as one major limitation in the interaction and new form of media communication to the public.  Marshall (2010) explains that the best way to describe this new interaction and form of display to the public is through the term specularity. This can be explained by the mirror effect where the mirror reflects and allows us to see something that may not actually be the truth. The mirror only shows how we look on the outside. This can give a wrong implication to the public and especially young teenagers who may feel the pressure to look, act and think a certain way just because celebrities do. The specular metaphor demonstrates and explains how the mirror was once for personal use but has now been a way for us to compare ourselves to celebrities and trying to be similar to them. Marshall (2013) outlines that this metaphor mirrors the social and cultural aspects of the 20th century which is the cause and affect of the reason why the celebrity culture is so interesting to us.

MILEY CYRUS MIRROR SHOT- SPECULAR METAPHOR IN FULL EFFECT

Social media use by celebrities is somewhat a godsend for them. According to Marshall (2010) celebrities use social media to show how the “famous” really live and allow their fans to have an insight into their life. Social, digital and mobile media covers up the line between public and private because celebrities now share their lives publicly online with anyone who wants to see. To see this effectively, search Kim Kardashian on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Is her account on private? No! Because she wants everyone to see how she lives and potentially create more fans to follow her large brand. Thanks to the Kardashians, we actually can see how they live everyday due to their enormously popular reality TV Show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” which allows us to learn about their Armenian culture and celebrity lifestyle. Through celebrity sharing on social media you can also learn of locations/places they visit and recommend. For example following the Kardashians, I have visited locations/shops/restaurants in Miami, Las Vegas, New York and Los Angeles  on my recent trip to America. I visited certain places the family went on the show. Again, without viewing the show, I may not have even known about these places.

The ability for celebrities to use social media is great to promote themselves or their brand. The Kardashians are always posting photos for their fans to watch the new episode of their show or posting photos of their clothing store “Dash” to promote a sale or new arrivals. The millions of people following them can be influenced to buy from their store and watch the show. The Kardashians also have some endorsements such as Quick Trim, the weight loss company which the family are constantly promoting on their social media accounts. Posting on their social media accounts allow the company to potentially have their name known by all members of the families followers combined! Thats over 100 million people! 

One way the Kardashians protect and defend themselves from negative issues are through social media. This is used by many celebrities and also large organisations and companies when in a crisis. It is known that communication directly to your fans and public immediately after a negative event has occurred can effectively protect your reputation and gain more respect from your fans. In July 2013, Khloe Kardashian turned to Twitter to defend her husband Lamar after photos of him were published attacking a paparazzo's car and equipment.( See photo). 

KHLOE DEFENDS LAMAR

The Kardashian’s also effectively create and promote their own gossip stories to media outlets to protect one another. The seperation of Kris and Bruce Jenner on Wednesday 9th October 2013 and the release of pictures of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s child in August 2013, was a smart PR opportunity to take the spotlight off Khloe and Lamar Odom’s marriage turmoil and Lamar’s drug addicion and DUI. This release of information allows the public to create opinions on the matter and can comment and share the photos which did occur for both events. The exciting release of the photos of baby North West sent the media world into a frenzy which also allowed Kim’s fans to congratulate her and again feel the emotional ride of raising a child. 

PHOTO OF BABY NORTH

The family effectively release information and give interviews they would not normally do to take the rest of the pressure of Khloe who is struggling as we can see through her recent tweets in the first week of October. 

KHLOE'S TWEETS IN OCTOBER 2013

The way Khloe tweets honest and relevant words shows the fans how she feels and what she is going through. Again this is showing the fans she is defending her relationship and allowing them to connect with her if they have been through a similar situation. 

To conclude, the sudden rise of social media and communication by celebrities to their fans has allowed a public and intimate release of information and multimedia able to be accessed by anyone with an internet connection. The interaction by celebrities to their fans allows the public to feel a connection whether it be emotional, psychological and physical which will therefore allow their fan base to grow due the the diverse things they post on social media. (Marshall, 2013) Celebrities now have another way to boost their careers which is equally as important as being successful in what they do. It is important to have a social media account as it can potentially bring more fans to follow celebrities and their career and in reality it does bring them more money. Our culture in the contemporary world of 2013 is the life and gossip of celebrities which we are fascinated in (Marshall, 2013) and I have no speculation in that it will grow even further in the years to come. 

REFERENCES:

Facebook, 2013, “Kim Kardashian”, retrieved 10th October 2013, https://www.facebook.com/KimKardashian

Instagram, 2013, “Kim Kardashian”, retrieved 10th October 2013, http://instagram.com/kimkardashian

Marshall, P 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

Marshall P, 2013, ‘Persona Studies: Mapping the Proliferation of the public self’, Journalism, pg1-15

Social Media Today, 2013, “How celebrities use social media to build their brand”, retrieved 10th October 2013,http://socialmediatoday.com/philcohen4/1541596/how-celebrities-use-social-media-build-their-brand

Twitter, 2013, “Kim Kardashian”, retrieved 10th October 2013, https://twitter.com/KimKardashian

IMAGES:

Daily Mail, 2013, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, Narcissistic Miley Cyrus poses in shorts and bra for instagram selfie”, accessed 10th October 2013. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2442559/Narcissistic-Miley-Cyrus-poses-shorts-bra-Instagram-selfie.html

Daily Mail, 2013,“What a cutie!” retrieved 10th October 2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2400957/Kim-Kardashian-baby-photo-Kanye-West-reveals-pictures-North-West-Kris-Jenner-show.html

Forbes, 2012, “The Kardashians 2015: E! Pays $40 million for 3 more years, 2012, accessed 10th October http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/04/24/keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-2015-e-pays-40-million-for-three-more-years/,

Huffington Post UK, (2013), “Lamar Odom Flips out at Photographer, Khloe Kardashians Defends Him On Twitter”, retrieved 10th October 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/11/lamar-odom-photographers-khloe-kardashian-twitter_n_3578444.html

Josie’s Juice, 2011, Kim Kardashian Who Magazine Wedding, 2011, accessed 10th October 2013, http://josiesjuice.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/kim-kardashian-who-magazine-wedding.html

Kim Kardashian Fan, 2013, “E! Announces Season 8 of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians", accessed 10th October. http://www.kimkardashianfan.net/e-announces-season-8-of-keeping-up-with-the-kardashians/, 

New York Daily News,  2013, “Khloe Kardashian Wears Wedding Ring...”, accessed 10th October 2013, http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/khloe-kardashian-wears-wedding-ring-tweets-loyalty-love-article-1.1479623

Twitter, 2013, “Kim Kardashian”, retrieved 10th October 2013, https://twitter.com/KimKardashian

WEEK 9- What is ‘Hollywoodisation’; Consider an example from a non-Western film, music, television, games, or other entertainment industry text and examine to what extent it has been ‘Hollywoodized’.

To Hollywoodise something is to adapt (a story or series of events) so as to conform to the supposed norms of a typical Hollywood film, especially in respect of being unrealistically glamorous, exciting, or simplistic. (Oxford Dictionary, 2013) A non-western Hollywoodisation example from music that was introduced to me when I was 10 years old is Gwen Stefani’s “Harajuku Girls”.

 I was in Grade 4 when Gwen released her first solo album “Love, Angel, Music, Baby” and Gwen collected four Japanese dancers who were representing Harajuku. These girls were her entourage and muse throughout her promotion for the album, featured in her music videos and even had a song dedicated to them on her album. They even have their own Wikipedia page! Through this short blog post, I will examine the ways Gwen Stefani has Hollywoodized the “Harajuku” culture.

It is evident to say that Gwen Stefani has brought the Harajuku fashion style to the eyes of the public all around the world, if not for Gwen, the public would have only known that Harajuku a location in Japan, if not that, then nothing.

What is admired about Harajuku girls by most fashion followers is their fashion choice, makeup and hair; it is quite unique and very different to what most people style themselves every day. Their fashion choices are now followed all around the world and not only just in Japan. 

Christina Klein (2004) states that attending to such local responses and negotiations gives us a much fuller understanding of the ‘complex and contradictory dynamics of today’s “global culture”. In other words, Gwen has allowed us to learn about the global culture of “Harajuku” and encouraged us to learn more about them.

Proudly knowing all the lyrics to her “Harajuku Girls” song, the following sentences have always stuck out to me and have urged me to research them and photos of other girls in “the world of Harajuku”. 

“Where the catwalk got its claws (meow)
A subculture in a kaleidoscope of fashion
Prowl the streets of Harajuku (irasshaimase)
Super lovers, tell me where you got yours
(at the super lovers store)
Yoji Yamamoto, I'm hanging with the locals
Where the catwalk got its claws, all you fashion know-it-alls
With your underground malls in the world of Harajuku
Putting on a show, when you dress up in your clothes
Wild hair color and cell phones
Your accessories are dead on”

(Gwen Stefani, Harajuku Girls, Track 7, Love Angel Music Baby, 2004)

What is very interesting to note is that Gwen includes many Japanese words and phrases including “Kawaii” which means “cute” (she explains this in her song) Therefore she is still respecting their culture and showing her fans all elements of the Harajuku/Japanese culture. 

To conclude, whilst Gwen Stefani used her 4 Harajuku girls as part of her new solo career to promote her unique sound, she still remained true to their culture by showcasing their language, style and unique life to the public and has definitely put the district of Harajuku on the map.

 REFERENCES:

AZLYRICS, 2004, Gwen Stefani Lyrics, retrieved 20^th September 2013, http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gwenstefani/harajukugirls.html

Flickr, 2013, "Harajuku Girls", http://www.flickr.com/photos/sushizumetokyo/552339898/

 

Gwen Stefani- 07- Harajuku Girls, Youtube, Rafael S Rosas, posted 28^th September 2008, retrieved 20^th September 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5SQ2f40E9E

 

Klein, Christina 2004, ‘Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian film industries’, Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384.

 Oxford Dictionary, 2013, “Definition of Hollywoodise in English”, retrieved 20^th September 2013, “http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Hollywoodize

Wikipedia, “Love Angel Music Baby,”  2 September 2013, retrieved 20th September 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love._Angel._Music._Baby.

WEEK 8- How have celebrities changed in response to the rise of social, digital or mobile media? Consider the broader implications with regards to the ‘specular’ metaphor.

Celebrities are distinctly different to us everyday people. One way to note the difference is the paparazzi constantly following them. Not only do the paparazzi send their photos to relevant newspapers and magazines, today due to the rise of the online world and social media, photos of celebrities are streamed online and can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.

Social media use by celebrities is somewhat a godsend for them and well, for some of us. According to Marshall (2010) celebrities use social media to show how the “famous” really live and allow their fans to have an insight into their life. Social/digital and mobile media now cover up the line between public and private because celebrities now share their lives publicly online with anyone who wants to see. To see this effectively, search Kim Kardashian on Twitter or Instagram. Is her account on private? No! Because she wants everyone to see how she lives. 

Kim Kardashian Twitter Page

The ability for celebrities to use social media is great to promote themselves or their brand. They are able to treat their fans like friends, get themselves back into the spotlight (enter Amanda Bynes!)defend themselves if a negative issue arises (See below photo of Khloe Karashian’s Tweets when defending her husband), and promote their interests and favourite brands. (Social Media Today, 2013)

Khloe Kardashian defending her husband Lamar
after photos of him were published attacking a paparazzi's car and equipment

Marshall (2010) explains that the best way to describe this new interaction and form of display to the public is through the term specularity.  This can be explained by the mirror effect where the mirror reflects and allows us to see something that may not actually be the truth. The mirror only shows how we look on the outside. Think of yourself and how you represent yourself on Facebook or another social media site.  I know people who are shy and quiet when I see them, but on Facebook they are some of the most controversial people I have friended! Explain that!  We now live in what is known as a specular economy. This specular economy has risen due to the way people engage online with contemporary culture. (Marshal, 2010). The reasons are due to the newly beginning quick way to send messages online and due to the technology that shows the need and the benefits of interacting through social media- especially to your favourite celebrities. Long gone is the desire to contact your hero! They may retweet you! It happened to my friend! One of the One Direction Boys retweeted her! Lets just say it made her life!

REFERENCES:

Huffington Post UK, (2013), “Lamar Odom Flips out at Photographer, Khloe Kardashians Defends Him On Twitter”, retrieved 18th September 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/11/lamar-odom-photographers-khloe-kardashian-twitter_n_3578444.html

Marshal, D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

Social Media Today, 2013, “How celebrities use social media to build their brand”, retrieved 18th September 2013,http://socialmediatoday.com/philcohen4/1541596/how-celebrities-use-social-media-build-their-brand

Twitter, 2013, Kim Kardashian, retrieved 18th September 2013, https://twitter.com/KimKardashian

WEEK 7- CONNECTING ON INSTAGRAM

Participatory media according to Raessens (2005) is any form of media which is a precise alternative for interactivity to characterize not only computer games but also the media culture that has formed around them. In this post I will talk about Instagram and how i use Instagram as a participator and connector. 

Raessens cleverly notes the view that participatory media this is not a new concept and it is not a concept just for computer games. He states that “radio, film and television, for example, each have their own versions of this concept.” (Raessens, J 2005) 

When investigating participatory media cultures of gaming, Joost Raessens (2005) introduces the concepts of multimediality, virtuality, interactivity and connectivity in which he believes are “the principles of computer gaming (Raessens, J, 2005)

He notes again similar to above, that these concepts can be used to describe other media than computer games. 

Instagram is something that I regularly use every day. It allows me to connect with virtually anyone on the planet that has the Instagram Application and an account. 

Raessens explains connectivity in his piece as “offering players the opportunity to exchange ideas, knowledge and game elements via the internet”. This is exactly what I do on Instagram. 

Digital Trends 2012

Instagram in a nutshell is an online social networking site that enables sharing photos and videos. These photos and videos are then able to be edited using different filter and are then encouraged to be shared to other social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Users can interact by liking or commenting each others content, following one another and creating/using a hashtag. 

I have learnt so much from Instagram especially by the people I follow. For example I follow many celebrities and fashion brands. They post a variety of content from recipes to new clothes. Instagram was the reason I knew so many places to go to during my recent trip to America. For example Miranda Kerr ate at “The Plaza” in New York and posted a photo of a meal she had. I was so appealed to that meal that when I went to America I dined at the Plaza and had the exact same meal she had. 

Miranda Kerr

Another way I have connected through Instagram is with my cousin Emmanuella from Italy. We met when we were both 10 years old and our families regularly keep in contact. She and I may have a language barrier however she followed me on Instagram and we connect by “liking” each others photos. Something as small as clicking a like button with a love heart on it gives me this feeling of being connected with my cousin who is on the other side of the world. It also allows me to see how different our lives are in different countries. 

Sources:

Raessens, J. 2005, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’, Handbook of Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 373-388

Digital Trends, 2012, Android, meet Instagram: The photo app you’ve been waiting for, retrieved 6th September 2013, 

 http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-meet-instagram-the-photo-app-youve-been-waiting-for/#ixzz2e5VZnK8M 

Jelliug, 2013, retrieved 6th September 2013, http://jellibug.com/?before=1348145403

WEEK 6- WORK BLOGGING

Blogging about your workplace is an issue that is certainly arising. If there is one thing that I have read over and over again and something that I have been told by my current employer it is; THINK BEFORE YOU POST! 

Whether it be talking about an employee, employer, your workplace or posting certain things that could get you in trouble, social media can be seen by anyone and can be spread in a matter of seconds. Even if you delete it after you post it, it could have been copied/saved and screen captured by someone.

For example, a former colleague of mine once got a written warning for lying to our workplace that she was sick on a friday night, and was “checked in” on Facebook at a club and “tagged” in photos. It is important to always be aware of who you have on Facebook.  

It is important to note that many organizations now have social media guidelines in place(Waddington, S, 2012). They basically outline how to engage with social media on behalf of an organisation and more importantly to aid employees in understanding the boundaries and do’s and don’ts when engaging with social media. (Waddington, S, 2012) 

There is an increasing use for guidelines as there is research showing that employees/potential employees require guidance and understanding in the area of social media and what is appropriate. According to Steven Waddington, In July 2011, Econsultancy Blog posted that 8% of companies in the USA fired an employee and 20% disciplined an employee for social media misbehaviour. This research shows that social media guidelines need to be in place so that employee termination and/or consequences do not need to occur. 

Here is an example of some guidelines by Coca Cola, who touch base on all aspects of social media.

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/online-social-media-principles

On a more personal note, Someone I know was fired for posting a photo of himself “Planking” in his uniform at his workplace. He had some fellow employees as a Facebook friend. He was dismissed on the grounds that he was promoting dangerous conduct not only at the workplace but also in his work uniform where the name and the companies reputation could be easily identified and negatively impacted. Another lesson repeated; think before you post! This is another reason why I believe all organisations and workplaces should have social media guidelines. Can you believe that only 24% of workplaces have policies for how employees should use social media. (ICM Survey, 2011)

Workplace blogging also entails topics such as maintaining the company reputation, maintaining it’s privacy and financial and company objectives/goals. For example “checking in” at your workplace and being weary of the caption and ensuring it doesn’t have any negative or rude words, or any information that should not be disclosed to the public. 

From the Richards and Kosmala (2013) reading, I discovered different theories and explanations that I believe are quite interesting regarding reasons for work blogs and expression of work issues. The following are the few that stood out to me.

1. Schoneboom (2007),  argued that work blogs can constitute a counter- hegemonic force to that of the employer’s ideology by creating parodies of work combined with the anonymity afforded by such communication technologies. 

2. Ellis and Richards (2009), found employees to be attracted to blogging about work because these online forums offers a form of voice other than that provided by trade unions. 

3. Schoneboom (2007) believes work blogging forums have moved on from being sites for explicit cynical attacks on employers to more settled and organised vocal movements. 

4.  Ellis and Richards (2009) found evidence of support networks being formed between work bloggers and the use of such forums to reflect on their work experiences over time. 

5. Richards (2008) also alludes to possible positive outcomes for employees initially attracted to work blogging as a means of ‘venting’ practice, including connecting with their occupational-related community, going beyond network formation through more conventional means.

References:

Richards, J., and Kosmala, K., 2013 ‘In the end, you can only slag people off for so long’: employee cynicism through work blogging’, New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 68 – 77. 

Waddington, S, 2012, “Share this: the social media handbook for PR professionals”, John Wiley & Sons, West Sussex. 

Coca Cola, 2013, “Social media principles”, date retrieved: 1st September 2013,  http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/online-social-media-principles

How are you a ‘prosumer’? In regards to Ritzer’s model of presumption, consider how you produce and consume your own identity.

Prosumption as a whole, has many elements to explain and also question. It is basically production and consumption intertwined and in todays day and age, it has a lot to do with user generated content online. The term” prosumer” is linked to Alvin Toffler (1980) who argued that prosumption was “the first wave” and predominant in pre-industrial societies. A ‘second wave’ of marketization then came next which separated these two functions, which allowed for producers and consumers today. (Ritzer, G & Jurgensen, N, 2010, p 17)

Another view of Toffler is that contemporary society is moving towards towards a ‘third wave’ that now and diversely signals their reintegration and merging  of ‘the rise of the prosumer’ (Toffler, 1980: 265).

Prosumers are also known as “co-creators” (Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004) Tapscott and Williams (2006) have noted that prosumers are part of a new wave of acceleration where businesses put consumers to work. This new trend is rapidly moving around the world and we see this in everyday life through the following examples that I do on a weekly basis. Without even realising we are prosumers.

-          -Getting petrol yourself at the petrol station

-         - Getting money out at an ATM

-         - Self Service at Coles and Safeway

-       -   Kmart/Officeworks printing your own photos

-          -Purchasing movie tickets online

-          -Online shopping

(Ritzer, G & Jurgensen, N, 2010, p 19)

Image from The Australian Newspaper, December 23, 2010

I decided to talk to my Dad about being a prosumer because I believe his insight would be somewhat different than mine and it quite certainly was. My dad is someone who believes the self service is a lazy invention because people cannot be bothered working at check outs anymore. He also has an opinion that the self service has caused a job cut at Safeway and Coles because they don’t need any staff to physically help anyone do it.

These new epidemics or now known as “the norm” have also been further expressed online. What was once provided to us on Web 1.0 is now less used because of Web 2.0. I will further explain this.

Web 1.0 (eg: Yahoo and Google) is provider generated, however today Web 2.0 is used by prosumers. Web 2.0 has aided in the development of prosumers as it facilitates the implosion of production and consumption. (Ritzer, G & Jurgensen, N, 2010, p 20)

The following examples are things that I do every day and produce and consume my own identity.

-       -   Facebook, where users create profiles including photos, videos, texts and interact with others.

-        -  Instagram- posting photos to the public and allowing anyone to use and post my photo.

-        -  Ebay- where consumers create the market and I can buy or sell anything.

Creative Instagram Photos, Hypenotice, Jan 7, 2013.

Something that I take pride and joy in is my Instagram Page. I am constantly posting photos of my newest purchase, a Saturday night out, food or of course “selfies”. There are always friends of mine that join the Instagram epidemic daily, purely because they want to see other people’s photos. I not only follow my friends on instagram, but also celebrites and clothing/beauty brands. Therefore by using Instagram, I am producing my own content but I am also using their app and getting them more active users.

One thing about being a prosumer on instagram is that my “online identity” means as much to me as my personal identity. I frequently go through past photos on my instagram and always delete ones that I look back on and think are “embarrassing”. I currently now have 79 photos as opposed to my 304 photos. There were so many that I deleted because I didn’t have enough likes. Am I the only one who is insecure because I didn’t get enough likes? No. As I scroll through my feed, about 10 out of 50 photos that were posted 10 minutes ago have been deleted. What does this say about our society.

REFERENCES:

Ritzer, George and Jurgenson, Nathan 2010 ‘Production, Consumption, Prosumption: The nature of capitalism in the age of the digital ‘prosumer’, Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. 10 no. 1, pp 13-36.