Reading Reflection 3

Some of the last course concepts we covered included social inequality in regards to race, class, gender and global north vs. south.  Closely linked to social inequality is digital inequality. Digital inequality can be broken down into fist level digital disparities and second level digital disparities.  First level digital disparities refer to the accessibility of digital technology.  Certain countries and regions lack access to digital technology, meaning their digital inequality is at the first level.  Second level digital disparities refer to the lack of skills for digital technology.

A movement to provide laptops for the children of Kenya attempted to address Kenya’s first level digital disparities.  Kenya planned on spending $600 million on providing laptops, but they did not think to address the inherent second level digital disparities.   The Guardian points out Kenya’s mistake, specifically calling out the lack of skilled teachers.  Even if children have laptops, it does not mean the have the means or skills to learn how to use them.

Digital Inequalities matter because they are linked to life course, gender, race/ethnicity, health care and data collection.  I was able to witness first hand the affects of the digital divide while I was studying the HIV/AIDs epidemic in Botswana. Upon meeting with US based aid organizations like USAID and PEPFAR, they pointed out the lack of technology in rural areas of Botswana. Without the proper technology, reports of data collection were clinician based and prone to human error.  Where US aid organizations said the reports of Botswana reaching their 90-90-90 goals were likely subject to inaccuracy due to over reporting, Botswana based aid organizations believed the 90-90-90 goals had been met and they were ready for the next goal of 95-95-95. Without the proper technology to fuel accurate data collection, clinician reports were all the government and aid organizations had to work with.  The digital inequalities of rural Botswana, affected the whole country’s ability to properly collect and report data. If data is reported incorrectly and at higher rates of success, there are people unaccounted for who are not being treated for their HIV/AIDs and potential perpetuating the spread of the infection.

These course concepts are incredibly relevant in relation to my blog posts.  Understanding global citizenship directly correlates with understanding how the world works and what differs in other cultures.  Where technology is a huge part of the American day to day life, there are still countries and regions that lack the access to technology or lack the skills to effectively use the technology. Within the use of technology, it is important to take note of the American influence.  Most notably, many countries rely on US satellites to have access to technology and not have the resources to change that any time soon.  Being aware of the US cultural influence will lead to a better understanding of the international relations we have and its impact at the  individual level.

Lastly, we discussed the concept of convergence, which blogging is a great example of.  My blog, like most, includes multiple platforms of media, which enhance the user experience.  I used photography, infographics and videography to engage my audience in a fuller learning experience.

Blog Revisions

Most of the changes on my blog were usage of hyperlinks.  My blogs had good, informational content, but were lacking the backing of credible websites that might better the user experience.  When looking into links that would better my blogs, I decided I wanted my blogs to connect my audience with more sources they could use to learn more about my topic and how to apply it to their own lives. My blog posts only touch on the surface of global citizenship and really are meant to just spark the interest of my audience. I do not include all the information possible about global citizenship, so i need to guide my audience to further information if I want them to go beyond my blog during their learning process.  This relates back the user experience, specifically the usability and accessibility of digital media.

I want my audience to be able to easily find the resources they need to go above and beyond in educating themselves about global citizenship and how to establish it.  There were also a few grammatical mistakes that I needed to fix. The grammar errors damaged my blog’s credibility or logos, because it lessened its professionalism.  Since I am just a college student, I decided my credibility was something I should focus on for improving my blogs.  My blog material is mostly educational based.  Therefore, if my audience found my blogs to be discredited it would be ruin the potential influence the material has.

Professional & Digital Media 

I would like to go into advocacy for my career, because I am incredibly passionate about making a difference.  I believe advocacy has a unique emphasis on interpersonal relationships and therefore can make a difference on a small and large scale.  For a career in advocacy, no matter what is being advocated, personal branding is incredibly important.  Personal branding has been revolutionized by digital media and the two have become practically inseparable. For example, there are several websites that allow organizations to search for potential new employees and for employees to market themselves in a favorable manner.  These websites include but are limited to LinkedIn, Handshake and Glassdoor.

Throughout my college career I have received many emails about different ways to positively market myself to potential employers and have told the sooner I do the better.  Before taking Digital Communication, I did not realize what E-Portfolios were nor did I see the benefit of having one. As a professional speaker, an E-Portfolio would be incredibly helpful, because it encompasses multiple platforms and consolidates them into one easy site.  I could embed clips of speeches I have given and include details of projects I have worked on within my specialty topic.  With an E-Portfolio I could brand myself as a young professional speaker, with the power to influence.  My specialty would be backed by education and research, as well as personal passion and flare and showcased through a variety of platforms.  I would connect my Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook page to show my ability to present myself in a favorable manner to a variety of audiences.

Citizen & Digital Media

This entire blog is relevant to citizenship and digital media, because being an active global citizen has been intertwined with the internet.  Due to the CNN Effect, news is available 24/7 and at a international scale. We are able to keep up to date with countries that used to be considered incredibly rural and learn about their culture and way of life.  Where global citizenship used to be directly tied to being able to travel to experience new cultures, we can now use the power of the internet to learn about places we might never get the chance to travel to.  With the increase of globalization, we are able to keep up with international news and there is a need for a global understanding.  The Internet is not truly regulate, because it is an international medium, but we might see a change in the future, if the global sphere calls for regulation.

Personally, digital media is incredibly important for me to stay up to date with even the US news so that I am an educated citizen. This is important to me, because I want to be knowledgable about new policies and social problems so that I am able to take a stance potential change.  Thankfully as a US citizen, I am able to vote and have a say in what is being done in our government. The ability to get instant news updates keeps me informed and raises my likeliness to do further research on a topic.

Throughout different media platforms, there are different standards in place and concepts to consider when creating content. As I have already established, it is important to identify a target audience while writing and I have utilized that target audience within my own blog.  However, there’s more to consider than who they are.  Going off of Marx’s idea of ideology, audiences have their own sets of ideas and beliefs even before consuming media.

When considering how best to impact the audience, it is important to understand Aristotle’s three concepts of ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos refers to the credibility of material.  I have worked towards this by making sure my cited sources have been credible and properly cited. I do not claim words or work that is not my own and I work to write the best truth as I know it. Pathos is the emotional impact that material has on the audience. I have used emotion to help call my audience to be motivated and passionate.  I have done this by giving them resources and ideas on how to first ignite their interest in global citizenship; this is a logical approach.  Logos refers to the logic of an argument and I have made sure to have my blogs be logical in multiple ways, one of them being in the order they are written. This level of intent and organization plays into the planning that takes place before producing content.

The preproduction phase of any media is extremely important, but especially when creating video.  Filming is a long process that takes a lot of precision that is easy to forget about in the moment.  This is why it is imperative to plan out what the movie should like.  This is a storyboard.  I utilized the storyboard to know what content I wanted for my video and in what formats. It was important for me to go into my interview knowing exactly what I wanted out of it so I did not waste my interviewee’s time nor appear unprofessional. I knew what camera angle and frame I wanted and was prepared with questions that would direct the conversation.

During the process of making the video and throughout my work on this blog, the standard of copyright has played a role. Copyright refers to the illegal copying and distributing of digital media according to the law. To avoid any type of copyright I have made sure to use free material, and I have made sure to properly cite material, whether it be words or an image. Some of the different sources for universally free materials to use are pixababy.com, freesound.org and video.com/creativecommons. This is incredibly important to consider when generating material, because it is a law within out government and an ideal to uphold within our society, supporting the original artist or journalist.

In regards to how I want my audience to view my blog, I want their user experience to be positive.  I have worked towards this goal by making sure my cite is user friendly with easy and clear cut menu tabs. Each category has a clear title and the blog posts are under the proper menu tab. This has been important for me to consider, because I do not want my audience to be deterred by a poor user experience and decide to switch to a different blog with a  like topic. I have used the Analytical Approach, by taking my competitor into account.  I have studied the strengths and weakness of like blogs to make sure I know how to make my blog the best I can. As for the customer analysis aspect, I have already determined my niche audience.

I have learned a lot of new information about digital media and how best to reach my audience with it.  When it comes to blogging, we have discussed three different platforms; personal/leisure, professional and citizenship/activism.  For my particular blog I have blended personal blogging with activist blogging, because I am going through the stages of how to become a better global citizen for myself and my audience.  My goal is to share my personal experiences and thoughts while motivating my audience and myself into action.

This blended platform helps me to embrace the four people whom Susan Sontag proposed all writers must be; the nut, the moron, the stylist and the critic.  I am obsessed with traveling and learning about different cultures and I am learning to apply those passions to my global citizenship.  Since I am able to speak in a less professional style, I can use my own vernacular within my blogs to help me write on the level of my audiences members.  Even at the level of my audience, I still strive to write in a cohesive manner, because I want my audience to be called into action and that takes an elegance in writing. Lastly, I will be looking for improvement through each blog I post and any feedback I can get back.  These concepts are helping me grow as a media producer.

I have several courses that require presentations given in class with visual aid – Mass Communication, International Communication and Social Problems-  and the theories on  how audiences react to content has been very helpful on finding the best approach to teach information.  For example, the F-Shaped pattern applies well to powerpoint, because they are available for other students online and we need the information to be concise and strategically laid out for the best viewing.  In these presentations I can apply the concepts of good general writing as well as good digital writing. During my internship summer of 2017, this information and understanding would have been incredibly helpful, because I helped to rework a university’s provost office website and created several presentation on the research I did.

The readings for this course have largely overlapped with some of the readings from my Mass Communication course.  For example, the general terminology of communication applies in both cases.  It is important to understand encoding and decoding, specifically in relation to images in digital communication.  Learning about encoding images has been particularly interesting to me, because I tend to use my words rather than original created images.  These course readings have led me to better understanding how best to create and utilize images, especially in blog content.

We recently, learned how Marx’s concept of ideology fits into encoding and decoding of images.  This means people have a certain set of ideas or beliefs that influence the way they interpret content. Hall took this idea and created three different categories of audience readings; dominant- hegemonic reading,  negotiated reading and oppositional reading.  This plays into the concept of the target audience, because content generators should write with the intent to have their target audience read the content in a particular way.  To do so would mean to predict the ideologies of the target audience so their reaction align with the intention of content generator.

Learning how to determine a target audience has been helpful in all of my current courses, because it has helped give my content, digital and non digital alike, more direction and a narrow focus.  In my personal life, I now have a better understanding of how I intake digital media and more importantly, how other users work to influence my thoughts and actions.  For example, I follow several lifestyle instagram users who will use the specific power of before and after transformation photos to influence their audiences and that includes me.  I am now aware of certain styles they use to keep their pages as motivational and aesthetically pleasing as possible.

Overall, these reading have made me more of an aware consumer, interactor and generator.