Major Assignment 4: Digital Media Distribution

Many incoming college freshman don't know what they're getting into. This was the case for me. Because I had no one to discuss with and teach me what to expect from the college lifestyle I don't think I was prepared. If I could go back to my freshman year with the knowledge I know now, I think I would do things differently. I wanted to create a platform where my thoughts and ideas of college life could be shared and read by others. I also wanted to be able to answer questions and gain from the receivers of my information.

I am generally a shy person. This doesn't mean I don't have interesting thoughts. I may not speak out verbally but I do have opinions. This is why I enjoy blogging. Blogs allow me to write my thoughts and opinions down in any matter I choose and at any pace I choose. A blog post can be written in 1 minute or it could take hours to write. They allow me to spill my thoughts as they come to me. O'Reilly touches on this in his reasoning as to why blogging is a major feature of Web 2.0:

"If an essential part of Web 2.0 is harnessing collective intelligence, turning the web into a kind of global brain, the blogosphere is the equivalent of constant mental chatter in the forebrain, the voice we hear in all of our heads. It may not reflect the deep structure of the brain, which is often unconscious, but is instead the equivalent of conscious thought. And as a reflection of conscious thought and attention, the blogosphere has begun to have a powerful effect." 

Because blogging allows me to organize my ideas easily and allows connectivity through commenting and sharing, I thought that a blog would be the perfect place to publish my digital media project on advising incoming college freshman and parents.

I used the blogging platform, Blogger to create my blog and organize my ideas. I chose this platform because it is popular, I had a bit of experience with it, and I liked the way it was set up. In my opinion, one of the greatest features of Blogger is that it is owned by Google and is therefore connected to the user's Google account. For example, I can create contacts, subscribe to other blogs, read those other blogs with Google reader, and search for other blogs with Google Blog Search with ease. Blogs created with Blogger are also conveniently viewable through mobile devices. This creation of an easy-to-read, mobile version of the service ("Software Above the Level of a Single Device") is another feature O'Reilly uses to define Web 2.0. Through the use of an RSS feed, users who follow my blog can get instant updates whenever I post something new. Again, instant distribution in the form of a stream can be considered a feature of Web 2.0.

I decided that for now, Facebook is probably the best means of advertising my blog on my own. As Boyd suggests, we are living in a time where our information is accessed through a stream. I can distribute my blog on my feed so my friends can access it through their streams. When I post the hyperlink I can tag friends of mine whom I know are going to be incoming college freshmen in the near future so that I can make a pretty good assumption that part of my audience was reached. I understand that by distributing through facebook, I will only be reaching a fraction of my audience. I am unaware of better options at this time, however. Tagging my brother (who will be attending college next fall) and telling him to pass it on to his friends seems to be the most attractive method of reaching my audience right now. Facebook is now designed so that often when someone "likes" or comments on something posted by "friend 1", the content will show up on "friend 2"'s feed even though the "friend 1" and "friend 2" aren't friends. This means that I could reach a large amount of incoming college students even if my brother didn't share but simply liked the post. 

I feel that in my case, the success of reaching a large audience will be completely based on user distribution and sharing. I believe if incoming college freshman and parents appreciate my help and learn from my blog, the information will spread. I think that my blog could become a place of discussion among users. This participatory culture and participatory learning is discussed in more detail by Jenkins. I believe that the best case scenario would be if my blog eventually became a well known source for students and parents to gain knowledge, ask questions, and add input.

References:

O'Reilly, Tim. "What Is Web 2.0." O'Reilly Media. N.p., 30 Sept. 2005. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1>.


"Web 2.0." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 June 2012. Web. 22 June 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0>

Suthersan, Vinod. "5 Best Blogging Platforms 2012." 5 Best Blogging Platforms 2012 ~ Internet Tech Column. ITechColumn.com, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://www.itechcolumn.com/2012/02/5-best-blogging-platforms-2012.html>.

Gillmor, Dan. "Google Buys Pyra: Blogging Goes Big-Time." SiliconValley.com. N.p., 15 Feb. 2003. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://web.archive.org/web/20031008161432/http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000802.shtml>.

Pilgrim, Mark. "What Is RSS." Xml.com. O'Reilly, 18 Dec. 2002. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html>.

Boyd, Danah. ""Streams of Content, Limited Attention: The Flow of Information through Social Media"" "Streams of Content, Limited Attention: The Flow of Information through Social Media" N.p., 17 Sept. 2009. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/Web2Expo.html>.


Jenkins, Henry. "Why Participatory Culture Is Not Web 2.0: Some Basic Distinctions." HenryJenkins.org. N.p., 24 May 2010. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://henryjenkins.org/2010/05/why_participatory_culture_is_n.html>.