Research/Analysis – Social Networks

Social networks have been a significant part of my internet usage. The ability to communicate with my friends ‘instantly’ with an online service has been one I have enjoyed participating in. Like all things, the social networking sites that have been accessible to the public have changed rapidly over time as vast improvements continue to be made. An online community is the theme of these company’s, giving the user a chance to “re-connect” with family and friends they may have lost contact with; this unique selling point has been accepted by the consuming audience. With feedback upon which services are likened to and which are in need of change, these websites have enabled themselves to achieve audience satisfaction.

My initial introduction to social networking was the online instant messaging service called MSN. I used MSN frequently, it became part of my regular methods of contacting my friends as I progressively built a network of contacts that I was able to speak to “instantly”. My involvement with MSN was very practical in my consideration to the reasons I used it; the service was a free contacting tool, I did not need to top up my phone credit because I felt fairly confident that I would be able to find my friends online. The technological advances made over time lead on to various features and gadgets embedded in the MSN interface. The interaction of games, group conversation and events made the experience a very pleasing one. The repetitive way in which I constantly accessed the service was reflective of my attachment to the service. Adding contacts to my friends list and updating my profile became an activity I did all the time,  I was fully immersed with the service.

I began using Myspace, a social networking site that allowed people to connect with eachother, including celebritities. This exclusive service made the audiences feel as if they were making a connection to the people they wanted to follow. My usage of Myspace felt very productive, I was able to visit the websites of my favourite musicians and share content with my friends online. I enjoyed Myspace and the customization of my profile. Myspace was very unique with its concept and the way it used innovative technologies. Although I was very pleased with my participation of Myspace, I knew that something “bigger and better” would come. My days of Myspace were coming to an end, I needed a new stimulation.

My usage of social networks progressed on to Facebook, the very popular social networking site. My first experience and choice to use Facebook was because of a concert I went to and my access to the pictures that were taken. I did not have an account, my friend kept telling me that the pictures were on Facebook if I wanted to get them. I inevitably gave in and made an account; the sharing of photos and videos was a very interesting new medium of looking at content. I was able to add all of my MSN contacts on to my facebook profile in a somewhat clever convergence. The facebook interface was very innovative as it linked people to eachother and I was able to find people on Facebook I had lost contact with. I now use Facebook on a regular basis as it has now eclipsed the way in which I used to use Myspace and MSN. Facebook has become the top of the social networking popularity chain; as progressions in technology continue towards new forms of communication, it will be interesting to see what new social media comes and takes over.

Inspiration – Fifa Football Game

A game that has consumed most of my childhood is the Fifa series. I have been addicted to the game from a very young age. I have always been interested in the workings of the game and eager to see how the company EA would make developments to their previous product. I would say that the progression within the game and continuous releases in the following year is an inspiration to my work. Seeing how changes in accessible technology has revolutionised the gaming experience in making a more interactive product for consumers and the gaming nations.

As the introduction of the web swept the world by storm and began converging with various formats of technology, gaming became a very active member of the internet community. The idea of building gaming communities online and having competitions from the comfort of your home was a phenomenal innovation. Gamers like myself were sold by the concept and began plugging their consoles into the web. Over the years a social network of gaming has been produced and is now the essential selling point for buyers of games. “Multi-playerbility” and access to Online gameplay are essential for most gamers I come across. The convergence that exists within gaming is paramount to the consumer’s engagement to the game.

The transformation of gaming reflects the desire in which people have consumed technology. maximizing the potential of computing with the use of the internet is a combination that has made my gaming experience more realistic year by year. My involvement with the Fifa game has continued as I have enjoyed seeing the changes in gameplay and the different complex variations that have been formed with each new copy. Becoming more involved in the game seems to be the aim for developers today, as they continue to use audience feedback to improve their product; it seems as if things can only get better, we hope.

Convergent Media – The World at my finger tips…

I’ve been exploring  my WordPress blog and found that it is very versatile with its technical capabilities. I have been able to find out that with the widgets in my dashboard I can link various areas of interest to my own blog and see regular updates to find out what is going  on  in the world today; this convergence makes the internet experience a very simple one, instead of me searching for the news it is the news coming to me.

Really simple syndication, RSS feeds are a very useful tool in obtaining information; most of the subjects I am interested in have a dedicated site that provides information regarding the subject matter. I have been able to take web-feeds from various websites and apply them to my blog. My blog website is now becoming a central point for me to read the latest stories regarding: news, sports, technology and the media; this is due to the clever technology being applied by RSS feeds.

Twitter is a very unique website that allows the users to ‘follow’ people and organisations. This concept of following those you are interested in allows the user to be very selective with the information they wish to receive. I have started a Twitter account and used the website to select my following. Organisations throughout the world have recognised that we live in a digital age and have joined the Twitter phenomenon; these organisations are also ‘tweeting’ about their campaigns and what projects they are carrying out. By ‘following’ people on Twitter, people I may never have thought of or thought I had the time to research or hear news from are now at the press of a button for me to regularly take insight into information regarding them. I have found Twitter to be a very useful tool in the Web2.0 era we find ourselves in, I hope to continue to engage with the interface as it enhances and improves.

Delicious bookmarks enable me to have a recollection of my favourite websites. I subscribe to the website and began with picking 10 websites I visit on a regular basis. Saving all of these website to one place (my blog) has made the blogging experience feel like more of an immersive one. When I visit my site I can see my ‘Tasty Bookmarks’ saved in the tool bar on the side and access them with ease. The world of convergence continuously progresses into new hybrid forms, a trend that does not look to slow down as the availability of online applications rises.

The wonderful world of Flickr is a website that allows the users to upload their photographs and make slide shows for sharing. There is a social network aspect to the website which allows members of Flickr to find their friends, thus enabling them to share photographs with each other. My experiences with Flickr have been pleasant, I have been able to upload pictures I have taken and created onto the website where I made a photo stream to display all my images. The convergent and versatile media that I use has also allowed me to link my Flickr slide show to my blog; this has allowed viewers of my blog to see the photos upon visiting my site.  

Convergent media is a topic I am highly concerned with as a consumer of the media and a user of the internet. I must be able to keep up with the changes that are going on and the progressions that are being made with digital technology, so that one day I may be a pioneer who is fully aware of the state of the media and the world as we know it. Here is a video that engages with the concept.