New Media Research

New Media Research Module 3CP070

Heather Coleman 110027357

New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Contents Audience Affect Critical Commentary.............................................. 4 Cafe Culture and Critical Commentary............................................ 14 The Future of Space, Place and Mobility............................................ 22

New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Audience Affect

Analysing active audiences is a broad subject therefore this critical commentary focuses on the concept of the media consumer as a producer. To do so, the commentary draws upon the work of media and communication scholar David Gauntlett’s book Making is Connecting (2011). In particular, Gauntlett’s concept of ‘producing’ will be tested out in relation to the analysis of active audiences referring to the work of contemporary artist Robbie Cooper. Cooper works with high definition film and still images, capturing the emotional expression of audiences. One of the reasons for focusing on Cooper’s work ‘immersion’ (Cooper, R), is because it depicts various children’s reactions to playing videogames with an 18 certificate. When capturing the children’s reactions Cooper chose firstly to video their facial expressions and from there he chose stills from his film that illustrated the children’s best responses. The artist’s method of investigating the active audience allows the opportunity to accurately analyse audience reaction whereas any other method may not highlight their real emotions. Studying an active audience is important because it gives us an understanding of how new media is affecting our daily lives and it investigates how involved we are in producing it. This critical commentary explores the ways in which technological developments such as web 2.0 are changing our conception of media production and consumption.

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Studying Active Audiences When considering the consumer as a producer, it is important to recognise that in contemporary culture our conception of audiences is changing. Coopers work demonstrates the children having a real affecting experience with media, as they are shown to be engaging emotionally with the sounds and images of the video games. Moreover, the active audience has increased with the invention of web 2.0, such as social networking sites and user-generated content online. Gauntlett explained that his web 2.0 approach is a ‘collective allotment’, as instead of creative content being separate, the ‘allotment’ acts a shared space of creativity (2011, pp.4).

Coopers work similarly reflects the web 2.0 approach, as audiences are able to have an emotional experience, as well as being able to produce their own ideas and work on websites such as YouTube and Facebook.

Gauntlett explains that ‘people have been making things for a long time’, the act and thought of ‘creating, extends well beyond the online world to all kinds of activities in everyday life’ (2011, pp.1). Gauntlett explores the ways in which new media has shifted us beyond the age of mass broadcasting, ‘sit back and be told culture’, to a ‘making is doing culture’ involving creative forms of production such as YouTube videos and blogs (2011, pp.6-8). To explore these ideas further, I made a series of digital images representing a female student as a producer. These images represent a single day in the life of this student. The first image illustrates the student engaging with the social network site Facebook (figure1), the second image shows the student studying in the library (figure 2) and the last image highlights the student listening to her IPod in bed(figure 3).

Figure 1

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Figure 2

Figure 3 4

New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Gauntlett expresses the active audience through three principles, which I closely analysed with reference to my images. The first principle ‘making is connecting because you have to connect things together (materials, ideas or both) to make something new’ (2011, pp.2). The first principle was reflected more in my second (figure 2) and third (figure3) images, as the student presents more of a mental creativity than something physically produced. Gauntlett’s use of the word ‘Ideas’ indicates that actively producing is not just constructing something physical, producing can simply be a thought process. Producing an ‘idea’ or thought process was my main stimulation for both of these images. Gaunlett’s materials’, in my images, are the book and the IPod in which the student is interacting with. The ‘something new’, the creation, is the idea that the student has drawn from the book or the music and interpreted what is presented to them in their own way. I find that Gauntlett’s first principle is unusual as the thought making or connecting with something new would generally be associated with something physically produced, not an idea.

In conclusion, people can have real emotional responses to mediated forms such as Video Games as presented in Coopers Work. Indeed in contemporary culture our lives are increasingly filled with mediated experiences through social networking sites, surfing the web, sending texts/emails etc. In addition, this study largely coincides with Gauntlett’s idea that the Internet has pushed a new age in which we have shifted from a ‘sit back and be told culture’ to ‘making is doing culture’ (2011, pp.6-8). Indeed the biggest source of transition is the ways in which the Internet enables people to create and connect. However, we also need to think about what is meant by creativity, for example, this study has shown that creativity relates to conceptual ideas as well as something that is physically produced. The internet and social media sites may invoke the sharing creativity, however when abused it can be unsafe. Despite the possible dangers, the Internet seems to be the biggest success of new media enabling creativity and opportunity for audiences as consumers and producers.

Each of Gauntlett’s principles cross over in various ways; however, the second and third principles seem to link the most. The second principle states, ‘making is connecting because acts of creativity usually involve, at some point, a social dimension and connect us with other people’ (2011, pp.2). I used the first (figure1) image of the student connecting with Facebook to illustrate that social networks ‘provide media consumers with an audience’ (Papachariss, 2006, PP. 22). The third principle I found very similar, ‘making is connecting because through making things and sharing them in the world we increase our engagement and connection with our social and physical environment’ (2011, pp.2). For both of these principles web 2.0 best displays the active consumers having audience unknowingly, or sharing their thoughts knowingly on user-generated sites. I chose to present the first image of the networking site reflected in the student’s glasses to show how a consumer can be unknowingly producing ideas and opinions however, it can be seen by others as well.

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Bibliography Cooper, R. Immersions [Internet]. Available from: http://www.robbiecooper.org/small.html [Accessed: 3rd November 2013].

Gauntlett, D (2011) Making is connecting: The social meaning of creativity. DIY and knitting to YouTube and web 2.0. Polity press.

Papachariss, Z (2006) Audiences as Media Producers: Content Analysis of 260 Blog [Internet]. Available from: http://tigger.uic.edu/~zizi/Site/Research_files/TremayneChapterBlogs.pdf [Accessed: 29th October 2013].

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Cafe Culture

The following critical commentary will explore the use of media in contemporary café culture. The commentary draws upon ethnography as a research method which involves studying particular groups and their cultural practices. One of the reasons for using an ethnographic approach is because it is a way of incorporating ‘… both first-hand empirical investigation and the theoretical and comparative interpretation of social organization and culture’ (Hammersley and Atkinson, 2007, pp.1). In The postmodern ethnographic flaneur and the study of hyper mediated everyday life, Charles Soukup (2012) argues that ethnographers ‘should embrace the mobilized gaze of the flaneur to understand how postmodern mediated experiences fit into everyday cultural practices’ (2012, pp. 226). This Commentary is therefore based upon an ethnographic study which investigates various aspects of how technology has developed and become included into our everyday life such as the experience of visiting cafes. Specifically this commentary will discuss the positive and negative impacts of how hyper mediated culture has had an effect on communication in the cafe, referencing my own collage of cafe culture (figure 4). It is important to study how people use media in cafe environments, as it enables an understanding of why people rely on new technologies and become ignorant to the real aspects of communicating and real emotions.

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Research Method When beginning my ethnographic study of café culture I chose to visit two different types of cafés to get the best comparison of how much new media has changed within our culture. Generally ethnographers have studied ‘the virtual community as separate to the coffeehouse’ (Soukup, 2012, pp.227), however after examining the connection, it was clear that both aspects very much overlap. Soukup, when taking on a study of café culture in North America, engaged in non-participation observation, taking field notes of his experience. Using Soukup’s study methods I also undertook a semiotical analysis, noting the levels of digital interaction compared to the face-to-face communication within the cafés.

Firstly I went to a small 1920’s style tearooms where I experienced local clientele, mostly families and older females communicating with one another. This part of the study emphasised local café culture. My second study however is based upon the experience of visiting a large global chain café Starbucks in the city centre of York. I visited both of the cafes mid-week at 12 pm to get the most accurate result when analysing the number of customers at that particular time and the clientele that the cafe attracted.

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Research Findings The media used in the tearooms was minimal, there where newspapers folded by the entrance, however they were not being used and looked like they had not been moved. There was music played within the cafe, yet because of the level of sound of the customers talking, the music acted as background noise. There were a couple of advertisements on the wall promoting a local band at the pub next door, though there was no sign of any WiFi and none of the customers were engaging with new media. On the other hand, Starbucks was very busy with people queuing up and sitting down, though the majority of customers were not communicating with one another and it was apparent that they were using technologically mediated forms of communication such as their Smartphone’s or laptops, which were most likely connected to cafe’s WiFi. The music being played was very clear as the only other sound you could hear was the coffee machine squealing. As opposed to the traditional tearoom which highlighted the local rather than the global, Starbucks illustrated itself as a global business through selling its own merchandise such as coffee, syrups and mugs in the cafe.

The work of Media and Communication scholar Clay Shirky (2008) also helped me develop some of the findings of my ethnographic study. For instance, my evidence shows that there were different forms of communication taking place in the two cafes in this study. In one of his presentations, How can social media make history, Shirky discusses how the mass media, such as television and radio, in the twentieth century functions in comparison to current social media. “The media that’s good at creating conversation is no good at creating groups, and the media that’s good at creating groups is no good at creating conversation” (2008). On the other hand, Shirky’s presentation emphasises the ways in which the Internet enables both groups and conversation

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at the same time therefore technologically mediated communication such as social networking may lead to decreasing levels of face-to-face communication. To emphasise the differences in communication in the two cafes in my study, I produced a collage which represents different forms of communication. The collage represents two women chatting in the foreground in a 1920s style tearoom and sets up a visual comparison with Starbucks, where technologically mediated communication is fore-grounded.

After undertaking an ethnographic study of both the 1920s tearoom and Starbucks it was clear that there were differences between face-to-face communication and technologically mediated communication. The ethnographic study itself had its advantages as it allowed primary data based on non-participant observation.

Shirky’s study was helpful when researching the differences in communication within the cafes, as he points out that social networking can bring groups of people together, yet at the same time it may lead to decreasing levels of face-to-face interaction. My ethnographic study indicated that in the branded café experience of Starbucks technologically mediated forms of communication were prominent due to WiFi access, whereas there was more face-to-face communication in the local café. There are positives to the experience of new media communication such as worldwide interaction, wherever and whenever, however the face-to face communication in the local cafe emphasises interaction on a more personal level.

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Bibliography Hammersley, M, Atkinson, P (2007) What is ethnography. In: Ethnography: Principles in practice. Taylor and Francis, pp 1 – 19.

Soukup, C (2012) The postmodern ethnographic flaneur and the study of hyper mediated everyday life Shirky, C (2008) How can social media make history. Available from: http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_ how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html [Accessed on 18th December 2013].

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

The Future of Space Place and Mobility

Within this commentary I will critically analyse the relationship between space, place and mobility, and how it has evolved due to the development of new media and technology. To do so, the commentary will consider how society is transitioning towards a hyper-real world, regarding Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulation. It will also discuss the relationships between reality and the digital world and the future simulations in our society. I will explore these issues further with reference to my own study of space, place and mobility of Leeds Trinity Shopping centre and my collage of future spaces. The Trinity shopping centre uses screens within its commercial environment as a way of interacting with customers yet also creating a highly mediated public setting. Therefore the new media environment is a prime example of developing space, place and mobility.

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

Research Method and Findings When studying space, place and mobility, I was given the opportunity to visit Leeds Trinity Shopping Centre where I was able to undertake an ethnographic study of the over-mediated environment and its customer’s reactions. Firstly, I made note of the location of the shopping centre which was in the city centre of Leeds, therefore accessible to anyone passing through and living in the city. The exterior of the shopping centre did not present a typical sheltered shopping experience, as some of the shops had different coloured brick and were various sizes. It was not until I went inside that I realised Trinity was once a shopping street and a roof had been placed over it to give the illusion of one big shopping centre. The majority of the individual shops and Trinity as a whole, used screens as a way of promoting products and interacting with customers, some shops such as The Hollister store even used screens instead of a shop window. The use of screens to advertise and interact with customers was to an extreme, highlighting the importance of digital media within the context of space, place and mobility.

The Hyper-real World French sociologist Jean Baudrillard brought forward the idea of a simulated and hyper-real society. Baurdrillard explained that ‘simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being or a substance. It is a generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyper-real’ (1983, PP.12). It is interesting to consider Baudrillard’s concept of simulation and hyperreality in relation to screen based environments such as Trinity.

Within my collage of the future of media space, place and mobility I portrayed simulations throughout. Fur-

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thermore, I specifically produced an image of a man interacting with a touch screen placed on the wall of the shopping centre, to imitate the interactive screens presented in Trinity. The interactive screens where used in the shopping centre to form a relationship with its customers. For example, there where various screens that picked up heat signals from the human body which were then reflected on the screens creating a distorted figure. The customer was therefore still a part of the mediated space even if they were not directly interacting with its screens.

Trinity shopping centre not only expresses new media within the centre but through social networks surrounding it. Trinity uses social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to advertise products and events, however, the shopping centre also utilises the new media app Foursquare. Foursquare is a ‘location-based social network’ (2013, pp.248) that allows its users to ‘check in’ to various public spaces. Jordan Firth, in his article Turning life into a game: Foursquare, gamification and mobility, describes that the app ‘is designed to “turn life into a game”’ (2013, pp.248), as when users ‘check in’ to one specific location regularly, they become the ‘mayor’ of that public place. As users compete to become the ‘mayor’ of Trinity, Foursquare adds ‘digital gaming elements to’ the ‘physical space’ (2013, pp.248), reflecting the hyper-real atmosphere that Baudrillard describes.

The app records our digital footprints as we navigate and pass through Trinity and the fact it allows us to tag ourselves in the location without physically doing so, highlights how space, place and mobility have been compressed to form the app.

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New Media Research - 3CP070 - Heather Coleman

What does the future hold?

The gap between the individual and pixels has decreased over the years, for instance from computer monitors to touch screen mobile phones, and Jinha Lee in his online presentation, Reach into the computer and grab a pixel, explains that this ‘boundary has been broken’ (Lee, 2013). Lee demonstrates this by highlighting a computer which individuals are able to interact with its pixels. Within my image of future space, place and mobility I chose to portray how technology will be able to present itself more real than ever in five to ten years time.

Using the idea of screens within Trinity, I illustrated a coffee shop within a shopping centre, with a hologram coming out of the shop window promoting the coffee. If technology is a already to closing the gap between ‘the physical world and the digital world’ (Lee, 2013) than in five years time there is no doubt we may see holograms from our mobile phones and be able to directly interact with pixels.

To conclude, it is apparent that when analysing space, place and mobility all three aspects have come together to form new media technologies, such as Foursquare and Lee’s pixel interactive computer. It is clear that Foursquare is turning physical space into a simulation and therefore could be seen as a negative influence, encouraging individual’s interaction with online activity. On the other hand, Firth explains that the app ‘engages in non-gaming behaviours’ (2013, pp. 249), such as promoting physical movement gaming rather than all online based. Nonetheless, it is still a controversial program as it provides other internet users with information about the individual’s location, which when misused it can be dangerous. Finally, with the simulated screens presented in Trinity and the invention of the pixel interactive computer, we are already experiencing the transition towards a Baudrillard’s hyper-real society, and therefore future space, place and mobility is more than likely going to reflect my collage.

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Bibliography Baudrillard, J. (1983) Simulations, New York, Semiotext[e]. Pp.12.

Firth, J. (2013) Turning Life into a game: Foursquare, gamification, and personal mobility. In: Mobile Media and Communication. Sage, USA. Pp. 248-259.

Lee, J. (2013) Reach into the computer and grab a pixel. Available from: http://www.ted.com/talks/jinha_ lee_a_tool_that_lets_you_touch_pixels.html <Accessed on 27th December 2013>.

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