Contributing to Cultural Production

Culture, Curriculum Development, Ethics, Produsage, Produser, Social Media 0 comments

Musée de l'Automobile de Monaco, Principauté de Monaco (2019)

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña

Contributing to Cultural Production

What motivates users to contribute to cultural production?

Prof. Alex Bruns, Queensland University of Technology, has stated that “it’s quite difficult to really think of producers and consumers as distinct categories” (The University of Sydney, 2020), especially when it comes to social media and the way people share in media platforms. Though “cultural systems change slowly,” there are moments in which society experiences a “rapid change altering the aesthetic expression of a cultural expression” (Sociology, (n.d.)). And this is the case of how people in social media platforms contribute with cultural production.

What motivates users to contribute to cultural production? There is a full gamut of reasons why content generators produce new cultural content from pictures shared over Facebook or Twitter to blog entries with opinions on Blogspot or WordPress. “Six factors are identified as making possible rapid cultural change. These include changes in law and regulation, technology, industrial structure, organizational structure, occupational careers, and the consumer market” (Sociology, (n.d.)). Following this way of thinking, it can be said that in social media the seeds of “technology” and “the consumer market” are to sprout up and bring cultural production into people’s local media outlets. Here we have sight of what Prof. Bruns has called produsage.

“Produsage refers to the type of user-led content creation that takes place in a variety of online environments such as Wikipedia, open source software, and the biosphere” (What is "produsage", 2020). Based on this definition, the user-led creator is labeled as produser, who is a kind of community curator of information, a collaborative organizer of information, and a developer of a shared set of knowledge (The University of Sydney, 2020). The produser is the consumer on the social media “markets” and whose whetstones to sharpen his/her creativity are the social media platforms. A produser is then a disseminator of cultural artifacts in digital forms.

Finding an answer to the reasons why people get to contribute to cultural production is a wrestling match in earnest! It can be stated that produsers do it to counterbalance misunderstanding. People trapped in some sort of sore dismay may come to the media to contribute with the discussion of a topic they find it is not being well comprehended by others. Produsers may also hover around to propose a different point of view to add more value to an ongoing discussion. As stated before, if these individuals find people wrong in their understanding of facts linked to a current issue, they will try to dispel this so-called darkness in comprehension. With the idea in mind of democratizing knowledge, they may brood over what is being shared for some time and then “produse” something to feel they have contributed with something for the community curation of information.

References

Sociology. ((n.d.)). Production of Culture. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from http://sociology.iresearchnet.com/: http://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-culture/production-of-culture/#:~:text=Six%20production%20factors%20are%20identified,careers%2C%20and%20the%20consumer%20market.

The University of Sydney. (2020). What motivates users to contribute to cultural production? Retrieved August 13, 2020, from FutureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ethical-social-media/1/steps/824140

What is "produsage". (2020). Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://findwords.info/: https://findwords.info/term/produsage

[6] Contributing to Cultural Production by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Extending Influence

Ethics, Online Persona, Social Media 0 comments

Francisco Zúñiga’s Painting, Museo de Arte Costarricense, San José, CR (2017)

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña

Extending Influence

A reflective task on ethical social media

	“Do you feel like you have built a strong influence amongst your peers?”
	I don’t think I have really constructed a hearty influence among or around any of my peers especially when it comes to social media. To put it plainly, there are no working partners among the members of the only piece of social media I use. And, though I have expertise in teaching and language education, I wouldn’t say that I have exercised any influence among workmates at all. What I have projected towards a community of learning I follow is a decent presence trying to contribute a bit with views and ideas in the field of language education. In Twitter, e.g., which is the only social media platform I barely use, I have over 1000 followers linked to education and language teaching. They were the ones who decided to follow me; none of them were asked to adhere to my academic profile.
	“How did you achieve this level of influence? Share you tips for others on how to build large audiences.”
	Though I cannot call this an influence achievement, if I have accomplished any level of influence, it has been because what I have always done is to stick to an ethical online persona. In other words, I don’t mess around with politics, bigotry, religious creeds, team sports (such as soccer), celebrities, etc. As an individual, I can’t say that I don’t have strong opinions about issues, but what I find unethical is to bother, ridicule, or denigrate people because of what they think. I have always kept my media status as academic, and I have never shared any aspect of my private life with others. And the reason is simple; I love my penetralia, and my intimate family circle is something all members in my family enjoy having secluded. However, if anyone is willing to share his or her life online, my only recommendations are: 1) be sincere because lying will take you nowhere, 2) don’t litter your peer with information he or she has not requested, 3) beware of the content of your posts or when re-posting something you found interesting; you don’t want to find surprises, 4) be careful with your private and very personal information; that is very sensitive data that pertains only to you, 5) avoid soliciting, and 6) try to make use of your common sense.
	“What are some of the ethical considerations to think through when building a following?”
	This can be approached twofold: when you are the follower or when people are following you. On the one hand, when you decide on following somebody or an organization, do always be respectful and courteous. Kindness is one of those things people always appreciate; nobody wants to be treated inconsiderately. On the other hand, kindness also applies for those who have decided to follow you. The bedrock of an ethical online presence in social media is respect. If you are looking for a high level of reciprocity, be ready to share with others, but do it respectfully. If someone sends you something you disapprove, gather your thoughts first, and then decide whether this person should be part of your circle of followers. There is nothing wrong reporting abusive behavior and use of the tool or to block someone.

[5] Extending Influence by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Sunday, August 09, 2020

The Working Atmosphere

Executives' School, Leadership 0 comments

Raboteus de parquet, Gustave Caillebotte, Musée d’Orsay, Paris , France (2019)

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña

The Working Atmosphere

Where are the heads and directors looking into?

Where does one’s role as a head or director in an education institution lie? Some may say that one’s head and eyes are focused on the company’s mission, vision, and institutional values. Some others will say that it needs to be fixated on the company’s culture and working atmosphere. Regardless of the center of attraction for these individuals, part of one’s cogitation ought to be aiming at considering whether the company’s mission or its culture is practical, achievable, and shareable with everyone who is currently working and who can eventually take a position in the institution.

In terms of an education institution, the following question has to be undoubtedly answered: Are instructors aligned and committed to achieving the company’s learning project? Though a company’s mission does not state this, a corporate’s atmosphere can tell how engaged a teacher can be. As Williams (n.d.) recounts, “Morale refers to overall employee satisfaction, including how employees feel about their job duties and about their relationships with colleagues and superiors.” If employee morale is down, it implies that, as Lewin (2020) mentions, an “unhappy” educator is someone who is not productive for an institution. A teacher who is taken out of his/her strength zone is somebody who will struggle to keep with his/her productive teaching quota. This sort of instructors proves that the school’s working culture and employee morale are not being achieved, and, as a consequence, the mission will not be accomplished, either. Perhaps a bottom-up type of leadership coming from heads and directors, as suggested by Lewin (2020), is what a teacher expects to experience within a teaching working ambience. In a teaching workplace with low morale, teachers are bound to move away from creativity and from sharing their ideas that can be a great source of school innovation.

Worker engagement needs to be experienced on a daily basis. Heads and directors should promote employee commitment but bearing in mind that as leaders they are in the human relations business. The unhappy teacher who is often taken out of his/her strength zone can become discouraged because, as explained by Lewin (2020), a worker’s engagement has to be kept and maintained alive through time, especially because it is the people who make the working place. Heads and directors, who are also part of a working place, must work, as put out by Lewin (2020), on having people aligned with the institution’s mission and vision from the very beginning; hiring people because they need a job implies that they can leave any moment when they can find more competitive perks in another company. “Even in a tight job market,” like the one that is being experienced today, “unhappy employees will leave the organization as soon as they can, even if it sometimes means taking a lower-paying or lower-status job” (Williams, n.d.).

Lewin (2020) asks heads and directors in education institutions, if instead of working under pressure, are we all to work under passion?” A hostile environment, where workers feel as if they were under fire in a battlefield, is not what educators are looking for in a teaching job. Instructors can then opt to leave the company for greener and grassier meadows where they are treated differently. The working atmosphere in the teachers’ trenches can trascend this battle ditch into the classrooms. But if heads and directors do not listen to this willful but pesky noise, the institution can get stuck in its comfort cocoon for life and then discover the dire repercussions of their deafness. As Williams (n.d.) states, “Low morale can ‘”can quickly build or break company’s success.’”

Something needs to be done to always make instructors feel gratified by the school because one wants them to work under passion and help students achieve real learning. Heads and directors in an institution cannot simply shrug their shoulders and walk away from teachers’ needs of appreciation and recognition. It is no wonder teachers can be wroth with middle and high corporate executives because they do not feel appreciated by the work they perform for an institution. The only real thing teachers long to have sight of is being fairly treated with the institutional values to create the right work atmosphere for everyone. In the end, one’s words can tell a story, but one’s actions will tell the truth (Lewin, 2020).

References

Lewin, L. (2020, August 4). Misión y Visión Institucional - Clima Institucional. Escuela para Directivos.

Williams, E. (n.d.). How Work Atmosphere Affects the Workplace. Retrieved August 9, 2020, from SmallBusiness.Chron.Com: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/work-atmosphere-affects-workplace-48091.html#socialshare

The Working Atmosphere - Reflection by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Sunday, August 09, 2020

Social Media Management Applications

Ethics, Social Media 0 comments

Fisherman, Musée du Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia (2019)

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña

Social Media Management Applications

Who are they for?

When it comes to think of the usefulness of social media management applications, members of online communities or of community networks do not exactly profit from them. This sort of applications become useless for social media users because they cannot harness the desire of real engagement with their peers in real time. If a regular social media user wants to upend the regular order of how things happen in his life within social media platform, social media management is a good way to create chaos, especially because these applications are great tools for companies or public figures.

Social media management applications are for those people who are really listening to what people are engaged in and how they can profit from it. The job of a social media manager in a company or working with a public figure can use these applications to bring notoriety and presence for their employers in different media channels at the same time. Managers then can track likes, retweets, and the like simultaneously; they can have a wider view of all social media at a glimpse. On the other hand, these applications also help manage the scheduling of posts at different times for a broader audience and presence in the media when different time zones are in the loop.

The gods rule from on high! Companies and public figures today are much more into user-generated content to permeate their presence in online communities and even in community networks. With a dashboard where media presence can be monitored, worked around, and tracked, a whetstone can be easily and rapidly gotten by fearless community managers if their companies or public figures need to sharpen a knife at their places. These applications for social media management are the watchtowers on the Internet.

To conclude, if any social media user wants to trigger engagement, social media applications is not for them, unless we are in the presence of an influencer in pursuit of views and notoriety. In my humble opinion, these applications exist for cunning and covetous managers who can make their employers profit from their listening to the media. None of these important companies and public figures want to find themselves - one day – sorely disappointed because they could not achieve their desired presence in social media because their social media manager fell asleep at his working table. The moral: Social media managers cannot cease plying the Inter-net.

[4] Social Media Management Applications by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Friday, August 07, 2020

What is User-Created Content?

Ethics, Online Persona, Social Media, UCC 0 comments

Villefranhe sur mer, Nice, France (2019)

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña

What is User-Created Content?

Am I a sharing any type of content?

Prompt

Do you create any type of content? How many of the three types?

User Creative Content (also known as UCC) is a recently coined term used to differentiate it from User Generated Content (UGC). UCC has lots to do with what people do on the Internet, especially while sharing their lives on social media. As we delve deeper into understanding the type of content one can get to produce, one gets to think what is actually being created and then then shared on social media and how it should be named.

Based on The University of Sydney (n.d.), there are three types of content that can be labelled as UCC. Gathering my thoughts for a while and revisiting the information provided by The University, here you have an infographic that summarizes what UCC is, the three types being listed, and examples for each kind of content that is shared.

As it can be seen, this user-created content that is now being produced is not meant to be linked to any kind of paid work or fan endeavor; otherwise, that work will be classified as user generated content (UGC), not UCC. Both types of content generated by users must be differentiated for better comprehension.

So what is UGC? “User Generated Content is defined as any type of content that has been created and put out there by unpaid contributors or, using a better term, fans” (Gallegos, 2016). UGC’s content can be in the form of blogs, tweets, photographs, video recordings on Vimeo, WhatsApp, or YouTube, etc.; the very same means of sharing used by UCC contributors. What is important to understand here is that UCC is done for the sake of sharing content in online communities out of commonality, reciprocity, identity, collective action (or civility) and respect. No “free promotion” of objects or services is present in UCC sharing. UGC contributors are fans, as stated by Gallegos (2016), who follow a product, (micro) celebrety, program, and the like.

Now the question: “Do you create any type of content?” My answer is: Yes, I do. And this creative content of mine is produced as part of my reflections and ideas linked to what I teach at the university in content or language classes, what I do at work in terms of curriculum design, what I continue to study as a self-regulated life-long learner, and what I feel like sharing with anyone who is part of a community of learning in education, mostly. The only kind of collaborative content I tend to develop as a virtual instructor at a local university in my home country is with students in my classes where I can coach them in their writing skills or help them develop their literary interpretations of classic writers; this is done through Google Drive. I have no experience in small scale tools at the moment. To conclude, this is pretty much the bedrock of my own UCC history.

References

Gallegos, J. (2016, August 23). What is User Generated Content (and Why You Should Be Using it). Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.tintup.com/: https://www.tintup.com/blog/user-generated-content-definition/

The University of Sydney. (n.d.). What is user-created content? Retrieved 8 5, 2020, from https://www.futurelearn.com/: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ethical-social-media/1/steps/824136

[3] What is User-Created Content by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Thursday, August 06, 2020

The Difference Between a Network and a Community

Network Community, Online Community, Online Persona, Social Media 0 comments

Catedral de Sal, Zipaquirá, Colombia (2017)

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña

The Difference Between a Network and a Community

A comparative chart

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.
Head of Curriculum Development Academic Department Centro Cultural Costarricense-Norteamericano	Senior Language Professor School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica
Sunday, August 2, 2020 Post 356

“Online communities do not represent every gathering of individuals on the Internet, particularly those using social media” (The University of Sydney, (n.d.)). As we will pay attention below, online communities and community networks share similar principles but do have nuances that must be pin-pointed and clarified. The mere conception of both types of communities triggers lots of points in common, but at the same time there is high level of reciprocity in one but not in the other, which makes it more collective action driven than individualistic.

Let us begin to understand the difference between online communities as opposed to network communities by carefully analyzing the following comparative chart:

Online Communities	Community Networks
- The group as the primary unit of connectivity	- The individual as the primary unit of connectivity
- Large clusters of like-minded individuals with a sense of belonging with other participants	- Small clusters of similar-minded members who are chosen by an individual who stands at the core of the network
- Globally linked “with kindred souls for companionship, information, and social support from their homes” (quoted by The University of Sydney, (n.d.))	- Individual operate within networks organically, socially, or as meaning makers, not necessarily all of them at the same time
- Papadakis’ offline community features are present to benefit each other: a) commonality, b) reciprocity, c) identity, d) collective action (or civility), and e) respect (quoted by The University of Sydney, (n.d.))	- Not all Papadakis’ offline community paradigm is part of a network community: a) no reciprocity and b) no civility
	- Possibility of access to knowledge coming from a network of similar minded members who share a similar profession
- The presence of social fabric much more connected to the concept of how we interact with members of a neighborhood	- The presence of social fabric links with user agency in the creation of meaning and access to knowledge
- “A community is a social reality comprised of humans and objects where humans retain most of the social agency” (Mejias, 2005).	- “A network is a social reality comprised of humans and objects where humans delegate social agency mostly to objects” (Mejias, 2005).

As it was seen, the differences pointed out above are not finished to the last stone! More and more can be added to this list to find the unblurred boundary between the two of them.

Based on Mejias (2005), there are also different types of participants when online communities and network communities are compared. Mejias (2005) identifies consociates and contemporaries. Within an online community we are bound to find “those social actors that could be directly experienced by the individual” (Mejias, 2005), the consociates. Abd based on this description, these people are individuals whom the social media user might have met before face-to-face. Mejias (2005) also points out that though these people may never meet in real life, they “can engage directly (although through various layers of mediation).” On the contrary, contemporaries are “actors that are indirectly experienced by the individual” (Mejias, 2005); we get to know, e.g., more about their career and ideas than about their personal lives, something that is quite different from the consociates.

“How we construct our networks entirely depends on the authority of those with knowledge and demonstrated agency within those groups” (The University of Sydney, (n.d.)). A community network is not for everyone; it is just for a group of individuals in certain professional circles who can really profit from them. On the other hand, community network users can also be active members of online communities. That is, they can be consociates and contemporaries. On the other hand, “Beyond the superficial difference of navigating forums versus profile pages, the interactions are somewhat different between the network and the community” (The University of Sydney, (n.d.)). And what about bloggers? Where do they stand in this symbotic online relationship of media users?

References

The University of Sydney. ((n.d.)). What is the difference between a network and a community? Retrieved August 2, 2020, from https://www.futurelearn.com/: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ethical-social-media/1/steps/824135

Mejias, U. (2005, October 16). Social agency and the intersection of communities and
networks (draft). Retrieved August 2, 2020, from Blog.UlisesMejias.Com:
https://blog.ulisesmejias.com/2005/10/16/social-agency-and-the-intersection-of-
communities-and-networks-draft/