Virality is the key in the online age. Getting audiences to share content is the golden egg for advertisers. What is it that makes us share media texts? What texts do you share?
The Panama Papers and the revelations that ensued could have cost the Prime Minister and others their jobs. The Prime Minister of Iceland resigned as he had money in tax havens. Our PM has ridden the storm and although his reputation and integrity may have been harmed he is still in position and two weeks later the storm seems to have blown over. However, in the digital age we all leave a digital footprint so we must be careful how we represent ourselves in case our actions come back to haunt us. Is this indicative of modern society, politics and the media? Are we more careful about our representation in the digital age?
We will also look at the theories of William Merrin and how social media represented the Panama Papers to make comment about how the media operates in the online age.
We are what we pretend to be so we must be careful what we pretend to be. ( Kurt Vonnegut)
This is my favourite quote and reveals a lot about online safety and how we operate in the online age. It is a good maxim for living in the stream and harsh lessons ca be learned if you are not aware of the power of the internet and the dangers inherent in social media. We all create a sort of avatar or a persona that we would like to be, whether that is selecting certain photos or deleting links or posting things which show status. For example, footballer Joleon Lescott tweeted an image of a Mercedes after a 6 nil loss.At best it was insensitive but in claiming he sent it by mistake as the phone was in his pocket he made it worse. He has shown his naivety in the media world once again since then showing how media training is essential for high profile people.
Web 2.0 allows users and audiences to interact with the news in ways that could not before. This allows us to comment and feedback. Therefore politicians need to be increasingly careful about the way that they present themselves. Your Prime Minister worked in Public Relations so is adept at spinning his way out of trouble. There is a call amongst the public for less 'airbrushed' characters who seem more authentic. Does that explain the popularity of these two politicians;
In our post-modern age, ' no orthodoxy can be received without irony'. We are quite cynical as an audience and cannot take things at face value. We challenge and interrogate texts and do not readily accept the news as truth. This means we are now an 'active' audience using texts to gratify certain needs. Social media allows us to share media which illustrates how we feel about a news story in images or memes. They work in ways similar to cartoons in the past. These go viral in memes and therefore we are mediating the news through sharing memes and texts which represent our take on a story. It is often celebrities or people with a following who can set the news agenda through Twitter. Could we call these people the new 'gatekeepers' and who are they for you?
We have considered online responses to the news of the Panama Papers. Can you think of any other news stories that caused a reaction online?
News often comes to us first hand through live feeds or unmediated streams. For my generation the Twin Towers was a seminal moment. The attacks in Paris are a more recent example.
Can you identify examples of when this has happened?
What needs do social media gratify?
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