Women in Sports

Women have ben fighting for equality in sports since the beginning of time. Thanks to milestones like Title IX, the success of women’s sports has dramatically increased in the past few decades. While we are taking big steps towards equality we aren’t fully there yet. While this is a highly debated topic in the sporting world, women’s sports need more support and coverage to be successful. Anything that boys can do, girls can do too!!

Please take a look at the Storify I created to cover women’s sports and athletics. 

http://storify.com/ElizTayler/women-in-sports#publicize

Module 6 – Summative Post

It seems my peers agree that Twitter, the online platform is a major host of citizen journalism. In 140 characters or less, millions world wide are able to voice their opinions, perspectives, and complaints to the Twitter world. Twitter is a news source that is updated every second of the day. Citizen journalism through this source is beneficial for only those who choose to voice their opinion and be heard.

Another peer described Twitter as a sort of alarm that sees the next news stories as they are occurring. I thought that was the most interesting and accurate way to describe Twitter’s use as a news source. Hash tags and trends allow us to see exactly what the world is talking about and is interested in.

The news should be more open to represent a larger portion of perspectives for certain topics. If the news is occurring in South Africa, we should be getting facts and interviews of the people encountering that news. Although this is difficult to do as one of my peers commented, that opinions and perspective shared could be false, contradictory, and uneducated. I feel that is difficult to determine the facts of all stories, as every person experiences things in their own way and sees the world through their own view. There are always many versions of news and events. I feel the people who broadcast the news have the power to control people’s perspectives of many topics, events, and issues.

Twitter and citizen journalism has allowed as Bruns & Highfield describe “a bottom-up view to the usual top-down narrative of traditional journalism” (Bruns & Highfield, 2012). Online platforms are allowing people to participate in citizen journalism regarding news, political issues, and events as they are occurring around them.

This week I was surprised to learn what citizen journalism is. Before this module I had never heard of it, and didn’t realize that Twitter is a major platform for citizen journalism. I am participating on Twitter on a daily basis but was not looking at the larger picture. I also would not have thought of Twitter as an early detection system for breaking news.

 

Reference

Bruns, A. & T. Highfield. (2012). Blogs, Twitter, and breaking news: The produsage of citizen journalism. pre-publication draft on personal site [Snurb.info]. Published in: Lind, R. A. ed. (2012). Produsing Theory in a Digital World: The Intersection of Audiences and Production. New York: Peter Lang. p15-32.

 

Module 6 – Twitter & Citizen Journalism

The social networking service, Twitter has become a vast network for the distribution of real-time news and information since its establishment in 2006 (Hermida, 2012). I use twitter on a daily basis, not particularly to tweet, but to read up about current events and information. These social networking services are changing the way news is gathered, spread, and consumed (Hermida, 2012). Twitter allows users to share anything 140 characters or less. Using hash tags allows the identification of major trends that are grouped find out what people are tweeting or talking about.

Twitter has opened endless opportunities for citizen journalism, which “refers to an assemblage of broadly journalistic activities… they draw of the voluntary contributions of a wide-ranging network of self-selected participants rather than on the paid work of a core team or professional staff ” (Bruns & Highfield, 2012). Using Twitter, every voice can be heard, spread, and even amplified. Citizen journalism is an opportunity that everyone can participate in. Bruns and Highfield better describe citizen journalism, as citizen commentary that is individual comments on political events and developments. These perspectives allowed a bottom-up view to the usual top-down narrative of traditional journalism (Bruns & Highfield, 2012). Twitter has become an alternate source of news media.
It was interesting to learn that most traditional journalism companies that cover news and media have adopted the use of Twitter for their benefit. The leading media outlets like the New York Times and CNN have Twitter accounts that have accumulated millions of followers. Hermida claims, “the ability to send short busts of information in real-time has been taken up by journalists as a way to post snippets of news and to share and send links to their material (Hermida, 2012). While this is true, I believe that the sharing and spreading information even by mainstream media outlets is beneficial for our world. The news should contain more perspectives than just a few to better represent every part of the country or world.

I will only participate directly in citizen journalism if I am extremely aware of and am interested in a cause or political event. Twitter is beneficial as it allows everybody to tweet their opinion, but only if they want to.

References

Hermida, A. (2012). TWEETS AND TRUTH: Journalism as a discipline of collaborative verification. Journalism Practice. 6:5-6, p659-668.

Bruns, A. & T. Highfield. (2012). Blogs, Twitter, and breaking news: The produsage of citizen journalism. pre-publication draft on personal site [Snurb.info]. Published in: Lind, R. A. ed. (2012). Produsing Theory in a Digital World: The Intersection of Audiences and Production. New York: Peter Lang. p15-32.

Module 5 – Podcast

Module 5 – Podcast

This podcast is looking at the article written by Austen Gee about women’s athletics and Title IX. I used this article because it explored a different perspective. Although I do not agree with everything in the article, the author made interesting points. Please give it a listen and make comments!

 

Reference

Gee, Austen. “2012: Year of the Women in Athletics, But Is There Equality in Sports?” PolicyMic. N.p., Jan. 2013. Web. 26 June 2013.

Module 5 – Digital Piracy

A large issue with the emergence new technologies today is digital piracy. Within this blog I want to focus on the digital piracy of music and audio. Copyright legislation in the recorded music industry and the practices of consumers have been moving in opposite directions since the use of music sharing on the internet.

The music recording industry earns their profits by controlling artists’ intellectual property rights (McCourt & Burkart, 2003). Consumers using programs like Napster are looking for the most accessible and free sources for music, which happens to make users ‘digital pirates’. Napster is an online program that “functioned as a music engine that linked participants to a huge an constantly updated library of user-provided MP3s” (McCourt & Burkart, 2003). Napster was a successful program that allowed the sharing of music and also the connection to others who appreciated the same artists, genres, etc. As the sharing of copyrighted music and audio is illegal, the Recording Industry Association of America requested an injunction that would require Napster to filter its system to block the sharing of copyrighted material (McCourt & Burkart, 2003). Napster complied with these requests, and soon after declared bankruptcy and stopped operations. This is an example that shows an online music community free for participants to join destroyed. Instead the music recording industry is offering music as a commodity that can be owned and measured. The Internet has drastically changed the world of music.

Although Napster is no longer in operation, there are many different ways to illegally and freely download music and audio. While I support my favourite artists by buying their albums, I also share those albums with friends and family members. Is this type of music sharing illegal?

So far music labels have survived the increasing digital piracy online and album sales have continued to grow. According to Condry, “file-sharers are doing exactly what consumers are supposed to do: get the most possible stuff for the least possible money” (Condry, 2004). I completely agree with getting the most bang for your buck, but it is also important to support music artists. Not surprisingly recording labels receive the largest portion of album and song sales. An example can be shown through a 99-cent song on Apple’s iTunes Store, the label will receive 47 cents and the artist, producer, and songwriter together only receive 18 cents (Condry, 2004). How can anyone justify buying music via iTunes to support artists, when their record label is receiving the majority of sales?

It seems unlikely that digital piracy will decline in the years to come. With the widening range of storage, technology, and programming pirates will find a way to freely access music downloading. I suggest the recording industry embrace the sharing and spreading of their artists’ works, because it is not going to stop. Maybe when music labels allow a larger percentage of their profits to be given to artists, producers, and songwriters’ people will feel better buying music instead of stealing it.

 

 References

McCourt, T., P. Burkart. (2003). When Creators, Corporations and Consumers Collide: Napster and the Development of On-line Music Distribution. Media, Culture & Society. 25 (3), pg. 333-350 

Condry, Ian. (2004). Cultures of Music Piracy: An Ethnographic Comparison of the US and Japan. International Journal of Cultural Studies. 7 (3), pg. 343-363

Gender Equality in Sports

Hello! This is a short video I made using iMovie on my macbook. The video is a brief overview of the inequalities women athletes face while in the sports industry.

Summative Post Module 4

The new social media universe has taken over the lives of many people; my age group has been especially susceptible. Today using smartphones, tablets, and computers social media users log in and tend not to log out. Once you join social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram they are constantly running and opened on most phones, computers, and other devices. One blog comment specifically mentioned that we are so dependent on these free online platforms that once they are no longer available we simply do not know what to do. I relate as losing my phone for a week gave me anxiety that I was no longer in contact with my friends and the world around me.

The comments all tended to agree that the younger generation we are a part of is extremely dependent on social media and other new technologies. These online avenues are the sources by which young people live their lives today. Social networking allows us to communicate with friends and family, gather information, make posts, and connect the entire globe. Another peer commented that social media is a great way to spread knowledge, but it is often out of control as it is so easy to copy and spread information. Another peer commented that free web platforms allow false and exaggerated information to be spread online. As absolutely anyone can post content to the World Wide Web it is impossible to determine the facts from fiction. I advise people to not believe everything you read or see online!

While this social media universe has allowed us to connect to others around the world and spread knowledge, it also has become the basis of many copyright protections. Online content is accessible to everyone that has the means, which makes it extremely easy to steal or copy content. Copyright laws must protect the rights of owners while promoting the dissemination of knowledge.

This week’s module has taught me a lot about the new social media era that is occurring. The Kirby Ferguson documentary was also a large eye opener, regarding the absence of original works today. This course has been a great learning experience to date. 

Social Media Universe

My generation has been greatly impacted by the use and development of products and programs found online. Today anyone with access to a computer or a cell phone can access and contribute content online. There is an entire new universe based on social media. Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, Flickr, and blogs are allowing the sharing and spreading of information across the globe.

According to Manovich, this new media universe “was made possible by free web platforms and inexpensive software tools which enable people to share their media and easily access media produced by others (Manovich, 2008).  I would consider my contributions to social media to be average among people in my age group. I access and contribute content via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram almost every day. I use social media sites to stay connected to friends, keep up to date on news and weather, and also to see what Amanda Bynes is up to. Social media keeps me ‘in the know’ so to speak. This is the first blogging account I have created, which is another form of contributing content online through a free web platform.  According to a study, “Only between 0.5 % – 1.5 % users of most popular social media sites (Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia) contributed their own content” (Manovich, 2008). I can relate as I use social media sites like Flickr, Youtube, and Wikipedia simply to access content rather than contribute. I do not contribute to Wikipedia as I have been encouraged in the past not to. I do want to contribute the time and effort into editing and researching information to contribute to Wiki. YouTube is a great place to watch funny cat videos, documentaries, and music videos, but I have never been interested uploading my own videos.

YouTube is a great source to find a variety of different video attractions. The most popular videos on YouTube are those that intrigue, amuse, trick, or shock you. Rizzo relates YouTube to early cinema as they invite people to stop and stare through a variety of different attractions (Rizzo, 2013). YouTube also covers important political and social events in a similar way to the topicals of early cinema (Rizzo, 2013).  Advancements in technology have allowed media content from social media sources like YouTube available twenty-four hours a day. New videos, comments, and channels, and other content is being uploaded every hour of everyday.

Social media has completely dominated the web the past decade. These free online platforms are a great source for spreading up to date news, knowledge, and pretty much anything you want to be updated on. Although I do not contribute a lot online, I encourage others to contribute the valuable knowledge they have to sources like Wikipedia and YouTube.

 

 

REFERENCES

 

Manovich, l. (2008) The Practice of Everyday (Media) Life: From Mass Consumption to Mass Cultural Production? Critical Inquiry. Vol. 35, No. 2 (Winter 2009), pp. 319-331

 

Rizzo, T. YouTube: the New Cinema of Attractions SCAN | journal of media arts culture. Vol 5, No. 1, Online journal.

Reliability of Wikipedia

Wikipedia the website developed collaboratively by a community of volunteers has been in existence for twelve years. Wikipedia allows virtually any user to add, edit, and remove content from an extensive range of topics. Today, Wikipedia has over four million articles in English alone. The immense amount of online users has been the catalyst of Wikipedia’s success and growth. There is a lot of debate lately regarding the credibility of Wikipedia and the accuracy of their articles. I want to cover the operations of Wikipedia entries and the problems and solutions that occur during this process.  

Contributors and editors of Wikipedia are volunteers that operate through consensus and have a set structure including written rules (Jensen, 2012). Wikipedia policies are based on five pillars (Wikipedia, 2013). The first is that Wikipedia is an online encyclopaedia, not a newspaper, dictionary, or a soapbox. The next is that Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view. To compose accurate articles, Wikipedia incorporates multiple points of view, from many different contributors. The third pillar is that Wikipedia is free content, allowing anyone to edit, add, and modify articles. For this reason no contributor or editor can even own an article. Respect and civility to fellow editors and contributors is Wikipedia’s fourth pillar. Each Wikipedia article has a talk page for conflict resolution. The most common solution is to seek consensus with others and avoid editing wars. The fifth pillar is that Wikipedia has policies and guidelines, but they are not set in stone (Wikipedia, 2013). Like the information in Wikipedia’s articles, policies and guidelines will evolve and change over time. These pillars ensure the most accurate, neutral, and up to date information, and respect for those whom are contributing content.

One of the largest concerns in the Wikipedia community is the disruptive behaviour of troublemakers and vandals, who choose to make thousands of changes to articles every hour (Jensen, 2012). While these intentional errors are a pain, most of them are quickly removed. Wikipedia urges readers to begin editing and contributing information. According to Jensen, Wikipedia editors are ninety-percent male and nearly all are anonymous (2012). This is relative to my blog group as our focus is gender. It is concerning that female’s account for only ten percent of Wikipedia’s editors.

Royal and Kapila bring up that some topics are covered more comprehensively than others on Wikipedia (2009). This can be seen through Wikipedia’s article women’s sports, which is parallel to my blog topic. The article states that there are multiple issues within and that citations are needed. The article uses examples and perspectives within the United States and fails to represent a worldwide view of the subject. I believe that if the percentage of female editors and contributors were to rise, subsequently so would the amount of female related content. Women’s involvement in sports has been dramatically increasing in the past century. Some goals for this article include improving Wikipedia’s coverage of women’s sports, increasing female participation on Wikipedia, improving women’s sport coverage in general sports articles that should address both genders.

Specifically on the women’s sports talk page, they are discussing improving and adding content in a wide variety of sports. Aside from grammar and spelling, the discussions are mainly revolving around sports including ice hockey, soccer, basketball, rowing, field hockey, softball, lacrosse, golf, water polo, gymnastics, etc. As women are battling for equality every day it is so important to incorporate the female perspective on Wikipedia as it is a major site for gathering knowledge. Gender equality in sports should be a thing of the past but it remains through the lack of coverage and knowledge of women’s sports on resources like Wikipedia.

The process of creating a Wikipedia entry is extensive as it is collaborating the views of many users. Through this collaboration Wikipedia is able to provide free content and knowledge that is not biased. Wikipedia has a great organizational structure, but is not a resource that can be used in a scholarly sense. The information found on Wikipedia is reliable. Although I believe many articles are accurate, there are some lacking content, contributors, editors, citations, resources, etc. Women’s sports is an article on Wikipedia that would greatly benefit from additional online participation from female editors and contributors.

 

http://shannc28.blogspot.ca/

http://zw08vf.wordpress.com/ 

http://queenalicia12.wordpress.com/     

http://hesaidshesaid4dating.wordpress.com/       

 

 

REFERENCES

Jensen,Richard. “Military History on the Electronic Frontier: Wikipedia Fights the War of 1812.” Journal of Military History (2012): 1165-182. Print.

Royal, Cindy, and Deepina Kapila. “What’s on Wikipedia, and What’s Not . . . ?” Assessing Completeness of Information 27.1 (2009): 138-47. Print.

Van Dijck, J., and D. Nieborg. “Wikinomics and Its Discontents: A Critical Analysis of Web 2.0 Business Manifestos.” New Media & Society 11.5 (2009): 855-74. Print.

“Wikipedia.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. N.p., 2001. Web. 23 May 2013.

Summative Post #2

I want to thank everyone for the comments! I greatly appreciate the time and effort. It is nice to hear that my peers agree with my blog post and can also relate. Wikipedia is a creative web-encyclopedia that is so successful because of its use of 286 languages to create over 26 million articles all conveniently located online. This module has opened up my perspective of the use and accuracy of Wikipedia and also the power of the Internet.

My peers tended to agree that Wikipedia is most useful for retrieving quick information and summaries. I wonder how many friendly disputes have been settled over information researched on Wikipedia. The web-encyclopedia is run by a network of volunteers that research and edit article content. This also gives Wikipedia an edge, as it is a collaboration of many peoples’ knowledge. Although I use Wikipedia for some quick searches, I still don’t think its appropriate to source statistics, dates, or facts that you have found on Wikipedia. There are a lot of academic sources out there that you shouldn’t have to rely on Wikipedia for data. I believe Wikipedia is great for the use it serves to others and myself. Although Wiki isn’t academically credible, it is a truly useful research tool that will continue to grow and improve.

I believe that instead of teaching students to avoid the use of Wikipedia, teachers should be educating them in how it works. Wikipedia has been the first to blur the line between the creation and the consumption of knowledge. Young students need to know that Wikipedia can be a useful resource but is unreliable for statistics, dates, and some other data. They also need to know that really anyone can edit, remove, and add information to an article. Teachers need to open their minds to new resources that can be beneficial for students.

It was very interesting to hear that Baidu Encyclopedia is the main web-encyclopedia used in China. With such a large population the Baidu Encyclopedia must be extremely successful. It was helpful to compare the Baidu to Wiki.

As a true Canadian I will continue in my belief that Canada won the War of 1812. I truly appreciate Wiki-Answer’s response, “When the war ended, the USA was on its knees with its economy almost in shatters, while Canadians were standing tall and proud” (WikiAnswers, 2013). I will continue my use in the all-knowing Wikipedia, web encyclopedia. It is a resource that can settle an argument, summarize an event, break writers block, and create an environment to contribute and collect knowledge.

 

 

References

“Why Did Canada Win the War of 1812?” WikiAnswers. Answers, n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.