Assignment 1A: Blog

 Blog 1 

Drawing on the ideas, concepts, terms, and reading material for Weeks 1–2, explore the question: ‘Is WordPress a blog or a social network site?'

It can be argued that WordPress is a social network site as it promotes a significant level of communication between online users. This is due to its social aspects such as allowing users to comment on each other's posts, having followers and following others, and providing feedback, all of which are examples of user engagement. Buddypress is another essential element of communication, it is a feature that can be found under the Plugins section which allows for contact within a community to share and receive ideas. Furthermore, BuddyPress is defined as a ‘modern, robust, and sophisticated social network software’ (Wordpress 2022), where users can create profiles, thus creating an online identity. From this, they are able to start private conversations, develop social connections, and participate in group work. Murthy defines social networks as ‘’providing web services which facilitate users maintaining a 'public or semi-public profile within a bounded system' and through which they can ‘articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection’’ (Murthy 2013, p. 7). This relates to WordPress as it is a site where users can create their own public profile in order to connect with other users and start conversation. It is a form of sociality, in that people can socially interact within a digital environment, and it is a way for those people to promote themselves or their business through social communication. In saying this, WordPress ‘began life as a blogging platform’ (Hughes et al. 2022) which therefore suggests it has blogging characteristics. WordPress can be portrayed as more of a professional way to blog due to the platform’s elegant theme and layout options rather than using a more casual alternative such as Tumblr. Finally, my understanding is that WordPress incorporates both blog and social network site features, however, the momentous communication that it presents is the overarching reason that WordPress can be defined as a social network site. 

References

WordPress 2022, Plugins, Wordpress.org, viewed 29 March 2022, <https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/> 

Murthy D,  2013, ‘Lecture 1.3 Social media – The working definitions that connect us’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning Material via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, March 13, viewed 29 March 2022. 

Hughes, J 2022, ‘Blogger vs WordPress: Key Differences, Plus Which Is Best For You’ The meisle. 

Blog 2 

‘How are our social experiences bound up with social media platforms and their affordances, and how do we make use of them?'

Nowadays, we rely heavily on social media, primarily due to the way it allows us to connect with others. The properties of social media platforms such as enabling conversations, connecting with friends, uploading photos and videos, and building profiles are all elements that we engage with frequently. It is not often that you find someone who doesn’t own a smartphone or use social media platforms. Instagram, for example, is the third most popular social platform ‘with more than one billion monthly active users’ (Suciu et al. 2019). The public app is so significantly utilised due to the way people can create profiles, share their lives, and furthermore communicate with users globally. Social media sites have become the norm in our lives as we are living in a modern digital society and therefore using technology in all aspects of life including at work, at home, recreationally, and through our education. Influencers have a strong association with social media platforms as they depend on these sites to make money and maintain their public profile. For example, Instagram influencer Shani Grimmond has 1.4 million followers on the app, with her primary source of income distributed via Youtube. Grimmond posts regularly, has started her own swim brand, collaborates with big brands, and is thus furthering her public figure and fame. Therefore, our social experiences can easily become bound up with social media platforms. Grimmond proves this as she is making efficient use of social media sites and their affordances in that she is earning money and developing a name for herself through the use of social media. 

References

Saxena, S, 2013, 7 key characteristics of Social Media, easymedia

Suciu, P, 2019, Is Instagram The Social Media Service For Business In 2020? Forbes

The Social Flame 2022, Shani Grimmond, Thesocialflame, viewed 30 March 2022 <https://thesocialflame.com/en/influencer/shanigrimmond#:~:text=Shani%20Grimmond%20is%20an%20influencer,relevant%20in%20the%20Fashion%20sector.>