Scholarly post: Political Microblogging

One of the many consequences of the rise of social media has been the increased prominence of political microblogging. As defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2011, p. 106), microblogs are mediums 'which allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links'. To what extent, however, have such platforms had an influence on the political landscape throughout the world? Through analysing a number of case studies across the globe in recent times - in both Western and non-Western contexts - and where microblogging sites have been perceived to play a major role in advancing democracy, we evaluate the apparent achievements as well as highlight some of the exaggerations present when championing these mediums.

Twitter is a microblogging platform which has allowed
for political issues to be discusses and opinions to be
aired (Source: Twitter)

Arguably the most noted and influential of the microblogging family is Twitter, which has regularly been examined in recent years in order to ascertain the relationship between the medium and political discourse -- particularly, the role the platform plays in advancing channels of democracy.

One such study has been that of Larsson and Moe, who conducted a content analysis of Twitter use during the 2010 Swedish election campaign. Among their findings, which analysed close to 100,000 tweets, Larsson and Moe (2011, p. 741) concluded that 'Twitter contributes to a broadening of public debate: it constitutes a novel arena for mediated public communication, and the sheer number of tweets ... testifies to its use'. 

Indeed, one need not to look at only Sweden to recognise such a trend.

In Australia, Twitter has been increasingly utilised by mainstream television programs in order to foster interactivity between the shows' content and its audiences. Perhaps this is no more evident than in Q&A, a weekly ABC1 program featuring a panel of, usually, five political figures, with guests discussing current political affairs and answering questions from a studio audience.

Thanks to the Twitter hashtag function, which allows users to categorise topics (such as '#QandA'), audiences are able to interact and assert their opinions on the issues being discussed by guests on the program (Twitter 2013). On average, more than 21,000 tweets with the 'QandA' hashtag are posted each episode, with a selection of tweets published on screen during the live program (Olivieri 2013; ABC 2013).

Although this is a sign Twitter plays a major role in facilitating political discussion between a large array of citizens, one must recognise the medium's limitations. Larsson and Moe (2011, p. 741) do so in their aforementioned content analysis, citing a relationship suggesting the volume of tweets are dominated by a minority. 

Certainly, if microblogging platforms such as Twitter are to be seen as a trusted and legitimate arena representing the wider citizenry's views, then the mediums must be consistently and, arguably, evenly utilised by each member of the community.

Host of  'Q&A', Tony Jones (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)

Iran is another area of the world where microblogging has been seen to have influence over the political discourse in recent times. In 2009, following the Iranian presidential election, scores of local citizens heavily utilised mediums such as Twitter in their protests against what they saw as electoral corruption whereby Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected to the presidency.

As hundreds of thousands took to the streets to campaign against the alleged fraud, and as the situation quickly turned bloody, Twitter became a vital tool for Iranian activists to communicate with each other, as well as with the rest of the world. The Washington Times labelled the demonstrations as a ‘Twitter revolution’, editorialising at the time: ‘The immediacy of the reports was gripping. Well-developed Twitter lists showed a constant stream of situation updates and links to photos and videos, all of which painted a portrait of the developing turmoil' (The Washington Times 2009). So important was the perceived role of Twitter that the social media site rescheduled a ‘critical network upgrade’ in order to keep the platform functioning and to remain serving as an ‘important communication tool in Iran’ (Stone 2009).

In response to the use of Twitter and other social media sites to coordinate and encourage protests, the Ahmadinejad-led government moved to censor dissident voices, briefly shutting off the Internet service and blocking certain sites (Moscaritolo 2009). More than four years on, and Iran’s Minister of Communication Mahmoud Vaezi has been quoted as stating the social media ban will remain in place, though later denied making such remarks (Associated Press 2013). Evidently, the restrictions placed on these mediums by the Iranian government highlight the perceived power and, indeed, threat of social media to governments. Partly through the censorship of microblogging sites like Twitter, Iran has managed to maintain political stability and fend off growing discontent with the governing body.

(Source: FoundInTranslation.berkeley.edu)

However, the following question must be asked: To what extent does Twitter actually drive political change? Certainly, in the case of Iran, there are critics who believe that the role of the medium has been drastically overstated. Golnaz Esfandiari (2010) is one such person, dismissing the notion of a “Twitter revolution” and claiming that ‘good old-fashioned word of mouth was by far the most influential medium used to shape the postelection opposition activity’. Evgeny Morozov is another to join the chorus of those downplaying Twitter’s influence in Iran, asserting that users of the site in the Islamic state were largely unrepresentative of the general population. According to Morozov (2009, p. 12), Iran’s Twitter users are ‘mostly pro-Western, technology-friendly … young people’ whom represent a ‘tiny and, most important, extremely untypical segment of the Iranian population’. Indeed, such assertions have weight. For a “revolution” to succeed, large and widespread involvement must be evident. Making claims of a “Twitter revolution” and attributing major credit to the site for pushing opposition activity, therefore, seem insubstantial and, ultimately, naive. Despite this, the blocking of the microblogging medium means that the site’s role must not have been insignificant, either.

Certainly, it is worth discussing the idea of the fascination and emphasis on Twitter’s role in places such as Iran as being little more than technological determinism. Developed by Marshall McLuhan, technological determinism is a theory which sees media technology as shaping how individuals in a society ‘think, feel, act, and how … society operates as we move from one technological age to another’ (University of Kentucky 2001). Such philosophy ties in with the notion that the world is entering a stage of ‘networked democracy’, whereby globalisation and cultural advancement is troubling traditional forms of democracy, and so new interactive technologies and social media are providing opportunities for the evolution of a ‘more informed populace and a more direct, involved democracy’ (NetworkedDemocracy 2007).

(Source: Colorado.edu)

Whilst, as mentioned earlier with the case study of the Swedish election, mediums such as Twitter allow for a broadening of public debate, is their influence in this field being largely exaggerated? According to some writers, it is. As Tilly (2004, p. 98) argues, ‘most new features of social movements result from alterations in their social and political contexts rather than from technical innovations as such’. Indeed, whilst modern technology may allow for faster mobilisation through, for example, microblogging sites, much of the overall contours mirror earlier social movements from past centuries, in which citizens published challenges to authority and planned for civil disobedience. As a result, it would be incorrect to assert that microblogging platforms and similar technologies are the central, driving force behind political movements. However, these new mediums have certainly altered the methods of organisation, where protesters can gather faster, as well as ‘attack’ government resources through a so-called ‘cyber-war’.

In conclusion, the role of microblogging sites within the political arena is a complex one. In the cases of Sweden and Australia, as has been shown, usage of such platforms have proliferated and arguably contributed to the public debate by allowing people to easily and instantly publish their political opinions to a large audience. Moreover, this practice has been advanced by the integration of such microblogs into mainstream television, where some messages can be displayed “live” on-screen as the program is broadcast. The popularity and extent of such participation can be seen by the sheer quantity of ‘QandA’ messages posted on Twitter for that particular Australian program each episode.

However, at the same time, one must be objective and acknowledge that much of the political content posted on sites like Twitter tend to be dominated by a minority. Consequently, making claims that new social media is a driving force behind the advancement of democracy seems to be a weak and premature claim.

Few places is this more evident than in non-Western states such as Iran, where in recent years microblogs have been hailed as revolutionising society and advancing government opposition. Yet, much like in Sweden and Australia, Twitter users in these countries are largely unrepresentative of the overall populace, and so their anti-government posts, for example, are extremely unlikely to generate political upheaval. It should be mentioned, though, that the decision by the Iran government to block such social media sites demonstrates fear towards the power of the medium to instantly disseminate information to a large, worldwide audience, and so the influence of microblogs should not be seen as totally obsolete.

Furthermore, much of the credit provided to Twitter-like sites tends to be overstated, and ignores the changing political and social contexts within a society that leads to democratic uprisings.

Whilst microblogs are innovative and have had success by providing a new arena for political discourse to take place, it faces many challenges before it can be heralded as a cornerstone to democracy. Notably, its mediums must be widely accessible and utilised by the populace if the views expressed are to be deemed legitimately representative.

References:

ABC 2013, 'Q&A's moderated twitter feed', retrieved 2 September 2013, <http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3222272.htm>. 

Associated Press 2013, ‘Official: Iran won’t unblock Facebook, Twitter’, Yahoo News, 7 October, retrieved 14 October 2013, <http://news.yahoo.com/official-iran-wont-unblock-facebook-twitter-191026407.html>.

Esfandiari, G 2010, ‘The Twitter Devolution’, Foreign Policy, 7 June, retrieved 14 October 2013, <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/07/the_twitter_revolution_that_wasnt>.

Kaplan, AM & Haenlein, M 2011, 'The early bird catches the news: Nine things you should know about micro-blogging', Business Horizons, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 105-113.

Larsson, AO & Moe, H 2011, 'Studying political microblogging: Twitter users in the 2010 Swedish election campaign', New Media and Society, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 729-747.

Morozov, E 2009, ‘Iran: Downside to the “Twitter Revolution”’, Dissent, Fall 2009, University of Pennsylvania Press, Pennsylvania, pp. 10-14.

Moscaritolo, A 2009, ‘Iran election protesters use Twitter to recruit hackers’, SC Magazine, 15 June, retrieved 14 October 2013, <http://www.scmagazine.com/iran-election-protesters-use-twitter-to-recruit-hackers/article/138545/>.

NetworkedDemocracy 2007, ‘About’, 18 October, retrieved 15 October 2013, <http://www.networkeddemocracy.com/about/>.

Olivieri, N 2013, 'The real stars of Q&A: the faces behind the faceless tweets', The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February, retrieved 2 September 2013, <http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-real-stars-of-qa-the-faces-behind-the-faceless-tweets-20130204-2dtgs.html>.

Stone, B 2009, ‘Down Time Rescheduled’, Twitter, retrieved 14 October 2013, <https://blog.twitter.com/2009/down-time-rescheduled>.

The Washington Times 2009, ‘EDITORIAL: Iran’s Twitter revolution’, The Washington Times, 16 June, retrieved 14 October 2013, <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/16/irans-twitter-revolution/>.

Tilly, C 2004, Social Movements 1768-2004, Paradigm Publishers, Boulder, pp. 95-98, 108-113.

Twitter 2013, Using hashtags on Twitter, retrieved 2 August 2013, <https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-using-hashtags-on-twitter>. 

University of Kentucky 2001, ‘Technological Determinism Theory’, Spring 2001 Theory Workbook, retrieved 14 October 2013, <http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/mass/determinism.htm>.

Globalisation and Hollywood

When sitting down for the latest blockbuster cinematic production, most people aren't likely to ponder where the idea of the film was drawn from. However, an analysis of major US and Asian films in recent times indicate there are many similarities between the two markets.

'The Departed', a Martin Scorsese-directed film
based on a Hong Kong original titled 'Infernal
Affairs' (Source: imdb.com)

In 2004, Christina Klein observed that 'Hollywood is becoming Asianized in diverse ways, while Asian film industries are in turn becoming Hollywoodized' (Klein 2004, p. 361).

In the decade since asserting this claim, there is much evidence to suggest that these patterns are continuing.

Analysing the US film industry reveals many major productions since 2004 which have been heavily influenced by the Asian market. As Klein suggests, these come in diverse forms, including films: based on Asian culture; directed by accomplished Asian filmmakers; and, those which have been re-adapted to suit international tastes.

One man who has been central to this diversification has been Taiwanese-born Hollywood filmmaker Ang Lee, who directed the award-winning Brokeback Mountain (2005), which grossed $US83 million at the box office, and Life of Pi (2012), which took home almost $US125 million, respectively (IMDb 2013a; IMDb 2013b). Lee was awarded the Oscar for Best Director for both of these productions (WideScreenings 2013).

Meanwhile, other box office hits such as 2006's The Departed (grossing $US132 million) have been adapted and remade based on Asian originals - in this case, on a Hong Kong film titled Infernal Affairs (Lagel 2006).

It is also worth mentioning Hollywood blockbusters such as The Karate Kid (2010), Kung Fu Panda (2008) and Transformers (2007), each of which were influenced by aspects of Asian culture.

For Klein (2004, p. 363), such films have 'had a denationalising effect on the US film industry', where movies' 'style and content has been ... tailored to the world market'.

At the other end of the spectrum, US films have tended to dominate Asian markets over recent decades, though local filmmakers appear to have discovered a way to overcome their American competitors - by following their initiative.

In China this year, ticket sales for local films jumped 144 per cent, while imported films dropped by 21 per cent (Frater 2013). Patrick Frater puts this growth down to Chinese filmmakers 'taking a page from the Hollywood script, offering genre films, including horror, thrillers and romantic comedies, all told in a slick and fast-paced style'.

                              'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons' is a Chinese action-comedy 
                                   film which smashed local box office records when it was released in February 2013.

Similar developments have occurred in South Korea, where last month domestic films attracted 'about nine times the rate of Hollywood products' across one particular weekend (Goldsea 2013).

Indeed, whilst this signals a decline in US film dominance of the Asian market, it is clear Hollywood films retain importance for the way they influence the content of Asian productions.

It will certainly be interesting to see what steps the US film industry takes to tap back into this lucrative market.


References

Frater, P 2013, 'Is China Outgrowing Hollywood Film, TV Industry?', 12 September, retrieved 21 September 2013, <http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/is-china-outgrowing-hollywood-1200605567/>.

Goldsea 2013, 'Korean Films Overwhelm Hollywood Imports in Domestic Market', retrieved 19 September 2013, <http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=14692>.

IMDb 2013a, 'Brokeback Mountain', retrieved 21 September 2013, <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/>.

IMDb 2013b, 'Life of Pi', retrieved 21 September 2013, <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454876/>.

Klein, Christina 2004, 'Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian film industries', Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384.

Lagel, L 2006, 'Infernal Affairs vs. the remake, The Departed', retrieved 21 September 2013, <http://www.film.com/movies/infernal-affairs-vs-the-remake-the-departed>.

WideScreenings 2013, 'List of best director Oscar winners and nominees they beat', retrieved 21 September 2013, <http://www.widescreenings.com/who-beat-oscar-best-director.html>.

Celebrities, Me and a Specular Economy

The specular economy - if you're on social media, there's a very good chance you're involved in some way.

Kevin Rudd takes a 'selfie' with a high school student
(Source: AAP/Bob Iddon)

Marshall describes the specular economy as 'where collectively we are becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves and how others perceive us'. These 'idealised representations of ourselves' are no longer presented through traditional mediums such as television or magazines, but through new arenas which have evolved through the Internet and mobile communication (Marshall 2010, pp. 498-499).

The rise of social media platforms - such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - has given rise to new ways in which people can construct and adapt their very own identity online.

Indeed, all types of people have been involved in this process, from celebrities to everyday people like yours truly - each with varying reasons for doing so.

In a current example, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has utilised new online media to build large followings. Arguably, the most successful of these ventures is Rudd's Twitter page, which has more than 1.39 million followers at the time of writing (Twitter 2013).

Speaking during the recent Australian federal election, Matthew McGregor, a British social media expert who worked for Labor during the recent campaign, said Rudd uses social media to engage - even if this does include some oft-derided 'selfies' (Taylor 2013).

Conservative: I do my best to ensure content on my Twitter page is appropriate and 
does not negatively reflect on me (Source: Supplied)

This claim is supported by academics Walsh and Black (2013), who draw a link between Rudd's social media use and an attempt to win over votes from, particularly, Australia's youth.

Rudd demonstrates engagement in the specular economy through the consciousness of his own public presentations on new online media.

As previously mentioned, Rudd is certainly not alone in this regard.

I, too, am very aware of what content I publish on my social media profiles.

Given my desire for a future career in the media - and, also, not wishing to be seen as unintelligent, immature or, even, unstable - I find it imperative to protect my public image in as many ways as possible.

In practice, this means an attempt to avoid making comments on Twitter that involve swearing or, furthermore, may be perceived as crude. Whilst, on my Facebook page, I ensure photos of myself are mostly respectful or tactful, and that comments I post are grammatically correct. Recently, I even unliked numerous pages which could be seen as distasteful.

Although the gap in followers between celebrities like Kevin Rudd and everyday people like myself are quite substantial, it is evident we all share some degree of consciousness over how we present ourselves, particularly when it comes to online media.


References

Marshal, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502.

Taylor, L 2013, 'Coalition digital campaign 'slick' but Rudd selfies more engaging', The Guardian, 11 September, retrieved 12 September 2013, <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/digital-campaigns-coalition-and-labor>.

Twitter 2013, 'Kevin Rudd', retrieved 12 September 2013, <https://twitter.com/KRuddMP>.

Walsh, L & Black, R 2013, 'Finding the missing youth vote', The Conversation, 14 August, retrieved 12 September 2013, <https://theconversation.com/finding-the-missing-youth-vote-16958>.

Interactivity and manipulation in participatory media culture

In a discussion on the characteristics of computer games, Joost Raessens (2005, p. 374) identified interactivity and connectivity as aspects where 'a gamer is able to control the game's proceedings and/or its conclusion', and, moreover, where players are given 'the ability to exchange ideas, knowledge and game-elements amongst each other via the Internet'.

Computer games are just one of many mediums where
participants possess the ability to influence the produced
content (Source: registrycleaner.us.com)

Although Raessens' discussion was confined to computer games, such connectivity is also obvious in other - non-game - participatory media cultures, where the audience play a major role in influencing a medium's content. Blogs and social media are prime examples of this.

However, some theorists have criticised participatory media culture as being manipulative and designed to cater to capitalistic ambitions, where users are encouraged 'to buy products through different forms of marketing' (Raessens 2005, p. 375).

Douglas Rushkoff labels this as a "coercion", believing it 'not always easy to determine when we have surrendered our judgment to someone else. The better and more sophisticated the manipulation, the less aware of it we are' (Rushkoff 1999, p. 3).

Certainly, Rushkoff and other like-minded theorists have a point. In today's day and age, where participatory mediums have become increasingly prevalent, it is difficult to escape the capitalist desires of others.

One only needs to visit any one of the most prominent social media platforms to experience over-the-top advertising and attempts for the user to throw his or her money at some form of product.

On social networking sites such as Facebook, users are bombarded with products advertised specifically for them and dependent on their 'location, gender, age, likes and interests, relationship status, workplace and education' (Facebook 2013).

An example of Facebook advertising (Source: informatique.gr)

Earlier this year, whilst my relationship status was set as "engaged", my partner and I encountered various wedding-related advertising on Facebook, ranging from wedding venues, to rings, and outfits. Suffice to say, when we signed up to the social medium, we did so in order to connect and interact with families and friends - not to be flashed with consumer products.

Fortunately, for those like myself who have a disdain for intrusive advertising, technological programs such as AdBlock have been developed, allowing users to remove all advertising content when a web page is loaded.

With such mechanisms, interactive mediums can be utilised with less risk of users falling to money-making desires.


Bibliography

Facebook 2013, 'What are my ad targeting options?', retrieved 9 September 2013, <https://www.facebook.com/help/207847739273775>.

Raessens, J. 2005, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’, Handbook of Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 373-388 

Rushkoff 1999, Coercion: Why we listen to what "they" say, Riverhead Books, New York.

Political Microblogging

One of the many consequences of the rise of social media has been the increased prominence of political microblogging. 

As defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2011, p. 106), microblogs are mediums 'which allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links'. 

Twitter is a microblogging platform which has been
central to allowing for political issues to be discussed
and opinions to be aired (Source: Twitter)

Arguably the most noted and influential of the microblogging family is Twitter, which has regularly been examined in recent years in order to ascertain the relationship between the medium and political discourse -- particularly, the role the platform plays in advancing channels of democracy.

One such study has been that of Larsson and Moe, who conducted a content analysis of Twitter use during the 2010 Swedish election campaign. 

Among their findings, which analysed close to 100,000 tweets, Larsson and Moe (2011, p. 741) concluded that 'Twitter contributes to a broadening of public debate: it constitutes a novel arena for mediated public communication, and the sheer number of tweets ... testifies to its use'. 

Indeed, one need not to look at only Sweden to recognise such a trend.

In Australia, Twitter has been increasingly utilised by mainstream television programs in order to foster interactivity between the shows' content and its audiences. 

Perhaps this is no more evident than in Q&A, a weekly ABC1 program featuring a panel of, usually, five political figures, with guests discussing current political affairs and answering questions from a studio audience.

Host of 'Q&A', Tony Jones (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)

Thanks to the Twitter hashtag function, which allows users to categorise topics (such as '#QandA'), audiences are able to interact and assert their opinions on the issues being discussed by guests on the program (Twitter 2013).

On average, more than 21,000 tweets with the 'QandA' hashtag are posted each episode, with a selection of tweets published on screen during the live program (Olivieri 2013; ABC 2013).

Although this is a sign Twitter plays a major role in facilitating political discussion between a large array of citizens, one must recognise the medium's limitations.

Larsson and Moe (2011, p. 741) do so in their aforementioned content analysis, citing a relationship suggesting the volume of tweets are dominated by a minority. 

Certainly, if microblogging platforms such as Twitter are to be seen as a trusted and legitimate arena representing the wider citizenry's views, then the mediums must be consistently and, arguably, evenly utilised by each member of the community.

References:

ABC 2013, 'Q&A's moderated twitter feed', retrieved 2 September 2013, <http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3222272.htm>. 

Kaplan, AM & Haenlein, M 2011, 'The early bird catches the news: Nine things you should know about micro-blogging', Business Horizons, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 105-113.

Larsson, AO & Moe, H 2011, 'Studying political microblogging: Twitter users in the 2010 Swedish election campaign', New Media and Society, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 729-747.

Olivieri, N 2013, 'The real stars of Q&A: the faces behind the faceless tweets', The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February, retrieved 2 September 2013, <http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-real-stars-of-qa-the-faces-behind-the-faceless-tweets-20130204-2dtgs.html>.

Twitter 2013, Using hashtags on Twitter, retrieved 2 August 2013, <https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-using-hashtags-on-twitter>. 

Power of the Prosumer

Each and every time I am at the supermarket, I cannot help it.

No, I am not talking about purchasing those Pringles I did not really need. Instead, I am referring to the usage of self-serve checkouts, where customers are able to scan and bag their own items before paying through a machine.

Web 2.0 has been at the centre of the prosumer arena
(Source: TrafficPlusseo.com)

This act of the consumer simultaneously performing the function(s) of the producer has been categorised by theorists under the term 'prosumption'. 

However, it is not just the supermarket checkouts where the 'prosumer' is active - there is also online.

Web 2.0, particularly, has acted as a prominent arena for prosumer activity, as it has provided internet users with the ability to produce content for media platforms. Such examples of Web 2.0 include YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia, each of which rely on user-generated content.

Indeed, as Ritzer and Jurgenson (2010, p. 20) point out, Web 2.0 'is currently both the most prevalent location of prosumption and its most important facilitator as a 'means of prosumption''. 

Furthermore, the role of capitalism has been raised within prosumption, especially with regard to the idea users of these mediums are being exploited, given the fact they are producing content for the producers free-of-charge (Ritzer & Jurgenson 2010, p. 21).

With capitalism and Web 2.0 at the top of my mind, I have contemplated the role of the blogosphere and, moreover, my own experiences with the medium. 

In June 2012, whilst located in Bosnia and Herzegovina for an indefinite period, I decided to put my time to good use and start up a page on 'Blogger'. The site aimed to provide an Australian perspective of life in Bosnia. 

My blog gained me exposure not only on the internet, but also in Bosnia,
where I even featured in a double-page spread in Bosnia's daily national
newspaper, 'Dnevni Avaz' (Source: Dnevni Avaz / A. Dzonlic).

By the time I hung up the keyboard six months - and 200 posts - later, my blog had accumulated more than 35,000 views. (At the time of writing it has in excess of 53,000 views.)

Given my journalistic ambitions, the blog provided me an opportunity to enhance my writing skills, gain me some publicity, and showcased me to a worldwide audience where I could interact with fellow prosumers. 

Despite the fact I did not earn a single cent for the time spent writing, I feel as though there were many personal gains to make from utilising the medium, and would not hesitate to do so again in the future. 

References:

Ritzer, G & Jurgenson, N 2010 ‘Production, Consumption, Prosumption: The nature of capitalism in the age of the digital ‘prosumer’, Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. 10 no. 1, pp 13-36. 

Harrods vs Hollands (Intimidation vs Resistance)

To some, it was the case of 'Harrods' versus 'Hollands'.

But, to many, it was really a case of David versus Goliath.

In May 2010, UK retail giant Harrods delivered a letter to the owners of Hollands Cafe Lounge - a family-run roadside cafe in Essex - requesting them to change their restaurant's logo due to its apparent resemblance to the decades-old Harrods logo.

The 'Hollands' cafe logo was too similar to the 'Harrods' copyright, according
to the retail giant. (Source: Sky News)

Harrods - worth an estimated £1.5 billion at the time - threatened the owners of the four-month-old cafe with legal action if they did not oblige (Levy 2010).

In what started out as a private letter soon became public, with the cafe's owners, Leyla and Nigel Holland, taking their story to the media.

'Hollands' cafe in Essex, UK. (Source: Peter Lawson/Eastnews
Press Agency Ltd)

By May 28 the saga had been published on major UK news sites including the BBC, Daily Mail and Sky News, leading to a groundswell of public support for the Hollands'.

In order to understand the power-relations of this situation, it is worth analysing the opposing methods of intimidation and resistance.

During their analysis of the music industry's response to file sharing, Martin, Moore and Salter (2010) argued 'powerful perpetrators often act in ways that intimidate their targets', but sometimes such intimidation backfires and has the effect of 'stimulating resistance' and 'lead[s] to greater support for the targets'.

This certainly appears to have been the case in the scenario involving Harrods and Hollands.

Whereby the retail corporation may have expected the small cafe to unequivocally accept the prestigious store's demands, it was instead subject to negative media coverage when the cafe's owners decided to publicise the story.

The exclusive 'Harrods' department store in the Knightsbridge
district of central London. (Source: Pawel Libera/CORBIS)

Months later - following complaints by Nigel Holland that he could not afford the apparent £14,000 necessary to alter the cafe's logos, menus and website - Harrods reportedly offered the cafe an undisclosed amount of financial assistance to make the changes (Daily Gazette 2010).

Although a lack of information on the internet makes it difficult to ascertain what occurred following the Harrods offer, the absence of media coverage thereafter rules it highly unlikely the Hollands' further resisted the corporation.

In retrospect, if one were to view this optimistically through the eyes of the targets, they would see the cash offer as a victory resulting from public resistance in the media.

While this may be true, others, such as myself, continue to lament the influence possessed by large corporations through scare-tactics akin to those mentioned.


References:

Daily Gazette 2010, 'Hollands cafe offered cash by Harrods to change logo', retrieved 12 August 2013, <http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/8323043.Harrods_offers_logo_lolly/?ref=rss>.

Hoskins, P 2010, ''World' Backs Essex Cafe In Harrods Tussle', Sky News, 12 August, retrieved 12 August 2013, <http://news.sky.com/story/799307/world-backs-essex-cafe-in-harrods-tussle>.

Levy, A 2010, 'David and Goliath battle as Harrods orders roadside cafe to change its sign for 'copyright infringement', Daily Mail, 28 May, retrieved 12 August 2013, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1281886/David-Goliath-battle-Harrods-orders-roadside-cafe-change-sign-copyright-infringement.html>.

Martin, B, Moore, C & Salter, C 2010, 'Sharing music files: Tactics of a challenge to the industry', First Monday, vol. 15, no. 12, retrieved 12 August 2013, <http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2986/2680>.