Month: December 2023

OLJ Task 4 – Reflections on the impact of change

“After exploring the resources above, choose two ways that you see social media has impacted on an organisation you are familiar with. This could be a business, an institution or a government department. Identify the organisation and write 400 words explaining and analysing the impact”.

Animals Australia

My interaction with Animals Australia began in the early 2000’s as a recipient of their email list, then adding them on Myspace followed by Facebook. By 2010 I was regularly posting on the ‘Animals Australia Unleashed’ community forum aimed at 13–26-year-olds wanting to discuss animal welfare, food tips (veganism wasn’t yet mainstream!) and organising events and activism.

Image of an archived page from Animals Australia Unleashed showing a red and white coloured community forum.
Source: Trove – Animals Australia Unleashed 2012

They grew quickly, and social media was key to their success, as their undercover investigations combined with public awareness campaigns were used as leverage to enact corporate and political change for animals. A keystone of their social media accounts is their ‘Call to action’ content, allowing for easy sharing of videos across multiple platforms, online petitions, and pre-filled email templates on issues such as greyhound racing or live export. This type of content gives people social capital, they feel like they are doing a good deed and Animal Australia then makes is easy to share that good deed (although is it still a good deed if you need to advertise it?) with the rest of your followers, thus promoting more people to get involved.

Image of a circle that represents the Program Strategy. The orange coloured third is labelled Cruelty Investigations, the grey, Public Awareness Campaigns and the yellow, Political Lobbying for Animals.

Source: Australian Progress, 2015

Building a community of social media “activists” that outwardly (and financially) support Animals Australia is also good for business; as a publicly funded charity, without strong support from their followers, they would not have such successful campaigns.

Major Successes
One particularly effective campaign targeted at McDonalds to end their use of cage eggs across Australian restaurants was by asking children to create video messages of themselves (complete with cameos from backyard chickens) to move to free-range eggs. McDonalds had no chance, the social pressure worked, and McDonalds did eventually remove cage eggs in 2017. The video is here:
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalsAustralia/videos/10153085045675299/

I remember 2012’s “Make it possible” ad campaign, released solely on social media that eventually spread to television and newspaper advertisements, reusable shopping bags in Coles (that were eventually removed due to protests from farming groups) and even cinema ads. By the end of the campaign, ‘Make It Possible’ received twelve million views and directly impacted on the reported behaviour of over 291,000 Australians, as well as impacting policy decisions made by government and industry (Mummery, J., 2019). I have included the video here, but keep the tissues handy: https://youtu.be/f5xxQV-R6Ug

In 2023, Animals Australia is the one of the most well-known animal welfare organisations and what sets them apart from groups like the RSPCA is their impressive social media presence and tools for online activism. They have continued to evolve, and I am still a proud supporter of them all these years later.

(426 words).

References

Animals Australia. (n.d). Frequently asked questions. https://animalsaustralia.org/faqs/

Animals Australia. (2021). Animals Australia 2011 make it possible ad (extended version). https://youtu.be/f5xxQV-R6Ug

August. (2023). Designing for a kinder world with animals Australia. https://www.august.com.au/our-best-work/animals-australia/

Australian Progress. (n.d.). Jesse Marks (Animals Australia) – progress 2015. https://vimeo.com/127683461

Mummery, J., & Rodan, D. (2019). Becoming activist: The mediation of consumers in animals Australia’s “make it possible” campaign. Media International Australia Incorporating Culture & Policy, 172(1), 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X19853077

Poultry Site (n.d.). McDonald’s commitment to phase out cage eggs in Australia. https://www.thepoultrysite.com/news/2014/09/mcdonalds-commitment-to-phase-out-cage-eggs-in-australia

Trove. (n.d.). (2009, October, 15). Unleashed community forum: Animals Australia unleashed. Retrieved 15 Oct 2009 13:36:42, from https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20091015023642/http://www.unleashed.org.au/community/forum

OLJ Task 3 – Mobile exploration

“Explore three of your favourite websites (any sites you are interested in) on your mobile device and compare and contrast their functionality and the ways that they provide access to social tools. For each site list features that you consider provide a good mobile experience, and suggest any improvements that could be made. 400 words.”

Buzzfeed

Buzzfeed is a digital media company built for the collaboration and sharing of pop culture content. 
Screen shot of the Buzzfeed homepage as viewed from the mobile app, with a variety of catchy headlines and small images
Source: Buzzfeed
Screen shot of the BuzzFeed Community page as viewed in the mobile app.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Functionality: 
  • The layout is optimized for mobile devices, with catchy headlines and thumbnails to catch the interest of mobile users quickly.
  • Members (free to sign up) of the Buzzfeed Community can create and submit their own content in the hope of it being published on the site. Buzzfeed has gamified this process with a tally board showing Buzzfeed’s “top contributors”
  • Members can comment on and rate posts. All content can be automatically shared to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter (X), via email or generate a hyperlink.
  • A mobile app is available, and the website will prompt users to open the app for a better viewing experience.
The Guardian

The Guardian is an independently owned newspaper with half its revenue obtained from millions of digital supporters across 180 countries, which allows the website to be viewed for free (Guardian, 2023).
Screenshot of the homepage of the Guardian website, viewed from the mobile app.
Source: The Guardian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Functionality: 
  • The website automatically directs me to Guardian Australia and displays country-specific content first.
  • Options to share articles on Facebook, Twitter (X) or through email, reflecting the user demographic who are considered mature, well-educated and affluent (Guardian, n.d.).
  • Option to sign up for specific e-news based on preference – political, sport, lifestyle.
    Improvements:
    Screen shot of the popup message on the Guardian app that encourages readers to register or sign into the Guardian site.
    Source: The Guardian

I find the constant prompts to log into the site so they can tailor articles to me or become a financial donor of the Guardian frustrating as the message covers the article text. Although you can close the prompt, I regularly close the website in frustration.  

 

 

 


Libraries Tasmania (LT)

As part of the Department for Children, Educational and Young People, the LT website is primarily an information tool with barely any opportunity for collaboration or interaction between users. 
Screenshot from Libraries Tasmania homepage as viewed from a mobile device with the options, Search, Menu, Using the library, Get help, Discover, Explore and My Account.
Source: Libraries Tasmania

Screenshot of the Libraries Tasmania homepage as viewed from a mobile device, there is an image of an orange coloured Indigenous drawing

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

Functionality:
  • Users can choose the language they wish to view the site in. 
  • Condensed menus and tiles are listed vertically for easy viewing (no need to scroll left to right). 
  • Compatible with screen reading software for accessibility  
  • The most important tabs are at the top of the page – search the catalogue, my account, menu, and links to library locations. 
  • Some catalogue records include a reviews tab, which pulls from the Library Thing website rather than Libraries Tasmania member reviews.
    Improvements:

    When viewing catalogue records, a button to share directly to a client’s social media account would allow easier promotion of collection items.

    (386 words).
References 

Buzzfeed, Inc. (2023). About Buzzfeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/about?edition=au 

Guardian. (n.d.) The guardian and observer reader profile. https://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2012/08/22/Printreaderprofile.pdf 

Guardian. (2023). About us. https://www.theguardian.com/about 

Libraries Tasmania. (n.d.) About us. http://www.libraries.tas.gov.au 

OLJ Task 2 – The influence of technology on society

“Based on your exploration, try to summarise in 400 words what you know and think about the influence of technology on society in general and specifically on organisations. What are some of the main points organisations have to consider that they may not have had to consider in the past?”

Cartoon drawing of young woman with brown hair getting annoyed while sitting at a computer with a cup of tea and a notepad.

Source: Pixabay

I have experienced the evolution of technology firsthand, from a clunky, shared computer in primary school to a smartphone that enables constant connectivity to the world around me through Web 2.0. Our devices are getting smarter, but our expectations for what technology must achieve are increasing. At the bare minimum, organisations must have a webpage that is easily identifiable in search engine results, provides easy communication, and has a social media page. For the 85.4% of Australians that use a smartphone to search the Internet (Consuegra, 2023), websites must also have the functionality to be viewed on different-sized devices or risk clients closing your page in favour of a competitor. 

As well as expectations from technology users as to what organisations should be providing for them, service providers are increasingly moving their operations online (such as Centrelink, Telstra or any bank) and expecting their clients to all have access to a computer and have digital skills to complete the tasks required of them such as an uploading a form or paying a bill. The reality that I see every day working in a public library is that people are being left behind as the technology is not accessible to them. This “digital divide” was also highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when students sat in cars outside shopping centres to access Wi-Fi to attend their online classes. 

Moving services online can save organisations money as computers pick up more of the work but there are safety risks involved with having enormous amounts of people’s data on the internet, just ask Optus or Medibank. Organisations must provide security for clients’ financial and personal details and have a clear policy on how they store (or sell) these details to third parties. 

The influence of technology on interpersonal skills is concerning, I believe it has lowered people’s ability to communicate verbally due to the prevalence of email and instant messaging. Organisations need to consider how they communicate with their clients in a world where one misstep can be broadcast over social media and their reputation destroyed. Is their messaging inclusive, can is be understood by people with English as a second language? Are there assistive technologies available to help people interact with an organisation? Users expect technology to be accessible to them and make their lives easier, not harder, and I think organisations need to consider that to be effective.

(396 words)

References 

Consuegra, H. (2023). Australian mobile data usage statistics 2023. Red Search. https://tinyurl.com/yc342c9b 

 

OLJ Task 1 – Social Media and Society – Journal Article Analysis

“Access this journal, Social Media and Society, and read one article from the current issue that appeals to your interests. In a blog post, provide a brief description and an analysis of the article of your choice. Do you agree with the authors? If not – why not? (350-400 words).”

Image of a black smart phone with a measuring tape squeezing it titly with icons of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to signal the grip they have on users.

Source: The Spectrum

As a woman who uses Instagram extensively, the October-November issue of “Social Media and Society” in the article ‘Non-Sexualized Images and Body-Neutral Messaging Foster Body Positivity Online” stood out to me for analysis. Like many women, I tend to compare myself to photos of women online which causes me to become critical of my appearance, therefore the idea of online body positivity movement that promotes self-acceptance and love of one’s appearance is appealing. So appealing, that as of July 2023, on Instagram (the largest platform for body positivity content) the hashtag #bopo had 1.2 million tags (Cohen, Irwin, et al., 2019; Cwynar-Horta, 2016; Instagram, July 2023).  

 As a decentralised user-generated movement, body positivity posts aim to empower women to hold a positive attitude regarding their bodies, but these types of posts are varied in their styling and messaging. The article sought to compare the mainstream appearance-oriented body positivity posts that emphasise a love of one’s physical body against those posts promoting body neutrality – which seeks to disconnect a women’s perception of her worth from her physical appearance. In addition, they analysed if the choice of platform changed how participants viewed the messaging (Instagram vs Flickr vs a blog). 

I predicted that posts promoting body neutrality were favoured by women over mainstream body positive posts as the latter is often only a slight variation from dominant Western beauty ideal, young, thin, and white (Brathwaite et al., 2023). These types of posts could show a woman with stretch marks or body hair but still not showing any diversity in age, race a body size. Often, these posts can be promoting a product to “fix” the issues in the photo, suggesting these posts are more about self-interest and financial gain the empowering women to feel good about themselves.

Therefore, the results were unsurprising, confirming my own views that body neutral messaging felt less self-interested and more morally appropriate, in turn causing women to embrace a more inclusive beauty standard. Interestingly, the social media platform used to show participants the images did not change the perception of the images. I had assumed that women who post body positivity content on Instagram, being the main platform for body positivity content, would be judged as more self-interested than those from Flickr or a blog, but the study shows no significant differences (Brathwaite et al., 2023, p.9).  

(389 words).

References 

 Brathwaite, K. N., DeAndrea, D. C., & Vendemia, M. A. (2023). Non-sexualized images and body-neutral messaging foster body positivity online. Social Media + Society, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305123120785

Cohen R., Irwin L., Newton-John T., Slater A. (2019). #Bodypositivity: A content analysis of body positive accounts on Instagram. Body Image, 29, 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.02.007 

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