Goodbye?

Just like every story, it must have an ending and a lesson for everyone to take away. This is the end of #MANG2049 (BUT, DON’T WORRY, this is not the end, I am going to continue writing!)

This is my story; this is what I took away. Whats yours?

Like 12 days of Christmas, the 12 days of #MANG2049 was a joyous one! With different ‘gifts’ to open every single day, I was surprised that I was looking forward to every hangout on YouTube!

Perks about #MANG2049, when you missed the live session, there is always playbacks which you can never get in lectures! It wasn’t just filling my brain with knowledge, but it also helps to build my sense of responsibility as there aren’t any physical lecturers to keep an eye on you!

In this blog entry, we are going cover the 4Fs – Fact, Feeling, Findings & Future

Fact & Findings

What we covered in the 12 days of #MANG2049 

 

My self-test (Before & After)

I am going to elaborate on each segment below, keep reading 😉

1. Evaluating online sources – on slide 2 was something I saw on my Facebook feed, I FREAKED OUT and almost shared it with my friends BUT I recalled what was covered in topic 2 and quickly did a quick research and it turns out to be a false news! (PHEW, seems like FAKE news trend isn’t going to die down anytime soon, careful!)

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2. Managing online identities – I did some drastic changes to my Twitter account (see below). I found out how important it is to maintain your online identity, especially on LinkedIn (Daniels et al., 2013) thus I went to check on my LinkedIn! To my surprise, there was 2 account, one of which is outdated therefore I went to delete it and refined the current one!

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3. Participating in online communities – as someone who hates arguments or discussion, I tend to sit back and enjoy the ‘commotion, ‘ but I am thankful that part of the module ‘forces’ us to actively comment and participate in a discussion. It ignites the speaker in me to participate on MOOC, comment on my peer’s blog entry and even voice out my disagreement!

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4. Building online networks – started my account to follow random personalities that aren’t school/work related and realizing it is keeping me out of the loop. Thus, I started following people who are talking about relevant topics like marketing, blogging or people who are using the #MANG2049 hashtag!

It doesn’t stop on Twitter, but I had also developed this habit on my LinkedIn profile!

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5. Collaborating with others – coming from an institution that does team presentation every day, I was pretty much keeping up with the latest collaborating platform, but this module pretty much was an individual task. Starting from being able to watch YouTube live at our corners to crafting blog post before 12 am and ending with scrolling through blog post behind our computer screens. Thus, this hasn’t really explored the idea of collaborating which I am looking forward to in the near future!

 

6. Creating infographics – pictures speak a thousand words, comparing my work from day 1 till now, there was a massive increase in the variety of infographic chosen. Starting out with still infographics, I started to explore different applications, the next moment, I am creating animations and videos!

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7. Managing online privacy and security – before, I was using a standard password on different platforms and sharing my accounts without thinking but now, I have upgraded my password and thinking twice before being so generous! In addition to that, I switched all my social media account to ‘PRIVATE’ mode which allows me to control who sees my post/status.

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Feeling

In a quick 30 seconds video, it shows all the things I had felt throughout the entire course (pardon the trial label!)

Future

It isn’t the end but a closing of a chapter. I am looking forward to filling up the 35 stars on the self-test score chart and of course, passing on the knowledge to my loved ones!

Conclusion

To be honest, it wasn’t an easy journey for me. Writing has never been my forte; I can barely craft my thoughts into 140 characters be it a blog post! But thanks to this module, I got to challenge myself and further verify that my writing isn’t up to standard (I am going to stick to a verbal presentation, HAHA!)

But I enjoyed the journey of crafting my post and infographics, getting to read what my mates think about the topic was surprisingly enjoyable because it just goes on to show how different we are and how we interpret the same issue differently.

that’s all folks, goodbye #MANG2049

Caiying x

(798 words)

 

References:
Daniels, T., McRae, R., Wood, D., McRae, R., Duxter, R., McRae, G., Poultney, L., Socall, E., McRae, G., McRae, R. and Saddler, M. (2013). Why Your Online Identity is Important. [online] Wedge15 Inc. Available at: http://www.wedge15.com/2013/01/why-your-online-identity-is-important/ [Accessed 29 Nov. 2017].

Reflecting on Topic 3

On the topic of identities this week, I came across Nicholas’s and Eva’s blog, both tackling on different topics, as presented below.

 

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I have also come across Rebecca’s and Sahana’s blog talking about multiple identities online, which goes to show that people do have different thoughts and agenda behind their choice of their identity.

How did this new information affect me?

Topic 3: who REALLY am I?

Which one is the REAL me?

So what kind of online identities are there? Watch this little clip to find out more!

Self-produced

Personally, I keep multiple identities online.
1. For professional use (for school and work)
2. For personal use (for friends and relatives)

 

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Self-produced

Answering to which one is the real me, both personal and professional accounts are the real me. What differs is types of contents and interactions made based on the kind of impression I want to portray to my audience. I mean, you can’t use your Tinder profile picture on LinkedIn that may be viewed by your future employers, right?

Let’s explore more into multiple identities online
Sockpuppetry, which is to create false deceptions of identities online to fit into a particular culture. (Seife et al., 2014)

Going in depth into sockpuppetry, there are 2 different types;
1. Type 1 – the puppet master fabricates a phony persona who has a specific attribute or experience that the puppet master himself lacks.
Case study – Amina Araf (Brekke, 2015)
Tom made up Amina Araf as a Syrian American fighting for Liberal and Lesbian rights in Syria to give his ideas credibility.

2. Type 2 – the fictional personality must be someone other than the puppet master. Type 2 sockpuppets are often deployed as reinforcements in an online feud.
Case study – John Lott (Morin and Morin, 2003)
John was a lecturer, and he invents a student, Mary. ‘Mary’ defends John from it’s harshest critic and compliments him excessively.

FUN BREAK: If you have time, watch Catfish from MTV (or highlights here), I personally loved #2 and #4

Understanding that it is easy to create a ‘human’, some may question how do we identify all these bots? Fake people create fake news, so if you can identify fake news, you can identify fake people too!

Linking back to my previous post, there is a comprehensive guide on how you can do so!

In conclusion, I came up with a table to help you to decide whether you want to keep it professional or personal, single or multiple identities.
                                                               Self produced

“Different sites, difference audiences, difference purpose.”

References:
Seife, C., Seife, C., Jameson, E., Monahon, C., McMillan, G., Spector, M., Powers, J., Martínez, A. and Diya, S. (2014). The Weird Reasons Why People Make Up False Identities on the Internet. [online] WIRED. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2014/07/virtual-unreality-the-online-sockpuppets-that-trick-us-all/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017].

Brekke, K. (2015). I Was Catfished By The Poser Behind ‘A Gay Girl In Damascus’. [online] HuffPost UK. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-gay-girl-in-damascus_us_55b91b6fe4b0a13f9d1b4165 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017].

Morin, R. and Morin, R. (2003). Scholar Invents Fan To Answer His Critics. [online] Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/02/01/scholar-invents-fan-to-answer-his-critics/f3ae3f46-68d6-4eee-a65e-1775d45e2133/?utm_term=.36b6be35d783 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017].

Looking Back at Topic 2

Does setting up a clickbait equals to lying?

This week, I came across Timothy’s and Victoria’s blog. Presenting 2 different approaches to the same topic. Timothy applied the theories on to himself and explained using local context. Victoria also uses herself as an example but instead of theories, she explained that age and personal motivation comes into play when assessing sources.

Both perspectives led to a discussion of fake news and unreliable media. Maybe this is something we could expand on, like how unreliable sources (research papers on Google Scholar) could affect our education.

 

I have also come across many posts talking about how to overcome filter bubbles, there was 1 particularly interesting way that I read on Mooc by Nic! Confusing the algorithm by random searches?!

Week 2 in a glance, I tried new things and achieved things I have never achieved before.

So how did my clickbait go? Honestly, it could be so much better as some of my friends pointed out that I should ‘GO BIG or GO HOME,’ if I would to do it again, I will perfect the clickbait to achieve optimal results. But look at the figures I managed to gain!

My thoughts on clickbait, it is not always FAKE news but more like a ‘TRAP’ to lure people into your article to increase viewership/engagement. From a marketing point of view, it is totally okay if it doesn’t cause any issues (political, legal……) but from a consumer point of view, it may be a negative thing and people might feel cheated.

In conclusion, click baits aren’t necessarily a bad thing. But unreliable sources are bad, they provide you with inaccurate information that sways thoughts even on massive issues like elections! Before you hit the ‘Share’ button, be sure to check your sources!

That’s all for now, Earthlings!

Caiying x

(270 words)

[BREAKING NEWS] Caiying is Pregnant At 19!?

Yes, YOU FELL FOR THE CLICKBAIT! How easy was that?! Fake news is popping up everywhere, so how can we evaluate before clicking that ‘Share’ button?

Just like the picture above, there are many sides to 1 story, but which one is the real deal?

Statistics by Digital Influence Lab (Digital Influence Lab, 2015), infographics by me

Having high internet penetration allows us to share the news with just a click of a button, articles gaining a few million engagements is not uncommon these days.

So why is the issue on fake news gaining so much attention? Let’s have a look at the election that took place last year in America!

These outrageous titles were getting more attention than the ‘REAL’ news that was published by the credible news station, some even up to 1 million engagements on Facebook. Imagine being an American citizen, seeing all this on your timeline will sway your views/votes towards both the candidates.

With the filter bubble, Trump supports will only see the negative side of Hillary, vice versa.

Thus, it is critical for us to assess the credibility of the news before hitting the share button.

How does fake news affect Singaporeans?

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Statistics by The Straits Time (AU-YONG, 2017), infographics by me

How to spot the real deal?
Using NLB’s SURE initiative that was launched to tackle the rising issue of fake news, we should Source, Understand, Research and Evaluate before making any conclusion.

Library Board (Nlb.gov.sg, 2017), infographics by me

The slideshow presented below evaluates the different methods of assessing credibility. Green = pros. Red = cons.

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In conclusion, all approaches has it’s pros and cons thus it is important to evaluate using different methods to obtain a more accurate deduction on the articles/sources.

AND IN CASE YOU’RE STILL WONDERING, I’m NOT pregnant.

(275 words)

References:
Digital Influence Lab. (2015). Singapore Digital Marketing Statistics | Digital Influence Lab. [online] Available at: http://digitalinfluencelab.com/singapore-digital-marketing-stats/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].

AU-YONG, R. (2017). Many Singaporeans concerned about fake news: Poll. [online] The Straits Times. Available at: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/many-singaporeans-concerned-about-fake-news-poll [Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].

Nlb.gov.sg. (2017). S.U.R.E. Campaign | National Library Education & Outreach. [online] Available at: http://www.nlb.gov.sg/sure/sure-campaign/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].

Chang, S. (2017). These are the most — and the least — trusted news sources in the U.S. [online] MarketWatch. Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-are-the-most-and-the-least-trusted-news-sources-in-the-us-2017-08-03 [Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].

Carr, J. (2015). Why jokes, idioms, and slang are difficult to translate to another language. [online] Janet Carr @. Available at: https://thisbugslife.com/2015/03/10/why-jokes-idioms-and-slang-are-difficult-to-translate-to-another-language/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].

Savchenko, D. (2013). Birds of a feather flock together. [online] Modern-proverbs.blogspot.sg. Available at: http://modern-proverbs.blogspot.sg/2013/03/birds-of-feather-flock-together.html [Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].

Topic 1 – Reflection

On Monday, I popped over to Aaron’s and Jennifer’s blog to find out what are their thoughts on the topic Digital Differences!

Illustrated in the Venn diagram below, we can see the 2 different approaches that Aaron and Jennifer uses.

Aaron’s
He evaluated himself against the different factors that cause the digital differences and further introduce a simple hierarchy inspired by Maslow to go in-depth into finding out what are the leading causes of the differences.

Jennifer’s
Provided statics from the research that was already conducted and pointed out the different factors that were derived from the analysis.

Both blogs also stated out a common thing that is affected by the digital differences, learning, which I missed out on my entry on this topic. Yes, comparing those with internet privilege, they can access information beyond their textbooks, while the unfortunate ones will have to rely on the sources available within their reach.

Reflecting back, I am blessed that Singapore is a first world country opening up to new technology (Have you heard about cashless plans? It is pretty impressive!) allowing us to learn beyond the textbook and connecting to people around the globe to expand our insights.

Below is a little drawing of what happened in week 1, I was introduced back to blogging, creating infographics and researching to support my stand. A little panicky about the 12am deadline but I am really looking forward to a brand new topic!

Ending my reflection with a quote that I adore from Dr Robert Schuller
“Tough times don’t last, tough people do”

Hang in there, earthlings! We are counting down 40 days to Christmas!

Picture credits: Tax Collection

(270 words)

Topic 1 – Evaluate the impact of your “Digital Differences” on how you interact with the Web.

Internet, a necessity in our world these days. It helps us access different things throughout the globe and makes the world a smaller place. Travelling through the lens of the internet, why not?

Internet, sometimes we just take it for granted, getting angry over the slow connection but have you ever wonder those living in the developing countries? To them, the internet is limited and considered as an upper-class privilege.

—————–
There are 5 main factors that cause digital differences (Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project,2012) which I am going to look at how it differentiates my interaction on the web from others.

1. Age group
   

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2. Educational attainment
   Comparing me (some college) and my aunt (no formal education attained), we can see the differences in the usage and interaction on the web.
   

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Personally, I feel that there is one more factor that contributes to the difference in behaviour. Your job or title. (I couldn’t find any research on it but I talked to a few of my friends and they do agree on the differences)
1. Influencers vs Commoners 

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In conclusion, as you age into a different phase of life (student, working adult, retired), your interaction on the web will also transit along.

References;
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. (2012) Digital differences. [online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/digital-differences [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].

Picture credits: Tax Collection

Word count: 284 words

Introductory Post

Definition of Digital Vistors & Digital Residents
Digital Visitors – “an individual who uses the web as a tool in an organized manner whenever the need arises.” These individuals use the Internet for a goal, but do not need to, or have to, reply to it.

Digital Residents – an individual who lives a percentage of their life online. The web supports the projection of their identity and facilitates relationships.” These people want to and do, do a vast majority of socializing and ‘living’ through their professional and social network online.

(David Hopkins, 2009)

Who am I?
Using the table (Nic Fair, 2016) shown below, there are a few simple questions that help to assess which category do people fall under.

Upon assessing using the table, I categorize myself under digital resident.
1. Checking my social media profile when I wake up before I sleep and anytime when I have nothing to do.

2. I do not explore websites; I usually stick to the ones that I am familiar and regular with.

3. I love engaging online, especially on social media. Commenting on my friend’s post or posts that are of my area of interest.

4. Shopping online? I can confidently state that I am the queen of online shopping! Always on the hunt for great deals!

5. Yes, going online doesn’t mean I have something to do. Instead, I have nothing to do, and I surf the net to look for things to do!

 

So hello internet, I am a new resident on the block! Looking forward to learning new things through the module #mang2049 Living and Working on the Web!

Are you a digital resident (like me? HELLO!) or a digital visitor (WELCOME!)

 

References:
David Hopkins (2009). Digital Native/Immigrant … or Resident/Visitor? – Technology Enhanced Learning Blog. [online] Available at: http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/elearning/digital-natvie-immigrant-or-resident-visitor/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2017].

Picture credits: Tax Collection

(Word count: 294)