Group 29 Collaborative Assignment

Ever wondered what life would be like in a society with no CCTV cameras? Group 29 gives you an insight!

Members: Jasmine Karaoulis, Bridgette Van der Zee, Jiwon Oh, Ryan Clayton. 

Co-Authored Written Component

This project from the get go offered an abundance of possibilities and creative freedom. – What would our focus be on?

Step 1. – The Collaboration Process

After Adam sent out a group email informing us of our groups, we gathered upon email briefly and then quickly moved across to as many media platforms as possible, these included, Trello, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Google Drive, Docs, and Asana. As busy university students; we took a little to get the ball rolling, although once we figured it out, we were full steam ahead. Asana was a great tool to utilise as a team. It allowed us to share and collaborate our ideas, set dates on a group calendar, and update one another upon how far into each part of the assignment we were.

Step 2. – Deciding Our Topic.

Each member of the group proposed what they had looked at in particular detail during the course of the trimester. The group narrowed it down to the possibilities of CCTV Surveillance, Drone use, Surveillance in TV and film, and Social Media and the law. With little deliberation the group came to the unanimous decision; to focus on the topic of surveillance and CCTV. Then it came down to the nitty gritty, what aspects would we then discuss and focus on? How would we frame this topic of ours?  

Step 3. – The Video.

There were so many options to consider in regards to the style and genre of the video. We had a few days to brainstorm and consider our different approaches, and when we came together it was like a collaborative lightbulb moment. We exchanged ideas, thoughts, and concepts, and came to the conclusion that we would take a leaf out of the current news media’s concept of reporting in our tactic for discussing CCTV. Our chosen genre was a news report that would be played upon mainstream free-to-air TV channels; with a hint of a current affairs. The next issues was how our team would frame our story, and we came to the conclusion that our best angle would be to create mini feature news stories, and a vox-pop with somebody upon our chosen topic.

Our Topic of Conversation

After our group chose to talk about surveillance and CCTV as a topic on the news report style, we had a few days to brainstorm and consider what elements we would like to convey in the report. Initially, we struggled for good ideas, however we tried to think of basic ideas, then finally we decided to convey that the society without CCTV is better than the society with CCTV.

CCTV and surveillance mechanisms
exist in our society for the sense of personal security, privacy and prevention
of crime. On the other hand, many people believe that it is invasion to their
privacy. Some people believe that CCTV breaches our privacy by constant
monitoring and removes the trust from the government with its citizens. Another
issue with CCTV is that, crime rates are increasing regardless of CCTV
surveillance, which proves that CCTV is no longer an effective means of
deterring crime, and that at the end of the day; even if a criminal is caught
on CCTV, the crime has no been deterred. There is still a sense of security
that most citizens feel as if they achieve from street CCTV. Which leave the
government in a tricky situation; to cut a useless product that does not deter
crime, or to leave it to leave a sense of security. Our group assignment explores
this issue, and proposes an alternative to CCTV.

Production.

Jasmine used her technology skills to put together the video piece. We all posted up our script, our audio file, and our collaborative footage. Jasmine was kind enough to record parts of the footage due to some of us being too sick to form a sentence! From this, Jasmine tactfully created a news-style introduction, and then weaved each story together seamlessly using iMovie to create our best attempt of a news report discussing the topic of CCTV being brought down across Australia. Using a range of shot lengths and styles, Jasmine place together a video that places the audience within the piece being able to understand what our story was about even if the viewer missed the introduction.

Although we took a little to get moving upon our ideas, we came to a simple conclusion; that email is a very ineffective way to collaborate a group assignment. We gathered that the more processes we used to communicate with one another and explore our options to discuss CCTV and surveillance, the better. Discussing CCTV in a negative light seemed at first to be a simple idea. Although it took our group to collaborate ideas, we finally figured it out and worked out the best light to discuss the topic in. Using interview tactics such as a vox-pop made our video seem more like a news report. Introductory music and closing credits with music also were important added elements to the piece. The gathering of creative commons footage and images was vital to creating our story, as this allowed us to utilise professionally shot footage and fill in screen time. Collaborating on Google Drive was effective to gather all media, although we can all learn from next time by being a bit more creative with our labelling to help make the production stage a bit more straight-forward. As a team, we effectively gathered our ideas to effectively create a news report on the topic of CCTV being a failure within Australia.

VIDEO REFERENCES

“APEC Sydney Australia 8 Sept 2007”. Flickr. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Oct. 2016, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/14532742@N07/1482744579/>.

Australian Institute of Technology, 2010, ‘Effectiveness of public space CCTV systems’, retrieved 29 September 2016, http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/1-10/08/04.html

“CAN SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS BE SUCCESSFUL IN PREVENTING CRIME AND CONTROLLING ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOURS?”. Australian Insitute of Criminology. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Oct. 2016.

Cooksey, Alex. “MELBOURNE”. Vimeo. N.p., 2010. Web. 7 Oct. 2016, <https://vimeo.com/14760177&gt;.

Jasn 2010, Life’s Too Short to be Controlled, photograph, Flickr, retrieved 3 October 2016, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/lewishamdreamer/4318056881/in/photolist->.

]John McGarvey 2010, 85/365 Big Brother? He’s here already, photograph, Flickr, retrieved 3 October 2016, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmcga/4468003947/in/photolist-9cEASh->.

“Police Conversation”. Flickr. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Oct. 2016, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/13233550634/>.

Steffens, M., 2009, ‘How good are CCTV cameras at preventing crime?’, ABC science, retrieved 29 September 2016, http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/04/15/2543768.htm

– All sound effects and visual effects in the video provided by iMovie.

How not to be a D**K on social media: 3 tips for that one douche-bag we know

Can you imagine losing your job because you shared a screenshot of somebody’s Tinder profile?

Can you imagine going to prison because you posted something online as a bit of a joke?

Well, I’m sure that Chris Hall didn’t know what the consequences of this were going to be.

tinder profile.png

Chris Hall’s original posted on Facebook, shared by ABC News (2015).

Chris lost his job because he shared this screenshot, you can listen to the details of the original story and podcast from Triple J Hack here

Henderson (2012, pp.3) explored the issues with building laws for social media; in particular for sex offenders in America and the access granted to social networking sites. In previous cases, we’ve seen some sex offenders manipulate the internet for their own sick intentions. This is why it is crucial that we get these things right.

On contrasted note, has someone ever breached your privacy, or have you posted, or shared something of somebody’s without their permission? Did they ask you to take it down? Then maybe you should have a listen to my interview with Dr. Deb Watson a research fellow at Macquarie University. Deb’s major project is based upon the processes of court reporting on criminal sexual assault trials, in particular on AFL players. Deb’s research background reaches far upon that, including the topics of sexting, and sexism, and gender representations across media sources.

If you’d like to know more about Deb, contact her through here

Or if you think my voice is boring, here’s a top 3 things to help avoid becoming a criminal.

 

  1. Think about what you’re posting. It sounds stupidly simple, although most people use social media for its function ability, that means; it’s quick and simple posting and publishing abilities. But just like you’d proof read an essay, proof read your piece. Consider this first in your proofing; is this really appropriate to post online, or will it come and bite me on the ass? Ever heard the saying “leave your racist grandma at home”? Well consider that but for social media terms.
  2. Know what the right plan of action is if your privacy is breached. Let’s say somebody posts something up of yours (like a naked selfie sent in confidence) and is refusing to take it down. As much as you probably don’t want to; screenshot it, and report it to the police immediately. This is against the law in Victoria; and it’s unfair on you. Which brings me to the final point.
  1. Don’t victim blame. As a high school student, sitting in sex-ed watching my 55+ year old high school teacher slip a banana on a condom was one of the most vivid memories, although I can also remember the local police coming in and lecturing us on sending “nudies”, and that “if you send a nudie, and it gets passed around, you’ve only got yourself to blame and there’s nothing we’ll do about it.” – Listen here Buffalo Bill; the times have changed, that is ILLEGAL, and it is NOT the victims fault.

 

It’s pretty clear that if you’re reading this, you probably got here via my Twitter, or through something on Deakin. I’m not trying to teach you how to suck eggs, but please.. PLEASE just consider what you post a little more cautiously. The world is watching, and the internet remembers everything *whispers* everything.

If you want more information about your privacy online, you can read more here.

 

REFERENCES:

“Lawstuff Australia – Know Your Rights – – Topics – Sexting”. Lawstuff.org.au. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.

Lipschultz, J. H. “Book Review: The Social Media Handbook, Edited By Jeremy Hunsinger And Theresa Senft YOUTILITY, Why Smart Marketing Is About Help Not Hype, By Jay Baer Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, How To Tell Your Story In A Noisy Social World, By Gary Vaynerchuk The Social Media Industries, By Alan B. Albarran Social Media And The Law: A Guidebook For Communication Students And Professionals, By Daxton R. Stewart”. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator 69.3 (2014): 329-331. Web.

McVeigh, Journalist. “Tinder Screenshot Gets Guy Fired”. triple j. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.

“Olivia Melville’s Tinder Profile”. ABC News. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.

 

A Heartfelt Message to Kim Jong Un

So I’ve heard a lot of mixed messages about North Korea and its surveillance and privacy towards its tourists.

So I thought, what better way than to go straight to the main man himself via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/ryjclay/status/771198220131151873

But no reply..

So I tried one of the Supreme Leaders best mates:

https://twitter.com/ryjclay/status/771197418486366209

But still, no dice. – Final try:

https://twitter.com/ryjclay/status/771198414621020161

The reason I tried to get in contact with Kim Jong Un is because I’d heard a lot of mixed messages about the experiences Westerners have had in DPRK.

So I dug straight to the core and interviewed one of my friends who spent 5 days there. Here are some of her photos from her experience, take a close look at the propaganda postcards, how pleasant!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Images supplied by my friend who for contract reasons must stay anonymous.

If you’d like to listen to the podcast, leave a comment with your email address and I may give you permission via Google Drive to listen to it.*

North Korea is a backwards country, and according to my friend’s interview, everybody is constantly monitored to follow the country’s rigid lifestyle.

Did you know, that if you went to North Korea, your SnapStreak on Snapchat would end? There is no internet access for Westerners, let alone the majority of its citizens.

Some of you might say, “Great! Now the government couldn’t track me, and I can do anything.” Although considering you no longer have the internet, you no longer have a need to be tracked.

According to Cha (2011, pp. 615), internet users give away too much information, with only 20% of internet users reading the privacy terms and conditions. I know I’m guilty of doing this. The misconception that our data is retained in a safe place is all too wrong.

Quinn’s study (2016, pp.81) states that the determining factors of our social presence rely on the independent qualities of a user. In other words, it really depends on who you would like to appear as online.

At the end of the day, North Korea can teach us a very valuable lesson. You can control the way the media looks at you, but only to a specific targeted audience. The rest of the outside world can form any view upon you without knowing the real “truth”. It’s extremely valuable and important that you form a solid persona, control it, and remember that somebody is always watching. North Korea is reported to be a dark, terrible, country; the Western world has very limited insight, and from what we have learned, it’s the last place you want to be.  Don’t build your social profile like North Korea has built their outsider’s perspective.

*Please comment with your email to get access to the podcast, I will approve you via Google Drive to listen to it.

REFERENCES:

Royalty free music on podcast from bensound.com

Cha, J 2011, ‘Information privacy: a comprehensive analysis of information request and privacy policies of most-visited Web sites’, Asian Journal of Communication, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 613-631. Available from: 10.1080/01292986.2011.615942. [1 September 2016].

Quinn, K 2016, ‘Why We Share: A Uses and Gratifications Approach to Privacy Regulation in Social Media Use’, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 61-86. Available from: 10.1080/08838151.2015.1127245. [1 September 2016].

“When the Internet goes down in North Korea, there aren’t many to notice.” PRI’s The World 23 Dec. 2014. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Sept. 2016.

Gamification: I Call Bulls**t!

Here are the 3 best reasons you should think twice about gamification.
What the hell is Adam on about?
If this is what you’re thinking, you may need a little enlightenment. Keep reading

 I managed to squeeze time out of “gameful” guru Professor Mika LaVaque-Manty of the University of Michigan. He explained his stance on gamification, how he effectively utilised it, and how to be successful at being gameful.

What does this all mean? How do I pass this unit? Prove to me that gamification isn’t actually bullshit! What about my privacy?

Listen here to this 20 minute chat with Mika to find out. Don’t have time or don’t want to listen to my stupid voice? Then have a look at the 3 valuable lessons I learned below.

  1. Gamification of a unit is a totally effective way to redeem yourself from the tunnel of failure we all fall down.

Mika told me that if we can change that terrible habit of; that we start on 100 points and slowly lose them, then there’s a chance for all of us. Including those of you who are still hungover from Friday night’s shenanigans.

If you can justify that you’re starting on 0 points, and utilising multiple sources to learn, then expect the unexpected. The more approaches you take to getting the result for that assessment,  the higher chance you have at levelling up and moving onto the next task.

  1. Didn’t do too good? That’s fine, try again.

The attitude that failure is not an option is ridiculously valuable. Gamification, or as Mika refers to it as; being “gameful” is an awesome way to realise that this isn’t the end. He calls it a “safe failure”; where you have a safety net protecting you from falling down the “woe is me” wishing well. You still have the next assessment or…quest to tackle to get to the next level. Sure it’s week 5, but you can still have a chance to redeem yourself. Remember, you’re going to do better only if you give it a shot. Learn from your last quest, and draw up a different game plan.

  1. I don’t want everybody knowing my marks, or how much I suck. What about my privacy?

The most important elements of being gameful I learned from Mika included, that there should never be a leader board, in other words – nobody should ever know what one another’s scores are. It can damage a student’s morale and drive to work, create a sense of displacement and isolation and become an ineffective way or driving initiative.

The importance of this is to build a self-motivation, find something that drives you to learn more! Mika believes that a public leaderboard can counteract the context of “safe-failures” For me, this was to experiment with podcasts, learn how to conduct a sociable; yet informative interview, and it’s definitely worked!

 

Still reading? Great!

I got in contact with Mika by googling “gamification in university”, the article titled “How Do You (successfully) Gamify a Course?”

contained an interview with him. Have a read if the interview interested you, he’s got some great ideas.

Mika sent me in the direction of a blogpost called “Gamification is bullshit”   written by Ian Bogost, who is a games philosopher and developer. The articles identifies the issues in gamification, you may find this interesting, seeing that almost all of the elements mentioned in this post are omitted from the unit.

More info on Mika.

I believe that self-drive is the easiest way to get good marks, create a motivation, a self-interest, and that if you invest some of your time into something, you’ll find that it’s much easier to achieve a good mark.

How a pair of extremely tight golden shorts gave me a true internet privacy awakening.

“Oh my God, Ryan!.. Ryan Clayton! Oh my God, what you wore to school athletics, those little yellow shorts *squeeling and laughing*, oh my God how did you go with that drama performance, the one where you’re covered in the fake blood, that looked so intense!”

A something-teen year old girl ran up to me with a vodka cruiser in one hand and a goon sack in the other. At first I was concerned, did I say something rude to offend her? But once that came out of her mouth, I was more concerned, how the hell do I know this person? How the hell does this person know what I wore to my school athletics carnival?

It turns out that this girl had done an intricate stalk of all the guests attending the house party I was at that night, she knew of me through friends of friends, and we apparently had multiple mutual friends. Her friend request was pending on my Facebook when I left the house to go to the party. I literally had no idea who she was.

She began to explain herself to me, she’d Facebook stalked me prior to attending the party and upon having a good stalking; she’d decided that I was to her liking. Who knew golden shorts that were of inappropriate length could be of an attraction to somebody in the 2000’s?

Golden shorts, golden locks, golden socks.. And not a single arms day.

After this incident, it only made me realise how open my social media privacy settings were, how could some girl access my profile and learn so much about me that I thought only my friends could possibly see? That night I swiftly changed the settings to a higher security on my mobile phone.

Does this mean that anybody/ everybody who’d stumbled across my Facebook decided that I was a fake-blood-enthusiast-golden-shorts-wearer? That’s like, the worst online reputation I could ever imagine to form about myself. I truly hope that the internet forgets some things.

Knowing my odds, somebody read that blog.

As a clear indicator of online reputation, I believe that other mainstream social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter allow users to paint a picture of who they are. My Instagram had been set on private for my entirety of its use. As a bit of a social experiment, up until about 3 months ago when I dropped the privacy settings to public. I posted weekly a new photo and hashtagged until my fingers dropped off. Over a period of 6 weeks, I gained a total of 72 new followers. Though after two weeks of changing my privacy back to a private account, I slowly lost almost all (61) of those followers. Instafollow is an app that allows users to measure the movements of my followers on Instagram. It will let me know when somebody unfollows, follows, blocks, or regularly comments on my profile.

Sometimes I wonder, that angsty teen poem blog that I wrote in year 10 and deleted in year 12, will that still leave a footprint on the internet’s surface? I deleted that blog years ago. But it still concerns me today that somebody around the world once read the words that the dark, emotional, hormone raging 16 year old me wrote.

On that note, can anybody who is reading this never, and I mean never ever, Google search “REAL EYES. REALISE. REAL LIES: A long and detailed poem e-book about why I’ll never trust anybody blog”.

Twitter @ryjclay

Instagram @ryjclay

Soundcloud /ryjclay

About.me /ryan.clayton

WordPress /ryjclay

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t teach it how to twerk. Probably my best metaphor yet. And the most relevant in terms of my effectiveness on being a social media guru

Even though I know how to do a Boolean search and figure out the da vinci code without even whipping a single able body, my ego on being a social media guru is all a façade.

 

A guy on a Kawasaki made up of Guy Kawasaki’s. I’m a genious, Ross, if you read and see this, you know it’s totally worth a HD just for my Photoshop skillz.

The truth is; until I was exposed to Guy Kawasaki’s video on how to be better at using social media to create a stronger, more vivid profile; I really was only yet another mere crumb in a bakery. Useless, with no purpose, no meaning and not physically attached to a panini.

 

Kawasaki’s video taught me so much about everything I didn’t even know I needed work.

Here are some of the things that I noted down that I need to reflect and improve on:

 

My Social media avatar – need a new photo. Take a photo of a headshot positioned with headspace. Use this avatar across every site.

Profile perfection – AREAS OF NEEDING WORK

Instagram bio and links.

Create a link to a general page in order to reflect upon my social media status.

Appropriate avatar

Privacy of posts and appropriateness?

Instagram is a reflection of my passions, hobbies, and interests

 

Twitter bio and links

Twitter handles and posting

Are my posts logical and create interest

What am I posting about

Am I following the right twitter pages

 

Linkedin profile

Create an avatar

Update information

Link some of my wordpress postings to linkedin, repost them

Create a link to my about.me

 

About.me profile

Does my about.me have appropriate links and informative and postivite reflecting content?

About.me avatar

About.me bio

 

WordPress posting

Are my posts appropriate?

Hide inappropriate postings?

Create another blog to reflect my journey of powerlifting

 

Youtube

What are my posts

What is my username

Youtube avatar

Youtube bio

 

So as you can tell from all of this, it’s literally impossible for me to think that I’m any good with social media, when after watching a how to basics video, I’ve noted a billion things that I need to work on.

 Produced using Coggle.

As for what this has to do with my future in the working world; it has everything to do with it! I believe that my social media profile is going to be one of my primary sources ot having a successful job, following, and reputation. I believe with a well managed social media profile across the multiple networks I use, that there’s a high chance that my neatness and (future) profession, I’ll have a fair chance running in getting into the workforce that I pursue.

It only took me $274.62 and six years to figure out how to use Google.

On the week that I’d turned 15, I’d just got my first outright phone and phone plan.

On the month that I’d turned 15 and one month, I’d just received my first ever phone bill.

On that very same month, I cried like a little baby because of my $274.62 phone bill on my already pricey $30/month rollover plan.

I’d hate to get too deep on you, but the question of “who am I” is just way too deep.

So I leave that for Google to answer:

Find out who you truly are using google.

It only took me an additional 6 years to figure out how the flip “BUDDY” worked. You might know of alternative text messaging services that do the same thing (Jerry knows, Fongo knows, Bongo knows).

But now “Ryan knows”.

Basically these texting services use Boolean search methods to find something out about you and shock you.

The service is targeted more-so at teenagers, who seem to be a bit more gullible and not understand the vulnerability of their online status and privacy. Similar to golden shorts me.

It turns out, that one of my friends used to work for one of these companies. Let’s just call him Tom. In just a few minutes, Tom was able to draw a few things up about me. By using some really basic search tactics he searched for this:

Get to know me in .56 seconds, in possibly 177 different ways.

From drawing on the search results, he’d then reply to the text message with something along the lines of “BUDDY knows that Ryan loves a good disco and representing his Deakin hockey team as the coach and manager. He also knows that *insert females name found from looking at my Facebook friends list* has a bit of a crush on him, more?”.

The service works that so whenever Tom replies to a text within a set time frame, and whether the sender replies asking for more information, he received a percentage of the text message cost ( a whopping $4.50 per text).

So gullible-golden shorts Ryan obviously would have his brain blown out of his head. How can somebody know so much about me!? So golden-shor… I mean Ryan would obviously reply with

Tom would reply either with something else that he’d discover from the search, or say something like

“BUDDY saw Ryan along Highbury Rd, with a protein shake in one hand and his phone on Instagram posting a gym selfie in a revealing singlet”

Tom would gather this by just having a squiz at Google Maps ( if need be) and realise that a road close to Deakin university that the odds are that Ryan would’ve travelled along at some stage in the last possible month.

“I’d just keep them hanging in there”

“We’d just smash in a road because kids don’t make the connection”

Using brief bits of information, Tom would paint BUDDY as a sketchy guy who has been following you, but you’ve never noticed when, nor where you’d been followed.

Little illusive bits of messages just kept me texting and texting, not about myself, but about my crushes, about my friends, my family, and friends. Who; at the ripe age of 15, also were around that same age bracket.

I mean yeah sure, Boolean searching extends much further past a few quotation marks. It’s just so good to reflect on my first ever experience, and to realise teenage me was ridiculously uneducated about the internet, and more-so gullible..

But now six years later, $274.62 plus the $4.50 I just spent using BUDDY knows because I’m a big child. I know who BUDDY’s daddy is, and I know what he does.

About as accurate as BUDDY knows. 

Twitter @ryjclay

Instagram @ryjclay

Soundcloud /ryjclay

About.me /ryan.clayton

WordPress /ryjclay

Online dating using Tinder.

ALC201 Module 2

I aimed to creatively stimulate and argue points that online dating is yet another application that we use to stimulate online functionality. In particular, exploring the boundaries of Tinder and how the application is used, explored and whether or not it has the capabilities of other online dating sites. I also place it against traditional dating. Asking contradictory questions and exploring how Tinder is generally used, I asked Author and Editor Nicole Haddow on her opinion on the uses of how Tinder is used and how to use Tinder effectively. I felt that the appearance of my talking head wouldn’t be an effective way to portray my message, so avoiding being on camera in an informative measure, I only appeared to create fillers to footage and voiceover. If I were somebody of expertise of the issue, such as a professor of social media; perhaps then I’d feel comfortably giving a talking head opinion. My aim behind this video was to creatively eliminate myths and beliefs behind the use of the online dating app Tinder. The concept of swiping left or right after looking at a selected image of somebody is a lot like the “don’t judge a book by its cover” belief. Something which a lot of people also struggle to maintain within traditional styled offline dating. I drew upon the “Introducing the New Sexuality Studies” (DeMasi, 2011) reading, particularly exploring the ideas that shopping for a relationship is very similar to traditional dating, only now with online dating, do you have the ability to do this from a device with an internet connection. The online dating scene has not changed our ethical values and beliefs to dating. Although it has challenged them, especially through Tinder. Tackling the creative commons issue was not difficult for me. Upon discovering music for creative commons through a Soundcloud user, I found a fitting backing soundtrack to fill the blank noise between dialogue and footage. I contacted a friend who created a stop-motion photography piece on the city of Melbourne, which fitted well exploring the use of online dating and its commonality throughout. Additionally, I heard an interview on Triple J Hack with Tom Tilley with Nicole Haddow exploring how Tinder works. I archived the interview from November, and tracked down Nicole’s details; from there I explored some of Nicole’s works on her website and then attempted contacting her via her email. Although the email account was down, so I desperately attempted to contact Nicole through Twitter, then I recorded her with her permission granted (all upon recording) and conducted a twenty minute interview that I recorded using my laptop and Audacity. I honestly couldn’t be more thankful that we explored using Twitter for this unit, or else there’s no way I would’ve contacted Nicole and gained some really interesting information that will remain within my archive. Issues that I face with my project included struggling to contact Nicole, with both of us working very late hours and struggling to find free time, I finally after three attempts to create an appropriate time for interview, was able to conduct the twenty minute long interview. I had recorded the interview at 10PM on my laptop through my phone in the car park of my gym. Although this was the only time that worked for both of us. Additionally, my editing software crashed, and with a slight glitch, I was not able to recover my work. Luckily I am familiar with the software and pieced the footage together within a few hours.

References:

DeMasi, S 2011, ‘Shopping for love: online dating and the making of a cyber
culture of romance’, in Seidman, S and Meeks, C (eds.), Introducing the New
Sexuality Studies, Routledge, Abingdon and New York, pp. 206-13