Introduction to Online Media
Online Media: Media that is distributed through the internet
DIGITAL CONVERGENCE - Previously separate industries are brought together through digital technologies
Examples of digital convergence - Youtube - combinations of
YOUTUBE
Youtube was created in 2005
It is a video streaming website
VLOGGING - The activity or practise of posting short videos or maintaining a blog
MICROBLOGGING - Twitter - short updates about your life
Vlogging - target audience is predominantly younger people - teenager audiences
Vlogging is a good example of participatory culture
CLAY SHIRKY - END OF AUDIENCE THEORIES
The audience is now the producer
Vlogging has become very popular. Uses a cheap camera/phone and upload it using wifi
50% of 16-24 year olds have watched a vlog in the last month
This demonstrates that vlogging is very important to young audiences and younger audiences are extremely valuable to producers
Younger audiences have an expendable income - therefore producers target a young audience as they have the money to spend. DESIRABLE
PRODUCERS SELL AUDIENCES.
PARTICIPATORY CULTURE - The audience are participating in the means of production
Online Media Textual Analysis
Aspirational - paints a dream image
Personal Identity - Someone we can relate to
Identification
Unscripted narrative - There's no set topics to talk about
Authenticity (?) - Original/Realness
Direct mode of address - Vlogger looks directly at the camera and out to the audience. Breaking the fourth wall
Audience interaction
One of the appeals of vloggers is that they're real - But are they real ?
POST MODERNISM
HYPPERREALITY
CASE STUDY 1 :
Targeting a different audience
Jackson Galaxy's channel
Cat behaviourist
Pseudo science
His unique stereotype - crazy cat man
Subversive representation - rock feel about him. Not scary.
Mise en scene - 6 guitars in background
Piercings/stretched earlobes/full sleeve tattoos
HE HAS PERSONALITY
Low production values - still entertaining and quirky.
Target audience - someone who wants to have cat information but in a fun way
Zoella
Most popular beauty vlogger in the world
12 Million subscribers
Started making beauty related videos 2009
Over 1 Billion views
147th most subscribed channel
"MoreZoella" is her 2nd channel, over 4.8 million subscribers
Also has a massive following on social media
Persona - Another personality
THEORIES FOR ZOELLA
MALE GAZE - LISBET VAN ZOONEN - TA sees her as an aspirational figure and sees her application of makeup, her outfits and all as a way of attracting heterosexual men.
GENDER PERFOMATIVITY - JUDITH BUTLER - We perform rituals everyday that make us this gender June Faves (2016) - Genre - Beauty
June Faves 2016 Zoella Video
VLOGGING - The activity or practise of posting short videos or maintaining a blog
MICROBLOGGING - Twitter - short updates about your life
Vlogging - target audience is predominantly younger people - teenager audiences
Vlogging is a good example of participatory culture
CLAY SHIRKY - END OF AUDIENCE THEORIES
The audience is now the producer
Vlogging has become very popular. Uses a cheap camera/phone and upload it using wifi
50% of 16-24 year olds have watched a vlog in the last month
This demonstrates that vlogging is very important to young audiences and younger audiences are extremely valuable to producers
Younger audiences have an expendable income - therefore producers target a young audience as they have the money to spend. DESIRABLE
PRODUCERS SELL AUDIENCES.
PARTICIPATORY CULTURE - The audience are participating in the means of production
Online Media Textual Analysis
Aspirational - paints a dream image
Personal Identity - Someone we can relate to
Identification
Unscripted narrative - There's no set topics to talk about
Authenticity (?) - Original/Realness
Direct mode of address - Vlogger looks directly at the camera and out to the audience. Breaking the fourth wall
Audience interaction
One of the appeals of vloggers is that they're real - But are they real ?
POST MODERNISM
HYPPERREALITY
CASE STUDY 1 :
Targeting a different audience
Jackson Galaxy's channel
Cat behaviourist
Pseudo science
His unique stereotype - crazy cat man
Subversive representation - rock feel about him. Not scary.
Mise en scene - 6 guitars in background
Piercings/stretched earlobes/full sleeve tattoos
HE HAS PERSONALITY
Low production values - still entertaining and quirky.
Target audience - someone who wants to have cat information but in a fun way
Zoella
Most popular beauty vlogger in the world12 Million subscribers
Started making beauty related videos 2009
Over 1 Billion views
147th most subscribed channel
"MoreZoella" is her 2nd channel, over 4.8 million subscribers
Also has a massive following on social media
Persona - Another personality
THEORIES FOR ZOELLA
MALE GAZE - LISBET VAN ZOONEN - TA sees her as an aspirational figure and sees her application of makeup, her outfits and all as a way of attracting heterosexual men.
GENDER PERFOMATIVITY - JUDITH BUTLER - We perform rituals everyday that make us this gender June Faves (2016) - Genre - Beauty
June Faves 2016 Zoella Video
- Intertextual refrence to Lion King - "Nala" - targetting a younger audience
- Exagerated and expressive facial expressions
- Articulates her words
- Neutral British accent - no slang, not particularly posh
- Vocal delivery is undulating - up and down, appeals to a younger audience, keeps the audience engaged
- No swearing - stops her from being demonetised ( Youtube is self regulating)
- Frequent jump cuts - a cut from one thing to the same thing, regarded to be a mistake, increases level of authenticity
Preferred reading is to not find her sexually attractive;
- Very child-like
- Young female target audience
- Big eyes and smile makes her "cute" instead of attractive
- High pitched voice
- Good teeth but not perfect - more relatable
ZOELLA has rebranded herself to "Zoe Sugg"
Textual Analysis for online media
Homepage and other pages
Codes and conventions
Layout and design
Composition
Font size, type of font (e.g. serif/sans serif), colour
Images/photographs - camera shot type, angle, focus
Mise-en-scene – colour, lighting, location, costume/dress, hair/make-up
Graphics, logos
Language - formal/informal mode of address?
Anchorage of images and text
Elements of narrative/structure around the site
Interactive features
Menu bar and navigation – structure and design of the site
MULTIMODALITY - Many forms of communication
HYPERLINK - A word that u click on to go to different things
HYPERMODALITY - Leads us from place to place.
Zoella primarily markets herself on Youtube
We are positioned in a voyueristic way however Zoella is never anchored to be sexual.
We are positioned in front of her which creates a binary opposition with her non sexualisation. We are positioned almost as if we are a mirror, she often breaks the fourth wall
Paradigms of vlogging and online media
Breaking the fourth wall - looks straight out to the audience
Amateur aesthetic
Codes of realism - She deliberately makes mistakes - more realistic - she is only human
High key lighting - professionally lit
Single camera edit - being set up by
Unscripted narrative
Presenter POV
Aspirational content
Invitation to personal space - possible sexual elements that are downplayed completely
Neutral colours - harmless
How can Zoella address a vast and anonymous audience while at the same time giving this friendly face to face conversation?
We switch off a part of our brain that tells us to care - AUDIENCE NEGOTIATION
PREFERRED READING OF ZOELLA - APPROACHABLE, FRIENDLY AND CUTE
To what extent is Zoella a hyperreal construct?
She is an ideal. Perfect
No hint of sexuality to her
No hobbies apart from clothes and makeup
She is not a person.
She is more real than real
"We live in a world in which there is more and more information and less meaning" - Jean Baudrillard
No hint of sexuality to her
No hobbies apart from clothes and makeup
She is not a person.
She is more real than real
"We live in a world in which there is more and more information and less meaning" - Jean Baudrillard
EXPLORING IDENTITY IN ZOELLA'S BLOG
-Basic
-Easy to read
-Young audience
TITLE: Capital letters are easy to understand
BASIC LEXIS: e.g. "dreamy bar cart" appeals to a younger audience - words are magical.
EASY TO NAVIGATE: Menu bar - different categories. Good user experience. Comfy.
STEREOTYPES OF FEMINITY: Pink and white colours, fairy light gif at the top. soft overall appearance of website
INNOCENT: She is not sexualised at all e.g. valentines pyjamas post
GENDER PERFORMATIVITY: Makeup, hairstyles, baking, shopping, home
ZOELLA TARGETS THE MASS AUDIENCE
"Dreamy Bar cart" - aesthetic - no images of her drinking alcohol - HYPERREAL REPRESENTATION OF DRINK. Article promotes drink - younger audience thinks this is all cool and appealing
"I hear you now, “but Zoe, you don’t drink mate…why do you need one of those”. Well, judgemental person on the internet, I drink soft drinks that also look pretty on a bar cart"
"My Valentines Pyjama Picks"
No nudity, no male in the scene - no sexualisation completely virginal.
Tanya Burr:
Use of serif font - implies a slightly more sophisticated mode of address to the audience
Elements of sexuality - bikini photos, can see down her top in some photos. Demonstrating she is adult, mature and sexually attractive.
Tanya looks like a person not an influencer - you can relate to her, and identify with her.
Tnya presents herself to be a normal person with a busy life. She posts candid photos, some photos are more blurry and makes it more realistic. But she has done this to create an image that she is normal
Audience responses to zoella's blog:
Fuck Zoella • 2 years ago
hi, you entitled bitch. this "little haul" costs over £400. i don't know why you'd claim this hurt you, as you have far too much money for a degenerate cunt without a real job, and you can barely do the shite that you do. i am offended that you feel the need to rub your excessive wealth in our faces, when let's be honest, you'll look like shite at the end anyway.
remember, your fans feed your bank account, so maybe don't be a cunt :) xxx
Jone Lacite • 8 months ago
I love your makeup💄. You look so amazing😉
THE INTERNET IS SELF REGULATED
ZOELLAS TARGET AUDIENCE IS SPECIFIC
Zoella conforms to hegemonic beauty expectations, doesn't swear, presents this specific lifestyle - all making her seem perfect.
ZOELLA APARTMENT VIDEO
The Zoella Apartment (2016)
This video is created to sell the products we see - it's promotional
COMMODITY FETISHISM
Examples of Zoella conforming to gender standards:Zoella and her boyfriend - happy couple image - goals and aspirations
Full face of makeup - conforming to patriarchal hegemony
Wears a long skirt, t shirt, and jewellery - not sexualised at all but is very feminine
Her high pitched voice - feminine. Partly put on. Symbol of being a woman. Sounds like she is talking to kids. Stereotypical.
Always playing with her hair - feminine
Throughout the video she is consistently smiling - Welcoming to audience. Direct mode of address . Positions us as her friend
Uses hyper-refrentiallity - beyond intertextuality - "Poppy" - her boyfriend's sister - only fans know this
No mention of sex throughout her video -
DESCRIBING ZOELLA - Chaste - to abstain.
Sex is not her focus at all. - not part of her brand at all
ZOELLA IS A SUBVERSIVE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN - she is not sexualised and doesn't really conform to male gaze theory
HOW ARE REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMINITY ENCODED INTO ZOELLA'S VIDEO?
 |
| Close up - connoting love, affection and maternal stereotypes. Alfie in background - functions as an appeal to the young, heterosexual female audience |
 |
| Close up - inviting and welcoming. Out of focus shot infers to the target demographic that Zoella is "real". Relatable and someone who can be aspiration. It also represents a performative element of women in that Zoella is constructed as being clumsy, clumsy and cute. |
 |
| Mise en scene of signature - stereotypically "girly", cursive, serif, handwritten style. Does not look like the mature signature of an adult. Strongly hints at Zoella's carefully constructed immaturity. This in combination with her trademark giggling and over the top enthusiasm and excitement at the slightest thing allows her as a woman in her mid 20s to effectively appeal to a much younger TA demographic |
 |
| The high angle shot of the candle box and Zoella's vocal excitement at the fact it can fold out is a clear example of commodity fetishism . This creates the idea that women are simple and easily pleased. It's just a box . She reinforces sterotypical representations |
ZOELLA's mode of address adopts a range of close up shots - providing TA with an intimate and inviting, personal mode of address
INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE IN ONLINE MEDIA
Industry and audience
we do not understand algorithms
videos are created by artificial intelligence/computers
algorithms calculate which videos will get the most views
the only reason these videos are made is because they work
moral panic - blown out of proportion (e.g. MOMO)
To what extent does Zoella use Youtube algorithms in order to manipulate her audience?
using brands in her titles - "asos", established brand, people who are fans of asos will find her videos
identical facial expressions in all her thumbnails - smiling to show dimples, to make herself look pretty and approachable, gets views
uses same font - handwritten, serif, cursive, connotes being laid back and childlike, gets views
white outline - similar to lots of other bloggers, it works
"reacting" - very popular online videos
uses her name in the title - associates her name with beauty, establishes brand
Netflix will change audience's thumbnails, depending on who they think you are and what will appeal to you
The audience no longer exists. All that remains is a hyperreal construction forged by algorithms
Zoella us not targeting an audience, but is using algorithmic practise to target a theoretical, machine fabricated audience
CLICKBAIT
hermeneutic codes so that people HAVE to click to find out what happens - "human barbie takes off makeup", in image she still has makeup on, what will she look like?
keywords - "heartbreaking", "crazy", hyperboles
low production values - low-resolution photo of general looking woman, audience doesn't know what to expect
includes site you will be going to - audience may be more likely to click if they think it can be trusted
the wording promises something the article can't live up to - to get clicks
HYPER-ENGAGEMENT + DUTY OF CARE
Youtube tries to get as many people as possible stuck in rabbit holes (spend as much time as they can on the internet), often people with mental heath issues/are vulnerable
they do this with algorithms
the content they watch (often conspiracy theories), get more and more views
bloggers then pick up on this and make the same content, it triggers a vicious cycle
unethical
https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/news-parliament-2017/impact-of-social-media-young-people-report-published-17-19/
Social media companies must be subject to a legal duty of care
Online media is regulated by OFCOM
The UK government has the right to intervene, but is it worth it?
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ATTITUDE ONLINE
is a gay, men's,lifestyle, British, online magazine
Founded in 1994 and is the UK's best selling gay magazine
Available online as well as a physical copy as a magazine
Published 13 times per year
ATTIUDE ONLINE website was launced in January 2014
TARGET AUDIENCE: Very specific
INITIAL ANALYSIS
Basic, straight forward colour scheme - light blue, black and white - simple UX - NEUTRAL
Headline in capitals - Like a bold statement
"Opinion" - in green. Folio - We know we're about to read a personal entry that the magazine possibly can't talk about.
"West End Dancer" - musical theatre is typically associated wth gays - large gay audience - stereotypical idea that every gay person likes musical theatre.
#QueerAF - assumes intertextual knowledge - audience is versed with internet slang - reappropriation
Stereotypically attractive guy - direct mode of address - appeal to gay men - in character
Costume - old school musicals
Social media icons
EXAMPLES OF ARTICLES ONLINE
How are gay men represented on Attitude Online?
- A hypersexualised representation of men - Most images of men are topless, and often in provocative poses
- Article critical of lack of representation of different body types
- On Attitude, a singular, muscular build seems to be favoured
- Articles are generally focused on grooming, holidays, fashion and celebrities: a heavy emphasis on appearance and extrinsics - reinforces a gay stereotype
- Normalisation - majority of articles feature gay and LGBT related issues
- Articles featuring prejudice and attacks on gay men reinforce the ideology that to be gay still means being in a marginalised and threatened group - close up of mans injured head
- Even straight actors are represented and codified in a way that specifically appeals to a gay male audience. For example, the voyeuristic shots of Cristiano Ronaldo in tight fitting underwear presents an appealing fantasy to the gay target audience.
- An escapist fantasy for a gay audience. Stereotypically attractive gay men, hypermasculine and strong. Even if an audience lacks this body type, they are able escape in to a homoerotic fantasy.
- Offers the audience an escapist fantasy where everybody is gay, a hyperreal fantasy, a utopia!
- Advertising - targeted to gay male audience. Advertorial "your dream home awaits" helps to normalise homosexuality. "your dream home awaits" is perhaps stereotypically feminine, reinforcing a gay stereotype of enjoying interior design (reinforced by shows like Project Runway and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy)
- Extremely stereotypical throughout! Pop music, west end theatre, home improvement, and buff guys. Many commonly held, stereotype of gay men are presented here... but why?
- Conformity to stereotype of vain men: article specifically on weight loss and improving muscle definition. A focus on aesthetics.
- Represented as vulnerability. References to the 'coming out' narrative.
- Hypersexualised! beyond sexualisation, big focus on openess and 'out-there' sexualisation...
- ...however, the magazine and website have a definite target audience, and may go 'hidden' in the general populace.
- Article on gay rugby team focusses on the team's body image as opposed to their sporting prowess, again reinforcing an emphasis on aesthetics.
- Extravagant and with exotic lifestyles
- Proud and self-confident. Gives audience the confidence to come out and to live with pride
- Singular and stereotypical representation of men
Why do groups sometimes deliberately live up to stereotypes?
Visibility - a way of demonstrating pride and a lack of fear, To stand out in society
Social interaction - allows people to be part of a community
A set of rules to follow, providing structure and advice
Finding a partner
An assumption of normality - young gay people raised on cultivated notions of what is "gay acting" and "straight acting" will repeat these routines and rituals
How are subversive representations of masculinity represented in Attitude magazine?
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| Attitude front cover |
A subversive representation of masculinity. The mise-en-scene of the nail varnish conflicts with hegemonically held views of masculinity.
However, itself itself conflicts with the stereotypically aggressive and masculine army jacket. A subversive and complex representation of masculinity
Pink coverlines subvert hegemonic representations of masculinity, and codifies homosexuality
Posture and body language: pose is camp and stereotypically feminine, however this is contradicted through Shear's serious and even aggressive facial expression
Mise-en-scene of makeup: red eyeshadow is connotative of love and passion. Dirty, grungy, aggressive, breaking any stereotypes?
A simultaneous codification of gay and straight stereotypical gestures and costume.
A shared and relatable experience for the audience: being beaten up bullies in high school. Positions audience as a gay man with similar experiences.
A crisis of masculinity. What is it, and should we try to be it?
Binary opposition between black and pink symbolises the conflict between and masculinity and gay stereotypes
Intertextual reference to the 70s era - stereotypical mouth of gay man in 70s
The sell line - "The Masc Survey" - promising us stuff inside
"We all want to be the jock who kicked our ass" - sense of acceptance/kind of not - very nice audience
ATTITUDE ONLINE AND MAGAZINE - have a synergistic relationship - they help each other out
STURAT HALL suggests that the media and the power of media representations play an important role in defining the ideological thinking of audiences regarding specific social groups
THEREFORE stereotypes affect the way people see the world and how we treat people
ATTITUDE presents a very stereotypical view of gay men
Stuart Hall says that generally we have a group in power that constructs a stereotype of "the other"
Paul Gilroy
POST COLONIAL ATTITUDES
HIERARCHIES
BINARY OPPOSITIONS
OTHERING
INDUSTRY
David Hesmondhaghl - CULTURAL INDUSTRIES
ATTITUDE IS PUBLISHED BY : Stream publishing limited
Stream publishing create customer magazines - magazines with a load of ads in it. They have internationalised their business e.g. Winq is dutch.
It is quite a specialist company. It is horizontally integrating. They bought attitude and winq magazine (another gay mens magazine) - to reduce their competition.
Risk adverse - avoiding risk. Stream does this by buying other gay magazines, they know how to market these magazines therefore they will buy them and be able to market them correctly.
2/3 of a magazine's revenue comes from sales
1/3 of a magazine's revenue comes from advertisements
PRESS PACK
Aimed a tother companies that are interessted in advertising in Attitde magazine.
"The Pink Pound" - the money gay people have as they don't have kids
Middle range fashion items will most likely be sold and advertised in Attitude magazines - e.g. levis and calvin klein
Holidays are sold - luxury
COSUMERIST SOCIETY - the only reason we exist is to buy stuff and be sold stuff.
Attitude online inside front cover costs like £9000 compared to Vogue - £157,000
ATTITUDE LAUNCH OF NEW WEBSITE
BRAND IDENTITY - the ideology of an institution
ATTITUDE IS PUBLISHED BY : Stream publishing limited
Stream publishing create customer magazines - magazines with a load of ads in it. They have internationalised their business e.g. Winq is dutch.
It is quite a specialist company. It is horizontally integrating. They bought attitude and winq magazine (another gay mens magazine) - to reduce their competition.
Risk adverse - avoiding risk. Stream does this by buying other gay magazines, they know how to market these magazines therefore they will buy them and be able to market them correctly.
2/3 of a magazine's revenue comes from sales
1/3 of a magazine's revenue comes from advertisements
PRESS PACK
Aimed a tother companies that are interessted in advertising in Attitde magazine.
"The Pink Pound" - the money gay people have as they don't have kids
Middle range fashion items will most likely be sold and advertised in Attitude magazines - e.g. levis and calvin klein
Holidays are sold - luxury
COSUMERIST SOCIETY - the only reason we exist is to buy stuff and be sold stuff.
Attitude online inside front cover costs like £9000 compared to Vogue - £157,000
 |
| "Professional" - bold - this magazine and the readers have cultural capital. They mention this about their audience as this implies that their readers have more money to spend. "Attitude readers are early adopters" - most likely to purchase the latest gadgets "He prides himself as a trend setter" - can be very specific about TA "They are very style conscious and take care of their appearance" - stereotypes are reinforced here for financial reasons and also to allow the audience to be sold. |
BRAND IDENTITY - the ideology of an institution
Started very recently because it was not certain that it would be successful. They did not want to create a website for a long time
Another way to make money - more space for advertising
This product works well with the magazine - synergy
the ideology of the magazine and the website are very different. The magazine is a lot more classy and targets a middle class audience whereas the online magazine looks like it targets a working class audience. Looks like the daily mail wesbites. This allows them to target a secondary target audience
ATTITUDE ONLINE - TRASHY
Horizontal integration - They buy up other companies in the same sector to reduce the competition for audiences and audience time.
Vertical integration - They buy up other companies involved in different stages of the process of production and circulation. Companies might buy ‘downstream’, such as when a company involved in making films buys a DVD distributor, or ‘upstream’, which is when a company involved in distribution or transmission (such as a cable television company) buys a programme-maker.
Internationalisation - By buying and partnering other companies abroad, corporations can sell massive amounts of extra copies of a product they have already paid to produce (though they will have to pay new marketing costs, of course).
Multisector and multimedia integration - They buy into other related areas of cultural industry production to ensure cross-promotion.
Also important is the attempt to ‘co-opt’ (Hirsch, 1990[1972]) critics, DJs and various other people responsible for publicising texts, by socialising with them and sending them gifts, press releases, and so on.
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