Kevin Alloca discusses
three different things that are needed to happen in order for media content to
go viral. First, the content is brought into media spaces by something called a
taste maker. Second, people and communities participate that amplifies the original
piece and third, the content must be somewhat “unexpected” (2012).
In my eyes, the main
difference between Paine’s 18th century content and a 21st
century media source, more specifically Drake’s Hotline Bling music video is
the way technology is used. Social media is something society uses to stay
connected. Social media outlets have progressed over time creating connectivity
across different societies. Social media has allowed for things to amplify much
quicker than they use to. In the 18th century, allocation and
consumption of social media was much different than it is now. In the 18th
century, Communication and communication technologies were much simpler as
print advertising was one of the main outlets of media consumption. Social media
is now a large part of the way people consume media. Social media allows for things
to go viral much quicker. Examples of Thomas Paines’ phamlet, Common Sense and
Drake’s Hotline Bling music video can illustrate how both forms of media can be
reach the “virtual” stage through different but specific parts of articulation.
It is however the idea of articulation that separates common sense and Hotline
Bling.
The first articulation of modes of production include
mode of communication, modes of affect and mode of accumulation are all present
in Paines pamphlet. I would argue that these ideals were distributed and
moved within the public sphere. This correlates with the second articulation
associated with the concept media mode of production. In today’s society
social media is a huge part of many people’s day to day lives. People are
highly influenced and obsessed with social and the contents surrounding it
which therefore heightens the way people consume it. As I quickly touched on, the Hotline Bling
video went viral intensely fast. Memes and many other forms of media were
created after the release of the music video. Hotline Bling is an excellent
example of the mode of communication. When it comes to social media, people
have the ability to manipulate it in any way they desire. It is infectious. People
can edit, share and do just about whatever they want with media content once it
has gone viral. Technology has drastically altered the way we consume media
content.
I agree with you Sydney on the concept that the main difference between 18th century content and a 21st century media content is the way in which technology is used. As a society we have developed such a reliance on technology as a means of communication and the spread of knowledge. This also happens to align itself with the spread of memes and popular videos as well. As I mentioned in my post, if Paine had released his pamphlet to the world today on a social media site or a different platform of some sorts, it would have reached an insane amount of popularity within hours. We have these different modes of communication that allow consumers to spread content, popular content for that matter, at such at fast pace! We really would be no where without technology .... It is alarming how reliant we are on it as a society.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Sydney's key argument, which is that because we have so many different platforms of technology used for media consumption, the way we create, share and consume social media and how we now define "virality" has experienced much change since the 18th century. I would also agree that the virality of Paine's pamphlet versus the virality of Drakes Hotline Bling videos and memes differ in articulation. This is because Paine's pamphlet merely communicated a message, which became common discourse throughout the public sphere (as you mentioned), and had the ability to carry affective meaning and change people attitudes, feelings and beliefs towards the issue of independence from Britain, while accumulating power through becoming an important influence on individuals decisions and attitudes about America's future, which represents the first articulation. On the other hand, Drakes Hotline Bling memes are examples of the second articulation, as modern technology today allows us to take an original and recreate or produce it into something new, and have it spread, circulate, and be consumed on a vast level that almost eliminates the distinction between space and time, whereas in the 18th century, Paine's pamphlet merely allowed for the sharing and passing along of a single idea represented in his writing. The difference between virality today and in the 18th century is that today, technology allows us to recreate originals and send it around in no time on a mass level, whereas 18th century technological restrictions made the sharing of social media a slower process when reaching a mass audience, and the original information being sent was not refurbished or tampered with.
ReplyDelete