Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

When dealing with social media platforms as spaces of activism these sites can be innovative, powerful, and fast-moving at best, and at its worst chaotic and unfocused. The line between these two distinctions is actually slighter than one might realize. This understanding of cyber activism became clearer when faced with the question “What is contemporary ‘blacktivism’ according to Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr/Instagram?”

Being a avid user of the popular blogging platform, Tumblr, and as such well-versed in the language and etiquette of the site, I sought my answer through my dashboard. Tumblr is composed of a endless scroll, comparable to Facebook’s newsfeed, that displays every user you ‘follow”s posts that can consist of either a link, photo, video, mp3, or text file that can be organized by ‘tags’. Like Twitter, there is a give and take between control: you cannot control what users post, but you can control who you follow. You ultimately build up the queue of information displayed on your dashboard.

This rule of thumb on Tumblr already an issue in itself, as it’s not only necessary to have an account to view such information, but it also requires stock knowledge of which users promote social activism the most. Already in this way, Tumblr blacktivism is exclusive in the broader sense of the term.  However because I am an established user of 5 years, this constraint only appeared in my thoughts after my study.

Taking into account the formatting and style of the website (and the advantage of 5 years of knowledge), I began my study of 30 minutes scrolling down my dashboard sure that out of my selected 500 some users one would surely post something under the activism tree. After about a minute of scrolling I saw a linked post that described the new case of Ebola in Liberia as an STD. The random post was one centered on awareness, not truly giving a solution to a possible rebirth of the Ebola crisis. And for a while this was the only post I saw. Because Tumblr is composed as a live feed, the minutes I scrolled down the dashboard before I encountered another post for social justice felt like eons.

It wasn’t until I encountered a post by a rather prominent Tumblr user in both the black and activist circles that my research progressed. This individual posted a series of inforgraphics that described the various levels of Israeli settlement on Palestinian territory, the fraught Palestinian citizenship across Israel and Palestine, and general problematic restriction of Palestinian people. The post was significantly informative as most portrayals of Palestine capitalize on the destruction of the Gaza Strip rather than the conditions that provide for this kind of environment, and the surrounding oppressions widespread through out the country. I then opened up another tab in my web browser to later peruse the user’s account, sure of the rich content in store, simultaneously still looking for another possible user to study. Right underneath their post Micdotcom, an active news source, posted GIFs of Porsha Olayiwola’s  poem that criticizes the misogynoir latent in police brutality discourse and the general dismissal of the pain black women face at the hands of black men.

Having at least two users under my belt and just ten minutes left of study, I decided to quickly delve deeper into each site. The first user’s activism centered mostly on the personal: crowdfunding for a poor black transwoman, a black family nearing homelessness, and written text posts that criticize various tangents of their multiple jeopardies as a queer transman of color. The text posts all had a least a thousand ‘notes’, which consisted of either likes or ‘reblogs’ (when users repost the content to their blogs). Furthermore you could see a constant rapport developing on these text posts that pursued discourse or fermented friendships. On this given users page the queer community of color was strong and accounted for. Switching tabs to Micdotcom, the website served as a curated collection of black internet activism across platforms. Screenshots of tweets raising awareness against recent police brutalities (#JusticeforJason, #SayHerName to name a couple), gifs of award shows and videos, news clips, and original Tumblr user posts decorated the page. Micdotcom served as a hub of generalized activism rather than specific black communal activist space.

It is in this way that Tumblr both triumphs and fails as a platform for social change. On one hand the site is a space for endless possibilities that allow for news sources and user-created online ‘zines to provide a constant stream of information crucial for social justice. These carefully curated hubs of information are a great start for both users and visitors of Tumblr. One does not need membership to view or message the copious amount of blogs present on the site. However their existence does not necessitate the existence of black community on Tumblr, individual users do. One would need to follow both prominent and random bloggers in the black community on Tumblr. These bloggers, your chosen informants, brothers, and sisters dictate your involvement with blacktivism. They raise causes for “Black Tumblr” to rally against, to raise money for, or even formally petition against on “Change.org”. These bloggers can help you through your journey of understanding matrices of oppression in your daily life, as well as navigate questions of gender/sexual/racial identity through direct messages, text posts, photos and videos open for commentary…..provided that you follow them. In addition to this slight oversight black users cannot be streamlined in the fighting of antiblackness. Some users are a part of “Queer Tumblr” or “Transgender Tumblr”or the dreaded “Barbershop Tumblr” (a part of Tumblr which is characterized by pro-black homophobic misogynoiristic users). Various pockets of Tumblr wholesale ignore some oppressions, such as colorism, to maintain their privilege and membership to the black community simultaneously. Tumblr can be a place rife with the schisms that plague physical activist spaces.

Ethical issues aside, in this sort of research Tumblr even fails in organization. Like Twitter it employs the hashtag system to organize posts, in order to make searches easier for users and non-users, however unlike Twitter, these tags are hardly agreed upon and are used liberally. Users sometimes use the tag system to input their commentary to protect the aesthetic integrity of a post. This so-called ‘talking in the tags’ makes for a chaotic black hole of information that can only be retrieved if you search that particular blogger’s archive. Tumblr has the potential to be a mess of epic proportion.

Ultimately Tumblr as a space for cyber black activism continuously toes the line of innovation and chaos. The ample opportunity for commentary and grassroot movement give Tumblr the chance to make virtual spaces of social justice bleed into the real world. However this is constantly mired by the disorganization, petty squabbles between users, and randomization of posts that is present on the site.

Word Count: 1138

 

Tags: ,

76,775 Responses to “Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources”

  1. primenewspostprimenewspostprimenewspostprimenewspostprimenewspost

  2. dailynewscopydailynewscopydailynewscopydailynewscopyvdailynewscopydailynewscopy

  3. newsveena says:

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  4. newspostmag says:

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media

  5. newspostly says:

    log and I really like this blog. If you are thinking to get high quality and ultimate bulk bags then find the perfect solution or reliable b

  6. 24 saat says:

    24 saat

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  7. cachlam says:

    Cachlam – Món ngon mỗi ngày giúp bạn nắm giữ bí kíp trở thành một người nghệ sĩ trong gia đình của mình. Mỗi món ăn là tình cảm, tâm tư của người làm bếp gửi gắm vào

  8. Bigg boss season 15 is going to start at the end of September. Before this it will
    be telecasted on OTT. Visit us to watch BB15 OTT and Colors Tv complete episodes free.
    bigg boss 15 full episode

  9. https://www.student-discount.co.uk/store.nike.com

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  10. تخفیف خدمات دندادن پزشکی
    تخفیف ایمپلنت
    tnx

  11. pocketoption do computers only understand binary options

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  12. تخفیف کامپوزیت دندان
    بهترین تخفیف کامپوزیت دندان
    We stumbled over here by a different web

  13. سررسید says:

    فروش هدایای تبلیغاتی
    هدایای تبلیغاتی

  14. нужна юридическая помощь иркутская область

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  15. Great thanks for sharing it had been informative blogs

  16. I’m very pleased to discover this site. I want to to thank you for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely savored every part of it and i also have you saved as a favorite to see new information on your blog. 먹튀검증업체

  17. imagine says:

    I’m Currently Porn imagine paints full-time and is dedicated to a lifelong pursuit of creative evolution and exploration.

  18. exchange says:

    exchange

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  19. bongdo says:

    We stumbled over here by a different website and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to finding out about your web page again. bongdo

  20. slot v online casino promo code

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  21. hereisdealsnow

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  22. placevn says:

    Placevn – Kênh chia sẻ kinh nghiệm đi du lịch tại các địa điểm du lịch nổi tiếng tại việt nam. Được nhiều nguời review lại. Chia sẻ về lộ trình du lịch, địa điểm tham quan, ẩm thực.

  23. placevn says:

    Bạn muốn đi du lịch? Bạn không biết nên đi đâu là thích hợp? Bạn cần những người đi trước review lại địa điểm bạn muốn đi. Tất cả thắc mắc của bạn đều được https://place.vn/ chia sẻ.

  24. Vakansiya says:

    Vakansiya

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  25. flyte cbd says:

    Excellent blog site, keep it up the good work.
    flyte cbd

  26. trading robot for binary options

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  27. different types of insurance

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  28. blogdanhgia says:

    Blogdanhgia – Trang chuyên cung cấp những sản phẩm tốt nhất. Đưa ra nhiều thông tin hữu ích cho khách hàng. Từ nơi mua, địa chỉ công ty, cũng như quá trình trải nghiệm của khách hàng đã sử dụng trước đó.

  29. 다이 사이 하는 곳 더존카지노 바카라 게임 추천 우리 바카라 주소 모바일 카지노 게임 파라오 카지노 가입 쿠폰 온라인 슬롯 게임 검증 된 바카라 사이트 엠 카지노 주소 퍼스트 바카라 카지노 솔루션 온라인카지노벳무브 인터넷바카라

  30. escitalopram 20 mg no insurance

    like water for chocolate

  31. İş yeri says:

    İş yeri

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  32. Akhil Gupta says:

    Thanks for sharing information. Visit best dentist in panchkula

  33. mindstormingltd.co.kr published an article

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  34. Hiperwin says:

    Freespin Online casino ve bahis sitelerinin, üyelerine slot oyunlarında verdikleri bedava dönüşler free spin olarak adlandırılmaktadır. Çevrimiçi oyunlarda geçerli bu free spinler, sitede var olan sağlayıcılardan birinin tüm oyunlarında geçerli olabilir. Bir diğer seçenek de sitenin belirlemiş olduğu sağlayıcı ve bunların site tarafından belirlenen belli başlı oyunlarında geçerli olan bedava dönüşlerdir. HiperWin sitesi, üyelerine en çok free spin veren sitelerden biridir.

  35. forex binary options system omni11 reviews

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  36. Your ideas inspired me very much. 메이저안전놀이터 It’s amazing. I want to learn your writing skills. In fact, I also have a website. If you are okay, please visit once and leave your opinion. Thank you.

  37. trốn thuế thu nhập doanh nghiệp

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  38. hoàn thiện thuế tiêu thụ đặc biệt

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  39. thông tin người nộp thuế thu nhập cá nhân

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  40. vichai says:

    Dg Gaming ากเว็บไซต์ dg1168 สามารถตรวจสอบประวัติคาสิโนได้
    Dg gaming จาก dg1168 ผู้เล่นทกคนสามารถครวจสอบได้เลยว่าเปิดบริการมานานเท่าไหร่เพราะเราสร้างความน่าเชื่อด้วยการที่ผู้เข้ามาใช้บริการสามารถตรวจสอบได้เพื่อให้ผู้เข้ามาใช้บริการเชื่อมันเเละวางใจที่เข้ามาเล่นเว็บไซต์ของเราอยู่เรื่อยๆ เเละเช็คได้ทุกช่างทางตามเว็บบอร์ดรีวิวของคาสิโนก็สามารถติดตามอ่านได้หรือทางยูทูปต่างๆ

  41. biên bản giao nhận công cụ dụng cụ

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  42. antidetect browser

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  43. thuế thu nhập doanh nghiệp không hạch toán toàn ngành là gì

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  44. reggae afrobeat

    like water for chocolate » Blog Archive » Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources

  45. 에볼루션 바카라 슬롯가입쿠폰 인터넷 카지노 주소 더킹카지노먹튀놀검소 더킹카지노에스뱅크 인터넷 바카라 조작 다이사이 오바마카지노가입쿠폰 바카라 안전 사이트 블랙 잭 사이트 인터넷 카지노 게임 솔 카지노 먹튀 카지노사이트주소

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.