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: ,

76,741 Responses to “Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources”

  1. I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. 카지노사이트

  2. Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the issues. It was really informative. Your site is very helpful. Thanks for sharing 카지노사이트

  3. This is a good article. It’s been a big help. 먹튀 검증
    I read a good article. It was very helpful and provided a lot of reference.

  4. Alüminyum says:

    which meets all their needs by offering a wide range of products to its domestic and foreign customers under the quality and reliability of the Elitplus Manufacturer Company, is constantly growing. We manufacture, assemble and export Aluminum, Aluminum Profile, Aluminum Pipe, Aluminum Joinery, Composite Coating, Aluminum Plate, Aluminum Grilles to all over the world. http://www.aluminyumimalatcisi.com/

  5. Şemsiye says:

    Wouldn’t you like to experience that we are one of the leading companies in the sector in the production of Outdoor, Beach, Garden, Balcony, Sea, Cafe, Restaurant Umbrellas by getting support about product information and having knowledge of every detail of the production of the systems you order? http://www.semsiyeimalatcisi.com/

  6. Giyotin Cam says:

    The guillotine glass system is a remote-controlled system that can be opened vertically with the help of a motor. http://www.giyotincamimalatcisi.com/

  7. Pergole says:

    Automatic Pergola Systems That Will Change the Air of Your Space, Suitable for All Weather Conditions. http://www.pergoleimalatcisi.com/

  8. Tente says:

    We Produce Quality Awnings to the World. Our Products are Our Business With 5 Years Warranty Awning. http://www.tenteimalatcisi.com/

  9. If you have any questions about the safe eat-and-run guarantee company provided by Eat Tiger, please contact the customer center at any time! 먹튀 검증

  10. We will recommend and introduce each Toto site that suits the characteristics of each company and members. Make high profits through our eating tiger.

  11. Hey, I simply hopped over in your web page by means of StumbleUpon. Not one thing I might in most cases learn, however I favored your feelings none the less. Thank you for making something price reading. 메이저토토사이트

  12. thc vape pen says:

    thc vape pen
    This is clear, concise, and complete!

  13. Hot Model Porn

    blog topic

  14. naila says:

    Hello I am so delighted I located your blog, I really located you by mistake, while I was watching on google for something else, Anyways I am here now and could just like to say thank for a tremendous post and a all round entertaining website. Please do keep up the great work. 九牛娛樂城

  15. Rundbecken says:

    Rundbecken

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

  16. สมัครสมาชิก สล็อตเว็บตรง ใหม่ล่าสุด ง่ายๆ ได้แล้ววันนี้ เพียงเข้าสู่ระบบเล่นเว็บสล็อตออนไลน์ที่ดีที่สุด ที่สล็อตเว็บตรงล่าสุดที่ได้รับมาตรฐานสากล รวมเกมสล็อตจากค่ายดังมากมาย สล็อตแตกง่าย แตกบ่อยที่สุด อันดับ 1 มีเกมสล็อตให้เล่นมากกว่า 500-1,000 เกม ภายในเว็บเดียว อาทิเช่น สล็อตเว็บตรง PG , เว็บตรงสล็อต JOKER หรือ เว็บตรงสล็อต XO และอีกมากมาย ซึ่งทั้งหมดนี้เป็น เว็บสล็อตเว็บตรงไม่ผ่านเอเย่นต์ 2022 หรือตัวกลางใดๆ ทั้งสิ้น มีความน่าเชื่อถือ ปลอดภัย ทำให้ผู้เล่นทุกท่านที่เข้ามาใช้บริการกับที่นี่มั่นใจได้ 100% สามารถเลือกเล่นได้ตามต้องการเล่นได้ ถอนทันที เลือกเล่น เว็บสล็อตใหม่ล่าสุดเว็บตรง ที่พร้อมมอบความสะดวกสบาย สนุกเพลิดเพลินไปกับเกมหลากหลายรูปแบบที่ไม่ซ้ำใคร ฝากถอนรวดเร็วทันใจด้วยระบบ AUTO ที่เหนือใคร สำหรับนักเดิมพันท่านใดมีความสนใจอยากลงทุนเล่นเกมสล็อตกับเว็บดีๆ แบบนี้ สามารถ สมัครสมาชิก สล็อตเว็บตรง ได้เลย พร้อมเปิดให้บริการนักลงทุนทุกท่านได้มาเลือกเล่นและร่วมสนุกกับค่ายชั้นนำมากมาย ตลอด 24 ชั่วโมง

  17. slot345 says:

    Kami slot345 selalu mengutamakan kenyamanan bermain qq part online di Sultanqq, memberikan layanan pelanggan dengan dukungan pelanggan 24 jam yang gigih yang akan siap menjawab pertanyaan apa pun yang dimiliki pemain untuk memfasilitasi permainan dan transaksi.

    Kami juga memberikan benefit berupa 0.5% cashback reward dan 20% referral reward yang dikeluarkan setiap hari Sabtu,

    dan rewardnya pun mencapai jutaan hingga puluhan juta, apalagi jika mendaftar untuk mengajak teman bermain melalui referral bar, maka anda akan mendapatkan nilai rupiah yang menarik, buktikan sendiri! ! !

  18. olivenoel kaufen

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

  19. With business VoIP Service Providers, you do not have to fret about restricted numbers of physical phone lines. There are tons of perks to utilizing a VoIP service. Benefits include having the ability to place VoIP calls from your desktop company phone or your cell phone using your VoIP phone number. What is specifically wonderful about it, is that when you call, your service telephone number will show up on caller ID as opposed to your cell number or whatever you are utilizing to make that phone call. This goes for incoming telephone calls too. They will certainly call the VoIP number as well as you can answer on whichever phone you wish to utilize.

  20. biogaming says:

    ที่สุดแห่งบาคาร่าออนไลน์ biobetgaming บริการตลอด 24 ชั่วโมง บริการด้านเกมคาสิโนหลากหลายเช่น บาคาร่าออนไลน์ รูเร็ท แบล็คแจ็ค เสือมังกร ไฮโล และอื่นๆอีกมากมาย ที่มาพร้อมกับโปรโมชั่นโดนใจเน้นๆ ที่นี่ที่ biogaming

  21. betflix says:

    บริการทุกระดับประทับใจ เลือกเล่น betflixsupervip มีหลากหลายเกมสล็อต ไม่ว่าจะเป็น สล็อต joker, pgslotgame , super-slot ที่หาเล่นได้ทั้งหมดจาก betflixsupervip ของเรา ทางเราเปิดบริการตลอด 24 ชั่วโมง ฝากถอนได้ดั่งใจ betflix

  22. ufabet says:

    ufabet1688x สมัคร เว็บแทงบอลออนไลน์ ยูฟ่าเบท ที่ได้มาตรฐานระดับโลก เว็บ UFABET มือถือ ที่ดีที่สุดในประเทศไทย แทงบอลออนไลน์ คาสิโน บาคาร่า สล๊อต ufabet

  23. Gartenpool says:

    Gartenpool

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

  24. naila says:

    Awesome article, it was exceptionally helpful! I simply began in this and I’m becoming more acquainted with it better! Cheers, keep doing awesome! Online Visa in USA

  25. I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.

  26. Thanks for sharing check out my new jacket outlet store who’s aim to be you leather partner and server please visit real jackets new trending jackets

  27. Very good information. I was looking for a similar website. Like yours I love reading Although nowadays people watch videos more, I still like to read. posting regularly, and keep sharing Thanks.

  28. Cricut setup says:

    the world of designs and patterns to evoke your craftsmanship for the development of unparalleled crafts and designs. Being an art lover, you must have a craved conceiving your conceptual patterns into reality.

  29. Hentai Haven says:

    Hi There, My Name is Tony I’m Otaku I love Anime HentaiHaven Manga Korean Dramas and K pop Hopefully we Become Friends 😉

  30. finbet168 says:

    สล็อต Straight slots do not pass the agent. who are more than 100 years old Game style random wheel of luck, get rich that yields more than 10,000 times can start playing with money only one baht open lifestyle new way of making money that guarantees fun, dree gree, make money globally recognized

  31. You sһould takе part in a contest for one of the
    mοst uѕeful blogys on thee net. Iam ցoing to highly recommend tһіѕ blog!

    my web-site :부자카지노

  32. temple run says:

    This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing blogs that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free

  33. Hostings Discounts

    I found a great…

  34. You sһould takе part in a contest for one of the
    mοst uѕeful blogys on thee net. Iam ցoing to highly recommend tһіѕ blog!

    my web-site :부자카지노

  35. Very good information. I was looking for a similar website. As yours I love reading Although nowadays people watch videos more, but I still like to read. posting regularly, and keep sharing Thanks.

  36. Recently popular game sites in Korea
    I found a great site
    Oh, my God
    안전사이트
    I was very pleased to find this site.I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post
    https://www.totonara1.com

  37. Recently popular game sites in Korea
    I found a great site
    Oh, my God
    안전사이트
    I was very pleased to find this site.I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post
    [url=https://www.totonara1.com]안전사이트[/url]

  38. JNVST Result Date 2022 for Class 6th and 9th exam is available to check on navodaya.gov.in: The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test (JNVST) Exam for Admission in Class 6th and 9th at various schools is conducted Navodaya Result 2022 Class 6 and all the students are now expecting their JNVST Result 2022. All of us know that the Admission Test is conducted for Admission in Class 6th and 9th in different schools and Navodaya Vidyalaya Result is being awaited.

  39. Young Webcam Sex

    blog topic

  40. fake money for sale

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

  41. Hi there, You have done an excellent job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. https://www.casinosite.one/

  42. It’s always useful to read through content from other authors and use something from other sites.
    카지노사이트원

  43. HP LaserJet printer uses the Laser technique to print, scan, and copy documents. These models are widely used in the enterprise, industries, and home offices and you can get print output in Black, White, and Color. HP LaserJet multifunction all-in-one printer provides everything you require for your business

  44. The Cricut machine is just another tool at your home if you have yet not downloaded and installed the Cricut Design Space app on your devices. It is compatible to be used on Windows, Mac, iPad, iOS, and Android devices.

  45. Our experts engaged in providing Solidworks Assignment Help in Australia guarantees to provide non-plagiarized document for each assignment task.

Leave a Reply to Hentai Haven Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.