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: ,

76,771 Responses to “Methodologies V: Using and Analyzing Digital Media Sources”

  1. It’s very easy to find out any matter on net as compared to books, as I found this post at this web site.

  2. It’s very easy to find out any matter on net as compared to books, as I found this post at this web site.

  3. mail.aol.com says:

    Create and manage an AOL Mail account. AOL Mail gives you a personalized mail experience to connect with your friends and family. aol mail

  4. The web-based world is continually changing and organizations need to stay aware of it in the event that they desire to capitalize on their advertising endeavors.
    https://imseo.co.uk/social-marketing-tips-that-will-help-you-in/

  5. Hawaiian Airlines Cancellation Policy

  6. Kiki says:

    Mgmsod เว็บที่ให้บริการหวยออนไลน์ จ่ายจริง จ่ายเร็วแน่นอน เกมคาสิโนออนไลน์
    ส าหรับเว็บหวยออนไลน์ที่มีคุณภาพจากค่ายดังต่างๆ มากมาย และแต่ละเกมบอกเลยว่ามาพร้อมกับอัตราการจ่ายเงินรางวัลที่
    มีความคุ้มค่า เล่นเร็ว รู้ผลเร็ว และได้เงินเร็ว เพราะฉะนั้นใครที่ได้มีความสนใจ ก็สามารถที่จะเปิดโอกาสให้กับตัวเองได้เข้า
    มาร่วมสนุกกับเกมคาสิโนได้เลย โดยคนที่มีงบในการลงทุนน้อยก็ไม่ต้องเป็นกังวลใจ เพราะเว็บไซต์ของเรานั้นเปิดให้บริการ
    วางเงินเดิมพันด้วยเงินเริ่มต้นเพียงแค่ 5 บาทเท่านั้น ก็สามารถที่จะเข้ามาร่วมสนุกกันได้แล้ว ส าหรับใครที่มีความสนใจและ
    ต้องการที่จะสมัครเข้ามาร่วมสนุกกับการเล่นหวยออนไลน์ รวมไปถึงเกมออนไลน์ชนิดอื่น สามารถที่จะเข้ามาร่วมสนุกได้ง่ายๆ
    ตลอด 24 ชั่วโมง

  7. Part of KHEMKA, Khemka Mining & Geotechnologies (KMG) was founded to address KHEMKA’s decades old experience in the Indian Geophysics Market. Currently, KMG represents prestigious Overseas Companies whose products have Vital Applications and Solutions towards Drilling Operations, Borehole Logging for Mineral Exploration, Groundwater Exploration, and Geotechnical Investigation, Cavity Monitoring for Underground Mining, Tunnel Applications, amongst others.

  8. I’m very pleased to meet you at your website.

  9. Red Congolese
    Hey! I found your site it’s very useful, Thanks for sharing.

  10. CBD Gummies Canada
    It was an extremely nice post. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work.

  11. omid says:

    خرید اکانت قانونی از فروشگاه اسپینزو گیمر
    خرید اکانت اشتراکی
    خرید اکانت ظرفیتی
    خرید اکانت پلاس
    خرید گیفت کارت پلی استیشن
    خرید اکانت قانونی fifa 23
    خرید اکانت غیر اشتراکی

  12. Jack Addy says:

    Should I contact Samsung Printer Support for connectivity issues?
    Yes, Samsung Printer Support gives you comprehensive support for your wireless printers. There are many users who encounter connectivity issues. It can have numerous reasons and it’s always wise to contact them for getting the exact reason for connectivity failures. You will get adequate technical support from them.

  13. ソフト闇金えびすの公式サイトはこちら

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

  14. 指尖陀螺网

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

  15. john son says:

    Robinhood is an online investing platform offering commission-free trading on several US-listed investment types, with high-yield cash management offerings, margin trading, and access to initial public offering (IPO) investments.Open the Robinhood Login app and sign in with your email address and password. Tap the Account (person) icon in the bottom right corner. Tap the three bars in the top right corner.

  16. You have performed a great job on this article. It’s very precise and highly qualitative. You have even managed to make it readable and easy to read. You have some real writing talent. Thank you so much.

  17. CLUBRED666 says:

    สล็อตpgเว็บตรง CLUBRED666ทุกวันนี้มีเว็บพนันออนไลน์มากมายกำเนิดขึ้นนับไม่ถ้วนแต่จะมีเว็บไหนบ้างที่ท่านสามารถไว้ใจและมั่นใจได้ว่าเมื่อเราเล่นได้เราจะได้เงินจริงไม่โดนโกงหลายท่านก็ต้องเช็คเครดิตว่าเว็บนี้ดีจริงไหมเล่นได้จริงไหมจากผู้เล่นที่เคยลองเล่นมาและหนึ่งในนั้นก็คือสล็อตเว็บตรงเว็บพนันออนไลน์ที่ผู้เล่นมากที่สุดและสล็อตเว็บตรงยังเป็นเว็บพนันที่มีผู้คนพูดถึงกันเป็นอย่างมากหากถามถึงเว็บพนันออนไลน์ทุกคนต้องนึกถึงสล็อตเว็บตรงเป็นอันดับแรกแต่ก่อนที่จะมาเป็นสล็อตเว็บตรงที่ทุกคนรู้จักทุกวันนี้สล็อตเว็บตรงก็เคยเป็นเว็บสล้อตธรรมดาทั่วไปแต่ด้วยความพยายามของผู้พัฒนาเกมที่ต้องการอยากให้ผู้เล่นหรือนักลงทุนได้มีความสนุกและเพลิดเพลินไปกับสล็อตpgเว็บตรง

  18. youm1121 says:

    오피사이트Let me introduce the best power ball. Please visit.

  19. john says:

    NICE POST BRO KEEP IT UP quickbooks airtable integration Airtable is one of the most useful and efficient software for all project management solutions. It works like a spreadsheet. It can attach files, provides drop-down options, as well as checkboxes, and more. It is a better option than Microsoft Excel in numerous ways. In this, the user can hide/unhide fields and can even move them. For bulk editing, users can use filters and blocks and provide facilities for using an array of templates. LINK:- quickbooks docusign integration

  20. Play Pragmatic Play slots for free

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

  21. Good information thank you…

  22. Pragmatic Play slot demo

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

  23. Speakatoo is a leading, trending & the most popular AI based converts Tamil Speech in various types of audio files from text. Speakatoo is a real time text-to-speech tool that enables you to generate rich, human like conversations for your client’s or self service applications. Convert Tamil Text to Speech

  24. The history of the Tamil language can be broadly divided into three periods, namely: Early Tamil with the sixth century before and after Christ; Medieval Tamil, 6th-12th centuries; As well as Modern Tamil, from the twelfth century to the present day.
    Speakatoo is a leading, trending & the most popular AI based converts Tamil Speech in various types of audio files from text. Speakatoo is a real time text-to-speech tool that enables you to generate rich, human like conversations for your client’s or self service applications. Convert Tamil Text to Speech

  25. Our experience so far in ICO and blockchain development is unmatched and it allows us to provide stable cryptocurrency solutions that are tailor-made to match your business requirements. Raise your Initial Coin Offering with minimal steps and get professional guidance from our team of blockchain and cryptocurrency experts.
    DeFi Wallet development

  26. I will definitely recommend your website to everyone. You have a very good gloss. Write more high-quality articles. I support you. Feel free to visit my website; 카지노사이트

  27. pmedia says:

    سئو چیست
    سئو (SEO) یا بهینه سازی برای موتورهای جستجو، مجموعه‌ای از فعالیت‌هایی است که در طراحی و کدنویسی سایت، تدوین استراتژی محتوایی، سئو تولید محتوا و لینک‌سازی خارجی انجام می‌دهیم تا جایگاه بهتری در نتایج جستجوی گوگل کسب کرده و بازدیدکننده بیشتری برای سایت جذب کنیم.

  28. I love what you guys are up too. Such clever work and exposure! Keep up the very good works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my own blogroll. Feel free to visit my website; 먹튀검증

  29. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into this great site. Feel free to visit my website; 카지노사이트

  30. Thank you for yet another great informative article, I’m a loyal visitor to this blog and I can’t stress enough how much valuable tips I’ve learned from reading your content 카지노사이트

  31. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine just how much time I had spent for this info!Thanks! Feel free to visit my website;
    카지노사이트

  32. johnmartin says:

    cenforce 100 review is a medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction. Cenforce 100mg tablet is popularly known as the blue pill for treating erectile dysfunction (ED).

  33. johnmartin says:

    cenforce 150 pillsTablet is a phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) inhibitor. It works by increasing blood flow to the penis by relaxing the muscles in penile blood vessels.

  34. johnmartin says:

    purple viagra pillsfor ED is a widely recommended medicine for the treatment of ED and male impotence disorder.

  35. johnmartin says:

    200 mg sildenafil citrateis the only solution for long-lasting and satisfying sex for an ED patient.

  36. johnmartin says:

    cenforce 150mg Tablet is a phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) inhibitor. It works by increasing blood flow to the penis by relaxing the muscles in penile blood vessels.

  37. johnmartin says:

    cenforce 100 for saleablet is a phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) inhibitor. It works by increasing blood flow to the penis by relaxing the muscles in penile blood vessels.

  38. johnmartin says:

    buy cenforce 100mgablet is a phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) inhibitor. It works by increasing blood flow to the penis by relaxing the muscles in penile blood vessels.

  39. johnmartin says:

    vidalista 20 mgg is the smallest dose of Tadalafil that can be used to treat erections. These pills contain a precise dose of 2.5 mg of generic Tadalafil.

  40. johnmartin says:

    viagra purple pillfor ED is a widely recommended medicine for the treatment of ED and male impotence disorder.

  41. johnmartin says:

    purple ed pill for ED is a widely recommended medicine for the treatment of ED and male impotence disorder.

  42. Johnson says:

    Myupmc.upmc.com is the official MyUPMC Login portal that allows you to access the health information that you want. Everything you need is in your hands.

  43. johnmartin says:

    fildena 100 mg for salefor ED is a widely recommended medicine for the treatment of ED and male impotence disorder.

  44. johnmartin says:

    fildena 100 purplefor ED is a widely recommended medicine for the treatment of ED and male impotence disorder.

  45. johnmartin says:

    tadalista super activeoral pill, you can restore the desired hardness to your erections. These tablets, which contain generic Tadalafil, will assist you in making the penis more difficult to penetrate.

  46. johnmartin says:

    vidalista reviewsis the smallest dose of Tadalafil that can be used to treat erections. These pills contain a precise dose of 2.5 mg of generic Tadalafil.

  47. johnmartin says:

    tadalista 10Tadalafil), like all other drugs, is available in a variety of strengths to meet the needs of the patient.

Leave a Reply to johnmartin Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.