Report

At the start of the year I was confused and unclear about what the role of a social media producer was and was worried about how this semester would turn out. However, I did some extra research and along with a few tutorials soon picked up the meaning of it was to be a social media producer.

During the year, I participated on the my tribe page with a couple of entries. One entry covered how football (soccer) supporters have an international language and no matter who you meet wherever in the world, as long as you have football in common there is an automatic connection. Thus, there is a global football tribe who all have an understanding of each other and have formed an international inner circle. I learnt this in Hong Kong as it is a multi cultural place full of tourists constantly coming and going who I was able to connect with instantly even with language barriers. ( http://www.pool.org.au/image/lisa11/my_team )

I also put up a post about a friend of mine and his journey in getting a tribal tattoo however stopped midway through the documentation as it would require me to put put up copyrighted images, songs and videos. There were too many references to song titles, lyrics, structures and other images towards the making of the tattoo which would not make sense without the copyrighted evidence. However, there are two entries which link to the the tribal theme created by the group ‘Queensryche’ in retaliation against Government issues. The entry includes quotations from an interview and references to the album called ‘Tribe’. (http://www.pool.org.au/image/lisa11/tribe_intro) & (http://www.pool.org.au/text/lisa11/tribe_influence_1)

I managed to recruit over 7 people to the mytribe page with the help of Ross’s flier, facebook and through word of mouth. The people I managed to get involved included a business graduate, media graduate, designer and a couple of people around the world including England and Hong Kong. I sent over 350 people invites to the facebook page which turned out to not be as useful as I thought as only a few people accepted the group while the rest dismissed it.

In relation to the group tribe projects, I enjoyed working with my team in creating a website about the colourblind tribe. I helped with getting an interview from a green / red deficient interviewee, planning out the layout of the site and by creating a video and helping with a few other videos. I tried my best to give as much feedback as I could to the other members, share my ideas to help improve the site and come up with resolutions to any problems encountered and feel like I had a good input in the overall assignment. I made sure to have a good communication with my group at all times using the facebook page we created which turned out to be successful as we all were able to keep updating the page as work got done and were able to leave feedback.

I made one video which was not used in the overall project as there wasn’t much time to put it in and the group were happy with the pages as they were. Here is the video which was left out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpqkIYcrN0Y , maybe if we had more time the group could have found a way to put this in.

I could have organised my time better towards the end of the project with the video making as it got rushed, however I feel like I did a good job with both producing my video and helping Ke design and pick out another video which worked well overall for the final outcome.

I was really happy with the final project as it was clear, easy to navigate and really captured the essence of our colourblind tribe theme were aiming for. The site is colourful and has a warmth which encourages viewers to want to play around with it. There are colourblind tests which force interaction with the viewer which I thought was a nice touch. The videos also fit in really well as they are artistic, creative and are interesting visuals to match each of the audio pieces.

Overall, as mentioned in an earlier post, the my tribe concept is a really good original idea which I enjoyed working with. I felt like I’ve learnt a lot about what kind of responsibilities are included in being a social media producer and enjoyed thinking of ideas and different ways to try and recruit people and post entries on the site.
I learnt to work as a team over the year found my self constantly thinking of ideas I could do to put up on the my tribe page. I put a lot of effort into the group project and tried to contribute as much as I could during group meetings and often tried to give as much critical feedback as I could.

Although I put a lot of effort into the group project, my organisational skills could have been better and I feel like I could have put a bit more effort towards entries on the pool site and blog updates. I will definitely try and put more effort into these areas next term. I give myself a grade of 73 / 100.

Group Meeting

Today the group met up to discuss our final tasks and make sure everybody was up to date and on the same page. I showed the team some footage I shot over the weekend for a video which didn’t turn out too well as I was being to literal with my ideas. It was definitely good to get some feedback and after the talk I have a better understanding of the direction we’re aiming towards and feel much better knowing I can be more abstract with the work. Ross has also offered to help out with one of the videos which takes some weight off my shoulders.

So far though, Simon has done a really good job with the website which has only gotten positive feedback so far. It is very simple, clear, fun and easy to navigate and is motivating me more to get the work done to a good level. After previous meetings and long sessions of deciding how the pages were going to link, I think the whole group are pleased with the overall outcome and cant wait for the final product.

Social Media – A fundamental shift in the way we communicate

Bomb Project

Today I took and edited a bunch of photographs for the colourblind project with the intention to give viewers an idea about what kind of jobs colourblind people shouldn’t be doing. Here is a print screen of the editing page after exporting the final product:

The story shows a man who is on the phone with the bomb squad while trying to diffuse a bomb, however, he is colourblind and can’t distinguish the different coloured wires resulting with a failure and the bomb to explode. Towards the end of the piece I struggled with the volume of the heartbeat and the actual explosion which I will continue to play around with and improve the quality. I may also edit the i phone on photoshop to try and make it looks more like a bomb but so far it has received positive feedback.

My Idea

The pool website is definitely one of the most original ideas and concepts I’ve encountered.

An idea to try and bring more people in could be to get the rights to a good script and host a competition for anybody around the world to enter. The story is released in parts e.g. the intro would be released to the public for one month, part two the next month and so forth. The competition would consist of people sending in their interpretations of each section, perhaps it could be through video, painting, drawing, photograph etc. One piece of work would be chosen as the winner for each portion of the script until eventually, the entire script would be told through different types of arts. ABC could organise some kind of deal or prize for each of the winners.

This is just an idea I am still working on though which so far I can only think of reasons it would be successful which are:
-Anyone can join
-Its open to wide target audience
-ABC are hosting it which would attract a lot of people
-Pool could get many views
-Would look good on a cv

+a few more reasons. Even if this competition failed, it wouldn’t really effect the site or make it worse meaning there would be nothing to loose. So either way, it could be worth a shot.

Pool is the kind of website which this project would be perfect for, the concept of the website is brilliant as anybody can post whatever they like which inspires creativity and the option of general critic and feedback. I believe people just need a motivation to start posting work up. This is just an idea however which is still a work in progress in my head.

Individual progress

My individual progress meeting went a lot better than I expected. I thought I would be on a credit so far but turns out I’m on a distinction approaching high distinction. All I need to do is follow through with my SMP plans, keep regular updates on my blog which is my primary weakness and continue to contribute with the colourblind group. All of these things are doable so from now on I will be aiming for a high distinction, which will be my first HD if I get it. At the start of the semester I felt really uneasy and under confident and would’ve been happy with a pass, but feel like I have made a lot of progress and have really enjoyed doing the work this term.

Ke, Simon and Ross have been a really good group to work with so far. I’ve always felt confident enough to make suggestions and present ideas to them as we are all often on the same page. The group debates, discusses and gives as much feedback as possible about ideas shared which helps the quality of overall work. Another thing I like about the group is If anyone gets shut down its never taken to heart creating a stress free atmosphere which really makes a difference unlike previous groups I’ve been a part of. They have been very supportive which I think has raised my confidence level and my grade.

I also really enjoy the tasks and work for the project as it feels like the year are all part of a team working in the same direction to make the pool website work. The whole concept is original and unique and I feel like I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience regarding what a social media producer is, promoting the pool website and working as a team in general. This subject is probably my best subject this term as I am really motivated to produce some good quality work and am really enjoying it.

Areas I will try to improve on from now on are:
-Speaking up in class
-Keeping my blog up to date and expressing myself
-Continue to try and get more people to sign up
-Post more work on the pool website

Progress update…

Below is a list of things achieved and goals to be done:
-Uploaded two entries onto the mytribe page
-Completed one interview
-May have another interview lined up
-Taken some pictures and edited them on photoshop to put on the colourblind page
-Found some copyleft images of colour tests the group could use
-Arranged for a friend of mine from Hong Kong whose now in living in Cyprus to write a 30s tribal themed song on his guitar which I’m going to film a short clip.

The My tribe experience

So far I have really enjoyed the whole concept of my tribe and think its a very original good opportunity for 3rd year students. The page layout and design is easy and straight forward to use such as signing up, uploading work, browsing other peoples work and leaving comments.

So far after going through a range of peoples works, the ones which stand out the most are Jim’s rifle club video as it really grasps the whole idea of the project and Ash’s entry about being part of a team as I can relate to the idea. Each piece of work is original and offers something new to the table which I think is making this project a success.

I find myself constantly thinking of different ideas I can use to put on the page while doing everyday chores, my latest idea came to me while carrying groceries on Bourke Street after walking past a few street performers who I realised knew each other. I was partially inspired by the ‘tribes on Swanston street’ video as my idea is leaning towards film footage of street performers as a tribe.

Recruitment

I brainstormed a few ideas for how to recruit people into becoming members of mytribe. The methods I have done so far are:

- Sent an invite to the 384 people I have on my facebook
- I’ve spoken to a few of my friends from Hong Kong, the international student accommodation I stayed at, friends from England and some Australian students doing journalism at Monash, telling them what mytribe is and showing them the flyer Ross made.
- Sent out a couple of emails with Ross’s flyer attached to other friends and family members.

So far, I think these methods have been quite successful as I have managed to get at least 4+ people to join. I will continue to try and attract people to join and keep updating their work.

Got my first interview ! YAY!

Today I managed to get my first interview finished and edited. Hooray! I got a clear sound and great visuals (in case we decide to use them). I interviewed Marcus Tsui, Channel Coordinator for Crazy Johns who has been red / green deficient since birth. Now I have completed one interview and edited a few photos on photoshop, I just need to find 1 or 2 more people to interview and the page should be looking good. The group still need to have a meeting to discuss what kind of visuals we’re going to include but we are on schedule and still have time for this. I have also researched a few colour blind tests which are copyleft and can be used on our page.