Comparing Food and Vine

(Cyber-m.com, 2015)

Comparing Food and Vine

This weeks lecture was mainly discussing Food Networks, however, many points within the lecture can be interpreted to parallel the concepts compared to Online Social Networking Sites. Kuttainen (2015) discussed many different points with networks which can be applied to online social networking sites. The points Kuttainen (2015) made were such topics pertaining to; 'Food' as a transformer of culture; 'Food' as a a repository of culture; people settling for mainstream culture; 'Language' disappearing before 'food' does; 'Taste' is culturally constructed; 'Food' produces a fictitious sense of authenticity; and 'Food' can be an expression of identity. All of these points can be identified to online social networking sites. 

Vine is one such site to which these issues pertain to social communities of Vine; some people settle for mainstream culture on the communities and these communities are culturally constructed. Atkins and Bowler (2001) state "'Taste', therefore, has both physical and social meanings." This quote of which can be pertained to Vine. Atkins and Bowler (2001) also support Kuttainen's (2015) argument of social groups (or virtual social networking groups) and how they reinforce online identities. Atkins and Bowler (2001, p.274) also elaborate that " generations find assimilation unavoidable, but some (things) survive as a link with the past.

Atkins and Bowler (2001) also discuss in their text that in some instances, the same old situations and matters are commonplace compared to the development of changing occurrences of the 21st Century, namely, Virtual Networking Sites.

References:

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I. (2001). The Origins of Taste. In Food In Society. New York: Oxford University Press 

Cyber-m.com,. (2015). Vine Dos and Don’ts | Cyber-m. Retrieved 19 September 2015, from http://www.cyber-m.com/vine-dos-and-donts/

Kuttainen, V. (2015). Food Networks. Lecture, James Cook University.

Consumer Restriction and Stereotyping

As Patel states in his work on the power of large corporations, there are many restrictions on what consumers have access to, by means of “guiding” us to choose what is easiest and most profitable of the products, eliminating even the vaguest sense of “choice” involved. All companies around the world do this, it is a means to increase sales and diminish cost, and is often not limited to the company selling the product, or even physical objects or media (Patterson, 2015).

Social media sites have become hubs for controlling consumer choice though restricting access to media, by pushing certain brands that are in some way (cough economically cough) beneficial to the site (Social Times, 2015). It encourages the empowerment of some brands and diminishes the power and revenue if others, instead of sharing opportunity equally, as can only be accessed by those brands that can afford to pay the subsidy for this service. This disempowerment is not only seen in those brands that are under-represented on social media; many people can feel the very real effect of this new way of advertising.

Sites like Facebook are pioneers for such control over content and person specific advertising and it creates problems in lives as these restrictions can sometimes change how a person sees themselves or enforces the idea that certain aspects of a person ultimately define them. The most evident of these come in the form of gender specific advertising, as it is now known there are not only two separate genders but a wide sphere of them ranging almost from A-Z.  When someone is defined specifically by the “gender” and not their “identity” stereotypes are enforced, for if you identify as male but are “technically” of “originally” female, female products or products target at a female audience will bombard your timeline. This may only be a small step for empowering people as they are, not what companies want them to be for profit minimums, but it is a step that must soon be taken.

Bibliography

Gender Spectrum. (2015). Home Page. Retrieved September 17, 2015, from Gender Spectrum: https://www.genderspectrum.org/

Kuttanien, V. (2015). Power (Capital and Industrial Relations). BA1002 Our Space; Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 8 Week 8.

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Melbourne: Black Inc.

Patterson, M. (2015, May 4). Social Media Demographics for Marketers. Retrieved September 17, 2015, from Sprout Social: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/

Social Times. (2015, July 30). 10 Brands Doing an Amazing Job on Social Media. Retrieved September 17, 2015, from Social Times: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/michael-patterson-10-brands-amazing-social-media/624169

Yellow Pages. (2014). Yellow Social Media Report, What Australian People and Businessses are doing with Social Media. Retrieved September 17, 2015, from Yellow Pages Sensis: https://www.sensis.com.au/content/dam/sas/PDFdirectory/Yellow-Social-Media-Report-2014.pdf

Facebook & Exchange

Social networking is a place for exchanging anything you can imagine, from cars to clothes. Facebook has many pages that link back to the basic exchange of goods over the internet bringing many different groups of people together.

Exchanging online can either be between friends, cultural groups or pages, and can vary from product to product. Just like anything else, exchange is a construct of many aspects influencing the way items can be brought or who can buy these items. “Taste is culturally constructed” (Kuttainan, 2015) For example, with different people, come different reasons for purchasing an item. Some may want an item for sentimental reasons or to add to a collection, but whatever that reason is, the buyer or seller has constructed in their minds the reasons they either want to sell or buy this item. Especially online, users tend to become more brazen with their want and needs and construct an online profile that would aid in the purchase of an item.
In this new technological age, it has become more clear that Social networking is become a necessity in everyone’s everyday lives. In today’s society everyone is concerned with exchanging as many things as possible on a social networking site that it is becoming more popular than ever before. Users exchange comments, photos, shared items and pages in order to create a more influential online profile of themselves. “In matters of food consumption we are at the same time driven and constrained by biological necessity and socio-cultural factors.”(Atkins and Bowler, 2001)

Exchange means many different things whether personally, socially or product exchange, but it is one thing many online users rely on to boost their online status. Facebook is one of the main playgrounds for exchanges to take place and with mutual friends liking an exchange page the chances of other users catching onto that page is extremely high.
This link shows the advertisement for an online exchange website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXtd4u-YVRA

Reference List
Atkins, P. and Bowler, I. (2001). FOOD IN SOCIETY. New York: Oxford University Press, p.273.
DiPietro, J. (2010). Facebook for Businesses Demystified. [online] Domesticating IT. Available at: http://www.domesticatingit.com/facebook-for-businesses-demystified/ [Accessed 18 Sep. 2015].
Kuttainan, V. (2015). Food Networks.

Food all over the world, is a form of networking between groups of people. It allows people to form bonds with one another through the consumption of new and exciting tastes that they enjoy. “Food often represents an important expression of our identity, both as individuals and in reference to a broader ethnic, class or religious grouping.” (Atkins, 2001). Through food certain individuals are able to connect with other cultures without being able to speak the same language. Through this, people that travel the world and do not know the language of certain countries can interact with that culture by experiencing different cuisines from all over the world. This allows people to gain a whole new perspective on their own life through the discovery of new tastes.

Another form of sharing food experiences is through social media using applications such as Facebook and Instagram. The way that people connect on these media platforms is by cooking a meal and then taking a photo to upload to their desired social media page. Through this they are able to share with their family and friends what they are having for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One advantage of sharing food on social media is how easy it is to spread new cultural ideas and tastes, literally over the internet. If someone see’s what you have prepared for yourself this may make them want to try it also, broadening their cultural horizons. Even though this person may have never been to the country that the dish is from, but they are still able to feel a part of that culture and enjoy a bunch of new flavors that they may never would have experienced if they did not see the post online.

The consumption of Food is normally seen as a social experience in which you share with family or friends. Food networking is constantly around us as food is a part of our everyday lives.

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I. (2001). The Origins of Taste. In Food In Society. New York: Oxford University Press 

Image from http://www.popsugar.com/tech/Instagram-Food-Pictures-31058093 

Foodies Unite!

As our blogs come to an end, so does my time deeply analysing Instagram; and because this is Instagram I am dealing with, I inevitably at some point must discuss food photography. Whether we love it or hate it, it empowers those of us who call themselves 'foodies', and makes the rest of our mouths water. 'Taste' is both a physical and social concept (Atkins & Bowler), and food photography on Instagram appeals to both aspects. 

According to Atkins & Bowler (2001, p.272) our tastes are partly due to "our socially-derived desire for our consumption habits to show us in the best light." In short, if you post a carefully composed and filtered photograph of our smoked salmon and quinoa salad on Instagram, you are seen as flaunting your individual gastronomic choice, skills in the kitchen or that you are otherwise not light on cash, and that you have a healthy diet. Underneath all of this though is a lot of power play; posting it means that you are trendy, and gives you power over people who like to indulge, or don't have enough time to be preparing lavish meals, to make them feel less trendy, less healthy and have less social standing. Food can be either a source of pride or shame (Kuttainen, 2015), and while you are feeling proud about that salad, someone else is feeling shame about their mac & cheese. 

This shame-mongering is also in a way a parallel to the multinational food companies in the bottleneck of Patel's (2007) model. Just like these particular companies have a great deal of control and power over what we eat and what we have access to in supermarkets, Instagram food photography has a power over us that influences our taste physically in that we crave that melon sorbet that just came across our feed, and socially in that we are motivated to take up a more healthy lifestyle to match those we see on every second account. 

References:

Alana, K. (2012). Instagram & Co.: The Mobile Era of Food Photography. Retrieved from https://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/food-photography-tips-mobile/ 

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I. (2001). The Origins of Taste. In Food In Society. New York: Oxford University Press 

Kuttainen, V. (2015). Food Networks [Lecture Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au  

Patel, R. (2007). Introduction. In Stuffed and Starved. Melbourne: Black Inc. 

DRINKING AND POSTING - IT’S BECOMING OUR WAY!!

By Alice Carter

Bundaberg Rum Appreciation Society, can be better known as the very much popular, global network of Facebook (Kuttainen, 2015). Explanations as to why this statement is so true, can be explained in multiple ways; however the strongest reason’s known to people in this day-of-age, is that Facebook is so heavily rich with alcohol induced images and posts (weather it be rum or another drink entirely). 

An example of just how much alcohol induces our networks on Facebook, specifically looking at how it plays its own role, looks at the “Rum Collective” group page on Facebook itself (facebook.com, 2015). With over 7000 likes to its name, “Rum Collective” not only sets out to enhance the name of such a drink, but also uses means of certain communication tactics within their self-narratives, to enhance marketing success. This marketing success is clearly responsible for the networking connections to rum, with communication “online hash tags” heavily encouraging people to buy the drink (e.g.#geteducated). 

On this page, the admin most recently posted an advertisement opportunity (which clearly also encourages the tasting of rum), on July the 1st 2015. The post was edited so it was viewed by the public (over 7000 people who liked the page had/have access), with one particular hashtag communication reading “#geteducated”. This clearly indicates the admin has a way of saying that people should be buying this particular rum (Carribean). 

Wake up world, drinking and posting…its becoming our way, when really it shouldn’t be —- and groups that don’t even post while drunk, or advertise that they are getting wasted on a weekly basis (but still encourage such actions), are just as bad. 

References

Kuttainen, V. (2015) Lecture 8: People Networks. LearnJCU, Power Point

www.facebook.com (2015) Rum Collective: Group Page. 

Image Retrieved from www.depositphotos.com (2015)

Virtual Refugees of Vine

(Wood, 2015)

Virtual Refugees of Vine

Within many social networks, as wells as regular people networks, cases of Diaspora have been recorded throughout time. Vine's case of Diaspora seems to have forced this case by its members creating "Imagined Communities" (Kuttainen, 2015) on Vine. What I mean by this imagined community in terms of Diaspora is the way certain members of Vine seem to not fit into the already existing groups made of comedy, music, etc. These "Virtual Refugees" tend to steer clear of the mainstream Vine and create their 'imagined community' for themselves only. Not to be confused with the 'Cyber-Flaneur', the 'virtual refugee' seems to to take on a hipster viewpoint. They seem to care about their alternative image. These 'virtual refugees' can be found not just in Vine, but in more recognized social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. 

Ma Mung (2005, p.35) states in his text, "During the migration an identity develops", and "Sharing a common origin, be it real or supposed". These quotes can be familiarized to the above concept of 'virtual refugees' creating their own 'imagined community' through their identical Diaspora of migration from mainstream  virtual networks. Ma Mung (2005, p.36) also later mentions a "Collective memory/history", which he describes as follows. "This memory/history justifies for each individual their belonging to the Diaspora". Ma Mung (2005, p.39) also recites the features of Diaspora to help identify modern virtual Diaspora. The first is "The reason of exile". The second being "The duration of exile". The third, "The space of exile". The fourth, "The degree of community cohesion". And the last being, "The existence of links, real or imaginary with the territory or country of reference". All of these 'Features of Diaspora' can be compared to virtually any social network.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). People Networks. Lecture, James Cook University.

Ma Mung, E . (2005). Diaspora, Spatiality, Identities. In Comparative European Research in Migration, Diversity and Identities. Bilbao: University of Deusto.

Wood, S. (2015). 5 Things Social Media Experts Can Learn From Hipsters. Adweek.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015, from http://www.adweek.com/prnewser/5-things-social-media-experts-can-learn-from-hipsters/115716

Going Home with Just a Phone 

In this day and age, we have access to almost everything at just a few taps on a screen the size of our palm; and for those who have moved from their country of origin, or have families overseas, home is just a click away. Social media, and for my example Instagram in particular, makes the country of origin virtual, and allows people to be part of virtual ethnic communities.

Diasporic communities maintain their identity and history through narrative, which is inscribed into a space to make place (Kuttainen, 2015). Instagram allows diasporic peoples to inscribe their narrative onto the virtual space, and create a place in which users from all of their 'secondary poles' can connect with their 'central pole' through image and video. One feature of the diaspora according to Ma Mung (2005) is that through the migratory process, diasporic people develop an identity, and share a common origin. The rising prevalence of social media has rather updated this migratory process. For example, the Instagram account @everydayafrica allows people who have moved from Africa, be it as a refugee or not, or those who have African heritage to experience and engage with their culture. It gives them a community where they can connect with each other and develop an ethnic identity. But more than that, it creates a feeling of shared common origin, by making their home virtual. 

EverydayAfrica is a place where Africans can follow each other an connect with each other, whether they are in the same country or on other sides of the globe, and build and keep alive the networks which are crucial to the diaspora. 

References:

Dailymotion. (2013). I wanna go home !!!.....cover. Retrieved from http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xycxww_i-wanna-go-home-cover_music

Kuttainen, V. (2015) People Networks [Lecture Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Ma Mung, E . (2005). Diaspora, Spatiality, Identities. In Comparative European Research in Migration, Diversity and Identities. Bilbao: University of Deusto.

Self/Identity & Facebook

Facebook is a social network that allow for families to connect with each other over long distances, either though messaging or tagging. With families connecting over Facebook, this allows for members of the family to post whatever they wish, which may include photos or shared items an influence in to how family members are perceiving other family members. Online family members have the power to encourage certain behaviours that their family members are posting onto their timeline as they have access to anything their family posts. Sometimes the diasporic community can exert pressure on the younger generation to maintain traditions and connections to homeland. (Kuttainen, 2015)

When online people tend to navigate their identity and personality towards those who are seen as popular on Social networking. With this online identity users are free to express what they think or how things should be happening within their surroundings. With online users sharing a particular liking to something someone has posted or shared on Facebook, this can be seen as some type of online migration. Online migrations are becoming the new way of finding common interests among social network users.  During migration an identity develops and is based on the feeling of sharing a common origin, be it real or supposed. (Ma Mang, 2005)

Social networking is now an opportunity for families to keep an eye on what their family members are posting or sharing on Facebook. Older generations are also sharing or posting things that they want their family members to pick up and hopefully pass it onto any other family members on Facebook. With this new age of online migration it is going to be easier for families to communicate with each other over the internet to influence the other family members way of their online identity and how it will influence the posting and sharing side of their Facebook page.

Reference List
Kuttainen, V. (2015). People Networks.
Ma Mang, E. (2005). Comparative European research in migration, diversity and identities. Spain: University of Deusto Bilbao, p.35.

samuel stokely blog 5

In today's world with Facebook, Instagram, Vine and many other online interaction applications and websites, it is very easy for people to continue to stay in contact when they are affected by diaspora, "This concept mostly used in a context of movement of people" (Mung, 2005). Even if their space and place is not where they originate from, they are still able to keep a very firm connection with the people they have left behind through narrative, or even other people that have been affected by the same circumstances. For example just after World War 2 many people were forced to leave their homes and immigrate to Australia, whilst here certain ethnic groups found people from their same background by starting soccer clubs. This for them was a way of keeping part of their cultural heritage and holding onto a part of their old space and place, whilst living in a completely new one. 

One thing that I found really interesting from the lecture this week was how Victoria described place and space can be built by narratives. Even though some people may be re-located or forced to leave their homes, if they share stories of their homeland, keep their native language and pass down their customs they will always have their home with them, wherever they are. Even if they are unable to do this in person they can still stay in contact by uploading videos on Vine, or send messages and even make calls through Facebook, making it extremely easy for them to stay in contact and discuss things. So wherever you are in the world, with today’s virtual networks we are all able to link with one another, even if we are on opposite ends of the globe, exchanging stories and customs with one another.

Bibliography

Mung, E. M. (2005). Diaspora, Spatiality, Identities. Balibo: University of Deusto.

Image From https://www.rochester.edu/working/hr/relocation/