Every single day, I deal with spreadability. As a comic artist, circulation and spreadability is my bread and butter. Not to say that it's the only thing I depend on since tragically the life of the artist especially today is far too risky since our economy is down the toilet and nobody wants to pay for art anymore, but it's understandable that every artist needs an audience in order to survive. My comics, for instance, are posted on websites such as DeviantArt and Tumblr.Com. DevianrtArt is much more specific since it is only for artwork and its key purpose it to make it known to the world while Tumblr is far more diverse and doesn't exactly enable a critique or comment system. It's easier to make your artwork known and shared on Deviantart due to the comment system, critique network, group folders, file organizers for specific artworks, and search system. So for spreadability when it comes to my works, I want to make it known for audiences who are looking for certain things that are prevalent in my works. For instance, if people are fans of Steven Universe, I make sure to include that keyword when spreading my fan comic of the show so more and more people can see it when looking for comics based off of it. Sometimes even simple terms like "adventure" or "angst" also leads to some of my one-shots and ongoing series. I used to have well over 100 readers for my main comic series "Revenge of the Harmony" since I took advantage of the My Little Pony craze of 2012 and made a comic series about it, allowing many fans of the show to find interest in my work and so, when I gained plenty of followers, I made my original work more seen to them as well since I didn't start off by scratch. It's natural for people to sadly avoid new and original things since taking risks with art is not welcomed anymore, fan works always thrive more than others. So my spreadability is more dependent on fan knowledge and hype, but it still aids me in my comic composition every day. Sadly however, it also leads to stress and art blocks since the comments sections aren't always so kind and welcoming, plus the horrible realization that occurs when you spend well over 16 hours of work on a drawing that gets only 3 views. It's understandable that popularity should not be the key thing to keep an artist going, but for an insecure paranoid nut job like me? It's the worst.
My everyday composing consists of Instagram posts, activity on Facebook, whatever I feel like reposting on Tumblr, and it used to also include articles I had written for the Odyssey. My articles for the Odyssey are probably the composing I've done that is most relevant to answering this question.
When I would post something for the Odyssey, I usually thought about how well it would do on Facebook... Meaning, how many shares and likes it would get. Those of you who write for the Odyssey know what I'm talking about. In Jenkins, Ford, and Green, we read that "spreadability" refers to the potential something has for audiences to share content. So, in my case, I was hoping the stuff I was writing had a lot of potential. If it were interesting, the potential would be greater than if it were boring.
I would also write articles in the hopes that the content was "sticky." In other words, I was hoping I was writing something people would read and go, "Oh, I really like that, I'm gonna share it." Whatever they read was good enough that they were motivated to pass it along to their friends.
If I were going to apply spreadability to other components of my everyday composing, it would next, most closely relate to my Facebook posts. I post photos on Facebook about once every two weeks. I post comments probably every day. Jenkins, Ford, and Green address that “spreadability recognizes the importance of the social connections among individuals, connections increasingly made visible by social media platforms.” Facebook capitalizes on this characteristic of spreadbility. I find spreadability significant to Facebook because Facebook highlights the social connections amongst individuals. It is a social media platform that publicly shows the social interactions between family and friends. So when I post a photo or a comment, other people are going to see the interaction I get from my Facebook friends because they will “like” it, “share” it, or comment on it.
When it comes to a Facebook comment, there’s not much sharing that can be done, other than by word of mouth, or by tagging other Facebook users in a “reply” to the comment, or in another comment. There’s no “share” button for comments. The only way for the comment to spread is by other people coming across it, or getting tagged on the same post, so they are forced to come across it. When I post something on Facebook, I don’t normally consider its spreadability in the sense that people are going to share it, but rather in the sense that people are going to read it and be able to relate to it or make a meaning from it that I meant for them to.
Every time I write something, I think about the potential of spreadability, but not in a good way. No matter what I am writing for (Instagram, Twitter, school), I feel that the potential for spreadability constrains what I write. Whereas spreadability may be good for some professions, like a blogger or a journalist, it is not always good for the average person. For instance, there is an entire Twitter page dedicated to spreading “dumb” posts. If someone writes something and puts it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site, and he/she makes a horrible misspelling or simply says something that doesn’t make sense, someone can take a picture of this post, send it to this Twitter page, and the page will publish that picture for thousands of other people to see. This picture will be spread to many people in a matter of seconds, and from there, it may be retweeted and commented on, spreading this post even further. Knowing about this page and many others like it, every time I write anything that is to go on social media, I reread every word carefully and make sure everything is spelled correctly and that the post makes sense so that it will not get spread to other people for being a “dumb” post. I know that my friends have this fear as well. One specific friend of mine sends me a screenshot of everything she is about to post and has me read over it and make sure it is perfect and able to be posted. Even though it may be hypocritical, I also participate in this bad form of spreadability. If I see a post that makes absolutely no sense, I screenshot it and send it to other people. Even as I write this blog post, I feel the potential for spreadability constraining what I write. Even writing privately, such as in a journal, I hesitate in writing certain things because I always think "What if somebody else ends up reading this?" No matter where I am writing or what I am writing, the potential for spreadability limits what I write and probably has negative effects on my writing.
Spreadability is not something that I often take into consideration with my everyday composing, though I know I should. I don’t really do much every day composing so, if anything, I’d say the most that I do in that area is update my social media accounts. This is where it gets pretty crazy. These days it seems like everything that you do online follows you into your real life. On websites like Twitter and Tumblr, it has become a pretty popular thing these days to “expose” people. The slightest mistake that you make online could lead to people tracking you down and finding out what school you got to, where you work, etc. It is a pretty scary idea, but all that does is put into perspective how important it is that you are cautious of what you post. You could post one tweet as a joke that you think only your friends will see and then the next thing you know, it has been screenshotted and spread through different social media, such as Facebook, or even written about on news sites like Buzzfeed. The easy spreadability of social media is not always a bad thing. This can be reflected through the spread of viral videos. An example of this would be that video of Sunday’s debate where someone made it look like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were singing a duet of that song from Dirty Dancing. It provided a light spot in an otherwise bleak election, giving us one positive thing from that otherwise uninspiring debate. An example of this spreadability going in the other direction can be applied when pretty much anyone on the internet insults Beyoncé. At some point in the lasst two years, it seems as if the number one sin you can commit on social media has become talking bad about Beyoncé. A pretty good example of this was when a little bit after Lemonade came out, a model named Rachel Roy made an Instagram post including a caption that made it seem as if she was the infamous other woman that Beyoncé was singing about. Through the easy spreadability of the internet, Beyoncé’s fan base caught wind of this quickly and proceed to harass Roy on her social media accounts. So with things like this being possibly, I am always careful of what I do and say in public forums.
Especially with how commonly the Internet plays a role in our everyday lives, spreadability has become a large decision-making factor in my writing. When writing on mediums such as social media for example, people should have some forethought on just who is going to see whatever they write should they choose to post it online. For example, I would never choose to write something overly personal that I don’t wish other people to see on Facebook or Twitter. The number of people that have access to what I write online is too high, and the spreadability is too large for me to post things that I wouldn’t want certain people to see. For instance, there are a number of cases of students not being hired by their desired employers, because of unflattering pictures or posts found on social media sites. If some company looking to employ someone looks on Facebook and sees that the person’s profile picture is of them behaving inappropriately- drinking, for example- the impression that the company has on the potential worker is degraded. Even aside from this effecting people on a professional level, this could also cause problems with personal relationships too. Because of social media’s wide spreadability, it is important to be careful with what you post online, which is how spreadability effects my composition. On the other hand, however, this large spreadability can also be useful in spreading ideas and information on a global scale. With the use of the Internet, it is easy to communicate with people who are not accessibly by normal standards, and also to find new people with similar ideas and interests. With this in mind, I can easily use this spreadability to share my own thoughts and interests with people, both acquaintances and strangers. For example, if I have an interest in a particular thing, such as a book or a musical artist, I can find forums or blogs online with people who share my interest. This way, I can talk about something I like and learn more, even if no one I know directly shares my interests.
When it comes to composing a tweet on my Twitter, posting a photo on my Instagram, or sharing a video on my Facebook a lot of thoughts race through my mind. When thinking about the potential of spreadability for these posts that I am making on social media networks, it is probably scary how excessively I over analyze what to share with my fellow followers. I do not believe that only a particular thought pops up, but rather a multitude of thoughts questioning my decisions run rampant thought my mind. Jenkins, Ford, and Green also agree with this, saying that, “People make a series of socially embedded decisions when they choose to spread any media text.” For example, before posting an Instagram photo I abide by a few personal criteria’s. Particularly, I believe you must choose a photo with the potential to spark enough interest to get “likes” from your audience because the more likes on your photo the more circulation through networking your photo receives, hence the more popular you are. A simple selfie could suffice but imagine posting a picture of yourself holding a baby tiger, which one do you believe would get the most likes? Choosing a photo to attract your Instagram follower’s attention requires you to question your decisions. Decisions such as, “Is the content worth engaging with? Is it worth sharing with others? Might it be of interest to specific people? Does it communicate something about me or my relationship with those people?”(Jenkins, Ford, and Green, 13). I subconsciously think about these things before posting, but not only while on Instagram but also on all networks. For example, say the Instagram post of me holding the baby tiger gets thousands of likes and hundred of adoring comments, this reaction might spur me to also make this incredible photo my Facebook profile picture so an even larger and different audience can experience it as well. Jenkins, Ford, and Green state that, “spreadability refers to the potential –both technological and cultural- for audiences to share content with their own purposes” and also refers to it as “…the social networks that link people through exchange of meaningful bytes”(5). Because of the technology of Instagram and Facebook I am given the potential to post whatever I want to my audience. I am linked to my audience though the likes and comments they post creating a meaningful exchange between them and myself.
I think that spreadability does affect my everyday life; however, it matters less to me I think than it does to most people. I have a Facebook and Instagram, but I have never cared to have a twitter account and I rarely post on Facebook or Instagram. The major way spreadability affects me is not through what I share online, because I rarely share anything, but instead through viewing what other people share. I don't really like to post anything; however, I go on Facebook and Instagram a lot to see what other people have posted or shared. In a way I have limited my own potential for spreadability because I rarely participate in sharing content, but it does affect me because I do participate in viewing whatever other people share.
Another way that spreadability does affect me is when people share articles that I have written for the communications department for FSU. I wrote many blackboard student profiles and I am very happy when I see those articles circulating through Facebook because I know that people are reading them and are interested in them. However, the office I worked for does not rely so much on their article content's "stickiness" because their job is to just showcase the extraordinary accomplishments of the students at FSU. Although the office would love for the articles to be "sticky," it is not a necessity for the business especially since they are paid through the government and not from consumers. Personally I like working for an office that does not care so much about spreadability or stickiness because it reduces the pressure off of me to create something that people would want to read instead of something that I would want to write. I think the presence of stickiness can thwart a writer's creativity because they are so concerned about other people's interest in what they post instead of just writing or posting something they themselves are interested in. So, in regards to my own potential spreadability, I think it is very limited and rare that I spread any content on social media. I prefer to get my voice out in a more professional setting where stickiness is not as significant.
Spreadablity is something that I take into consideration almost every time I compose any form of text. Depending on what I am creating, rather it be a Facebook post, Instagram photo or Youtube video I always think about how I can get more people to see whatever message I am composing. Since majority of the work that I composing on an everyday basis now eventually end up on some sort of social media platform, I try and create something that has value to it. This is also referred to as “stickiness” a term best explained through Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, “"stickiness" broadly refers to the need to create content that attracts attention and engagement.” When posting anything now I think about how the piece will engage my audience rather it by through entertainment, or just making them think differently about something. I work a lot with videos and now a days, the only way we measure the success of a video is not through the quality or content of said video, though yes those are very important qualities to consider when judging a film or video, the measurement of a successful video is by the amount of people that see it. The view count meter has changed the way we view videos, as if one person comes across a video and the view count shows that it has a low amount a views, many people will pass the video off. Though if someone sees that a video that has been viewed by a few million people, they will feel more inclined to watch said video. Getting views isn’t easy to come by as whatever video I make must have “stickiness” so that I can engage the right audience, and hopefully if the video has the right amount of “stickiness” the video may be shared and view by more and potentially shared again, increasing the spreadability of the video. Of course there are certain things other than the content of a video that can make it more easily spreadable, like adding keywords in the VSEO that match with the content. The more keywords added, the easier it is for more people to find the video, making the potential for spreadability even higher.
Spreadability is certainly something that comes to mind when writing and sharing things during everyday life. Whenever I post on social media, I always make sure I think about what I am posting because it can be seen by anyone. The internet has allowed spreadability to become even more prominent than before. Something that is put on the internet can go viral in a matter of minutes. Often times, people use spreadability to measure the success of what they put online. For example, the amount of views on a video shows how successful that particular video is. If it is viewed by a lot of people, than it was something that was easy to spread and was enjoyed by a large number of people. One always has to be wary of what they put on the internet as well. Because things can spread so quickly, if you post something inappropriate online it can be seen by a large number of people. Even if you delete something, there's a good chance that someone has already saved it. When I write things, I try to make it appealing to people so the spreadability factor will be raised. Technology has allowed us to learn and share information at a much more efficient rate than before the internet existed. Spreadability is definitely an important factor to think about whenever you are writing or sharing things online.
When it comes to reading online comment sections, I tend to get lost in the hatred that is intertwined with that of actual substance. I recently watched a video on Facebook that was about that horrible woman named Tomi Lahren. Not only is she a bigot and complete psychopath (in my opinion), but she is a blind supporter of Donald J. Trump. As I was going through the comment section, I saw a lot of thoughtful ideas brought up from both sides of the table. But I also saw a lot of blind hatred. Hatred not towards Tomi Lahren but towards people living in this country as legal citizens. Truthfully, this makes me sad for this country but on the other hand, I also admire that we are able to do this as a nation. Here is a social media website, not ‘monitored’ by some tyrannical government, allowing a video that is spewing dangerous ideas about democracy and our current leadership, people debating in its comment section, and not a single person has to worry about what they say because no one can physically do anything about it. Yes, there might be some social backlash but it would be completely against our nations ideals if things like that video were to be severely monitored by our government or even the social media website. Spreadability has its flaws. The old news saying goes ‘if it bleeds, it leads.’. This is true to most everything. I would say that a majority of videos that pop up on my twitter and Facebook feed are negative. Whether it be a police shooting or threat mongering done by political incumbents, people are hypnotized by fear. I would say that the problem isn’t the comment section beneath the articles written by Popular Science, News Weekly, or even the New York Times. The problem lies with expectation. Some people expect more of the human race and they shouldn’t. People shouldn’t expect anymore than what we are seeing today in the political race that is engulfing our nation. We see a racist, misogynistic asshole who for some reason has major support from ‘middle America’ (whatever that means). I believe that the comment sections should stay wide open and unmonitored because it is up to the journalists to write said article while it is up to the public to decipher its meaning. If that meaning is ‘fuck you’, then let people write ‘fuck you’. It’s up to the level headed reader to understand that there are fuckers out there being fucky all the fucking time. Spreadability does affect me every day. It shows me how this world works and how I wish it did work. It allows me to cement my thoughts and ideas by showing me all sides of an equation. Sometimes that equation is sick and disgusting but it needs to be solved one way or another.
I personally think about the potential for spreadability in my everyday life every single time I post something online or even when I compose something privately. I constantly wonder what would happen if someone were to find and read my personal journal or if something I text someone gets screenshot and sent to someone I didn’t intend. It’s honestly on the verge of paranoia. Censorship is a huge component of college life whether people choose to address it or ignore it. As someone who is active in the Greek community here at Florida State, it’s nearly impossible to shake the feeling of constantly being watched. Whatever I say, do, or post is an immediate and concrete reflection on the chapter I have chosen to align myself with, and in that my actions and my values must align with them. The possibility for spreadability is brought to my attention almost every day and is a constant reminder to watch out for myself, because I honestly never will know who exactly my audience is. The internet is a profoundly vast place and it’s important to remember that.
Beyond watching out for my future and making sure I don’t compose anything questionable that future employers may see, I think about spreadability for my personal gain. In this day and age with the social media that’s out there seeing how many people have seen what you’ve posted and how many likes or shares you’ve gotten seems to directly correlate with social status and general likeability as a human. It’s very easy to get caught up in these things and try to equate them to self-worth, even though the amount of likes you receive on a photo could never possibly equate to how valuable you are as a person. The instant gratification process of likes and social media has warped spreadability into a psychological dependency for some people who feed off of it and use it as a way of life.
However, on the other hand some people are truly gifted with spreadability and use it for a greater cause. I like to think of the network Humans of New York as a good example. Based entirely from social media and spreadability, HONY shares stories of hope and love far beyond just New York.
Spreadability is very relevant to my every day life as I am a part of several Marketing teams here at Florida state. In my on-campus job, I work as a graphic designer for FSU Campus Recreation. I have to make different versions of almost every single thing I make, some stuff goes on the websites, others posted around the leach and some portable flyers. In making every single one of these, I am doing so to enhance our information’s spreadability. Inside the office, our market researchers work on surveying to determine how well our information is spreading. In another one of my organizations, Dance Marathon, I am also a graphic designer but I play a role on the Marketing team as well. Every single graphic I make is posted on tons of forms of social media and our social media coordinator lets us now how many people we “reach” on each different platform. When composing my graphics, I like to look at the stats and see which ones got more shares, retweets, likes etc. so I could determine which ones are the most spreadable. It is so important to keep tabs on the spreadability of our information so that we can make changes on all of our future content to improve those numbers. The other organization I’m involved in is Clutch Magazine. When we are spreading around our magazines there is always a different reason for it. When we make the magazine, spreadability is a major concern. When advertising to sponsors, we show them the magazine and hope that they will like what they see and choose to support us. Then, we will be able to make another issue because we have the money to do so. The magazine’s ability to spread through the community among potential sponsors basically determines it’s ability to live on for another issue. Also, we want the magazine to spread to other talented FSU students who are interested in working on our staff. We have an online website featuring our staff and magazines from the past. When composing the website and all of it’s content, we realized that future members would be checking out the site. I could go on and on about how important spreadability is especially when working with organizations that thrive from being shared and spread through the world. With everything we compose, we should be concerned with spreadability because with the technology we have today, chances are, any information can spread.
I don't often think of the term 'spreadability' as I go on in everyday life, but when really thinking about it, I use spreadability almost everyday. It is associated with my school work for one. This blog is an example of how I can post my thoughts and comments and share them with a click of a button and is available for my fellow peers to view and read. I also use spreadability through my personal tumblr blog. This outlet provides opportunity for me to share and spread my art through the internet. Numerous tumblr bloggers are able to share and repost pictures, gifs, music, and posts, like a chain reaction, creating spreadability. Lastly, I use spreadability through my music and poetry. I post my music on websites and blogs, hoping to reach out to those who appreciate the art, and I could even say I use spreadability through my lyrics and rhymes as I share my personal thoughts to the fellow audience. As technology progresses I know that I will use spreadibility in the career that I choose. I know that I will always have art as an outlet, and whats art if you can't share and spread it around?
To me, spreadability seems a lot like circulation. It's defined in the reading as the potential for audiences to share content, specifically for their own purposes. Every single day I experience spreadability. When you compose a text to another person, you have to think if the receiver will chose to spread this to others. Same thing with a Facebook status, picture, Tweet, and things like that. Every day when we compose something, we have to think of the possibility of it spreading to other people. People chose to share things with others that they read or hear about, and there is no stopping them when the author has no control.
Spreadability is something that would be seemingly relevant when speaking badly about something or someone. When normally conversing with my friends, or posting a picture on Instagram, I don't really consider what people are going to share what I post or say. However, if it someone is to say something bad about someone else, like if I were to complain about something in my life, this is when I would be more aware of who can send what I am saying to who. This can also be relevant when I am posting something I wouldn't usually post, such as something political for example would be reacted to widely by anyone reading it.
Politics, being extremely relevant, are a good example of spreadability. People are voicing their opinions all the time and this not only gives the audience an impression of the political candidate, but also of the person who is writing the opinion. These statements will be widely brought up in conversations between others and the "facts" posted will be constantly spread between more people.
Spreadability is also relevant in class and at work. When you work on something and it is posted, like a blogpost on this website, people are able to see what you put. This way, they can add things they thought were good from your post, use your opinions to find their own opinions, and so on. Also, people can see things posted here and bring them up in conversation at home. For example, my roommate will sometimes read us others discussion board posts to tell us why they are good, or bad etc. It can also be a bad thing when someone has a picture of the answers to something and shares this with other people.
Spreadability can be good or bad as far as circulation, impressions and sharing information. It can inspire people to live lives the way others do, it can help people cheat through an assignment, and more. It has a close connection to circulation, except I believe it has an even deeper definition.
Because my everyday writing is usually really personal, I tend not to really think about the spreadability of it. I write in my journal therefore I don't write for the eyes of others and so I especially don't think of ways to literally "spread" it. I'll be honest, I didn't really think about spreadability until this class. I have never written anything with purpose of multiple people seeing it as well as for it to go "viral." However, now when I'm scrolling through facebook or twitter and I come across a certain meme or video, I now have network in mind and think about how pieces get to where they are. When people want to get a point, opinion, movement, etc. they want to use a medium that will catch people's attention. This is a really strong aspect authors and creators need to have in mind. I guess to me, this is what spreadability is primarily about... the flexibility of a concept being represented by different mediums. There is a similarity between spreadability and medium. Medium is the physical format a piece is presented as. Spreadability is a piece being able to morph into numerous mediums to appeal to audiences.
I definitely think about spreadability in my everyday writing. In a world where sharing your writing and your thoughts is so easy, it’s important to think about the possible audience when writing something. Whenever I put something on the internet, whether it be on a website I make or a post I share on facebook, I always think about who is going to see what I’m sharing. It’s especially important on these new forms of social media that have emerged because you want to make sure you’re giving a good representation of yourself on the internet, where a simple google search can expose something you wouldn’t want a future employer, for example, to see. While a part of me is cautious and tries to limit vast spreadability, I also think about spreadability to the masses when creating original work. In the past I’ve created articles for cites such as Buzzfeed and Thought Catalogue; both online publications wanting maximum views. I’ve meticulously picked certain things to write and certain words to use to achieve the most amount of viewership. Other content I create, graphic designs, are always made with spreadability in mind. I’ve started a small business here at Florida State where I design waltz signs, a trend that’s huge among almost 21 year olds. I always keep the intended audience in mind when creating a sign; not only because I want the customer to be happy, but also because I want to expand my clientele through my work. If a girl in a sorority sees her sister with a sign that she likes, she’s inclined to have the same person make it. Sometimes I have to put my own personal likes and dislikes aside to appeal to a bigger audience than just myself and the customer. I also think about the quality of work that needs to be done. I won’t create something unless it’s to my standards and something that I’m proud to put my name on. Sometimes it has caused me to turn down jobs, but I’d rather spread my name with a good product than one that’s made at half effort.
Every single day, I deal with spreadability. As a comic artist, circulation and spreadability is my bread and butter. Not to say that it's the only thing I depend on since tragically the life of the artist especially today is far too risky since our economy is down the toilet and nobody wants to pay for art anymore, but it's understandable that every artist needs an audience in order to survive. My comics, for instance, are posted on websites such as DeviantArt and Tumblr.Com. DevianrtArt is much more specific since it is only for artwork and its key purpose it to make it known to the world while Tumblr is far more diverse and doesn't exactly enable a critique or comment system. It's easier to make your artwork known and shared on Deviantart due to the comment system, critique network, group folders, file organizers for specific artworks, and search system. So for spreadability when it comes to my works, I want to make it known for audiences who are looking for certain things that are prevalent in my works. For instance, if people are fans of Steven Universe, I make sure to include that keyword when spreading my fan comic of the show so more and more people can see it when looking for comics based off of it. Sometimes even simple terms like "adventure" or "angst" also leads to some of my one-shots and ongoing series. I used to have well over 100 readers for my main comic series "Revenge of the Harmony" since I took advantage of the My Little Pony craze of 2012 and made a comic series about it, allowing many fans of the show to find interest in my work and so, when I gained plenty of followers, I made my original work more seen to them as well since I didn't start off by scratch. It's natural for people to sadly avoid new and original things since taking risks with art is not welcomed anymore, fan works always thrive more than others. So my spreadability is more dependent on fan knowledge and hype, but it still aids me in my comic composition every day. Sadly however, it also leads to stress and art blocks since the comments sections aren't always so kind and welcoming, plus the horrible realization that occurs when you spend well over 16 hours of work on a drawing that gets only 3 views. It's understandable that popularity should not be the key thing to keep an artist going, but for an insecure paranoid nut job like me? It's the worst.
ReplyDeleteMy everyday composing consists of Instagram posts, activity on Facebook, whatever I feel like reposting on Tumblr, and it used to also include articles I had written for the Odyssey. My articles for the Odyssey are probably the composing I've done that is most relevant to answering this question.
ReplyDeleteWhen I would post something for the Odyssey, I usually thought about how well it would do on Facebook... Meaning, how many shares and likes it would get. Those of you who write for the Odyssey know what I'm talking about. In Jenkins, Ford, and Green, we read that "spreadability" refers to the potential something has for audiences to share content. So, in my case, I was hoping the stuff I was writing had a lot of potential. If it were interesting, the potential would be greater than if it were boring.
I would also write articles in the hopes that the content was "sticky." In other words, I was hoping I was writing something people would read and go, "Oh, I really like that, I'm gonna share it." Whatever they read was good enough that they were motivated to pass it along to their friends.
If I were going to apply spreadability to other components of my everyday composing, it would next, most closely relate to my Facebook posts. I post photos on Facebook about once every two weeks. I post comments probably every day. Jenkins, Ford, and Green address that “spreadability recognizes the importance of the social connections among individuals, connections increasingly made visible by social media platforms.” Facebook capitalizes on this characteristic of spreadbility. I find spreadability significant to Facebook because Facebook highlights the social connections amongst individuals. It is a social media platform that publicly shows the social interactions between family and friends. So when I post a photo or a comment, other people are going to see the interaction I get from my Facebook friends because they will “like” it, “share” it, or comment on it.
When it comes to a Facebook comment, there’s not much sharing that can be done, other than by word of mouth, or by tagging other Facebook users in a “reply” to the comment, or in another comment. There’s no “share” button for comments. The only way for the comment to spread is by other people coming across it, or getting tagged on the same post, so they are forced to come across it. When I post something on Facebook, I don’t normally consider its spreadability in the sense that people are going to share it, but rather in the sense that people are going to read it and be able to relate to it or make a meaning from it that I meant for them to.
Every time I write something, I think about the potential of spreadability, but not in a good way. No matter what I am writing for (Instagram, Twitter, school), I feel that the potential for spreadability constrains what I write. Whereas spreadability may be good for some professions, like a blogger or a journalist, it is not always good for the average person. For instance, there is an entire Twitter page dedicated to spreading “dumb” posts. If someone writes something and puts it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site, and he/she makes a horrible misspelling or simply says something that doesn’t make sense, someone can take a picture of this post, send it to this Twitter page, and the page will publish that picture for thousands of other people to see. This picture will be spread to many people in a matter of seconds, and from there, it may be retweeted and commented on, spreading this post even further. Knowing about this page and many others like it, every time I write anything that is to go on social media, I reread every word carefully and make sure everything is spelled correctly and that the post makes sense so that it will not get spread to other people for being a “dumb” post. I know that my friends have this fear as well. One specific friend of mine sends me a screenshot of everything she is about to post and has me read over it and make sure it is perfect and able to be posted. Even though it may be hypocritical, I also participate in this bad form of spreadability. If I see a post that makes absolutely no sense, I screenshot it and send it to other people. Even as I write this blog post, I feel the potential for spreadability constraining what I write. Even writing privately, such as in a journal, I hesitate in writing certain things because I always think "What if somebody else ends up reading this?" No matter where I am writing or what I am writing, the potential for spreadability limits what I write and probably has negative effects on my writing.
ReplyDeleteSpreadability is not something that I often take into consideration with my everyday composing, though I know I should. I don’t really do much every day composing so, if anything, I’d say the most that I do in that area is update my social media accounts. This is where it gets pretty crazy. These days it seems like everything that you do online follows you into your real life. On websites like Twitter and Tumblr, it has become a pretty popular thing these days to “expose” people. The slightest mistake that you make online could lead to people tracking you down and finding out what school you got to, where you work, etc. It is a pretty scary idea, but all that does is put into perspective how important it is that you are cautious of what you post. You could post one tweet as a joke that you think only your friends will see and then the next thing you know, it has been screenshotted and spread through different social media, such as Facebook, or even written about on news sites like Buzzfeed. The easy spreadability of social media is not always a bad thing. This can be reflected through the spread of viral videos. An example of this would be that video of Sunday’s debate where someone made it look like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were singing a duet of that song from Dirty Dancing. It provided a light spot in an otherwise bleak election, giving us one positive thing from that otherwise uninspiring debate. An example of this spreadability going in the other direction can be applied when pretty much anyone on the internet insults Beyoncé. At some point in the lasst two years, it seems as if the number one sin you can commit on social media has become talking bad about Beyoncé. A pretty good example of this was when a little bit after Lemonade came out, a model named Rachel Roy made an Instagram post including a caption that made it seem as if she was the infamous other woman that Beyoncé was singing about. Through the easy spreadability of the internet, Beyoncé’s fan base caught wind of this quickly and proceed to harass Roy on her social media accounts. So with things like this being possibly, I am always careful of what I do and say in public forums.
ReplyDeleteEspecially with how commonly the Internet plays a role in our everyday lives, spreadability has become a large decision-making factor in my writing. When writing on mediums such as social media for example, people should have some forethought on just who is going to see whatever they write should they choose to post it online. For example, I would never choose to write something overly personal that I don’t wish other people to see on Facebook or Twitter. The number of people that have access to what I write online is too high, and the spreadability is too large for me to post things that I wouldn’t want certain people to see. For instance, there are a number of cases of students not being hired by their desired employers, because of unflattering pictures or posts found on social media sites. If some company looking to employ someone looks on Facebook and sees that the person’s profile picture is of them behaving inappropriately- drinking, for example- the impression that the company has on the potential worker is degraded. Even aside from this effecting people on a professional level, this could also cause problems with personal relationships too. Because of social media’s wide spreadability, it is important to be careful with what you post online, which is how spreadability effects my composition. On the other hand, however, this large spreadability can also be useful in spreading ideas and information on a global scale. With the use of the Internet, it is easy to communicate with people who are not accessibly by normal standards, and also to find new people with similar ideas and interests. With this in mind, I can easily use this spreadability to share my own thoughts and interests with people, both acquaintances and strangers. For example, if I have an interest in a particular thing, such as a book or a musical artist, I can find forums or blogs online with people who share my interest. This way, I can talk about something I like and learn more, even if no one I know directly shares my interests.
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ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to composing a tweet on my Twitter, posting a photo on my Instagram, or sharing a video on my Facebook a lot of thoughts race through my mind. When thinking about the potential of spreadability for these posts that I am making on social media networks, it is probably scary how excessively I over analyze what to share with my fellow followers. I do not believe that only a particular thought pops up, but rather a multitude of thoughts questioning my decisions run rampant thought my mind. Jenkins, Ford, and Green also agree with this, saying that, “People make a series of socially embedded decisions when they choose to spread any media text.” For example, before posting an Instagram photo I abide by a few personal criteria’s. Particularly, I believe you must choose a photo with the potential to spark enough interest to get “likes” from your audience because the more likes on your photo the more circulation through networking your photo receives, hence the more popular you are. A simple selfie could suffice but imagine posting a picture of yourself holding a baby tiger, which one do you believe would get the most likes?
ReplyDeleteChoosing a photo to attract your Instagram follower’s attention requires you to question your decisions. Decisions such as, “Is the content worth engaging with? Is it worth sharing with others? Might it be of interest to specific people? Does it communicate something about me or my relationship with those people?”(Jenkins, Ford, and Green, 13). I subconsciously think about these things before posting, but not only while on Instagram but also on all networks. For example, say the Instagram post of me holding the baby tiger gets thousands of likes and hundred of adoring comments, this reaction might spur me to also make this incredible photo my Facebook profile picture so an even larger and different audience can experience it as well. Jenkins, Ford, and Green state that, “spreadability refers to the potential –both technological and cultural- for audiences to share content with their own purposes” and also refers to it as “…the social networks that link people through exchange of meaningful bytes”(5). Because of the technology of Instagram and Facebook I am given the potential to post whatever I want to my audience. I am linked to my audience though the likes and comments they post creating a meaningful exchange between them and myself.
I think that spreadability does affect my everyday life; however, it matters less to me I think than it does to most people. I have a Facebook and Instagram, but I have never cared to have a twitter account and I rarely post on Facebook or Instagram. The major way spreadability affects me is not through what I share online, because I rarely share anything, but instead through viewing what other people share. I don't really like to post anything; however, I go on Facebook and Instagram a lot to see what other people have posted or shared. In a way I have limited my own potential for spreadability because I rarely participate in sharing content, but it does affect me because I do participate in viewing whatever other people share.
ReplyDeleteAnother way that spreadability does affect me is when people share articles that I have written for the communications department for FSU. I wrote many blackboard student profiles and I am very happy when I see those articles circulating through Facebook because I know that people are reading them and are interested in them. However, the office I worked for does not rely so much on their article content's "stickiness" because their job is to just showcase the extraordinary accomplishments of the students at FSU. Although the office would love for the articles to be "sticky," it is not a necessity for the business especially since they are paid through the government and not from consumers. Personally I like working for an office that does not care so much about spreadability or stickiness because it reduces the pressure off of me to create something that people would want to read instead of something that I would want to write. I think the presence of stickiness can thwart a writer's creativity because they are so concerned about other people's interest in what they post instead of just writing or posting something they themselves are interested in. So, in regards to my own potential spreadability, I think it is very limited and rare that I spread any content on social media. I prefer to get my voice out in a more professional setting where stickiness is not as significant.
Spreadablity is something that I take into consideration almost every time I compose any form of text. Depending on what I am creating, rather it be a Facebook post, Instagram photo or Youtube video I always think about how I can get more people to see whatever message I am composing. Since majority of the work that I composing on an everyday basis now eventually end up on some sort of social media platform, I try and create something that has value to it. This is also referred to as “stickiness” a term best explained through Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, “"stickiness" broadly refers to the need to create content that attracts attention and engagement.” When posting anything now I think about how the piece will engage my audience rather it by through entertainment, or just making them think differently about something.
ReplyDeleteI work a lot with videos and now a days, the only way we measure the success of a video is not through the quality or content of said video, though yes those are very important qualities to consider when judging a film or video, the measurement of a successful video is by the amount of people that see it. The view count meter has changed the way we view videos, as if one person comes across a video and the view count shows that it has a low amount a views, many people will pass the video off. Though if someone sees that a video that has been viewed by a few million people, they will feel more inclined to watch said video. Getting views isn’t easy to come by as whatever video I make must have “stickiness” so that I can engage the right audience, and hopefully if the video has the right amount of “stickiness” the video may be shared and view by more and potentially shared again, increasing the spreadability of the video. Of course there are certain things other than the content of a video that can make it more easily spreadable, like adding keywords in the VSEO that match with the content. The more keywords added, the easier it is for more people to find the video, making the potential for spreadability even higher.
Spreadability is certainly something that comes to mind when writing and sharing things during everyday life. Whenever I post on social media, I always make sure I think about what I am posting because it can be seen by anyone. The internet has allowed spreadability to become even more prominent than before. Something that is put on the internet can go viral in a matter of minutes. Often times, people use spreadability to measure the success of what they put online. For example, the amount of views on a video shows how successful that particular video is. If it is viewed by a lot of people, than it was something that was easy to spread and was enjoyed by a large number of people. One always has to be wary of what they put on the internet as well. Because things can spread so quickly, if you post something inappropriate online it can be seen by a large number of people. Even if you delete something, there's a good chance that someone has already saved it. When I write things, I try to make it appealing to people so the spreadability factor will be raised. Technology has allowed us to learn and share information at a much more efficient rate than before the internet existed. Spreadability is definitely an important factor to think about whenever you are writing or sharing things online.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to reading online comment sections, I tend to get lost in the hatred that is intertwined with that of actual substance. I recently watched a video on Facebook that was about that horrible woman named Tomi Lahren. Not only is she a bigot and complete psychopath (in my opinion), but she is a blind supporter of Donald J. Trump. As I was going through the comment section, I saw a lot of thoughtful ideas brought up from both sides of the table. But I also saw a lot of blind hatred. Hatred not towards Tomi Lahren but towards people living in this country as legal citizens. Truthfully, this makes me sad for this country but on the other hand, I also admire that we are able to do this as a nation. Here is a social media website, not ‘monitored’ by some tyrannical government, allowing a video that is spewing dangerous ideas about democracy and our current leadership, people debating in its comment section, and not a single person has to worry about what they say because no one can physically do anything about it. Yes, there might be some social backlash but it would be completely against our nations ideals if things like that video were to be severely monitored by our government or even the social media website. Spreadability has its flaws. The old news saying goes ‘if it bleeds, it leads.’. This is true to most everything. I would say that a majority of videos that pop up on my twitter and Facebook feed are negative. Whether it be a police shooting or threat mongering done by political incumbents, people are hypnotized by fear. I would say that the problem isn’t the comment section beneath the articles written by Popular Science, News Weekly, or even the New York Times. The problem lies with expectation. Some people expect more of the human race and they shouldn’t. People shouldn’t expect anymore than what we are seeing today in the political race that is engulfing our nation. We see a racist, misogynistic asshole who for some reason has major support from ‘middle America’ (whatever that means). I believe that the comment sections should stay wide open and unmonitored because it is up to the journalists to write said article while it is up to the public to decipher its meaning. If that meaning is ‘fuck you’, then let people write ‘fuck you’. It’s up to the level headed reader to understand that there are fuckers out there being fucky all the fucking time. Spreadability does affect me every day. It shows me how this world works and how I wish it did work. It allows me to cement my thoughts and ideas by showing me all sides of an equation. Sometimes that equation is sick and disgusting but it needs to be solved one way or another.
ReplyDeleteI personally think about the potential for spreadability in my everyday life every single time I post something online or even when I compose something privately. I constantly wonder what would happen if someone were to find and read my personal journal or if something I text someone gets screenshot and sent to someone I didn’t intend. It’s honestly on the verge of paranoia. Censorship is a huge component of college life whether people choose to address it or ignore it. As someone who is active in the Greek community here at Florida State, it’s nearly impossible to shake the feeling of constantly being watched. Whatever I say, do, or post is an immediate and concrete reflection on the chapter I have chosen to align myself with, and in that my actions and my values must align with them. The possibility for spreadability is brought to my attention almost every day and is a constant reminder to watch out for myself, because I honestly never will know who exactly my audience is. The internet is a profoundly vast place and it’s important to remember that.
ReplyDeleteBeyond watching out for my future and making sure I don’t compose anything questionable that future employers may see, I think about spreadability for my personal gain. In this day and age with the social media that’s out there seeing how many people have seen what you’ve posted and how many likes or shares you’ve gotten seems to directly correlate with social status and general likeability as a human. It’s very easy to get caught up in these things and try to equate them to self-worth, even though the amount of likes you receive on a photo could never possibly equate to how valuable you are as a person. The instant gratification process of likes and social media has warped spreadability into a psychological dependency for some people who feed off of it and use it as a way of life.
However, on the other hand some people are truly gifted with spreadability and use it for a greater cause. I like to think of the network Humans of New York as a good example. Based entirely from social media and spreadability, HONY shares stories of hope and love far beyond just New York.
Spreadability is very relevant to my every day life as I am a part of several Marketing teams here at Florida state. In my on-campus job, I work as a graphic designer for FSU Campus Recreation. I have to make different versions of almost every single thing I make, some stuff goes on the websites, others posted around the leach and some portable flyers. In making every single one of these, I am doing so to enhance our information’s spreadability. Inside the office, our market researchers work on surveying to determine how well our information is spreading. In another one of my organizations, Dance Marathon, I am also a graphic designer but I play a role on the Marketing team as well. Every single graphic I make is posted on tons of forms of social media and our social media coordinator lets us now how many people we “reach” on each different platform. When composing my graphics, I like to look at the stats and see which ones got more shares, retweets, likes etc. so I could determine which ones are the most spreadable. It is so important to keep tabs on the spreadability of our information so that we can make changes on all of our future content to improve those numbers. The other organization I’m involved in is Clutch Magazine. When we are spreading around our magazines there is always a different reason for it. When we make the magazine, spreadability is a major concern. When advertising to sponsors, we show them the magazine and hope that they will like what they see and choose to support us. Then, we will be able to make another issue because we have the money to do so. The magazine’s ability to spread through the community among potential sponsors basically determines it’s ability to live on for another issue. Also, we want the magazine to spread to other talented FSU students who are interested in working on our staff. We have an online website featuring our staff and magazines from the past. When composing the website and all of it’s content, we realized that future members would be checking out the site. I could go on and on about how important spreadability is especially when working with organizations that thrive from being shared and spread through the world. With everything we compose, we should be concerned with spreadability because with the technology we have today, chances are, any information can spread.
ReplyDeleteI don't often think of the term 'spreadability' as I go on in everyday life, but when really thinking about it, I use spreadability almost everyday. It is associated with my school work for one. This blog is an example of how I can post my thoughts and comments and share them with a click of a button and is available for my fellow peers to view and read. I also use spreadability through my personal tumblr blog. This outlet provides opportunity for me to share and spread my art through the internet. Numerous tumblr bloggers are able to share and repost pictures, gifs, music, and posts, like a chain reaction, creating spreadability. Lastly, I use spreadability through my music and poetry. I post my music on websites and blogs, hoping to reach out to those who appreciate the art, and I could even say I use spreadability through my lyrics and rhymes as I share my personal thoughts to the fellow audience. As technology progresses I know that I will use spreadibility in the career that I choose. I know that I will always have art as an outlet, and whats art if you can't share and spread it around?
ReplyDeleteTo me, spreadability seems a lot like circulation. It's defined in the reading as the potential for audiences to share content, specifically for their own purposes. Every single day I experience spreadability. When you compose a text to another person, you have to think if the receiver will chose to spread this to others. Same thing with a Facebook status, picture, Tweet, and things like that. Every day when we compose something, we have to think of the possibility of it spreading to other people. People chose to share things with others that they read or hear about, and there is no stopping them when the author has no control.
ReplyDeleteSpreadability is something that would be seemingly relevant when speaking badly about something or someone. When normally conversing with my friends, or posting a picture on Instagram, I don't really consider what people are going to share what I post or say. However, if it someone is to say something bad about someone else, like if I were to complain about something in my life, this is when I would be more aware of who can send what I am saying to who. This can also be relevant when I am posting something I wouldn't usually post, such as something political for example would be reacted to widely by anyone reading it.
Politics, being extremely relevant, are a good example of spreadability. People are voicing their opinions all the time and this not only gives the audience an impression of the political candidate, but also of the person who is writing the opinion. These statements will be widely brought up in conversations between others and the "facts" posted will be constantly spread between more people.
Spreadability is also relevant in class and at work. When you work on something and it is posted, like a blogpost on this website, people are able to see what you put. This way, they can add things they thought were good from your post, use your opinions to find their own opinions, and so on. Also, people can see things posted here and bring them up in conversation at home. For example, my roommate will sometimes read us others discussion board posts to tell us why they are good, or bad etc. It can also be a bad thing when someone has a picture of the answers to something and shares this with other people.
Spreadability can be good or bad as far as circulation, impressions and sharing information. It can inspire people to live lives the way others do, it can help people cheat through an assignment, and more. It has a close connection to circulation, except I believe it has an even deeper definition.
Because my everyday writing is usually really personal, I tend not to really think about the spreadability of it. I write in my journal therefore I don't write for the eyes of others and so I especially don't think of ways to literally "spread" it. I'll be honest, I didn't really think about spreadability until this class. I have never written anything with purpose of multiple people seeing it as well as for it to go "viral." However, now when I'm scrolling through facebook or twitter and I come across a certain meme or video, I now have network in mind and think about how pieces get to where they are. When people want to get a point, opinion, movement, etc. they want to use a medium that will catch people's attention. This is a really strong aspect authors and creators need to have in mind. I guess to me, this is what spreadability is primarily about... the flexibility of a concept being represented by different mediums. There is a similarity between spreadability and medium. Medium is the physical format a piece is presented as. Spreadability is a piece being able to morph into numerous mediums to appeal to audiences.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think about spreadability in my everyday writing. In a world where sharing your writing and your thoughts is so easy, it’s important to think about the possible audience when writing something. Whenever I put something on the internet, whether it be on a website I make or a post I share on facebook, I always think about who is going to see what I’m sharing. It’s especially important on these new forms of social media that have emerged because you want to make sure you’re giving a good representation of yourself on the internet, where a simple google search can expose something you wouldn’t want a future employer, for example, to see. While a part of me is cautious and tries to limit vast spreadability, I also think about spreadability to the masses when creating original work. In the past I’ve created articles for cites such as Buzzfeed and Thought Catalogue; both online publications wanting maximum views. I’ve meticulously picked certain things to write and certain words to use to achieve the most amount of viewership. Other content I create, graphic designs, are always made with spreadability in mind. I’ve started a small business here at Florida State where I design waltz signs, a trend that’s huge among almost 21 year olds. I always keep the intended audience in mind when creating a sign; not only because I want the customer to be happy, but also because I want to expand my clientele through my work. If a girl in a sorority sees her sister with a sign that she likes, she’s inclined to have the same person make it. Sometimes I have to put my own personal likes and dislikes aside to appeal to a bigger audience than just myself and the customer. I also think about the quality of work that needs to be done. I won’t create something unless it’s to my standards and something that I’m proud to put my name on. Sometimes it has caused me to turn down jobs, but I’d rather spread my name with a good product than one that’s made at half effort.
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