This stream focuses on contemporary issues and specifically the way the communities and social networks have embraced and adapted to Web 2.0.
How do we view community in the context of Web 2.0?
This paper looks at the ways in which we view community within the context of Web 2.0. The internet and, in particular, convergent technologies enable us to participate in virtual (online) communities of interest asynchronously without geographical constraints, altering our perceptions of time, space, community and place.
ABSTRACT This paper delves into the power of ‘hashtag activism’, in enhancing the global awareness and accessible conversation generated by online social activist campaigns. Often disregarded as “slacktivism”, in which a lot of energy is put into drawing attention to a cause but the significant impact made is dismal, this paper aims reveal how hashtag… Continue reading Hashtag Activism: Connection, Conversation, Community.
Curtin University NET204 Abstract This paper discusses the growth and impact of Online Health Communities (OHCs) on the daily lives of people living with chronic health conditions. Drawing on research from diverse scholarly perspectives, this paper deliberates on the extent to which affordances of associated Web 2.0 technologies have enabled individuals to seek and share… Continue reading Online Health Communities: Benefits, Privacy Concerns and a Shift in the Traditional Patient-Physician Dynamic
Abstract This paper looks at the development of Facebook as a Web 2.0 platform that has enabled the expansion of online communities and delivered on the vision of the World Wide Web developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. The paper not only defines the meaning of communities and how that has changed over the decades… Continue reading Facebook expands the use of online communities
Meryl Proost Curtin University Abstract This paper looks at the properties of Facebook Groups and how this online platform can facilitate an enriched community experience. It examines three examples of Facebook Groups which have used this platform to enrich their own communities, Chat 10 Looks 3, Mums n’ Bubs – Logan and United Patriots Front. … Continue reading Facebook Groups Enrich the Community Experience
Regan McVeigh Abstract This paper identifies that Web 2.0 affordances and social media sites are useful tools for musicians and fans to build and maintain thriving music communities. It explores seven articles which provide evidence that online communities can exist, and that musicians are using them successfully to benefit their careers and their fan base.… Continue reading Strengthening Online Music Communities with Web 2.0 and Social Media
Abstract Online cancer communities provide important emotional and social support to cancer patients and their family and friends due to the fact that users can consult with others throughout the world, both in real time and asynchronously, from the comfort of their home, in order to discuss all aspects associated with their cancer while maintaining… Continue reading Are online cancer communities able to provide important, necessary emotional support to cancer patients and their families?
The intentional and widespread distribution of disinformation on social media networks is undermining democratic processes. Jurisdictions around the world are playing catch-up with this emerging and evolving form of targeted mass communication. The 2016 United Kingdom (UK) Referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) was no exception. The outcome of the advisory referendum was… Continue reading Impacts of disinformation and ‘fake news’ related to the immigration debate, disseminated through social media platforms by the leave side in the 2016 European Union referendum in the United Kingdom.
Sex Workers were early adopters of Web 2.0 technologies, such as online classified pages, social media groups and shared content creation files. These technologies were instrumental in improving sex worker safety and empowering workers to establish clear identities and boundaries, screen potential customers and create shared content to improve the safety of all users.
With the introduction of FOSTA-SESTA into law, many of these platforms closed entirely, removed sex-worker-related content or deleted sex-worker accounts, resulting in a dramatic loss of income and a reduction of safety for sex workers. Particularly affected were those sex workers pushed to less safe avenues of sex work for survival, predominately sex workers of colour, trans and non-binary sex workers and others who experience intersectional discrimination.
Abstract This paper argues that the affordances of Twitter help sportspeople to show various presentations of themselves to help build and sustain reputation. It introduces Twitter as a social media tool that has become popular with sportspeople to engage with their fans directly. It demonstrates why it is so popular and how sportspeople use the… Continue reading Twitter, a good reputation management tool for sportspeople to help build and sustain reputation
