Media and Collective Identity

"Find and list 5 websites that allow readers/users/contributors to create or participate in a collective identity. You are required to provide a discussion of how a specific collective identity is constructed/expressed on each of these sites (including a theoretical discussion of any relevant issues). You should seek to be as detailed as possible, use appropriate terminology and link to specific aspects of contextual study."

As the development of web 2.0 has grown, many websites have emerged that have helped individuals to join groups and convey their interests, via psychographic and demographic means. This has led to the build up of certain identities perpetuated throughout society, that have not stopped growing, leading to collective identities that other may attempt to judge or vice versa, label themselves. The list of websites below construct these identities in different ways, giving the user free choice over how they represent themselves.

http://www.myspace.com/

Although not as popular as it used to be, MySpace is still an important factor when it comes to representing a collective identity. The reason for this is that it incorporates many applications that aid musicians in uploading their work to web 2.0 for fans to listen to, such as the music player. It has a more direct approach than competitors such a Facebook, with the music player being easily located on the page, unlike Facebook. This will interpellate to the audience, persuading them to listen to maybe one track due to the ease of visiting the page.

It also gives the chance for those bands that may not be signed to a label to upload music, and many of those bands exist today amongst average people such as me. This leads to the idea that a “normal” can get noticed via the means of web 2.0, which appeals to most. This may give cultural capital to that band amongst friends or even bigger such as a school. On an even bigger scale, the band exists amongst many thousands more via MySpace, creating a collective identity solely representing music and the fans of it.

http://www.youtube.com/

Before the introduction of YouTube, uploading videos to the internet was much harder, so it is understandable that a collective identity developed from a site such as this. However, within this collective identity, many other identities are represented due to the wide range of users. This can be seen through the way videos are categorised by YouTube – Music, Comedy, Politics etc… The diversity of this website as well as the simple interface has meant that anyone from the average person to big corporate companies such as the BBC can create their own channel. It gives the opportunity to become a producer, and like MySpace, a person can show their own work to the world. There are some obvious examples, only recently a Uruguayan man was offered a $30m contract to direct a film based on his short film which he uploaded to YouTube.

Cultural capital again plays an important part within the world of YouTube. Subscribers to your channel will mean that the videos you make are important and entertaining to them. This may be another reason for the use of YouTube by the mass, to feel as though they have a place, other than at work or at home.

http://www.runescape.com/

Runescape is a browser based game whereby you create and control your own character. There are over 10 million players who interact via game play and the forums provided by the website. These all link together to form a collective identity, where you may appear to be more important than you are. This is reinforced by the idea that you are someone else within the game.

Anne Cronin’s theory that you become the product you buy is quite literal in this sense as you are becoming a character, seemingly different from the rest, but with motives very similar, that is to be the best and to communicate with other players through this newly obtained cultural capital.

http://www.facebook.com/

Facebook has probably become the most used social networking site, over taking MySpace in recent years. This has also lead to a collective identity whereby the key focuses may be the groups that you can join to show your interests or the other more important factors such as the pictures you post and the comments you leave. Similar people might look at these and agree with your views, and then proceed to add you as a friend. A snowballing effect, may then take place. The groups within the website that you can join will also say a lot about you and the influence web 2.0 has in connecting people. An example of this will be the way in which the campaign to get Rage Against the Machine to number one created a collection of people who were fans of the band; which then had a major impact on society.


http://www.wikipedia.org/

Wikipedia has come to the forefront of our attention due to its large amount of informative content. This information is largely user compiled and means that collective identity is developed via this idea that users can decide on correct information, develop and edit a page on a particular topic. There are also sub sites linked to Wikipedia such as a “Wiktionary” and various other forums where this information can be discussed by users.

Bordieu suggests that knowledge can also lead to a higher social position amongst a group, such as the discussions on Wikipedia, and this reinforces the idea as those with more knowoledge have a higher position amongst friends and other contributers to the site.