BCM 214 Report

Intro:

Cost of living. How does one define it?

The cost-of-living crisis refers to the significant increase in the price of essential goods and services, such as housing, food, healthcare, and transportation, which makes it difficult for individuals and families to meet their basic needs. This crisis affects people worldwide, but its impact is particularly severe on low- and middle-income households. The main drivers of the cost-of-living crisis include inflation, stagnant wages, and rising costs of housing and healthcare. As expenses outpace income growth, many people find it increasingly challenging to afford a decent standard of living, leading to financial stress and hardship. Addressing the cost-of-living crisis requires comprehensive policy measures, including economic reforms, social safety nets, and efforts to control inflation and improve access to affordable essential services.

Why is this a problem?

It affects everyone… no matter where they are on the societal food chain upper all the way to the lower classes. One could argue that the middleman and those living in absolute poverty are most affected. And they’d be right. Simple statistics state that over 3.3 million Australians alone (not including the rest of the world) are living in poverty because of the cost-of-living crisis that we are facing. And when further surveyed over 50% of Australians admit to struggling to afford basic needs like groceries and what not. And that is just within Australia itself. Reports suggest in 2023 the global rate of inflation has risen a staggering 6.8% with ‘first world’ countries like the U.S and the U.K adversely affected also. Global effects aside, this squeeze is affecting everyone as mentioned earlier and will only get worse as result of little to no action.

Understanding the issue.

The 10^th SDG is intertwined with the struggles that we are facing. To tackle the issue we must first understand the issue and what could possibly be done…

The 10th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), “Reduced Inequalities,” and the cost of living are closely intertwined. The relationship between these two concepts lies in the fact that inequality often exacerbates the impact of high living costs on marginalized and low-income populations.

Income inequality directly affects the ability of individuals to afford basic living expenses. When income distribution is highly unequal, those at the lower end of the spectrum struggle more to meet daily needs such as housing, food, healthcare, and education. SDG 10 aims to ensure that income growth benefits the bottom 40% of the population more than the average, which can help alleviate the pressure of high living costs on these groups.

Access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and transportation is critical for reducing inequality and managing living costs. SDG 10 targets the social, economic, and political inclusion of all individuals, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background, has access to these vital services.

Social protection measures such as unemployment benefits, child allowances, and pensions play a crucial role in reducing the cost of living for vulnerable populations. These measures are directly aligned with SDG 10’s aim to adopt social protection policies to achieve greater equality.

Economic instability and lack of financial inclusion can exacerbate inequalities and make the cost of living unaffordable for many. SDG 10 focuses on improving the regulation of financial markets and enhancing the representation of developing countries in global economic discussions.

Key interventions:

• Progressive Taxation: By taxing higher incomes more and using the revenue to support social services, governments can reduce the burden of living costs on lower-income households.
• Minimum Wage Policies: Raising the minimum wage ensures that workers earn enough to cover their basic living expenses, reducing the gap between the rich and the poor.
• Universal Healthcare: Providing universal healthcare reduces the financial burden of medical expenses on individuals, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, helping to manage living costs and reduce inequality.
• Subsidized Education: Making education more affordable through subsidies and grants ensures that everyone has the opportunity to improve their economic situation, thereby addressing both living costs and long-term inequality.
• Enhanced Social Safety Nets: Strengthening social safety nets provides financial support to those in need, helping them to afford basic necessities and reducing the gap between different socioeconomic groups.
• Living Wage Initiatives: Promoting living wage initiatives ensures that all workers earn enough to cover the true cost of living in their area, contributing to reduced economic disparities.
• Financial Inclusion Programs: Ensuring that everyone has access to financial services like banking, credit, and insurance can help individuals manage living costs more effectively and build financial resilience.
• Global Cooperation: International financial support and development aid can help stabilize economies in developing countries, making it easier for these nations to provide affordable living conditions for their citizens.

SDG 10 goals:

1. Income Growth:
   • Achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40% of the population at a rate higher than the national average.
   • This target focuses on ensuring that economic growth benefits everyone, especially the poorest and most marginalized.
2. Social, Economic, and Political Inclusion:
   • Empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status.
   • This emphasizes the importance of inclusive policies and practices that ensure equal participation and representation in society.
3. Equal Opportunity and Reduced Inequalities of Outcome:
   • Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices.
   • This involves creating fair systems where everyone has the same chances to succeed, regardless of their background.
4. Fiscal, Wage, and Social Protection Policies:
   • Adopt fiscal, wage, and social protection policies and progressively achieve greater equality.
   • This includes implementing tax policies, minimum wage laws, and social security systems that support the disadvantaged and reduce wealth gaps.
5. Improved Regulation and Monitoring of Global Financial Markets:
   • Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations.
   • This aims to prevent financial crises that disproportionately affect poorer populations and to create a more stable economic environment.
6. Enhanced Representation for Developing Countries:
   • Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions.
   • This target addresses the need for a more equitable global governance structure where developing countries have a greater say in international affairs.
7. Migration and Mobility:
   • Facilitate orderly, safe, regular, and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.
   • This focuses on protecting the rights of migrants and ensuring that migration contributes to development.
8. Financial Flows and Assistance:
   • Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements.
   • Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest.
   • This includes providing financial resources and support to help developing countries reduce inequality.

Critical reflection:

Word spaghetti aside, the main things to tackle the cost-of-living crisis is to understand the fundamentals of the issue as outlined above. What the others and I pitched for our idea was to at least help combat the cost-of-living crisis in at least one aspect and that was to combat the supermarket gouging pricing Australians out of necessities on the daily. There is only so much that the idea can do and I guess my message here is to understand what we as country and as a world in a sense is to understand what we are going up against.

All it takes is one idea to spark a change, one person and their thought and I guess just how far they themselves are willing to go with it. Either with the help of others or themselves and their use of technology in a sense. With what I am going to do is just simply raise awareness and help in the sense that all it takes is just one. What I’ve done is just a simple video flicking through just what one needs to understand and what they can do. Real low budget stuff (absolutely no budget at all) and impromptu and done on the fly.

Conclusion:

What this has taught me is just be aware. Educate yourself on the matter as all it takes is one person with an idea and a thought to breakthrough barriers and to be hailed as something else. The report above is only just a basic outline of what was learnt not taking not taking account the pitch idea with started all this but rather what we as a group was trying to combat against. And that is the cost-of-living crisis and how the 10^th SDG directly intertwines with our goal. Awareness and education are key and at the end of the day that’s all that really matters.

References:

Akter, S., & Wamba, S. F. (2016). Big data analytics in E-commerce: A systematic review and agenda for future research. Electronic Markets, 26(2), 173–194. (Accessed: 30 May 2024)

Shahriar, A., Katina, M., Uddin, M.R., McCarthy, G. & Mahfuzur, R. 2022, “Transforming business using digital innovations: the application of AI, blockchain, cloud and data analytics”, Annals of Operations Research, vol. 308, no. 1-2, pp. 7-39. (Accessed: 30 May 2024)

Cost of living crisis australia: The Salvation Army Australia (no date) Cost of Living Crisis Australia | The Salvation Army Australia. Available at: https://salvationarmy.org.au/red-shield-appeal/the-cost-of-living-crisis-in-australia/#:~:text=How%20is%20the%20cost-of,over%20the%20next%20three%20months. (Accessed: 30 May 2024).

The cost-of-living crisis is having a global impact – here’s what countries are doing to help (no date) World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/cost-of-living-crisis-global-impact/ (Accessed: 30 May 2024).

Nicole Black                          Associate Professor of Health Economics et al. (2024) Undernourished, stressed and overworked: Cost-of-living pressures are taking a toll on Australians’ health, The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/undernourished-stressed-and-overworked-cost-of-living-pressures-are-taking-a-toll-on-australians-health-223625#:~:text=Between%20August%202022%20and%20February,reaching%20implications%20for%20our%20health. (Accessed: 30 May 2024).

What the cost of living crisis looks like around the world (no date) The IRC. Available at: https://www.rescue.org/article/what-cost-living-crisis-looks-around-world (Accessed: 30 May 2024).

BCM 214 summary

FairPear Revolutionizing Retail for Fairer Consumption and Reduced Inequalities

As the cost of living continues to rise, and economic inequalities persist, the need for innovative solutions in the retail sector has never been more imperative. Our innovation, FairPear, is an app curated as a response to the growing impact of rising supermarket costs on Australian consumers. Utilizing advanced technologies such as AI and Big Data analytics, FairPear app advocates for systemic changes by closing the knowledge gap between lower-to middle-class consumers. ensuring that the sourcing and pricing of goods are accessible to the public.

Why?

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) industry report informed our understanding for systemic change in the retail sector and in developing FairPear. 

Academic research in consumer behavior, retail economics, and sustainable development underlines that “consumers have raised concerns about price gouging, confusing pricing practices, ‘shrinkflation’ tactics, and data privacy issues”. FairPear aims to address these concerns through transparency and the use of advanced technologies. 

Why link to this particular SDG? Why now? What are you disrupting?

We have linked our initiative to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Now, more than ever, it is critical to take action against inequality and unsustainable consumption practices.

As a result, our platform disrupts traditional retail models by promoting responsible consumption and production. Furthermore, by supporting local producers, we disrupt centralised supply chains and foster sustainable economic growth within communities.

How is your idea innovative and unique compared to other types of innovations and products in Australia and abroad?

Our approach addresses consumer exploitation straight on, and strictly promotes social value in the retail industry. 

• Holistic Solution 
• Focus on Retail Exploitation
• Accessibility and Affordability 
• Technology Integration

How does the group’s idea contribute to the sharing and/or gig economy?

The gig economy uses mobile apps or websites to connect individuals providing services with consumers. You may also know the gig economy as the:

• platform or app economy
• sharing economy
• on-demand workforce.

Who are the primary beneficiaries of your innovation, and how will the idea/project improve the lives of its users, stakeholders, and communities?

Reduced Cost of Living:

It enables consumers to find the most affordable prices for essential goods, directly addressing the cost of living crisis. 

Inequality Reduction:

Redistribute excess profits to subsidise essential items for low-income communities, reducing economic inequalities (SDG 10).

Interactive presenation (board game):

1. Lower Class
2. Working Class
3. Middle Class
4. Upper Class

Game Board:

• The game board represents a cityscape with various supermarkets, community centres, and advocacy hotspots.

Budget Cards:

• At the start of the game, each player receives a budget card representing their household’s monthly income and expenses.

Price Comparison Cards:

• These cards provide information about prices for essential goods at different supermarkets

Inflation Events Deck:

• The inflation events deck contains cards representing unexpected events causing prices to rise, such as supply chain disruptions or economic downturns. 

Discount Deck:

• Players collect discount cards by landing on designated spaces on the game board or completing specific actions

Cancel Culture (BCM 222 Assignment 1)

Question at hand?

Is cancel culture a force for or against social justice in your view? Discuss the arguments on both sides, focusing on 1-2 cases of cancel culture in detail.

First, we must define what cancel culture is. Depending on who you may ask it is a force for good. It is a force of evil. Or they do not really care. Because it does not really affect or concern them personally. So, cancel culture (According to Meriam-Webster) it refers to the mass withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that are not socially accepted today. This practice of “cancelling” or mass shaming often occurs on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Though it is not limited to celebrities or social figures it can happen to you or me. And what It is meant by that is within the workplace/space for simply having an opinion that not everyone may agree with. (in the most tamest of examples though it varies from case to case from tame to very extreme).

Now, the cases for and against this cultural phenomenon come plentiful. Talking about the good (pros) it gives a voice to those that may not have a say in the past. A good example of this is the metoo movement giving a platform for discouraged women & some men to speak up about their issues particularly in the workplace with heinous acts like sexual assaults and what not becoming somewhat common place depending on what industry you are working in.

Another case for the good category is Accountability is certainly made out to be met with whoever is at the receiving end of this force thus looping back to the previous point of voices are being made to be heard.

One final point to be made and depending on where one may sit on the political spectrum this could be either a good or bad point (I could see how this could be an issue but a positive also) is that is a form of a boycott to bring about social change to where a we see a shift in attitudes. Now how could this be a positive yet a bad thing? Context and timing. One does not want to make a non-issue bigger than what it may already is and a simple misunderstanding could be blown way out of proportion here. It all comes down to a case-by-case point and that’s how logically how things showed be viewed and taken. Though, we all know that, that is not the case with certain people.

This segways perfectly into the other hand what are the points against cancel culture?

Now, with positives there are negatives to be had and cancel culture is no different. The first point to be made is bullying. This all entirely depends on context but there is a rise in cases like this where the original act that is being called out upon pales in comparison to the punishment that the person receives. Leading to severe threats of violence. Death threats and actual acts of violence and death which really isn’t fair no matter which way one may look at it.

The second point, It is not productive and nothing but a waste of time and resources. This point entirely hinges on the context of the situation. A high profile case one would have to do their due diligence and look things over with a fine toothed comb. A simple misunderstanding however? Not so much. It simply is not going to bring about social change when time is wasted on something that shouldn’t be wasted.

The third point. Misuse of power can lead to a slippery slope of injustices and intolerance. This is more so a point used by conservatives when critiquing the whole cancel culture movement but, upon further exploration they do have a point here. Going down this rabbit hole one investigates the psychology of the people behind the movement some people lash out as a means of not being cancelled themselves and similar notions like that. But the thing is it’s not prevalent at the moment (you would have to be actively looking and seeking ‘echo chambers’ of this nature) but it is something that does need to be looked into/kept an eye on because this is something that can lead to a massive negative cultural divide.

Having explained the pros and cons of the situation there are real world events/case studies that are perfect for one to weigh the options here. An obvious and glaring case for the pro’s is the high-profile case of Harvey Weinstein. Rather infamously he got caught being a less than savoury character within Hollywood and the people said enough is enough and the rest is history. Looking back we do see a rise of more and more women (and men) coming out with cases similar to this.

Briefly touching upon the negative the only thing that has to be said here is when taken to the absolute extreme it does have a negative effect on ones mental health (as touched upon earlier) and there is a case to be made with therapists and psychologists coming out and stating this isn’t a good thing.

To summarise, there is most definitely cases to be made upon both sides of the coin. Cancel culture can be a force of good when the fury is directed upon someone who clearly deserves it but, with that being said when it the forces are directed upon trivial day to day matters and things get blown out of proportion it isn’t so much a good thing especially when looking into the character profiles of certain individuals.  With that being said whether it is inherently good or not? It is entirely on how the individual stands and perceives the situation.

References:

Cancel culture definition & meaning (no date) Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cancel%20culture#:~:text=For%20those%20of%20you%20who,Twitter%2C%20Instagram%2C%20or%20Facebook. (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

Cancel culture top 3 pros and cons (2022) ProCon.org. Available at: https://www.procon.org/headlines/is-cancel-culture-or-callout-culture-good-for-society/ (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

Dubin, A. and Lyons, H.Z. (2022) Why cancel culture is so toxic and how to effectively hold folks accountable, according to social media experts, Insider. Insider. Available at: https://www.insider.com/guides/health/mental-health/why-cancel-culture-is-toxic (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

Is cancel culture effective? how public shaming has changed (2020) Pegasus Magazine. Available at: https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/is-cancel-culture-effective/ (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

Harvey Weinstein timeline: How the scandal has unfolded (2023) BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41594672 (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

What is work?

What is work?

Google quickly defines it in 4 separate ways and they are as follows:

1. (As a noun)

activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

“He was tired after a day’s work”

2.

a task or tasks to be undertaken.

“They made sure the work was progressing smoothly”

1. (as a verb)

be engaged in physical or mental activity in order to achieve a result; do work.

“She has been working so hard”

2.

(Of a machine or system) function, especially properly or effectively.

“His phone doesn’t work unless he goes to a high point”

How do I define it?

Simply, a means to an end in resulting in financial benefit or self-gratification.

Work is many things both positive and negative and how one perceives it is all down to the individual’s perspective (that much is obvious). Now, in order to fully understand my perspective on what work is I would have to share experiences in a multitude of scenarios and contexts obviously blurted out for the sake of confidentiality but there are a few things I’ve personally learnt to help shape my professional values going forth among other things.

Where to begin?

This whole post is focusing on disruption and change which I have dealt with and am currently dealing with in my current job. But to begin, my first job which I’ll only state was at a two very busy cafes at the airport (under the same name just at two different locations) taught me that having a good boss who was good at their job is vital for self-satisfaction at work. I had 5 bosses that I had to work under one of which was leaving when I had started (fair enough) and was shortly replaced by another boss. He was one of the best people for the job and is one of the persons I had the pleasure to work under. He did his duties to look after those beneath him while also striving for the dream job and promotion which he would eventually receive. I have nothing but positive things to say about the job this man did especially considering he took a chance on me knowing this was my first job out of high school. In conjunction which this I had mentioned I had 5 bosses the second she was fine it seemed a bit shaky at first but once I had gotten the hang of things, she stuck for me and her workers when things decided to get shaky when a regime change happened. (This occurred with boss number 2 left for his promotion). Her first thing she was send me to our store deeper inside the airport a smaller venue but a better one due to the location and being out of the way. This is where boss number 3 comes in. What I have to say about this woman is nothing short of spectacular she is the best person that I have currently worked under and it is a shame that she left due to the sheer incompetency that the new regime change brought. Put simply the two new bosses expected us to work more hours for less whilst explicitly chasing money/revenue whilst not giving any thought to the new terrible work morale that they brought with them. Bosses 4 and 5 come in now. Boss number 4 was already with us but had worked behind the scenes and never really saw him under he took control. He had a bad reputation and it showed. Boss 5, she coupled with boss 4 were literally the worst people I have ever met in a professional environment. Long story short their way of doing things made everyone leave with myself included but not by choice though. I was essentially squeezed out due to covid hitting and them simply firing everyone that they didn’t hire. I hope Bosses 2 and 3 are doing better after leaving such a horrible place because they did not deserve to go the way they did especially after they treated everyone with respect. 4 and 5 however, I wish not to comment.

Nowadays, things are doing better after covid is easing and with the way things are at my current job time will only tell as to how it will pan out.

Linking back:

After that lengthy little post, the core message behind that is disruption and change aren’t always a good thing disruption never is but change can be and, in my case, it was flat out terrible. But with that being said, I look back at that time and I taught me many things, things that I will have to look out for and things that I have to deal with. (Considering I was a pretty naïve 18–19-year-old at the time). These things that I have learnt can and will be taken into any job in the future and that having a good boss really does help.

References:

russell, s. and carrey, m., 2022. [online] Narrativepractices.com.au. Available at: <http://narrativepractices.com.au/attach/pdf/Remembering_Common_Questions.pdf&gt; [Accessed 28 August 2022].

russell, s., carrey, m. and walther, s., 2022. [online] Narrativepractices.com.au. Available at: <https://narrativepractices.com.au/attach/pdf/Absent_But_Implicit.pdf&gt; [Accessed 28 August 2022].

Godzilla and humanism

The idea of a monster? What is it? By googles definition it is a large, ugly and frightening imaginary creature. It can be also written down as a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fear. Or even be used as an adjective to describe the size of an object, number or physical being. But what will be focused on today is the literal definition of a monster (the one that google goes by of course) and the one specifically is the world-famous kaiju known as Godzilla or Gojira in Japanese. I’ve decided to focus on him as a character throughout his near 70 year run on the big screens from 1954-present and how his very existence intertwines with that of humanism.

What is humanism? Put simply, the very idea that everything begins and ends with human beings. It is the philosophy of humanity beginning in the renaissance era. The modern way of humanism promotes free thinking and generally rejects the idea of superstition and religion (in most cases). But as I touched on before humanism is where the buck begins and stops with human beings. Where We are essentially at the centre and the pinnacle of everything within the world and the very universe. This Way of thinking does show up in movies, television and all other sorts of media with scientists wanting to play God in some sort of wicked and twisted manner. The Godzilla franchise and character is no exception to this rule but rather a very good way at looking at these films in the lens of this philosophy.

The character Of Godzilla is a metaphor for the dangers of radiation experimenting (i.e., nuclear bomb). Given the context of the original film being set in 1950s Japan and having been literally nuked only 10 years prior in World War 2 the idea and consequences of radiation was and is (back then) still fresh on their mind. The original message of Godzilla as mentioned earlier to demonstrate the dangers of nuclear weaponry and it shows in the very appearance and abilities that Godzilla has to offer. It is widely known that Godzilla’s appearance and size changes in what era and context (he’s even gotten as large as 300 Metres tall in his largest form. He is a literal God in that continuity) but getting back on track, Godzilla is by definition a monster/kaiju a hideous, giant and imposing being leaving a path destruction in his wake. In the original film, being only 50 foot tall he is a put simply a handful for the surrounding authorities and it is only through the human brilliance that he is vanquished in the bay of Tokyo. A one Dr Daisuke Serizawa creates a bomb (known as the oxygen destroyer) that quite literally vaporizes oxygen within water and suffocates its surrounding area (the degree varies onto where it is detonated). It is through this bomb that Godzilla is defeated but at the cost of the surrounding area’s ecosystem and Dr Serizawa himself (he also destroys his notes and work as to not spark an international arms race between Russia and the USA).

What point am I trying to make? There is a consequence here. A major one where the surrounding environment is left uninhabitable and also the physical land damage and casualties. Within the context of the original film the monster has been vanquished but at a heavy cost. No clean victory is assured here and that is not what the humanist way of thinking is all about. In a sense this entire franchise at various points is a critique of the humanist philosophy where by everything has consequences and we are to blame which is very much true in within the franchise and in real life. Furthermore, it is actually further built upon (the critique) with his various foes that he encounters in some 70 years on the big screen. Enemies and friends like Mothra, Rodan, Kiryu and Destroyah. Each one of those characters in some sense is a critique of the humanist way and in that sense the franchise goes hand and hand with monster and humanist ideals.

In conclusion, The Godzilla character and franchise coupled with the humanist philosophy go hand and hand. The very creation of the character serves as a warning for nuclear contamination and his destructive tendencies are only one part of the problem that he serves throw in the humanist ideals with how we the centre of the universe and how we can do no wrong with very the experiments we create you get one giant critique on how we as a species are flawed and I think that is brilliant on top of enjoying the movies of course.

References:

2022. [ebook] Available at: <http://www.criticalanimalstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Zipporah-Wesiberg-pg.-22-62.pdf&gt; [Accessed 1 April 2022].

2022. [ebook] Available at: <https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=djb819IkJH0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=humanism&ots=wUtu_fmJKy&sig=xFfZkbTMkAqVJnOdOPWOUEvCRNE#v=onepage&q=humanism&f=false&gt; [Accessed 1 April 2022].

This video is a great accompanying piece as it goes further into depth into what i am trying to say here so full credit goes to the creator of this video Omni Viewer.

The Findings…

As a Quick refresher my Digital Artefact is literally posting photographs of diecast models that I collect as my media niche. As far as media niche’s goes this is most definitely fits the bill as it is just a small part of a larger expansive hobby. (Cars) I went to mention about how on surface value that collecting toy model cars might seem childish to an individual that doesn’t know better or even how it might be a silly thing to do but the prospect of criticism of that nature didn’t faze me in the slightest.

As to why I did this?

Put simply I enjoy it. It also fit the bill of the project that is asked and actually has some sort of real-world application behind it which will be discussed later on. Moreover, it is a great way to understand how people react and see the content that I created provided I got a reasonable amount attention. Even having no attention is good thing as it is a way of saying to do better (i.e., more creative photos, better cars & post timing). As a whole, the final project is a mixed bag in terms of attention and overall content. I exclusively posted on the reddit within the subreddit r/hotwheels as all of my cars I posted were hot wheels. As to why I say it is overall a mixed bag is that half of the content actually got some traction (for the subreddit) and the other half was seen as throwaway content and didn’t get anything at all. What I can show is limited as a good portion of my work was deleted on the sub reddit (most likely due to the mods weeding out content) and will be shown as the raw images I’ve posted but, to the content that has stayed it did fine considering that it is showing off a parts of my collection and singular collection photos don’t do too well unless it is showing off a rare car or new castings that not everyone has due to demand (an epiphany I realised early on).

Relevant research.

The big ethnographic key behind this was participant observation and considering that my content from my perspective is a “mixed bag” (and most likely from others too) tells me everything I need to know about what I’ve done. Whilst there is good to be had from my photos there is bad also. I see this as a sort of semi successful project from what remains posted on reddit and that is fine. The things that I realised early (my epiphanies) that at the very least helped me in shaping my later content was to

1. Post at better times (7-11pm)
2. Post better more ‘collectible’ cars
3. Post higher quality photos (in terms of resolution and theme)
4. Cater to tastes within the community

These are 4 epiphanies that I drew from to help create better content for the subreddit going into depth here these epiphanies helped shape my online persona (albeit a small one) as E1 (E standing for epiphany) helped me realise in order to get exposure I need to post at irregular Australian hours for a chance to make it on the ‘Hot’ section of the subreddit where it would inevitably reach a lot more people than that who typically browse ‘New’ Posts. E2 and E4 Go hand and hand together as posting the photos at weird hours in one thing it’s another thing altogether to post attention grabbing vehicles that may or may not cater to the tastes of the community. Doing this either brings forth appreciation to vehicles that the audience may not of knew existed earlier or to bring forth an appreciation for a vehicle that they may not of liked (as a result of my post). Lastly E3 is something that I realised through my own error and that is the poor resolution of some photos and to have a little more thought in my overall themes. This thankfully improved early on as being careful with my choice of cars and their overall ‘feeling’ that they give people did help garner at least a little attention within the subreddit.

Moving onwards, there is a real-world aspect to what I am doing and that is put simply practice. Photography however which way you look at it is not an easy thing to grasp despite its purpose being so simply defined and on surface value easy to take up. It is hard for multiple reasons, reasons being, patience is required, composition, angles, are the settings correct? Etc. and using my little models as practice for things like portraiture, larger scale automotive works, filmmaking, landscapes etc. It does serve its purpose if you look at it from that perspective and overall, this experience has been very helpful and useful in how I approach my work as a ‘photographer’ in that respect.

Simply Put, this entire ‘operation’ is a success from my perspective. Despite not getting the attention that I would’ve wanted this entire process is a resounding success as it has opened my eyes in how I approach my work from the perspective of audience attention and reaction which was the main goal (How they view it). The several epiphanies within the context of this digital artefact can most definitely be used in other lines of work under the right pre-tense and as a way of learning what the audience wants, likes and dislikes using my hobby (media niche) as the platform to do so I can safely say the lessons learnt here are ones that have tremendous value going forward.

Below are the sources (academic research) that I’ve used and consulted in the making of this DA report.

References:

Barbour, K. and Marshall, D., 2021. The Academic Online: Constructing Persona Through the World Wide Web. [ebook] Available at: <https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/95360/2/hdl_95360.pdf&gt; [Accessed 29 October 2021].

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2021. Understanding Consumer Interaction on Instagram: The Role of Satisfaction, Hedonism, and Content Characteristics | Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. [online] Available at: <https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2016.0360&gt; [Accessed 29 October 2021].

Moore, C., Barbour, K. and Lee, K., 2021. The Five Dimensions Of Online Persona. [ebook] Available at: <https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.956460438195724&gt; [Accessed 29 October 2021].

SAGE Journals. 2021. ‘The presentation of self in the online world’: Goffman and the study of online identities – Liam Bullingham, Ana C. Vasconcelos, 2013. [online] Available at: <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0165551512470051&gt; [Accessed 29 October 2021].

Taylor & Francis. 2021. Audience Evolution and the Future of Audience Research. [online] Available at: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14241277.2012.675753&gt; [Accessed 29 October 2021].

Taylor & Francis. 2021. THE PARTICIPATION DIVIDE: Content creation and sharing in the digital age. [online] Available at: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691180801946150&gt; [Accessed 29 October 2021].

Analysis so far…

Data Analysis.

Judging from my main epiphanies mentioned in an earlier post things are more or less the same as I’ve left them. What I mean from that is that things are still the same (engagement is still the same) I also posted at a later time. (To my surprise it actually worked somewhat). While I haven’t been able to cater to tastes all that well (at the time of writing this) there are a few things that I have set the ball rolling on that will help alleviate the so called ‘block’ in this instance.

The final report will as expected and obviously will mention everything that I am saying right now and in greater further detail but right now I can’t reveal much as there really isn’t much to go from at the moment but I’d rather just re-hash on the one new epiphany in a little more detail.

The one new epiphany: Failure is acceptable. It is fine to deem this a failure at the end of the day so long as you learn something. Whether something profound or minute something has to give here and so far I am learning it will take more effort and more planning to at least get the results that I deem this to be a success. With that being said if things were to end here It would be a failure and I am totally fine with this being case as I have learned something and that is doing this isn’t easy in garnering attention with the main thing being it is a specialised thing to be interested in something that fits the ‘niche’ definition to a tee. On a final note, I enjoy this despite the lack of interest it can be seen as a way to hone my craft as a photographer and as a way to improve final posts in the coming weeks and I am fine however which way this project pans out.

So Far…

My Account so far is that I rather enjoy making the content rather than waiting for the feedback that is necessary for the final report. More often than not, I just get a poor outcome but that’s not due to the lack of quality from my work as it is good photographs that I take.

3 Epiphanies that I can take from this experience:

1: Not everyone can view the work.

2: Catering to tastes is a big factor into garnering some sort of attention on reddit.

3: Despite being a ‘failure’ I do enjoy doing things like this.

Going more into detail about my first point, this is a key epiphany as if I want people to view my work, I have to post late into the evening to even have a slight chance of garnering attention. That is because my audience is predominantly in the United States and taking time zones into account late in the evening is the best opportunity for attention.

Diving into my second point, to get the attention where I deem this to be a ‘success’ I can’t just be posting about things that everyone has. There has to be some sort of value attached to the model I am posting. Whether if it a model that hasn’t reached people yet, a rare limited production car (limited to 10,000 pieces worldwide e.g.) or just exclusively posting a particular car type i.e., American or Japanese cars.

My final point, I enjoy the work I do for this report, essentially expanding on my hobby regardless if it reaches people or not, I enjoy this and won’t be deterred going forward.

How all this this wrapped up into the report is just more so, psychological factors like how I mentioned earlier catering to tastes and also pushing forward making more content.

Creating the analytical framework will take some time and some doing as my approach to all this work is simply seeing how people react to the work and how it can improve (possibly). The idea mentioned earlier where catering to tastes and timing the posts are going to be big factors in the creation of the report and as such will be fleshed out and will most likely be the basis of this report. Fact of the matter is that, things are fine as they there, how the report is constructed is obviously based in these critical few weeks as going forward I have a clear picture of what to do.   

Going Forward… (beta)

The Video (above) has shown some of the work I’ve been doing (mainly photographing my stuff) But I decided to leave the important stuff with the contextual blog post, going a little further into detail in how I’ve been approaching the task and what I am going to do going forward.

One Thing What I have done so far isn’t enough (to be honest) and I feel may hurt me in the long run. Another thing, is gathering the information from my end (excluding academic work) has been a little difficult due to lack of engagement from the audience which is the main idea of my work which may lead to the report being a lot different from how I intended it to look. But going forward a way I think to remedy this issue is to post more frequently, post better content (i.e. higher quality photographs, rarer vehicles etc.) and to post at the correct times during the day as it may end up not getting seen at all which is an epiphany I realised when I started.

With that being said this is an endeavour that I am going to continue with going forward as I’ve seen posts reach high engagement (which is what I want) but all that lies in what I do going forward whether or not if it is going to be a failure (which is fine and good) or being a relatively good project to being a smashing success. No matter which outcome it may be the report will be reflection of my efforts whether good or bad.

The Things To Look Forward To.

The overall feeling, I get from others with their projects is that their work is more fleshed out than mine the three posts I’ve been assigned in comparison to mine blows mine out of the water as they went over everything with a fine brushed comb (in comparison to mine)

(links)

https://liridonadotblog.wordpress.com/2021/08/18/all-things-podcasts/

https://rebekahlavymedia.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/doodle-dog-influencers/

https://littlecandygirl472750054234291838.wordpress.com/2021/08/21/designer-at-hand-pitch/

My comments below:

They all show some sort of coherence they also show they have a clear and strong understanding of the concepts they have decided to pursue and all have ideas that they are clearly passionate about and have a strong motivation to continue with their works.

Seeing what others have done for myself is that it really has opened my eyes (so to speak) on what I am doing and what I need to be doing going forth in order to achieve the goal I set. With that being said the feedback I’ve done although basic really stems down to just complimenting their work as they’ve (in my eyes) done everything that was asked of them to do.

I suppose in future the way to improve my feedback given to others is to stop sizing up my work to theirs and to see things more objectively even though in this instance the works assigned to me had done everything asked of them almost flawlessly.

What to improve?

Almost everything truthfully my idea is solid and what I am going to do is at least from my perspective are things to look forward to but the concept ideas being communicated from my work is not as fleshed out as much as others and also not as strong in the understanding and viewing these works and sizing them up to mine indicated I have some work to do. But it is still early days and will be rectified.