Citizenship in the Digital Era

The youth today are knowledgeable in political and social issues, especially the issues that effect their future. I have the pleasure of teaching all levels of students in a college setting and I was pleasantly surprised to see how involved they are in their community and how much they care about the future. My students at FIT care more about the election and candidates then I have ever seen in the past. I will rightfully admit that I did not care nearly half as much as they do when I was in college, political issues were just not on my radar. I listened to my students discuss Bernie Sanders for two semesters. My students at FIT were, "Feeling The Bern," and wanted to see change. They wanted change that would benefit them and the next generation, and they were passionate about him and his campaign.  I disagree with W. Lance Bennett when he writes that, "Perhaps most notably, younger generations have disconnected from conventional politics and governments in alarming numbers." (Bennett, Lance W., 2008, p.1) I have seen the complete opposite in my "world." Students are illustrating, and designing products based on the election, and are actively debating the candidates in classroom settings. Perhaps this is the environment that I am in, but I am surprised yet happy to see this shift. 

I will agree with Bennett when he writes that, "Many observers properly note that there are impressive signs of youth civic engagement in these nongovernmental areas, including increases in community volunteer work, high levels of consumer activism, and impressive involvement in social causes from the environment to economic injustice in local and global arenas." (Bennett, Lance, W. 2008, p.2) My students and younger generation that I interact with are all passionate about the environment, sustainability and world hunger. My students at FIT opened my eyes to the refugee crisis last year when they presented projects on the humanitarian issue. I watched them dig through the Internet looking for information, and some even going as far as trying to connect with refugees via social media. The youth today have access to the world via the world wide web and they are using it to it's fullest capabilities and advantages. I will say that when I catch a student using their computers or smart phones in class, 9 out of 10 times they ARE NOT researching political or social issues.....we still need to remember that they are overstimulated, short attention span millennials. 

Bennett's paper also discusses the issues of students being active "online" in politically and socially charged conversations, but they are lacking in the "off-line" arena. I would agree with this because I think that students generally are more comfortable voicing their opinions and ideas to an online community as opposed to an in face conversation. I see this in my class lessons, students are more excited and active in discussion boards online then they are in classroom during face-to-face discussions. It is my belief that my students feel a sense of comfort and security in discussing topics behind a computer screen, it's safer. Bennett does suggest that, " In order for young citizens to feel comfortable engaging in more conventional politics, they need to feel invited to participate on their own terms, and to learn how to use their digital tools to better express their public voices." (Bennet, Lance W., 2008, p. 10)  I could not agree more with this statement. As we progress further in to the digital world we need to think about developing more tools for students to communicate through. Tools or networks that are not focused on superficial topics and photos, but more networking sites that are devoted to social and humanitarian issues and perhaps they could also include volunteering roles and positions. If businesses want to attract the new generation they need to create tools and sites that they will respond and react to. 

References:

Citation: Bennett, W. Lance. “Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age." Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth. Edited by W. Lance Bennett. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 1–24. doi: 10.1162/dmal.9780262524827.001 

Media Convergence and Networked Participation 

There was a shooting in an elementary school today, Brangelina broke up, who won the presidential debate.....these are all the questions and thoughts that ran through my head this week (it's only Wednesday cut me some slack). As these current events took place my mind automatically shifted to I need to know more, and where does one learn more about events today.....social media. I jumped on my Facebook page to learn exactly why Brangelina called it quits, I wanted to see what my "friends" were saying about the debate, and sadly I wanted to see if anyone was talking about the details of the elementary school shooting. Varnelis discusses the networked public culture that we have become so reliant on today, and how it is directed towards specific genres and styles. ( Varnelis, K. p.46, 2008) We now have outlets to voice our opinions, to debate certain topics and subjects as well as a network to "socialize" on. People no longer just try a new restaurant on a whim, we go on Yelp.com check the reviews and read the menu before hand; nothing is spontaneous. I don't think that this is a cultural change, I find it to be more of a societal change. Society has accepted this as the new norm and we now have businesses focusing on advertising on social media, being concerned more with reviews and ratings, and paying closer attention to what's being said about the brand or store.

Varnelis writes about Chris Anderson's description on how the global retailing giant, Amazon is able to be so profitable. He explains in detail that "Amazon.com does not achieve a profit from the short head-a small number of bestsellers-but from the long tail-a wide variety of niche products, each of which has relatively small circulation." (Varnelis, K. p.46, 2008) Amazon is able to connect special-interest groups which have helped to create new distribution channels. These new distribution channels have allowed small manufacturers and small audiences to find one another. Amazon is a hot topic in the fashion industry right now because they are changing the way that retailers think about  business. Amazon is teaching the retailing world that networking and partnering are a recipe for success. Digital communication gives business from all over the world the opportunity to develop relationships that can strengthen their brand. It's more important now then ever before that businesses understand and adapt to digital communication formats. This could mean teaching CEO's and heads of companies the nuances of digital networking.

The concept of viral marketing is not new to me coming from the fashion industry. The blogger/influencer has taken over the role of the celebrity spokesperson. Businesses care deeply about their "fan base" and how they are reacting to the new product or service. Today's younger generation feels that they can relate more to the influencer because they are someone in their niche market. I agree with Varnelis' statement that, "Viral marketing assumes consumers, not firms, have the most influence in the creation of brands." (Varnelis, K, p.62, 2008.) Fans now dictate if you're purchasing or designing the right product for your brand, they are even helping to make decisions about the brand that effect the end product such as colors being offered and details being used. The author goes on to say that, "Social networking technologies, from e-mail to MySpace, have given consumers the power to transform brands." (Varnelis, K, p.63, 2008.) Social networks are being used to spread information about products or services being offered and are taking the place of print advertising for most companies.  Brands are spending a majority of their advertising budget on digital communications and social media marketing because that is where the customer is.

This chapter in Networked Publics resonated with me because of the emphasis on marketing and digital communications. The fashion industry has evolved in so many ways since I originally entered it and the main reason for this shift is the growth in digital technologies. The Internet changed everyones business, some for the better and others for the worse. The author touches upon the importance of ensuring that your brand is putting out the right image because now more then ever if once bad thing is said or written by the company it will be passed along to the public via social media which could ruin your business. Abercrombie and Fitch is a perfect example of this. The CEO said to media outlets that his brand did not offer large sized clothing because they did not want to sell to a large sized customer. The comment went viral almost immediately, the CEO was forced to step down and business has been bad for the brand ever since. I believe that not only in business but also in personal life it is more important than ever to ensure that you're getting the correct message you want out because it can spread quickly either way.

References:
Varnelis, K. (2008). Networked Publics. Cambridge, Massachusetts 

"The distinctive contribution of the approach to literacy as social practice lies in the ways in which it involves careful and sensitive attention to what people do with texts, how they make sense of them and use them to further their own purposes in their own learning lives" (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p. 9).

Reading and writing is something that I can't imagine NOT being able to do. It was embedded in me from an early age that I needed to learn how to do both. I even remember having to learn how to write in script  (which is now obsolete). I can remember practicing my letters and struggling to read "hard" books. Both reading and writing has changed so much since I was a child, and it continues to change as our needs and wants change. Gillen and Barton discuss the concept of Modality which they describe as the combination of writing and image on screen or page. (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p.6) They go on to say that by using images in reading we are not making it easier as some people may think, but instead we are demanding a new way of reading. We are teaching ourselves and our learners to think differently which I can relate to. 

My role as a teacher at the Fashion Institute of Technology keeps me on my toes in regards to modality. I've learned over the semesters that when you provide students with just text on a powerpoint presentation they will fall asleep. Keeping a proper balance of text and image is key to a successful lecture. I teach at a school that has visual learners who are creative so that makes it even more important. The above quote resonates with me because I feel responsible for teaching my students about the fashion industry while at the same time providing them with my own personal experience. I have to pay close attention to how I present information and what information I am sharing. I want to always be positive when discussing the industry while at the same time preparing them for the reality. 

Using text and images in a proper flow and sequence is something I learned last semester. We learned the proper balance between images and text and how to position both on a screen. As Gillen and Barton discuss the web has drastically changed the way we educate and are educated. We now have access to more information then ever before, and that includes informative and powerful images. We can use real images now to get points across or to help support a lesson. Mostly if not all schools use computers, and smart boards in their daily lessons. While I'm sure it was a hard transition for older and more seasoned teachers it was a change that had to be made. The way we research and learn on a daily basis is completely different thanks to Web 2.O. Gone are the days where it was difficult to research or find information. We now have a world full of resources at our fingertips. In fact according to the Free Library by Farlex we have estimated that somewhere between 40 to 80 million adults in the United States have access to around 320 million unique pages of content on arguably one of the most important communication innovations in history. ( Literacy and the new technologies in school education: Meeting the l(IT)eracy challenge?. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014)

References:

Gillen, and Barton. (2010) Digital Literacies. Retrieved from http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/33471/1/DigitalLiteracies.pdf

Literacy and the new technologies in school education: Meeting the l(IT)eracy challenge?. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved Sep 16 2016 from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Literacy+and+the+new+technologies+in+school+education%3a+Meeting+the...-a063132991