The Green Eyed Monster » Julie Delaforce

Social Media in Australia: A collection of infographics and statistics from 2011

Julie Delaforce — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:58:47 +0000

Facebook Roundup

Julie Delaforce — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:17:42 +0000

Content is King: Incentivising user content creation

Julie Delaforce — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 01:10:43 +0000

Whatever you do in the digital landscape, it’s important to deliver content that engages and excites audiences. This can be written, audio, video, image-driven – anything. Content should inspire sharing and conversations. Creating your own inspiring content is equally important as driving your consumers to create and share their own content.

I saw this post on The Vampire Diaries Facebook Page this morning, it’s relatively simple, but brilliant. It does the following:

Facilitates easy content creation.
Drives conversation and social sharing.
Incentivises consumers by rewarding them with ‘exclusive’ content.

Digital Media Ethics: Wrap-up

Julie Delaforce — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:30:21 +0000

In relation to the question raised in the first of this Digital Media ethics series: Are there any new ethical issues that arise in the new digital media? And the subsequent exploration of several key issues, it has been shown, that there are not any new ethical issues that arise in the new media. However standing ethical issues have provided broader areas for media professionals to consider.

The issues explored above have been regarded as ethical quandaries in relation to the media for some time. Berkman (2003: 10-12) summarises the key ethical considerations in relation to the media as: personal integrity; maintaining a ‘watchdog’ function; avoiding conflicts of interest; seeking the truth (by presenting accurate and unbiased evidence); displaying care for the subjects of a story; respecting and correctly identifying sources; timeliness of reporting; distinguishing news from editorial and advertising and respect for the community. Each of the issues discussed in this essay fits with at least one of Berkman’s ethical guidelines. Privacy is an existing ethical concern for the media in relation to personal integrity, displaying care for the subjects of a story and respect for the community. Speed and accuracy relates to timeliness of reporting, personal integrity and maintaining a watchdog function. Advertising is important to both avoiding conflicts of interest and distinguishing news from advertising. The sense of competition between traditional and new media can even be considered as a question regarding conflicts of interest. Even when considering how to apply ethical reasoning to the new media due to it breaking down global barriers, it has been shown that existing methods of ethical inquiry are suitable.

References

Berkman, Robert I (2003). Digital Dilemmas: Ethical Issues for Online Media Professionals. Iowa State Press: Iowa.

Cass, Alex (2010) The Real Impact of Auto-Refresh Page Inflation. Retrieved 12 May 2011 from http://digitalministry.com/AU/articles/993/The+Real+Impact+of+Auto-Refresh+Page+Inflation/1

(2008, March). A Question of Velocity: In the pursuit of traffic, we’d do well to think before we post. Columbia Journalism Review. p. 4. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Ess, Charles (2009). Digital Media Ethics. Polity Press: Cambridge.

Hirst, Martin (2011). News 2.0: Can Journalism Survive the Internet. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest.

Hirst, Martin & Patching, Roger (2005). Journalism Ethics: Arguments & Cases. Oxford University Press: Melbourne.

Hong, T., McLaughlin, M., Pryor, L., Beaudoin, C., & Grabowicz, P. (2005). Internet privacy practices of news media and implications for online journalism. Journalism Studies, 6(1), 15-28. doi:10.1080/1461670052000328177

Kumar, Vikram (2011) Privacy Crime: Make data breach notifications mandatory. Retrieved 16 May 2011 from http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/privacy-crime-make-data-breach-notifications-mandatory-ck-93209

Shephard, Ben (2010) IAB makes a stand around Auto-Refresh … well, sort of … Retrieved 12 May 2011 from http://talkingdigital.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/iab-makes-a-stand-around-auto-refresh-well-sort-of/

Digital Media Ethics: Theories for evaluation

Julie Delaforce — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:30:04 +0000

Having discerned through the previous posts in this Digital Media Ethics series that there are not necessarily new ethical issues to be considered in relation to the new digital media (versus traditional media) , but broader areas for concern, we should also address which ethical theories are appropriate for evaluating ethical issues in the new media. Can moral relativism be applied to new media, particularly the internet which is one big, global community eliminating any geographical borders and breaking down the barriers between creeds, cultures, countries, time zones, ages and languages? Or is a universalist approach more appropriate? Many professions such as media, medical and legal have ethical guidelines that industry professionals must abide by and communities with their cultural differences have accepted ethical behaviours, but how can accepted ethical guidelines or behaviours be created for a borderless, global community? Ess (2009: 20) answers this question:

“understandings derive from shared norms and conceptions of privacy, the result is an ethical pluralism that thereby conjoins shared ethical norms alongside important cultural differences.”

Although there is not one universal ethical theory which can be applied to evaluating the new media there are common ethical principles which apply in various cultures and legal systems which can be applied globally whilst still considering cultural differences. Therefore moral relativism and existing ethical theories and frameworks can be employed to ethically examine new media issues.

References:

Ess, Charles (2009). Digital Media Ethics. Polity Press: Cambridge.

Digital Media Ethics: The conflict of interest with Traditional Media reporting on New Media

Julie Delaforce — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:30:09 +0000

In addition to the previous ethical issues in relation to the new media, it is also important to consider the sense of competition between the traditional and new media.

The availability of information in the internet age can be seen to be leading to a dilution of the importance of the traditional news media, that is, there are many more ways for people to both discover and share news, we no longer rely solely on broadcast news outlets such as print and television to obtain information. Is it appropriate for traditional news to report on new media where there might be a conflict of interest? Hirst (2011: 117) writes:

“There is a kind of moral panic developing around social networking sites – fear and scare campaigns in the news media that focus on the unsavoury aspects… online.”

If the traditional media are focussing mostly on the negative aspects of the new media, is this appropriate? A recent scan of online news publishers revealed that only eight percent of articles mentioning Facebook (the popular social-networking site) were positive, whereas 91% were negative or neutral. The majority of negatively-geared posts were in relation to privacy, security or illegal activity. The ethical issue here is if there is an element of competition effecting traditional news and their reporting on the new media as it threatens their position as official watchdog to the public? This is an important, though not ‘new’ ethical consideration relating to conflict of interest and maintaining objectivity in reporting.

References

Hirst, Martin (2011). News 2.0: Can Journalism Survive the Internet. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest.

Digital Media Ethics: Advertising

Julie Delaforce — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:30:39 +0000

Advertising presents many ethical considerations in relation to the new media. We have already mentioned the use of cookies to collect data on readers in relation to privacy, it is also important to consider the transparency of advertising so it is not mistaken for editorial. Hirst and Patching (2005:304) write that:

“In the online news environment, there has been conflict and confusion over whether new forms of advertising… are confused by readers as editorial or are damaging editorial integrity.”

Online news publishers are able to present many more types of advertising that are not possible for traditional news publishers. For example, ‘advertorials’ which are sponsored advertiser content, presented as editorial. Advertising-sponsored content such as advertorials raise ethical considerations regarding the transparency and honesty of communications via the new digital media. It is important that online news publishers consider the impact of public consumption of these types of advertising and ensure that sponsored and advertiser-paid content is clearly demarcated as such to avoid any confusion between this and objective news content. Another ethical issue in relation to advertising and the new media is the way in which site traffic is collated and reported to advertisers. Online publishers base their advertising rates on views of the content, the more popular their site the more they are able to charge advertisers for space. In early 2010, there was much written by online marketing bloggers (http://digitalministry.com/AU/articles/993/The+Real+Impact+of+Auto-Refresh+Page+Inflation/1, http://talkingdigital.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/iab-makes-a-stand-around-auto-refresh-well-sort-of/, retrieved 12 May 2011) about online news publishers employing auto-refresh techniques to increase perceived page views. That is, the publishers set their pages to refresh every so often, so even though a user may be viewing the same page, it is counted as several views. Publishers need to consider their ethical stance on practices such as these, should page views be inflated to increase advertising revenue, or is the best user experience and quality of reporting more important? There are new ethical considerations in relation to advertising when it comes to the new media, but the relationship between advertisers and the media is not new.

“The purpose of online news, just like offline news, is to serve advertisers by delivering target audiences to them.”
(Hirst, Patching 2005: 303)

Therefore, although there are more issues to consider ethically, the relationship between advertisers and the new media is not a new area for ethical inquiry.

References

Ess, Charles (2009). Digital Media Ethics. Polity Press: Cambridge.

Hirst, Martin (2011). News 2.0: Can Journalism Survive the Internet. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest.

Hirst, Martin & Patching, Roger (2005). Journalism Ethics: Arguments & Cases. Oxford University Press: Melbourne.

Kumar, Vikram (2011) Privacy Crime: Make data breach notifications mandatory. Retrieved 16 May 2011 from http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/privacy-crime-make-data-breach-notifications-mandatory-ck-93209

Digital Media Ethics: Speed and Accuracy

Julie Delaforce — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:30:21 +0000

The speed at which communication occurs in the new media presents several ethical dilemmas for consideration. In the race to secure an exclusive or break a story first journalists are under enormous pressure and competition from bloggers and amateur online publishers to secure a story. A Columbia Journalism Review editorial affirmed that:

“Being “in the conversation” can mean multiple posts a day, no editing, and little reflection.” (2008: 4)

The problem is that this speed to publish compromises accuracy and therefore the public’s trust in the media. This problem has reared itself several times over in the last two years, with popular social media site, Twitter, ‘breaking’ news before the traditional and even online news publishers have the chance to properly research and report a story. Users of Twitter share updates in 140 characters or less. In the case of the Iran elections and subsequent protests in 2009, Twitter users ‘reported’ the story first, with news outlets later providing coverage. In this instance, the Iranian government also enacted a media shut-out which meant no live reporting was possible and new and reliable information was difficult to discover. This meant that journalists were sourcing their information from Twitter, Facebook and other, potential unreliable, online sources. At what point does the popularity or momentum of a story online make it okay to publish, even when sources and facts cannot be properly verified? In the instance of the Iranian elections, information was not able to be gathered directly by journalists themselves, but it was an issue of great public interest. As Hirst (2011: 134) posits, it is impossible to confirm the identity of a Twitter (or other social network) account holder and that therefore there is too much uncertainty around the accuracy of information gathered. It is important that news gatherers and reporters consider the source of their information. In terms of ethical considerations, it may be appropriate for journalists to disclose that information was acquired from social networks and is to the best of their knowledge accurate, which would allow the public to decide if they trust the information. Another ethical issue raised by the speed to publishing and accuracy of information in the new media is the ease of deleting or editing inaccurate information. As an example, in 2003 Sydney’s Daily Telegraph published an article which was sourced online. The article warned readers that there were dangers associated with mobile phone use whilst refuelling cars. This story was, in fact a meme (or urban legend) – a story that had been circulating online for some time. In regards to the online publishing of this article, what should the Daily Telegraph editors have done in this situation? It would have been easy enough to simply pull the story down, but what if it had already been circulated on social networks? Information published on the internet is perpetual, even after deleting there is a good chance someone has a copy of the content. Even if the online newspaper had published a retraction, it is unlikely that would have been shared to all the same online users who had seen the article via social network sharing. In addition to the ease of editing articles, most online news publishers also allow users to make comments and submit their own content. This is another area fraught with danger as the content becomes the publishers own. Is it ethical for the moderators of this content to delete comments that are negatively geared towards the publisher, what should and shouldn’t be edited? It is important for online publishers to consider how they will edit their own and user submitted content, and to ensure they have transparent guidelines available to the public on how they will do this to ensure the public’s trust in their reliability. This is a key ethical concern in the new media that needs to be considered by publishers and journalists. Again we must ask are these, in fact, new ethical considerations in relation to the new media? There has always been competition amongst news publishers to break a story first or to secure an exclusive. Berkman rightly states that:

“All forms of media today face much the same pressures as online journalists – a shorter news cycle, intense competition and pressure to move quickly.”

So although there are more areas to consider, speed and accuracy of reporting in the digital age have always required ethical reflection, which is now heightened for both traditional and new media.

References

Berkman, Robert I (2003). Digital Dilemmas: Ethical Issues for Online Media Professionals. Iowa State Press: Iowa.

(2008, March). A Question of Velocity: In the pursuit of traffic, we’d do well to think before we post. Columbia Journalism Review. p. 4. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hirst, Martin (2011). News 2.0: Can Journalism Survive the Internet. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest.

Digital Media Ethics: Privacy

Julie Delaforce — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 03:30:26 +0000

“The Internet has great strength as a medium breadth, depth, reach, immediacy, interactivity but also serious drawbacks, among which none has received as much attention as the threat to privacy.” (Hong, et. al. 2005:1)

Privacy is a key issue when it comes to digital interactions, and is therefore of concern to the new digital media. Privacy matters present myriad ethical considerations for the new digital media. According to Ess (2009:12):

“Privacy can be minimally defined as the capacity to control information about oneself. The new ability of others to record and quickly distribute information about oneself thereby decreases one’s control over such information.”

There are several ways in which new media decreases one’s control over personal information that raise ethical quandaries. Discovery of sources and information becomes easier with new media. For instance the majority of the population has a Facebook (the popular social networking site) account. Facebook holds many details about one’s personal life including: name, age, location, photos and much more. A journalist could use these details to track down and talk to a potential source, but should they? Hirst (2011:151) writes that:

“Facebook users have an individual responsibility to maintain their own privacy settings.”

Furthermore, New York times editor Craig Whitney states (Hirst, 2011:151):

“What people write on Facebook sites is publicly available information.”

But what of the person’s intent in sharing this information? When publishing this sort of information, even though it exists in the public sphere (especially if privacy controls are not properly used) most people think only of sharing the information with friends or acquaintances, not contemplating that it may be used as part of a news story. As an example of this, many television news broadcasts show a screen-shot of a deceased person’s Facebook profile in violent or suspicious deaths. This can then lead to harassing comments and photographs being posted on the deceased person’s Facebook profile. This in turn has a detrimental effect on family and friends who are already suffering. Although the information is publicly available, is it satisfactory ethically for journalists to use the information to their own ends? Another consideration in relation to privacy is how the online media collect and store information about their readers. There are obvious ways of doing this such as subscription services where readers provide their name and email address, among other details. There have been several cases of security breaches recently, including the Sony PlayStation network. If it is possible for a global technology company to be hacked, then nobody’s details are truly secure. The Sony PlayStation Network breach, among a few others recently, raised questions about whether companies should notify subscribers when their personal information has been compromised or the database has been breached (http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/privacy-crime-make-data-breach-notifications-mandatory-ck-93209 retrieved 16 May 2011). Although this is not a preventative measure, it should be part of any organisation’s ethical consideration when collecting private data. Another way of collecting user data online, which is less transparent, is the use of cookies that track general usage information such as session times, location, age, computer system used and more. The information gathered from cookies is then used by online publishers to sell and target advertising. Is it ethically responsible to employ user information (even though it is anonymous) which allows publishers to both sell and increase the price of advertising by offering highly targeted campaigns? It is important that online sites employing cookies to track their users ethically consider the privacy implications of doing so, especially as there are not yet any laws in place to govern or guide such practices. Having considered privacy in relation to the new digital media, some new and important issues have been discovered, however we have to ask, is this a new ethical issue in relation to the new media? Ethical issues relating to privacy have always been a concern to the media, for example when cameras became widely available, there were concerns regarding the publishing of photos and how this might compromise peoples’ right to privacy and in the gossip and tabloid news the personal lives of public figures has raised questions regarding privacy. Ess (20099: 96) writes that:

“Advances in technology tend to make us more vulnerable to privacy invasion.”

So although privacy is not a new ethical consideration as such, the issue of privacy in the new media presents new questions for ethical inquiry.

Stay tuned for the next post in the Digital Media Ethics series: Speed and Accuracy

References

Ess, Charles (2009). Digital Media Ethics. Polity Press: Cambridge.

Hirst, Martin (2011). News 2.0: Can Journalism Survive the Internet. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest.

Digital Media Ethics: Introduction & Definitions

Julie Delaforce — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:30:21 +0000

The objective of this series of posts is to explore and answer the question: are there any new ethical issues that arise in the new digital media? In order to answer this question I will firstly define the media, including both the traditional media and new digital media and the difference between the two. A series of posts will then follow which will analyse key ethical issues relating to:

Privacy
Speed and accuracy
Advertising
Conflicts of interests
How ethical inquiry might be applied to the new media.

For the purpose of this digital media ethics series, the media is defined as channels used to disseminate information to the public (a commonly used and accepted definition). This series will discuss both the traditional media or broadcast media and the new digital media. According to Ess (2009:15) the new media is those ways of communicating which have gone beyond the traditional broadcast (or one-to-many) communication model. The new digital media allows for interactivity and many-to-many communication. It takes communication from the hands of a privileged few, mostly in a professional capacity, and puts it into the hands of anyone with access to new technology. For example the traditional media covers print publications, television (advertising, news and entertainment) whereas new media includes communication methods such as the internet, social networks and mobile phones.

Stay tuned for the next post on Digital Media Ethics: Privacy.

References

Ess, Charles (2009). Digital Media Ethics. Polity Press: Cambridge.

The Green Eyed Monster » Julie Delaforce

Social Media in Australia: A collection of infographics and statistics from 2011

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Digital Media Ethics: Wrap-up

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Digital Media Ethics: Theories for evaluation

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Digital Media Ethics: The conflict of interest with Traditional Media reporting on New Media

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