NETS5012 MIC501 Web Communications Assessment 3: Web Presence & Exegesis

As technology becomes more entwined in our daily lives and social media infiltrating almost every facet of life, constructing ourselves online strategically enables us to control, to an extent, how we wish to be seen online both personally and professionally. By sharing relevant information on different platforms, we can guide viewers’ perceptions and curate a level of authenticity (Leppänen et al., 2015). In creating this web presence, I have selected a blog and website on Wix as the central node with supporting nodes on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. As a photographer and digital artist, I believe the chosen platforms shape my overall web presence appropriately.

Choosing to publish a central node as a blog and website was a straightforward option for a photographer and digital artist as it provided flexibility and customisation easily. I chose to create the website on Wix as it required no knowledge of coding and has built-in SEO capabilities to enhance visibility in search engines. While I had considered creating the website on WordPress, there were a few disadvantages for prolonged usage. Upgrading from free to premium plans on Wix is an easier process than with WordPress, where third party services are required. Utilising the blogging feature allowed me to share knowledge and experiences firsthand, thus presenting a more authentic self (Hu & Shyam Sundar, 2010). The aim to create a more collaborative and communicative flow is achieved by retaining the ability for comments on the blog and ability to share externally (Papacharissi, 2006).

As the About page is often the most visited page in websites (Austin, 2015), I have chosen to include a photo of myself to create a more approachable and personable feel. I wanted to further drive the personable approach on the website, as well as contributing nodes, to bring readers closer by using first person view in all copy. Using a simple layout style with plain background and plenty of white space, I can showcase my website’s main content: the photographs and digital illustrations. Wix also provides the ability to integrate an online shop into the website directly from the platform, which provides potential for growth in the future.

Supporting nodes are easily accessible from multiple locations on the website with each node linking back to the website. I have chosen not to link directly through to the website from the supporting nodes but create an intermediary link where viewers can choose to head to the website, contact me directly, or head to the other supporting nodes (https://byedithling.wixsite.com/link). As the link will often be viewed on a smart device, I have ensured that the page is specifically optimised for mobiles. This intermediary link allowed me to house several links in the one place as Instagram and Twitter only provide the option for linking out of the platform once in the profile section.

To create a sense of coherence between nodes, I have customised each node to the extent each platform allows. By using a recognisable logo as profile pictures across nodes I hope to create an increase in recognition and cultivate more positive views (van Grinsven & Das, 2016). While Twitter and Instagram did not allow me to edit the colours and fonts of my profile, I was able to do so with Tumblr and further connect it to my central node. Within Twitter and Tumblr, I was also able to create some coherence by using the same header image.

With showcasing photographs and videos at the core of its function (https://help.instagram.com/424737657584573), I chose Instagram as my first supporting node. The features of Instagram work well with a photographer and digital artist. It is the simplest to use of the three supporting nodes. With hashtags and location data accompanying the images posted on Instagram, it means that an audience wider than my followers can stumble across my posts. Instagram also allows for collaboration and participation through commenting on posts as well as the new “Invite a Collaborator” feature where two or more users can share the same post to the feeds. These joint posts reduce duplicate content and share the likes, views, comments, thus allowing a wider reach (Painter, 2021). With Instagram placing more weight on their reels feature, I can create posts that showcase the process in my work; for example, progress videos of me drawing on photographs or presenting my favourite tools, which would in turn link back to a blog post on the website. Although, Instagram does not allow active links in their posts and reels, I can easily use the stories and highlights feature to create clickable links.

My second contributing node is Twitter, where I could tweet out short, spontaneous snippets of life. With their retweet, reply, and quote choices, Twitter makes it easy to hold conversations with other like-minded individuals (Java et al., 2007). Twitter brings an even more personal approach to social media through its ability to create a continuous partial presence (Mayfield, 2007). Instead of just posting art I have directly created, as with Instagram, Twitter allows me to share candid, often mundane, moments of life. Twitter also allows linking in each update, so I can easily link back to sections of my central node, such as blog posts or new products in a shop.

My third contributing node is Tumblr. Although, I had considered using Flickr as a contributing node, it seemed Flickr is centred more around sharing photography, and not photo/digital illustrations I present online. With Tumblr’s reblogging feature particularly useful for digital artists using challenges such as “draw it in your style”, it is easy for the flow of collaboration to be seen. Reblogging, along with likes and comments also aid the participatory nature of social media. As Tumblr is heavily focussed on fandom communities and fan culture, especially fan art, it is uncommon in other forms of social media (Hillman et al., 2014). This was beneficial to my web presence as I often integrate aspects of fan culture into my drawings.

With each of the supporting nodes, the aim was to create a network of reciprocity where users with similar interests follow each other (Chang et al., 2014). Although, my web presence is ultimately centred around photography and photo illustration, each contributing node offers the ability to showcase different components of my life interlacing my identity online. By curating posts over multiple sources online, I can then control and narrate how my information is available online instead of relying on digital shadows (Helmond, 2010). Using hashtags in supporting nodes create greater reach within each platform by enabling me to participate in the conversation and provide context for posts (Small, 2011).

Copyright and privacy issues were easily mitigated in my web presence. All photography is my own, with the exception of any photos of “me” where these were stock images. Although I have taken care not to photograph faces, as the photographs were taken in public, permission was not required and there was no breach in privacy (Arts+Law, n.d.). Since reblogging and retweeting of images links back directly to the content creator, there was no attribution required.

My web presences created have allowed me to narrate how my information is presented online giving me a sense of control and having nodes interlinking between each other provides viewers more credible sources from which to source information about me firsthand, instead of coming in through perceptions of others. By curating and adjusting this authentic self across different networks, I can continue to refine my identity fluidly online.

References

Arts+Law. (n.d.). Street photographer’s rights. https://www.artslaw.com.au/information-sheet/street-photographers-rights/

Austin, B. (2015, March 15). 9 Simple Tips For Making An About Us Page That Works For Your Brand. Moz. https://moz.com/blog/9-simple-tips-for-making-an-about-us-page-that-works-for-your-brand

Chang, Y., Tang, L., Inagaki, Y., & Liu, Y. (2014). What is Tumblr: a statistical overview and comparison. ACM SIGKDD Explorer Newsletter, 16(1), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1145/2674026.2674030

Helmond, A. (2010). Identity 2.0: Constructing identity with cultural software Digital Methods Initiative, Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam. https://www.annehelmond.nl/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/helmond_identity20_dmiconference.pdf

Hillman, S., Procyk, J., & Neustaedter, C. (2014). Tumblr fandoms, community & culture Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/2556420.2557634

Hu, Y., & Shyam Sundar, S. (2010). Effects of Online Health Sources on Credibility and Behavioral Intentions. Communication Research, 37(1), 105-132. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650209351512

Java, A., Song, X., Finin, T., & Tseng, B. (2007). Why we twitter: understanding microblogging usage and communities Proceedings of the 9th WebKDD and 1st SNA-KDD 2007 workshop on Web mining and social network analysis, San Jose, California. https://doi.org/10.1145/1348549.1348556

Leppänen, S., Møller, J. S., Nørreby, T. R., Stæhr, A., & Kytölä, S. (2015). Authenticity, normativity and social media. Discourse, Context & Media, 8, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2015.05.008

Mayfield, R. (2007, March 10). Twitter Tips the Tuna. Ross Mayfield’s Weblog. https://ross.typepad.com/blog/2007/03/twitter_tips_th.html

Painter, L. (2021, October 20). How to post a Collab on Instagram. Tech Advisor from IDG. https://www.techadvisor.com/how-to/social-networks/post-collab-on-instagram-3809637/

Papacharissi, Z. (2006). Audiences as media producers: Content analysis of 260 blogs. In M. Tremayne (Ed.), Blogging, citizenship, and the future of media (pp. 21-38). Taylor & Francis Group. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=283669.

Small, T. A. (2011). WHAT THE HASHTAG? Information, Communication & Society, 14(6), 872-895. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2011.554572

van Grinsven, B., & Das, E. (2016). Logo design in marketing communications: Brand logo complexity moderates exposure effects on brand recognition and brand attitude. Journal of Marketing Communications, 22(3), 256-270. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2013.866593