By
Obododimma Oha
What we refer to as "social media" are ways through which members of the society, ordinary citizens, have take taken over communication and are feeding themselves with news, entertainment, knowledge (that is, teaching), etc. In relation to giving news, it is alternatively called " citizen journalism." Social media may have some problems but with them there is less monopoly over communication.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp are some examples of social media.
Social media have been used for various purposes. They have functioned as market place, archive, library, classroom, research tool, etc. Read the following to see how some social media are understood as a classroom:
https://files.eric.ed.gov › fullt...PDF
USING FACEBOOK AS A VIRTUAL CLASSROOM IN A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN MEXICO CITY - ERIC
https://obododimma.livejournal.com/13590.html
Visual signification is an important aspect of modern life. It is simply about what is seen (the sense of sight) , how it is seen, etc. Modern technology has taken over practices of visual communication and each subsystem tries to design and develop its own type of visual iconography. Chatrooms in social media not equipped with video and audio try to introduce them. In that case, that one can interact in any social media forum requires that we know the semiotics of the communication, which includes knowing the icons and the required behavior.
The focus in this lecture is visual semiotics in social media. From photography to sharing of diagrams, social media invite us to see and decide.
Why Visuality Is Important in Social Media Communication:
(1) To impress the audience more and have a greater impact. Greater persuasion.
(2) To make the communication convincing and real.
(3) To compete with others over visualizing.
(4) To signify a newness in communication, with nothing supposedly hidden.
Manipulation of Visual Signs:
One unfortunate thing is that visual signs can be adjusted to say what they did not say. This is clearly fiction--making. The head of a donkey could be put on the body of a human being. People crying may be made to be laughing. This photoshopping is the work of modern information technology. We find a lot of it in the social media.
The main problem it creates is that we can't know what is true and have to ask like Pontius Pilate, "What is truth?" They may entail a lot of fun. Imagine playing with images and being able to recreate them. But they create greater problems, misleading many!
Visual Signification on Facebook :
Visual Signs feature a lot on Facebook. In fact, it is as the main design is to impress through visual signs, to the extent that it has been asked in an update whether Facebook is now an electronic album. The main issue is that we have to look closely at the nature of this visuality and comment on how signs are utilized in that communication.
There are tools for private communication for subscribers to use video, audio and observe what other interactants are doing. But images are used for communication in a special way. Groups and individuals share photographs and provoke comments. They could also share links and take us to other windows. Well, images on Facebook are stories and can influence things. In that case, choosing and sharing means the sharer subscribes to them and is therefore to be held responsible for extending their presence.
Through what we have displayed about ourselves, our interests, and about others, something can be "seen" about us. So, Facebook signification is partly about exposure and about "knowing. " Photographs are stories that take us to stories and across stories. They may be anchored and further enhanced by linguistic signs.
Visuality and Signification in the Use of Facebook Templates in Updates:
There are templates or themes for updates on Facebook. Selecting a template is not a casual thing. The relationship between the message and the template matters. The template has to be appropriate. It is like choosing the right words for an expression.
Visuality in Facebook Private Communication :
Privacy is supposed to be hidden from public gaze. Facebook promises this in its private communication as in messaging. People in the chat room are helped in knowing when the other wants to respond. This is the simulation of turn taking, as in a conversation. People chatting can see the scribbling and wait.
Further, those chatting can exchange private things that cannot be seen by other Facebook subscribers. In other words, the visuality is protected. Only Facebook staff can see what is shared but they are taken as people who are committed to protecting our secrets.
Iconography in Facebook Visuality :
It has been pointed that there is the need to master the meanings of icons used in social media communications. This is obviously a way of saying that one has to master the language of social media communication to be able to belong to and interact in that world. The icons are arbitrary and may change, depending on the preferences of the management.
Visual Signification on Twitter:
The idea of tweeting itself is metaphorical. Are we not reminded of the noises made by birds? We are birds when we tweet. This mimicry even relates to size in the communication. The tweeters could be numerous, just as their tweets could be numerous. In that case, briefness is necessary in the signification. Tweets, in this respect, are expected to be short.
But how do interactants try to attend to this?
They
- - - Break up a tweet and send several tweets instead
- - - Could use links and hyperlinks
- - - Could shorten or summarize their tweets.
Tweeted visual signs are economical. They do not consume much, suggesting that information sharing should not involve so much stress.
Concluding Remarks :
We have very briefly looked at visual signs used in the social media. It is only Facebook and Twitter we have exemplified. The discussion could be extended to others like Instagram, 2Go, etc. The main issue is that visuality is central.
Visual signs are designed to be short or brief. They are stories and are considered very persuasive in many cases.
Comments
Post a Comment