Wasko and Faraj hypothesises on knowledge contribution emphasises on the reasons why people choose to participate in online collaborative communities. These include reputation, individual motivations, structural capital, cognitive capital, and relational capital (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 40). Blau’s theories add to Wasko and Faraj knowledge contribution theories and also highlights that online collaboration is effective with reasons to participate such as social capital and personal motive factors including personal satisfaction, self-efficacy, and drive to acquire knowledge (Blau, 2011, pp. 27, 29, 30).

Blau’s theory on social capital is about what can be obtained from knowing others, for example knowledge. It’s about being apart of a social network, being known and having a good reputation amongst the group (Blau, 2011, p. 27). “Reputation is an important asset that an individual can leverage to achieve and maintain status within a collective” (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 39). Building up a good reputation is a great motivator for members of an online collaboration to have as it encourages them to participate and share more knowledge with others. Individual users perceive that if they participate, it will enhance their reputation in their profession and are more likely to contribute and respond within the collaborative group (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 40). Many individuals alleviate their fears of the risks involved in sharing information by choosing to share in environments that maximise their reputation benefits (Di Gangi, Wasko, & Tang, 2012, p. 372). Social capital also includes credibility, trust, relationships, loyalty, value and word of mouth communication, which social networks are built around (Attia, Nergis, & Mahdy, 2011).

Social capital is particularly important amongst Wikipedia members, known as Wikipedians. The better the reputation a Wikipedian has amongst their community, the better chance they have in moving up the ranks into an administrator role, and the more they are trusted by other Wikipedians that their contributions are credible. “If a participant wants to accrue more credibility, one way to do so is by participating in multiple channels; this requires a substantial time commitment” (Forte & Bruckman, 2005, p. 6). An example Andrea Forte and Amy Bruckman (2005) provide refers to a wikipedian who may never cause any trouble and creates and contributes a massive amount of quality content, but no body would know who they are. But there are Wikipedians that brag about their contributions, create a complete user page filled with their all accomplishments, and are actively acquiring creditability within the Wikipedia community. These are the individuals who get voted in as administrators (Forte & Bruckman, 2005, p. 4). Wikipedians choose topics that they believe will build upon their reputation in their chosen profession. To build their reputation in the Wikipedia community they contribute and respond more with other members within the group. Building a good reputation is a great motivator and does help facilitate an effective online collaboration and organisation, especially in the case of Wikipedia.

Another example of the social capital theory is the Egyptian “Revolution 2.0” of 2011. This is believed to be the direct impact of protesters using social networks, in particular Twitter. “Social networks supply people with opportunities to be apart of international communities that enable them to communicate their shared thoughts, information, and recommendations” (Attia, Nergis, & Mahdy, 2011, p. 370). The perception of trust, relationships, loyalty and value are likely to affect individual’s behaviour and their use of Twitter towards political change (Attia, Nergis, & Mahdy, 2011, p. 372). This is particularly important in the Egyptian “Revolution 2.0” as the people of Egypt could trust the words of others who were calling for the uprising. This trust reduced social ambiguity amongst Egyptians and the information provided by others on Twitter was viewed as credible and trustworthy (Attia, Nergis, & Mahdy, 2011, p. 372). This builds upon individual users reputation as a trustworthy source of information thus making Twitter an effective online collaborative tool to use in the case of Egypt’s Revolution 2.0.

There are many reasons why individuals choose to contribute and share within a collaborative group. Blau (2011) created a list of personal motivation factors that need to be considered, including individual satisfaction, self-efficacy, belief in how their own actions can make an effect, and intrinsic drive to acquire knowledge. (Blau, 2011, p. 30) There are also social motivation factors to consider, which include a desire to participate in producing a collective good, a need for support, and a need for belonging to the group (Blau, 2011, p. 30). When individual users believe that they are making a difference, they participate regardless of what other members are contributing (Blau, 2011, p. 31). Individual’s personal belief motivates them to contribute knowledge, even in the absence of reciprocity reward and personal social connection (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 39).

Twitter is an excellent online tool that is used during many political protests in recent times. Before the era of social media, individuals might have felt alone in having concerns about the political unjust around the world. Social networks, such as Twitter, have allowed protesters to band together and find other individuals that share similar concerns and start organising ways of making a difference (Hayes, 2012, p. 2). During the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2009, Elliot Madison used Twitter as a way to inform other protesters where police blockages were being set up so the protestors could find ways to get to the Summit (Ems, 2009, p. 3). Madison believed that his actions had made a difference, despite his arrest. Madison is an example of using personal and social motivations to contribute to an online collaboration.

According to Andrea Ciffolilli (2003), the factors behind why individuals participate within Wikipedia voluntarily are because of personal and social motivations. The most active Wikipedians are pushed by strong incentives from the projects they contribute to, and their motivations are not related directly to monetary reward (Ciffolilli, 2003). The idea of the need for belonging and support within the community and the passion and desire to take part in the production of a collective good are all motivators to why Wikipedians choose to share their knowledge on the free online encyclopaedia (Ciffolilli, 2003).

In addition to personal and social motivations to why individuals participate in online collaboration and organisation is structural capital (centrality). Structural capital is the tie that links individuals within the group and is created during social interactions (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 41). It can be divided up into three categories. Firstly, degree centrality, which is the number of ties that a member has. Secondly, closeness centrality, which is the inverse of the average distance between members. Thirdly, betweenness centrality, which is the importance of a member in bridging social connections, information transmission and behaviour contagion. These three different categories of structural capital indicate the different role-taking behaviours that members of a collaborative group would undertake (Wang & Zhang, 2012, pp. 4516-4518). Members within the collaboration that have a high number of direct ties to other members are more likely to develop a habit of cooperation and participation. They are most likely to act in accordance with the normalities of the group and are more willing to contribute their knowledge within the online collaboration (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 41).

Chong Wang and Xiaoquan Zhang’s (2012) case study on Chinese Wikipedia investigates structural capital theories within the online collaborative group between October 2002 and February 2007 (Wang & Zhang, 2012, p. 4518). They particularly look at degree centrality, closeness centrality and betweenness centrality. Their research reviews Wikipedia contributor behaviour within the collaborative network. Wang and Zhang’s findings show that there is an increase in degree centrality when contributors decrease their effort levels, an increase in closeness centrality when both effort and focus is reduced, and betweenness centrality increases effort and focus (Wang & Zhang, 2012, p. 4521). Their case study of the structural capital in Chinese Wikipedia shows that there are varying levels of centrality over time from contributors. Different aspects of the structural capital theory have different implications on effort and devotion over time (Wang & Zhang, 2012, p. 4521). Therefore different aspects of structural capital at different times help to facilitate in effective online collaboration.

For an online collaboration and organisation to be effective it needs to have cognitive capital. It is the resources that make it possible for interpretations to be shared with a group (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 41). “Cognitive capital contains both individual expertise, or mastery of the language within the practice, as well as experience with applying the expertise” (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 41). This expertise particularly includes mastering the technology used by the collaborative group. Cognitive capital helps collaborative groups to communicate efficiently and effectively as members are speaking the same language, so to say, and are using similar knowledge structures. “High levels of cognitive capital enable teams that communicate through digital networks to integrate knowledge at levels similar to those of face-to-face environments” (Robert, Dennis, & Ahuja, 2008, p. 328). Individuals within the collaborative group with long tenure in the shared practice are more likely to understand how their expertise is relevant and are better at sharing their knowledge with the group (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 42).

Governments around the world have started to pay attention to social media networks, such as Twitter, and are becoming familiar with its cognitive capital. In the case of the 2009 Iran protests, governments found Twitter to be a useful tool for monitoring protesters, gathering data, and even tracking protesters down (Grossman, 2009). The US Government in 2009 saw the value in Twitter and even asked the service to delay server upgrades during the Iran protests. “US diplomats and other public officials were monitoring Twitter use originating from Iran, and were using this ‘chatter’ on Iran’s domestic political situation as an important source of public source intelligence” (Burns & Eltham, 2009, p. 299). The US State Department had also launched an official Twitter page to communicate their views to international audiences earlier that year. It was the first time a US Government agency had acknowledged the potential role that social media plays in international events (Burns & Eltham, 2009, p. 299). The US Government are using Twitter as a tool in monitoring other countries, such as Iran in 2009, to help build future foreign policies. They are learning to master the cognitive capital of Twitter and become experts in the communications between foreign governments and their people.

Finally, to facilitate an effective online collaboration and organisation, there is a need for relational capital. This includes individuals of the online collaborative having a strong identification with the group, trust, a perceived obligation to participate, and to behave within the collaborations norms. Individuals feel the need to help out others, including strangers, and have an urge to give back to the collaboration (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 42). “When there is a strong norm of reciprocity in the collective, individuals trust that their knowledge contribution efforts will be reciprocated, thereby rewarding the individual efforts and ensuring ongoing contribution” (Wasko & Faraj, 2005, p. 43).

Wikipedia is a perfect example of relational capital at it’s finest in online collaboration. Wikipedian’s seek to collaborate and publish true facts about the world. They are highly productive individuals who collaborate authorship where they contribute to an open-content encyclopaedia by adding to or revising other Wikipedian contributions (Forte & Bruckman, 2005, p. 1). This behaviour is a reciprocation of others who would contribute to their own topics, which they have created. Wikipedian’s feel like it is their duty to keep the content published on Wikipedia free from “graffiti” and to maintain high quality content (Ciffolilli, 2003). This reinforces that Wikipedian’s have strong identifications with the content being collaborated throughout the website, ensuring it’s reputation and credibility as a reliable knowledge resource.

This essay has attempted to demonstrate what facilitates effective online collaboration and organisation. The theories presented by Wasko and Faraj, and Blau have shown that there are many varying factors that contribute to the effectiveness of an online collaborative group. Their theories have been proven with examples from the case studies of Twitter and Political Protest and Wikipedia. Individuals have many reasons to participate in a online collaboration that range from personal and social motivations, to building credibility and a reputation, not only online but in their profession, to wanting to make connections with others who have the same beliefs and passions as they do. An online collaboration also needs to have strong ties between members of the group, a desire for participation from members in the form of reciprocation, meaning individuals contribute not only on their own input but on other contributions too, and developing expertise with the tools used in the collaborative group. But for a online collaboration and organisation to be effective there needs to be trust between individuals of the online group. Without trust there would be no collaboration.

References

Attia, A., Nergis, A., & Mahdy, E. (2011). Commentary: The impact of social networking tools on political change in Egypt’s “Revolution 2.0″. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications , 369-374.

Blau, I. (2011). E-Collaboration Within, Between, and Without Institutions: Towards Better Functioning of Online Groups Through Networks. International Journal of e-Collaboration , 22-36.

Burns, A., & Eltham, B. (2009). Twitter Free Iran: An Evaluation of Twitter’s Role in Public Diplomacy and Information Operations in Iran’s 2009 Election Crisis. Record of the Communications Policy & Research Forum 2009 , 298-310.

Ciffolilli, A. (2003 1-December). Phantom authority, self-selective recuritment and retention of members in virtual communities: The case of Wikipedia. Retrieved 2013 24-January from First Monday: http://firstmonday.org/article/view/1108/1028

Di Gangi, P., Wasko, M., & Tang, X. (2012). Would you share? Examining knowledge type and communication channel for knowledge sharing within and across the organizational boundary. International Journel of Knowledge Management , 1-21.

Ems, L. (2009). Twitter use in Iranian, Moldovan and G-20 summit protests presents new challenges for governments. Indiana University. Bloomington: Indiana University.

Forte, A., & Bruckman, A. (2005). Why Do People Write for Wikipedia? Incentives to Contribute to Open-Content Publishing. GROUP 05 Workshop: Sustaining Community: The Role and Design of Incentive Mechanisms in Online Systems. Sanibel Island, FL (pp. 1-6). Georgia: GROUP 05 Workshop.

Grossman, L. (2009 17-June). Iran’s Protests: Why Twitter is the Medium of the Movement. Retrieved 2012 11-December from TIME: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905125,00.html

Hayes, P. (2012 January). Social Media is rejuvenating political protest. Retrieved 2012 22-December from Debating Matters: http://www.debatingmatters.com/documents/DM_TopicGuidesClicktivism.pdf

Robert, L., Dennis, A., & Ahuja, M. (2008). Social Capital and Knowledge Integration in Digitally Enabled Teams. Information Systems Research , 19 (3), 314–334.

Wang, C., & Zhang, X. (2012). Network Centrality and Contributions to Online Public Good – The Case of Chinese Wikipedia. 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on Sytem Sciences , 4515-4524.

Wasko, M. M., & Faraj, S. (2005). Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital And Knowledge Contribution In Electronic Networks Of Practice. MIS Quarterly , 35-57.

This video produced for a University project and originally posted at http://socialstartup.comyr.com/create-a-business-facebook-page/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia License.

The following 4 tips will help you set your business social media presence up and give you ideas on how to maintain it.

1) Setup a Social Network Presence

You don’t need to be on all the social networks on the web. Ideally pick the social networks that appeal to your target markets . In Australia the top 3 social network sites in 2012 were

• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Twitter (source: http://vincos.it/world-map-of-social-networks/)

To help people to find you easily on your selected social network sites, it’s ideal to use a consistent user name across them. Click here to see if your desired username is available.

Also don’t forget to keep your social network information updated. Read The 10 Commandments of Social Media for Brands and consider these when maintaining your social network presence.

2) Add Social Network Feeds on Your Business Website Homepage

Now that you have your social networks set up for your business, tie them back to your websites home page. Static websites can fall quickly in Google search rankings. An easy way to keep your homepage active is to have feeds from your social networks, where you will be updating regularly.

Speak to your web developer about adding your social network feeds to your website homepage.

3) Use a Social Network Aggregator Tool

You have set up your business presence on selected social media networks, but you want to send out the same message across them all, but don’t want to retype your message for each service. That’s where social network aggregator tools come in handy.

There are a sea of aggregator tools to choose from, but the best of the bunch is Hootsuite.

Hootsuite is a social media management dashboard that allows you to monitor several social media accounts on the one screen. Update your status and schedule future updates across multiple services with one handy tool. Managing your business social media presence just became easier. And best of all it’s free to use.  Check out PCMag’s review.

4) Take the Time to Update

Most importantly, you need to take the time each week, or even better every day, to share, update and respond to customers through your social network channels.

Focus on activities where you can make the best impact. Make a plan of what you want to say. Just like any other marketing strategy for business, you need to plan what you want to say and do on your social media networks.

Also respond quickly to customers who contact you on your social media networks. If you are perceived as an efficient, caring business, then these happy customers will recommend you to their friends.

After taking in these useful tips on improving your web presence, I leave you with this closing quote which sums up why having a active social media presence is important to every small business.

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” - Scott Cook, co-founder, Intuit

Original Posting of this article was for a group project at http://socialstartup.comyr.com/dont-set-and-forget/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia License.

There are interviews with Anonymous members who share their experiences with the lash backs from the FBI and how they served jail time for their part in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on websites. This documentary also explains what members of Anonymous would do in a target attack, ranging from phone pranks to protests, like the attack on Church of Scientology where all around the world members of Anonymous would disguise their identity with masks and face coverings, turn up to the Church of Scientology offices and protest against the religions beliefs (Knappenberger, 2012). What makes this protest unique is that it was organised online and no one knew who anyone else was.

Knappenberger has created an interesting overview on the life of a hacktivist and members of Anonymous. He has shown how targeted attacks happen, the results both good and bad from these attacks and what the legal ramifications can be if you take part in illegal DDoS attacks and are identified by the FBI. Mercedes Haefer, who was arrested for participating in DDoS attacks against PayPal, says the average jail time for a paedophile is 11 years, for a computer hacker you can face 15 years (Knappenberger, 2012).

Knappenberger shows hacktivists in both good and bad light and has given me a better understanding on what Anonymous stands for. It crossed over with many of the articles I found on Twitter and Political Protest as Anonymous use Twitter to organise and expose plans for attacks to recruit people to join their fight. I would recommend anyone who is researching Anonymous to watch this documentary.

1. The Revolution will be Digitised – Wired UK

Heather Brook released a book in 2011 called “The Revolution will be Digitised” and was interviewed by Katie Scott from www.wired.co.uk about how “the interconnected age in which we live allows us to do is instantly connect with each other” (Scott, 2011). Brook is an advocate of social media networks being a communication revolution.

Brook discuss’ how the Internet has decentralised power and given the people an alternative way to challenge the gatekeepers and establishments who withhold information from the general public (Scott, 2011). She also tells of how close true democracy is with the help of social media networking and how it connects people who normally couldn’t be connected in the past, especially when it comes to specific issues (Scott, 2011). It is in real time that people can now connect with each other to discuss, organise and collaborate together around issues such as Government policies in their own countries, as well as Government policies in countries around the world.

Brook also mentions how Government bodies are learning to look at social networks and how politics is shifting away from a top-down centralised hierarchy (Scott, 2011). This means the shift in power is moving towards the people, and many authority figures are having a tough time dealing with this transition. Some in fact are trying to control the Internet, for example in Iran in 2009 during the post election protests where Iran authorities tried to shut down access to Twitter. But “sympathetic observers outside Iran [had] set up “proxy” servers that relay Twitter content into Iran through network addresses that [hadn’t] been blocked yet” (Grossman, 2009).

This interview with Heather Brook is just one persons opinion on how social networking is revolutionising the way people can discuss, organise and collaborate on political issues from all around the world, and in most cases in real time. Her book “The Revolution will be Digitised” also contains case studies on Bradley Manning (a US Army solider) and Julian Assange (Wikileaks) and their exposes on the information war.

2. “Social Media is Rejuvenating Political Protest” – Debating Matters      

“Social Media is allowing much greater opportunities for individuals to find others to share their concerns, which has already led to major changes in Government policy” (Rundle, 2011).

The new word on the street for those who take part in political protests using online social media such as Twitter are being dubbed as “Clicktivists”. These Clicktivists can start a campaign with a simple hash tag, finding others who share the same concerns and ideas about a political event happening anywhere in the world (Hayes, 2012). This can often lead to the organisation of a traditional protest where these concerned users meet as a group.

Social media is shifting the way in which people understand politics all over the world. It is empowering people to take action, and disallowing Governments to hide and control what is released in traditional media. Twitter allows users who are “on the ground” experiencing events first hand to tell their side of events as they happen in 140 characters (Hayes, 2012). Other Twitter users can “reTweet” these messages, respond directly back, or even start a protest against the injustice to the Human Rights of the people who are experiencing the event. Twitter is allowing the freedom of speech for those who have access to the Internet.

But Social Media isn’t bigger than the law. Users aren’t completely invisible and can be traced by police, just like protests in the past. There is always the chance of arrests.

This article shows both sides of the coin of social media protests. People showing support can either be heavily involved or just simply share a Tweet of interest. This piece has some interesting arguments for both the pros and cons of “Clicktivism”.

3. Twitter use in Iranian, Moldovan and G-20 summit protests presents new challenges for governments – Lindsay Ems Indiana University

In this paper Lindsay Ems studies three case studies in regards to the use of Twitter among protesters during three distinct political events during 2009 in Iran, Moldova and the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He talks about how traditional media create “frames” of information that are distributed to the public (Ems, 2009). Social networking platforms, such as Twitter, now allows us to consume as much or as little we want about certain political events, and share it with others. We can join in with the protests from anywhere in the world and learn more about the civilian life in the areas where the people are fighting their Government through protest.

In the three case studies presented in this paper Ems states that “in Iran and Moldova the elections were deemed fraudulent by many and Twitter was used there by dissenters as a tool in protesting the results of these elections… [The] G-20 summit protesters used Twitter primarily to avoid police blockades in the streets of Pittsburgh” (Ems, 2009). Twitter was also used as a source for images, video and stories by mainstream media.

“The way in which Twitter is used during political protest may alter the nature of the challenge for these Governments” (Ems, 2009). Moldova Government was faced with many complex challenges. In the G-20 summit, the US responded with police force and even arrested Elliot Madison, who was using Twitter to alert protestors of police locations around Pittsburgh (Ems, 2009). Where in Iran, the government took out communication networks to silence their people. It’s not certain, according to Ems, that the use of Twitter during these events made the impact like traditional protests of the past.

4. Twitter Free Iran: An Evaluation of Twitter’s Role in Public Diplomacy and Information Operations in Iran’s 2009 Election Crisis – Alex Burns and Ben Eltham

The actions from the Iran Government and authority agencies (the Basij) along with the US State Departments, were either trying to censor the people of Tehran or, the in the US State Department’s case, observing the ‘chatter’ on Twitter from Iran as an “important source of public source intelligence” (Burns & Eltham, 2009, p. 299). The US State Department requested that Twitter delay a server update to ensure Iranians had maximum access to the service (Pleming, 2009). The US interest in the developments during the Iran election protests to me seemed a selfish decision, as they were more interested in developing their own information operations, rather than the Human Rights of those protesting in Tehran.

The Iran authority agency, Basij, played the role of containing mass protests that were gaining international attention. They used aggression against these protestors, which lead to many civilian deaths (Burns & Eltham, 2009, p. 302). The shooting of Neda Agha-Soltan that was captured by a bystander on video was posted to YouTube, which went viral. “Iranian police and media responded to the massive viral popularity of the YouTube video by contending that Agha-Solton’s death had been staged by foreign agencies for propaganda purposes” (Frontline, 2009). None the less, events similar to these were happening all around Tehran during the protest period.

“Those who championed the role of Twitter to spur the anti-regime social movement failed to understand … the possibility that Iran’s “violence specialists” in its security apparatus would use Twitter to identify and hunt down pre-democracy protesters” (Burns & Eltham, 2009, p. 306). Iranian Twitter users under estimated the ability that the Basij had to identify, locate and kill them to silence them (Burns & Eltham, 2009, p. 306).

As you can see that after reading the conclusion of this paper, it makes you realise how easy it is to be tracked down and silenced for using online tools for protests. This makes me rethink any future involvement in political protests against Governments unlike our own here in Australia.

References

Burns, A., & Eltham, B. (2009). Twitter Free Iran: An evaluation of Twitter’s role in Iran’s 2009 election crisis. Record of the Communications Policy & Research Forum 2009 , 298-310.

Ems, L. (2009). Twitter use in Iranian, Moldovan and G-20 summit protests presents new challenges for governments. Indiana University. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University.

Frontline, P. (2009, November 17). A Death in Tehran. Retrieved December 23, 2012, from Frontline PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/deathintehran/etc/synopsis.html

Grossman, L. (2009, June 17). Iran Protests: Twitter, the Medium of the Movement. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from TIME: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905125,00.html

Hayes, P. (2012, January 1). Social Media is Rejuventating Poltical Protest. Retrieved December 2012, from Debating Matters: http://www.debatingmatters.com/documents/DM_TopicGuidesClicktivism.pdf

Pleming, S. (2009, June 16). U.S. State Department speaks to Twitter over Iran. Retrieved December 23, 2012, from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSWBT01137420090616

Rundle, M. (2011, September 5). Online Activism Comes Of Age In UK As 38 Degrees Find Their Voice. Retrieved December 23, 2012, from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/07/05/online-activism-uk_n_890128.html

Scott, K. (2011, August 18). The Revolution will be Digitised. Retrieved December 23, 2012, from Wired: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-08/18/the-revolution-will-be-digitised?page=all

Easy Furry Text in Photoshop

Create a fluffy and cuddly text effect with this tutorial from Abduzeedo.

Create a Realistic Wooden 3D Text Image

Getting that text to look realistic in 3D using photoshop can be a common problem with designers looking for the right technique to achieve it. This tutorial from Denis Designs shows you a simple way to achieve this look.

Honey Leaking Effect on the Delicious Pancake

I have used this effect before for a project for the Albion Hotel for their Beer and Breakfast event. It’s a simple effect to use when trying for that sauce look text effect. Try this one for your next saucy challenge from Alfoart.

Create a Metallic Copper Text Effect Using Layer Styles in Photoshop

This one is a good one to use for any kind of metallic text effect in Photoshop. Just alter the colours to suit. A great one from PSDTUTS+

Create a Baseball – Inspired Text Effects in Photoshop

Another tutorial from PSDTUTS+. The technique used in this text effect is worth a try, and maybe with a few alterations you could create other material effects.

Spring Blossoms Text Effect

This one is a pretty one to use for the Spring inspired artwork. It’s worth giving this one a try. From Layers Magazine.

How to Create the Aura Text Effect

Granted I haven’t given this one a try yet but it looks pretty simple to do. Give this effect a try from PSAwesome.

Sex and the City 2 Bling Diamond Text Effect in Photoshop

The original posting of this tutorial is in Japanese but I have supplied you the link to the Google translated into English version. So please excuse any bad translation  and use of the English language. So work through this and you to can have the same bling bling look as Sex and the City. I have used this technique before for Gold Coast Confidential. Original tutorial from WPXtreme.

I have covered a few different types of text effects that you can easily accomplish using Photoshop. Give some of them a try and post them up here in the comments. Show the world how your creation turns out.

What are information ecologies? According to Bonnie Nardi and Vicki O’Day, they  “define an information ecology to be a system of people, practices, values, and technologies in a particular local environment. [… They are] human activities that are served by technology ” (Nardi & O’Day, 1999). Information ecologies are a network of humans who gather in one place online to help one another. “Information ecology influences what information is produced and stored, what information is made available and to whom, and what information is required and valued in task performance. [They attempt] to emphasize people rather than technology within networked information and communication systems” (Malhotra, 2002).

Nardi and O’Day list several key characteristics that create a healthy information ecology,

“An information ecology is a complex system of parts and relationships. It exhibits diversity and experiences continual evolution. Different parts of an ecology coevolve, changing together according to the relationships in the system. Several keystone species necessary to the survival of the ecology are present. Information ecologies have a sense of locality” (Nardi & O’Day, 1999).

To maintain a healthy information ecology, it is important to change the flow of information direction and quality to keep the information ecology content relevant. “[The] flow of some new interests or ideas produces new collaborative networks and communities” (Naghshineh & Zardary, 2011). “Technology change will improve the information environment” (Malhotra, 2002). Dr. Yogesh Malhotra says that information is not “data” and it can’t be easily stored. A healthy information ecology helps people to create, to distribute, to understand and to use information in a simplistic information model (Malhotra, 2002).

An example of a healthy information ecology would be the use of Facebook groups for Web309 students. This group uses the Facebook technology to create a closed group of users who can gather together online to generate ideas, share thoughts, links and opinions, help each other out with issues relating to Web309, and a place to have friendly conversations with other students who are undertaking the unit. Because this group is closed to the general public, it eliminates the noise from other users who do not share similar interests in the topic the group has been created for, which keeps the flow of information relevant to the users within the group.

In Clay Shirky keynote presentation at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York in 2008, he states, “Thinking about information overload isn’t actually describing the problem and thinking about filter failure is.” (Shirky, 2008). He explains how information overload is not a new thing. We have been confronted with this issue for years.

He uses the example of when the Guttenberg moveable type press was introduced in the 1500s. It made information reproduction relative cheap to publish and distribute to the masses. To resolve the problem of the information overload and to control the quality of the printed word, those who printed the books also became the publishers who controlled the quality of the information being published (Shirky, 2008). This indeed was one of the first jobs of a curator. These publishers could control what information was distributed to the information ecology.

As Shirky continues he states how in Guttenburg days, it cost a lot of money upfront to produce and distribute information. But since the introduction of the internet, “the cost of producing anything by anyone has fallen through the floor, famously, and as a result there is no economic logic that says that you have to filter for quality before you publish” (Shirky, 2008). So the job for the users of the Internet seems to be that we must create our own filtering systems so that we can control the quality of information we receive. Shirky uses the example of SPAM filters. Systems are set up to delete unnecessary email so we don’t have to deal with what’s not important. But even then these systems fail and we need to manually curate the information that does filter through to our inboxes. We need to constantly update the systems we have in place to maintain an appropriate filter for future SPAM as the environment is constantly changing (Shirky, 2008).

Shirky has explained the role of a content curator and what their task is in maintaining a healthy information ecology by using the SPAM filters as an example. The content curators sole task is to create a flow of information that is relevant for its information ecology. “Information flow, intuitively, is the movement of information objects from point of origin to ‘target’ use” (Zhu, Wang, & Chang, 2009). The following paragraphs explain examples of information flow models. Researches in the field of content curation have devised sets of working frameworks for curating information for information ecologies.

Firstly lets review Rohit Bhargava 5 models of content curation. Bhargava is a global marketing expert whose 5 models of content curation include aggregation, distillation, elevation, mashup, and chronology. Aggreation is “the act of curating the most relevant information about a particular topic into a single location” (Bhargava, 2010). Samples of this type of content curation would be experts curating blogs that list links to other useful websites that are available about a topic, for example free Photoshop brushes. This type of curation takes the time away for other users who are looking for websites that have free Photoshop brushes that they can use for themselves. Distillation is “the act of curating information into a more simplistic format where only the most important or relevant ideas are shared” (Bhargava, 2010). This type of curation may lose some relevant information due to its simplicity, but users are presented with a more focused point of view on the information that they desire. “Elevation refers to curation with a mission of identifying a larger trend or insight from smaller daily musings posted online” (Bhargava, 2010). This type of curation is used in micro blogging platforms, such as Twitter, where posters would share links with followers on particular topics and websites they discover along their journey through the Internet. “Mashups are unique curated justapositions where merging existing content is used to create a new point of view” (Bhargava, 2010). This form of curation takes multiple points of views and shares it in one location. It also offers online curators a way to create something new by building upon existing content available on a topic. Wikipedia is an excellent example of how content curators gather information from multiple places to describe or explain a topic in one place. Lastly, Bhargava fifth curation model is chronology. It is “a form of curation that brings together historical information organized based on time to show an evolving understanding of a particular topic” (Bhargava, 2010). Creating a historical timeline on an event such as World War II would be an example of this type of curation.

Dengya Zhu and Heniz Dreher presented a paper at the 2008 IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies, held at Curtin University, on Personal Information Retrieval in Digital Ecosystems. Digital Ecosystems are “an open, loosely coupled, domain clustered, demand-driven, self-organising agent environment, where each agent of each species is proactive and responsive regarding its own benefits/profits but is also responsible to its system” (Boley & Chang, 2007). With this definition in mind, Zhu and Dreher suggest an information retrieval framework that “combines search results from the intranet, commercial databases, and the Internet to satisfy the information needs of digital ecosystems’ users by providing comprehensive and accurate search results” (Zhu & Dreher, 2009). Mining information about the user who is accessing the information by using personalised search algorithms that learn users search preferences and interests, the results are refined and will be more relevant for the users personal needs (Zhu & Dreher, 2008). With this framework for information flow in mind, Google+ have adopted many aspects of this idea on how they collect users information through Google online services (ie Google Search, Youtube) and relating them back to Google+ profiles. This helps users who log into Google+ to keep their user preferences when searching the web from other devices. Curators need to keep in mind that the web is becoming more personal and when creating curated content they need to curate to a targeted persona.

Next lets look at Thomas Davenport and Laurence Prusak’s information ecology framework. They define “information ecology as a holistic management of information” (Zhu & Dreher, 2009). According to their research, there are four key attributes including integration, recognition of change, observation and behaviour. “Information ecologies thrive on information diversity” (Davenport & Prusak, 1997). Information integration can to some degree be captured through computer systems, but true information integration won’t happen without content curators making changes to its organisational structure. It’s up to curators to package the information into a format that engages the information consumers (Davenport & Prusak, 1997). Information ecologies need to remain flexible to accommodate for technological and environmental change. “Information management must allow for change – even if it’s not clear exactly what that change will be” (Davenport & Prusak, 1997). Curators need to be more descriptive in their approaches in information curation, and observe the existing information environment. “Describing who has what information, the various sources of information support, how information and knowledge are used in work processes, and the organization’s intentions and objectives for information is an essential, if sometimes overwhelming, task” (Davenport & Prusak, 1997). Focusing on the behaviour of people within an information ecology means not to simply provide information to them, but to facilitate its effective use (Davenport & Prusak, 1997). Knowing how the inhabitants of the information ecology seek, share and make sense of the information provided helps curators to provide more relevant information and deliver it in a format that can be understood by its receiver. By integrating diverse types of information, recognising change, describing and observing existing information, and focusing on people and information behaviours, a healthy information ecology can be founded (Davenport & Prusak, 1997).

The role of the curator in creating and maintaining an online presence is fairly simple, to keep the most currant and up-to-date information available to their information ecology. Once the content within the information ecology becomes dated or irrelevant the curator needs to adapt their flow of information. Otherwise their environment becomes unhealthy and may be replaced with another information ecology that provides the inhabitants with the information they require. Bhargava, Zhu and Dreher, and Davenport and Prusak have provided some framework examples of how to insure the flow of content to information ecology can remain relevant. The echoing theme between the three examples provided is recognising the need for change and adapting the flow to keep the information relevant.

REFERNCES

Bhargava, R. (2010). The 5 Models of Content Curation http://www.rohitbhargava.com/2011/03/the-5-models-of-content-curation.html

Boley, H., & Chang, E. (2007). Digital Ecosystems: Principles and Sematics. Paper presented at the Inaugural IEEE Digital Ecosystems and Technology Conference.

Davenport, T., & Prusak, L. (1997). The Best of All Worls: Information Ecology Information Ecology: Hosted by the ‘Tong Master’ Pete Mitcham. Includes BBQ dinner & Beers. New York: Oxford University Press (US).

Malhotra, Y. (2002). Information Ecology and Knowledge Management: Toward Knowledge Ecology for Hypertubulent Organizational Environments. Management, 3.

Naghshineh, N., & Zardary, S. (2011). Information ecology as a mind tool for repurposing of educational social networks. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 3640-3643.

Nardi, B., & O’Day, V. (1999). Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart. First Monday, 4(5).

Rosenbaum, S. (2011). Curation: What is it? Curation Nation : How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators (pp. 1-22). New York: McGraw Hill.

Shirky, C. (2008). It’s Not Information Overload. It’s Filter Failure. Paper presented at the Web 2.0 Expo, New York.

Zhu, D., & Dreher, H. (2008). Personalized Information Retrieval in Digial Ecosystems. Paper presented at the 2008 Second IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies.

Zhu, D., Wang, H., & Chang, E. (2009). Information Ecological Imbalance and Information Intervention Policies in Digital Ecosystems. Paper presented at the 2009 3rd IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies.

It’s a jungle out there when it comes to Stock Photography. There are thousands of images and hundreds of online libraries to choose from. This presentation helps graphic designers take the guess work out of legally using Stock Photography.

Special Thanks to:

Eleanor Sandry
Jane Hextall
Karen Lee
Ashley Jeffery
Julia Ryl
Stan Ryl
Andreana James

List of Sources and References:

Special Thanks to:
Tutor: Elenor
Proof Reader: Jane Hextel
Testers: Jane Hextel, Karen Lee, Julia Ryl, Stan Ryl, Kevin Comyns
Fellow Students studying WEB207 at Curtin University, Study Period 2, 2012.

Referencing in appearance order.

Background image: Retrieved 02/08/2012 from http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/delicate-origami-site-vector_583515.htm License – Learning and Referencing

Paul Frosh 2001 quotes: Inside the image factory: stock photography and cultural production. Media, Culture & Society, 23, 625-646.

Paul Frosh images: Retrieved 08/08/2012 from (from left to right) http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-97412918/stock-photo-beautiful-young-woman-sitting-in-a-trendy-shoes.html?src=csl_recent_image-2, http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-94853674/stock-photo-portrait-of-a-woman-with-her-beautiful-dog-lying-outdoors.html?src=csl_recent_image-5, http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-80317417/stock-photo-senior-rich-woman-having-a-cup-of-tea.html?src=csl_recent_image-4, http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-79636201/stock-photo-beautiful-woman-in-retro-room-vintage-pattern.html?src=csl_recent_image-3, http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-74999155/stock-photo-young-happy-couple-sleeping-in-bed-love.html?src=csl_recent_image-7, http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-70034557/stock-photo-young-woman-with-many-shoes.html?src=csl_recent_image-1, http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-55757380/stock-photo-colleagues-applauding-during-a-business-meeting-in-the-office.html?src=csl_recent_image-8, http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-9316699/stock-photo-happy-family-smiling-in-a-portrait-of-a-mum-and-dad-with-their-two-kids.html?src=csl_recent_image-6 under the Shutterstock Standard JPEG License.

Camera Lens image: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.freepik.com/free-psd/camera-icon-ios-lens-psd_598181.htm License – Free for commercial use

Michael Borthwick (n.d) quote: What is Digisation (Analogue vs Digitak). Curriculum Corporation – Video Research Project. Retrieved 01/07/2012 from http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/videoresearch/digitise.htm

Finger image: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/put-up-the-finger-vector-material_590193.htm Licence learning and reference only

Dirty Secret image: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-109449800/stock-photo-two-young-women-gossiping-on-kitchen.html?src=csl_recent_image-4 under the Shutterstock Standard JPEG License.

Yellow Origami Banner image: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/origami-pattern-vector-material_579702.htm License – Free for commercial use.

David Tanklefsky 2009: Stock firms profit from cost efficiencies. Broadcasting & Cable, 139(32), 17-17. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/225343757?accountid=10382 Retrieved 28/07/12

istockphoto logo: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2010/09/21/114223/iStocklogojpeg.jpg

Shutterstock logo: retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://blog.microstockgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/shutterstock-logo.jpg

Freepik logo: retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.freepik.com/

Axel Burns 2010: Distributed Creativity: Filesharing and Produsage. S. Sonvilla-Weiss (Ed.), Mashup Cultures Pages 24-37. Retrieved 23/07/2012 from http://snurb.info/files/2010/Distributed%20Creativity%20-%20Filesharing%20and%20Produsage.pdf

Burns image: retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-102248287/stock-photo-close-up-of-hand-streaming-images-as-internet-concept.html?src=csl_recent_image-22 under Shutterstock Standard JPEG License.

Copyright image: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-108008486/stock-photo-copyright-sign-conceptual-illustration-made-like-collage-of-travel-photos-all-photos-are-my-own.html?src=csl_recent_image-22 under Shutterstock Standard JPEG License.

www.stockphotorights.com: What You Need to Know. Retrieved 23/07/2012 from http://www.stockphotorights.com/faq/#copy

Australian Copyright Council 2012: Graphic Designers & Copyright. Retrieved 23/07/2012 from http://www.copyright.org.au/admin/cms-acc1/_images/18490632204f388659ae0e6.pdf

Photoshop Mock image: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-90801749/stock-photo-concept-photo-of-photo-editing-software-workspace.html?src=csl_recent_image-21 under Shutterstock Standard JPEG Licence.

Types of Stock Photography Licenses: Retrieved 23/07/2012 from http://www.stockphotorights.com/faq/

Terms of service examples: Retrieved 07/08/2012 from (from left to right) istockphoto www.istockphoto.com/help/licenses, Shutterstock www.shutterstock.com/licensing.mhtml, Freepik www.freepik.com/terms_of_use