Overview
Part 1 (choose one):
1. Create your own click-bait viral media artifact, such as a Buzzfeed article or Upworthy video, as in the style of The New Yorker article we read: “The Six Things that Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, You”
2. Analyze a trending topic from at least two perspectives, one from within your filter that reinforces your viewpoint, and one from an opposing viewpoint. See, for example, Red Feed, Blue Feed.
3. Same as (2), but instead of analyzing a trending topic from two perspectives, analyze it across at least two different social media platforms. Refer to Tufecki’s article on #ferguson and #blacklivesmatter.
4. Analyze an instance of bullying on social media (your own or one you observe). Create a statement about how we can transform the culture of bullying online. Essays, videos, and even apps are possible formats.
Part 2 (300 words):
Related Readings
- Maria Konnikova, “The Six Things that Make Stories Go Viral” (2014)
- Marta Figlerowicz, “The Gatekeepers Aren’t Gone” (2016)
- Kevin Allocca, “Why Videos Go Viral” (2011)
- “8 Simple Design Hacks to Improve the Shareability of Your Content” (2015)
- “Student Choice and Viral Videos” (2016)
- “Your Facebook News Feed Really Is an Echo Chamber” (2016)
- Wall Street Journal‘s Blue Feed, Red Feed
- Eli Pariser, “Beware Online ‘Filter Bubbles,’” (2011)
- Jill Rettberg, Filtered Reality, from Seeing Ourselves Through Technology (2014)
- Zynep Tufekci, “What Happens to #Ferguson Affects Ferguson: Net Neutrality, Algorithmic Filtering and Ferguson” (2014)
- Zynep Tufekci, “The Real Bias Built in at Facebook” (2016)
- Bergis Jules, “Some Thoughts on Ethics and DocNow” (2016)
- Beyond the Hashtags
- #BlackLivesMatter at the CDSC
- “Twitter Is Running Out of Time to Get Real About Fighting Abuse” (2016)
- The Internet Ruined My Life