BCM206 Individual Contextual Report
As we finish up the Semester, our group project in BCM206 has ended in an unexpected way. Initially centred around the exploration of online tribes and new religions, our project underwent significant transformations, eventually leading us to reframe our focus to the question: “How do we [use emergent future networks to] drive student engagement at UOW?”
In this report, I will look at my individual contributions and key learning moments throughout our project’s development, referencing the use of the topic of emergent future networks as it shaped our project.
For context, you can refer to my team’s contextual report, available here, or my two previous blog posts, available here and here.
Iterative Important Learning Moments
Understanding Online Tribes and New Religions
Our project’s initial phase focused on exploring online tribes and new religions, with the ‘Flat Earth Society’ as our point of interest. To establish our project, we found insights in the article ‘The Memetic Tribes Of Culture War 2.0’, which explores various modern culture war groups. While the article discussed tribes in the context of broader culture wars, I recognised parallels between these groups and the online conspiracy theory communities we were examining. I took these insights back to the group to help us frame our project and understand the interactions between technology and human beliefs, which guided our project’s direction. I also contributed by designing tangible media in the form of adhesive QR codes, which we intended to distribute physically across our campus to engage the online conspiracy theory community.
- Reflection: This phase introduced me to the dynamics of online tribes and how they form around unconventional beliefs. It became apparent that such communities offered unique insights into the impact of emerging technologies on our digital landscape. The concept of tangible QR codes inspired me to envision a more interactive approach to our project.
- Informing the Next Action: The understanding gained from exploring the ‘Flat Earth’ community’s beliefs and the potential of tangible media laid the foundation for our DA’s trajectory. This phase of our project transitioned from a simple examination of a community to a more immersive and engaging concept.
Refining Our Digital Artefact Idea
As our project evolved, we recognised the need to narrow our focus within the broader topic of online tribes and religions. This realisation emerged during a discussion with my team, which included the suggestion of exploring a sub-conspiracy theory within the Flat Earth belief system – the return of dinosaurs.
- Reflection: This shift provided a unique angle for our project, incorporating humour and complexity. It allowed us to delve deeper into the intricacies of online tribes and new religions while keeping the audience engaged.
- Informing the Next Action: This breakthrough guided our project in a more engaging direction, inspiring my contribution in designing a logo for our group. This logo visually represented our refined project concept, focusing on the ‘Flat Earth Dino Comeback.’
Creating Engaging Content
The development of our project involved the creation of content, a critical element for engaging our audience. I volunteered to conduct interviews with students on campus to gather real quotes, insights, and reactions, which we could incorporate into our content.
- Reflection: These interviews served as a bridge between our project and our target audience. They revealed the bizarre nature of online beliefs, which proved thought-provoking and capable of sparking discussions.
- Informing the Next Action: This engagement with our audience not only informed our content but also strengthened our project’s role in promoting critical thinking and reflection about emergent future networks. The interviews emphasised the DA’s social utility as a commentary on online tribes and new religions.
Adaptability and Purpose-Driven Decisions
Throughout our project’s development, we encountered challenges, especially concerning our tangible media component. Initially, we planned to use QR code stickers. However, due to material availability issues, we shifted our focus to creating tangible media objects in the form of 3D printed dinosaurs.
- Reflection: This phase highlighted the importance of adaptability and purpose-driven decision-making in project development. It also underscored the significance of aligning tangible media with a clear purpose. We decided to integrate NFC stickers into our 3D printed dinosaurs, making the tangible media more engaging and relevant.
- Informing the Next Action: My engagement in a team discussion to reevaluate our approach led to the decision to use NFC stickers to drive traffic to our online content. This change added a distinct identity to our project and aligned it with the culture of online tribes and new religions within the broader context of emergent future networks.
Reframing the Digital Artefact
As we approached the final phase of our project, I engaged in several team discussions with our tutor, Travis, which led to a reassessment of our project concept.
After engaging in these discussions, we decided to reframe our project’s focus on the question, “How do we use emergent future networks to drive student engagement at UOW?”. In doing so, we shifted away from our initial topic of ‘online tribes and new religions’, to ‘Sociable objects and anticipatory spaces’.
Using the readings ‘Do Objects Dream of the Internet of Things?’ (Mitew 2014), and ‘Enchanted Objects: Innovation, Design, and the Future of Technology’ (Rose 2014), I did some research and presented it to the group as our key topic. Basically, “Sociable objects and anticipatory spaces” are about making everyday objects more friendly and emotionally appealing in the world of the Internet of Things (IoT). It also involves creating smart spaces that can interact with people and technology to make our lives easier and more connected.
- Reflection: This decision marked a pivotal moment in our project, as it demonstrated the adaptability and openness to refining our concept to align with the core principles of emergent future networks.
- Informing the Next Action: This reframing consolidated our project’s direction, underlining the importance of focusing on practical applications of emergent future networks to address real-world challenges. It was a culmination of our semester-long journey, acknowledging what worked and what didn’t, ultimately landing on this comprehensive question as the core of our DA.
All in all, throughout the development of our team’s Digital Artefact, my contributions included engagement in team discussions, tangible media design, content creation, and idea proposals.
Through this project, I have gained a deeper understanding of the complex interactions between emergent technology and humans, and the importance of adapting and reframing concepts as a crucial skill in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
References:
- Stoa, T 2020, The Memetic Tribes of Culture War 2.0, Medium, <https://medium.com/s/world-wide-wtf/memetic-tribes-and-culture-war-2-0-14705c43f6bb>.
- Rose, D 2014, Part I Four Futures in Enchanted Objects: Innovation, Design, and the Future of Technology.
- Mitew, T 2014, The Fibreculture Journal : 23 | FCJ-168 Do objects dream of an internet of things?, <https://twentythree.fibreculturejournal.org/fcj-168-do-objects-dream-of-an-internet-of-things/>.
AI assistance:
- ChatGPT, 2023