Flat Earth Dino Comeback

Flat Earth Dino Comeback

In my previous blog post, I applied my understanding of emergent future networks by delving into ideas surrounding the formation of online tribes and new religions through an examination of the online ‘Flat Earth Society’. Together, my short story and project pitch collaborated to offer unique insights that reveal how the internet is actively fostering the development of new religions and spiritual movements. This exploration also encompassed the initial phase of our team’s project ideation.

Following this post, a lot has happened. Our project encountered challenges, we refined our initial idea, started creating and sharing digital content, and developed our tangible media item.

In this post, I will reflect on these developments, focussing on my individual contributions, key learning moments, and how understanding concepts around online tribes and new religions shaped our project.

For more context, please see below our operational project pitch slides:

Key Learning Moments

1. Refining the idea for our Digital Artefact by Narrowing Down the Niche

Refining our Digital Artefact idea was a pivotal step in our project’s evolution. Initially, we started with a broad concept related to the Flat Earth conspiracy theory.

As explained in my previous post, the Flat Earth conspiracy theory has gained traction through various online communities and social media platforms.

In our project ideation, existing content related to the Flat Earth conspiracy theory, specifically that on TikTok, YouTube and Reddit threads, provided valuable insights into the beliefs and dynamics of this online tribe. These resources allowed me to understand the audience better and helped our group tailor our content to resonate with them. Additionally, analysing the satirical and humorous content on TikTok inspired our approach to commentate satirically on the online Flat Earth community.

Gaining a deeper understanding of concepts around online tribes and religions allowed me to engage in several group discussions where we revealed the need to find a more specific and engaging niche within this broad topic.

This breakthrough came after a chat with Travis where he explained the sub-conspiracy theory of dinosaurs returning in the context of the Flat Earth belief system. 

For context, this is the theory:

This niche intrigued me, as it not only added an element of humour but also allowed us to explore the complexities of online tribes and new religions in a more unique and captivating way.

Following this decision, I designed a logo for my group to use across our DA:

I then engaged in a group brainstorm to contribute my ideas and help develop this new idea. For example, I suggested the idea of conducting interviews around campus to directly engage with our audience, which, in this case, was the general student population. By capturing their opinions and reactions to our subject matter, we ensured that our content was relevant and relatable to our audience.

Inspired by this style of TikTok:

This then informed our next action….

2. Learning about our Audience and Utility through Content Creation

Following this suggestion and the establishment of a TikTok account, we then began the next step – content creation. As part of this, I volunteered to go around campus with a microphone and conduct interviews with students.

This was valuable to the project as it offered the opportunity to extract real quotes, insights, and reactions from our audience and incorporate them into our content.

Furthermore, it highlighted the social utility of our project as a commentary on online tribes and new religions. The interviews captured genuine reactions from students, showcasing how intriguing and sometimes bizarre online beliefs can be. It taught me that our project serves as a thought-provoking commentary, sparking discussions about these digital religions and their role within the digital landscape. This engagement with our audience not only informs our content but also strengthens our project’s role in promoting critical thinking and reflection about emergent future networks.

3. The Development and Evolution our Tangible Media Object 

Throughout our project’s development, we faced many challenges regarding our tangible media component. Initially planning to use QR code stickers, we encountered issues with material availability. Following this, we shifted our focus to the sub-conspiracy theory of dinosaurs returning within the Flat Earth community, leading to the idea of placing 3D printed dinosaurs around campus.

During this phase, I focused on designing posters using Photoshop for our initial plan to print them onto fabric and distribute them around campus. 

However, after receiving feedback from Travis, I realised that we were incorporating emergent media without a clear purpose – there wasn’t any real reasoning behind why we were printing onto fabric. I then engaged in a team discussion to reevaluate our approach, ultimately deciding as a group to integrate NFC stickers into our 3D dinosaur prints as a way to drive traffic to our page. I emphasised during this discussion that our approach of using tangible media to trigger an online experience establishes a distinct identity, reflecting the culture of online tribes and new religions within the broader context of emergent future networks.

My biggest individual take-away from this process is the importance of adaptability and purpose-driven decision-making in project development. Moving forward, my aim is to focus on strategies that promote our project’s social utility as media that provokes thought and discussion about the role of online tribes and new religions in shaping our digital landscape, while offering a humorous take on their unconventional beliefs and practices. Understanding the significance of aligning our media with a clear purpose, I plan to delve deeper into exploring the potential of using tangible media to trigger online experiences. 

References

• Tara Isabella Burton 2022, Strange Rites, Hachette UK.
• @basicgirlsguide 2023, BGG on TikTok, TikTok, viewed 15 September 2023, <https://www.tiktok.com/@basicgirlsguide/video/7208421766744558855?q=asking%20students%20uni&t=1694740499646>.
• @incredible.creatures 2023, TikTok – Make Your Day, www.tiktok.com.
• @oldpoliticaldude 2023, OldPoliticalDude on TikTok, TikTok, viewed 15 September 2023, <https://www.tiktok.com/@oldpoliticaldude/video/7275715805793307936?q=conspiracy%20theory%20parody&t=1694740117615>.