Week 2 - 'New Media' according to Mr & Mrs Jones

The phrase ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is as old as the day is long; and still as relevant. It seems every day a “new device enabling our ability to communicate” (Leong, 2010) is released. What’s more if someone chooses to abstain from these concepts, a part of their own identity is missing. It probably isn’t, but it can seem like it is.

I completely agree with Levy (2006) and believe virtually everyone uses some sort of personal media tool (iPod, Facebook, Twitter, blogs) to identify themselves. Today “people can forge and craft their own identity through cyberspace” (Turkle, 1997).

New media has created ways for people to essentially sell themselves, tell the world what they’re about (or at least how they perceive themselves). I recently added a playlist to my iPod full of trashy retro tunes. I used my Facebook page to display some of the work I had written and I used Twitter to tell someone “24 is the BEST SHOW EVER”.

So without these devices how do people know I like trashy music, I enjoy my job and my favourite television show is 24? How do others know more about me, how can they identify with me?

Well they could ask and I would tell them, but this is the age of new media. I could opt to forgo these things and get by fine, but Mr. & Mrs. Jones would have streaked way ahead. And most importantly, I wouldn’t know what they’re doing.

Thanks for reading,
Andrew

References
Levy, S. 2006. Identity. In The perfect thing: how the iPod shuffles commerce, culture and coolness. 21-41. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. https://cmd.library.qut.edu.au/cmd/KCB201/KCB201_BK_272671.pdf (accessed March 2, 2010).

Leong, S. 2010. KCB201: New Media 1: Information and Knowledge: Week 1 lecture notes. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_60765_1%26url%3D (accessed February 25, 2010).

Turkle, S. 1997. Introduction: Identity in the Age of Internet. In Life on the screen: identity in the age of the internet. 9-26. London: Phoenix. https://cmd.library.qut.edu.au/cmd/KCB201/KCB201_BK_272670.pdf (accessed February 25, 2010).