scholarly journals Platformization of the Unlikely Creative Class: Kuaishou and Chinese Digital Cultural Production

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 205630511988343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Lin ◽  
Jeroen de Kloet
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Production ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
Creative Class ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Contemporary China ◽  
Video Sharing ◽  
Creative Workers

This article studies the platformization of cultural production in China through the specific lens of Kuaishou, an algorithm-based video-sharing platform targeting second- and third-tier cities as well as the countryside. It enables the forming of an “unlikely” creative class in contemporary China. Kuaishou’s platform business fits into the Party State’s socio-economic agenda of “Internet+” and “Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” and is also folded into the state’s demand for cultural censorship and social stability. As we will show, this state-commerce relationship largely shapes Kuaishou’s interface and its affordances as encoded in its algorithm. Nevertheless, Kuaishou enables the diverse, often marginalized, Chinese living outside the urban centers of the country to become “unlikely” creative workers, who have become self-employed creative, digital entrepreneurs. For these “grassroots individuals,” creativity, life, and individuality are constantly mobilized and calculated according to the workings of the platform. This grassroots entrepreneurship, in tandem with the institutional regulation and censorship of the Internet, contributes to the transformation of Chinese economy and the production of social stability and a digital culture permeated with contingency and negotiation.

scholarly journals BANKING ON CULTURAL INTERMEDIARIES ACROSS WEBTOON, WEBNOVEL AND VIDEO-SHARING PLATFORMS IN ASIA’S DIGITAL CREATIVE ECONOMY

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Yecies ◽  
Xiang (Tony) Ren ◽  
Aegyung Shim ◽  
Dingkun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Creative Economy ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Video Sharing ◽  
Digital Capitalism ◽  
Internet Platform ◽  
Cultural Intermediaries

This panel investigates how complex layers of trust and (dis)trust are surrounding and impacting on the fans, also known as ‘cultural intermediaries’, involved in the production, circulation, translation and remake of Korean and Chinese webtoon and webnovel platforms in Asia and among Asian users. Collectively, the panellists argue for a reconceptualisation of the concept of ‘Internet platform’. In so doing, we interrogate the concepts of ‘platformization’, ‘platform capitalism’ and ‘digital capitalism’ by asking: how, and with what effect, Korean and Chinese digital platforms – as well as their aggregated domestic and international users, are operating in the Asia Pacific, compared to more global ‘liberal’ platforms? Noting the activities of ‘digital champions’, such as the giant Korean search portal Naver, as well as China’s Kuaikan and Bilibili enterprises, which are now rapidly emerging in the shadows of their larger competitors: iQiyi (Baidu), Taobao (Alibaba), QQ (Tencent), collectively known as BAT. In sum, we show which Korean and Chinese webtoon and webnovel platforms are taking root in various regional territories and among regional audiences. Our intent is to illustrate how digital platforms (i.e. the globality of the internet) are refashioning the image of Korea and China, which is often viewed outside of their national borders as driven by an ideologically-free ‘broadband nirvana’ (Goldsmith et al. 2011), and tainted by authoritarian state, respectively. Accordingly, all four papers will consider how platform capitalism offers new ways to understand the outreach of both Korean and Chinese digital culture – from both economic and technological viewpoints.

Das Internet der Tiere: Natur 4.0 und die conditio humana

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
Alexander Pschera
Keyword(s):  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Industrie 4.0 ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Conditio Humana ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Human Condition

"Neben der Industrie hat die Digitalisierung auch die Natur ergriffen. Die Tatsache, dass Tausende von Tieren mit GPS-Sendern aus- gerüstet und überwacht werden, erlaubt, analog zur Industrie 4.0 auch von einer Natur 4.0 zu sprechen. Dieses Internet der Tiere verändert den Begriff, den der Mensch von der Natur hat. Er transformiert die Wahrnehmung vor allem der Natur als etwas fundamental An- deren. Neben den vielen kulturellen Problematisierungen, die das Internet der Tiere mit sich bringt, lassen sich aber auch die Umrisse einer neuen, ganz und gar nicht esoterischen planetarisch-post-digitalen Kultur aufzeigen, die die conditio humana verändert. In addition to industry, digitalization has also taken hold of nature. The fact that thousands of animals are provided and monitored with GPS transmitters allows to speak of nature 4.0 by way of analogy to industry 4.0. This internet of animals changes our idea of nature. Most of all, it transforms the perception of nature as something fundamentally other. Beside the many cultural problems that the internet of animals implies, it can also outline a new, not at all esoteric planetary post-digital culture that is about to change the human condition. "

scholarly journals ‘Culture is a Meritocracy’: Why Creative Workers’ Attitudes may Reinforce Social Inequality

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Taylor ◽  
Dave O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Creative Class ◽  
Web Survey ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Creative Workers ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Cultural Sector ◽  
British Research ◽  
Unique Dataset

The attitudes and values of cultural and creative workers are an important element of explaining current academic interest in inequality and culture. To date, quantitative approaches to this element of cultural and creative inequality have been overlooked, particularly in British research. This article investigates the attitudes of those working in creative jobs with a unique dataset: a web survey of creative workers’ attitudes (n = 2487). Using principal components analysis and regression, we have three main findings. First, in contrast to Richard Florida’s thesis on the attitudes and values of ‘the creative class’, our respondents’ attitudes were no more meritocratic than those of the general population. Second, those with the strongest belief in meritocracy in the sector are those in the most privileged positions, specifically those are best rewarded by the sector. Third, our research provides support for existing qualitative research on attitudes in the cultural sector, in which the worst rewarded workers are most aware of structural inequality. We conclude that the attitudes held by creative workers, and who holds which attitudes, make it unlikely that access to the sector and trajectories of individual progression within the sector will change. These findings also have important implications for current public interest in whether access to creative work is limited to those from privileged backgrounds.

scholarly journals Online reading comprehension: challenges and opportunities

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Coiro
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Reading ◽  
Online Reading Comprehension ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
On Line

ABSTRACT: This paper details a number of challenges and opportunities for today’s learners when reading for information on the Internet. After defining online reading comprehension from a new literacies perspective and how it appears to be different than offline reading comprehension, I highlight details about four of the biggest challenges for today’s learners. These include 1) understanding and becoming proficient with the new literacy skills and practices needed for online research; 2) developing a special kind of digital wisdom that focuses on learning how to learn with the Internet; 3) taking on new roles in a digital culture that expects learners to actively participate and contribute with new knowledge as a member of their community; and 4) developing positive attitudes toward using the Internet for academic work. The second part of the paper shares examples of how skilled online readers can use the steps of online inquiry to think more deeply about topics that interest them; develop a personal voice as they share ideas with others; and work collaboratively to build meaning and new digital products that enable them to make a difference in their world, or matter. You can explore the research and resources from this presentation in more depth at <http://coiroevidosol.wikispaces.com/>.KEYWORDS: online reading comprehension; online inquiry; digital literacy; reading on the Internet; online readers. RESUMO:Este artigo detalha alguns desafios e oportunidades para o aprendiz contemporâneo, quando ele lê para obter informações na Internet. Depois de definir a compreensão da leitura online pela perspectiva dos novos letramentos e de mostrar como ela parece se diferir da leitura do impresso, eu destaco detalhes a respeito de quatro dos maiores desafios para os aprendizes na atualidade. Eles incluem: 1) compreender e se tornar proficiente nas habilidades dos novos letramentos e nas práticas necessárias para a pesquisa na Internet; 2) desenvolver um tipo especial de conhecimento digital que focaliza o aprender a aprender com a Internet; 3) a assumir novos papéis na cultura digital que espera que alunos, como membros de uma comunidade, participem ativamente e contribuam com ela trazendo novos conhecimentos; e 4) o desenvolvimento de atitudes positivas em relação ao uso da Internet para o trabalho acadêmico. Na segunda parte do artigo compartilho exemplos de como leitores de Internet habilidosos podem usar as etapas da pesquisa online para pensar mais profundamente sobre temas que interessam a eles; como podem desenvolver sua própria voz quando eles trocam idéias com outras pessoas; e de como eles podem trabalhar de forma colaborativa para construir sentidos e produtos digitais que lhes permitam fazer a diferença em seu mundo, ou naquele assunto. Você pode explorar a pesquisa e os recursos usados nesta apresentação de forma mais aprofundada no <http://coiroevidosol.wikispaces.com/>.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: compreensão da leitura on-line; pesquisa on-line; letramento digital; leitura na Internet; leitores online.

scholarly journals Generating Music Transition by Using a Transformer-Based Model

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (18) ◽  
pp. 2276
Author(s):  
Jia-Lien Hsu ◽  
Shuh-Jiun Chang
Keyword(s):  
Positive Response ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Background Music ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Video ◽  
Professional Expertise ◽  
Music Production ◽  
Video Sharing ◽  
Production Software

With the prevalence of online video-sharing platforms increasing in recent years, many people have started to create their own videos and upload them onto the Internet. In filmmaking, background music is also one of the major elements besides the footage. With matching background music, a video can not only convey information, but also immerse the viewers in the setting of a story. There is often not only one piece of background music, but several, which is why audio editing and music production software are required. However, music editing is a professional expertise, and it can be hard for amateur creators to compose ideal pieces for the video. At the same time, there are some online audio libraries and music archives for sharing audio/music samples. For beginners, one possible way to compose background music for a video is “arranging and integrating samples”, rather than making music from scratch. As a result, this leads to a problem. There might be some gaps between samples, in which we have to generate transitions to fill the gaps. In our research, we build a transformer-based model for generating a music transition to bridge two prepared music clips. We design and perform experiments to demonstrate that our results are promising. The results are also analysed by using a questionnaire to reveal a positive response from listeners, supporting that our generated transitions conform to background music.

scholarly journals Strategies for preserving memes as artefacts of digital culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 895-904
Author(s):  
Fátima García López ◽  
Sara Martínez Cardama
Keyword(s):  
Mass Culture ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
The Internet ◽  
British Library ◽  
National Library ◽  
The Future ◽  
Specific Assessment ◽  
New Type ◽  
Expression Characteristic ◽  
Web Archive

The Internet archives kept by heritage libraries are analysed, focusing specifically on that new type of expression characteristic of web culture and digital folklore, the meme. Five paradigmatic examples of heritage institutions engaging in web archive initiatives are explored: the Library of Congress, British Library, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Biblioteca Nacional de España and National Library of Australia. Specific assessment categories are defined for the study. The findings reveal a lack of collection policies for such representative objects of today’s mass culture and identify the challenges both for the custodial institutions and for research in the future.

Memes and the Future of Pop Culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Danesi
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Colonial America ◽  
Pop Culture ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Distinct Form ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Business World ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Historical Flow

Abstract Pop culture, as a distinct form of culture with its own historical, artistic and textual categories, crystallized in the first decades of the twentieth century as a reaction to the restrictive social traditions of colonial America. It spread quickly and broadly throughout the bustling urban centers of the 1920s—an era when it formed a partnership with technology and the business world. This coalition gave pop culture its identity, allowing it to thrive and form alliances with artistic and literary movements. But pop culture may have run its course with the rise of meme culture—a culture that has evolved on the Internet. This essay revisits the social, psychic, and aesthetic roots of pop culture, suggesting that meme culture has fragmented its historical flow, thus threatening to bring about its demise.

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