Understanding and Incorporating the Contradictions around the Book

This article sets out to critically examine how the idea of what a book can be is changing in relation to the growth of digitally social communities and the writers and readers who congregate in these spaces, and to identify how this connectivity is altering the balance of power between the traditional industry and those who choose to write and share their work in a global village. By offering a succinct consideration of the role of social media, citizen authors, communities, gender, and genre, it can potentially help publishers determine if they need to alter the way they provide access to the industry, conventionally through the hierarchical author–agent–publisher gatekeeping system, in order to take advantage of new authors who are writing in digital communities and building a following there.

A Study on the Contribution of a Digital Community towards the Parental Ecosystem Transformation

A research study was conducted to identify digital communities' role and sphere of influence in a parenting ecosystem. This report provides an overview of the target segment needs assessment and digitalization of their physical communities and support systems. Primary research was done via telephonic calls and zoom interviews of pregnant and new mothers and couples. Forty participants took part in the study to share their experiences and pain points. In addition to this, a WhatsApp group of 350 participants was created to observe the engagement on a digital medium. The study helped us validate the need for a social support system beyond the existing physical network of the participants to reach out to others with similar or better parenting approaches. 70% of the participants have expressed their willingness to join digital parental communities. The findings have been helpful to understand the role of a digital society, which can enhance the offerings of parenting facilitators and support parents in implementing better parenting practices. Of the last 10-12 years, there has been a steady increase in regional parenting networks. As a result, we picked the impact and influence of digital parental networks on these women's lifestyles and how they have aided in the growth of a conscious and good parenting style as our research topic. The conclusion outlines the impact of these communities and the significant concerns that have arisen due to their increased use.

“ORANG KAMPUNG”, PEMASARAN DIGITAL, DAN KEBIJAKAN PUBLIK: SEBUAH TINJAUAN DAN AGENDA PENELITIAN. STUDI KASUS : PEMASARAN TRADISIONAL SONGKO RECCA

ABSTRAKMengatasi tantangan yang ditimbulkan oleh penduduk pedesaan adalah topik yang sangat menarik bagi pemasar, pembuat kebijakan, dan peneliti. Namun, hanya ada sedikit penelitian tentang bagaimana penduduk pedesaan menerima atau menolak teknologi digital baru. Dengan perubahan kekuatan ekonomi dan tingkat adopsi ketika komunitas digital tumbuh antara daerah perkotaan dan pedesaan, menjadi semakin penting bagi pemasar untuk memahami bagaimana mereka menggunakan teknologi dan bagaimana mereka menggunakan saluran digital. Agar pemasar dan pembuat kebijakan memahami sepenuhnya bentuk masa depan masyarakat digital berbasis data, penelitian perlu lebih mempertimbangkan dampaknya terhadap kelompok generasi yang berbeda dalam hal adopsi dan penggunaan teknologi digital oleh konsumen di daerah pedesaan.Melalui tinjauan multidisiplin literatur tentang orang-orang tradisional menggunakan lensa teoritis kelompok geografis, penulis mengidentifikasi tantangan penelitian utama, peluang, dan dampak bagi pemasar dan pembuat kebijakan. Kata Kunci : pemasaran digital; kebijakan publik; kesenjangan demografis; generasi; kesenjangan digital ABSTRACTAddressing the challenges posed by rural populations is a topic of great interest to marketers, policymakers, and researchers. However, there is little research on how rural residents accept or reject new digital technologies. With changing economic power and adoption rates as digital communities grow between urban and rural areas, it is becoming increasingly important for marketers to understand how they use technology and digital channels. For marketers and policymakers to fully understand the future shape of a data-driven digital society, research needs to consider its impact on different generational groups in terms of consumer adoption and use of digital technology in rural areas. Through a multidisciplinary review of the literature on traditional people using a theoretical lens geographical group, the authors identify key research challenges, opportunities, and impacts for marketers and policymakers. Keywords : digital marketing; public policy; demographic gap; generation; digital gap

Redefining the Use of Digital Communities: AD Knowledge in an Online Educated Cohort of Midlife and Older Blacks

The normalization of memory loss continues to contribute to diagnostic delays among older adult African Americans with dementia. We utilized an innovative recruitment method to establish a solely online study to examine perceptions and knowledge levels of Alzheimer’s Disease in a highly educated geographically diverse cohort of 223 African Americans aged 50-84. Participants were recruited through largely electronic communications. Sample participants were primarily female (n=196), with 51.1% having completed a master’s degree, and 58.2% of participants with household incomes of $90,000 or higher. Study findings revealed that although highly educated, 42% of sample participants believed significant memory loss was a normal part of aging and 59.6% felt that God’s Will was a possible cause of AD. A sizable majority of participants, 86.5%, felt most family physicians were not trained to diagnose AD. Findings underscore the need for physician and community education within diverse populations, regardless of education and SES status.

Evolving trends of distance learning for basic education in Namibia: A parental perspective during Covid-19 lockdown

Ingenious technology-driven education has become prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic in schools. This article solicits pre-primary to Grade 12 learners' parents’/ guardians’ views and experiences of distance learning in Namibia during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study employs a mixed-methods research design to gather and analyse data. The analysis of the qualitative data revealed the following main themes: 1) Barriers to distance learning, and 2) Suggestions to overcome these challenges. The sub-themes were: 1) Communication, 2) Teaching and learning 3) Economic challenges, and 4) Materials and equipment. The results of a quantitative analysis revealed that 73,7% of the participating parents’ children had not received any form of education, and 23,7% affirmed that their children had received some education. 53% of the parents whose children had received an education were very dissatisfied. Therefore, the participating parents’ expectations of e-learning were not positively associated with the provision thereof. Lack of digital literacy prevented teachers from actively engaging with learners in digital communities.

WHAT DEAD-AND-DYING PLATFORMS DO FOR INTERNET STUDIES: SITUATING TECHNOLOGICAL FAILURE, DIGITAL AFTERLIFE, AND THE WEB THAT WAS

This panel explores internet histories through the lens of “platform death” as a way of understanding how digital communities grapple with technological failure, power dynamics, and the divergent notions of the digital afterlife. Collectively, the contributions address the cultural, geopolitical, economic, and socio-legal repercussions of what happens when various platforms fail, decline, or expire. We bring together five presentations that draw on different methods—including document analysis, semi-structured interviews, participant observation—to explore the frailty of platforms, their underlying infrastructures, and their trace data. Together, by examining and theoretically situating the histories of five different platforms (TroopTube, Fanfou, MySpace, YikYak, and Couchsurfing), we consider and complicate how the concept of “platform death” as a metaphor can help reveal the Web’s rhythmic temporality, digital media’s constant reinvention of forms, and the collision of hegemonic and fragile infrastructures in divergent cultural contexts. We ask: What are the theoretical implications of situating platforms as killable, ephemeral, precarious, or transient technologies? What—and who—kills platforms, and in what ways can they have uncertain digital afterlives and even resurrections? What can conceptualizations of dead and dying technologies tell us about the Internet’s growth and stagnation, its present and futures? What is (un)knowable about platforms that once were, and how can this knowledge inform our predictions of future technological failure? We aim to build community, collective imaginings, and future collaborations around a research agenda that centers mnemonic experimentation, comparative platform studies, and archival contestations.

The mechanisms of sociopolitical mobilization of youth on the example of Russian, Belarusian and Chinese Telegram channels

The subject of this research is the online and offline mechanisms of sociopolitical mobilization of youth, namely digital grouping and formation of digital communities, as well as the opposition-mobilization model of information distribution developed by E. V. Brodovskaya and A. Y. Dombrovskaya. This model was tested on the open statistical databases provided by “Telegram Analytics” and “Google Trends”, which revealed the key patterns and differences in the protest events that unfolded in Moscow (July 14 – September 29, 2019), Minsk (August 9 – November 19, 2020), and Hong Kong (June 12, 2019 – July 1, 2020). The novelty of this research lies in the following: 1) application of the model of information distribution developed by E. V. Brodovskaya and A. Y. Dombrovskaya to the data array obtained by the author from the statistical database of “Telegram Analytics” and “Google Trends” regarding the protest events in Moscow, Minsk, and Hong Kong; compilation of weekly charts of the activity of protest Telegram channels and building histograms based on them, with visualization of their peak mentioning in other Telegram channels during the indicated periods. The author formulates recommendations on how to avoid the escalation of conflict during protest actions, taking into account mobilization mechanisms on the basis of Telegram channels.

Digital Communities

This chapter explores Dubsmash and TikTok, two related but divergent social media apps. While providing a critical overview of the apps that facilitates the analysis that follows, this chapter examines their racial divide, arguing that Dubsmash is a Black space and that TikTok is a White space. An understanding of the racial politics of the social media dance world is essential to painting a full picture of how Zoomers of color navigate digital spaces to create content that then becomes the mainstream and to push against systems of White Supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, and the like.

This Bridge Called Dubsmash

This chapter analyzes the varied ways that Renegades build digital communities using Dubsmash and Instagram. It argues that online communities hold the potential to democratize access and reject coastal biases typically seen in popular US culture. The traditional entertainment centers of Los Angeles and New York City, while still important, are relegated to second-tier status behind cities such as Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta, in addition to less populated areas across the American South. By taking up digital space on an inclusive platform, Renegades re-center traditional scripts of community building, effectively demonstrating the necessity for culturally responsive communities. These Dubsmashers search for what is familiar and lay the groundwork for equity and inclusion from there, promoting a shared sense of values that enables a plurality of voices to rise to the top. The chapter uses the official Dubsmash Instagram account as a case study, unpacking the nuanced ways that Dubsmash promotes the work of its most well-known influencers alongside a growing set of Renegades who show brand loyalty by regularly engaging with the app and who promote this subset of hip hop culture through their micro-performances on Dubsmash. Specifically, this chapter explores the different ways that Dubsmash has used dance challenge and games to bring people together and further a sense of connection during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.