Task 1b: Thoughts on Reader 1 - Professional Communication Technologies

Web 2.0

I stand with everyone else who has already admitted it in their blogs; I too did not know this term before reading Reader 1. 

I often contemplate on how different our lives would be if we didn't have social media, blogs (and vlogs!) and wikis. As I was born in 1994 I haven't really experienced Web 1.0, but I did get to experience the transitional state between those two phases of the world wide web, the time where the websites which we now take for granted where only just making an appearance. Back in 2008 most people thought that Facebook was a phase, like other similar websites that had come and gone, but Facebook stood its ground and adapted and keeps on adapting to maintain its status as an integral part of our daily lives. 

If you spent a lot of time on Facebook in the past you were wasting your time and although you do still have this option, currently there is so much content on Facebook which spending your time viewing and engaging with is anything but a waste. I am referring to all the news, debates, sociopolitical discussions, work-related discussions, content sharing for school, university or work and all the different groups of people you can meet that you have things in common with to discuss, collaborate or exchange ideas. 

Currently I am having trouble remembering the last theatre production I was in that did not involve creating a Facebook group for the cast and director to communicate. Whether we like it or not we have chosen a career where work doesn't finish when we leave the rehearsal room. Having a tool such as Facebook makes communication outside the rehearsal space smooth, simple and full of potential. Another tool extremely useful has been WhatsApp, but as this is a phone app sharing photos, music and videos limits everyone else to viewing this content only on their phones. 

Another amazing thing about Web 2.0 is websites such as Dropbox, WeTransfer and Google Drive. Websites that allow users to share content that is too large to be shared via email. As an actor I constantly use Dropbox to send self-tape auditions to employers who request them, but I also use this tool to share photos and videos with other actors or even access my own files from different computers. 

Being an actor I cannot imagine getting a job without Web 2.0. I understand of course that there was a time not very long ago that this was possible, but currently even the auditions I get from my agent come from them submitting my online Spotlight CV to employers, responding to casting calls posted on Web 2.0. I barely have to use a hard copy CV or Headshot and it is highly important for me to keep a good and clean presence on the internet both on professional casting websites and social media. In fact it is not rare to get auditions and/or collaborations directly from Twitter or Facebook. 

Ethical considerations 

When Web 2.0 was still a baby - that transitional state I spoke about above, we did not think about any of this. People uploaded and shared anything they wanted without thinking about issues such as copyright and authenticity or sometimes not even confidentiality and privacy. I think it was mainly because people didn't realise that world wide web, literally meant anyone can access it from anywhere in the world. 

I remember when I was first tricked by my friend to create a profile on Hi5 (a then popular social website whose fate I'm not too sure about). My friend told me that only the people in my school could see my profile and I believed her until I received a message from some guy who was nude in his profile picture! Fortunately, privacy and parental controls have been raised since then... I think nowadays privacy and confidentiality should go without saying and nothing should be shared or said on the internet unless it is something you would shout in the middle of the street. 

Copyright is also an extremely important thing. I would get very angry if I saw my work being shared in any form without a mention of my name and so would most people. Web 2.0 is not really a place where you can hide and if you don't respect other people's work accordingly it will backfire either by them writing you off or it can even go as bad as you being sued by people whose work or face you have used without permission or an appropriate credit.

And a side note...

I am absolutely over the moon with how we are using blogs in this course, it has opened up a whole new world for me and I am considering starting another blog that will have content purely relating to my practice.