YOU EAT THOSE WORDS!!!

Image retrieved from: https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1440&bih=946&q=dora+the+explorer+map&oq=dora+the+explorer+map&gs_l=img.3...1848.6513.0.7392.21.16.0.0.0.0.626.1089.4-1j1.2.0..3..0...1.1j4.64.img..19.2.1086.een3LUSh27I#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=eating+paper

We need food to survive, like writers need to write to survive,
like alcoholics believe they need alcohol to survive.
In this blog post I will be covering the roles alcohol plays in writerscafe.org as well as what role food has in writerscafe.org.

Food seems to be where the power is, when you think about it, look at Mcdonalds, KFC, Coles Supermarket, Woolworths, they’re huge companies to do with food.
 McDonalds seems to be the most powerful out of the mentioned companies because, not only is it cheap and fast, but it doesn’t taste all too bad. 

McDonald’s practically have consumers eating out of their hands. 

I believe this quote somewhat best explains what I’m pointlessly raving about:
“Overweight and hungry people are linked through the chains of production”
“our choices are not our own” (BA1002, Lecture week 8, slide 8, Patel, 2007, p.1)

For a while, writerscafe.org did experience the horrors of not only foodie blogs but also a lot of writing coming from writers under the tasty wiles of alcohol. I found a great example of writing under the influence here as well as a foodie recipe, here!

References:

Kuttainen, V., Patel (2007, p1)  (2015) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place: Food Networks, Lecture 8, slide 8. Retrieved from: www.learnjcu.edu.au

Keewee93 (2015) Writerscafe.org. Retrieved from: http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/keewee93/1472645/ Rickymarozz (2015) Writercafe.org. Retrieved from: http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/rickymariozzz/1592824/

Image reference:

(21/09/15)
Retreived from: https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1440&bih=946&q=dora+the+explorer+map&oq=dora+the+explorer+map&gs_l=img.3...1848.6513.0.7392.21.16.0.0.0.0.626.1089.4-1j1.2.0..3..0...1.1j4.64.img..19.2.1086.een3LUSh27I#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=eating+paper

Food Glorious Food

Food Glorious Food

 

We can’t live without food, it’s a fact but do we need to take a picture of every meal and post it on a social network? I don’t think so and I’m not the only one check out this link and see what others have to say.

A social media craze that just won’t go away is taking photos of your food and sharing it with your friends on social media. I personally don’t see why people do it however I can tell you about how other people have come to understand it. For some taking photos of food has become a form of art and as such they are always looking to find the best and the most stunning shots of foods, as it was said in the lecture food is just not food (Learn JCU, 2015). Others however seem to be food photographers because the want to appear to be having the best of meal ever and are in way showing off. To an extent I believe that some people do it to show their social status, the better to food looks the higher up the social ladder you must be.

Facebook is a platform for food photographers as on Facebook you are able to create pages dedicated to one type of food or it could be a page dedicated to a more general type of food. Not only this but once on a social network your food can be seen around the world. The food photographer revolution is one that I feel be around for a lot longer than any other trend because it fits in so perfectly with the lives of so many people and now it has become a habit.

References

Learn JCU. (2015). Retrieved from Lecture 8 Food Networks: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2008961_1&course_id=_69740_1

Maps, Maps, Maps

Image credit: Google image search

For this week (more like what was meant to be a thousand weeks ago) I shall explore how Writerscafe.org works with maps!
in the wise words of Dora the Explorer: “Map, map, map map. Map, map, map map, Hooray!”

Wrtierscafe.org brings together “two people feet apart, two people, a world apart” (Seeing through Maps: many ways to see the world, Denis Wood, Ward l. Kaiser & Bob Abramms, pg. 1 and 2)
Writerscafe brings many people from around the world together, with the common interest of writing.
Maps can be presented in many different ways, it can be virtual, physical, even in your mind!

Mapping in itself is very broad, as shown in the lectures: “Maps are both mirrors and shapers of the world, they reflect how we see the world,
they inform and shape how we act and conceptualise the world” (Kuttainen, BA1002 Lecture week 4, slide 11, 2015)

To follow up on this there are creators and there are followers, quite like Writerscafe.org if you really want to go deep here.
At writerscafe.org, there are the creators/makers who of course write the stories and the poems and then there are the followers who are better known as the readers.
And a lot of the time, especially at writerscafe.org, there are creators who are also followers and followers who are also creators. For example,
when I first started at writerscafe.org 3 years ago, I was a reader – I then became both a creator and a follower, where as some are
“Detached observers strolling through the streets at a leisurely pace” (Prouty, 2009)

References:

Abramms. K&B, Wood. D (Page 1 and 2) “Seeing through Maps: Many ways to see the world”, retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892285_1

Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 4, Maps.

 Prouty. R (2009) “Turtle on a Leash” Retrieved from: http://www.onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle-on-a-leash.html

Image Reference:

(21/09/2015) retrieved from: https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1440&bih=946&q=dora+the+explorer+map&oq=dora+the+explorer+map&gs_l=img.3...1848.6513.0.7392.21.16.0.0.0.0.626.1089.4-1j1.2.0..3..0...1.1j4.64.img..19.2.1086.een3LUSh27I

Foodblogs make me cry.

Food is obviously a very important part of surviving, to the fact that we need it to live. What is so great about food is that each culture, and race has different kinds that you can say, essentially, will remind the eater of the origin of that food. For example, Mexican or any sort of Asian food in my opinion just make me want to go there just because the food is amazing,  Kuttainen (2015) understood and explained it well when she said "that food is indeed a repository of a culture." Tumblr being a blog that connects people and their interests together allows people to show and display food that they either like or what they dream of eating.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUvGyJPCQAE9gFN.png

Food blogs on Tumblr can make people cry, smile, hungry, drool, or just annoyed at the fact that they don't have access to the food in the picture in that moment or at all.  With weight becoming more of a problem due to people's excessive intake of food, and sitting behind a computer screen major of the day, it isn't a shock that one-sixth of our population is overweight (pastel, 2007). Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram are the go to sites to look at food, with the ability that we have now with businesses becoming more up to date with technology culture one does not even have to leave the house to get food like Pizza, Chinese, McDonald's, etc. Food can relate to the sense of POWER; with food lightly linked to income and status and even health, as you won't see a billionaire trying to scrape for dollars to try get a decent, healthy meal, as take away is a lot cheaper than healthy products. They will be eating something made by a chef at a expensive restaurant, which can lead to them posting a picture on their blog to flaunt their money/food.

With this it is easily shown that food can be linked with power to Tumblr, and any other social media site, as food or any other object can be used to effect one either positively or negatively.

Reference List;;

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Food Networks. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from Blackboard Learn JCU: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892329_1

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Retrieved from: www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

The Diaspora of Pinterest

Image from: Venture Burn.

Diaspora, originally defined as the dispersion of Jews beyond Israel, now moved to a wider definition of the scattering of people from there home land. Pinterest is a way of linking these people together even thought there are worlds apart. The idea of linking people around the world together almost instantly.

During the gold rush era in Australia, many thousands of people with a variety of different cultures moved here. “The diasporic community can exert pressure on the younger generation to maintain traditions and connection to homelands.” (Kuttainen, 2015). 

The “community organisation that defines their cohesion.” (Ma Mung, 2005) relate to pinterest in the way that communities or groups are made from the same types of topics.

Reference

• Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 7: People Networks.[Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/
• Ma Mung, E. (2005) Diaspora, spatiality, identities. In W. Bosswick, & C. Husband. (Eds), Comparative European research in migration, diversity and identities (pp. 33-48). Spain: Univeristy of Deusto.

Facebook a.k.a. Foodbook?

                                        [Image: Bulandos, R, 2014].

Food is essentially a concept of life. It is something that is essential for us, as human beings, to survive. The six main foodways are: self and community identity, space and place, reality and virtuality, communication, exchange, and power, (Atkins, P, Bowler, I, 2001). Two of these foodways, communication and power, will be exemplified in the setting of the social networking website, Facebook.

Communication is a key feature of Facebook. Due to the fact that food is such an essential part of our lives, it is natural for some of us to communicate this need for it on social media. Facebook is a brilliant resource that people use to share recipes, photos of food that they have made, desire to make, or have been served, and also to discuss experiences with food. In addition, Facebook provides food brands or companies to promote their business and communicate to their followers what promotions they have on or what is new in their food chain. Facebook provides it’s users with the opportunity to share narratives, and this includes narratives regarding food.

Power is an additional foodway which will be linked to food, in the setting of Facebook. According to Kuttainen, V, (2015), food can be a, “source of shame or pride”. This quotes demonstrates that food has the power to affect someone’s self-worth. Food also has the power to affect how Facebook users see each other. If someone posts a photo of themselves eating at a very expensive 5 star restaurant, then they may, as a result, be viewed as higher class. If someone ‘checks in’ at McDonalds, then they may be seen as lower or middle class. Food has a large amount of power on Facebook.    

In conclusion, it can clearly be seen how food is directly linked through communication and power to Facebook. Food has the potential to have a significant effect on the social networking website, Facebook. More can be read about the relationship between food and social media here.

Reference List

Atkins, P., Bowler, I. (2001). Food in Society. Retrieved from       https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/Conc-camcontent-bb_bb60/items/getitem.jsp?      as_course_code=12-BA1002-TSV-INT-       SP2&content_id=_768726_1&course_id=_26169_1&doc_id=30459 on 18/09/15.

Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place:       Lecture 8. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au on 18/09/15.

[Image] Bulandos, R. (2014). 25 Ad Designs That Will Make You Look Twice. Retrieved from           http://ymbproperties.com/blog/25-ad-designs-that-will-make-you-look-twice/ on 18/09/15.

The Cyborg Self and How We Continue to Fill Its Needs

Image From: Content Time.

The world as we know it would end if the internet was to be; disabled, destroyed or decommissioned. The people on Pinterest tend to show with the endless need to show what they like, what there doing or what there going to do, they continue to fill their need to create there cyborg self.

From this weeks incredibly long and dense readings i found that it relates really well to Pinterest, as it does to Facebook, in the sense that “what we understand as human is indeed a product of cultural and technological innovations in combination, making us cyborgs” (McNeill, 2012). Pinterest more shows what you like, what your into or what you might think of doing rather then what your doing/done. It’s post-human in a sense, but it also shows the sides of humanism in that it most of the images pinned of there only show what we as humans find important or popular. It is possible to follow people boards on Pinterest thats how topics tend to become popular or trendy.

“The cyborg self of social networks has tremendous potential for rethinking the human.” (McNeill, 2012) as “In a virtual space, you are not the only person constructing your identity.” (Luyn, 2015). These linked statements nail the world of social media and someday everyone well live with this in mind.

Reference

• McNeill, L.(2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. Biography 35(1), 65-82. University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from Project MUSE database.
• Luyn, A. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 6: Networked Narratives: Intertextuality .[Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/
• Carr, K. (2015). How to Tag Pinterest Members. Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-tag-pinterest-members.html

Image Reference

• Grossman, L. (2011, February 10). 2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048299,00.html

FoodChat

Food is a hugely important part of society (outside of the need to eat to keep alive). Alot can be told about a culture by the kinds of food it makes, ingredients used and ways of eating. Kuttainen (2015) said it best when saying that food is indeed a repository of a culture. With this digital age though, food is becoming less of a cultural indicator and more of a personal statement, with specialised restaurants becoming more and more frequent as global connectivity is letting people know that there is a whole other world of cuisine to try. Snapchat lends it self particularly well to restaurant culture.

The reason I believe this is because being solely for photo and video, with very little room for text, is perfect for a restaurant's needs business-wise. There's nothing more disappointing in the world than your order coming to the table and looking fantastic and having it taste like garbage. Before you tuck in though, you might remember to send a snap out of how wonderful your food's presentation is, to friends and colleagues who were perhaps wondering where to eat this weekend. The minimal use of text doesn't allow for a full review either. Not only this, but Snapchat lends itself very well to food because, as stated previously, it's intrinsic to culture, and nothing makes a person seem more cultured, interesting and open minded than seeing them eat a huge variety of national cuisines. It could also simply be the concept of "food porn" that appeals to people, food that they can envy others having and leave it entirely up to their imaginations what such a treat would taste like. Food Network has a list of Snapchat accounts to follow that show nothing at all BUT food, so to that I say, bon appetit. Though whether or not this food culture contributes to the one-sixth of our population that is overweight (Patel, 2007), is anybody's guess.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Food Networks. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from Blackboard Learn JCU: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892329_1

Milam, A. (2015, June 18). Snapchat Stars: Food Lovers to Follow. Retrieved 20 September, 2015 from Food Network: http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2015/06/snapchat-stars-food-lovers-to-follow/

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Retrieved from: www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Unknown (2014). Apple. Retrieved from: http://mojo.dailybruin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_5614.jpg

Real or Fake?

Diaspora is a common term to describe Dispersed communities that can be considered a form of people networks. There are two main features in this term 1) A hub of origin (a central pole of dispersal and various clustered places of immigration) and 2) Links (real or imagined) between members of the various poles of the migratory space (Kuttainen, 2015).

Wojdy Social Media

Throughout snapchat the term diaspora is rarely used and unless a user is having a conversation about it the chances are of hearing or knowing about it is very little. Although in certain media like Facebook, which have constant updates and information based on current events that are connected to diaspora unfortunately it seems like snapchat does not cater/acknowledge any of these affairs. It’s sad to type this knowing that so many people die trying to flee from their country due to wars or leave their country/culture/family to get a better life and yet all you can see on snapchat discover is what Kylie Jenner is wearing to dinner, if Drake wants Nicki Minaj or Serena Williams or Justin Bieber new photo shoot.. You could say that Snapchats can connect people with certain origin, ethnic or religious background in a sense on the live stories, as it connects hundreds of peoples’ snaps and connecting them together through this. These live stories like certain public holidays, concerts, festivals and fundraisers can connect a group together that have left their common origin but this is only a virtual sense of connection. In reality there is nothing that mentally or physically connects these people. When you think about it there is a difference between diasporas and each are related to a mode of a community organization that defines their cohesion (Ma Mung,2005).  A community have a bond and on live snaps on Snapchat they are a virtual community but it does not play apart in their daily life or their history of how they got there.

Reference

Kuttainen,V.(2015) BA1002:Networks,narratives and the making of place, lecture 7. Retreieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892235_1&mode=reset

Ma Mung, E.(2005) Diaspora, spatiality, identities. In W, Bosswick & C. Husband. (Eds). Comparative European research in migration, diversity and identities (pp.33-48). Spain:University of Deusto. 

Snapping Food

When it comes to social networking systems you could say that the craze of food photography is a huge trend. People all over the world like to show off to everyone on what they are currently eating or craving. You could take into consideration that these photos could be unconsciously posted onto social media for more than just the reasons that they intentionally planned. When a person posts on social media about what food they eat it can shape how people see them just like how their images of clothes or house they own can influence their identity. When people post on social networks of what they eat it can cause a chain reaction of questions to their identity from where they are to what they can afford to how wealthy they are/what social class they fit in to what culture they might be to what religion and it goes on and on (Atkins, 2001). At times a simple picture can also show their culture again influencing their identity in that networking system.

 Food can be known as a repository of culture (Kuttainen, 2015) as each culture have certain dishes that they specialise in giving the people and the culture their identity. A person’s identity is affected by food photography in good and bad ways. When posting a photo of a tub of chocolate ice cream and M&Ns next to it saying “love me some chocolate”, people are given a different look to someone else who posts a similar picture saying “ My Cheat Meal”. The person who just says “love me some chocolate” is given a unhealthy identity or that they don’t look after themselves when in fact they could be really fit and just love chocolate. However the person who says “Cheat Meal” people think that they must be fit or gym junkie when in reality everyday could be their cheat meal and they just don’t show it.

Ahima

However Snapchats food photography is somewhat limited. You could say that there are times when people snap their food and say “dinner” or “date night”. This still can cause the chain reaction of questions that I mentioned earlier however it is only limited as after 10 seconds or 24 hours people can no longer see it and the next set of snaps can then influence the identity. However on discover there is a Food category that can influence the community of Snapchat as well as on live there are festivals that have images of food which again influences the identity of that particular culture or event being live streamed. 

reference list 

Atkins, P & Bowler, I. (2001) chapter 21:the origins of taste. Food In Society:Economy, Culture, Geography (P.p273). London, Great Britian: Arnold. 

Kuttainen, V (2015). BA1002:Our Space:networks, Narrativesand the making of place. Lecture 8:Food networks. (powerpoint slides). retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2008961_1&course_id=_69740_1