For my digital media production, Reality Bytes, I’ve chosen to distribute it on deviantArt.com, an art-themed social networking site. The poster strip for this series presents the main message of the series, which raises awareness on how internet-based speech and languages are starting to show their presence outside the internet. I chose to publish Reality Bytes on deviantArt because it’s the best place available to me at this time and it’s more likely to receive views and critiques there.
The website also applies the four core attractions mentioned by Danah Boyd in her article Streams of Content, Limited Attention: The Flow of Information through Social Media. It applies democratization in that the majority of viewers fit the demographic of my comic to the point that it will be attractive; its stimulation is everywhere, since it’s an art-themed website with a wide variety of content; it applies homophily by connecting artists to one another by means subscribers; and finally it uses power in the fact that it has become one of the most well-known art sites on the Web, and it puts more power into my hands as an artist, helping me become a member of the social network that has developed. In other words, I’m putting my comic in a place that is filled with like-minded and open-minded people, that is popular, and that puts me in the best position to make my comic more widely known.
Some may wonder if deviantArt qualifies as Web 2.0. According to What is Web 2.0, one trait of the concept includes going beyond simple publishing, into the ability to participate. The participatory factor in deviantArt is huge, with everyone’s art open to skepticism and critiques by any member of the site---and membership is free, so it’s not an exclusive viewer base. It allows you to create your own personality on the web, without having to design your own webpage—everything is right there, built to submit to whatever modifications you choose.
Another argument for the idea that deviantArt qualifies as Web 2.0 comes from another article called Why Participatory Culture Is Not Web 2.0: Some Basic Distinctions, by Henry Jenkins. While at first glance it may disprove deviantArt’s claim to Web 2.0 status, it actually just confirms it in a different way. The author describes Web 2.0 as a business model meant “to harness the creative energies of their users” (Jenkins). DeviantArt actually has become a great way for users to post their talents online for potential employers; Rufftoon is a great example! Thanks to her deviantArt comics about Avatar: The Last Airbender, she was hired on as a storyboard artist for the show. So it definitely has its advantages business-wise as well.
One final question that must be resolved is: does deviantArt even qualify as a social networking site? If not, a lot of this evidence could be easily disproven. Whatissocialnetworking.com is a site that defines social networking as the “grouping of individuals into specific groups,”(“What Is Social Networking) creating online communities of user with equal interests or goals. Isn’t deviantArt a group of artists seeking expression, and doesn’t the site itself contain a vast community of artists who can interact with each other? So it generally fits the criteria listed here. It was also reported to have been rated as a top social networking site by the UK, so it’s at least nationally recognized as one (deviantArt News).
In light of all this, I can easily say that I chose deviantArt as my source of distribution because it is an amazing place for a fledgling artist to make a start, complete with reviews to help me improve, a wide user-base to give my comics the exposure they need to get those reviews, and all the tools at my disposal in order for me to make it into a potentially successful (and someday in the future, marketable) series. And if you don’t believe me, take a look for yourself.
Sources (I know I was only allowed to use 2 in-class sources, but since there are several to choose from, I figured I'd use it anyway).
"deviantART Ranked in Top 10 UK Social Networks."deviantArt News (2009): 1. Web. 13 Dec 2010. <http://news.deviantart.com/article/87146/>.
Boyd, Danah. "Streams of Content, Limited Attention: The Flow of Information through Social Media."Danah. 17 Nov 2009. Web. 13 Dec 2010. <http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/Web2Expo.html>.
Jenkins, Henry. "Why Participatory Culture Is Not Web 2.0: Some Basic Distinctions." Confessions of an ACA-Fan. 24 May 2010. Web. 13 Dec 2010. <http://henryjenkins.org/2010/05/why_participatory_culture_is_n.html>.
O'Reilly, Tim. "What is Web 2.0." O'Reilly. 30 Sep 2005. Web. 13 Dec 2010. <http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html>.
Rufftoon’s Blog: http://www.drawingboard.org/blogs/Nofret/2424/Big+News!!.html
Rufftoon’s deviantArt gallery: <http://www.rufftoon.deviantart.com/>
"What Is Social Networking." What is Social Networking. N.p., 05 dec 2010. Web. 13 Dec 2010. <http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/>.
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