The Great Example Hunt

I LOVE Web 2.0

WHAT: Research Case hunting on my
Study Easter Break!
WHY: So you don’t forget
everything over the next
month

WHO: On your own

HOW: Follow the slides

Making sure you know what’s
WHEN: DUE second week going on and helping you find
next term impressive ways to talk about it.
Research Methods
1. While you may know a lot about the site make sure to do
some reading from a number of sources:
• The website/service itself (It's "About US" or "FAQ" are good
places to start)
• Wiki's about the service - their own or an external article
• PRESS - Do a news/blog search about your site and a keyword ie.
"Google + GateKeeping" "Bebo + Copyright" "DeviantArt +
Creative Commons" 
• Read some of the information users contribute to the site,
comments, articles, conversations - copy/screengrab some of
these 

2. Make it a RICH document - Each slide should include a number of

quotes, links, images - so that users can do further reading and see
the whole of your examples) 
 TITLE PAGE
YOUR NAME 
We Media – The modern media is a
conversation not a lecture
• What does your website/company do?

• What New Media technologies is your company

responsible for/rely on?

• Are they the original example of this technology

or a copy of something?

• How long have they been around?

 Free Speech
• How does your site promote/restrict free
speech? (How does it allow people to
share ideas with/without censorship

• Is their any hierarchy of users (paid

accounts/VIPs) or is it egalitarian?
 Institutions – Big Media
• Is your website affiliated (connected to) a
traditional Big Media company?

• Is so were they always connected? When

were they bought out?

• If not in what ways does your site

compete with/annoy big media?
We Think – New Media Allows members of society
to share and collaborate faster than ever before.
Mass innovation is now more important than Mass
Production

• What kind of ideas are shared on your website?

• Do they have commerical value? Does anyone

buy/sell share them?

• Who would be interested in your site (Audience)

 We Think - Pro Ams
• In what ways does your site allow users to
collaborate and share?

• What kind of information is used or

shared?

• What level of expertise does the users

attract? (Experts, amateurs,
educated/uneducated)
 Open Source
• Is the technology your comapny uses
open source? (It's technology is available
to anyone to download ie. Wikipedia)

AND/OR

• How does your company allow users to

discuss/share and develop ideas for
improving its own tools?
 Copyright
• In what ways does what your company do
protect copyright or promote piracy?

• Has/Is your company been involved in any

legal cases?

• Does your company benefit from the

copyright freedom of the internet?
 Creative Commons
• Does your company use or allow its users
to use any kind of creative commons
licensing?

• How is it available?

• Does this make the website more

effective/less effective? 
Digital Divide (only 25% of the world
is online)
• How many users have access to your
companies services?

• Do they have to pay to be involved?

• Does your company work in any way to

get more people in the world connected?
(Do they offer grants, support charities to
get people connected?) 
 Gate Keeping
• How does your company control the
spread of information on its service (Who
can connect with who? What kind of rules
apply?)

• Are their any restrictions about who can

access and contribute?

• Is the information filtered/censored by

your company?
 Free Press
• Does your company offer any services
that can be used by citizen journalists for
the spread of information that could be in
the public interest?

• Have they been involved in suppressing

this information at any point?
 Marxist Theories of Control?
• Does your company have a central
ideology/belief/mission statement?

• Do it’s users represent a particular ideology or point of

view?

• Does your company allow a free flow of ideas on its

service or does it enforce a bias?

• In what ways may these points of view conflict with other

parts of society –
governments/companies/organisations/religious groups.
 Power Elites
• Does your company challenge any
existing power structures (Big Media
Companies/Important People)

• Does your Company hold a monopoly or

is it part of an Oligarchy of companies that
dominate that part of the internet?
 Internet Neutrality
• Does your company rely on internet neutrality to
be successful?

• Would it be under threat for being banned/shut

down under new legislation like the Digital
Economy Bill?

• Does your company work in anyway to promote

internet neutrality/control the internet?
Devpal Youtube
Lauren Bebo
Steven Activision
Jermaine Google
Stacia Google
Liam Xbox Live
Jennifer Twitter
Sarah Deviant Art
Zaynah Facebook
Steph BBC
Chris Photobucket
Michael WoW
Matt Gawker
Faatima The Guardian
Charan Wikipedia