Introduction (Hello!)

Hi there! We're a team of Year 4 Communications and New Media students from the National University of Singapore, made up of Kejia, Teri, Ting Hui and Jerlene. It's nice to meet you!

Besides scrolling through the millions of social network sites she's connected to, Kejia enjoys baking, cooking and the occasional criticism of stereotypical representation in media. Teri enjoys keeping herself updated with latest news and trends by browsing the different social media platforms. Ting Hui is a money minded individual who believes that (ethical use) of social media is now the most effective channel to market products and services. Jerlene is a pop culture junkie who spends way too much time on Netflix and has a penchant for bugging her friends through social media to check out the cool new things she finds online. Together, we're here to discuss social media issues close to home, in the hopes of bringing to light the implications brought about by our social media consumption.

With an abundance of (free) blogging platforms that can be used, a major keypoint that we learnt from the experience of setting up of this blog is that the design and layout of the blog are one of the most important factors in the choice of platform. The aesthetics of a page is what potential audiences will use to determine their liking for a page. Hence, most of our time were spent on customising and designing the awesome layout you now see here. (Did we mention that we aren't exactly coding pros?) Blogging platforms have made it increasingly easy for users to mould social media pages that are reflective of their individuality and creativity. That said, it is crucial that host platforms understand user needs to ensure the ease of access. Our experience of being unable to use the site medium to host our blog suggests that there is an assumption that blogs will be managed by individuals but in truth, it has become a trend for larger groups and companies to co-host blogs together in order to engage audiences with a more personal touch.

Moving forward, the group will have weekly meetings to discuss about weekly topics. Each of us would then write about a point or two for the post. We decided to take turns to source for interesting material such as videos and pictures for each week's post.

The module, NM4881A Topics in Media Studies: Social Media is one that we are truly excited about. Social media is increasingly prevalent in a world where connecting online is a necessity (if not, obligation). It is important to be constantly aware that even though we have the privilege of being digitally connected, there is a large proportion of the world that remains offline. The consumption of social media thus begets a variety of concerns - all which we wish to explore in this module. Besides uncovering the critical issues that social media consumption brings through the analysis of key concepts and theories, we hope to gain some practical skills that can mobilise us in the future of this digital economy.

See you in class!