Information & Media

TREND RESEARCH REPORT DP2511 DESIGN INSIGHTS – TREND REPORT BACHELOR OF ARTS (HONS) IN DESIGN PRACTICE

INFORMATION & MEDIA A distillation of the found information into a coherent analysis that assesses the interrelationship between different trends.

The report urges us to consider our present options when moving towards a future that is desirable.

CON TENT 1

Chin Yong Shen Nicholas (G20210013)

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Chung Shu Xin Kimberly (G20210020)

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Esther Lim Sing Er (G20210021)

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PERSONAL BRANDING OF SOCIAL MEDIA

THE EXPRESSION OF SYMBOLS THROUGHOUT HISTORY THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS RESULTING TRENDS Fathima Nasrin Mohamed Shamsudeen (G20210123)

EVOLUTIONS OF SOCIALIZATION THROUGHOUT HISTORY Kadam Deesha Shashikant (G20210066)

THE EVOLUTION OF AD DISTRIBUTION

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Lee Le (G20210033)

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Lysanti Prischiella Himawan (G20210183)

THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING A LOOK AT THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA IN POLITICAL CHANGE

CON TENT 8 9 10 11

Manmohan Agastya (G20210154)

THE FUTURE OF PERSONAL ADVERTISING - A GIFT OR A CURSE Pradeep Shreya (G20210130)

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LANGUAGE EVOLUTION Siti Nabilah (G20210097)

TITLE

Su Pyae San (G20210213)

CHANGING MEDIA, CHANGING MINDS

12 DEVELOPEMENT IN ADVERTISING Tan Joelyn (G20210048)

13 NEW LANGUAGES IN COMMUNICATION Teo Shun Quan (G20210147)

14 THE EFFECTS OF FAKE NEWS

Widyan Ardini Binte Mulyadi (G20210206)

PERSONAL BRANDING OF SOCIAL MEDIA (INFORMATION AND MEDIA)

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice

Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

Date 20 September 2021

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Intro This trend report investigates the evaluation of personal branding over the years. The research covered focuses on the physical technological advancements of different ways of communication till current day of social media. Social Media is digital data processing system that allows the sharing of personal knowledge and information through the constructing of web and sections. (Dollarhide, 2021) The impact that society had gained from the milestones of social to political factors. And the effects that are currently still happening today. This tread report focuses on the consumers perspective and how they go about branding themselves.

Anyone with entry to the internet can sign up for an account online, which they can use to share content of their choice in which anyone can view if they visit their account. (Hudson, 2020) Through the ages of the 1990 information has transitioned from promotion of brands to anyone being able to not only do that themselves but to have the power to how one brands themselves. In the past, the limited ways of promotion information were only by the big companies that can mass produce physical shareable materials such as newspaper or CDs. Later on broadcasting on television and radio helped aid in the process of making it faster. The Over the last 10 years, social media apps have penetrated the trade, introducing fresh features to keep engagement and connectivity. (Sydow, 2021)The biggest milestone would be the creation of the computer then later the internet, where we are today with by just a click of a button, we can gain so much information at a time. Technology advancement as not only made the speed at which we receive information through media faster but more accessible for everyone to create or consume.

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Trend of personal branding using social media The tread over the years of social media becoming a vital tool to aid in personal branding has never been so in demand. The way we can grow an audience and voice out our opinions, can shape the views on our audience. In terms of the social aspect of communicating with our audience, the use of social media language is widely used to convey our ideas at a fast pace with clarity. For example, emojis - Some emojis have many implications connected to them like words and phrases. (Pebworth, 2019) However, understanding social media language can be a learning curve as not all that is seen up front is the actual meaning and could lead to miscommunication between the creators and their audiences. The web and other types of fast transmission of information through technology have accessible information but not all hold weight. (Kuebler and Beever, 2019). As much information is transferred every day, it gives light to misinformation and allowing people to reach a common goal of spreading and receiving the right information. Companies or individuals who can get pass and understand the languages use can break into and grow from this disadvantage through the idea of disruptive innovation. Disruptive technology is an alteration that greatly changes the way customers and businesses operate - it replaces current norms because it is seen as the best option. (Smith, 2020). While business plans are set in stone, it does not have a capacity to be diverse in changing to the most profitable decision. With the use of social media as branding for individuals, it helps that one is able to quickly change their strategy on how they would portray themselves to their audience and grow. Reacting to fresh competition only with new technology usually is not sufficient as these new entrants have had lots of time to craft the offering and business plan. (Kylliäinen, 2019) In terms of political 3

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effects social media has, it can impact the way society starts protest. Long ago we had to be physically present when rally’s happened and the mainstream media pushes news as such.

Now with the option of clicktivism, people can come together to voice their opinions to shed light on to subjects not talked about by the main stream. People who brush away online activism as power of slacktivists fail to gasp the low and powerful message spread across the digital ecosystem. (Fisher, 2021) In a case study of the US elections, reports have estimated that Trump would have a higher chance of winning opposed to Vice President Biden, as the number of followers each have are millions away from each other. Even before a person can place their vote, their perspective of the competitors have been set by what they've seen on Instagram and TikTok. (Suciu, 2020) For most of the young people spend most of their time on social media, they have access to make their mind up on the cause of acting to who they might want to vote. As the online brawl happens between the presidential candidates, they are exposing their personality to the audience, which links to the type of personal branding that they wanted to be portrayed to the world. They type of language they use gives audience a feel of the type of personalities that they have and what to think of them. This tread of branding on social media has seen a change that not only it was for the bigger business and individuals, but anyone can continue to push what they want to say online. In the next 10 years this would not go away.

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Trend on algorithm being used in social media The second trend that we are going to dive into is the innovation of algorithms. In the past people would receive their information by post or newspapers handed on the streets. Word of mouth to listening it broadcasted on the radio. Later, we would see broadcasts of news on the television and now we can search it up on the internet for ourselves. What was once something that was individually directed towards us in a controlled matter is now leading us by what we choose to see. Algorithms are usually powerful and helpful tool used to finish tasks. (Rainie & Anderson 2020) The algorithm learns how and what we engage with online and leads us to similar content based on what keeps us interested. The downside of this technology is that as a fast-moving digital system, sometimes it cannot keep up with what the mass around of direction that it malfunctions, giving us false information. This could be due to it not having a conscious like humans to tell the difference between what is real and fake. In a case study of reports of Facebook spreading fake new, there is a limit of how the algorithm works. One algorithm uncovers topics not usually popular then a real human check them before another algorithm spreads the approved stories to people who are searching for similar things. (Dewey, 2016) The problem is usually related to privacy issues: algorithms use personal data from the user’s social media for it to learn what content to display on the social media platforms.

(Golino, 2021) As security is a concern for more users of social media and the internet, the social impact of user’s using the internet sparingly would give rise in the future. However, having the algorithm look out for us would allow us to see the information that we can not find but is out there. Social media helps to go beyond the public's view, giving access to innovative substitutes in the environmental area on every bit of problem from shifting away from needing fossil fuel to recyclable items to aid climate change. (Dosemagen, 2016). For the part of society that are unable to find the kind of information needed that they are looking for, the more time 5

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we spend using social media, the more the algorithm learns and predicts what we might want to further our knowledge on. This helps a ton in creating a more connected society. Relating back to personal branding on social media, the more we watch view our favourite content, the algorithm learns and sends us to similar type of content. This is in the market of business for the more traffic knows about our presence, the more lightly the business would grow from it.

More companies understand the rise of data from digital devices and sensors and social media information to allocate the proper time to have a well thought out algorithm master plan.

(Bailey, 2018). Working with the algorithm to use it to the advantage of growing the business is the best way to break into the ever-flowing amount of information that is surfaced every day.

Based on timing, traffic of human activity, paired with hashtags, advertisements and other so of promotion, businesses push out their content and allow the algorithm to do the rest. On a political take on the uses of the algorithm, it still can be controlled by the people of power.

Authoritarians can direct attention away from the important towards less powerful people instead of directly addressing the problem powerful people have made. (Kasturirangan, 2019) As much as technology advances, we are still limited by what we are allowed to share according to the laws of each induvial country. Elections, laws, opinions governed by the people of power control what how we view what they want us to think – redirecting the algorithm away from the truth. This is to cease amplification of opinions and the eruption of societal uprising of formulating their own thoughts. As we can see this tread has not only been around in the past where information on newspapers were governed by the people of power but still info’s context, algorithms are still controlled the same way. In the future, we might expect it to be the same.

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Signals of the future of social media.

Social media has appeared to meet the objective of bring people together.

Information becomes more concise and delivered quicker over time to a larger audience.

Brands would need to redesign their plan of action to make it more personal with their relationship with their audience. Closing monitoring their wants and absorption, while creating current and real content that reflects on their brand. (Viral Access, 2019). As the advancement of technology and the individuality, personable uses of social media, we might see in the future of it to get only quicker and more confusing to understand at the same time.

This gives us a feel that maybe in the future users would have to keep up the with the ever advancement of technology or become just a follower to those who control what we should see. The bombardment of information is at its high compared to the past era and trying to understand what credible information is could become a chore. Having said that, this current generation of users who have grown up using the internet would become more acclimatize to the speed at which the information comes. Society would lightly be more capable to push their own ideas too with the help of the technology at their side. New features are being introduced but are still relatively new, so it’ll take a while for the whole generation to understand at catch up. This might affect the environment in a good way, having to use less production of physical parts to create systems for communication. I don’t believe current technology would go obsolete in the future as old ways of communication are either turned into vintage entertainment pieces or still used for a more affordable way of getting information.

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Conclusion The evolution of person branding has never been more concise and right at your fingertips. With the constant advancement of technology in the works, in the future we might see similar concepts of information transfer through the digital world. As we are constantly served with new trends, this could aid in the production of a new milestone of self-promotion.

The questions of how fast in the future can information be transferred is still unanswered. We could look forward to a conscious driven type of technology or an internet less type of world.

We the creation of artificial intelligence and argumentative reality, that would be the next explosive milestone that we could be looking forward to which will drive personal branding on social media right more to our door step, literally. Maybe people in the future would turn away from social media all together.

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Reference List Dollarhide, M. (2021) Social Media, Investopedia, 31 August. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp (Accessed: 18 September 2021) Hudson, M. (2020) What Is Social Media?, The Balance Small Business, 23 June.

Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-social-media-2890301 (Accessed: 18 September 2021) Sydow, L. (2021) The Evolution of Social Media Apps: Live Streaming: The New Frontier for Social Media, 6 September. Available at: https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/evolution-of-social-media-report/ (Accessed: 9 September 2021) Pebworth, K (2019) Understanding the language of social media, LinkedIn, September 3. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/understanding-language-social-mediakatharine-pebworth (Accessed on: 4 September 2021) Kuebler S. M. and Beever J (2019) Internet Has Helped Spread Information, But Not Necessarily Knowledge, UCFToday, 20 March. (Avaliable at: https://www.ucf.edu/news/internet-helped-spread-information-not-necessarily-knowledge/) [Accessed on: September 4 2021] Smith, T (2020) Disruptive Technology, Investopedia, 21 March. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/disruptive-technology.asp (Accessed: 4, september 2021) Kylliäinen, J (2019) Disruptive Innovation - What Is It and How Does It Work?, Viima, 4 November. Available at: https://www.viima.com/blog/disruptive-innovation (Accessed on: 4 September 2021) 9

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Fisher, R. (2020) The subtle ways that ‘clicktivism’ shapes the world, BBC, 16 September. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200915-the-subtle-ways-thatclicktivism-shapes-the-world (Accessed on: 4 September 2021) Suciu, P (2020) Social Media Could Determine The Outcome Of The 2020 Election, Forbes, 26 October. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2020/10/26/socialmedia-could-determine-the-outcome-of-the-2020-election/?sh=665140d26f60 (Accessed on: 4 September 2021) Rainie, L & Anderson, J (2017) Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age, Pew Research Center, 6 February. (Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/02/08/code-dependent-pros-and-cons-of-thealgorithm-age/) [Accessed 19 September 2021].

Dewey, C (2016) Facebook has repeatedly trended fake news since firing its human editors, The Washington Post, 12 October. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/10/12/facebook-has-repeatedlytrended-fake-news-since-firing-its-human-editors/ [Accessed 4 September 2021] Golino, M. A (2021) Algorithms in Social Media Platforms, Institute for Internet & the Just Society, 24 Apr. (Available at: https://www.internetjustsociety.org/algorithms-in-socialmedia-platforms) [Accessed 4 September 2021] Dosemagen, S (2016) Can social media help to save the environment?, World Economic forum, 7 April. (Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/can-socialmedia-help-to-save-the-environment) [Accessed 4 September 2021]

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Bailey, G (2018) The Golden Age Of Algorithms, Forbes, 15 November. (Avaliable on: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gerogebailey1/2018/11/15/the-golden-age-ofalgorithms/?sh=6deca7682179) [Date Accessed: 4 September 2021] Kasturirangan, R (2019) Authoritarian rulers are using algorithmic politics to tighten their grip – India proves the case, Scroll In, 1 October. (Available on: https://scroll.in/article/937977/authoritarian-rulers-are-using-algorithmic-politics-tighten-theirgrip-and-india-proves-the-case) [Accessed on: 4 September 2021] Viral Access. 2019. Social Media + TV = Social TV. [online] Available at: <https://viralaccess.medium.com/social-media-tv-social-tv-6981fa9a3247> [Accessed 19 September 2021].

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THE EXPRESSION OF SYMBOLS THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Chung Shu Xin Kimberly

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice

Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

5 September 2021

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Intro Symbol. Defined by Cambridge dictionary ‘a sign, shape, or object that is used to represent something else’. Symbols expressed in all kinds of shape of form has affected and impacted people’s lives tremendously over millenniums. It has become an influential icon that led them to many infamous milestones such as the advancement of civilization, culture, globalization, and technology. From carving cuneiforms to pass on information to one another in ancient times to simply expressing themselves through emojis, they see, hear, and use symbols in their daily lives. This trend report investigates significant milestones that clearly identifies the evolution of expressions of symbols and its impact on the society back then and the present.

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3500 BC: Invention of Cuneiform The first representation of symbols is through pictographs and words as a form of communicating to one another. People back then would carve pictures as a form of communication to represent objects they see. (‘Language & Symbols’, 2021) However, pictographs could not express feelings and emotions. Hence, pictographs have changed overtime to scripts that has every symbol as a representation of sound or syllable. (Ida, 2020) That script was the syllabary system, Cuneiform symbols. They were invented by ancient Sumerians in 3500 BC. (‘Language & Symbols’, 2021) With the use of natural elements such as clay as the base and the reed stylus as a medium, symbols are carved to form words and sentences. (‘Cuneiform’, 2021)

Cuneiforms has socially impact people’s lives especially that of traders, scribes, and administrators. They notice that it was more convenient and efficient to represent objects or animals as symbols than carving them based on physical appearance. These symbols were then standardized to the public for everyone to see and understand. (‘Cuneiform’, 2021) This results in better and effective communication whereby people were able to express and describe information in greater detail. However, not all people in ancient times are literate as people do not have the time to learn them. They are busy handling their daily routines. This led to writing and reading as a career for the elites. Moreover, powerful and highly respected ancient scribes were carved wearing to cuneiforms to assert importance. (Whipps, 2008)

Moreover, Cuneiforms economical impact traders and administrators as it creates a lingo for them to facilitate trades, records rations and distribute and store food since it is impossible to remember every trade and distribution ever made. There would always be human errors.

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(‘Cuneifrom’, 2021) Thus, with the birth of cuneiforms, they can be more accurate and detailed with their job resulting to a more accurate and effective business. Furthermore, cuneiforms has also made a huge impact on society through time as it is one of the founding fathers of culture and civilization. (Dragatakis, 2021)

Overtime, cuneiform has become less effective due to its tedious and inconvenient way of carving these symbols. People throughout history had tried to refine and reinvent such syllabus system to achieve optimal efficiency. (Ida, 2020) Thus, created the symbols of the Greek Alphabet that has influenced mankind to this very day. In present time, the English language that was derived from Greek alphabets has become the universal language to communicate in.

Additionally, Globalization being one of the most influential aspect in the progression of the world we live in today, the language not only brought effective communication, it has also forged a sense of familiarity to those of different culture. (‘Why Has English Become A Universal Language?’, n.d.)

350 BC: Invention of Monogram Thanks to alphabets, the way of living has advanced, creating greater emphasis on how symbols are the base of communication. As civilization developed, symbols are expressed in another form. Such form consists of expressing identity and power. The first ever record of the given form are the monograms that were invented in 350 BC. Monograms are made up of combination of words into several letters forming a character on a confined space. (Guerrero, 2015)

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They were initially made for the royals and higher ups to express ownership and power to everyone. (A History of Monograms, 2019) Ownership for instances, includes authenticating legitimate forms, labeling government infrastructures and to pin down belongings of the elite in power. (‘Monograms - A Brief History’, n.d.)

Whereas symbolizing power and importance depending on its size and features. The bigger and more detailed the monogram, the more powerful and influential the person is.

Monograms socially impacted the elites as it was trending among them. Royalties from England and European countries all followed the trend of having an official family monogram. (‘A History of Monograms’, 2019) Reason being it gives them a way to not only flaunt their title of being very established and of high profiles, but it also makes them feel respected in their community. (‘The History of Monograms’, 2016) Soon, these monograms act as the family’s identity and heritage that would be passed on to the following generation. (‘A History of Monograms’, 2019)

Not only were monograms used to differentiate those of higher status, but they were also used as a mode of currency. Societies are always in need of a system where specific objects or animals has a fixed value for trading to occur. Back then, the earliest medium ever used for trade was cattle. It was however problematic and inadequate as they had to constantly weigh them.

Moreover, they are difficult to transport. This medium of currency eventually changes into one that uses small pieces of metal, coins, stamped with the authorities’ monogram. (Guerrero, 2015) This method of trade was a success and has economically impact people as it is much more durable, transportable, and lighter. Thus, suggesting a faster and even more efficient and convenient way of trading. Regardless, such currency still promotes social hierarchy. With 5

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political leaders having the authority to distribute these coins, they would limit the production to maintain the value of exchanges. (Kusimba, 2017)

In this day of age, the representation of monograms has evolved. People now use monograms as a form of brand identity or a creative medium rather than depicting status and power. In the 21st century, monogramming is as popular as ever as personalizing of items has become trendy and evokes the feeling of nostalgia. Not to mention, it is cheaper and easily accessible to majority. Monograms are especially popular in weddings as invitation envelopes and décor because it symbolizes the couple becoming a whole. (‘Monograms - A Brief History’, n.d.)

Companies also like to use monograms for their logo as they are effective - they are simple, memorable and deepens the connection with the company’s name thus, giving the company a sentimental value. (‘Monogram Logo Design: Beginner’s Guide’, 2019)

1926: Invention of Radio Jingles As civilization progressed, many tools have been invented to make their lives much more comfortable. Having their daily routines being less hectic and physically draining, people now have more time to themselves. (How Does Globalization Affect Your Life? The Positive And Negative Effects, n.d.) Thus, to relief themselves from getting bored, they invented mass entertainment. One of the many types of mass entertainment is a symbol that takes the form of methods of storytelling. When Radios were invented, it has changed advertising through its ability to act as a platform that engages with audience located anywhere at one go. (Hodgson, n.d.)

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Radios were invented in 1866 with the intention to communicate to one another through wireless aerial communication. (Bellis, 2019) However, it was then used for commercial purposes in the early 1900s when jingles are invented as a creative storytelling symbol to engage audiences with a brand. The first ever jingle was broadcasted on Christmas Eve 1926 by a brand called Wheaties. (The History of Jingles…And When Did They Become Audio Logos?, n.d.)Wheaties was a dying brand and is need of rescue so they took whatever they can get to gain more sales and one of their strategies is through jingles. After broadcasting the jingle at Minneapolis/ St. Paul area, they noticed that 60 percent of sale are from that region. With that in mind, the company decided to launch a nationwide campaign and that’s when Wheaties gain popularity.

(Olmsted, 2016)

The rise of jingles has socially impact people as it has made them remember about the brand through sounds. Jingles are composed in a very digestible way by using rhymes, repetitive sounds in a short and simple manner. They are built to invade and stay in the back of the minds of the listeners. Often, randomly appearing suddenly. The shorter and easier the jingles, the more effective they work. Such technique is vital for businesses as it can save failing brands, renew dull products and increases the reach to audiences. (blue) Upon seeing the value of this symbol, advertisers quickly customized melodies for their brands for over 90 years in the hopes of gaining sales and popularity. (The History of Jingles…And When Did They Become Audio Logos?, n.d.)

Over the years, the trend of mass consumption and individualism gain popularity. People are at the era where brand loyalty is important for a company to succeed. To do so, brands must form an identity and follow the aesthetics of the younger generation and in this case, jingles are 7

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considered outdated. (Stanley, 2016) Thus, selling products through cultural and emotional appeal became very effective. It was proven by Psychologists and neurologists who study the brain’s reception to music that melodies that are unforgettable will resonates with the listeners.

Through this knowledge, brands started to commission jingles lesser and license pop music instead. This is because pop songs have earworms: jingle like characteristics with satisfying, easy to follow melodies. (Faulkner, n.d.) A survey conducted by the American Association of Advertising Agencies states that in 1998, 11 percent of commercials uses jingles but in 2011, the percentage dropped to 2 percent. (Stanley, 2016) However, these changes have helped major label records in promoting their music. (Faulkner, n.d.) As mentioned by Stanley ‘ This is what advertising music means today: Instead of jingles, we have singles’. (Stanley, 2016)

1999: Invention of Emojis Throughout millenniums, globalization has taken effect on shaping the world we live in.

As society advances, the needs and wants of people has also increased. One of them being the need for creating platforms to connect and communicate with people everywhere. Thus, digital devices such as computers and smartphones were created for texting to happen. (Reyes, 2020) Nevertheless, texts are often misinterpreted as receivers do not know what kind of tone the sender uses. Thus, symbols representing expressions like emojis are important for effective digital communication. (Walker, 2019)

Before emojis, emoticons were the first ever emotive icons to have ever been invented to use in a digital platform. It was created by Professor Fahlam from Carnegie Mellon to distinguish serious and joking texts. With the use of keyboard characters, he designed

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:-) to represent banter while :-( to represent seriousness. However, the meaning of these emoticons shift to joy and sadness as students started to pick up this trend and create new emoticons. (Walker, 2019) Through this inspiration birth emojis, the combination pixels to form images. (Aboulhosn, 2020) Invented by Shigetaka Kurita, the sole purpose of his emojis is to make communication much efficient as there is a word count limit. (Jacopo Prisco, 2018) They are designed to express feelings and better understand the mood of the text. Thus, emojis are emoticons with greater depth and realism. (Aboulhosn, 2020)

We as humans are visual thinkers. This means that images are more comprehensive than text or words to us. Our minds always work visually first, followed by verbally. Based on research, our brain digest images better than text and the response to them are different. Pictures speaks more than words as it showcases distinct feelings that are incomprehensible when written in words. (Styles, 2015) Emojis has socially impact the world by helping us better understand our emotions. By enabling us to recognize and categorize our emotions, we can empathize with others. (Atanasova, 2016) Thus, emojis can help maintain and deepen interpersonal bonds.

Example, when writing sarcastic remarks, it is often hard to analyze if it is intended to be written that way through the receiver’s perspective. But by adding a winking emoji on the so-called serious text, it can make the sentence into a fun and uplifting one. (Sanjay, 2020) Moreover, emojis have made it convenient and much more engaging for us to communicate. Instead of writing words, we can just send an emoji to express how we feel about certain situations. Hence, a more direct and minimal way to effectively spread the message. (Brenner, 2015)

The meaning of emojis has evolved and now they are mostly based on people’s influence in the community. The usage of face value definitions on emoji are decreasing as it is not as fun 9

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and engaging as it used to be back then. Nowadays, such representation of emojis would start from a community and it gradually spread to other communities and eventually the media. They are also usually expressed as a visual metaphor that results to innuendos we have today, most commonly sexual innuendos such as the eggplant and peach emojis. It could also symbolizes the slangs of today’s generation like the flame emoji is now used to represent the slang ‘ lit ‘. (Sanjay, 2020)

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Conclusion For many millenniums, symbols have always been expressed through different kinds of form, be it through letters or sounds and has majorly impact the society we live in. It give rise to the economy and culture which led to globalization and hence, increasing rate of technology advancement. We have already reached the stage where technology has dominated and influence the way we live. Needless to say that it would not be a surprise if the future of expressions of symbols might go beyond technology. Thus, creating a new trend that might revolutionized the world again. ( 2,173 words )

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Reference List Aboulhosn, S., 2020. How to use emoji in marketing to drive engagement. [online] Sprout Social. Available at: <https://sproutsocial.com/insights/emoji-marketing/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Atanasova, A., 2016. Emojis: Why We Love Them So Much and What They Mean. [online] Social Media Today. Available at: <https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/emojiswhy-we-love-them-so-much-and-what-they-mean-0> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Bellis, M., 2019. Everything You Need to Know About the Invention of Radio. [online] ThoughtCo. Available at: <https://www.thoughtco.com/invention-of-radio-1992382> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Brenner, M., 2015. The rise of the emoji for brand marketing. [online] the Guardian.

Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/jan/26/rise-emoji-brandmarketing> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Dragatakis, M., 2021. Cuneiform to Hieroglyphics: The Evolution of Western Alphabets. [online] TheCollector. Available at: <https://www.thecollector.com/cuneiform-hieroglyphicsevolution-western-alphabets/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Faulkner, T., n.d. How Commercial Jingles Work. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at: <https://money.howstuffworks.com/commercial-jingle.htm> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Hodgson, S., n.d. The History Of Radio Advertising: Marketing With Volume. [online] Radio Fidelity. Available at: <https://radiofidelity.com/history-of-radio-advertising/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Ida, A., 2020. The History of Writing. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://medium.com/exploring-history/the-history-of-writing-3c673b60b694> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Imagine Words and Music. n.d. The History of Jingles…And When Did They Become Audio Logos?. [online] Available at: <http://imaginewordsandmusic.com/about-jingles/history-ofjingles/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

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Jacopo Prisco, C., 2018. Shigetaka Kurita: The man who invented emoji. [online] CNN. Available at: <https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/emoji-shigetaka-kurita-standardsmanual/index.html> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Khan Academy. n.d. Cuneiform (article) | Ancient Near East | Khan Academy. [online] Available at: <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/ancient-neareast1/the-ancient-near-east-an-introduction/a/cuneiform> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Kusimba, C., 2017. Making Cents of Currency's Ancient Rise. [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/making-cents-currencysancient-rise-180963776/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Looka. 2019. Monogram Logo Design: A Beginner’s Guide - Looka. [online] Available at: <https://looka.com/blog/monogram-logo-design/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

MichNews. n.d. How Does Globalization Affect Your Life? The Positive And Negative Effects. [online] Available at: <https://www.michnews.com/how-does-globalization-affect-yourlife/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

NEH-Edsitement. n.d. The Cuneiform Writing System in Ancient Mesopotamia: Emergence and Evolution. [online] Available at: <https://edsitement.neh.gov/lessonplans/cuneiform-writing-system-ancient-mesopotamia-emergence-andevolution#:~:text=With%20cuneiform%2C%20writers%20could%20tell,systems%2C%20most%20 famously%20Hammurabi's%20Code> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Olmsted, M., 2016. Wheaties jingle | A Taste of General Mills. [online] A Taste of General Mills. Available at: <https://blog.generalmills.com/2016/02/what-wheaties-did-to-jumpstart-ourcereal-success/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Reyes, C., 2020. A (Brief) History of Texting - Zipwhip. [online] Zipwhip. Available at: <https://www.zipwhip.com/blog/video-a-history-of-texting/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

RubberStamps.com Blog. n.d. Monograms - A Brief History - RubberStamps.com. [online] Available at: <https://blog.rubberstamps.com/featured-products/monograms-brief-history/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Guerrero, F., 2015. A Study of the Development of Monograms: from Ancient Greek Coins to Contemporary Logos. MA in Typeface Design, University of Reading (www. academia. edu/16564791, viewed Jan. 23, 2020).

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Stanley, T., 2016. What Killed the Jingle?. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: <https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/what-killed-the-jingle/497291/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Styles, M., 2015. How Did Human Communication Start? | MyeVideo. [online] MyeVideo.

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Sanjay, S., 2020. Gen Z Emojis and What They Mean. [online] Vice.com. Available at: <https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kpngb/gen-z-young-people-use-emojis-differently-thanmillennials> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

The Enchanted Manor. 2016. The History of Monograms. [online] Available at: <http://theenchantedmanor.com/the-history-of-monograms/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

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Rose Monogram & Gift. [online] Available at:

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THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS RESULTING TRENDS

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts 21 September 2021

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Introduction This trend report investigates the evolution of social media since its conception in 1990. The milestones that will be analysed concentrate on platforms originating in the western world, namely the United States of America. Social media is defined as “websites and computer programs that allow people to communicate and share information on the internet using a computer or mobile phone” (‘Social media’, Merriam-Webster). Social media has international influence on anything from Social to Political factors. This trend report studies its various lasting effects on society, motivations and actions of producers and the trends resulted amongst both producers and consumers.

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Bulletin Board Systems The start of the 1978 marked the birth of social media in the form of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) which were platforms created by computer programmers who connected the internet to phone lines to create individual user platforms and people could record content online and communicate through public message boards (Lunduke, 2017). As digital literacy grew, more people would use BBS and find unique ways to personalise their boards.

However, the World Wide Web soon proved more efficient than BBS; People could access platforms and information at the same time on the same device, and experience improved graphics (Wilkinson, 2017). This quickly put BBS out of commission as they were restricted in their reach as a platform.

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Pre-connectivity BBS were the foundation for social media platforms, from giving the public a voice, to user interface design and basic functions (Driscoll, 2016). People wanted to occupy the internet like they have in the physical world and started trusting technology to transfer meaning accurately to others. Eventually when the World Wide Web was established, personal domains, accounts, platforms would become commonplace and BBS would be rendered obsolete and ironically became the definition of what was undesirable of social media: inflexible, inaccessible, and limiting. Still, users would push the limits of the platform, from domain decoration to unique interfaces (Fig.1). This is when people first paid attention to how the interface looked and would later influence the efforts to create accessible and intuitive user interfaces on social media.

Fig. 1. Welcome screen of a BBS (Driscoll, 2016)

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BBS was the precursor to an interconnected world, though premature. Its evolution brought people to connect with those of similar interests and beliefs within the nuclear community to those of completely different countries (Driscoll, 2016). This would direct future social media to strive for more and further connection. BBS showed the benefits of connecting with people online and would later inspire technology that strived to keep people engaged and reaching further on social media. BBS made it possible for the public to connect online, something which is seen as inevitable and even necessary today.

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Facebook Social networking platforms were a result of the desire to connect people. Most famously, Facebook caused a wave of change in society when it grew popular, with lasting influence until today. From 2006 to 2009, Facebook would implement algorithms that changed how engagement was approached such as showing content based on users’ preferences, multiple touchpoints, and their actions (‘Facebook News Feed Algorithm History’, 2021). In addition, Facebook targeted advertisements towards potentially interested consumers, reaching out to business to explore various solutions to reach their preferred audience (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Screenshot of Facebook for Business, 2021, featuring various marketing solutions for businesses.

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User Privacy versus Economic and Political Gains Facebook made socialising and connecting online easier. Users could follow Pages according to their preferences and integrate into the community, building a sense of camaraderie (Robinson, 2018). Social media also made raising awareness about lesser-known illnesses or human crises that prompted not only humanitarian aid but also emotional support (Mulaney, 2012). However, Facebook has also been questioned of its authenticity and ethics in prompting connection (Robinson, 2018). Facebook has been insufficiently effective in curbing hate groups and false news, which poses a danger of misinformation and harmful extremism (McEvoy, 2020). Lastly, Facebook has made data security online questionable, with users not being shown exactly how and how much of their information is being collected and used for profit (Newcomb, 2018). While there are positive effects of Facebook, people have begun to question how organic its connectivity is and have raised their concerns frequently to the company (Newcomb, 2018). The trend of connectivity was catalysed by producers and have started to be broken down by users; people are becoming more aware of how technology might be affecting the way they use social media. This realisation would continue to drive the push and pull between social media and its users in the future.

Today, profit-centric social media is everywhere, having affected other platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok to monetise their content and populate their platform with targeted advertisements, the immediate economic benefits seemingly overwhelm longterm negative social effects. However, combining targeted advertising with social media has given producers a large advantage and strong hold over their audience due to the ability for businesses to pick and choose user information it wants, even if it would be considered bigoted or invasive (Rotter, 2018). Similarly, users want their privacy returned and have started to speak out.

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Politicians use social networking platforms to connect with their supporters, persuade potentials, gain media presence, and allow means outside of formal occasions to gain traction amongst their audience (‘How Social Media Is Shaping Political Campaigns’, 2020). They used these platforms to make statements, share opinions, and support other movements.

Algorithms would not only suggest them to potential supporters, but also package them together with movements they support and hence extend their reach and influence (‘How Social Media Is Shaping Political Campaigns’, 2020). Using social media as a politician today is not only affordable, accessible but also enhances competitiveness (Tsz and Yildirim, 2020). Social media has the means to connect across large areas, and politicians’ motivation to reach a larger audience may result in social media to be a new battleground for future political endeavours worldwide.

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Visual-centric Social Media An upgrade to the medium of social media came via YouTube in 2006, where video sharing and streaming was made accessible (McFadden, 2020). It has since evolved into a major marketing opportunity and cultivated a community of creators that strives to monetise their content and make a living out of it (Schwemmer and Ziewiecki, 2018).

Similarly, Instagram and Snapchat allowed photo and video to take centre-stage.

More space on the screen was given to photographs that could be edited with attractive filters (Blystone, 2020) and photos or videos could be collated into Stories and enhanced visually (Purohit, 2021).

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Visuals Over Text When Instagram introduced photograph editing on phones, aesthetics and the curation of photos to sculpt a visual identity became important to users, sometimes to the extent of showing an exclusive external personality (Marcella-Hood, 2020). This had negative effects on society like declining mental health and the pressure to conform to ideal body types (MacMillan, 2017). However, once noticed, another wave of trends shifted its focus away from conformism, and instead created a culture of openness and acceptance (Brooks, 2018) which is still being promoted today.

Photography and videography were saved for occasions that were memorable.

However, photographs have become more about communication than the content of the photograph itself (Jurgenson, The Social Photo, 2020). This development would present itself through vlogging, product reviews, tutorials, or debates on YouTube. Today, the world is leaning even more towards video which holds more information, emotion, stimulation and messaging than photos, which in social media has become less authentic and impactful (Manavis, 2021). A paradigm shift in users to embrace individuality and authenticity has changed the way social media is constructed and used today.

Visual content provides a sense of authenticity when supported by real people (White, 2019) making Influencer Marketing effective as users found reviews credible and brands could gain traction amongst their audience. Influencer culture has grown popular amongst young social media users and gathered a growing community of content creators due to the accessibility of the platform (Arroyo, 2017). Today, the importance of influencer marketing to businesses and its career possibilities for influencers themselves has made this transaction extremely popular (‘Why do people want to be influencers’, 2019).

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Short-Form Video Formats With the trend of visual-centric social media came an iteration which boosted engagement - short-form videos. This change showed how social media has taken advantage of its users’ behaviour to increase engagement. By accommodating shortened attention spans, social media adopted short-form video formats to feed many snippets (usually 10 to 60 seconds) of information into the short time frame where people are actually paying attention (Cesarz, 2021).

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Virulence, Fame, Trends Prior to short-form video apps, online visual content was usually edited prior to publishing. However, platforms like Snapchat redefined visual media to embrace the idea of spontaneous moments and imperfection (Lo, 2016). While this development encouraged more informal, free, and fun content to be uploaded on social media, these short-form videos had negative impacts on society too. For TikTok, brain-stimulating high impact short videos together with carefully sieved out content promoted addiction (Anonymous, 2020). Despite this, Short-form videos have shown to be incredibly effective at keeping people engaged and are likely here to stay (‘Are Short-form Video Apps the Future of Social Media?’, 2020).

Influencer marketing through short-form video apps have given some individuals (usually young) fame. There have been mixed reactions to this development; some think so much content in a short time increases the chance of exposure for creatives but others feel that the fame is short-lived, undeserving, or simply too stressful for young influencers to handle or understand (Jennings, 2020). Overall, short-form videos have allowed social media to become even more virulent, and with the popularity of these platforms come businesses ready to seize it as a marketing opportunity (Jennings, 2020).

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Signal Today: The Convergence of Social Media Despite being made for different purposes, social media platforms today have adopted similar features. “Stories”, initially featured only on Snapchat, has emerged on Instagram and Facebook. Similarly, Instagram adopted an algorithm in 2012 that suggested more popular and relevant posts instead of most recent posts, just like Facebook did. And though hashtags were pioneered by Twitter, it is now used on almost every big social media platform. This technological result has allowed people to easily use social media platforms interchangeably, but also serves a repetitive experience (Pardes, 2020). As social media has been able to achieve a similar significance as television channels, “Social TV” has developed, where users can interact while consuming media, adding a touch of connectivity to this combination of mediums (‘Social Media + TV = Social TV’, 2019). The leading reason behind this is to be the most entertaining platform (Manavis, 2021). UI design has thus developed to cater to users’ habits to increase engagement (Aaknes, 2019). This could be due to the online population solidifying their impression and hence their expectation of what social media should look like. Although engagement is high, social media seems to have plateaued in its development of new, unique features.

Influencer culture brings certain individuals to the centre of their community. As their following grows, influencers obtain a significant command over them (Centola, 2020).

Adding the interweaving and navigation of social media users online, the way people communicate today has changed. Memes become nuanced, implying anything from an inside joke to an offensive slight or political statement, appreciated by those who know the relevant context (Tenove, 2019). Emojis have changed the way we communicate, enhancing meaning rather than replacing (Wicke, 2017). Brands might need to hence accommodate these sways to market effectively, which holds many implications of the polarising effect of social media.

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Conclusion The evolution of social media has evolved dramatically in the short span of 30 years.

New technology is constantly developed to appeal to people, a gradual process that is speeding up as people get more in tune with the online world. With popular trends and hypes becoming increasingly virulent, it can also be seen that big milestones in this process are becoming closer. What used to be distinguishable trends are now constantly overlapping and influencing each other, invoking much more frequent waves of change.

Overall, social media has evolved from a technological trend that was just an addition to daily life, to a global phenomenon that is a simple tap away. It rarely leaves our sight and people today use it to connect with anybody, anywhere, with businesses jumping at every chance to profit off.

Will the whole world be online by 2035?

Is social media progressing in a quickening spiral of economic gain that has no means of stopping or have people learnt to step up and realise how profit-centric technology has influenced their choices?

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Reference List ‘Social media’. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media . Last Updated 12 Sep 2021.

Accessed 15 Sep 2021).

Lunduke, B. (2017) History of computers, part 1 — The bulletin board system.

[Online]. Available at: https://www.networkworld.com/article/3220488/history-ofcomputers-part-1-the-bulletin-board-system.html (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Wilkinson, C. (2017) A 1986 bulletin board system has brought the old Web back to life in 2017. Ars Technica. Available at: https://arstechnica.com/informationtechnology/2017/04/a-1986-bulletin-board-system-has-brought-the-old-web-back-to-life-in2017/ (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Driscoll, K. Social Media’s Dial-up Ancestor: The Bulletin Board System. IEEE. Available at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/social-medias-dialup-ancestor-the-bulletin-boardsystem/particle-12 (Accessed 12 Sep 2021) Driscoll, K. Social Media’s Dial-up Ancestor: The Bulletin Board System. IEEE. Available at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/social-medias-dialup-ancestor-the-bulletin-boardsystem/particle-13 (Accessed 12 Sep 2021) ‘Facebook News Feed Algorithm History’ (Last Updated 29 April 2021). Wallaroo.

Available at: https://wallaroomedia.com/facebook-newsfeed-algorithm-history/ (Accessed 14 Sep 2021) ‘Facebook Business Goals’ [Screenshot]. Facebook for Business. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/business (Accessed 14 Sep 2021)

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Robinson, J. (2018) How Facebook has changed the way we socialize. The University of Melbourne. https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2018/09/07/howfacebook-has-changed-the-way-we-socialize/ (Accessed 14 Sep 2021) Mulaney, M.J. (2012) Optimizing Social Media in Humanitarian Crisis Responses.

The Macalester Review, [Online] 2 (1), p.8. Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.co m.sg/&httpsredir=1&article=1024&context=macreview (Accessed 13 Sep 2021) McEvoy, J. (2020) Study: Facebook Allows And Recommends White Supremacist, AntiSemitic And QAnon Groups With Thousands Of Members. Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/08/04/study-facebook-allows-andrecommends-white-supremacist-anti-semitic-and-qanon-groups-with-thousands-ofmembers/?sh=3dde5f8b6bbd (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Newcomb, A. (2018) A timeline of Facebook’s privacy issues - and its responses.

NBC News. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/timeline-facebook-sprivacy-issues-its-responses-n859651 (Accessed 10 Sep 2021) Rotter, K. (2018) Targeted Ads: The Good, the Bad, the Unavoidable. California Review Management. Available at: https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2018/04/facebook-ads/ (Accessed 12 Sep 2021) ‘How Social Media Is Shaping Political Campaigns’ (2020) Wharton University of Pennsylvania. Available at: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-social-mediais-shaping-political-campaigns/ (Accessed 15 Sep 2021)

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Tsz, B. and Yildirim, P. (2020) Competition, Politics, & Social Media. arXiv:2012.03327. [Online] Cornell University. pp. 22-23. Available at: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.03327.pdf (Accessed 12 Sep 2021) McFadden, C. (2020) YouTube’s History and its Impact on the Internet. Interesting Engineering. Available at: https://interestingengineering.com/youtubes-history-and-itsimpact-on-the-internet (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Schwemmer, C. and Ziewiecki, S. (2018) ‘Social Media Sellout: The Increasing Role of Product Promotion on YouTube’. Social Media + Society, p. 2,11. doi: 10.1177/2056305118786720 Blystone, D. (2020) The Story of Instagram: The Rise of the #1 Photo-Sharing Application. Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/102615/story-instagram-rise-1photo0sharing-app.asp (Accessed 16 Sep 2021) Purohit, N. (2021) Top 11 Snapchat App Features to Consider While Developing Photo and Video Messaging App like Snapchat. Space-O-Technologies. Available at: https://www.spaceotechnologies.com/top-snapchat-app-features/ (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Marcella-Hood, M. (2020) ‘Instagram versus reality: the design and use of selfcurated photo elicitation in a study exploring the construction of Scottish identity amongst personal style influencers on Instagram’. Qualitative Research, p.11. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468794120934404 (Accessed 14 Sep 2021) MacMillan, A. (2017) Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health.

TIME. Available at: https://time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/ (Accessed 14 Sep 2021) 17

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Brooks, A. (2018) 7 Unexpected Ways Instagram Has Changed the World.

SocialMediaToday. Available at: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/7-unexpectedways-instagram-has-changed-the-world/539032/ (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Jurgenson, N. (2020) The Social Photo, On Photography and Social Media. Verso Books, New York.

Manavis, S. (2021) Instagram’s pivot to video marks the end of social media as we know it. The New Statesman. Available at: https://www.newstatesman.com/sciencetech/2021/07/instagram-pivot-video-tiktok-mosseri-reels-marks-end-social-media-we-knowit (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) White, B. (2019) Why Visual Content is So Important. Cortex. Available at: https://www.meetcortex.com/blog/why-visual-content-is-so-important (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Arroyo, L. (2017) Digital Revolution and Cultural Trends: the Influencer Phenomenon. CCCB Lab. Available at: https://lab.cccb.org/en/digital-revolution-andcultural-trends-the-influencer-phenomenon/ (Accessed 16 Sep 2021) ‘Why do people want to be influencers’ (2019) MNFST. Available at: https://mnfst.medium.com/why-do-people-want-to-be-influencers-bf1c6b42b36f (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Cesarz, K. (2021) How Short Attention Spans Equal Short-Form Video in 2021.

Thread. Available at: https://www.threadgroup.com/blog/how-short-attention-spans-equalshort-form-video-in-2021 (Accessed 13 Sep 2021)

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Lo, T. (2016) Snapchat: a glimmer of authenticity in the realm of social media. CBC Canada. Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/snapchat-congresshumanities-calgary-2016-1.3609828 (Accessed 13 Sep 2021) Anonymous ‘-‘ (2020) How TikTok Is Addictive. Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/dataseries/how-tiktok-is-addictive-1e53dec10867 (Accessed 14 Sep 2021) ‘Are Short-form Video Apps the Future of Social Media?’ (2020) Virtual Stacks.

Available at: https://www.virtualstacks.com/are-short-form-video-apps-the-future-of-socialmedia/ (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Jennings, R. (2020) Tikked off: What happens when TikTok fame fades. Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/2/27/21153364/tiktok-famous-backlash (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) ‘Social Media + TV = Social TV’ (2019) Viral Access.Available at: https://viralaccess.medium.com/social-media-tv-social-tv-6981fa9a3247 (Accessed 15 Sep 2021) Pardes, A. (2020) All the Social Media Giants Are Becoming the Same. WIRED. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/social-media-giants-look-the-same-tiktok-twitterinstagram/ (Accessed 16 Sep 2021) Aaknes, K. (2019) Influence of User Interface Design in Social Media. Seamgen.

Available at: https://www.seamgen.com/blog/user-interface-design-social-media/ (Accessed 15 Sep 2021)

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Centola, D. (2020) Why Social Media Makes Us More Polarized And How To Fix It. Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-socialmedia-makes-us-more-polarized-and-how-to-fix-it/ (Accessed 19 Sep 2021) Tenove, C. (2019) The meme-ification of politics. Politicians and their ‘lit’ memes.

The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-meme-ification-of-politicspoliticians-and-their-lit-memes-110017 (Accessed 19 Sep 2021) Wicke, P. (2017). Ideograms as Semantic Primes: Emoji in Computational Linguistic Creativity, p.8. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316168050_Ideograms_as_Semantic_Primes_Emoj i_in_Computational_Linguistic_Creativity DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.21344.89609

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EVOLUTIONS OF SOCIALIZATION THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Date 21/09/2021

FATHIMA NASRIN MOHAMED SHAMSUDEEN

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1. Intro Information and Technology have drastically evolved over the years, with people increasingly shifting more to digital platforms, to connect and communicate efficiently. The Age of the internet was a revolutionary transformation that drove along with social media which interchanged & influenced the way people socialized. This report will be focused on the evolutions of socialization throughout history and will investigate the trends, drivers, and impacts of the mentioned topic.

2. Defining socialization In a general context, its numerous platforms that people use to build social bonds and form connections. What began as a network enabling people to form relationships and interact has grown with time, in comparison to now. The advancement of socializing has been enhanced by the growth of social media which can be branched into two, Traditional media and Technological media. “Social media are internet site [or platforms] where people interact freely, sharing and discussing information [often] about each other and their lives, using a multimedia mix of personal words, pictures, videos and audio” (McIntyre, 2014)

(Shah, 2020)

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Body *A Trend is something that popularized at a certain significant point *A Driver is the force that drives behind a trend Trend 01: Pen Pal writing Pen pals are people who regularly wrote letters to each other, both locally and globally and exchanged them via postal mail. Often to learn a new language, culture, lifestyles of a foreign country and to connect with new people, forging friendship and bonds based on mutual correspondence in which people can choose new suitable friends based on any characteristics they like, such as character qualities, hobbies, jobs, or to learn more about the world they live in & making connections through writing. The medium flourished in the pre-internet era where access to digital platforms and smartphones were not within the reach of people (Indigo, 2020)

01.1 Drivers Writing letters was one of the most fundamental modes of communication before cell phones, and computers were invented. It was an important part of a person's daily life since it allowed them to communicate their thoughts and ideas, respond to questions, and expressing themselves (Conrad, 2013). The term Pen Pal was started by Big Blue Marble, a popular children's television show from the 1970s, frequently invited viewers to write pen pal for cultural exchange between strangers across the world through the medium of writing letter, it was advancement in global postal mailing service that made such distant connection possible.

The postal service, such as the USPS and FedEx, is one of the most popular services that aided the global connection.

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01.2 Impacts In social aspect having the companionship of pen pal has helped people cope with loneliness, having the bond has helped people to feel more confident and have a build trust.

In technological aspects, the postal business, particularly the letter mail industry, has seen massive transformations in recent years. Increased competitiveness, as well as increased use of information and technology, define the new business ecosystem, resulting the companionship of pen pal to be more digital. Public finding for pen pals through online platforms like Facebook and even having a group to find a possible match. The trend of writing pen pal has revolutionised, but the main objective remains. (Goh, 2021)

Trend 02: Emailing The first Email (Electronic mail) was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson for his personal use. The internet went live to the public in 1991, as a paid service, which first deterred the public from emailing as they felt it was too expensive for regular usage until 1996 when Hotmail (then know as HoTMail) launched the first free emailing service that allowed direct communication between people that popularised email (Davis, 2017). It created opportunities for people to socialize digitally, enabled the transferring of data to be faster and was costefficient compared to traditional mailing. This revolutionary change in the history of mass socialization, transformed the way people interact and communicate, sooner it allowed people to share more than just text and providing them with the ability to attach multiple data files like videos, documents, and the flexibility to store them (Chugh, 2019).

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02.1 Drivers The invention of the internet was originated under the circumstances of the Cold War. The launch of Sputnik 1 on 4th October 1957, contributed to establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), intended to be used for military purposes, which then expanded out for communication purposes, creating ARPANET (Network Worldwide) (Slevin, 2001) which surfaced the internet, a global network of information connected by a worldwide universal addressing system that transmits TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) information and the World Wide Web (www.), a collection of website networks saved in web servers that are connected via the internet, allowing people to easily access connections which have contributed to the rapid spread of networked digital communication through personal computers, contributing to the increasing number of email usage. (Martin Lister, 2009).

02.2 Impacts People's experiences with email networks, influenced by the internet, had grown over time as it continues to impact in increasing one's network of connections, reducing spatial and cultural limitations (Laura Garton, 2016). Computer-mediated communication (CMC) had become increasingly popular (Daantje Derks, 2010). In terms of the social impact, the network has allowed the social connection between people across borders, bridging the gap created by physical distance issues, and email was interconnected in their lifestyle. Need to check the status of a bank account? Email. Amazon? Email. Forums? Email (Madrigal, 2014). It became a viable option for establishing one's online persona, like Madrigal said, 5

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“Email was one's passport and identity”. When looked at the technological impact, it led to the invention of email marketing, which was established with rising of the network. The world's first email marketing campaign, and first email spam (mass transmission of unwanted messages), was launched on 3rd May 1978. Gary Thuerk, the marketing manager of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), sent the first unsolicited mass email for a commercial purpose to advertise a new DEC computer, resulting in a $13 million sale, showcasing the potential of email marketing (Chugh, 2019), Email remains as a channel via which marketers can reach potentially large audiences. In addition, the medium has evolved in ways that benefit both advertisers and email recipients, but the method has changed over time, incorporating graphics, video, dynamic content, and a range of interactivity to keep readers interested (Wozniak, 2018). However, the invention of spam has a disruptive impact on email marketing, and service platforms are addressing techniques to limit them, along with giving customers the opportunity to cancel subscription from specific spam emails and filter email alternatives.

Trend 03: Viral Media Challenges The most popular forms of mediums that connect hundreds of individuals online are social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and a variety of other platforms. In these platforms, a trend known as "social media challenges" has taken hold, in which users post videos or images of themselves participating in an activity, challenging, and encouraging others to join in and share their experience. It's a collaborative and interactive approach to get people to interact with one another. Social media propagates the challenges making them viral. Most of these challenges are light-hearted and enjoyable, but others are designed to express a message or raise awareness. Furthermore, some can be harmful. The ALS 6

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(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Ice Bucket Challenge, for example, was intended to raise awareness, whereas the cinnamon challenge was intended to be harmful.

03.1 Drivers Social Media Networks play a key role in promoting these viral challenges. Social networks are “web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semipublic profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” (Danah m. boyd, 2007). These networks developed social media, sites, such as Instagram, Tiktok and many more, which is frequently used and an influence in daily lifestyle. Ephemeral Contents is something that is only available for a limited time and then expires. This form of content is perfectly exemplified by Instagram and Snapchat Stories that made the platforms popular. (Geyser, 2021). These challenges are viral as its short and sweet, it only requires few minutes of users’ attention to capture their mind and convey the message, in this case passing on the challenge. Customers may actively or accidentally disclose information, and a variety of incentives can encourage consumers to do so. People are willing to pay more attention if there is a strong social tie between the content and the distributor; recipients tend to have greater interest in sharing knowledge if there is a strong perceptual affinity between the target audience and the information distributor. In addition, key viral marketing was also a driver of this trend, it is a sales approach that employs organic or word-of-mouth information about a product or service to spread at an ever-increasing rate. The internet and the rise of social media have boosted the number of viral messages in the form of memes, shares, likes, hashtag, and forwards significantly.

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03.2 Impacts The ASL ice bucket challenge is a great example to show the power viral challenges in social media has in a social aspect. The Ice Bucket Challenge, also known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity in which a bucket of ice water is poured over a person's head and sharing it in to raise awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and to start encouraging donations to research, (Madison, 2014) it went so viral across all kinds of social media platforms such as, Facebook and Instagram. After taking the challenge, the challenger would upload the video onto his/his social media and challenge three other people to participate. This way it went viral as the chain of people doing the challenge became longer.

Even celebrities also took part in this challenge to raise awareness. The hashtag #ASLbucketchallenge was trending on all platforms. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has undeniably been a huge success, in less than a month, the ALS Association had raised 98.2 million dollars, compared to only 2.7 million last year during the same period. Furthermore, the ALS Ice Bucket Campaign outperformed previous campaigns in terms of increasing public awareness. According to statistics, only 1,662,842 people viewed the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis page on Wikipedia before August 2014, but this number increased to 2,717,754 after, the campaign was launched. (Yi, 2014).

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Conclusion Based on the trends and factors, there is a strong likelihood that social media usage will increase, internet access will reach new highs, and more tailored user content will be created to meet the wants and expectations of media consumers through targeted content and engagement. Public will most likely be connected and socialize through the networks and cause lesser human face-to-face interactions but rather connected through the digital platforms.

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Reference List

Bibliography Chugh, R., 2019. The Evolution of Email: A complete timeline. [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-email-complete-timeline-radhika-chugh [Accessed 14 September 2021].

Conrad, H., 2013. From Pigeons to Email: How Sending Letters and Packages Evolved.

[Online] Available at: https://www.zmescience.com/tech/from-pigeons-to-email-how-sending-letters-andpackages-evolved/ [Accessed 5 September 2021].

Daantje Derks, A. B. B., 2010. The impact of Email Communication on Organizational Life.

Cyberpsychology.

Danah m. boyd, N. B. E., 2007. Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communicaton, 17 December, 13(1), pp. 210-230.

Davis, P., 2017. 7 Surprising Facts About the History of Email Marketing. [Online] [Accessed 18 September 2021].

Geyser, W., 2021. 16 Social Media Trends for 2021 and Beyond. [Online] Available at: https://influencermarketinghub.com/social-media-trends/ [Accessed 8 September 2021].

Indigo, M., 2020. What is a Pen Pal/ Pen Friend. [Online] Available at: https://blog.penvibe.com/what-is-a-pen-pal-pen-friend/ [Accessed 3 September 2021].

Laura Garton, B. W., 2016. Social Impact of Electronic Mail in Organizations: A Review of Research Literature. Tandfonline, 18 May.pp. 434-453.

Madison, S., 2014. Icing ALS in the Midstate: Ice bucket challenge shows power of social media. [Online] Available at: https://cumberlink.com/news/local/icing-als-in-the-midstate-ice-bucket-challengeshows-power-of-social-media/article_d505b182-2bee-11e4-8294-0019bb2963f4.html [Accessed 1 September 2021].

Madrigal, A. C., 2014. Email Is Still the Best Thing on the Internet. [Online] Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/why-email-will-neverdie/375973/?single_page=true [Accessed 10 September 2021].

Martin Lister, J. D. S. G. I. G. &. K. K., 2009. New media, A critical introduction. 2nd ed. s.l.:Routledge.

McIntyre, K., 2014. The Evolution of Social Media from 1969 to 2013: A Change in Competition and a Trend Toward Complimentary, Niche Sites. JSMS.

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Slevin, J., 2001. The Internet and Society. s.l.:Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Wozniak, T., 2018. What We Can Learn From Email Marketing's 40-Year Evolution. [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/12/12/what-wecan-learn-from-email-marketings-40-year-evolution/?sh=6bfb90824397 [Accessed 11 September 2021].

Yi, J., 2014. The ASL Ice Bucket Challenge Campaign- a Successful Example of Viral Marketing.

[Online] Available at: http://buytheway.ascjclass.org/the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-campaign-a-successfulexample-of-viral-marketing-2/ [Accessed 1 September 2021].

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THE EVOLUTION OF AD DISTRIBUTION

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice

Kadam Deesha Shashikant Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

21st September 2021

DEESHA KADAM

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Intro For a long time now, advertisements have been used as a strategic tool to promote products.

The primary goal of advertisements is delivering information about products and services to the consumers so that they make educated choices. Since it is a paid form of propaganda it is biased towards the sponsor of the message i.e., advertisers. The advertising industry has undergone major innovative changes and established new milestones.

This study looks into the evolution of the distribution of advertisements. In the past 100 years, the market research industry has evolved significantly into an incredibly reliable and beneficial tool for companies.

The drivers that caused these changes and the ripple effects: • Advent of Television • Proliferation of Internet • Affordable mobile devices • Advances in ad-tech: data-driven ad distribution models based on personalisation and localisation • Social media and User generated content giving rise to a new breed of influencers • Ethical concerns revolving around personal data protection (PDP)

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Body The first-ever known form of marketing and advertising distribution was ‘word of mouth’.

Travellers, teachers, and merchants brought information and news from other regions and countries. Marketing methods have a long history, dating back to printed advertising in the mid-1700s. It was during the industrial revolution that press/print media were used as carriers of advertisements. People all around got an opportunity to read pamphlets, newspapers, gazettes and magazines. The first newspaper advertisement was published in 1704 by the Boston Newspaper. Manufacturers and retailers began mass proliferation of ads. The main reason newspapers carried advertisements was to cover the cost of publishing and distributing. However, the consumers started taking them seriously because they served the need to know more about and establish authenticity (branding) of the products and services they wanted to buy. Newspapers were a relatively new concept at the beginning of the 18th century. However, by the turn of the century, they had established themselves as the dominant form of mass media, with increasing influence in business, social, and political spheres. William Taylor established the first advertising firm in 1786. The creation of the newspaper advertising industry occurred when publishers set aside huge amounts of space for advertisements and sold it at higher rates to professional marketers whose competition grew fiercer year after year. The environmental impact of newspapers was significant, because more paper was consumed in order to publish fancy advertisements. This era saw the advent of targeted ads, where different sections of the newspaper had ads targeted at specific groups of people. This led to the production era, also defined by low-cost mass production. During this time Billboard ads were introduced to reach a wider audience without them having a newspaper subscription. This outbound or interruptive marketing style would redefine advertising quite a few years before inbound marketing gained momentum in the early 2000s.

Competition started to increase with mass-produced items becoming saturated on the market.

This gave rise to the sales era.

Marketing during this period was primarily focused on sales tactics and undercutting competitors' pricing, with little regard for quality or customer satisfaction. Door to door sales together with print media, became a popular advertising channel. In 1922, radio advertising began. This brought a new set of targeting opportunities. George Gallup pioneered market research in 1935, gathering information about customers to better communicate to and promote to them. It wasn't until the 1960s when market research was used widely— connecting with audiences at any location, anytime, no matter what they are doing. Human voice sparked more emotions than written text or images, creating a more significant impact on the consumers.

Television ads became popular after the second World War. The number of households that had televisions shot up by almost 30%. Companies started advertising through sponsored programs. The combination of sight and sound created a practical and captivating method of persuasion. The creative revolution encompassed an emotional impact revolution, which was probably the most significant breakthrough in advertising since its invention.

Consumers, fed up with being given the hard sell, they were longer trusting the brands that were pushing products. This shifted the way that advertisers approached their audiences.

Rather than focusing solely on product sales, advertisers sought to establish brand awareness and trust. The period from the 1960s to the 1980s is considered the “golden age” in the 3

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history of advertising. Marketing became a primary focus for businesses as they shifted away from traditional approaches and began focusing on consumer requirements for the first time.

The “customer is king” saying comes from this era. Companies started building characters around their products to establish more connection between viewers and brands (Fig 1.1).

This was when advertising became a true science, with teams of psychologists, focus groups, and researchers all started working together to create successful ad campaigns.

Fig 1.1 Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes

In 1981 IBM launched the first computer, causing a drastic shift in dissemination and consumption of information. Instead of selling, advertisements evolved to focus on problemsolving and brand recognition. What is the problem that the consumers are having, and how can the product/service help them solve it? All this began in the late 1990s, when online services were introduced, and internet usage surged.

Advertisers leaped at the chance to contact customers on the internet when everyone suddenly began using it for personal purposes. They shifted their attention to digital ads, beginning with display ads. In October 1994, the first digital banner ads were launched (Fig 1.2). These ads were like billboards, the same ad appeared for everyone regardless of the viewer’s interest. Paid search and email marketing were two of the earliest expansions that came from banners and pop-ups. This was also the start of the dot com boom, as the internet became a viable tool in online marketing. Search engines were launched and by 1997, Yahoo and ask.com allowed people to search for what they want. This is when targeted ads took a turn, now ads would appear based on what the consumers searched.

Fig 1.2 The first ever ad banner on the internet

Technology was the driver for many changes, one of which being targeted advertising. The shift from generic segmentation and distribution of advertisements to a more targeted and precise ad delivery. Suddenly advertisements would be served, when we were looking for a product or seemed interested in the subject. New websites were catalogued by search engines like Yahoo and Google, allowing consumers to find the information, products, and services they wanted at the click of a mouse. Google developed Google AdWords in 2000. It enabled companies to target advertisements based on people's search histories and preferences.

Inbound marketing was then prioritized through information sharing, user-cantered design, and collaboration. The emergence of social media sites from 2002 to 2007 such as LinkedIn,

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Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter made this all the more conceivable as internet users began sharing more and more personal information online.

Data collected through these forums were bought by companies, which is called third-party data. Targeting consumers just became so much easier with the advent of these social media sites. Information such as the geographical, demographic, interest is bought by the brands and segmented. Using this information brands create relevant messages or ads that targets the specific consumers rather than carpet-bombing them.

The consumers were still very sceptical about the quality of products and fake services. In 2008, Facebook launched the advert platform and introduced Facebook advertising for business and engagement. This gave businesses an opportunity to buy ad space on social media to promote their brand to segmented audiences. “Our strategy is much less about increasing the volume of ads and much more about increasing the quality of the targeting to get the right content to the right people” (Mark Zuckerberg, 2014).

User-generated content grew because of the interactions on social media. Most consumers are more likely to trust other consumers before they trust the brands. This trend seems to be repeating, the word of mouth era is seen to be something that was and is always going to stay.

Companies leveraged on these and prompted more consumers to review their brand and products. They started to build a community around their brand. When a user found a product intriguing, they were more inclined to review and share it, and others would tend to follow suit.

Targeting options, in addition to user-generated content and social media advertising, played a key part in the evolution of advertisement distribution. Advertisers today have billions of data points about audiences from platforms such as Facebook and Google. With so many data points, they are able to create extremely targeted and personalized ads. For example, this specific one is a Facebook advertisement that knows the geographical location and the interest of the consumer (Fig1.3). This concept is called Hyper - targeting.

Fig 1.3 A Marvel Universe Live ad on Facebook

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Businesses may be able to access and analyze large-scale social media and surfing behaviour using machine learning and artificial intelligence as big data becomes a key marketing tool.

With this data, precise consumer profiles may be created, and narrow segmentation of preferences, likes, and dislikes can be identified. Businesses can make more focused decisions aimed at individuals most likely to buy their product with this degree of knowledge.

Virtual assistance and streamlining ads opened new avenues for advertisers.

However, with the advent of artificial intelligence in marketing comes a slew of ethical concerns. When it comes to the usage of AI, marketers have an ethical obligation to guarantee that customer data is utilized securely and efficiently. It can also promote fake news to spread on social media. AI systems may learn how to create false information, which may be damaging to both businesses and devices. Automated social media accounts and bots, in particular, may be used to disseminate misinformation.

Consumers are feeling exploited as they do not even have the choice on sharing the data or not. Transparency in marketing is now becoming a priority for consumers when it comes to personal data collection.

Conclusion From ancient Egyptian etchings to print advertisements, the Golden Age, and now, advertising has seen several transformations. Looking at the advancement in ad distribution through the years, the dominance of consumers is one of the main driving factors for the changes. Targeted ads and user generated content have aided in consumer satisfaction. By displaying advertisements and promoting ideas that people want to see and hear. The more people who don't perceive the material as a "ad," the more likely they are to be drawn to it, engage with your brand, and eventually purchase. In the past, a lot of money and time was wasted in mass production. With the advent of social media platforms where the ads could be targeted, budgeting can be done. The marketing strategy also evolved. Whereas before the advancement of the internet, push marketing was a trend where the goal was to make as many sales as possible. However, through the years the concept of brand identity has increased, now it is all about pull marketing by meeting consumer needs. Market research and the advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning has changed the course of advertising today. This concept does come with a few concerns. Consumers are cracking down on how organizations use their data. They may overstep in what is considered acceptable in terms of using consumer data for personalization. Issues like data privacy and negative content have risen. Google has now planned to eradicate third-party cookies. Thirdparty cookies will no longer be hosted by the Chrome browser, which accounts for about twothirds of the online market. Prior to the widespread adoption of third-party cookies, keyword targeting was a game changer. Despite that fact, most marketers have lost touch with this method. What does this imply for the advertising business? Will the organizations go back to contextual-based advertising?

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Reference List Kietzmann, J., Paschen, J. & Treen, E., 2018. Artificial Intelligence in advertising. the Journal of Advertising Research. Available at: http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/58/3/263 [Accessed September 10, 2021].

Author, D., 2020. Advertising's past, present and future; a viewpoint - soler & associates: Marketing hotel technology. Soler & Associates. Available at: https://martinsoler.com/insights/advertisings-past-present-and-future-a-viewpoint [Accessed August 28, 2021].

ImageLabGraphics.com, 2020. Ethical concerns of AI in marketing. 4LegalLeads.com.

Available at: https://4legalleads.com/blog/ethical-concerns-of-ai-in-marketing/ [Accessed September 10, 2021].

Bauerlein, L., 2019. History of advertising: How has advertising changed over time? - Cleveled. C-leveled. Available at: https://blog.c-leveled.com/history-of-advertising-how-hasadvertising-changed-over-time [Accessed September 2, 2021].

Anon, 2019. The evolution of marketing from trade to Technology. GetSmarter Blog.

Available at: https://www.getsmarter.com/blog/market-trends/the-evolution-of-marketingfrom-trade-to-technology/ [Accessed August 29, 2021].

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THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice

Lee Le Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

20 September 2021

Word Count: 2125

Lee Le

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Introduction With the immense growth in popularity of Social Media in the recent years, communication in this modern times has never been more digital than before. The rise of the internet, social media and other digital communications technology have now become an integral part of billions of people around the world.

Ever since the introduction of the social media platforms in the late 1990s to early 2000s such as Six Degrees, Friendster and Myspace, etc, social media has evolved rapidly and saw significant changes through the rise and fall of these various social media platforms.

According to the data by Statista as of July 2021, the most popular social networks currently include Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp and Instagram. Other notable networks that are gaining traction are Wechat, Tiktok and Telegram.

Fig.1 : Data on Most popular social networks worldwide by Statista.

More than just a platform for users to receive information, social media provides a digital environment, usually as websites or apps, for users to receive content, express their thoughts and share ideas collaboratively with a wide diversity of virtual communities.

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Referring to Pentina and Koh, Social media marketing (SMM) in particular involves initiating viral two way communications by creating brand customer communities, managing brand and promotional content as well as customer experiences within popular social networks (2012). SMM can also include a paid activity that a business/company generates on the media platform (Stephen & Galak, 2012), such as sponsored posts on Facebook/Instagram, etc.

Fig 2: A sponsored post on Instagram in 2021.

According to data provided by Statista, there has been a consistent increase of active social network users since 2017. As of 2020, there are now 3.6 billion active social network users which accumulate to 49% of the global population (2020). With its remarkable size and potential, it is no surprise that brands and advertisers have found a new channel to reach out to their audience through this medium. Another advantage that this digital marketing method has is its cost-efficiency, measurability and its ability to hyper target the right audience (Gordiyevskaya, 2020).

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The expenditure of social media advertising is also projected to hit US$153,698m in 2021 by an outlook from Statista (2021). Furthermore, a survey done by Buffer in 2019 reflected that at least 73% of marketers and businesses agree that they believe that social media marketing has been proved to be effective for their business. More data reflecting on the growing reach and impact of social media has been reported by Global WebIndex, with 54% of social media browsers using social media to find out about products (Bayindir & Kavanagh, 2018). Thus, as suggested by Hawkins and Vel, social media has grown to gain recognition as a pronounced and paramount marketing factor guiding the success of a product/service/business (2013).

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Debate on Social Media Algorithms & Privacy Have you searched for a specific product on Facebook and end up seeing other similar products as you browse through your Facebook feed? Algorithmically-driven contents are a common feature on various Social Media Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. To put it simply, the system makes use of machine learning technology to sort posts based on relevancy to the user’s digital footprint, prioritizing the content that an user will be more likely to engage with (Golino, 2021).

This system allows advertisers to leverage on the algorithms to hyper target a specific audience that drives a higher efficiency and cost-effective result than traditional media.

However, as mentioned by DeVito et al., the user resistance towards such behavioural and digital tracking has become more frequent and visible. Users are becoming more wary and concerned about having personal information being collected and used (2017).

As summarised by Apel et al, while such personalization marketing tactics has its benefits, it erodes trust in social media platforms and the brands that advertise through this method.

This arising privacy concern may create a negative impression towards both the brands & social media platforms for users as they are uncomfortable with being tracked in such a manner (2020). Research by Edelman Trust Barometer, has surveyed that close to 40% of active social media users have deleted at least a social media app due to privacy concerns.

This means that individuals would rather not share data and give up their personal privacy for a more personalised experience(2018).

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Fig 3: Report on users’ concerns about personal information.

Colin Strong, Author of the book Humanizing Big data, compares negative emotions evoked by hyper-personalized marketing to an effect called “Uncanny Valley”. The theory suggests that when such personalised experiences are minimized by technology, we become fearful and anxious as it becomes a threat to humans' distinctiveness (2015).

Despite its continuous attention surrounding this controversial theme, there has not been a concrete resolution as the way consumers, brands, policy makers, and social media platforms are addressing these persistent concerns is still in flux (Apel et al , 2020).

Fig 4: Off-Activity Tool on Facebook to manage privacy.

It is crucial for social media platforms to tackle and address privacy concerns to ensure that social media continues not just as an enjoyable space for users but also a safe platform for advertisers to engage with users, foster relationships and provide an excellent customer 6

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experience. In January 2020, Facebook finally implemented a long overdue privacy tool called the ‘Off-Activity Tool’ to allow users to manage tracking of digital footprint.

A notable mention is that the Singapore Government is currently exploring and investing possible interdisciplinary technology to deter complex cyber challenges such as privacy & data, to ensure and strengthen the country’s move towards digitalisation (Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, 2018).

Privacy Concerns is one major driving signal that may affect social media negatively. Actions and cybersecurity solutions should be undertaken by social media platforms and even government bodies to ensure trust and greater transparency for digital users. Brands should also shift and focus to a more human-centric approach to generate better and value-adding content for consumers. All these are interlinked and will work to diffuse the new increased feeling of distrust and scepticism towards social media, making social media platforms a safe place for users again.

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Social Media to stay even after COVID-19 The rapid growth of digitalisation is not only fuelled by governments worldwide but also by the persistence of the global COVID-19 pandemic. With the widespread implementation of social distancing measures worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a rapid increase in screen time for everyone.

Fig 5: Statistics on digital media’s role during COVID-19 To cope with the lack of social interaction, loneliness due to constant lockdowns, people are using social media to connect with loved ones, access information and to pass time. For instance, messaging and video Call Services such as Whatsapp and Zoom, saw a sharp increase in usage as people relied on them to communicate with loved ones (Yadav. N, 2020). In July 2020, statistics by Data Reportal showed that at least 40% of users were spending longer time on Social Media during the pandemic. In the same report, 45% of survey respondents have also responded that inter-connected technologies such as Social Media have helped them with their shopping and coping with COVID-19 related lockdowns (Kemp, 2020).

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Fig 6: Statistics on the use of social for brand research.

Data collated by Kemp on Data Reportal also found that an increasing number of users are using social networks to research about brands, second to search engines where the gap is notably closing. Overall, younger women aged 16 to 24 are more likely to turn to social media for their research about brands and products (2018). This is shaping a new shift on how people look for information about the things they want to buy, relying more and more on Social Media.

Almost half of internet users are likely to continue making use of the digital space to shop online, even after the outbreak is over (Kemp, 2020). With such driving signals, it is no surprise that businesses are finding themselves pivoting to digital platforms to reach customers due to lockdowns and the many restrictions.

Undeniably, COVID-19 has brought about an unrivalled surge in digital communication technologies (Chia Wee, 2020), further fuelling a greater digital transformation in not just Social Media Marketing but even in society as a whole.

A commentary on Channel News Asia noted that this nature of the current crisis may have also shifted and disrupted the way users consume social media, from a more individualistic narrative to a much more public-service oriented use. It is no longer about people’s wants

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and desires but instead more on what the society as a whole and users would need (Rao, 2020).

It is crucial to note that users’ behaviour is never constant and they may change even more with this current fluid and volatile environment. Any shift in behaviour and lifestyle patterns will affect the demand of such user driven technologies and any marketing activities in the immediate and near future.

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Interactive and Sensory experiences Social Media postings have evolved greatly over the last decade. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter used to heavily relied on text postings in the early days (Apel et al , 2020). Social media platforms have since then transitioned into diversifying their medium postings to pictures and more recently, videos. Take Instagram and Pinterest for examples, where they primarily have images as a medium but eventually introduced the idea of short videos posts/stories.

Fig 7: Tiktok, a video sharing platform from China.

Today, video postings such as Instagram Stories and Tiktok Videos are gaining more traction and hype. Launched in 2016, Tiktok, a video sharing platform that allows users to create their own 15 seconds video, has been growing steadily with it being the most downloaded and one of highest-grossing app globally in the first half of 2021 (Chan, 2021).

The shift in such a trend suggests that visual-based content has greater social presence than text (Pittman & Reich, 2016). New plethora of technologies in the market will bring Social Media to be even more sensory-rich and interactive (Apel et al , 2020).

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Fig 8: IKEA’s in-house AR app that allows users to visualise products in a space.

The use of augmented reality (AR) has been creeping around social media with the big players slowly expanding to AR features in their service. Notable examples of the use of this feature are Pokémon Go and AR filters on Instagram. AR filters on Instagram are customisable and its super interactive features allows brands to show off their brand identity and allows more engagement with their followers by leveraging on user generated content (Boon Jun, 2020). Bigger brands such as IKEA, have also launched an AR app recently in 2017 that allows users to visualise their products in a space (Ayoubi, 2017).

While AR makes use of technology to integrate virtual enhancements into the real environment, a technology that is also slowly finding its way into social media interactions is virtual reality (VR). It is the immersion of a 3-D artificial environment or any other sensory environment.

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Fig 9: Facebook’s social VR platform called Horizon.

Although the VR concept is usually explored in video games, Facebook has however seen its potential as future social interaction, acquiring Oculus, a VR and digital-centric brand and investing in building a Social Virtual Reality platform, called the Horizon as reported by Little Black Book (2020). Given the social effects brought about by COVID-19, such social virtual experiences can provide a safe space for users to gather and connect with each other.

Marketing opportunities in this VR realm are endless with the use of such authentic and lifelike virtual experiences and it is not confined to just imagery advertisements or sponsored posts. Brands could interact and present themselves to a potential customer in an authentic and natural way in a virtual reality setting, changing the whole experience (Hackl, 2020).

Brand interactions, advertisements and marketing efforts that are enhanced with such social VR and AR experiences can eventually create a more engaging and possibly an even more personalised experience for users with the use of algorithms (Dwivedi et al., 2021).

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Conclusion Social media marketing will continue to stay in the future, yet with the ever changing & fluid environment in today’s world, it is uncertain how exactly and what sort of transformation will social media marketing undergo. Despite this, the trends discussed in the report are an indisputable driving force that will shape the outlook of social media marketing in the years to come.

The advancement of AR & VR technology creates an immense excitement for the future of social media marketing. The endless opportunities that have yet to be discovered are bound to create new, interactive and fun social-virtual experiences for users, transforming their social media experience.

Even before the pandemic, our lives have already become so entwined with digitalisation. It is no surprise that this form of communication and advertising will continue to stay in our daily lives even after the end of COVID-19. Social media will continue to hold its foot as a platform for users to get valuable information. However, as a people-centric form of communication, it is important to balance and address the use of personal data and information to ensure the continued growth of social media marketing. Ultimately, as we move forward into the new future, being socially relevant and providing a safe experience for the users should be at the core of how social media marketing is being shaped.

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Anon, 2018. Smart Nation: The Way Forward. Smart Nation Singapore. Available at: https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/smart-nationstrategy_nov2018.pdf?sfvrsn=3f5c2af8_2 [Accessed September 20, 2021].

Anon, 2019. State of social 2019. Buffer. Available at: https://buffer.com/state-of-social-2019 [Accessed September 20, 2021].

Anon, 2020. Here's the reality of AR and VR in social media marketing. BDEX. Available at: https://www.bdex.com/ar-vr-social-media-marketing/ [Accessed September 20, 2021].

Anon, 2020. Meaningful meetups: Virtual reality is the next social media. LBBOnline.

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Anon, 2021. Social media advertising - Worldwide: Statista market forecast. Statista.

Available at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/digital-advertising/social-mediaadvertising/worldwide [Accessed September 20, 2021].

Anon, Smart nation and digital economy. National Research Foundation Singapore.

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Appel, G. et al., 2019. The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), pp.79–95.

Ayoubi, A., 2017. IKEA launches augmented reality application. Architect Magazine.

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Bayindir, N. & Kavanagh, D., 2018. Social Flagship Report 2018. Global WebIndex.

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Bursztynsky , J., 2020. Zoom's massive surge in new users is increasing costs, but the focus is on keeping video calls reliable. CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/14/zooms-new-users-increasing-costs-focus-is-keeping-theplatform-free.html [Accessed September 20, 2021].

DeVito, M.A., Gergle, D. & Birnholtz, J., 2017. "Algorithms ruin everything". Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Dwivedi, Y.K. et al., 2021. Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions. International Journal of Information Management, 59, p.102168.

Dwivedi, Y.K., Kapoor, K.K. & Chen, H., 2015. Social media marketing and advertising. The Marketing Review, 15(3), pp.289–309.

Edelman, 2018. Trust barometer Special Report: Brands and social media. Edelman.

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Hackl, C., 2020. Social VR, Facebook horizon and the future of social media marketing.

Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathyhackl/2020/08/30/social-vrfacebook-horizon--the-future-of-social-media-marketing/?sh=429e18955b19 [Accessed September 20, 2021].

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Pittman, M. & Reich, B., 2016. Social media and Loneliness: Why an instagram picture may be worth more than a thousand TWITTER WORDS. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, pp.155–167.

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Yadav, N., 2020. Houseparty, zoom, WHATSAPP, other video calling apps see surge in activity following coronavirus-related lockdowns- technology NEWS, FIRSTPOST. Tech 2.

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A LOOK AT THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA ON POLITICAL CHANGE Lysanti Prischiella Himawan

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts 21 September 2021

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Introduction Mass communication is the process by which communicators utilize technological mediums to distribute information to impact their audiences. The fast exchange of information through mass communication has hugely impacted consumer behaviour, attitudes, and opinions. Since it has such an impact, mass communications are highly prevalent in most societies, especially democratic ones. Mass communication channels such as television, radio, social media, and print, also known as mass media, provide a window to the political scene in society that people were previously unaware of.

It has long been acknowledged that mass media, including technologies, play a crucial role in politics since they can promote politicians' agendas or undermine those who oppose them. Despite not all media outlets being biased, a majority of them still have hidden motives or agendas. This is an alarming problem as media and technology should be kept neutral and impartial rather than used as a weapon in the arsenal of politicians and governments.

This report evaluates three significant trends in the evolution of media that are important in the political sphere. To begin with, people are increasingly turning to new media for political information in place of traditional media. Having established this, the role of digital and social media in providing political news will be explained. This can be observed in the appearance of a 'Twitterverse', which refers to the collective members of the social media site Twitter. It has become an effective tool for communicating with citizens and politicians. Lastly, the manner in which information is disseminated via social media likely undermines the propaganda and indoctrination present in authoritarian regimes.

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Transformation of Political Media During the last decade, people's methods of gathering political information have changed significantly. It is critical to watch how a changing media environment affects how citizens form their political opinion. The media environment transition reflects the emergence of a new mode of socialization known as 'new media' (Ohme et al., 2020). Entertainment outlets such as television shows, radio and newspapers played an increasingly influential role in politics in the late 1980s and resulted in the emergence of infotainment, which emphasizes dramatic and controversial stories above factual information (Jebril, et al., 2013). Changes grew drastically by the late 1990s when the Internet and digital technologies spread worldwide and became a distribution method of political information, which led the infotainment movement to grow in popularity.

The use of infotainment by politicians and candidates offered an easier way to communicate with the public in a more user-friendly manner than traditional media. The study of new media by Owens of 2018 uses Bill Clinton as an example. On Arsenio Hall's television talk show during the 1992 presidential campaign, he wore sunglasses and played the saxophone, which conveyed an image of warmth and personal reflection that made him successful (cited in Diamond, et al., 1993). Due to the fact that there is an element of entertainment, viewers who were previously uninterested in politics were drawn to the show.

Moreover, it gave rise to 'celebrity politicians' like Donald Trump, who captured the attention of citizens thanks to his colourful persona on reality television. Through the influence of celebrity politicians presented in the media, young people can learn about the norms and functions of the political system (Bandura, 1976).

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A recent trend has shown that traditional media consumption has declined, such as TV broadcasts and newspapers, while social media use has increased, especially among young people. According to a 2016 survey of American citizens, 57% of them get their news from TV, while 38% get their information from the Internet. In 2017, television use dropped to 50% of the population, while online news usage increased to 43% (Owen 2018, cited in Gottfried, et.al., 2017). The report says people nowadays prefer the on-the-go ease of access to digital news over more traditional modes.

With easy access to the Internet worldwide today, many sources of information are available to boost political knowledge. Those interested in politics are becoming more informed and more knowledgeable as their content choices expand. The Internet has given us more options of media platforms than ever before, such as social media platforms. The 2018 study of American Government and Politics in the Information Age by Owen indicates that millions of Americans obtain news through social media, whether they get it by subscription or by accident, as it shows up in their news feeds (p. 8). Digital and social media can offer news sources written by various audiences who share different political beliefs. Unlike traditional media forms, audiences have no control over the distribution of information since editors, journalists, and producers control the publication of political stories. Rosen (2011) states that social media allows "people who were once part of the audience" to become publishers.

Additionally, it can circumvent restrictions and censorship imposed by either the government or a news outlet. Li Wenliang, for example, warned a circle of medical professionals about Covid-19 on the Chinese social app Weibo on 30 December 2019. This could not have been achieved through news outlets in China, which are censored strictly by the government.

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The Role of Digital and Social media in Political Social media have become an increasingly important part of civic engagement and American politics. Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that 60% of American adults use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and more than onethird of them have used social media for civic or political purposes (Rainie, et al., 2012). Given the number of Americans using social media, it’s not surprising that social media has become a part of their lives. However, social media may result in accidental political exposure for those who are not interested in politics. The news feed feature of Facebook distributes a notification to all friends in a person's network when they "like" a political profile or message. Thus, people may get political information without being aware of it. According to Bode, L. et al. (2014), it has been proven that using Facebook explicitly for political purposes affects public behaviour.

Even though people often have like-minded people in their online social networks, that does not prohibit people from becoming politically engaged and learning from those in their networks who are more interested.

When users receive mass propaganda on their news feeds, it becomes increasingly complex to distinguish who the writers are or if the content is algorithmically selected to suit their preferences. Apparently, this is a result of a design flaw in social media apps. "Social media are designed to captivate their audience in a process called "flow" (Bolter, 2019, para.

3). Sociologist Raymond Williams introduced this term. He describes 'Flow' to retain the user's movement from one part to the next consistently for a sense of satisfaction rather than consuming and understanding the actual content itself.

With the advent of social media, information is disseminated much more quickly between politicians and voters. Now that politicians can express their views directly to voters, they no longer need to seek the media's help to speak to the public. Politicians may utilize

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social media as an advertising tool to reach millions of people at a low cost and analyses how the public reacts to an issue. On the other hand, it allows activists to participate in political movements such as fundraising and organizing protests. Combined, these attributes make social media a highly desirable tool for political engagement. Mainly political engagement is done through the use of "the political Twitterverse" as a platform for communication between politicians, citizens, and the press (Owen, 2018)

One of the first politicians to use social media was Barack Obama, and his campaigns were successful as a result. Obama's campaign displayed the characteristics of a local campaign with strong support from the grassroots (Owen, 2018 cited in Bimber, 2014). Through sharing innovative information and fostering unity, he became a direct link between the general public and himself. By focusing on reciprocity, he established a political image. He used social media to reach voters in an individualized way, based on content and demographics.

Donald Trump is yet another example. He utilizes Twitter extensively to express himself and to interact with the public. The 2016 presidential election opponent of Trump, Hillary Clinton, also utilized Twitter, and both politicians used the platform to target each other. Donald Trump would rant about "Crooked Hillary", and she would respond with "Delete your account" (Tc, 2017, para. 3). The situation would spark a heated debate between both supporters.

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Social Media as Political Mobilization in Authoritarian Regimes A wide range of political issues can be mobilized through the use of media. People today use social media to capture hearts and minds instead of simply fighting for change, particularly in countries where traditional media is censored or controlled. Hong Kong protestors, for instance, used images of police violence to further their agendas in 2019 (see figure 2). In comparison to Hong Kong protests in 2014, images of police violence were less prevalent (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Umbrella Movement 2014

Figure 2: Hong Kong Police Brutality 2019

In the past, Hong Kong protestors used Facebook extensively in order to mobilize their protestors. Over time, their use of social media for spreading information has changed due to the government changing to privacy and policies, and enacting online censorship. Facebook, for example, has banned several accounts for their tendency to engage in political commentary critiquing the government, a violation of its standards against discrimination and violence.

Since then, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have switched to Telegram to carry out their next protest in 2019. Telegram offers an anonymous networking feature that allows pro-democracy activists to create activist networks without disclosing their identities. This feature makes Telegram more popular as compared to Facebook among pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and around the world. Aside from the anonymity feature, the app allows protestors to weigh in on protest strategies in real-time. The examples mentioned earlier

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illustrate how the media platforms have posed a threat to regimes since the dawn of print (Diamond, 2010). Therefore, authorities have begun to use some social media to monitor citizens for any "messages" that could pose a threat to state security by searching for keywords protestors might use.

There have been many instances in history of regimes retaliating viciously against activists. An example would be the Umbrella Movement developed during Hong Kong's 2014 democracy protests. Joshua Wong led the umbrella movement and openly voiced the concerns of the protestors. It was a political movement that expressed dissatisfaction with the government. The umbrella movement emphasized the use of umbrellas as a shield against police tear gas. But the police department of Hong Kong perceives the umbrella as a threat as severe as actual weapons. As a result, the authorities chose to target Wong and subsequently imprison him to shut down his umbrella movement. Another example would be Aleksander Lukashenko's fraud during the 2006 election that led to the start of the Belarus email campaign. While the campaign started strong, Lukashenko's power allowed social media to be snuffed out. A similar campaign of election fraud in Iran ended in violence in 2009. Based on this evidence, social media use and political participation are significantly and strongly correlated.

Notably, authoritarian countries like China have consistently restricted their citizens' access to the internet. Following the occurrence of numerous protests in Hong Kong, China enacted a National Security Law. Following the implementation of the law, the authorities banned many anti-government websites and detained protestors. The government believes that the passing of this law is critical to protecting the national security of Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Hong Kong citizens view the law as a threat since it tramples on freedom of speech, which is

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highly regarded there. Media platforms will likely play a significant role in Hong Kong's political landscape in the years to come with the implementation of these rules and policies.

Conclusion The trends reported in this report suggest that the media has played a significant role in driving political change. The media environment has changed consistently in the past and present while influencing everyday behaviour and routines such as news consumption, newsgathering, political mobilization and campaigns. Future concerns about the accuracy of news and information will grow due to social media's rapid dissemination of information. Additionally, growing public awareness of government wrongdoing creates more opportunities for citizens to rally against authoritarian regimes. It causes concern for authoritarian governments that online social networking has overgrown. It is predicted that the continued expansion of social media will further challenge authoritarian regimes to control the flow of information; as their influence on democratization has been immense in the past and is continuing to be significant today. We are unlikely to escape politics as social media becomes more and more prevalent in our daily lives.

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Plotnikova, A. (2020) ‘Lukashenko’s Biggest Election Opponent: the Internet’, VOA News, 7 August 2020. Available at https://www.voanews.com/a/press-freedom_lukashenkosbiggest-election-opponent-internet/6194108.html (Accessed: 12 September 2021) Politico (2020) ‘Remembering Li Wenliang: the Wuhan doctor who warned the world about coronavirus’, South China Morning Post, 27 December 2020. Available at: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3115445/remembering-li-wenliang-wuhandoctor-who-warned-world-about-coronavirus (Accessed: 15 September 2021) Prakash, A. (2021) ‘Digital Technology & Its Impact on Broadcast Media’, Appventurez, 7 May 2021. Available at https://www.appventurez.com/blog/how-digital-technology-isrevamping-broadcast-media/ (Accessed: 11 September 2021) Raine, L., Smith, A., Schlozman, K.L., Brady, H., Verba, S. (2012) ‘Social Media and Political Engagement’, Pew Research, 19 October 2012. Available at https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2012/10/19/social-media-and-politicalengagement/ (Accessed: 20 September 2021) Rosen, J. (2011) ‘The People Formerly Known as the Audience’, HuffPost, 25 May 2011.

Available at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-people-formerly-known_1_b_24113 (Accessed: 11 September 2021) Shao, G. (2019) ‘Social media has become a battleground in Hong Kong’s protests’, CNBC, 15 August 2019. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/16/social-media-hasbecome-a-battleground-in-hong-kongs-protests.html (Accessed: 10 September 2021) Shirky, C. (2011) ‘The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change’, Council on Foreign Relations, 90(1), pp. 28-41. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25800379 (Accessed: 13 September 2021) TC (2017) ‘Politweets: The Growing Use of Twitter and Social Media for Politics’, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 10 October 2017. Available at: https://blogs.umass.edu/Techbytes/2017/10/10/politweets-the-growing-use-of-twitterand-social-media-for-politics/ (Accessed: 13 September 2021) Trend Micro. (2017) ‘Fake News and Cyber Propaganda: The Use and Abuse of Social Media’, 13 June 2017. Available at: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/pl/security/news/cybercrime-and-digitalthreats/fake-news-cyber-propaganda-the-abuse-of-social-media (Accessed: 13 September 2021) Tucker, J.A. (2021) ‘Beyond Liberation Technology? The Recent Uses of Social Media by Pro-Democracy Activists’, Middle East Political Science. Available at: https://pomeps.org/beyond-liberation-technology-the-recent-uses-of-social-media-bypro-democracy-activists (Accessed 13 September 2021) United Nations (2020) The Impact of Digital Technologies. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/un75/impact-digital-technologies (Accessed: 16 September 2021)

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Urman, A., Ho, J.C., Katz, S. (2020) ‘”No Central Stage”: Telegram-based activity during the 2019 protests in Hong Kong’, Institute of Communication and Media Studies, doi:10.31235/osf.io/ueds4

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THE FUTURE OF PERSONAL ADVERTISING – A GIFT OR A CURSE Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Design Practice Manmohan Agastya Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts 21 September, 2021

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Introduction Companies have targeted prospective consumers to buy their products or services, as well as strengthen bonds with existing customers, through the practice of advertising. In 2000 BC, the Egyptians created the first kind of advertising by cutting ancient steel sculptures, and since then advertising has evolved over time to fit new mediums and audiences.

The connection between the audience and the product/service has been a frequent theme in advertising throughout history. Over time, advertising has gotten more personal as it has progressed. To understand this, we must look at the different media platforms and disturbances that have contributed to this shift throughout time. This trend analysis focuses on the Internet era, which has played a significant role in today’s advertising.

To engage customers, advertising companies employ a variety of tactics. Some of these techniques are based on language, but the vast majority are visual. Adjectives, puns, alliteration, exaggeration, repetition, slogans, and catchy phrases are all used to help the audience understand the message.

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Body Media types and language trends During the 1980s and 1990s, print media was the only means of communication.

Newspapers, magazines, books, banners, billboards, brochures, and flyers are all examples of print media. Advertisers would use well-written adverts with pictures to convey their idea to the masses. Despite the rise of digital marketing and advertising, print still plays a vital part in communicating messages to the masses.

Broadcast media consists of videos, audio or written content that help convey messages to the public through different methods like Television, Radio and Movies.

Internet Media is the most recent and modern form of media that we all rely on to get and share information. The advance of the internet has led to the creation of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tik-tok etc. They are user-friendly and widely used by people around the world. By offering information in the form of video, text, and audio, each platform delivers a distinct and customized experience for the user. (What Are the Different Types of Media? | Blog | Whatagraph, 2020)

Disruptive Innovation in Advertising The concept of disruptive innovation refers to the disruption or change in the market which is done via the introduction of new ideas or technologies.

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Figure 1 - Graph depicting how Netflix vs Blockbuster (1998-2016)

In order to better understand this concept, one can take the example of Netflix. Initially Netflix offered a DVD rental service by mail which made them stand on the same level as their fellow competitors. To stand out and eliminate many of their competitors they shifted to online streaming which in reality disrupted their overall business model. By the introduction of monthly subscriptions, one could rent movies from the comfort of their houses. Their biggest competitor Blockbuster counter attacked them every step of the way by introducing corresponding services. Inspired from disruptive marketing Netflix had established their role in the market by using a new cutting edge method of doing something, taking advantage of social media and lastly by adding new technologies along the way. (Kylliäinen, 2019) An agency can use disruptive advertising to break through the noise of modern marketing by smartly investing in techniques that have been ignored by the fellow competitors.

How Smartphones and the rise of the internet Changed Advertising The very first iPhone was released less than ten years ago, and it seems that mobile advertisement have been popping on our digital devices for a long time. The rise of the internet era ushered in a shift in the way consumers consume media. This is evidenced by the 4

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increasing number of smart phone ads. The advance of the internet era led to a shift in the focus of consumer from traditional forms of media. The emergence of the smartphone has led to a much more personalized experience and increased connectivity. As a result, smart phone advertising is now integral to the brand's marketing campaigns. (Johnston, 2021) There have been a few significant disruptions in the history of mobile advertising that have helped it become what it is today. The first SMS (Short Message Service) was established in the year 2000. By 2002, it was the most frequently used medium for sending and receiving messages. As a result, a variety of SMS based mobile ads emerged. Even today it continues to dominate mobile advertising and its success led to significant developments in mobile technology.

The iPhone's introduction in 2007 was a defining moment in the advertising industry, ushering in a new era of mobile computing and entertainment value. While it wasn't the first smart phone, it was the first brand-new kind of mobile device that catered to customers and their needs. Early ads on smartphones were unappealing because advertisers often reformatted desktop browser ads and used them in mobile web browsers. Negative responses from audiences prompted advertisers to use better technologies and create mobile ads. A year later the iPhone 3G was launched and introduced the world to the App Store which led to agencies abandoning web browser based ads and focused on in app ads.

In 2012, the rise of smartphones changed how mobile advertising was done. In 2014, users were spending time playing games or browsing social media platforms so in response app developers started incorporating in-app marketing into their apps to create a seamless user experience. The rise of mobile advertising has resulted in advertising agencies focusing on creating mobile-optimised ads that are more effective and relevant to consumers. (Lynn, 2016) So what does the future hold for mobile phone advertising? One of the main benefits of the smartphone was that it connected the users with Internet 24/7. As a result, several social media sites have sprung up to allow customers communicate via messages, videos, stickers, and other means. These platforms also focus conveying messages in a short period of time, leading marketing and advertising agencies to rethink their messaging approach.

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Personal Advertising – During the Age of the Internet and Social Media Advertising has had to adapt and change to cater to new mediums and audiences over time.

But the most significant change is that it has become more personalized with improvements in both technology and customers’ needs. Personalization in the Internet age has changed radically. With nearly everyone around the world, having an online identity, companies use data points, and other factors to determine what an individual is interested in and use this data to advertise to them.

To understand why advertising is becoming more and more personal, we need to answer the question of Why do Consumers Prefer Personalization?

Consumers revolutionized digital advertising by voting with their clicks and engagement, demonstrating that they desired greater relevance and did not respond well to ad spam.

Facebook, Google, Amazon and all other players responded by investing in this business and would not reap the benefits if users do not commit. (Doty, 2019) Research tells us that consumers prefer a more personalized digital experience. A recent study conducted by Infogroup in 2019 concluded that “90% of consumers who took part in the study felt annoyed when they received messages from companies that were not relevant to them. Being relevant to the consumer is now a necessity. As we enter the modern digital era, more and more consumers are demanding personalized messages in advertising they receive. Brands must start with actionable, insightful data if they want to provide genuine personalization to customers and gain the benefits of customer engagement and loyalty that comes with it. (Zawacki, 2019) As the Internet flourished, companies began to focus on brand awareness and problem solving rather than sales. However, the evolution of online advertising has created a number of challenges. With younger viewers, there is a lack of confidence in internet advertising.

People are also increasingly using ad blockers to avoid ads while surfing the web. Ad blocking cost publishers more than $22 billion in revenue in 2015. Customers want a more personal experience and do not want to be bombarded with irrelevant ads. To address this issue, companies started using "User-Generated Content" first made popular by Facebook ads 6

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in 2008. Consumers are more likely to partake in their feelings of social media and they communicate with each other far more frequently than any ad campaign can communicate with them. People want to feel connected, secure, and self-assured. They aren't seeking for a certain brand. They seek personal, trustworthy sources, and who can be more trustworthy than their own social circles? Targeting options have also been important in how digital advertisers reach potential clients. They do this by collecting data points that include location, email, contacts, calendars, Google searches, etc. Advertisers can build highly targeted and personalized advertising with many data points at their disposal. In today's advertising, hypertargeting is critical since it allows customers to view ads that are relevant to them and their interests. (Quick, 2021) The Age of Influencer Advertising Influencer marketing has been on the rise for some time and is largely considered as one of the most successful marketing and advertising strategies. According to the Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report, the projected overall size of the industry market has increased by at least 50% per year since 2016. While it's safe to assume that influencer marketing isn't going away anytime soon, it's vital to understand why and how influencers and influencer marketing came to be in the first place.

The rise of the Internet spawned a plethora of social media platforms that allow individuals to connect with one another, resulting in the emergence of Internet celebrities. As technology advanced, we were introduced to services like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, which focused on faster communication through short videos, images, gifs, etc. As a result, companies began to look for new and more efficient ways to reach out to the general public, giving rise to influencer marketing. Influencers on social media have a large following, and companies use sponsored content to advertise their products and experiences to the general public. This is a type of personal advertising in which consumers follow influencers because they have a personal connection with them — parasocial relationship. While the relationship is only one-sided (between the influencer and the audience), it is an effective means of reaching a wider audience.

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Even during this pandemic, influencer marketing flourished in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns there were production issues and brands no longer had the budgets to do conventional advertising. Consumers gravitated towards authentic and curated content as their use of social media grew. All these challenges pushed brands into working with influencers to target masses. Media platforms like TikTok and Instagram began to boom, TikTok in particular due to its unique recommendation system which meant you did not need likes or followers to go viral.

Figure 2: The Influencer Pyramid © Infographie Hivency

More and more companies are recognizing the value of collaborating with micro and nano influencers, whose influence may far surpass that of their more well-known counterparts.

These artists are regarded to be more authentic and trustworthy than macro influencers, and they have more personal connections with their audience. Celebrity influencers may have a following that could help a campaign succeed, but the “everyday” influencer is more relatable, and their audience is more engaged and willing to listen to their review or suggestion. Consumers are attracted to campaigns that are authentic and personal. The majority of today's digital content providers focus on specialized themes, which draws consumers that feel personally connected to the content.

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Influencers come in a variety of forms, and they operate on a number of platforms. There is no one-size-fits-all method for identifying the suitable influencer for the right campaign, but when it comes to influencer marketing, it's critical that advertising firms identify key points, interests, and provide actual value to their target audience. (Wiley, 2021)

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Conclusion Advertising has evolved over time and will continue to evolve to meet consumer needs and keep up with emerging technologies and trends. Personalization is the future of advertising and it is quite evident over the past two years that the pandemic seems to have accelerated this evolution to suit the interests of consumers. Advertising agencies have realized that the less people see your material as an "ad," the more they are inclined to be drawn to it, interact with the brand, and finally make a purchase.

However, as advertising becomes more personalized, one can't help but ask the question, "How personal is too personal in advertising?" When it comes to privacy and personal information, where do we draw the line? Tony Tran's post on futurism.com discusses how business aim to target your dreams with ads. It's a terrifying possibility that may lead to a slew of ethical concerns. And if companies do succeed in this venture, then how do we know that the information being presented to us is legitimate and not just a manipulation to make us purchase a product or a service.

“Are Influencers the new media to communicate information?” Influencers and influencerbased advertising has gained immense popularity in the last two years. I recently read an article on Rozy, South Korea's first virtual influencer, who makes $1 million a year and has over 100 corporate sponsorships. A virtual influencer that does the same job as micro and macro influencers! An interesting possibility but again where do we draw a line on what’s real and what is not. How can we be sure that influencers aren’t just promoting a product just for the sake of money and fame?

The future of advertising is quite interesting, but it also poses loads of challenges, the world we live in is constantly changing and only time will tell how much of this change will influence advertising and customers interests.

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Reference List Whatagraph.com. 2020. What Are the Different Types of Media? | Blog | Whatagraph. [online] Available at: <https://whatagraph.com/blog/articles/different-types-of-media> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Kylliäinen, J., 2019. Disruptive Innovation – What is It and How Does It Work?. [online] Viima.com. Available at: <https://www.viima.com/blog/disruptive-innovation> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Johnston, M., 2021. How Smartphones Changed Advertising. [online] Investopedia.

Available at: <https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/062315/howsmartphones-are-changing-advertising-marketing.asp> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Lynn, N., 2016. The History and Evolution of Mobile Advertising. [online] Gimbal. Available at: <https://gimbal.com/history-evolution-mobile-advertising/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Zawacki, T., 2019. Why Consumers Prefer Personalization - Multichannel Merchant. [online] Multichannel Merchant. Available at: <https://multichannelmerchant.com/blog/whyconsumers-prefer-personalization/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Doty, D., 2019. A Reality Check On Advertising Relevancy And Personalization. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddoty/2019/08/13/a-reality-checkon-advertising-relevancy-and-personalization/?sh=75b906ce7690> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Quick, T., 2021. The Evolution of Advertising & How Personalization Improved Over Time. [online] Instapage.com. Available at: <https://instapage.com/blog/evolution-of-advertising> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

Wiley, D., 2021. Council Post: Influencer Marketing’s Surprising Rise Of The ‘Everyperson’. [online] Forbes. Available at: 11

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<https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/02/04/influencer-marketingssurprising-rise-of-the-everyperson/?sh=63f6728c3b23> [Accessed 21 September 2021].

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PLATFORMS USED IN ADVERTISING

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts 21/9/2021

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This trend report is a distilled research that explores the different platforms that were used for the advertising industry. In the era before digital evolution, advertisers were more paper-centric, the news, information, selling of products were very much in a physical form of paper. Magazines, Newspapers, Billboards, On the streets advertising, were some examples that are still being used to this day. But what made the 1990s advertising different from now?

Static Times Companies have started different ways of advertising before the media. The culture of advertising was more paper-centric. One of them was direct marketing, it has proved to be a powerful marketing tool to increase sales, where they manage a huge mailing list, through sending solicitations through the mail (Capp 2003, p. 44). It brings personal services to the consumer with that companies hope to build their community of loyal customers. Many advertisings are heavily influenced by social issues.

For example, In the event post-war of America, many males were at the frontlines fighting and they had to get the females to continue production of manufacturing planes, ammunition, safety gear for the army. This dates back to 1943, the propaganda advertising was made for the society to influence the females to help the war on the back end of this agenda.

Figure 1. Adolf Treidler proudly holding a photo saying his girl is a ‘WOW’ in Pincas Loiseu (2008, p. 87)

Figure 2. Illustrated by J. Howard Miller ‘ Rosie is proud and Resolute’ in Pincas Loiseu (2008, p.87)

In both of the figures above, this sets a trend for women that supporting the army is a noble and empowering figure. Such advertising did influence a lot and made a large women community industry. It was a change in times when there was no more war advertisement was then communicated differently.

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An example would be from 1945 to 1965 where overall population growth increases worldwide, and the society was well aware of settling down to build a family. Women played a big role to reproduce, and advertisements have jumped on many wellness and health-related improvements to gain an economic boost.

Figure 3. Poster by Paul Colin, showcasing : A symbolic, poetic image of mother to be, 1950 in Pincas Loiseu (2008, p. 140)

Figure 4. Nespray milk ad published in Her World magazine in 1958 (Remember Singapore, 2019)

In figure 3, Prenatal just started to build up their band name. To gain publicity they brought maternity wear into their catalog in hopes the trend will last them a few years of fame. In figure 4.

An advertisement in Singapore made by Nespray, advertising to babies’ wellness for soon to be mothers to consume. With copywriting of some health benefits and a tasty drink. Visual communication was key here to represent the ad message to the readers.

Further exploring other mediums of a widely known company is Coca-Cola, a beverage company that steadily builds brand image over the years till today. Back then in the 1900s, they used physical mediums to advertise that were made all over newspaper and billboard signs.

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Figure 5. Coca- Cola Ad published in newspaper poster in 1954 (Eddie, R. 2015)

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Figure 6. Coca-Cola Ad using Piccadilly Lights in 1955 (Daou, J. 2021)

Since 1886, they’ve established their marketing by selling the lifestyle and occasion that they are refreshing. Many coke ads are also very creative with the iconic bottle they evolved over the years people now can recognize their brand with just the bottle. They partner with many other brand deals or events such as the Olympics, F&B outlets, or public relations. Short slogans “Things go better with Coke” (Coca-ColaComapny, 2021) proved to give a clear message forward to consumers.

All the examples shown above depict how important the message that advertisers must bring across, they have to choose what image to portray, words, colours, ideas to sell to make people buy their ideology or product. With little advancement in technology people still get around information through the available media. How brands reach out to them was more manually driven such as direct marketing, magazines, newspapers, or billboards. It takes time with more human effort just to reach out to a potential buyer. These were one of the days where decisions of exploiting resources were made. The resources used were mainly paper, which was not efficient as after the campaign or brand was changed, the printed paper no longer serve its purpose and to be discarded.

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Moving messages Moving forward onwards to 1981, technology started to further evolve. With television more attainable in the market, the public has more exposure to advertisements in their own home. In this era, communication took a change where mobile phones, cameras, the internet, computers were starting to take shape. Information was readily made available, so people could source out information at their comfort.

By the 1980s, 60 percent of American television owners got cable service (History.com Editors, 2019) which brings the advertisers to make great use of the platform to further market their business through broadcasts or infomercials. It is one of the most favourite platforms back then as it is a source of entertainment for families. With moving pictures, sounds, colour, and entertainment sources it has more advantage in attractive advertisement collecting more revenue for businesses.

Figure 7. This chart comparing different mediums in estimated revenue respectively in 2001 and 2000 (cappo, pg. 73) The chart above shows the trend where companies have jumped on to advertising through Television or Partnering with cable services. Taking News Corp. as an example, comparing the traditional mediums with TV, and Cable, it has a whopping difference from a three-figure to a fourfigure revenue. Hence, they would now be likely to invest their money in mediums such as Tv or cables as it brings more profits.

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Moving to advertise on TV made many drastic changes to the concept and format used previously.

One example we can reference is a Sony Tv ad aired in the 1980s.

Figure 8. A screenshot of how TV involves the whole family being able to bond while feeling like they are at a real place of the event. (Dave, 2014) In figure 8, Sony sells the idea of a happy family actively engaging one another by watching sports, concerts, soap operas together. It communicates a clear message to the consumers why they should get the TV. Since society now in 1980 has a stable rise in growing families, this was one of the marketing strategies to keep up with sales.

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Figure 9. A screenshot of Japan Advertisement, Coca-Cola with their slogan ‘I feel coke’ aired on 1987 TV (80s Japan 懐かしい, 2017) Shown above the different occasions how coke can be consumed throughout the day with anyone.

The message ‘I feel coke’ in English brings to an understanding to people that coke brings you joy and to be shared with your close friends. Many scenes in the ad were portraying youth in suits happily drinking coke and smiling. This brings to my conclusion, is mainly targeted towards office workers who want to have a break they should get a coke and have a great time; I feel happy, I feel Coke.

In figure 9, we can compare with figure 5, how similar their intentioned message is. Coke can be consumed at any time of the day, and it brings a smile to your face. The difference between ads besides sound and moving images is that TV commercials made a bigger impact in conveying the personal connection of joy that coke would bring.

Instead of reading the text, people just listened, watch the moving picture, and enticed the potential buyers to get their ideal lifestyle. With less paper-centric industry, paper waste has gone down lesser. However, it is still a primary source of admin works for management or creating official documents. Advertising using paper was just one of the starting revolutions to reducing paper. With sustainable growth of population in the 1980s till 90s, it has gained a greater demand for consumer products or services. It has boomed the economy's stability with more manpower and consumer rates. Earning higher pay for families brings in more revenue for companies to sell their businesses.

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Abundance Creative Options Tv has dominated for more than a decade in the entertainment industry and is a platform for advertising. In this generation as of 2020, many big companies have moved over to advertising on the internet. More user-based, attainable market price, highly evolved online space has made people spend more time on the internet.

Internet was created in the 1960s, but it was widely used when it has more developed during the 1990s, where websites as we know now, Windows 95, Amazon, Yahoo, eBay were launched creating a whole new network online. By the 2000s, Google search engine was on the rise, Wireless internet communication through laptops and mobile phones became more accessible for people to get hold of surfing the web. (Online, J. 2016) Now Google search engine is the main platform for the marketing industry. More marketing jobs require a digital marketing expert to help make a company presence online and manage campaigns.

The Google Display Network reaches 90% of Internet users worldwide, across millions of websites, news pages, blogs, and Google sites like Gmail and YouTube. (Google Ads. 2021)

Figure 10. Statistics showcasing audience numbers based on age on advertising social platforms.

(Newberry and McLachlan, 2020)

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Figure above shows a high percentage of young adults using social media platforms. Most ads now would use them as their target group of influence to attract sales. There are many more formats that the online platform uses such as photo ads, video ads, playable ads, filters, sponsored content (Newberry and McLachlan, 2020). Another ad to summarise what we have covered made by Cocacola.

Figure 11. How coca-cola make ads more interactive on all mediums.’Next time you’re thirsty, Drink an Ad’ (Dipdrop Branding Solution, 2015) In figure 11. Coca-cola creatively changed the traditional mediums from static to interactive mediums. Especially in print, they sent out coca-cola cups and straws through flyers and magazines, with it people can get a free coca-cola drink to redeem. In partnership with Shazam, people can get a free drink anywhere with their mobile devices even on the radio, where only the sound of pouring is needed. This was specially made just to introduce a new flavour in coke where people can enjoy a

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free tasty drink without the high sugar intake. It brought a great difference to media advertising and keeping their same intentional message, in all of the scenes they bring people joy just to have a coke.

With such high traffic use of the internet, many private data could be hacked or stolen. A higher rate of exposure due to lack of privacy because of a trackable digital footprint. One point being, usage of social media can potentially expose personal location or references. Data of digital cards stored in the cloud could be hacked if not protected. With a lesser carbon footprint made with advertising digitally, it does reduce the amount of paper used. Also, digital alterations could be made easily in any campaign that has changed. Creative advertising took a turn from TV to short bumper or display ads. It became a call to a click of purchase. It has significantly reduced the number of manual advertising, which could also be a loss of personal marketing.

Future Possibility It may be where the product sample could immediately be tested at the comfort of home. Where there will be teleporters to ship the products into hand in a split second. This will solve a lot of problems, including shipping footprint, packaging, higher rate of purchase, economic boost with fast sales. However, with every new solution, there are always new problems that will arise. New anticipation of an era where a response of ads or a purchase is within a few seconds.

Thoughts The era of advertising now has made enticing services more tempting and believable within reach.

With digitalized money, spending over budget can be a big issue as there is no physical aspect of money seen being spent. Comparing to back then, I find it interesting how they manage to capture attention with a glance with a static poster or picture and it has a clear message. However, I feel, with so many ads around us, we are now more selective at what captures our attention or whether we need such services to be advertised to us. Not to mention unwanted ads everywhere online.

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References Websites The 1980s (2019). Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/1980s (Accessed: 14 September 2021).

(2021) Coca-colacompany.com. Available at: https://www.coca-

colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/our-company/history/coca-cola-a-short-history-

125-years-booklet.pdf (Accessed: 20 September 2021).

Online, J. (2016) An Internet History Timeline: From the 1960s to Now, Jefferson Online. Available at: https://online.jefferson.edu/business/internet-history-timeline/ (Accessed: 21 September 2021).

Increase Your Reach with Display Ad Banners | Google Ads (2021). Available at:

https://ads.google.com/intl/en_sg/home/campaigns/display-ads/?subid=sg-en-adon-awa-schm-

bms!o3~f148ecd33be41c235a9d8d9a682f30e9~p65559248619&&utm_source=bi&utm_medium =adon&utm_campaign=sg-en-adon-awa-sch-m-

bms!o3~f148ecd33be41c235a9d8d9a682f30e9~p65559248619&msclkid=f148ecd33be41c235a9 d8d9a682f30e9&gclid=f148ecd33be41c235a9d8d9a682f30e9&gclsrc=3p.ds (Accessed: 21 September 2021).

Books Pincas, S. and Loiseau, M., 2008. A history of advertising. Köln: Taschen Cappo Joe., 2003. The future of advertising: New media, New Clients, New consumers in the PostTelevision Age

Figures Figure 1, 2, 3

Pincas, S. and Loiseau, M., 2008. A history of advertising. Köln: Taschen

Figure 4.

Enter a World of Advertisement in Old Singapore (Part 2) (2019). Available at:

https://remembersingapore.org/2019/02/24/selling-dreams-early-advertising-in-singapore/ (Accessed: 20 September 2021).

Figure 5.

Eddie, R. (2015) From pin-ups to sportsaid: Seven decades of Coca-Cola advertising, Mail Online.

Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3176967/Seven-decades-Coca-Colaadvertising-shows-soft-drink-s-famous-curved-bottle-sold-Australians.html (Accessed: 20 September 2021).

Figure 6.

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Daou, J. (2021) The Evolution of OOH Advertising – Why the Legacy Lives On, Movia Media.

Available at: https://movia.media/moving-billboard-blog/the-evolution-of-ooh-advertising-whythe-legacy-lives-on/ (Accessed: 20 September 2021).

Figure 7

Cappo Joe., 2003. The future of advertising: New media, New Clients, New consumers in the PostTelevision Age Figure 8.

Dave’s Archives (2014) Rare Commercial Vault: Sony TV(1980 HD). Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5FlXTeXSG4 (Accessed: 20 September 2021)

Figure 9.

80s Japan 懐かしい(2017)Japanese Commercial ”I Feel Coke”||1987||. Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdcWK7axuH8 (Accessed: 21 September 2021).

Figure 10.

Social Media Advertising 101: How to Get the Most Out of Your Ad Budget (2020). Available at: https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-advertising/ (Accessed: 21 September 2021).

Figure 11.

Dipdrop Branding Solution(2015) Coca cola Creates First Ever Drinkable Advertising Campaign.

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQovoot_ZUM (Accessed: 21 September 2021).

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LANGUAGE EVOLUTION

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

Date: 21 September 2021

Pradeep Shreya

The role of Technology in Language Evolution

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Introduction Language is constantly changing and adapting to its user’s needs.

There are several reasons for this phenomenon to occur. It could be the invention of new experiences, processes, technology etc., which requires new vocabulary to accommodate. Other reasons could be changes in lifestyle or emigration. (BBC, 2021) In keeping with Garner's Modern American Usage ‘s 3rd has its own rating of evolving words and usage adapted from a 1967 article by Louis G. Heller and James Macris within the journal American Speech. According to Garner “It's a scale from conception and new usage to universal acceptance”. First, a new term is formed, probably as innovation.

Used by a small percentage of the language community, probably challenging traditional usage. Second, the term spreads to a considerable part of a language community, however still considered unsuitable traditional usage.

The term then grows to become commonplace among highly educated individuals, but still avoided in formal, traditional usage. Furthermore, the term then becomes universally accepted, despite that certain linguistic disciple are opposed to the usage of the term. Lastly, the term is accepted universally.

(2009) Today, with the arrival of technology and new media, we are witnessing rapid language change. Research on emerging languages suggests that the new mass media offer "new" languages that are potentially a qualitatively different type of person-to-person auditory communication. (Riehl Director, 2021)

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Body How language changes as a result of technology and the social impact it has Language is quite complex to comprehend. It is an aspect of culture that is regarded as unique and explicit in nature. When discussing language and culture, the phrase “language is culture and culture is language” (Zagda 2020) is mentioned often as these subjects are connected. Therefore, as described

by Zagada “this implies that the language you speak reflects what your values and beliefs are”. (2020) Zhong’s study of an ESL (English as a Second Language) foreign learner helps clarify this ideology that beliefs are determined through language. This case study investigates beliefs of a Chinese learner learning the English who resides in Auckland over a 10-week period. It aimed to investigate developments that happened during this learner’s journey, the relationship between their beliefs and changes in their language proficiency.

(2008) It was noted that, the more importance the subject placed on communication, the more their fluency improved. However, this seemed to be a trade off with accuracy, which significantly deteriorated over time. The subject’s belief in terms of the significance of vocabulary was obviously reflected as well. This suggests that to investigate how beliefs are connected to language proficiency, researchers need to look at learner’s selection of learning strategies and whether they reflect an individual’s beliefs. (Ellis , 2008, p.54) As individuals in today’s world, we have become comfortable with the notion that technology alters what we do and the way we do things. This also affects language. These changes affect how we speak and even how we see the future. An example of this is often the term "to google", which according to the American Dialect Society, “first came to prominence in 2002 when declared it the word of the year”. (2002) the term “Google” has now evolved to encapsulate the definition “to search the internet”, even whilst using programs other than google. Nonetheless, the definition of “googling” has come to mean more than just seeking information. We have come to comprehend the subtext that is attached to the phrase “I Googled you”, or that they “googled

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themselves. The idea that this action, within the context invokes an impactful influence on thoughts and philosophies we create about others has even been responsible for creation of certain policies. For instance, the laws formulated by the European union (EU), where individuals are given the right to remove information about them, thus being “forgotten”.

According to Thompson (2013)’ “Google has now become our collective global memory and Googling is the process by which we access these memories. Again, this is often a process we've always practiced and is named ‘transactive memory’”. Transactive memory is a process where individuals rely on other people in their locale, mainly individuals know to them, to recall memories and facts. It is now possible to do something similar with ‘Google’.

However, the main difference is, Google features a vast database of knowledge and people have constant access to the platform. This in turn has dramatically changed the way we perceive things such as ideology and achievements, not just as individuals but as a society. Movements such as these have shaped the way we have conversations and the usage of language today.

“There are many conversations we could have today that might mean little to someone from 2005.”. (Riehl, 2021) Regardless of the definition of certain words, just like the context of Google, you would need an entire slew of prior knowledge of how it evolved through the interaction of society, technology and the individual to comprehend the term and derive the real meaning. This is not the first time this phenomenon has occurred, as it has been seen throughout history. Though, with the introduction of technology, the way language has evolved. The current rate of change has never been this swift or intense. In addition to language, the way we think takes a similar trajectory as well.

Climate change and the eradication of small languages and the role of technology About half of the 7000 languages spoken these days are predicted to survive this century. Increased globalization seems to be a large factor contributing to language loss, this forces individuals and counties to modify their native languages to accommodate others for economic reasons.

Furthermore, mass media, government policies that target linguistic minorities,

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educational systems that don’t facilitate the learning of native languages, war and emigration all play a part in language eradication.

One of the primary factors of language loss for certain communities is climate change. Minor language communities located in coastal regions, islands or that run the risk of rising water levels and hurricanes are forced to relocate. The subsequent dispersal of these communities’ cause fragmentation of the native language, whilst being exposed to other languages. Individuals put in these situations will most likely opt for the more widely spoke language to connect to the majority whereas forget their native language due to lack of practice.

Currently the loss of languages is because there is a lack of people who speak these languages. UNESCO describes “endangered languages” as languages whose communities have either moved on to other popular languages, to avoid discrimination or achieve socio economic gain, or have gone extinct.

To tackle this issue, several philanthropists, developers and linguists have turned to technology to help revive and conserve endangered languages. Nonprofit organizations, such as the “Endangered Language Project”, document and conduct research in the linguistic field, publish scientific papers and create dictionaries to help conserve native indigenous languages. Information gathered is put online for free public access. The organization takes a new approach to language acquisition. They organize digital workshops that teach local endogenic activists the proper wat to record and edit phrases in their language with the help of local elders.

Probably one of the most noteworthy languages that has experienced a revival recently is Yiddish. Yiddish used to be spoken by over 10 million Jews around the world. Due to the Holocaust, the survivors were forced to assimilate to the general public by using the common language to flee persecution. Websites such as “The Idishe Velt” (Transaltes to, The Jewish world), An online message form reports 200000 visits monthly. Kave Shtiebel (Translates to, The Coffee House), displays Yiddish pop-up advertisements.

Websites such as these are prime examples of how Yiddish is being kept alive by a proactive online community, where members can create a safe space and communicate in their own language with one another.

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Language learning startups such as Duolingo, have also diversified their services to facilitate in the preservation of languages. “With 25 million monthly active users” (Blanco, 2020) around the world, Duolingo now focuses on Native American languages like Navajo, which the traditional method of learning is being passed down from generation to generation. This allows more people to learn it, who are not a part of the community, thus preserving the language.

Technology seems to be playing a large part in the preservation and learning of languages that are dying out. However, there is evidence that the internet may also be a large contributor to the eradication of minor languages as well. This stems in the belief that the internet is mainly dominated by a few ‘Big’ languages (such as French, English and Mandarin). “There is evidence that only 5% of languages have a possibility of surviving within the digital world”. (Williams, 2018) Economic incentives to learn languages and how technology helps On the topic of learning, multilingualism is good for the economy, according to researchers. Societies that proactively cultivate language diversity reap rewards such as a better innovative workforce or better exports.

According to Gabrielle Hogan-Brun, “Language plays a giant role, both at the national level and at the number of smaller firms”. (2021) Switzerland, for instance, “attributes 10% of its GDP to its multilingual heritage” (Bradley, 2017). Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian and an ancient Latin-based language called Romansh, this data suggests a link between economic gain and language diversity.

One reason for this economic increase may be since language may facilitate trade connections. A case study by Bel Habib, investigates a few businesses in Sweden, Germany, Denmark and France. It was found that business who invested in language diversity as had more exports. Companies in Germany that had a numerous multilingual staff reported that they were expanding their market by 10 countries. Whilst businesses that had invested less in language reported they missed opportunities on contracts due to language barriers. (2011) Several studies also show languages can benefit the individual as well. “In Florida, workers who speak both Spanish and English earn $7,000 a year quite people who speak only English”. (Hardach, 2018)

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With the introduction of technology as a way of learning, the motive of economic gain might encourage more people to be taught second languages.

However, the efficacy of technology being a viable language learning format must be investigated Most studies conducted on online learning handle beginner and/or advanced courses, a majority report that online learning is as effective as offline learning. A recent study by (Vesselinov and Grego 2012) “indicated that 34 hours spent learning Spanish on Duolingo yielded similar results to (assessed by WebCape) to taking the primary semester of Spanish in college.” Nevertheless, it seems most studies investigating online learning concentrate on achievement rather than proficiency as a measure of learning.

Online learning apps do not incorporate proficiency tests in their teaching method either, therefore not a very reliable source of learning. (LIN & WARSCHAUER, 2015 p.394–397)

Pradeep Shreya

The role of Technology in Language Evolution

G20210130

Conclusion In summary, Language overtime has evolved, and the emergence of digital technology is one of the main driving forces for this. (Gomes, 2018) Looking at what is in the past, social change or education were the main factors that contributed to language evolution, but with the introduction of technology, it has had the biggest impact in how language is spoke and how we communicate. (Gomes, 2018) The trends outlined above analyze how language has evolved using technology in social, economic and environmental contexts. Considering what is happening around us, with the rise of technology and the impact on language, it seems only logical that these trends will not slow down or stop in the years to come. Considering that certain trends are more damaging than others, such as the environmental impact leading to the extinction of smaller languages, technology is currently being used to combat this. However, it seems that technology cannot be the only solution, because although it improves the situation considerably, there still seem to be some weak points. Other trends, such as the change in language related to communication due to the introduction of technology, seem to be both beneficial and detrimental. On the one hand, the introduction of new vocabulary and the associated change in conversation can be confusing for the older generation, but on the other hand, the introduction of these things can contribute to clearer and better communication. Overall, it seems that the evolution of language can be seen for better or worse, it largely depends on the context.

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Anon, 2021. Why does language change over time? BBC Bitesize.

Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z86qsbk/articles/z7fyb82 [Accessed September 17, 2021].

Vulchanova, M. et al., 1AD. Editorial: Language development in the Digital age. Frontiers. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00447/full [Accessed September 17, 2021].

Garner, B.A., 2009. The ongoing struggle of Garlic-Hangers. In Garner's modern American usage. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 54–54.

Zagada, M., 2020. More than words: How language affects the way we think. goFLUENT Blog. Available at: https://www.gofluent.com/blog/how-language-affects-the-way-we-think/ [Accessed September 11, 2021].

[Accessed September 11, 2021].

Ellis , R., 2008. Learner Beliefs and Language Learning. Asian EFL Journal, 10(4), pp.20–22.

Glance Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, D., 2018. How technology is changing language and the way we think about the world.

The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/howtechnology-is-changing-language-and-the-way-we-think-about-theworld-35856 [Accessed September 12, 2021].

Riehl Director, A., 2021. The impact of climate change on Language Loss. The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/theimpact-of-climate-change-on-language-loss-105475 [Accessed September 12, 2021].

Williams, D., 2018. How technology is used to preserve endangered languages. TranslateMedia. Available at: https://www.translatemedia.com/translation-blog/technology-preserveendangered-languages/ [Accessed September 12, 2021].

Hardach, S., 2018. Speaking more than one language can boost economic growth. World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/speaking-more-languagesboost-economic-growth/ [Accessed September 12, 2021].

LIN, C.H.I.N.-H.S.I. & WARSCHAUER, M.A.R.K., 2015. Online foreign language education: What are the proficiency outcomes? The Modern Language Journal, 99(2), pp.394–397.

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Gorman, B.O., 2016. How technology has changed our language (infographic). Silicon Republic. Available at: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/life/language-change-evolutiontechnology [Accessed September 12, 2021].

Gomes, J., 2018. Language change: The impact of digital technology.

The Linguist. Available at: http://www.blogs2018.buprojects.uk/jesikagouveiagomes/languagechange-digital-technology/ [Accessed September 12, 2021].

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Bel Habib , I., 2011. Multilingual skills provide export benefits and better access to New Emerging Markets. Sens public. Available at: http://www.sens-public.org/articles/869/?lang=fr [Accessed September 13, 2021].

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Thompson, C., 2013. Has google destroyed your memory? no. it's much weirder than that. Slate Magazine. Available at: https://slate.com/technology/2013/09/are-search-engines-and-theinternet-hurting-human-memory.html [Accessed September 18, 2021].

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Blanco, C., 2020. The 2020 Duolingo Language Report. Duolingo Blog.

Available at: https://blog.duolingo.com/global-language-report-2020/ [Accessed September 18, 2021].

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Hogan-Brun , G., 2021. Why multilingualism is good for economic growth. The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/why-multilingualism-is-good-for-economicgrowth-71851 [Accessed September 19, 2021].

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Bradley, S., 2017. Languages generate one tenth of Swiss GDP. SWI swissinfo.ch. Available at: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/languagesgenerate-one-tenth-of-swiss-gdp/7050488 [Accessed September 19, 2021].

CHANGING MEDIA AND CHANGING MINDS SU PYAE SAN Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts 21.09.2021

SU PYAE SAN

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Introduction Media plays an important role in our everyday life and is an enormous influence on our society. The primary role and function of media is to serve information and making the world well connected. Media has interwoven into people’s life through technology whether in the form of morning newspaper, radio in the cars on the way to work, social media in the phones during break times or televisions at night. Media serves information to public as a common knowledge of a norm and enhances social coordination as individuals tend to accept the information readily if they believe others have also accepted it. (Arias, 2019) Thus, it can influence individual beliefs and behaviours as well as capable of changing people’s perspectives on certain controversial issues.

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Body With tremendous technology advancements from the past decades, the media has gained power to influence more individuals as the information is now easily accessible with great speed in real time. General public depends on the information and communication received from the media for broad range of topics such as current events, entertainment, social issues and education, etc. and make judgement and decisions based on these sources.

As media is also business entity runs to make profits, it drives them into selecting topics favourable in developing their business, feeding the public only one side of the issues and taking a bias stance and overhyping the particular news stories to increase viewership or readership numbers. These repetitive mass produced messages and images from media outlets shape a conventional symbolic environment in which general public base their perceptions on to develop their own opinions and beliefs correctly and incorrectly at times. In this trend report, I would like to discuss about some of the media trends which have changed general public’s perceptions and created impact on different sectors of society.

Media exposure on LGBTQ+ Community Before 1970, minority groups such as LGBTQ+ community were underrepresented and news and media outlets virtually denied their existence. In the years after 1970, homosexual characters could be found on television, but they were shown in stereotypical, negative roles with no stable relationships or unstable physical and mental state for the audience’s humours. These common portrayal of gay men with an exaggerated feminine role, as well as intentionally exaggerated masculine woman for lesbian representation in media influenced the individual’s perceptions and led them to develop negative stereotypes and expectations from LGBTQ+ community. This led LGBTQ people to be treated unequally, and often faced violence and harassment in the society.

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In 1990s, there was a significant increase in the supportive representation of LGBTQ people in news, television and movies. With prominent public coming out story of Hollywood celebrity, Ellen DeGeneres, on main stream American television, gay and lesbians characters have become frequently featured in an increasing number of shows in the past two decades. (Gomillion MS and Giuliano, 2011, p. 330) The shift in media coverage has also reached to news outlet with increasingly covered homosexual rights. The increasing amount of exposure on LGBTQ community with accurate representations of the people and realistic storytelling persuade general public to change their perceptions about this group of minority people. These drivers allow broader changes in public perception and reinforced social changes in recognising equitable relation between genders, the respect and rights for LGBTQ+ community.

Increasingly positive media exposure makes LGBTQ+ people more comfortable in their daily lives without needing to hide their sexuality or getting harassed. This growing support also leads governments to change their policy on same sex marriage and child adoption as general public’s perceptions move towards greater acceptance over the past decade and started to demand for equal human rights. Moreover, in the economy, LGBTQ+ inclusions in the workplace has emerged as a fundamental shift with media shaping public opinions and boosting diversity and equity in the society. Consequently, this inclusion contributes to higher productivity with greater commitment from employees potentially increasing employer profits leading to expansion of business or new investments, thus increasing the level of economic development. Additionally, the perception change in society has also brought hope for those who were vulnerable to transphobia in the past. In the past, the process of transitioning was dangerous and unlicensed with improper healthcare technology which resulted in the lives and wellbeing of transgender people jeopardized. As general public are growing more accustomed to the idea of changing sex and gender identity, 4

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medical technology has also become more advanced in gender reassignment surgeries and more accessible and affordable for individuals to go through transitions as well.

Media exposure on Pollution Environmental issues had been neglected by mainstream media for decades as they were considered unappealing news compared to all other topics of media coverage.

Traditional media favoured news which were unambiguous, discrete events, straightforward or one off happenings rather than long term social trends. (Robbins, 2021) Even though most of the major newspapers have different sections dedicated to Politics, Entertainment, Healthcare and Sport, etc., many of them didn’t have a section for Environmental issues.

According to research data by Pew Research Centre’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, the environmental news coverage across 30 national news organisations in the United states only reached 1.2 percent of headlines from January 2011 to May 2012. (Adel, 2013) In 2015, a heart-breaking video of a sea turtle with a straw stuck in its nose had gone viral on social media and gathered attention from public to start changing their attitudes and perceptions and a need for actions towards plastic pollution. The media coverage on plastic pollution has continued to rise in past few years with public interest and response to the news.

With media shaping conversations around the pollution issues and raising awareness, public started to change their behaviours in daily lifestyle. The demonstrations and campaign strikes lead by environmental activist like Greta Thunberg are supported by network media channels such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. The world has started to make tentative progress in restoring the planet with nationwide campaigns to ban plastic straws and anti-plastic movements. These media coverage and a shift in public opinions about pollution drive society towards sustainable solutions and development in different sectors.

As the media shed light on pressing environmental issues, concerns about environmental pollution increase and consumers are seeking alternatives products with 5

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sustainable approach which creates a big shift in consumer behaviour in economy. This consumer demands for eco-friendly products lead brands to create sustainable products and persuading the consumer to purchase their product with eco-friendly approach in business.

Subsequently, the change in consumer behaviour and demands for sustainable products with circular economy are linked with the technology advancements. The rise in demand towards no plastic and zero waste future brings ground breaking technology for production of PET bottles which in turn, contributes towards economic growth. Furthermore, the perception and attitude changing of public towards environmental issues have impact in politics.

Environmental policy has emerged for environmental protection and management in support of the public interest. Changes in the role of government regarding to environmental policy have also occurred in response to social, economic, and technological changes that societies have undergone in the past with the influence of media. (Cocklin, Moon, 2020) Media exposure on Ideal Beauty The idea of beauty has always been shifting and changing in society and media exposure is the majority cause factor in changing people’s perceptions. People still compare their beauty and bodies to those around and set the ideal standard of beauty even in the absence of media. Even so, both traditional and social media play a powerful role in influencing certain body image standard and pressuring people to live up to them. The magazine and media images present a role model with idealized beauty and body image to convey the general public the hidden message of slender bodies, flawless skins and prominent facial features are considered beautiful. This media representation led people to believe they should look that particular way in order to be attractive and desirable to others which causes low self-esteem and body dissatisfaction in both men and women.

Nowadays, contemporary media platforms have been changing people’s internalize beauty ideals in both positive and negative ways. Different from traditional media which only 6

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presents the ideal beauty standard set by those media outlets, social media provides general public with a landscape of different body types. At the same time, the instant photo sharing and editing apps have further influenced how society adapts to principles of beauty.

(ScienceDaily, 2019). The contemporary media has constantly portrayed ideal beauty and body image comparisons with celebrities, idols and internet stars in one sided version of their life by showing the best bits, which leads the general public to experience negative body image concerns associated with development of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction.

These influence of media and changing perception of beauty drive the growth in technology and economic sectors of society.

To conform with society’s standard of beauty under the influence of media, cosmetic surgery has become increasingly popular across the globe in the recent years. Nowadays, the ideal beauty standards of female have been more inclusive from media platforms and these changing perceptions and trends lead an increase in demand for cosmetic surgery.

(McCutcheon, 2020) Due to the demands, the technology on surgery techniques have also become more advanced and improved the surgery experience to be safer, better with realistic results. The development of computer-assisted imaging technology allowed the surgeon to identify exact specifications, align perfectly with the wants of patients and provide high quality results with efficiency. (Mustoe, Han, 1999) The advanced technology of microdevices also enable doctors to perform microsurgery with tiny incisions and barely any scarring.

Within the past two decades, the entertainment and news media coverage of the Korean pop culture and entertainment industry has started in Asia which leads several changes in people’s perception about their beauty standards as well as life style changes resulted in the Korea economic development. As Korean media shape the positive perception 7

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of their people and culture towards global audience, the recognition of Korean brands and products were followed respectively. People started to imitate the fashion styles, ideal beauty standards and the lifestyles they have seen from media, the businesses such as Korean Cosmetics, fashion brands, and lifestyle products brands, Samsung, LG, have shown significant growth in economy with popular demand. Furthermore, highly endorsed by media coverage, public has shown great interest in exploring and experiencing South Korea. The contribution of travel and tourism has also impacted greatly towards economic growth in South Korea. Additionally, this media trend and change in people’s perceptions have also led political adjustments as many people from all around the world have migrated to South Korea to achieve the lifestyles they have seen from the media. Besides, this overwhelming global support has also changed the attitudes of society and driven the government to actively support their entertainment and media industry.

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Conclusion All things considered, media primarily functions as a point of access for public to gather information and form opinions. Besides, news media also sets goal agenda and shapes public opinions on certain issues with selective media contents. Consequently, from the changing minds of general public, the social norms, technology advancements, growth of economy, environmental effects and political change are greatly impacted. Media and Technology have always been intertwined and supporting each other in growth. Nowadays, with great advancement in technology, the trends of media have shifted with the way people consumed news. When it used to be the traditional media which was the major source of changing public opinions, contemporary media has allowed general public to voice out their individual beliefs and influence others. Likewise the future of media with greater advancement in technology might create the personalised news coverage and trends which will shape a new pattern of consumer behaviour and perceptions.

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Reference List Gomillion, S and Giuliano, T. (2011) ‘The Influence of Media Role Models on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity’, Journal of Homosexuality, Volume 58 (Issue 3), p. 330. Doi: 10.1080/00918369.2011.546729 Morse, D. (2020) ‘LGBTQ Workplace Diversity & Inclusion – A Matter of PRIDE’, training, 15 December. Available at: https://trainingmag.com/lgbtq-workplacediversity-inclusion-a-matter-of-pride/ (Accessed: 21 September 2021) Mustoe, A and Han, H. (1999) ‘The Effect of New Technologies on Plastic Surgery’, Arch Surg, 1999. Volume 134(Issue 11), pp. 1178-1183. Doi: 10.1001/archsurg.134.11.1178 Gale, J. (2015) ‘How Thailand Became a Global Gender-Change Destination’, Bloomberg, 27 October. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-1026/how-thailand-became-a-global-gender-change-destination (Accessed: 21 September 2021) Deborah A. Fisher, Douglas L. Hill, Joel W. Grube, Enid L. Gruber. (2007) ‘Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Content on Television: A Quantitative Analysis Across Two Seasons’, J Homosex, Volume 52(Issue 3-4), pp. 167-188. Doi: 10.1300/J082v52n03_08 Kuhar, R. (2003) ‘Media Representations of Homosexuality [Online], Ljubljana, Slovenia: Peace of Institute. Available at: http://pdc.ceu.hu/archive/00001509/01/Media_representation_of_homosexuality.pdf (Accessed: 21 September 2021) Stockton, N. (2015) ‘High-Tech Health Care is Helping Trans People Transition’, Wired, 06 September. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2015/06/high-tech-health-carehelping-trans-people-transition/ (Accessed: 21 September 2021)

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Robbins, D. (2015) ‘Why the media doesn’t care about climate change’, The Irish Times, 26 November. Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/why-the-media-doesn-tcare-about-climate-change-1.2443663 (Accessed: 21 September 2021) Adel, D. (2013) ‘Mainstream Media’s Environmental Coverage: The Sound of Silence’, Earth Island Journal, 11 February. Available at: https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/mainstream_environment al_coverage_the_sound_of_silence/ (Accessed: 21 September 2021) Calderwood, I. (2018) ‘88% of People Who Saw ‘Blue Planet II’ Changed Their Lifestyle’, Global Citizen, 01 November. Available at: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/88-blue-planet-2-changed-davidattenborough/ (Accessed: 21 September 2021) Cocklin, C and Moon, K. (2020) ‘Environmental Policy’, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Second Edition, Doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-102295-5.10788-7 Boston University School of Medicine. (2019) ‘What constitutes beauty and how is it perceived? Role of social media may create unrealistic expectations for cosmetic procedures’, Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190605133549.htm (Accessed: 21 September 2021) Arias, E. (2019). ‘How Does Media Influence Social Norms? Experimental Evidence on the Role of Common Knowledge’. Political Science Research and Methods, Volume 7 (Issue 3), pp. 561–578. Available at: https://gap.hks.harvard.edu/how-does-mediainfluence-social-norms-field-experiment-role-common-knowledge (Accessed: 21 September 2021)

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ADVERTISING TREND REPORT

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Date 21 September 2021

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TAN JOELYN

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Intro Advertising is ever-present. In the times of early civilizations, advertising was already being used by businesses in the form of tavern signboards and posters. However, advertising is not what it used to be. Changes in society, the technology that we have, and the environment around us, have all shaped what advertising is today. Even now, advertising is evolving. This report aims to discuss three trends that can be identified in advertising, and how they shape what the future of advertising will look like. These three trends are increased use of Vertical Mobile Advertising, an increased focus on sustainability in advertising, and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in advertising.

In this report, the relevant factors of the STEEP framework and drivers and signals will be embedded in the analysis of the trends.

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Vertical Mobile Advertising The main modes of communication that are used have changed over time, and advertising has changed along with it. Our main mode of receiving information has changed from newspapers, to radio, to television, then computers, and now smartphones. Global smartphone penetration rates are climbing, with 78.05% of the world’s population having a smartphone in 2020. Furthermore, smartphones alone accounted for 65% of total digital usage based on a 2018 study from Buffer.com, with many forms of media having been adapted to fit the dimensions of a standard smartphone. Much of today’s media can be viewed in a vertical setting, at a 9:6 ratio, when even going five years back, it could be seen that the 16:9 landscape ratio was the default.

Many social media platforms have released features that are specifically for viewing videos in a vertical format. For example, social media platforms like Snapchat and TikTok are built specifically around this vertical format, while Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram have all released their version of a feature with a vertical format.

Furthermore, vertical videos and content are here to stay. The aforementioned social media platform TikTok was the most downloaded application of 2020. Additionally, TikTok is more than just a social media platform. As an advertising platform, TikTok is dominant as well. According to a Hootsuite 2021 Global Report, TikTok/Douyin ranked second in terms of consumer spending, as compared to other non-gaming mobile apps. This is backed by the research article ‘This Way Up The Effectiveness of Mobile Vertical Video Marketing’, where it found that consumer engagement behaviour and interest were significantly more when using vertical video advertisements as compared to horizontal video advertisements

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With an increased number of avenues to watch vertical videos and content, advertisers are becoming more aware of the need to produce vertical advertisements. Vertical advertisements take up more screen space on a person’s mobile newsfeed on social media sites as compared to square videos and landscape videos, helping advertisers better catch social media user’s attention. Additionally, vertical video advertisements have higher completion rates than standard horizontal videos or even square videos, with 90% of vertical advertisements being completed.

Vertical mobile advertising also allows companies more flexibility when creating advertisements. As compared to traditional media where more high-budget professionally filmed advertisements are the norm, vertical mobile platforms enable more organic, lowerbudget advertising to be viable. Such advertising is viable on platforms with a vertical format because they are able to connect with the audience on a more personal level. A good example is Shopee. Initially, Shopee generated motion graphic videos that leaned towards a traditionally professional mobile advertisement but it was not successful as it was not able to connect with their audience. Shopee then used User-Generated Content on TikTok as advertisements and it was a big hit. The “Dis one my Shopee haul” trend went viral, due to its relatability and the fact that anyone could participate in the trend. Repeated user videos on the TikTok platform that tried to capitalise on the trend then acted as advertising for Shopee, increasing overall brand awareness, making the campaign a success.

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2018 Shopee 11.11 advertisement

2021 Shopee’s TikTok advertisement

As platforms with a vertical video format such as TikTok continue to get popular, vertical mobile advertising will continue to become a more accepted option for advertisers.

Traditional forms of advertising will continue to have their uses, but advertisers should recognise the validity and importance of using vertical mobile advertising, especially when the need calls for it.

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Environment and Sustainability-Focused Advertising A key global issue is climate change. According to the United Nations, there are only 9 years left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change. This level of urgency has caused mass cooperation from different entities of different scales around the world. 197 countries around the world signed the Paris Agreement in 2016, where they agreed to work towards 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Corporations themselves have also been working towards these SDGs, by producing goods that are made from sustainable resources, using ethical labour, and reducing their environmental waste. Lastly, amongst individuals, there is the key sociocultural change where there is an increased willingness to contribute to environmental and sustainable actions. In Singapore, 9 in 10 millennials are willing to contribute to the environment.

According to a 2020 IBM study, 72% of consumers say that they are willing to pay a premium for brands that are sustainable and/or environmentally responsible, and 77% of consumers say that sustainability is important for them. Brands are shaping and changing their business models to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and likewise changing their advertising direction to highlight these changes to customers. In order for businesses to retain and acquire customers that are concerned with sustainability and the environment, they need to make sure that customers are aware that the company is aligned with their values.

Companies are using advertising to convey to consumers their values, about how they are environmentally conscious and sustainable. The trend of sustainability-focused advertising places importance on conveying to consumers that their products have little

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adverse environmental impacts or are sustainable, such as by showing that they are longlasting. This differs from advertising in the past, where advertisements focused on the new features their product has, or how their product is better than their competitors.

For example, in 2010, Adidas marketed and advertised the F50i shoe as a shoe with features that would boost a footballer’s speed, drawing reference to Lionel Messi, a famous footballer, and his speed.

Adidas 2010 “Spark” Advertisement

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In 2021, Adidas’ advertising approach has changed. In their FutureCraft Footprint advertising campaign, the focus of the advertisement is on the fact that the shoe is the lowest carbon emission running shoe ever made, while still being an effective running shoe.

Adidas 2021 “Futurecraft Footprint” Campaign

It is evident how prevalent the trend of sustainability-focused advertising is based on the number of companies that have been caught greenwashing. Despite not actually being environmentally friendly, some companies are willing to frame their products and themselves in a way that makes it seem like they are green and sustainable because they are aware of the importance of doing so. For example, Italian Oil giant Eni was caught in 2020 for greenwashing by claiming that its diesel was green, despite the term ‘green diesel’ being deceitful due to the fact there is no such thing. Other more well-known companies such as Ikea and Shell, have also been accused of greenwashing as well. This shows how there is a strong trend of advertising being increasingly environment and sustainable-focused, where

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companies are willing to take on the risk of being caught making claims about being green, without actually being so just to be able to be aligned with this trend.

Hence, it is not enough for companies to advertise that they are green or sustainable as consumers are also concerned about the traceability and transparency of these environmental and sustainability-related claims. From the earlier referenced IBM study, 75% of consumers who care about a company’s environmental impacts and sustainability say they conduct substantial amounts of research prior to making their purchase. Moving forward, advertising a company to be green and sustainable would help to attract more customers, but it is also necessary to be able to back up such claims.

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The Use of AI and ML in Advertising There is a growing trend of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) in advertising. In an era of growing media platforms, more consumers are on the internet. The vast amount of data that makes up “personal information” are often voluntarily provided by users and self-authored content such as photos and videos become the pillar of engagement in the era of participatory web. The more information we put up, the more accessible to businesses we become. Digital footprints often take a long time to disappear, if they ever at all.

AI and ML are tools that are developed to take advantage of this available and abundant data. AI aims to simulate human intelligence in machines. AI is often paired with machine learning, where machines and programs, in layman’s terms, are made to learn on their own using a large amount of data. Machine learning allows computers to draw patterns from past data and to continuously learn from ongoing experiences.

With information being everywhere, it is difficult for companies to make sense of this information and engage with customers meaningfully through traditional means.

Programmatic advertising makes sense of this data and does so in an automated manner.

Programmatic advertising is a method of advertising that utilises AI and ML to use advertising spaces effectively, and pinpoint specific customer segments that are relevant to a business and show them the advertisement that is most suitable to them automatically. By analysing user behaviours, AI in programmatic advertising optimizes the delivery of ads and creates a personal experience for the users.

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For example, in 2016, Starbucks used an AI personalization engine to create personalized email offers. They later moved on to their mobile app where they suggest items before a customer checks out. The idea was to use their customer’s preferences and past behaviours to create a personal experience for them. Starbucks’ end goal is to use user data to create fully personalized experiences for customers that span through various screens and platforms, such as smartwatches and drive-throughs.

According to eMarketer.com, by the end of 2021, nearly 88% of all money spent for US digitally displayed advertising will be spent in an automated manner. Furthermore, consumers increasingly want more personal experiences. Research by Adlucent shows that 71% of respondents prefer advertisements that are tailored to their personalized interests and habits. As the demand for personalized experiences and the amount of data that is available continue to increase, the trend of using AI and ML in marketing will only continue to strengthen.

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Conclusion It can be seen from these three trends that advertising is evolving, and will only continue to evolve and provide more opportunities as the world develops.

From the trend of Vertical Mobile Advertising, we can learn that advertisements that take forms that differ from the status quo can also be valid. Designers need to be adaptable and willing to consider various interfaces when coming up with solutions. Previously unconsidered interfaces such as smartwatches should even be considered as viable options going forward.

Regarding the trend of Environment and Sustainability-Focused Advertising, we can learn that consumers care about the values of the company behind the product as well.

Consumers are more perceptive about blatant ‘fluff’ used in advertising and they want companies to be able to back up what they advertise. It is very likely that the future of advertising is values-based, rather than being product-based.

Lastly, in the use of AI and ML in Advertising, it can be seen that technology is a tool that advertisers and designers should embrace in order to stay ahead. The future of advertising is one that is most likely even more personalized, where features such as emotion recognition can be implemented.

Hence, as designers, we should always be on the lookout for such trends and be adaptable to them, in order to stay ahead.

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Reference List Mulier, L., Slabbinck, H. and Vermeir, I., 2021. This Way Up: The Effectiveness of Mobile Vertical Video Marketing. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 55, pp.1-15.

Statista. 2005. Smartphone penetration worldwide | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/203734/global-smartphone-penetration-per-capita-since2005/#:~:text=Global%20smartphone%20penetration%20rate%20is,global%20population%2 0of%207.8%20billion> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Chan, S., 2021. TikTok Becomes the First Non-Facebook Mobile App to Reach 3 Billion Downloads Globally. [online] Sensor Tower Blog. Available at: <https://sensortower.com/blog/tiktok-downloads-3-billion> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Peters, B., 2019. Does Vertical Video Make a Difference? We Spent $6,000 on Tests to Find Out Does Vertical Video Make a Difference? We Spent $6,000 on Tests to Find Out. [online] Buffer Resources. Available at: <https://buffer.com/resources/vertical-video/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Prnewswire.com. 2016. MediaBrix Launches Vertical Video and 360-Degree Experiences Across its Premium in-App Ad Platform. [online] Available at: <https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mediabrix-launches-vertical-video-and-360degree-experiences-across-its-premium-in-app-ad-platform-300365013.html> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Hootsuite.widen.net. 2021. Digital2021_GlobalReport_en.pdf. [online] Available at: <https://hootsuite.widen.net/s/zcdrtxwczn/digital2021_globalreport_en> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Haller, K., Lee, J. and Cheung, J., 2020. [online] Ibm.com. Available at: <https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/EXK4XKX8#:~:text=Nearly%206%20in%2010%20c onsumers,this%20jumps%20to%2077%20percent.> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

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Reference List Mulier, L., Slabbinck, H. and Vermeir, I., 2021. This Way Up: The Effectiveness of Mobile Vertical Video Marketing, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Volume 55. [online] Doi.org.

Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2020.12.002> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Un.org. 2019. Only 11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damage from Climate Change, Speakers Warn during General Assembly High-Level Meeting | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. [online] Available at: <https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Denchak, M., 2021. Paris Climate Agreement: Everything You Need to Know. [online] NRDC. Available at: <https://www.nrdc.org/stories/paris-climate-agreement-everything-youneed-know> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Elangovan, N., 2019. 9 in 10 S'pore millennials willing to do their part for the environment, but want Govt to do more: Survey. [online] TODAYonline. Available at: <https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/9-10-spore-youths-willing-do-their-partenvironment-want-govt-do-more-survey> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Turner, D., 2010. Debbie Turner - adidas - Spark | AdForum Talent: The creative industry network.. [online] Adforum.com. Available at: <https://www.adforum.com/talent/15432debbie-turner/work/34457103> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Aneris, V., 2020. Oil major slapped with €5m fine for greenwashing palm oil diesel Campaigning for cleaner transport in Europe | Transport & Environment. [online] Campaigning for cleaner transport in Europe | Transport & Environment. Available at: <https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/oil-major-slapped-%E2%82%AC5m-finegreenwashing-palm-oil-diesel/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

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Reference List Schulz, K., 2020. Programmatic advertising: Get to know how AI places ads.. [online] DMEXCO. Available at: <https://dmexco.com/stories/ai-at-work-automated-ad-placementwith-programmatic-advertising/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Schmelzer, R., 2020. AI Makes A Splash In Advertising. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2020/06/18/ai-makes-a-splash-inadvertising/?sh=6bc973957682> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Garnick, C., 2016. With artificial intelligence, Starbucks hopes to upgrade your next mobile coffee order. [online] Bizjournals.com. Available at: <https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2016/12/22/artificial-intelligence-starbucksstarbucks.html> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Hyperight. 2021. Deep Brew: Transforming Starbucks into an AI & data-driven company Hyperight. [online] Available at: <https://hyperight.com/deep-brew-transforming-starbucksinto-a-data-driven-company/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Bryson, J., 2019. The Past Decade and Future of AI’s Impact on Society | OpenMind. [online] OpenMind. Available at: <https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/the-pastdecade-and-future-of-ais-impact-on-society/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Madden, M., Fox, S., Smith, A. and Vitak, J., 2007. Digital Footprints. [online] Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Available at: <https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2007/12/16/digital-footprints/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Benjamin, M., 2021. The Definitive Guide to Programmatic Advertising. [online] AX Insights. Available at: <https://audiencex.com/insights/definitive-guide-to-programmaticadvertising/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

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Reference List

Green, R., 2020. AI for programmatic is great - but tragedy shows us why human judgement remains vital - Marketing Tech News. [online] Marketing Tech News. Available at: <https://marketingtechnews.net/news/2020/mar/18/ai-programmatic-great-tragedy-shows-uswhy-human-judgement-remains-vital/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

TikTok For Business. 2021. TikTok For Business Case Study: Shopee. [online] Available at: <https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-SG/inspiration/shopee-74> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Fisher, L., 2019. US Programmatic Ad Spending Forecast 2019. [online] Insider Intelligence.

Available at: <https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-programmatic-ad-spending-forecast2019> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Hicks, R., 2020. 8 brands called out for green washing in 2020. [online] Eco-Business.

Available at: <https://www.eco-business.com/news/8-brands-called-out-for-greenwashing-in2020/> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Tungate, M., 2007. Adland: A Global History of Advertising. Great Britain, United State: Kogan Page Limited., p.273.

Shopee Singapore, 2018. Shopee 11.11 Big Sales 2018. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD1axEoK5rk> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

Shopee Singapore, 2021. Dis one my shopeehaul. [video] Available at: <https://www.tiktok.com/@shopeesg/video/6972381252552871170?is_copy_url=1&is_from _webapp=v1> [Accessed 20 September 2021].

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NEW LANGUAGES IN COMMUNICATION

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice

Tanny Wong & Hera Winata Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

18 September 2021

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New Languages in Communication

Introduction

Communication is the key to understanding between people. Through the years, the evolution of communication is still an ongoing process. Life would have been so hard without communication. Solving problems, writing, reading, understanding, all of these would be impossible without communicating. The way people communicate with each other today is entirely different from the prehistoric era.

Communicating used to be limited to interpersonal interaction, until it evolved to alphabets, signs and symbols, letters and newspapers, telephones and televisions. In the current times, the Internet era has paved the way to innumerable means of communication, usually with just one click. These are the new langauges we use to communicate and interact in our daily lives.

Body Infographics and Data Visualization

Drawings depicting information on cave walls and hieroglyphs in ancient Egypt were early signs of infographics. In the 1600s, cartographers put the world into a detailed and visual layout. William Playfair, who might be considered the father of modern-day infographics, created modern statistical graphs including the line graph, pie chart, and bar chart in the late 1700s. In 1854, John Snow created a map of cholera cases in London. With a map showing where the 500 people who died over 10 days actually lived, Snow was able to show that the cholera outbreak was caused by contaminated water from one particular pump.

In the 1900s, pie charts, graphs, and even 3-D visuals were popular in newspapers and in political campaigns. More data visuals and infographics were created using programming software and computers in the 1950s. In 1975, Edward Tuft, who is considered the father of data visualization, developed the dataink ratio. He proceeded to self-published the visual display of quantitative information in 1983. Data visualizations are popular among today’s presentations to show a variety of data in an easy-to-understand

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format. In present day, infographics are posted on social media by organizations or brands to either educate, address an issue, or promote an upcoming event.

An infographic is a collection of imagery, charts, and minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an infographic is a visual representation of information or data.

Data Visualization is the process of taking raw data, transforming it into graphs, charts, images, videos that explain the data and allow us to gain insights from it. It changes the way we create value out of information, discover new patterns, and spot trends.

Although similar, there are differences in infographics and data visualization. Data visualization can be incorporated in infographics, yet infographics are not data visualizations. Data visualization is best at presenting research and statistical data, while infographics are great at telling the whole story, providing the reader with insights and necessary conclusions. It is best to use infographics and data visualization together while making sure they support each other and help to present information more clearly.

Infographics and data visualizations are strongly utilized to communicate and are growing in popularity in recent years on social media platforms. Amit Manchanda, a project lead from Net Solutions, noted that another new data visualization trend is using social platforms for steering better engagements. Data researchers have also recognized this trend and are taking care to make data visualization social media friendly. A few instances of social media visualizations include 3d animation, GIFs, and YouTube shots (Manchanda, 2019). Infographics are essential tools in education too. “Infographics are a great educational tool that you can use to help your students make connections and inspire engagement with the material.” says Zach Winchell (2018), an author from Wiley, an educational community for faculty to share research, techniques, and industry trends. Especially for the younger generation, they have a short attention span and are always overloaded with never-ending information and data from the internet.

Richard Alleyne, an author from The Telegraph, national British daily broadsheet newspaper noted that

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people today receive five times as much information as they did in 1986 (Alleyne, 2011). They prefer to be able to absorb key information immediately instead of having to read paragraphs of text from newspaper articles. Jakob Nielsen, a User Advocate, and principal of the Nielsen Norman Group noted that eye-tracking studies show people pay more attention to information-rich images on a website and readers spend more time looking at those images than reading text on the same page. In addition, researchers found that visitors only really look at 20% of the text on a Web page (Nielsen, 2010).

The advancement of technology plays a key role in how we can constantly improve the user experience and interaction with infographics and data visualizations. From looking at Infographics and data visualizations on prints like newspapers, to being able to access them on phone applications and social media platforms with a touch of a button. Amit Manchanda noted that Artificial Intelligence-based data visualization helps businesses discover what data they should be looking at in the massive pool of data available today. Machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) can cooperate to divulge important insights from data, thereby overcoming the data visualization workload for humans (Manchanda, 2019). Ron Miller, a contributor from TechCrunch noted that Airtable, the makers of the nocode relational database, announced its first acquisition today, acquiring Bayes, an early-stage visualization startup. The purpose of the purchase is to enhance the data visualizations on the Airtable platform (Miller, 2021). From providing simplifying data visualization services that once required engineering talent to pull off, to working with visualization startups to providing much more advanced and customized ways of graphing and reporting on their user’s data.

Infographics and data visualizations are essential to visualize the causes and effects of climate, enviromental and ecological changes. Samuele Merlini, a student from Tilburg University noted that an important question pertains to how the public can be persuaded towards attitude change, and more specifically whether the visual presentation of the message, such as data visualization or photographs, has an impact. As data visualization derives its statistical information from concrete evidence, it is considered to be a credible and reliable mean of communication. Previous research shows that data visualization is an effective tool to convey information and influence the attitude of the receiver (Merlini,

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2020). Alissa Schmidt, a student from Minnesota State University, noted that as a subset of visuals, data visualizations can be a key to communicating the complex components of environmental information, such as energy use and climate data. These are pieces of environmental information that cannot be clearly conveyed through words or photographs (Schmidt, 2019). Elizabeth Roknich is a fellow in the 2018 Leaders in Environment and Finance (LEAF) program. She spent summer 2018 at NC GreenPower, a Raleigh-based renewable energy nonprofit. Her work there included financial modeling, cost benefit analyses for program changes, and data visualization work in Tableau, which she used to create two dashboards to highlight their renewable energy generators and their Solar Schools program.

Environmental finance is an area where visualizations are particularly useful, as they help communicate oftentimes dense information to people in ways that make sense (Roknich, 2018). Pengyu Chen, an author from Springer open noted that the graphic visualization of real-time data of urban air quality displays the air quality data obtained by real-time monitoring, enabling users to efficiently capture hidden features and patterns in big data. Without efficient datagraphic visualization analysis, it is impossible to achieve good management of urban air quality (Chen, 2019).

Infographics and data visualizations play a key role in the performance of organizations, companies, and the business market in recent times. David white, an author from Aberdeen Group, noted that managers in organizations with visual data discovery tools are 28% more likely to find timely information than those who rely on managed reporting and dashboards (white, 2013). Amit Manchanda noted that the requirement of big data visualization tools can be deduced from the fact that the global business intelligence and analytics software market is predicted to rise from just $13.9 billion in 2018 to $16.5 billion by 2023, as per Statista. This tremendous data visualization growth is driven by businesses’ inclination towards collecting and analyzing actionable data for making informed decisions (Manchanda, 2019). The Avenga Team states that according to SAP, businesses that fail to apply data visualization tools most often typically spend approximately nine extra hours trying to spot trends, patterns, and correlations related to internal data. In the contemporary business environment, big data processing has become an essential element of effective company operations. Companies deal with huge amounts of information day to day, but none of it can be useful without proper analysis. Without that, no enterprise

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can gain the vision required to increase efficiency; spot critical and actionable business insights and competitive advantages; improve customer relationship management; find revenue opportunities; and improve general operational efficiency (The Avenga Team, 2019). Infographics and data visualization also create job opportunities. Tim Stobierski noted that data visualization has become so important to modern business that many organizations are now specifically hiring individuals proficient in it, among other data science skills (Stobierski, 2021).

Infographics and data visualizations are widely used by governments and organizations to address issues. The constant updates of infographics and data visualizations being released by Singapore’s Ministry of Health regarding covid cases and measures are great examples. Genie Stowers, a professor of public Aministration at San Francisco State University noted that today, use of data visualization is growing rapidly. The use of data in everything from performance measurement to forecasting to database reports has been emphasized by governments for some time. What is new in analytics is the emphasis on more sophisticated data analysis and data modeling, searching for patterns in data, and use of data warehouses and data mining by government managers looking for ways to answer increasingly difficult and more complicated kinds of questions (Stowers, 2013). Torgeir Uberg Naerland from University of Bergen noted on his blog, for democracy to function properly, we need a well-informed public debate about issues that are of concern to society at large. Such as the level of taxation, abortion, and other questions. Data visualization is often a part of these public debates. One example is media discussions regarding transport, and car policy. Here, data visualization showing the levels of carbon emission are used to support political arguments, whether the aim is to increase train travel or increase taxes on fuel.

In this way, data visualization becomes part of the discussions that are shaping our opinions on important political questions, and possibly how we choose to vote in elections (Uberg Naerland, 2018). Kelsey Velemirovich, a Pittsburgh-based UX Designer noted that it is not uncommon to see infographics employed as marketing tactics, sometimes becoming borderline propaganda pieces. With a large proportion of the population being visual learners, infographics can be a powerfully persuasive tool for anyone involved in politics. Design decisions and purposeful misrepresentations can heavily influence a

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viewer’s ability to understand what the graphic is trying to communicate. Ryan McCready of Venngage lists tactics such as omitting the baseline, manipulating graph axes, cherry-picking data points, using the wrong type of data visualization, and going against conventions are the most prevalent. Visual communication designers hold almost total control over what their viewers see in their infographics (Velemirovich, 2019).

Conclusion

Looking forward in years to come, I feel that the usage and development of infographics and data visualizations, which are the new languages of communication, will continue to be beneficial and effective in the spreading of information and communication. We cannot deny the importance of communication in our daily lives, nor prevent communication from evolving. With the constant advancement in the way we communicate and deliver information through technology, I can foresee that infographics and data visualizations will become even more interactive, easily accessible on mobile phone with real-time updates.

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Reference List

Manchanda, A. (2019, June 6). Top 7 data Visualization Trends & Tools for the Years to Come Available at https://www.netsolutions.com/insights/data-visualization-trends/

Winchell, Z. (2018, August 7). The power of infographics in online education.

Available at https://ctl.wiley.com/the-power-of-infographics-in-online-education/

Alleyne, R. (2011, February 11). Welcome to the information age – 174 newspapers a day. The Telegraph. Available at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/8316534/Welcome-tothe-information-age-174-newspapers-a-day.html

Nielsen, J. (2010, November 1). Photos as web content.

Available at https://www.nngroup.com/articles/photos-as-web-content/

Miller, R. (2021, August 12). Airtable makes Bayes its first acquisition to up its data visualization game.

Available at https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/11/airtable-makes-bayes-its-first-acquisition-to-up-its-datavisualization-game/

Merlini, S. (2020, July). Visualizing the causes of climate change Infographics versus Photographs and Text Available at http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=153249 Pg.4

Schmidt, A. (2019, September 9). Environmental Data Visualizations: Opportunities for Technical Communication Research Available at https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=eng_tech_comm_capstone_c

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ourse#:~:text=As%20a%20subset%20of%20visuals,conveyed%20through%20words%20or%20photogra phs. Pg 4

Roknich, E. (2018, November 28). Seeing is Believing: The Role of Visualization in Environmental Finance Available at https://efc.web.unc.edu/2018/11/28/seeing-is-believing-the-role-of-visualization-inenvironmental-finance/

Chen, P. (2019, February 12). Visualization of real-time monitoring datagraphic of urban environmental quality Available at https://jivp-eurasipjournals.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13640-019-0443-6

White, D. (2013, August). Visualization: Set Your Analytics Users Free.

Available at https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/8604-ra-business-intelligence-analytics.pdf Pg. 2

The Avenga Team (2019, November 1). Business Intelligence and Data Visualization.

Available at https://www.avenga.com/magazine/business-intelligence-and-data-visualization/

Stobierski, T. (2021, January 12). Top Data Visualization Tools for Business Professionals.

Available at https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/data-visualization-tools

Stowers, G. (2013). The Use of Data Visualizaation in Government. Avaialble at https://www.businessofgovernment.org/sites/default/files/The%20Use%20of%20Visualization%20in%20G overnment.pdf Pg. 9

Uberg Naerland, T. (2018, December 5). How can data visualization have a political impact?

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Avaialble at https://sciencenorway.no/blog-blog-from-numbers-to-graphics-statistics/how-can-datavisualization-have-a-political-impact/1618795

Velemirovich, K. (2019, October 25). The Power of Art in Politics: How Easily Infographics Can Influence a Person’s Political Point of View.

Available at https://medium.com/@kvelemir/the-power-of-art-in-politics-97abcd3b717f

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THE EFFECTS OF FAKE NEWS

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design Practice

Widyan Ardini Binte Mulyadi Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

17 September 2021

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The effects of Fake News Introduction Fake news has been around longer than you think, and the aftermath have caused a lot of damage to the society, no matter what era. Fake news defines information that are deliberately falsified on purpose. (Wikipedia Contributors, 2018) It is created to orchestrate people’s judgement of what is the truth and what is false taken from statements and events.

(Ucsb.edu, 2017) There has been explosion of fake news and false narratives are being shared throughout the years, resulting into collateral damages.

Body Fake news started to emerge when a series of articles were published in 1835 that led to the great moon hoax. A popular astronomer named Sir John Herschel have made astonishing discoveries and found evidence of life forms and civilization on the moon. Life forms such as goats and bison, even fantasy animals like unicorns, giant-winged creatures and humanoid bats were spotted. (Loeffler, 2021) The article also included lucid interpretation of the moon’s geography. There were bountiful vegetation fields, oceans and rivers.

Figure 1: The Great Moon Hoax by the newspaper tabloid, The Sun from 1835. Source: Wikipedia However, there was an issue. All the article was fabricated. It was soon revealed that the articles were possibly written by a reporter who was working for The Sun newspaper, Richard Adams Locke and not of Sir John Herschel. Locke intended the series of articles to be taken as satire. They were created to ridicule theories of extraterrestrial life and mock a famous scientist writer who allegedly mention that the moon had 4.2 billion inhabitants. The Sun reporter’s intention was to probably to invent an appalling narrative that could boost sales for the newspaper. Readers of the article were so pulled in by the story that they failed to realize that it was satire. It even misled Ivy league students, Yale University scientists, even professionals who were hungry to get more information. Sales of the article rose

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dramatically when the first article of the moon hoax was published. People were invested in the story because it was intriguing to read something that was out of the norm.

Satire is defined as the use of irony and dramatization to poke fun at people or an organization. (Gause, 2021) It can turn into inaccurate information when the repeated narrative is republished, making it seem like genuine and truthful reporting. (Gause, 2021) Websites and forums will defend that the information that they published was deliberately intended to be satire against the possibilities of legal action taken. However, it may often deceive readers into trusting the source is accurate.

In 1945, a false narrative invented by Bernadino da Feltre. He is a Franciscan preacher who claimed that the Jewish community was responsible for a missing child. He gave a series of sermons that the Jews had killed and tortured a child who is two-and-a-half years old, then drained and drunk the blood of the child. The baby, Simonino, was then being anointed as an officially recognized saint, Saint Simon. (Soll, 2016) This led to be beginning of antiSemitism. It is a behaviour that brought hatred and hostility towards Jewish people simply because they are Jews. Stereotypical outlook and teachings have been taught to demonstrate the inferiority of the Jewish community. Hence, causing outrage resulting in other communities committing comparable acts of wickedness and barbarity.

In 1989, there was the Hillsborough disaster. A devastating front-page article that was manipulated with lies and deception that brought ugly repercussions. The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper, invented lies by the police and ran a campaign to invoke harm to Liverpool football fans after a fatal human crash at a football game. 97 people were unlawfully crushed to death due to the dereliction of duty of the South Yorkshire Police.

(Wikipedia, 2021) Some of the lies that were fed were of Liverpool fans stealing and pickpocketing the victims who were already dead and furthermore, urinating on law enforcement officers. (Sillito, 2016) They were accused of being intoxicated hoodlums causing nuisance and chaos. Since then, the lies have proven as fiction as an alleged police cover-up and gross negligence.

Figure 2: Overcrowding at the FA Cup semi-final

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Figure 2: Front page of the The Sun. Source: Wikipedia The falsehood of the article led to the widespread boycotting of the tabloid paper. Customers protest The Sun by refusing to purchase the newspaper and retailers refusing to stock it. The newspaper’s reputation has been prominent ever since the Hillsborough Disaster. Forgiveness was never in the cards of the fans and survivors and grieving families whose relatives were killed. Their notoriety led to newspaper decline. The famous supermarket chain, Tesco, have since stopped selling the newspaper. Almost every taxi in Liverpool had the phrase, “Do not buy The Sun” plastered on it. The boycott is still occurring for the past 30 years. (The Overtake [beta], n.d.) The Sun has been banned from the stadium and will not be authorized to report on any matches or given no permission to interview the players. The city of Liverpool came together to defend themselves to the presence of authority who were lying to their faces. After the 27th anniversary of the deadly overcrowding crash, the jurors finally ruled unanimously that the Liverpool supporters did not contribute to the tragedy and the bereaved families of the victims were acquitted. Those who were in court were exhilarated and applauded. Some of the verdicts that were told in court were that senior officers were unsuccessful in issuing specific instructions on how crowds should be controlled. The response time to handle the escalation of swarming fans were slow and uncoordinated as well as planning errors were caused by the oversight of commanding officers. (The Overtake [beta], n.d.)

Weapons of mass destruction accusations were made in 2003. 16 years ago, the United States conquered Iraq. The reason was the United States government claims that the Iraq regime and former leader Saddam Hussein possess, and obscure considerable amount of the most lethal weapons ever devised. (Taibbi, 2019) 935 misleading statements about Iraq causing security risks were made by former President George Bush and his top leading advisers. (Politics, 2008) These claims were being issued as evidence that led to the invasion and military strikes which had cost over millions of dollars. (Kessler, 2019) However, they did not find any form 4

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of evidence that there were illicit weapons hidden in Iraq. (Borger, 2017) Media outlets were blamed that they did not do sufficient investigation of the claims made. Since then, media organizations have acknowledged that the reports covered before the invasion was too submissive and careless. (Ensor, 2003) The aftermath of disaster caused by the US had significant repercussions towards the future of United States foreign policy. The aftermath of George Bush’s conviction which reinforces the disaster of Iraq caused indemnity in correspondence between the US and international relations. They mention that they will be more vigilant moving forward when it comes to radical interference. (E-International Relations, 2013)

Figure 3: Deepfake video of Obama. Source: University of California In 2018, A Buzzfeed video went viral of Former US president Barack Obama, talking about the instability brought by the dangers of fake news and information. The popular director and actor, Jordan Peele, went to alter the video by transferring his own facial expressions to Obama’s facial features using synthetic technology. He went to say out-of-character statements. One of the false statements that Obama said was: “President Trump is a total and complete dipshit.”

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Figure 5: The truthfulness assessment of the deepfake Obama video. Source: Deepfakes and Disinformation: Exploring the Impact of Synthetic Political Video on Deception, Uncertainty, and Trust in News Figure 4 shows the outcome of a questionnaire on how deepfakes affects respondents’ perception of what is real and what is fake when watching the deepfake video of Obama.

Generally, only 50.8% of the respondents were not conned by the synthetic video. On the other hand, 16% was deceived while 33.2% were undetermined. The deceptive 4-second clip was 14.9%, the least likely to fool participants while the 26-second clip was 16.4% while the full video with educational level was 16.9%. (Vaccari and Chadwick, 2020) Using artificial intelligence to manipulate videos of people which closely resembles videos that are real. It can be known as deepfakes or synthetic media. Software applications produce extremely compelling videos like face-grafting but without surgical procedures. This technology will take the expressions of an individual and then cautiously superimposing it onto another individual’s head and face. These methods are very powerful that it is immensely hard to tell if the content is authentic. The likelihood outbreak of this type of 6

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misinformation is distinct. People who enjoy inflicting chaos will benefit those profits from spreading fake news. (Leitman,2021) As the advancements of artificial intelligence continue to increase, the authenticity of the content can be effortlessly manufactured. Hence, there will be increased difficulty to identify what is real. In January 2020, Facebook and Twitter issued new guidelines for handling with “deepfakes” (Vaccari and Chadwick, 2020) In 2020, there was concerns and uncertainty whether this AI-technology can have any extreme impacts on the United States presidential and congressional election campaigns that was ongoing.

(Hancock and Bailenson, 2021) One issue they might face was voters being misled by the lies. Popular social sites like Facebook and twitter state that they will remove any information and media that is being orchestrated. It will also remove any material that have the possibility of being fabricated that may cause torment and impact public safety. (Toews, 2020) As false information and distorted media continue to spread, countries from around the world has taken measures and regulations to tackle the ongoing issue of fake news. In New Delhi, three weeks were given to the Indian government by the Supreme court to file a sworn statement indicating a well-defined timeframe to form policies to combat the escalation of fake news on social media. (The Times of India, 2019) Malaysia was one of the first countries to pass a law on anti-fake news in 2018. If an individual does not abide by the rules, a fine of 500,000 Malaysia ringgits or end in jail for up to six years. In Russia, a recent law was being implemented punishing individuals and businesses for circulating false information that will bring “mockery” the state. At the beginning of 2019, a law was set in motion which brought penalties up to 10% of an establishment’s sales and in the case where tech executives fail to remove content inciting terrorism, murder, including other serious crimes. (The Times of India, 2019)

Figure 4: Where Concerns Is Highest About Fake News On The Internet. Source: Statisca

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Figure shows the 2019 report of which countries are very concerned about fake news. The findings found that 85% of Brazilians are anxious in identifying whether the information is the truth, regarding news covered on the internet. After Brazil is the United Kingdom with 70% due to concerns over Brexit which made the country greatly divided. On the other hand, Netherlands is the country that has the least concerns about misinformation spreading on the internet. (Statista, 2019) Currently, the world is experiencing an outbreak of an infectious disease known as Covid-19.

The coronavirus pandemic was known to had appeared in 2019 and have remained a prominent issue till this day. (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2021) It was not long before healthcare experts and scientist soon created the vaccine for this virus. Unfortunately, it has resulted in an outpouring stream of misinformation that utilizes and making use of one’s fear while causing confusion to the public. The overabundance of information have made the public to be uncertain and distrust information that have been distributed. (World Health Organization, 2021) Some of the misinformation that were being spread across the world were that the pandemic is a business scheme and the vaccines are causing health implications such as stroke or even death. (Guest, Firdaus and Danan, 2021) Moving forward, many countries are finding ways to tackle this problem. World Health Organization (WHO) is collaborating with the government of United Kingdom to produce credible content to fight against the fake news of the coronavirus. (World Health Organization, 2021) Conclusion Overall, the validity of trustworthiness information has become a persistent issue that will affect the society and businesses. (Figueira and Oliveira, 2017) The exploitation of new powerful technology is inciting fake news and misinformation in a post-factual society. Fake news will always have bad complications that could cause from even just a tiny repercussion to a tremendous potential, influencing real world impacts, within minutes, spread through hundreds and millions of users.

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Ensor, D. (2003). CNN.com - Fake Iraq documents “embarrassing” for U.S. - Mar. 14, 2003. [online] edition.cnn.com. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/03/14/sprj.irq.documents/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2021].

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Gibson, O. (2004). What the Sun said 15 years ago. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jul/07/pressandpublishing.football1.

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Leitman, D. and 2021 (2021). Controlling the Spread Of Fake News. [online] AdWeek.

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Maddox, J.D. (2020). The Day I Realized I Would Never Find Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. The New York Times. [online] 29 Jan. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/magazine/iraq-weapons-mass-destruction.html.

Politics, C. (2008). Study: Bush, aides made 935 false statements in run-up to war CNN.com. [online] edition.cnn.com. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/23/bush.iraq/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2021].

Sillito, D. (2016). Sun’s Hillsborough front page “symbol of lies and cover-up.” BBC News. [online] 27 Apr. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36149489 [Accessed 17 Sep. 2021].

Soll, J. (2016). The Long and Brutal History of Fake News. [online] POLITICO Magazine.

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Taibbi, M. (2019). 16 Years Later, How the Press That Sold the Iraq War Got Away With It. [online] Rolling Stone. Available at: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politicsfeatures/iraq-war-media-fail-matt-taibbi-812230/ [Accessed 18 Sep. 2021].

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Toews, R. (2020). Deepfakes Are Going To Wreak Havoc On Society. We Are Not Prepared. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2020/05/25/deepfakes-are-going-to-wreak-havoc-onsociety-we-are-not-prepared/?sh=6e887b7d7494 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2021].

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Vaccari, C. and Chadwick, A. (2020a). Analysis | “Deepfakes” are here. These deceptive videos erode trust in all news media.. Washington Post. [online] 28 May. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/28/deepfakes-are-here-these-deceptivevideos-erode-trust-all-news-media/.

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Guest, P., Firdaus, F. and Danan, T. (2021). “Fake news” laws are failing to stem Covid-19 misinformation in Southeast Asia. [online] Rest of World. Available at: https://restofworld.org/2021/fake-news-laws-are-failing-to-stem-covid-19-misinformation-insoutheast-asia/ [Accessed 20 Sep. 2021].

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World Health Organization (2021). Fighting misinformation in the time of COVID-19, one click at a time. [online] www.who.int. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/featurestories/detail/fighting-misinformation-in-the-time-of-covid-19-one-click-at-a-time.

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