Based on the media concept that we have to explore, IM2 want to us to develop a magazine suite by using popular public media platform such as Tumblr, FB and Twitter. Due to our group are formed by all Chinese, we all think it would be easy to control if the theme are more closed to our life, as the result, the original goal of our project is overseas students’ experience. Particularly, focus on the time when they arriving at AU to start a new life (however, we sort of changed our orientations to focus general overseas students in AU) I will roughly showing the working process and then gradually reflect the parts that i take part in.

In the first stage, In fact we did not really understand the purpose of doing this project and how to do it. However, we know that ensure the target audience is quite essential for feed our pages, In terms of my personal research, students who want to come AU or who are already study in here can be the main focus for us, they probably same as our ages and they are frequently use social media to share their life experience and they might also care about someone who have similar situation like them. We discussed together to integrate ideas and prepare the first presentation, and here is the blog post to show my personal thinking in terms of writing a persona profile& callout for our project:

http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3260576/blog2/?p=251

Also another post represent some of fragmentary ideas and worries about our project: http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3260576/blog2/?p=249

and my ideas reveal the problem we met in the following weeks.

After that, we set up formally pages on Facebook, Twitter and Tumbir. In this stage, to collect relate materials is important. My personal contributions are more focus on uploading some videos on our Tumblr, which can represent our theme/aims as well as facilitate more target audiences get touch with our project or just teaching them how to upload own videos to the online pages. Furthermore. It is no doubt that video source seems more vivid and more infectious. Some videos like:

http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3260576/blog2/?p=254

This one is pretty special for me due to I am actually one of the characters in it. And I also write the reasons on the post why I upload this video. In that time, I just proposed if someone can offer us a very cheerful document that to show the life situations of overseas students, just like this, it would be great!

Another uploaded video post that I think is useful for our project is actually advertising for QQ (which is most famous social media tool in China, the importance is same as Facebook). Video document a truly story about our overseas students, I upload this due to it can conveys a strongly feeling that all the Chinese overseas students might have. Moreover, it is a good evidence to show how important that social media provides a connection between overseas students and others. It is also reveal a kind of positive meaning for our ongoing project. However, I met a little bit technologic trouble when I want to upload more video sources on to the blog. Which lead some videos eventually cannot appear.

Our FB needs followers, but some harsh situations limit our increased number, it seems necessary to positively call for more people to join us. One way I used is to write callout in both FB pages and my Sina micro blog (which as more popular social media platform in China, even fill in the gaps that Chinese internet users can not use Twitter in their area) I just talk it directly to gather my friends who can use FB account please support our pages. Luckily, we gather the power to win some people follower our pages, but we also realized it is not easy for our theme to grow more interaction between followers and us. More realistic bounties here so that eventually make us changed the way we are going.

In the following stage, we gradually changed our strategies to make our stronger. This is some thinking that I posted on the blog: http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3260576/blog2/?p=295

We want to build a bridge, which can translate series information and unscramble different opinions between both sides.because there is alway showing difference when public think about an common issue. Group members and I start to collect and post all kinds of information that might useful for all the Chinese students lived in AU. To full use of different social media is the main way to ensure the information keep circulating. Such as grasp the news in Sina microblog first, then transmit it to the Tumblr blog. Something like this. As the result, our upper posts are all about these information.

This is my first time build public page and tries to attract people get interaction on it.

The result seems not successful; we met so many troubles during the period. We do not have specific division of labor, but START FROM SCRATH combined everyone’s efforts, Personally, we’ve got a nice communication between group members and I just tried hard to explore and collect the useful things for our project. And I feel that set up public pages is not easy as we see and we use it, furthermore, I have learned more knowledges that based on public social media, and obviously it is good for me to further close my major Media.

Our IM project seems  not that smooth, originally, we want to build a platform for people who stay at AU. so they can share experience and interact with others. we upload videos or pictures is aims to attract people to join us or follow us, but actually we only get some people to follow ( who are mostly our friends )but no one get involved with us to make videos by themselves.

we felt the problem is how to attract more target audiences when we use foreign social media platform like FB/Twitter. actually, the situation is harsh cause  limited Chinese audiences use FB/Twitter for some sensitive reasons. however, we transfer our strategies, Due to Paul thinks that it would be better if we can be a bridge to across the boundary between FB/Twitter and RenRen/Weibo, which has similar functions as FB/Twitter but huge rate to cover the Chinese internet market. That could be a highlight point to describe that locked FB/Twitter actually provided a huge benefit for Chinese FB/Twitter, which are RenRen/Weibo, then we are the bridge to display/bring the information from FB and sometimes, FB’s angles are more close to the reality than RenRen/Weibo. That also can show the total difference internet environment between foreign areas China social media realm. One is free and another absolutely not.

In terms of Tumblr, we will continued to upload more videos/ pictures/Information to build it looks colorful, videos could be attached English subtitles, but some news/ or text information will cut the original appearance then translate below.

2011 fernando

This video are made by my friend who is a overseas student study at BNE. In that day, we celebrated birthday together with our friends at DreamWorld and he just use his camera filmed the whole happiness that we shared then edit to a short document. I think this is a good angle to reflect overseas students’ leisure activities.When we study at AU, we might experienced some harsh situations but we can also get a chance to open up eyes then enjoy the cheerful time.

A callout is an open recruitment to people to join a themed project. In terms of our theme, I just roughly think of a callout like: Share your experience to us, Your similar friends! OR Far away from home? Just join us share your life then make friends! Due to we more focus on Chinese students who came to AU so we might use Mandarin as a language as well to promote our pages.

Persona could be like this: Laura is a 21 year old girl from China who is doing hers bachelor degree of Media at RMIT. She is a second year student for now on. She uses many social media tools like RenRen(Chinese Facebook) and micro blog to records her life at AU as well as keep in touch with family and friends from back home. Due to the requirement of Media study, she start to use Facebook during the period of staying Melbourne. She usually go back for a long period of time during holidays. She lives in Melbourne city with two girls. After school, she is dong her part time job or stay at home play with laptop. Sometimes, she like to go shopping or eat outside with her friends at weekends. if she does not plan to go home on holidays she would like to plan a short trip within Australia. After uni, she probably prefer to back home and set on a career in the media, but before that, she plans to take time and go somewhere then enjoy the journey. In terms of her further career, she is not hurry to decide what she might goes to do but still explore what she interests in the realm of media.

This week’s lecture offer us some great tips that sum up from last semester third year students. personally, “know your platform”is quite important than others due to our groups formed with 5 Chinese, for some reasons media tools like Twitter/FB might not that familiar in terms of us. However, Interpretation by Paul make me get a roughly understanding of what we gonna work for. Our theme focus on Chinese overseas students.i just wonder if we use FB as a platform to connect people and spread our project across different spaces then how many users would like be interacted with the content/Does it impact widely? a real trouble i think could be our target users are limited due to an situation is RenRen as a mainly social media platform actually instead of FB in terms of Chinese internet users.we do not know how many overseas students are start using FB as another media tool at foreign areas. Same conditions happened in terms of Twitter because for Chinese users Sina micro blogging (Which has similar functions as Twitter)mostly being used in their daily life.

On the other hand, Due to these Chinese social media tools are totally similar as FB/Twitter so that we can easily understand the theories FB/Twitter have.like@people to get/ them know or precipitate then interact to our messages/project. these useful knowledges can bring us quickly deal with our project.

However, i know the aim of the project already but i still think about what forms that our project will finally looks like.

Yes, we are continually doing IM2 in second semester! we have to cope with another bran-new project in order to explore social media from a different perspective. In terms of social media concept. absolutely it is a indispensable communication platform for public which facilitate the whole society combination especially the information express and opinions exchange.However,just as Marius said: we will develop a magazine suite by using Tumblr, FB and Twitter(each to its best).Personally,This is my first time get in touch with a format like this. so it seems interesting but unknown for me. need more patience to explore.
First/Second week primarily give us a general outline in terms of the main project. Our group formed with all Chinese members Based on On the Road our roughly idea/theme could focus on overseas students experiences.Group Blog(Start from Scratch) has already set up and we will make work-in-progress pieces to populate the tumblr site. i think first step is discover/collect different materials via series of media forms.anyway, step by step.