Fidelity to the pitch for the Reflective Web Media Creation (RWMC)

Throughout the development of my Reflective Web Media Creation, I implemented several intentional changes from my initial pitch to improve the clarity, engagement, and discoverability of the artefact, many of which were directed by peer and marker feedback. The fundamental metaphor of “CTRL+ALT+DELETE” was something that I kept from my pitch, but then I worked to improve and deepen it by making it more directly tied to the narrative and visual elements.

The title was also changed, from a statement of how things are to a challenging question, “CTRL+ALT+DELETE: Are You Being Controlled by Your Feed?” to better integrate with YouTube’s platform affordances such as searchability, click-through curiosity, and a tagging strategy. While streamlining content, I also implemented tactics for the individual platform I used, including keyword-rich description text, optimising metadata, providing closed captions to the content, and aligning with the unit's focus on discoverability and streaming media conventions.

Peer commentary was addressed by thinking of ways to strengthen audience interaction. Due to time constraints, I didn’t incorporate any interactive elements. However, I integrated cues to invite introspective reflection to the personal observations in the voiceover. For example, copy as ‘Think about your last scroll…’ encourages the audience to reflect on themselves, echoing the RWMC’s reflective intent.

All images and sound used were chosen carefully regarding copyright, adhering to Creative Commons licensed items, and all stock used from Canva was done with full attribution. This ethical issue was explicitly raised in the credits and consent documents (Appendix A).

Overall, the RWMC was true to the central idea and theoretical framing of the pitch, scouting, streaming, convergence, and discoverability in an algorithmic media ecology but developed markedly via an iterative process of feedback, platform affordance, and ethical production. The effect is an artefact that challenges and reiterates the issues around digital agency and resistance through form, structure and mode of delivery.

Spreadability Strategy

The new spreadability strategy for the RWMC project will incorporate sharing on owned websites, other social media platforms and a dedicated episode of the Tourism Hub Podcast. (Jenkins, Ford, & Green, 2013) “The transition from distribution to circulated media draws attention to the need to move beyond thinking about how to make our work 'sticky' to thinking about how we can make it 'spreadable' in a world of media franchise and transmedia-this emphasis is on media that is designed to flow across platforms and constrains in all sorts of ways-diachronically and synchonically” (p.34)

Jenkins, Li, Domb Krauskopf, & Green (2009, February 11) maintain that spreadability is more concerned with the human choice involved in content that is 'active and social' than with being a digital 'virus' resting passively on an audience. In addition, Green & Jenkins (2011) investigate how spreadability furthers mediated content diffusion processes by inviting both consumption, production and distribution from users, challenging the traditional division between media maker and audience. This lens is specifically applicable when we consider how the RWMC YouTube video becomes circulated as a 'spreadable' artefact that is strategically embedded in blogs, social media and podcast episodes in the interests of discoverability and audience expansion as an example of the spreadability principles highlighted by Jenkins et al. (2009, Feb 23).

Integrating the notion of the gift economy, as examined in Part Four of the series, Jenkins et al.'s content, presented as a community resource, is conducive to reciprocity and cultural value, to facilitate sharing without the mediation of money (Jenkins et al., 2009, February 17). This corresponds nicely with the aims of the RWMC project, which is to use its content as an instrument of broader community penetration and attention. The approach also exploits remix culture, a term that Jenkins et al. (2013) identify as essential to increase content reach and incite new media interpretations. It is activated through engagement, inviting followers to engage by spreading and creating their versions of the RWMC content and, in doing so, turning passive consumers into distributors of the material.

Through the use of strategies of spreadability, the plan will aim to employ tactics including sharing on various social media, targeted Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and hashtag campaigns to increase the findability and facilitate circulation by connecting these tactics to spreadability. By selectively placing content in several channels and encouraging the remix culture, the RWMC project attempts to attain content distribution, thereby supporting immediate engagement and a growing audience over time.

Zhang (2022) contends that content discoverability is now embodied by algorithmic recommendation and metadata structure. This is why technical strategies such as optimising the metadata (by tagging) and for search (SEO) are so essential to ensure content gets discovered and recommended by the algorithms that run the various platforms such as YouTube and social media feeds. Mandile (2025) also acknowledges that social media algorithms rank and prioritise content based on performance, suggesting how algorithmic processes have a bearing on discoverability.

Ultimately, as my RWMC is written about digital fatigue, the attention economy, and algorithmic agency, my spreadability strategy is an interesting way to use the same tools of the digital landscape I am critiquing to disseminate my artefact. Ultimately, I am employing the networked circulation facilitated by platforms to encourage reflection on engagement within those very platforms.

Evaluation of One Peer RWMC

Please find below my review of the following RWMC: https://youtu.be/ARvB8BWx-3E

Hi Lilah,

Really well done! I enjoyed viewing your RWMC. It was interesting and simple to follow. Your natural delivery, coupled with great editing, while keeping to the three-minute time was excellent. The pace held my interest throughout while delivering the content in a polished and engaging presentation. Your work clearly catches the unique characteristics of web media and its consequent impact on discoverability for indie bands by demonstrating the evolution of music consumption from physical formats to digital streaming.

You clearly highlight the challenges of digitisation and algorithm-driven promotion on websites like Spotify, and the personal story based on your brothers band "Humming" makes the information relevant and personable for a general audience. At the same time you did a great job maintaining emphasis on streaming and artist royalties, which also provides a more refined study of Spotify's business model.

The format and length are well-suited for a short video, adhering to the assignment guidelines of a three-minute runtime. In terms of making improvements, the RWMC Artefact is currently unlisted and making it publicly distributed will be better aligned to the project requirements. Also, I believe the artefact can be further improved by emphasising the band's own digital assets including references in the description to Humming's social media and website. This would help even more towards giving credit and ultimately directly supporting Humming. Including these links would give the audience a useful call to action to interact with and help the band, therefore also addressing the artist discoverability and income restrictions.

Overall, great work and all the best with the rest of the unit and your studies.

Warmest,

Despina

References:

Green, J., & Jenkins, H. (2011). Spreadable media: How audiences take control of media content. NYU Press.

Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable media: Creating value and meaning in a networked culture. NYU Press.

Jenkins, H., Li, X., Domb Krauskopf, A., & Green, J. (2009, February 11). If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead (Part One): Media viruses and memes. Confessions of an Aca-Fan. https://henryjenkins.org/blog/2009/02/if_it_doesnt_spread_its_dead_p.html

Jenkins, H., Li, X., Domb Krauskopf, A., & Green, J. (2009, February 17). If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead (Part Four): Thinking through gift economies. Confessions of an Aca-Fan. https://henryjenkins.org/blog/2009/02/if_it_doesnt_spread_its_dead_p_2.html

Jenkins, H., Li, X., Domb Krauskopf, A., & Green, J. (2009, February 23). If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead (Part Five): Communities of users. Confessions of an Aca-Fan. https://henryjenkins.org/blog/2009/02/if_it_doesnt_spread_its_dead_p_3.htm l

Mandile, N. (2025). Understanding digital visibility: Social media platforms and performance metrics. Curtin University Digital Publishing.

Zhang, Z. (2022). Research on music album sales and commercial economic value: Taking Taylor Swift as evidence. In Y. Jiang et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on E-Commerce and Digital Business Communication (ICEDBC 2022) (pp. 3–8). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-036-7_2