The language of mass hysteria?

Posted on 10 November, 2008 by

I watched Question Time on the beeb last week after Obamas’ victory. It featured Brian Eno, for one, who is apparently a consultant to the Lib Dems. How about that? He is a  rather charming reactionary and good to see the Lib Dems appropriating a bit of cool. I’ve long thought that they’ve  catching up to do in the communication of democracy stakes. I know politics should be all about the policies, but in this day and age it has to also be about the brand. As well as be being on the money and having some sound political views, Eno mediates politics at the level of personal activism and social responsibility. Plus he allows the Lib Dems to draw on also sorts of connotations of hip and culture.

Anyway, as you can imagine the whole QT show was rather a viva Obama fest / “we are the world, we are the people”, including Bonnie Greer  who is normally very sensible telling everyone how she was in tears on victory night. Everyone wants to be Obamas’ friend, and every one wants to show  that their personal emotional reaction to the event is stronger than their neighbors, and some how more authentic. I mean don’t get me wrong I AM pleased ( though rather like Bonnie  I flipflopped from being a Hilary supporter to a Barack supporter).   2 events come to mind through all this.   One is the death of Princess Diana and the other, Tony Blairs’ victory in 1997. The whole emotional competitiveness is symptomatic of Western Society, particularly in the UK since the death of Diana. The notion of the media facilitation “our” ability to feel if you know what I mean. 1997 for me was one of the most important elections in the last 100 years, not least because it was the 1st one I was able to vote in. What I am reminded of more specifically is this discourse of optimism and hope obscuring actual policy.

I remember staying up all night watching the votes some in and seeing Neil Kinnock dancing awkwardly to D:ream. Remember this?

In 1997 I was an undergrad struggling to live independently of my family in East London during the eve of Cool Britannia. I was so hopeful and optimistic for the Labour party; all I’d ever known was Thatcher and that life as a young adult living on the bread line in the capital was quite hard. My pals and I got carried away with the election, because a change of government for us signified such giddy anticipation for the future. Alas, like so many others, I’m let down by what actually followed.

The language of new labour has been brilliantly analyzed by Norman Fairclough,  in his wonderful book New Language New Labour. But I thought it would be interesting to run a quick word cloud courtesy of wordle on Baracks’ victory speech.

Check out the focus on patriotism, words connoting change, inclusively and signifying society. The world awaits to see if this discourse will have any effect on social change. No pressure then..

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Viva The Information Superhighway

Posted on 3 November, 2008 by
Atlanta Highway by Choking Sun

Atlanta Highway by Choking Sun

 

In between juggling getting back into thesis mode, teaching, supervising undergrad dissertations and general research-arama, I’m slowly, slowly trying to spruce up thinking is the new black. Therefore I’ve been having a poke around the blogosphere over the last few days, and looking at blogs I like, such as The Sartorialist, Fresh Peel, this one about culture and brands, the brilliant brilliant stylebubble.

I came across a discussion about  an analogies for the web recently, which captured my imagination, and reminded me of an amusing conversation I had with a colleague, about the different words and phrases people use for the same technologies, and how these can shape our perception. The idea of streams makes me think of the Amazon and all its’ tributaries,  which in turn makes me think of  Bruce Parry.  * sigh & goes all girly* 

 

 

It is very interesting to me that we as humans require analogies and metaphors for communication and information revolutions.  It’s discourse init.

Some of these analogies for what is happening in the web and social media, make me feel slightly uncomfortable, and think about the notion of echo chambers. It’s about the suitability of a metaphor to an intended audience. I haven’t really had the time or inclination to develop this further at the moment. However there is a brilliant reference by Phil Agre on the internet and public discourse.

I found it on this site I really like,  the v useful resource from  Caslon Analytics group. 

Also it’s all referenced bootifuly using the Harvard System. Nicely.

 

Thinking about the internet has been bedevilled by a range of metaphors such as the ‘information superhighway’, ‘digital divide’ and ‘broadband gap’. This page considers conceptual challenges and particular memes. 

 

Thanks to Peter Kay, I, like hundreds of others have been guilty of using the t’interweb in professional situations -such is its’ acceptance into common parlance in the UK. I’m also a huge fan of The Internets, and the terribly retro sounding,  Information Superhighway. Of course, these all mean slightly different things, are historically specific and depend on who’s doing the talking.

I’m quite fond of the town square and placing web theory in context with Habermas, as you know. But the reason I still quite like Information Super Highway, is that it evokes the idea of networks: sometimes monolithic motorways with service station stop offs, or contrasting bendy country lanes, bridle paths and cycle lanes, sometimes gridlocked, but very often going nowhere, empty or abandoned. 

 

 

 

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Marx. Going Up.

Posted on 3 November, 2008 by

 

Marx is trendy, official.  I was thrilled to read in the “going up” bit of yesterdays Sunday Times Style supplement, along with Ruebens Apples ( a cross between pink lady and cox), recession shopping  All Saints home, and purple boots, sales of Karl Marx Das Kapital are soaring.

You heard it hear 1st many moons ago, but if Style says – it must be a la mode.

 

Moi and Karl

Moi and Karl

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Back once again like the renegade master

Posted on 7 October, 2008 by

As the Wild Child Fatboy slim remix goes…”Default damager, power to the people“.

Oui mes readers jolie, it is I, & I am back with the ill behavior.  

Google analytics tells me, much to my surprise and delight, that people are ending up at this humble destination whilst searching using key words stress & PhD. Therefore I’m thoroughly obliged, nay, compelled to revive thinking is the new black and share the highs and the lows of my personal tale of research-arama, avec tous.

So much has passed since I last blogged way back in April:  I watched the new season of Lost no less, Hilary was defeated by Obama, people wore Gladiator shoes, Safari chic and the Global Traveler look, I moved in with Senor Marco,  we went to Italy & Ibiza for the Summer hols, the iPhone came down in price, & I returned to the commercial world of work for 5 months. And still IMHO no one has really found a use for Twitter. My, time has flown. 

 Why no words on here from me for so long? By April I had been holed up for 4 months writing the thesis, and was more than ready to get ba wit it mandemz the legendary content and media team at iCrossing UK. But alas alack, after bashing 65000 words out of the 80000 word count of the PhD between Jan-April 08, frankly I have not felt like writing  even a shopping list until now. In addition, I was busy working on some research and analysis projects over the summer for a TV client, a major FMCG and finally a pharma client, on behalf of iCrossing, so social media kept me from social media.

It has been a very tough decision indeed to leave the team, but I’ve decided to return to academia and teach this semester in order to allow me time to submit the thesis, prepare for the viva, maybe even write a paper and go to some conferences. (More of this in coming weeks…) Teaching starts next week and I’m really looking forward to supervising some undergrad dissertations this year, and teaching “Innovation, Culture and Technology”. Although I’m already missing the A-team in content and media in the Brighton office and their clever clever ways I’m also really happy to be able to pursue my own agenda.

So yes folks, I am a university lecturer and PT freelance researcher, or as I prefer to say at diner parties when asked what it is that I do?   I’m  presently a symbolic analyst thank you very much for asking.  A term which comes from economist Robert Reich, in Reich R, B. (1991) The Work of Nations. Simon & Schuster.

 “all the problem solving, problem identifying, and strategic brokering activities […] they do not enter world commerce as standardized things. Traded instead are the manipulations of symbols -data, words, oral and visual representations. (Reich 1991 p177).

 

Although it’s some 17 years old, I’m still very taken with this book and I’ve employed Reichs’ work in my own a fair bit, and especially in a paper I wrote for the BSA conference in 2006. I’ve also used his theories in my thesis, so expect more of him too. Anyhow, I’m one now, a symbolic analyst that is, when I’m not busy being either a research student, social anthropologist slash social scientist slash communication theorist, slash fashionista revolutionista slash retired at 33. Hmmm. So little time so much to do.

A full update on the state of the PhD and A/W fashions with be with you imminently. :-)

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Reading Marx

Posted on 24 April, 2008 by

Following yesterday’s cat theme – I discovered today that Miu Miu is her mother’s daughter. I’m so proud! I doubt there are many people who can claim their pet has read Das Kapital.

miumarx.jpg

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I love my cat.

Posted on 23 April, 2008 by

catsrule.jpg

It all began very early this morning when I was looking for something else entirely on Adfreak and came across a blog post about cats getting a PR overhaul. It seems not everyone loves cats as much as me. Wierdos.

The US based website CatChannel.com are running a competition asking people to create a 7″ x 10″ ad that shows the world the value and importance of cats. As they say cats are terribley misunderstood. “Throughout history, cats have been the victims of superstition and misunderstanding – and even today, cats are in trouble: More than 70% of cats in animal shelters are euthanized (compared to a still-shocking 56% of dogs).”

Anyone who knows me knows I love cats. More than that, I worship my very own mini-panther, Miu Miu. Not in a sad, lonely, cat-spinster way, but in a cats are the thinking mans best friend way. I can say this confidently as a) I’m not a spinster. I have a v nice b.f. who I knew was a keeper when I met his mum, who has 4 cats of her own and who gave me a present to give to my cat & b) I’m not alone, because I shone a spot light on the t’interweb quickly to see just how big the cat loving community was, and there are flippin loads of us.

miumiu.JPG

awww little Miu Miu, constant companion &
critic to my PhD.

Cat lovers share a very special unspoken bond and this fascinates the ethnographer in me and I think the online cat loving community and social networks such as Catster are simply ter-riff. I have kown of the existence of catster for some time, but only just found out about mycatspace. Thrills. I am very taken with the idea that people are blogging on behalf of their cats. Check out the homage to the late great Albert. I mean, seriously? SERIOUSLY!!???

one more piccie of miu miu for good measure.

one more piccie of iccle miu miu for good measure.

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Stand by your method

Posted on 11 April, 2008 by

I’m not a linguist. Phew.

I had a minor set-to last week with the discourse analysis section of my consumer interviews, which has knock affects on the overall final structure of the thesis. Being so near the to the end, at the time this felt somewhat of a minor disaster, and sent my bonce in a right old spin.
There are many styles of discourse analysis, all slightly different in nature and therefore consequence and, some favoured more by certain disciplines than others. My research is what is known as “interdisciplinary” and I have been feeling a little tugg of love between humanities and social sciences lately, perhaps confounded by the fact that I have 2 supervisors who’s areas of experience and expertise have a humanities/soc-sci split. This has actually worked really well for me up until now, but last week during a meeting, it became apparent that there was an atmosphere of concern over the way I have analysed the interview data. Obviously it is good to know these things now before submission and viva, and that it what supervisors are for. However it is an unpleasant feeling when the output of nearly 3 years toil is called into question.

Two pieces of advice that I’ve constantly echoing in my head (which actually come from the Gaunlett article I mentioned in a previous post) are

Don’t let the PhD over run 3 years, get it finished.
Stop reading, start writing.

So consequently I’ve been all 6s & 7s this past week because, I ‘ve been in the library doing desk work on theories of my method and have lost writing time, because I am reading. However in the words of Tammy Wynette I am going stand by my method. A little known fact is that Tammy originally wrote her famous hit about the insecurities she had over an emerging field of data analysis she was developing. At the very last minute she changed the lyrics from method to man, to avoid alienating fans without a university education.

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Back to me. I went away after meeting the supers, with a sense of impending doom that I was going to have to review all my data and produce a corpus and would bankcrupt myself doing the PhD forever. I spent a day looking through all these hideous methodology papers on sociolinguistics, speech act theory, and pragmatics looking for clues. There were tables and graphs and metrics and grids and diagrams and, and, YER- UCK! You have to understand that it you cut a slice off one of my limbs, that it would say “qualitative” in sugary pink writing like a piece of Brighton rock. I am qualitative in the way Cathy was Heathcliff. I loathe numbers. I can’t even remember my mums phone no, which she has had for 15 years. Then I came across some comforting words on Foucault from the lovely squishy cultural theorist par excellence, Stuart Hall, that made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

“The first point to note is the shift of attention in Foucault from language to discourse. He studied not language, but discourse as a system of representation”.

That’s what I’m talking about, discourse as a system of representation. Language and practice – language and practice. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Discourse is something we do. No piece of software, or visualising metrics, table thingie is ever going to provide insight into the ideological biases and power relations explicit in discursive formation as far as I’m concerned. What good would a graph do in offering perception of socio-cultural context? Numbers Pah! It’s back to my first love of social –semiotics for me. I’ll be applying Saussure & Barthes on the ones and twos. Words as signs; iconic, symbolic, indexical. It’s denotation and connotation all the way. Yes sireeeee.

In the interests of balanced debate, here is an article from my friend Shirl biggin up graphs. Shout out to the graph collective. RRrrrspect.

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The Apprentice

Posted on 7 April, 2008 by

My favourite reality TV show of all time is still C4’s Chaos at the Châteaux, about the couple who went to Slovakia to open a boutique hotel. When the producers discovered the living legends that are Ann & David, they struck reality TV gold. I’ll never forget the episode when the little sausage dogs were murdered Don Corlone stylee by a vengeful local and, the butler who was not unlike Fronk from Father of the Bride wept into a silk hankie when he found one of the dogs had been strung up.

Never the less, coming in an extremely close second has to be The Apprentice. I realise it is probably deeply unfashionable to say so, but I love Alan Sugar. I think he is brill, and I absolutely worship this new series. Plus, The Apprentice is fantastic material for anybody studying ideological theory. I’ve used clips from previous series in discourse analysis workshops that I’ve run and, witnessed the thrill of the proletariat turn on the bourgeoisie in a minor revolt during last weeks episode. (All the while annoying my two poor tenants what a fab example it was of classic Marxism sorry ladies :-) ).

I didn’t think it would be possible for BBC2 to find contestants as annoying and despicable as last years, but good ole beeb, they’ve only gone and done it. Not only that, but the boys team this year look like a Take That tribute band. I am fully expecting the launch of a group named “Back for Good”, on the wedding and working mans club circuit when the show finishes. You heard it here first.
10 minutes or so into the 1st episode I was already shouting “I HATE YOU” at entrepreneur Raef.

big_raefbjayou.jpg

I’m always suspicious of such job titles anyway and I think entrepreneur in these sorts of circumstances hides a career of imprecision and under achievement. Also Raef is posh and moronic, I mean really so. He looks like a 1980s Ralph Lauren model, with the most incredibly, annoying, thick, eye-brows, which I wish to climb inside my tellybox and pluck. He says stupid things that have no meaning such as “Yah chaps lets rarely sturr it up yah, and rahse our game.” I was in rapture when it looked as if he might get the heave ho at the end of episode one for being utterly rubbish, and delivering the line “I am friend to prince and pauper Sire Alon”, during a class war boardroom debate, but alas no, he made it through. The you’re fired sequence that week, was sooooo not about the boys team and their inability to do the task but, actually a real life enactment of Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and cultural capital. It became quite apparent during the task that there was a serious class division within the team as the ruling classes began to close ranks on the proletariat, despite hideous Raef being amongst the posh posse who f’up the pricing on the fresh lobsters. Ha! My favourite at the moment is no-nonsense ex-army working class Simon. God did he graft during the laundry task.

I love it.

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consumers as producers.

Posted on 12 March, 2008 by

images.jpg

Remember a while ago I mentioned a blog post and a comment about “I don’t want to have a conversation with my toothpaste”? Well I’m preparing to give a lecture on branding and web 2.0 to a group of university students and when I was putting some thoughts together yesterday I came across it again.
Here’s the link.
I was reading through the Forrester social media report from February and it got me thinking once again about the use of the term conversation and the marketing industry employing certain words and phrases to constitute a discourse. Coincidently I am working on a chapter at the moment about consumers and producers or rather consumers as producers. I’ve been nurturing this idea for some time, but approach it with my discourse analyst hat on. Discourses I believe are something we do, they are performed and as such have an effect because they shape the way we think and act, but there is a metaphysical paradox, because they are self fulfilling. After all if we say something is being talked about – it’s being talked about. I’m arguing consumers as producers constitutes a discourse in its own right.

Because I am so busy writing it up, I’ve decided to pass on submitting a couple of abstracts for upcoming conferences in the Summer, which is a bit pants. I simply don’t have the time at the moment. Boo. However the end is in sight now and, my supervision meeting last week gave me a lot of confidence that the work is up to speed and meeting the right standards. I have agreed to the lecture though and am REALLY looking forward to it. It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to speak in front of a large audience and, undergrads first thing in the morning can be challenging. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Finally, an oldey but a goodey. At the beginning of my PhD I cam across a short article by David Gauntlett about completing a PhD, so I reread it last week. There are loads of guides on the market on how to survive, or how to write a thesis and, I’ve had a flick through a few. In retrospect none hit the mark as far as I’m concerned, but David’s article is pretty spot on.

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The 10 perfections & doing a PhD

Posted on 26 February, 2008 by

As and aside to social theory, for r&r, I’ve been studying the Dharma. A few days ago I came across Paramis or the ten perfections. This is what one needs to achieve to be fully awakened, to have bodhisattva, the road to Buddha.

The 10 perfections are

1. Generosity (dana).
2. Virtue (sila).
3. Renunciation (nekkhamma).
4. Wisdom (panna).
5. Energy (viriya).
6. Patience (khanti).
7. Truthfulness (sacca).
8. Determination (aditthana).
9. Loving-kindness (metta).
10. Equanimity (upekkha).

The 10 perfections strike me as a really good Q.A framework for “writing up” a thesis.

A PhD is an apprenticeship in research. Nevertheless, for the majority of research students it is the single biggest piece of work they will ever produce in their lifetime, and therefore an expression of a significant personal journey. It takes years of devotion and truly is more than research and critical thinking. It’s a commitment to an idea and an “original contribution to knowledge”; it is a massive deal. However, I think that many people get carried away with what I’ll call Magnus opus syndrome. Sometimes it’s very easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and remember where a thesis sits in the scheme of life, all things woo-woo. Universe = BIG Thesis = small.

Anyway that said, I do see a lovely connection with the paramis and trying to get the old per her der finished. Thinking about and applying them to my research and life has certainly helped to get through some of the more difficult times recently. Generosity for instance is the key paramis to achieving the others because it includes all the others. It means being openhearted and letting go of the past or any negative habits. I have found this really helpful by turning it on myself when I’ve had days where I’ve struggled with writers block or haven’t quite achieved what I’d set out at the beginning of the day. It’s about living in the present moment and saying OK never mind about that and refocusing on being skillful in the now.

Paramis aren’t elaborate concepts either, which is one of the things I like about them. Employing the notions of say determination and energy to studying is fairly straightforward, but I also particularly like the ideas of truthfulness, patience, and equanimity.

Obviously one needs to be truthful when presenting an analysis, but I think really listening to what your heart tells you, and being brave enough to be honest about ideas is actually quite hard and occasionally scary. What if they’re rubbish thoughts? What if someone says durrrr – of course, and anyway? Yet, some of my best ideas have been my most uncomplicated ones and in the emerging thesis, I’m being to see that the original contribution to knowledge I’m making comes from simplicity rather than complexity. It’s about stripping away ideas to find ‘a truth’.

A PhD is one looooooooooonnnnnnnnng exercise in patience, in the sense that of course one needs amazing staying power to get to through the other side. Mental endurance if you like – comme ca the Japanese game show. But another sort of patience is also required because a PhD does not come all at once. It really is a series of processes. It can be absolutely infuriating to have to re-draft research proposals, aims and objects over and over, or spend an entire year conducting a literature review on a topic that – OK you become a world expert on for 10 minutes, but can’t bare to discuss with anyone for even 1 minute, because you are sick of hearing words, like for instance “commodity fetishism” or “branding” said aloud in the same utterance. But be patient if you can, because it does all come together. I was chatting with the supers about this only the other day. Although I cursed having to draft, redraft and re-redraft various documents for thesis outline or transfer meetings, because of the process my objectives eventually became razor sharp and one of the most useful tools in allowing me to crack on so quickly now. Know why? The objectives function, and I’ve actually stuck to them. Yup, they’re good.

Equanimity is also very important to Buddhism. In fact it’s fundamental to finding awakening. It is according most dictionaries a type of “mental composure”, especially in the face of adversity. It’s actually one of my favourite words at the moment. It’s to this week, what ambivalent was to last week. It’s difficult when writing up, because it can be pretty intense when you’re immersed, or having to put in long lonely days. Most of time in the final stages of a PhD is spent just with thoughts, and I think this is what is probably both the source of all the stress, and what sends people a bit la la. It’s an experience you can’t really communicate to anyone unless they’ve been through it, which can be a further source of isolation and inequity. This slightly off kilter state of mind can’t be explained to, nor understood by anyone who hasn’t done a PhD. Equanimity can definitely be refined, and I have found the more I meditate on it, the more steady I feel about the task in hand, so the more able I am to get on with it. Cultivating a balance of mind is therefore, extremely useful.

Om Shanti Om

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