Authors:Rita Chen Pages: 1 - 6 Abstract: As the metaverse becomes less of a niche for the tech-savvy few and more of a reality for the general public, practitioners and scholars will need to reassess their previous understandings of communications theory, tactics, and practices. This editorial discusses some of the issues presented by these new virtual environments, before suggesting opportunities and methods in which communicators can rise to these challenges. Also featured in this editorial are introductions to the theme and articles featured in this publication, as well as sincere thanks and acknowledgements to the editors and supporters without whom this issue would not have been possible. Keywords: metaverse, virtual reality, avatars, technology, communications, public relations PubDate: 2022-03-03 DOI: 10.15173/mjc.v13i1.3054 Issue No:Vol. 13, No. 1 (2022)
Authors:Jamie Lloyd-Smith Pages: 7 - 26 Abstract: There has been considerable debate over the extent to which vulnerable and diverse populations are politically involved in decision-making. Specifically in Canada’s homelessness sector, there is a macro-level push to include individuals with lived experience of homelessness in the policymaking process. This research paper will explore the ways in which youth with lived experience of homelessness and their allies are engaging in online forms of activism and storytelling, and ultimately examine this interaction under the idea that media is both a practice and an imaginary. This study situates this argument in the wide critique of Jürgen Habermas’ exclusionary public sphere. Instead, this paper examines the emerging concepts of “affective publics” and “networked publics” to understand how online marginalized voices are only empowered to the extent to which they perform in mediated spaces to gain visibility. By drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s articulation of social capital, this study examines recent examples of Canadian organizations amplifying youth voices on Instagram to interrogate some of the implications that arise in online allyship and storytelling. Keywords: affective publics, networked publics, youth homelessness, lived experience, storytelling, allyship, activism, social capital PubDate: 2022-03-03 DOI: 10.15173/mjc.v13i1.2754 Issue No:Vol. 13, No. 1 (2022)
Authors:Elizaveta Poliakova Pages: 27 - 40 Abstract: The popularization of the internet has enabled the creation of a number of online publishing outlets. Peer-to-peer platforms allow readers and writers to interact with each other, seemingly eliminating the need for traditional gatekeepers in the form of the editor and publisher. These platforms, however, have been credited with the disturbance of the publishing ecosystem. One popular peer-to-peer site is Wattpad. Conversely, as discussed in this paper, the creators of Wattpad do not want to disrupt the traditional publishing infrastructure but become a part of it. The study analyzes the values incorporated in the design of Wattpad’s website and the mobile app through utilizing the walk-through method of data collection. The researcher outlines how a writer-user and reader-user could potentially be prompted to utilize the platform by analyzing the vision, operating model, and governance of the platform. The study discusses that there are hierarchies at play with the writer-user valued to a greater extent as an individual than the reader-user who is seen by the company as a currency that can be bought and sold. The paper concludes that Wattpad does not want to disrupt the publishing ecosystem because the values incorporated in the design of the platform are similar to the values of traditional publishers. Keywords: publishing industry, self-publishing, online publishing, Wattpad, peer-to-peer platforms, values in design, online users PubDate: 2022-03-03 DOI: 10.15173/mjc.v13i1.2725 Issue No:Vol. 13, No. 1 (2022)
Authors:Lindsay MacKenzie Pages: 41 - 87 Abstract: For a period of approximately 18-months, the city of Winnipeg experienced an alarming spike in Liquor Mart thefts, that took a toll on the Winnipeg Police Service workforce because of the sheer number of investigations opened due to these crimes. Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries management were reeling from the impacts of these thefts on customers, employees, and their bottom line. Communications Director Andrea Kowall stated at a news conference on October 28, 2019, that she believed news reporting and social media posts by civilians were factors that contributed to the theft surges. This exploratory, single case study sought to examine how and to what extent social media and news reporting exacerbated liquor-store thefts at Liquor Marts in Winnipeg through the social phenomenon of theft and robbery crime spikes between August 31, 2018, and December 1, 2019. The social phenomenon provided an environment to analyze steps taken by policing organizations in situations impacting public safety. Interviews and a questionnaire were utilized to explore the Balance Zone Theory as it applied in this situational context. Crisis communications tactics such as social media were explored as well as testing for the presence of news waves by examining published articles in a chronological sequence. This case study could provide valuable insights to policing organizations implicated in media hypes when coupled with incidents of public interference in crime situations through the use of social media. Keywords: policing, crisis communications, balance zone theory, public relations, stealing thunder, news waves, social media PubDate: 2022-03-03 DOI: 10.15173/mjc.v13i1.2841 Issue No:Vol. 13, No. 1 (2022)
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