Hello and Welcome to my DA Project “Beta” Blog Post, I hope you enjoy both my video and written script. Below this you will find the video link detailing my approach and the work I have produced for my DA.
Images and video of TikTok account, audience interaction and feedback, as well as examples of uploads.
My Autoethnographic Approach & Knowledge Gained From Media Niche Activity –
Reading back on blog posts from previous weeks, e.g. blog post 4 “Autoethnographic Investigation into Climate Change Journalism”, I stated that my authoethnographic approach and investigation into my media topic had almost proven to be what I expect, and yet that still remains the same today. But my experience throughout the development of my DA project has been unique.
“Due to Covid-19 & lockdowns social media accounts of individuals and groups have grown, connected and shared a common interest within the niche topic, myself included”.
WordPress Blog Upload, Ethan Fishburn. Upload: Autoethnographic Investigation into Climate Change Journalism
This quote from my previous blog was linked to the similarities of ‘climate change journalism’ and the reading material ‘Animal Crossings: New Horizons’. My autoethnographic approach was constructed in around a time where more individuals were connecting online through small social media niches due to the times we were living in. Choosing TikTok as my social media platform was reliant on the knowledge that more users such as myself would join the app and the communities within them as more time was being spent on social media platforms, especially TikTok.
Each upload onto TikTok, weekly video review recorded and blog post upload has developed based off the continued research and data being recorded of my DA. Whether it has been integrating relevant hashtags to recognising higher interaction with CNN Story uploads, it has come together weekly to improve and better each week and the overall media niche space.
References:
Fishburn,E. (12 Sep). Autoethnographic Investigation into Climate Change Journalism. WordPress Blog Post. > https://wordpress.com/post/ethanfishburn.wordpress.com/339
Fishburn,E. (20 Sep). Climate Change Journalism : Analysing the Data. WordPress Blog Post. > https://wordpress.com/post/ethanfishburn.wordpress.com/363
Ethan Fishburn 
Hi Ethan, It’s great to see the progress you have made developing your TikTok account since the first pitch. It seems you are slowly starting to reel in your audience and getting in touch with your niche community. It’s good to see you are able to link your work back to the subject material with the reference to the reading material on animal crossing, along with being able to stick to your original authoethnographic approach and investigation in the topic.
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Hey Ethan,
First of all I really love your DA! It is something that I would enjoy seeing more of on my for you page. You clearly have put in so much time and effort into your Tik Tok account and it has paid off. In terms of your research, I have yet to see such a meticulous and organised document. It has given me so much insight into your process and the work you have done which is more than enough. You have so much data from your DA and I would love to see your analysis of it and theories as to why you think some performed better than others.
I liked the vlog style check in of your video, as well as your other video that highlighted key Tik Toks on your channel. What could make this even better would be to combine these two styles into the one video so you can communicate more directly. You are really interested in your DA topic and it is this passion that drives the successful ways you engage with your audience. Your tone and presentation of key examples of feedback is professional and logical. I felt that I had a really clear understanding of your DA, where you are at and how you plan to move forward which is amazing.
In terms of some bookkeeping feedback. In your contextual post I would have liked to see as many links to supporting media in your niche and your Tik Toks, as there are in your research document. This paired with more academic sources would have taken this beta post to the next level. Your research and your DA seem to me to be one and the same. You have so much data that would be useful to analyse and to gain further insight into your niche. Asking more questions about how and why these interactions are happening as well as analysing your own thoughts and experiences in this space would be great. Also elaborating more on ethical considerations wouldn’t hurt, as something I found in my research was that you have to be careful when showing usernames.
But apart from these super small things, you are doing absolutely amazing and great things that you should be proud of. Climate change is a pressing and relevant issue and doing your part to educate people online is powerful stuff. All the things you need are there, it is just building on top of all that work now as the semester comes to an end.
Here are some academic sources that really helped me with my autoethnographic research. It seems like you are using observing methods to document interactions of users on your Tik Tok account so these could be useful to link to.
Merriam, Sharan B. and Tisdell, Elizabeth J. (2016) Being a Careful Observer, in Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, Jossey-Bass: San Fransisco
Marvasti, Amir B. (2014) ‘Analysing Observations’, The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis. Uwe Flick editor. Sage: Los Angeles.
Overall, I really enjoyed learning more about a niche you have clearly thrived in. Your knowledge of your audience and passion to learn more about them is really cool to see. I can’t wait to see more of your Tik Toks which are so cool btw and see all your research come together.
All the best!
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Hey Ethan, Just checked out your Beta post and video and you’ve genuinely done a pretty good job not only the semester, but carrying on your DA from previous years. It definitely shows how passionate and how much you know on the niche due to the confidence you not only talk on the topic in your video, but how well and descriptively you’ve written the post. Although your niche is such a large topic, it’s also something I wish I was more engaged with. Thankfully after reading through your DA, I feel like i’ve definitely gained knowledge on the niche now.
Your blog and video are both quite professional in terms of your project analysis and how you relate it to the subject content such as the material on ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizon’. You reference your online persona growth, and how you’ve auto ethnographically researched your audience and niche. Showing plenty of graphics of your project insights and analytics really allows a reader like me to see how you’ve approached your audience with your content and how and why your project/online persona is growing.
The structure and layout of your project notes and timeline is amazing. You really go in depth with the information you’ve gathered on the niche, and how much you’ve learnt on it. Not only that but reading through them as made me even more informative on the niche, which I feel like is exactly what you’d want your reader to experience. Furthermore, your timeline is great. You show how thoroughly you’ve planned your project, and what you aimed to achieve throughout the semester. Personally my favourite feature you showcased in your timeline is your weekly project progress. You show each individual insight progression such as, engagement, support and play time.
If there was anything i’d improve on your DA, it would be to go more in depth on how you’ve learnt to grow your online persona and project not only through this semester but the previous year in which you started the project. Other than that, I think overall you’ve made a crazy good beta post and video, and I’m excited to see what’s to come in the final weeks before submission.
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