Rising Tide: Textual Analysis (COM 610)
Introduction and Rationale
Over the past two decades of technological growth, it’s become increasingly apparent that the human need for real connection has had to adapt to our new way of communicating. This has become even more apparent in big versus small business. The gap between consumer and provider has become increasingly narrower with companies being able to advertise directly onto someone’s phone with just a simple photo. This has made advertising for small business increasingly difficult, with ads and social media engagement becoming a necessity, and financial burden, for entrepreneurs and creatives. This concept of small business, entrepreneurial, and creative-led innovation has been largely produced with emergence of self-made content creators and digital influencers who have “upended” the status quo of “business as usual” and put the spotlight back onto the local upstarts (Duffy, p. 48). This is what broke web 1.0 into web 2.0, skyrocketing not just businesses past just promoting but actually generating content (Carney, p. 359). Luckily, with these new challenges has come sense of community, fostering an environment of small business owners not only sharing their experiences, but advice and services to benefit the whole of their communities.
The concept of interdependence is introduced in this way, understanding that the whole cannot benefits of the individuals and vice versa (Eisenberg et al. p. 102). Within this collaborative change, new systems for communication and collaboration have flourished online. Self-made start-ups are reaching back to support the next big idea, and business owners are developing true and lasting relationships with their “customers-turned-friends” online. One of these business owners is Natalie Franke, a wedding photographer turned Silicon Valley start-up champion, who is now the Head of Community for one of the most successful collaboration communities online, “The Rising Tide Society.” This “virtual team” has branches of hundreds of chapters across the United States, and even internationally, that all support and point to one goal: community over competition (Alahuhta et al. p. 2). These teams operate in what’s referred to as a “virtual world,” using strategic communication systems, regardless of physical location, to meet on the same virtual ground (Alahuhta et al. p 3).
Throughout the course of this analysis, we’ll be reviewing one of Franke’s “vlogs” where she connects with not only her community but her potential customers in a way that is not only authentic, but leaves a lasting call-to-action. We’ll be using the systems theory to not only observe how she not only communicates with her audiences, but ensures that the community continues to thrive in the online space. Understanding the concept of why digital content enhances not only her brand but the systems she’s built to enhance her community will guide us into a larger understanding of the new content driven web and how virtual communities will be the surrogates for authentic connections.
Textual Analysis: Methods & Framework
References
About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://www.honeybook.com/risingtide/meet-us/
Alahuhta, P., Nordbäck, E., Sivunen, A., & Surakka, T. (2014). Fostering Team Creativity in Virtual Worlds. Journal Of Virtual Worlds Research, 7(3), 1-22.
Carney, R. (2009). The Internet’s Impact on Culture: Shifting the Balance to the Center. Review Of Communication, 9(4), 355-364. doi:10.1080/15358590903151112
Duffy, B. (2015). Amateur, Autonomous, and Collaborative: Myths of Aspiring Female Cultural Producers in Web 2.0.Critical Studies In Media Communication, 32(1), 48-64. doi:10.1080/15295036.2014.997832
Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall, H.L., Jr., & Trethewey, A. (2010). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint (6th Edition). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Franke, Natalie. [NatalieFranke]. (2017, July 19). What Started it all… Retrieved September 2, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f8UZJ584Mo