See my blog for draft paper (3,700 words): goo.gl/J5RdsY Abstract As Rainie and Wellman explain in Networked (2012) the rise of the Internet, social networks and mobile technologies have resulted in media experiences that are personal, multiuser, multitasking and multithreaded. They refer to this new social operating system as “networked individualism”. In Spreadable Media (2013), Jenkins et al. argue that our networked culture is characterized by instantaneous, informal communication through multiple channels in which the audience participates in the creation of value and meaning, and in the circulation of media and messages. In this paper, I use the concepts of networked individualism and spreadable media in an examination of projects that use Twitter and Instagram to create and share micro-narratives. In 140 Illustrated Haikus, an iPhone and Instagram were used to document a month-long trip to three countries in late 2012. The resulting photos and short texts were published simultaneously via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, email and Tumblr (http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/). In addition to the limitations imposed by time and technology, captions for the photos were written on the spot in the form of a haiku. These constraints were found to help, rather than hinder, the creative process. Austin Kleon is a writer and artist who creates “Newspaper Blackout Poetry” by selecting a newspaper, choosing a few key words, and blacking out the rest with a marker. He shares the results with more than 28,000 followers on Twitter (@austinkleon), many of whom tweet their own blackout poems. Kleon also posts his poems to a website (http://newspaperblackout.com/), where others are encouraged to contribute their own efforts. An advocate of sharing work-in-progress, Kleon’s approach exemplifies the process-based, conversational nature of networked creative practice. Desert Friends, the “World’s First Instagram TV Show” is about three individuals who are transported to a distant galaxy and try to find their way back to Palm Springs (http://instagram.com/desertfriends). The filmmakers uploaded the first installment on 23 June 2013, and have continued to publish about four 15-second “shows” each week. Shot in black and white using the Instagram App on an iPhone, the programs emulate the style of low budget science fiction movies of the 1950s and 1960s. By episode number 63, the Desert Friends Instagram stream had attracted over 25,000 followers. This production demonstrates that filmmakers can create their own “TV show” with their own gear, and broadcast it over channels that anyone can use. These case studies show that, by regularly sharing ideas and processes as well as outcomes online, individuals become part of a creative ecology that enables visibility, mutual support, collaboration, and better work.

1. Twitter, Instagram
and Micro-Narratives:
The benefits of sharing the
creative process online
Dandelion Wish by John Liu (CC-BY)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8047705@N02/5572197407/
MINA — 2013 | Mobile Innovation Network Aotearoa
3rd Mobile Creativity and Innovation Symposium
Nov. 21-22, Auckland University of Technology
Dr Mark McGuire
University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
email: mark.mcguire@otago.ac.nz
Twitter: @mark_mcguire
Blog: http://markmcguire.net/
Dept.: http://www.otago.ac.nz/appliedsciences/staff/markmcguire.html

2. The New Social Network Operating System
> personal—the individual is at the centre;
> multiuser—interacting with others;
> multitasking—juggling many activities; and
> multithreaded—simultaneous tasks
> Loose, fragmented social networks have
> communicate with others outside tightly knit
geographically based groups
> publish and broadcast our own content.
Mobile digital devices enable
“a continuous presence and pervasive
awareness of others in the network”
resulting in
“networked individualism”
(Networked: The New Social Operating System.
Rainie and Wellman, 2012 p. 7, 11-12)

3. This shift from distribution to circulation
signals a movement towards a more
participatory culture, one which sees the
public not as simply consumers of
reconstructed messages but as people who
are shaping, sharing, reframing, and remixing
media content in ways that might not have
been previously imagined. And they are doing
so not as isolated individuals but within
larger communities and networks, which allow
them to spread content well beyond their
immediate geographic proximity.
(Spreadable Media. Jenkins, Ford and Green. 2013, p. 2)

4. “Spreadability”
> flow of ideas in easy-to share-formats
> open-ended participation
> reshaping of context as well as the content
> circulation of work through all available
channels
> lead to increased collaboration between
people with different roles
> blurring of the distinctions between roles
(Spreadable Media. Jenkins, Ford and Green. 2013, p. 2)

5. Digital Micro Narratives
> shaped by a set of constraints inherent in the
hardware, software and mobile context
(limited in size & duration)
> created during small fragments of available time
> shared within the limitations of available bandwidth
> displayed on hand-held screens
> invite feedback and sharing
> discrete experience, or as a set of related stories
forming a larger narrative

6. http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

7. Wherever you are
Wherever you are standing
You’re at the centre
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

8. Taking off is hard
Coming down is harder still
Flying is easy
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

9. White sky and white noise
Bic Runga on my headphones
Angels in our wake
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

10. The night sky, alive
Glow worms on the cave ceiling
Communicating
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

11. Gray drizzle above
Under an old railway bridge
It rains in colour
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

12. Long before sunrise
A bug scurries down the street
Cleaning up the scraps
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

13. A nice penthouse suite
Good views, easy care section
Have I got you hooked?
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

14. Landmarks remembered
You’re a conceptual map
A little bit creased
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

15. Life’s a carousel
You go around in circles
Until you’re plucked off
http://marksjourney.tumblr.com/

16. http://instagram.com/mark_mcguire

17. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=http%3A%2F%2Fgoo.gl%2F1P0QC

18. https://twitter.com/search?q=%23haiku&src=typd

19. 140 Illustrated Haiku
> Usefulness of technical and formal constraints
> Applying a Creative Commons license
> Publishing on multiple platforms simultaneously
> Hashtags increases discoverability
> Scattergun approach increases exposure

20. Think Like a Dandelion
In a single year, a dandelion can release
more than 2,000 seeds into the air in a
year, without worrying that many of
them will land on infertile soil. The
point is that every opportunity for
reproduction is exploited by spreading
the seeds far and wide to ensure that
“every spring, every crack in every
Dandelion Wish by John Liu (CC-BY)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8047705@N02/5572197407/
pavement is filled with dandelions”.
Similarly, “if you blow your works into the net like a dandelion
clock on the breeze . . . the winds of the Internet will toss your
works to every corner of the globe, seeking out every fertile
home that they may have.” (Cory Doctorow)

21. Dandelion Wish by John Liu (CC-BY)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8047705@N02/5572197407/

22. Steal Like an Artist Cover Austin Kleon CC-BY-NC-SA)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
deathtogutenberg/8167875453/sizes/
c/in/photostream/

23. Steal Like an Artist Promotional Poster
by Austin Kleon
(CC-BY-NC-SA)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathtogutenberg/
6929971399/in/set-72157629454918267/

24. #newspaperblackout: Austin Kleon Instagram (13 Aug. 2013)
http://instagram.com/austinkleon

25. #newspaperblackout: Austin Kleon Instagram (12 Sept. 2013)
http://instagram.com/austinkleon

26. #newspaperblackout: Austin Kleon Instagram (12 Sept. 2013)
http://instagram.com/austinkleon

27. “There’s no barrier between making the
piece and sharing it with everyone and that’s
never been a possibility before, and for me
theres a kind of weird intimacy between
making one of this poems and posting it on
Instagram, and immediately, people see it.”
Austin Kleon. Questions and Answers (My Interview With Chase Jarvis)
http://austinkleon.com/2013/10/01/questions-and-answers-my-interview-with-chase-jarvis/

28. “You’re only half of the equation . . . it’s an
interaction between you and the person
who’s going to experience the work, and the
person who’s going to experience the work is
bringing just as much to it, and is just as
important as you are.”
Austin Kleon. Questions and Answers (My Interview With Chase Jarvis)
http://austinkleon.com/2013/10/01/questions-and-answers-my-interview-with-chase-jarvis/

29. Three characteristics of shared
micro narratives
> Near instantaneous transmission
(provides a sense of immediacy)
> Small, short messages
(makes it easy and quick to read)
> Conversational
(ability to provide immediate feedback
encourages interaction)
The result is a shared, collaborative
experience

30. https://twitter.com/search?q=%23newspaperblackout&src=typd 14 October 2013

31. Austin Kleon. “Another blackout timepalse”. Instagram video 22 August 2013
http://instagram.com/p/dSRvZzA15q/

32. Austin Kleon. “Another blackout timepalse”. Instagram video 22 August 2013
http://instagram.com/p/dSRvZzA15q/

33. Austin Kleon. “Scary stories to tell in the dark”. Instagram 9 October 2013
http://instagram.com/p/fNitBPA14n/

35. Earlier this month, I posted a
blackout on Instagram and a
follower commented, “Sounds like
the beginning of a good tale.”
That got me wondering if could tell a
ghost story in blackouts for the rest
of October—one blackout a day, each
made from the September 29th
edition of the NYTimes. (Which, as
you can see above, just happened to
have a lot of ghost references…)
What I ended up with was a long
poem about sexually-frustrated
ghosts. Not fine literature, but it was
fun to make. Read the whole thing
below. Happy Halloween!
http://austinkleon.com/2013/10/31/spectors-hauntingmay-embrace-a-halloween-blackout/

36. http://austinkleon.com/

37. http://austinkleon.com/tag/show-your-work/
http://www.pinterest.com/austinkleon/show-your-work/

38. http://www.pinterest.com/austinkleon/show-your-work/

39. “Scenius” (Brian Eno)
“the intelligence of a whole
operation or group of people”
“think about the whole ecology of
ideas that give rise to good new
thoughts and good new work”
Brian Eno 2009
http://www.moredarkthanshark.org/
feature_luminous2.html
> Fertile scenes are populated by artists, collectors,
curators, thinkers, theorists, and others — an
“ecology of talent”, out of which good work can arise.
> These ecologies develop where there is a high density of
creative people and a variety of places for them to interact.

40. “the new media is the
new neighbourhood”
(Networked: The New Social Operating System.
Rainie and Wellman, 2012 p. 13)

41. “I posted a few of these, and some
of my Instagram friends really got a
kick out of them. The next morning,
we all woke up feeling the same
way . . . what if we actually told a
silly story with this? So, we ditched
the film festival that day and shot 11
clips about some friends who are
hanging out in Palm Springs and
accidentally get warped to another
galaxy”. (Dave Hill)
Dave Hill announces first installment of Desert Friends 23 June 2013
http://instagram.com/p/a5HF17mjLS/

42. http://instagram.com/desertfriends

43. Desert Friends Instagram 9 July 2013
http://instagram.com/p/bh64lCrm6R/

44. Desert Friends Instagram 9 July 2013
http://instagram.com/p/bh64lCrm6R/

45. Desert Friends
> No budget for props, costumes, or advertising
> Announcements, posters, behind the scenes info shared using:
- Instagram feed (davehillphoto),
- Twitter account (@desertfriends)
- Facebook page (Desertfriendstv)
- vimeo channel (70807836)
- Tumblr site (http://desertfriends.tumblr.com/)
> by episode 63, 25,000 followers of Desert Friends Instagram stream
> four 15-second episodes shared a week

46. “Episode 5 will introduce a new alien race TODAY! Who's excited!?”
Desert Friends Facebook post 30 July 2013
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfriendstv

47. http://www.behance.net/gallery/Desert-Friends-iPhoneComposite-Poster/9970775

48. Desert Friends objectives
“There’s a place for Instagram in your kind of day-to-day”.
Hopes viewers will “get some laughs while passing time in line,
or in the bathroom, or wherever”.
“wherever you are, you’re scrolling through your feed and boom —
there’s a little storyline.”
You can “just laugh and go about your day”
(Dave Hill, Director)

49. Participation
> does not necessarily require the production
of content.
> includes evaluating, appraising and
critiquing work, and conversations about
content.
> encourages a more active form of listening
and watching.
> comments contribute to the experience for
subsequent viewers.
(Spreadable Media. Jenkins, Ford and Green. 2013, p. 154-55)

50. Conclusions
> Individuals who share their work online are in a good
position to make the most of the “new social
operating system”.
Dandelion Wish by John Liu (CC-BY)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
8047705@N02/5572197407/
> Micro narratives are well suited to the limitations of
digital networks and small, mobile screens.
> Open practices and licenses enable the wide
circulation of work.
> A willingness to experiment in public can be
rewarded by useful feedback and the potential for
collaboration.
> Taking an active part in the discussion and spread of
media and messages ensures increased visibility
within a creative ecology of like-minded people.