Contextual Essay BCM112

For my digital artefact I wanted to make an Instagram account and web page in order to raise awareness and frame the need to save our beautiful koalas that were greatly impacted during the Australian bushfires. This is because as a result of the devastating Australian bushfires, an estimate of more than 41,000 koalas were killed during the time, and ultimately creating a prediction that koalas will be extinct by the time the year 2050 comes around. I also wanted to give it a go creating a web page and Instagram account and seeing how many viewers and likes I could possibly receive. I got my inspiration off the World Wildlife Foundation Instagram page and wanted to re-create this type of page in my own way through focusing purely just on koalas and the Australians bushfires. I think the World Wildlife Foundation Instagram page do a good job capturing a wide audience’s attention and promoting the need for individuals to do their part and donate, as we can see the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) are a huge organisation that is known worldwide.

https://www.instagram.com/wwf/ attached is the World Wildlife Foundation Instagram page where I gained my inspiration from.

Based on my research for a younger audience, I decided to make the Instagram page and web page, because I believed these are the platforms mostly used by that generation and therefore would gain more attention. I thought this would be useful to frame younger adults, because it is more convenient and simpler for this particular age range to utilise.

I decided I would develop this project by creating a web page about the awareness of koalas and posting it on twitter to gain a wider audience. Whilst posting various images on Instagram and using hashtags that relate to my topic, which additionally frames the audience I am targeting.

First, I made an Instagram account on public that targeted raising awareness for endangered animals in general. However, after posting photos I found it reasonably difficult to gain the audience’s attention as my posts got very minimal interactions. There were barely any likes or comments. I then reviewed and talked to my friends and parents for some support and understand their opinions. They all shared very similar feedback and believed it could be better if I framed my concept around something in a more niche aspect. By this, they meant focusing on a topic that people can truly reflect and relate to. Ultimately, this is how I came up with concentrating purely on koalas and the bushfires, allowing Australians to connect to this topic on a more meaningful level.

After I began posting photos on this topic, the likes, views and comments increasingly became higher as I was able to frame and construct a stronger perception of my intended audience about the need to save the koalas.

By focusing on the concept of framing, I was able to do this successfully once I changed my digital artefact idea.

My Instagram page was gradually created over a few months, which was enjoyable to do.

From my proposed social utility through this event, I have learnt that you are more likely to frame and capture a wider audience’s attention if you focus on a topic that allows individuals to connect with on a more emotive level.