Content as a Techno-Cultural Construct

Van Dijck's perception of content is how the distribution and design of said content is critical for users to communicate effectively through the use of any type of platform.

Within the Jackson & Phillip reading on page 446, they note three key elements that help us to define what technology as a cultural construct consists of;

1. Emphasis on both technology and culture
2. Employs the concept of subtle improvisation
3. Ongoing improvements made to culture and technology over time

When looking at the content that is being created on Vine, there is an emphasis on technology as better hardware/technological devices directly relates to better Vines in the sense that more expensive devices will have much more advanced technology. This gives the user the ability to create and capture footage that other devices may fail to do, which can determine the effectiveness of a Vine. Vine's that are visually pleasing and audio is not distorted gives into the idea that the Vine would be more popular then a Vine that is very hard to see, pixelated, and has distorted audio. Main stream culture is also something that is heavily incorporated within Vines in order to increase their appeal to all types of users, which may also lead to said Vine going viral and becoming a part of mainstream culture itself.

When examining the content of Vine as a form of subtle improvisation, it truly speaks to the original intent of Vine. Vine's are 6 second clips that can be filmed whenever, and of whatever the user chooses. It can be used to catch something in the moment of things, or can be a planned form of improvisation. Many of the Vines that have been created are completely abstract and aren't trying to follow any type of guidelines other then the ones outlined by the company itself.

Vine has allowed companies to create or improve their culture amongst their fan bases through their various social media accounts. For example the NBA is a company that has taken advantage of Vine, as 'highlights' within basketball usually fit within the 6 second limit of Vine, which makes it easy for them to quickly share clips of games to their fan bases all across the globe.