I received my first degree from the University of Paisley (now the University of the West of Scotland) in Media (focussing on independent production and new media) I completed an MA in New Media and Society from the University of Leicester in 2008. I graduated with a distinction and won an award for best performance prize. My dissertation was about social networking websites and the formation of identity through networks.
PhD Research
I began my PhD journey in December 2008 when I registered as a self-funded part-time PhD student at the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Leicester. After organising a conference on the Uses and Abuses of Social Media in July 2009, I was offered funding to return to the University of the West of Scotland to work PhD research around social media and the Olympics with Professor Andy Miah.
My PhD draws on media, communications and cultural theory to examine processes of digital engagement around the Olympic Games, focusing on the case studies of Vancouver 2010 and London 2012. In particular, it will investigate how new forms of media participation within a digital economy, shape the social, political and cultural meaning of the Olympics, notably through changing the relationship between individuals and organisations. In so doing, the research studys multiple layers of media change, from convergence between traditional media and emerging internet technologies, to trends in participatory rather than audience based media experiences. These transformations raise questions about how mega-events, such as the Olympics, are produced, consumed and distributed. By creating new kinds of interaction between people, via augmented reality devices and pervasive mobile culture, changes in media participation are allowing audiences to become part of the production process, giving rise to a proposed new power relationship between audiences, broadcasters and journalists. Indeed, it is unclear whether the new communities of ‘citizen reporters’ who are beginning to occupy the privileged position of traditional media are genuinely transformative of media culture, since many discussions surrounding popular phenomena such as “Social Media” and “user-generated content” are based on personal reflection on re-lived experiences, rather than empirical data (Beer, 2009; Scolari, 2009; Turner, 2009).
Having never considered the Olympic Games in this light, I began increasingly interested in the media landscape of media events (especially after realising how rich and diverse such landscape could be) The Olympics also provided a unique, relevant and complex lens in which to access new media, the digital economy and online activism – especially in a subject area which is a constantly moving target. My addiction came soon after a 6 week field trip to Vancouver during the Winter Olympics (where I was embedded as a journalist) – sealing my fate as, not only a new media researcher, but one that focused on Olympic themes. This fieldwork also involved participation as a journalist in organised media centres, where journalists from professional, traditional outlets interacted with independent, online citizen reporters. These experiences and the data gathered provide invaluable material for the PhD work, reflecting a range of media environments, from Olympic accredited to independent bloggers. Strangely, I still have no involvement with main event (SPORT), with my real interests lying with the non-sporting activities.
In a broader context, the Olympics is also an opportunity to assess the impact of the UK governmental targets for digital media uptake, which are presently all aimed to coincide with 2012 (see the Digital Britain report, 2009: 12, 15, 20, 24). Within the report, recommendations include an improved communication infrastructure, increased online participation and introducing measures to protect intellectual property. In particular, it considers how changes in digital technology are forcing publicly accountable organisations to rethink existing linear, analogue structures, provoked by the emerging requirements of a digital economy (Digital Britain Final Report, 2009: 107; The Digital Revolution, IOC Congress, 2009). It is within this wider context of a “Digital Britain” that my doctoral and future career is focused, looking towards innovative methods of capturing, archiving and making sense of rapid innovation in the sphere of communication technologies, as well as looking at ways to provide context to aid media and digital literacy. I am currently working towards community media projects locally (Scotland, East Midlands, West Midlands) and nationally (I am the coordinator of #media2012) to share and disseminate knowledge through citizen and digital media outlets and participating in local events in Loughborough, Leicester and Birmingham in preparation for their involvement with the London 2012 games and will play an active role in implementing media centres around the UK on the approach to the London 2012 Games.
Papers
I am in the process of writing papers based on the work that I did in Vancouver (in the context of the future London 2012 games) – I have presented several papers at conferences around this area.
Jones, J. (2012) Occupying the Olympic Games through the use of Social Media. Presentation at the Innovation and Research Office PhD Conference, University of the West of Scotland. 1st March, 2012.
Jones, J. (2012) Occupying the Olympics: Occupying the Olympic Games: The Use of Social Media to subvert the course of justice. Paper accepted at the Sports, Politics and the Media PSA 6th Annual Conference, Southampton Solent University. 24th February, 2012.
Jones, J. (2011) Harnessing the Twitter Olympics: From #Van2010 to #London2012. Presentation at the 18th Postgraduate Session in Olympic Studies, International Olympic Academy. [in print.]
Miah, A. & Jones, J. (2011) The Olympic Movement’s New Media Revolution: Monetization, Open Media & Intellectual Property in Handbook of Olympic Studies. [in print.]
Miah, A. & Jones, J. (2011) Virtual Worlds in Barnett, George & Golson, J. (Eds) Encyclopedia of Social Networking. SAGE.
Jones, J. (2011) What does the Citizen Journalist Want?: Alternative Media & Activist Rhetoric in Cyberculture. Accepted at Virtual Futures 2.0. University of Warwick, Coventry.
Jones, J. (2011) Approaching relationships between activism and academia. Presented at 3x3x3 practice-based symposium. University of the West of Scotland. Glasgow.
Jones, J. (2011) Hack, Disrupt, Occupy: Alternative Learning Spaces in UK Higher Education. Presented at Platform Politics. Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
Jones, J. (2011) #education: What the University could learn from the Internetz? Invited presentation. Presented at Learning and Teaching Seminar Series, Teesside University, 4th of March, 2011.
Jones, J. (2011) #media2012: Citizen Media and the Olympic Games. Presented at Media & Communication Research Seminar Series De Montfort University, 9th of February, 2011.
Jones, J. & Adi, A. (2010) The Twitter Olympics: Stories from the Closing Ceremonies. Presented at ECREA 3rd International Communication Conference. Hamburg, Germany. October, 2010.
Jones, J. (2010) Social Media and Mega Events: Archiving Vancouver’s Alternative Voices. Presented at #media2012 launch at Abandon Normal Devices Festival, Manchester. 4th October, 2010.
Jones, J. (2010) From #Van2010 to #London2012. Presented at the School of Media Research seminar. Birmingham City University, UK: 23rd of June, 2010.
Jones, J (2010) Social Media and the Olympic Games: Embedded in Vancouver. Poster presentation at the University of the West of Scotland Research Student Conference. Paisley, UK: 7th of May, 2010.
Jones, J. (2010) Citizen Media and the Olympics: Looking towards London 2012. Presented at Nottingham Media Camp, Nottingham, UK: 27th March, 2010
Jones, J. (2010) Panel Debate: Harnessing the Media to Activate Citizens. Presented at Fresh Media Olympics Conference: W2 Arts and Culture House, Vancouver, BC: 21th of February, 2010
Miah, A., Jones, J. & Adi, A. (2010): “The Olympic Games and Web 3.0: Monetizing the Olympic Movement’s Digital Assets.” Presented at International Sports Business Symposium, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC: 19th of February, 2010
Jones, J. (2009) “Uses and Abuses of the Web as a Social Space” Presented at Uses and Abuses of Social Media: University of Leicester,: 26th of June, 2009
Independent Research
I’ve worked on a number of part time projects as a research assistant or as a freelance researcher. They have been around a number of areas, but with a particular focus on education technology and using social media for teaching/research.
University of the West of Scotland/South of Scotland Business Solutions
Research Assistant in Social Media for Creative Industries, Skillset Media Academy
July 2011-July 2012)
Prepare and deliver toolkits, workshops and social media surgeries for small businesses located in the South of Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway). Topics include introduction to social media, open data and metrics and content management. Design a web portal and network to support offline sessions and to host resources.
University of Leicester , UK
Research Assistant in Skills Provision, School of English
(May 2010-October 2010)
Conducted research into the pedagogical and technical specifics of annotation/commentable web 2.0 platforms for use in classroom and distance learning activities. Project details: http://studentdevpt.com/tag/tagginganna/
Birmingham City University, UK
Researcher, Interactive Cultures Research Group
in Partnership with Screen Media Lab, BCU
(September 2009 – January 2010)
Conducted research on behalf of Vodafone 360, analysing social networking activities and levels of connectivity between users of Twitter and Facebook
De Montfort University, UK
Researcher, NLab/ Institute of Creative Technologies
(May 2009 -August 2009)
Research and analysis of Social Media outputs from “Amplifed Individuals and Business Resilience” event on behalf of the NLab Networks within the Faculty of Humanities.
University of Leicester, UK
Casual Researcher
Provided support as a graduate student mentor for two funded research projects within the School of Biological Sciences.
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Awards and Grants
Part of research group awarded funding from South of Scotland Business Solutions (£22,340) to design and deliver toolkits and workshops on social media to facilitate a network for small businesses in Dumfries and Galloway. (July 2011)
Nominated by the British Olympic Academy and Podium (Higher and Further Education representative for London 2012) and funded to represent the United Kingdom at the 18th Postgraduate Session of the International Olympic Academy, Olympia. (September 2011)
Travel scholarship (£500) to visit Vancouver during the Winter Olympic Games from the University of the West of Scotland. (January 2010)
Awarded studentship and fee waiver (£30000) for PhD research on social media and the Olympic Games at the University of the West of Scotland. (October 2009)
Awarded funding (£1000) to organise and deliver “Social Media: Uses and Abuses” a one day conference at the University of Leicester. (June 2009) http://usesandabuses.wordpress.com
Best student performance prize on the MA New Media and Society, University of Leicester.(January 2009)
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Affiliation
Public Engagement Ambassador for University of the West of Scotland
National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement
June 2011-present
More details on my profile here.
Member of BUGS Digital Participation Taskforce
Folly Arts
June 2011 – present
“bugs is a research taskforce programme created by folly, aiming to provide an in-depth examination of the value and impact of socially engaged digital arts practice on the digitally excluded.”
More details on profile here.
Creative Futures Research Centre
Associate PhD Researcher, University of the West of Scotland
Jan 2011- Present
Social Science Centre,
Associate Academic Member
March 2011 – present
http://www.socialsciencecentre.org.uk
