Podcast episode: https://soundcloud.com/user-971596997/move-over-gender-pay-gap
Podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoveOve8638382
Research Plan
So far my approach to autoethnographic research has been thick description and observation. I have used a blog post to document my behaviour, thoughts and emotions when listening to a range of different podcast episodes.
I have immersed myself in the niche and documented my experience as both fan and creator as I reflected on whether the style or structure of the podcasts would be similar to my own. The development of knowledge in my niche through thick description aims as Geertz (1973, p.30) describes,
“is not to turn away from the existential dilemmas of life for some empyrean realm of de-emotionalized forms ; it is to plunge into the midst of them.”
I have used careful observation when collecting screenshots of reviews and comparing them to my own experiences when listening to these podcasts. An example was the SOTM reviews which largely reflected my own thoughts and feelings that the podcast had changed in a direction that I no longer enjoyed.
“The participant observer sees things firsthand and uses his or her own knowledge and expertise in interpreting what is observed.”
(Merriam, Sharan B. and Tisdell, Elizabeth J 2016, p.139)
This qualitative data has been useful to gain expertise in my niche and going forward I plan to continue to analyse the connections I have already made.
Ethical considerations
One key ethical consideration that I have taken on board from feedback was that I need to be wary of white feminism in this space. I have applied this in both my research and in my own podcast. As someone who is not white, I understand that intersectionality has a big role in understanding privilege. I personally do not encapsulate the experiences of all women. This was made clear in my first episode by both myself and my guests.
“The centering of women’s experience becomes a double-edged sword; that is, endeavouring to advocate for all women yet, operating from a singular identity or positionality that consequently jeopardises the feminist project.”
(Moon & Holling 2020, p.253)
I have also blurred the usernames of people that are not key personas in this space. This protects users anonymity.
Timeline Update
I have managed to listen to a weekly podcast episode fairly consistently. Going forward I want to document my experience when creating my DA as I think it would be an insightful blog post to analyse. I am also aiming to release a shorter episode of my podcast.
References
Geertz, Clifford (1973) ‘Thick description- Toward an interpretive theory of culture,’ in The Interpretation of Cultures, Basic Books New York
Merriam, Sharan B. and Tisdell, Elizabeth J. (2016) Being a Careful Observer, in Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, Jossey-Bass: San Fransisco.
Moon, DG & Holling, MA 2020, ‘“White supremacy in heels”: (white) feminism, white supremacy, and discursive violence’, Communication and critical/cultural studies, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 253–260.
Popova, Milena. 2020. ‘Follow the Trope: A Digital (Auto)ethnography for Fan Studies.’ In “Fan Studies Methodologies,” edited by Julia E. Largent, Milena Popova, and Elise Vist, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 33
Wall, Sarah (2006) An Autoethnography on Learning about Autoethnography, International Journal of Qualitative Methods 5 (2)
Tash's Blog 
Hi Natasha!
Your DA project looks great, firstly. This topic of discussion and media niche isn’t one i’m strongly knowledgeable in so it’s great to get the perspective of someone like yourself. Your own understanding of the media niche you are in shows through your confidence in talking and writing of text in the blog. As an outsider looking into your DA hearing you speak about it gives myself the ability to understand and depict what you are trying to deliver in a more comprehensive way, so great job!
The professionalism and quality of your work looks second to none. The effort you have put into this DA is obvious and the uses of many resources such as Canva to help build your podcast channel elevates your project to another level. The quality of your DA project works hand in hand with the level of confidence you speak with, which overall has allowed you to create an awesome podcast channel.
The structure of your work load and timeline updates is super informative and it will really assist you in your final digital artefact and bringing that all together, so well done with that. The use of supportive material used is great! Being someone looking from an outsider view on your DA and having all that material and resources to assist with my understanding of your DA project is very helpful. It is also a solid reflection of the hours and work you have put into your digital artefact this semester.
My only advice would be to inquire on what you’ve done to help boost the interaction surrounding your podcast channel. Have you looked at external sources or online to help assist you in growing the channel on Soundcloud. That would be something i’d be interested in hearing in your final digital artefact.
Overall great job and I think your podcast channel is awesome! It’s always interesting to learn something new and thats defiantly the case for me here. All the best in the coming weeks!
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Hey Natasha!
First of all, WOW! I am so excited from the first 10 seconds watching your Beta vlog. Your vlog gives me a clear understanding of how your DA is going to look like. Love the wordplays and the music. Your tone of voice is on point and I am already a big fan of your podcast.
Your Beta was structured logically along with your tone of voice, I find it was easy to follow and engaging at the same time. The cohesion between the video and the blog post shows a high level in digital literacies and professionalism. You have a very clear approach to expand your expertise in your nominated media niche with attention to every detail. I especially like the way you differentiated your persona between a student and a journalist. This reflects a high level of engagement with your niche and your work so far reflects how passion you are about it.
You are considerate about your audience. For someone who is not doing BCM241, I am confident that they can still 100% get the point thanks to your supporting resources and logical delivery.
You mentioned that you’re having difficulties with gaining interaction. May I recommend you try reaching out and interacting with your niche on some other platforms as well. Another idea is to collaborate with other people in your niche by inviting them to your podcast as guests. I think by doing this you can expand your audience and diversify your content at the same time. I hope that helps!
Overall, I think you have ticked all the boxes in the grading criteria. Keep killing it. I cannot wait to see how your DA is gonna turn out!
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Hi Natasha,
Great Beta! Your media niche looks great, your video was very easy to follow and understand. I really like the tone you’ve used, it’s very pleasing to hear and very engaging.
You have shown thorough evidence of your observations, I like how you have created a separate blog showing your investigation, it makes it very neat and easy to refer to. I would suggest that you include some more descriptions briefly describe or inform who it’s from and why it was useful.
I can see that you have interacted with the material on Moodle and the lecture content. It is structured and organised, you have also effectively included links to supporting media and materials, making it very clear and logical. One thing I would suggest is that you give some brief information about the source so that the audience would not need to read through the research paper to understand what you are trying to convey.
I like how you have included an update of your timeline, showing what you will be continuing to produce content and engage in other podcasts through the next two weeks before the due date. One thing you could do I you have time in your schedule is reaching out and approaching other users or audiences and asking for opinions, which may help with gaining more interaction.
Good luck with your DA in the coming weeks!
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You have created a well-structured beta video describing your autoethnographic approach to the feminist podcast media niche. You presented a ‘vlogging style’ as indicated in the marking criteria. I found your beta video easy to understand with information presented in an engaging style and clear speaking voice which was easy to listen to. I see that you have observed other podcast creators and aim to emphasize a fun yet sophisticated presentation for your audience. The evidence that defines your media niche is included in your video as well, so I could view your SoundCloud platform.
Perhaps reuploading the mp3 into an mp4 format to submit onto a YouTube channel will help promote your podcast if unsuccessful on Twitter. In your Pitch video feedback were there any comments that you found useful which helped shape your understanding of the topic when creating and uploading your podcasts? I agree that making shorter podcasts could help boost views and indicate to viewers that you are producing more content. In your blog I liked that you have input ethical considerations and acknowledged women of colour who experience discrimination due to their cultural background.
You have clearly explained to your audience your online persona presented in your podcasts and shared your experience in the making of your podcast reflecting the issues you encountered; such as time management and lacking feedback interactions. The integration and synthesis of knowledge I believe could have been discussed further, with reference to academic readings. To develop your online persona I suggest reading the five dimensions of online persona https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317558972_Five_Dimensions_of_Online_Persona
and researching into the performative dimension of persona, as you present your podcasts with confidence and professionalism.
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