Throughout the Ideating stage of my Digital Artefact, I brainstormed my ideas, observed my audience, refined my projects’ direction and began producing content. My Digital Artefact consists of the articles I write for Eject Music and an Instagram page (eject_ftremain) where I promote my work and create further discussion around new Hip-Hop music, news and issues.
The Thinking Stage of my Digital Artefact was guided by Dan Ward’s ‘Simplicity Cycle’. In The Region of the Simplistic, he outlines the importance of creating a foundation for the work to follow. This foundation was laid out by The 2Thousand, my previous Digital Artefact for BCM112, where I wrote Hip-Hop based articles including reviews, lists and feature pieces. From this, I was approached to work for Eject Music so I thought it would only be natural to utilise this as my new Digital Artefact. However, differently to The 2Thousand, I intended to challenge myself more and broaden the types of content that I produce, leading into the Complexity Slope. By having my Digital Artefact exist only as the work for the website, I felt as though my project would begin leaning too far into The Region of the Complicated because it can take days for my articles to be edited and published.
Creating the Instagram page sought to fix this delay in content by using the platforms features such as stories to curate content that interacts with and gains a deeper understanding of my audience. Though The Thinking Stage was a crucial part of my Digital Artefact, I kept in mind an important quote from Dan Ward that, “the journey of design involves both learning and unlearning.” Therefore I didn’t spend long here as I felt confident in my Digital Artefact’s previous success and knew that I could always adjust my project whenever.
Similar to The Thinking Stage, my previous Digital Artefact was useful throughout The Observing Stage. I found that I was receiving more interactions on the website than last semester, possibly because I am contributing to a more professional platform as opposed to a personal blog. My audience is fairly balanced in gender, but primarily age between 18-24. I think most of my audience are avid Hip-Hop fans but there is a portion that are following me in support of myself or Eject.
Another thing I observed was that my audience prefers to interact with stories as opposed to posts so this led to creating story highlights of categories including New, Reviews, News and Features. In the Institute of Design at Stanford’s ‘Process Guide’, they talk about creating experiences for audiences. The Instagram stories allow users to react to content which increases engagement, informs my audience, provide analytics to my audiences music preferences and allows me to utilise Kevin Kelly’s Immediacy aspect of his ‘8 Generatives’.
Since converting The 2Thousand Instagram to the Eject account, I have gained 58 more followers. On average, I receive 30 likes on my Instagram posts, 18 likes on the website articles and 124 impressions per Instagram story. The Hip-Hop category on Eject has become the most interacted with part of the website which something I hope to uphold.
Heading into the Prototype stage, I’m looking to experiment as much as possible by increasing my weekly uploads and continuing to try new content such as my recent interview article that included exclusive content to my audience. I’m also working on a feature piece about the Australian Hip-Hop scene which I believe will be popular as my audience is mainly Australian and I’m hoping to get exclusive interviews. I can further increase my weekly uploads by posting about all the new albums of the week and let my audience decided what to review or creating voting brackets for topics like ‘Best Album of 2019’ as this is a popular trend in Hip-Hop Instagram accounts.
If you’d like to check out what I’ve produced throughout the Ideating stage, or would like to stay posted on all the new content coming in the Prototype stage, you can find me on Eject Music or on Instagram.
Frank Tremain.
Frank Tremain 
Wow! Such a dense wordy article. You are writing so well it is no wonder you are gaining more readers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your project seems to be on a very successful pathway at this current ideation stage! I would definitely suggest using some analytic apps or websites in order to keep track of your development and audience engagement! I am currently doing a project using Redbubble and track my analytics through the website which is super helpful to view sales, comments and likes and keep track of feedback to improve my content. Your feature piece is a great idea for the future to engage the Australian audience! If you’re interested it would also be interesting to see info on the hip-hop/music scene in the Wollongong area as well due to our rich love for music and the arts 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! That’s definitely a good idea for the Prototype stage to get more in-depth analytics than just Instagram ones. I am hoping to do a feature piece on a local band when they release their EP but it may not come out till after BCM114. It’s great you’re using Redbubble, what’s your Digital Artefact? Would love to check it out
LikeLike
You are just a true inspiration! wow :0
LikeLiked by 1 person
Frank my man, I love it. I remember liking the concept of your BCM112 DA but its crazy to see how you’ve been employed by Eject, happy for you man its sick to see DA’s bring in professional opportunities. Plus, love that Bathurst is your top location, go the Cenny West. Anyway man I think you’ve got it all sorted out, keen to see what is next in the prototyping stage. I like the idea of interviews as it gives your audience a visual component and will definitely prove for further engagement as people will want to see their mates talking to you. Anyway kudos! I’ll leave you with a link to my blog because that’s the kind of guy I am https://sethsesh.wordpress.com/2019/08/28/the-ideating-phase/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cheers brother! Gotta represent the Cenny West haha. I’ll check your blog out, keen to start seeing some more content from you, it’s a sick idea
LikeLike
Hey Frank! Super sick idea and it’s great to see you continuing on from your idea in BCM 112. You are a great example of the success that can come from creating a digital artefact and having an online presence. Having your own Instagram account separate from the Eject Music website was a smart move. I think while your Instagram stories are consistent and receiving the most engagement, Instagram is a site that gains traction heavily from consistent posting too. Have you thought of uploading photos of artists you have written about, or are about to? I think by using and crediting professional photographs of artists of your liking and that fit your digital presence will provide you with a multitude of options for growth. By uploading consistently and using high-quality photos, your ‘grid’ will flow and provide a more professional appearance too. Adding your own touch such as the frames you’re currently using would be neat! Also, by tagging these photographers, you’re gaining their attention, their followers’ attention, and in turn possibly big names in the hip-hop industry and journalism industry. Pairing these with up to date hashtags will get an influx of followers hopefully, that are interested in the same things as you!
Your use of analytics is gold, and it’s something I will definitely be stealing. Keep up with the Instagram stories though, they are my favourite!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you! This is such a good day, I’m definitely going to have to start implementing it. Appreciate ya!
LikeLike
Hey Frank,
Really enjoy where you are taking this project, clever use of previous work, this is certainly going to help you refine the content uploaded in order to best suit your target market. I like your choice of engagement via Instagram stories, certainly an effective way of reaching your following. The fact that you’ve refined your market to that of the 18-24-year-old should certainly allow for effective content engagement. The key to success for this project for mine would be a heavy emphasis on regular content updates regarding the best new hip hop tunes. Your only downfall could be finding the balance between overcompensating with content uploads, ensure you pick music that is trending highly at the time to increase your chances of engagement from your target audience. Overall a great concept for your BCM114 Digital artefact, I have thrown you a follow and look forward to seeing the content to come.
Yew, feel free to give my artefact a look on Instagram @veronicathevan.
LikeLiked by 1 person