MECM20003 Internet Communication
MECM20003 Overview
- Faculty of Arts
- Semester 2, 2026
- undergraduate
- 12.5 points
- an internet communication subject
MECM20003 Internet Communication covers critical and practical analysis of internet communication, platforms, visual culture, digital labour, governance, data and app design. It is taught within Faculty of Arts. It is undergraduate. It carries 12.5 points.
- Features organise action Interface details become evidence when connected to expected users, business models and governance.
- Participation is structured User creativity coexists with platform ownership, moderation and data extraction.
- Design is political App choices distribute visibility, labour, privacy, access and the possibility of disconnection.
- Critical walkthrough Record interface paths first, then connect affordances to users, incentives and power.
How MECM20003 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Feature Report | 25% | 1,000 words; due 21 August 2026 |
| Research Essay | 25% | 1,000 words; due 18 September 2026 |
| Digital Design Project | 50% | 2,000 words equivalent; due 2 November 2026 |
| Submission and workshop participation · hurdle | hurdle | Submit all tasks and attend/participate in at least 80% of workshops |
The current Subject Guide and assignment page agree on three tasks totalling 100% and publish submission plus workshop-participation hurdles.
Current MECM20003 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 21 August 2026 at 11:59 pm | Feature Report | Individual feature analysis. |
| 18 September 2026 at 11:59 pm | Research Essay | Individual research essay. |
Current-offering dates captured in the course materials. Confirm changes and exact submission settings in the live LMS.
What MECM20003 covers
Start with Internet Histories, Participation and Web Culture; use AI Images, Creative Labour and Value as the turning point; finish by bringing the course together in App Design, Datafication and Disconnection.
Internet Histories, Participation and Web Culture
Web 2.0 · user-generated content · platform agency · connect internet histories to claims about user participation and authority02Walkthrough and Feature Analysis
walkthrough method · affordance · feature analysis · move from interface observation to evidence-based interpretation of expected use03Visual Communication and Platform Formats
visual affordance · platform vernacular · visibility politics · analyse how digital image formats organise expression and participation04Memes, Remix and Imitation Publics
internet meme · remix culture · imitation public · connect formal variation, platform imitation and public formation05AI Images, Creative Labour and Value
generative image system · creative labour · mean image · connect generated imagery to datasets, labour, aesthetics and economic value06Self-Presentation, Identity and Influencers
self-presentation · context collapse · influencer labour · analyse how profiles, metrics and audiences shape performed identity and creator labour07Streaming, Sharing Platforms and Digital Labour
live streaming · platform economy · crowdwork · connect interface participation to revenue, risk and labour organisation08Disinformation, Governance and Algorithms
information disorder · platform governance · algorithmic imaginary · trace incentives, moderation and imagined algorithms into content visibility09App Design, Datafication and Disconnection
critical app studies · datafication · digital disconnection · design an app while evaluating data, access, infrastructure and disconnectionIt is positioned as an internet communication subject.
Students combine feature walkthroughs, research essays and a group mobile-app design project.
The retrieved current-offering evidence does not publish a complete assessment weighting for MECM20003. the published assessment components listed on this page
The operational assessment conditions matter here.
Use the current Subject Guide and official timetable for any examination operation.
What makes MECM20003 demanding is concrete: joining close feature analysis to wider claims about platform power without overgeneralising from one interface, account or moment
Treat the MECM20003 hurdle status as unconfirmed.
Check the current Subject Guide for any component-level pass rule before relying on the overall mark.
For enrolment planning, Confirm current eligibility in the 2026 Handbook; the landed endpoint was blocked.
Start with Internet Histories, Participation and Web Culture; use AI Images, Creative Labour and Value as the turning point; finish by bringing the course together in App Design, Datafication and Disconnection.
Audit a persuasive app feature
- 1Record the default and path to change it.
- 1Identify the expected user and platform objective.
- 1Analyse privacy, visibility and audience effects.
- 1Compare a consent-respecting alternative.
Key terms
- Web 2.0
- Discourse describing participatory, networked web services and user contribution. This chapter uses the concept when students connect internet histories to claims about user participation and authority.
- User-generated content
- Media or data produced and circulated by users within platform arrangements. It helps explain the reasoning required to connect internet histories to claims about user participation and authority.
- Platform agency
- Capacity distributed among users, interfaces, rules, algorithms and institutions. Its limit matters because participation language can obscure ownership, moderation and commercial extraction.
- Walkthrough method
- Systematic examination of an app environment, interface, functions and expected use. This chapter uses the concept when students move from interface observation to evidence-based interpretation of expected use.
- Affordance
- Possibility for action emerging from relations among design, users and context. It helps explain the reasoning required to move from interface observation to evidence-based interpretation of expected use.
- Feature analysis
- Close analysis of a bounded platform feature and its communicative consequences. Its limit matters because one account, one device or one moment cannot reveal every user practice or infrastructure.
- Visual affordance
- Action and meaning possibilities shaped by image, camera, interface and circulation features. This chapter uses the concept when students analyse how digital image formats organise expression and participation.
- Platform vernacular
- Recognisable styles and conventions emerging through platform features and communities. It helps explain the reasoning required to analyse how digital image formats organise expression and participation.
- Visibility politics
- Unequal capacity to appear, be recognised or be suppressed within mediated systems. Its limit matters because visual creativity is shaped by technical standards, moderation and cultural inclusion.
- Internet meme
- Group of digital items sharing content, form or stance and transformed through circulation. This chapter uses the concept when students connect formal variation, platform imitation and public formation.
- Remix culture
- Practice of reusing and altering existing media to create new meanings and affiliations. It helps explain the reasoning required to connect formal variation, platform imitation and public formation.
MECM20003 FAQ
Where is the hardest reasoning in Internet Communication?
Joining close feature analysis to wider claims about platform power without overgeneralising from one interface, account or moment. Critical and practical analysis of internet communication, platforms, visual culture, digital labour, governance, data and app design.
How does assessment work in Internet Communication?
Assessment is a 25% Feature Report, 25% Research Essay and 50% Digital Design Project. The tasks move from one platform feature through critical research to an applied group app concept.
What form does the final assessed task take in Internet Communication?
The final weighted task is a 50% Digital Design Project: a group mobile-app design and report plus an individual User Review, with formative presentation feedback before submission.
Which pass conditions apply in Internet Communication?
Students must submit all three assessment tasks and attend and participate in at least 80% of workshops. Both requirements are published as hurdles in the current Subject Guide.
Which teaching period does this Internet Communication resource cover?
It is aligned to Semester 2, 2026; confirm your enrolled class and timetable in the current institutional system. Feature Report: 21 August 2026 at 11:59 pm; Research Essay: 18 September 2026 at 11:59 pm.
Where should current dates for Internet Communication be confirmed?
Feature Report: 21 August 2026 at 11:59 pm; Research Essay: 18 September 2026 at 11:59 pm. Confirm any change and the exact submission setting in the live LMS. The published assessment components listed on this page.
Who controls the official rules for Internet Communication?
The university does. This is an independent MECM20003 study resource; current institutional instructions remain authoritative for assessment operation. Critical and practical analysis of internet communication, platforms, visual culture, digital labour, governance, data and app design.
How to prepare for the assessments
Retrieve the course map, practise the recurring method—locate a platform feature and user practice; apply walkthrough and critical-media concepts; trace interface, algorithm, labour and governance; then design or interpret with power and access visible—on changed scenarios, and verify every operational assessment detail in the live institutional system.
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