This document discusses multimedia texts in social networks and media aesthetics. It begins by noting that 97 million people in Russia use VKontakte each month. New media is changing how mass communication works by forming media aesthetics - both how aesthetic values are interpreted in media culture and how communication is constructed using multimedia. Multimedia texts on social networks combine different sign systems like text, pictures, audio and video. Users learn to communicate and create complex multimedia texts through practices like language play, precedents, irony and collages. A case study analyzed two news messages on VKontakte about an expedition, finding the multimedia one was more engaging and interactive for users. The conclusion is that multimedia texts are native to media aesthetics and social

1. SPECIFICS OF MULTIMEDIA TEXTS IN THE
CONTEXT OF SOCIAL NETWORKS MEDIA
AESTHETICS
Assoc. Prof. Elena Panova
Chelyabinsk State University, Russian Federation
elena_panova81@mail.ru
Assoc. Prof. Vasilii Fedorov
Chelyabinsk State University, Russian Federation
vvf-82@mail.ru

2. INTRODUCTION
1. Nowadays “VKontakte” users which is one of the most popular social networks
in Russia are 97 million people a month. These data are published on the
official site of the company.
2. The quantity factors only prove the serious changes of all the parameters of
mass information consumption in contemporary society, statistically describe
the effects which new media cause related to the mass communication
structure.
3. Among them the first place is occupied by the formation of Media Aesthetics.

3. DISCUSSION
Media Aesthetics
- on the one hand, it can be interpreted as a paradigm of “aesthetic values”
characteristic of media culture
- on the other hand, as a system of principles determining the construction of
communication using multimedia resources

4. Characteristics of online communication
within Media Aesthetics
 Action of personal behavior in public communication (personal comments,
repost etc.)
 The subject longs to theatricalize his discourse (materialization of sense
perception – smiley, pictures, audio, video, graphics etc.)
 Priority of self-presentation

5. So users learn communication and
create new texts of complex structure
 Par example of implementation of media aesthetics principles are multimedia
texts. They perform as units of certain communicative act in social networks
 Multimedia texts – “specific messages including heterogeneous in their
semiotic nature components which influence on a recipient within one
perceptional modality – usually visual” [A.G. Sonin, D.S. Michurin, 2012 ]
 A message, a post in social networks is a complex combination of different
sign systems: text and picture; text, picture and audiofile; text, picture,
audiofile, animated image and other types of combinations.
 The user creates his own creative self-presentation

6.  More often the creative activity of users is expressed in deconstruction of
official “high” culture and public communication.
 The deconstruction becomes a configuration of creativity as a form of social
activity. It is revealed through the conscious simplification of creative
message construction, through travesty and play with everything which is
considered an esthetic norm.

7. All of that defines the stylistic
characteristics of multimedia texts
 Language play (Intentional violation of language norms)
 Precedent texts (Quotes)
 Irony
 Assembling composition – collage
This type of communication stimulates learning to use new
multimedia technologies.
Social media use this experience to attract audiences

8. RESULTS
 There was conducted a case study of two news messages devoted to one
subject. They are presented in the groups informational media on the
platform of the social network “VKontakte”

9. Translation picture 1
 Fedor Konyukhov was awarded the Order of Honor in the Kremlin. At the
ceremony, he asked Vladimir Putin to help organize a new expedition - diving
into the Mariana Trench. Fedor Konyukhov asked Putin to help organize an
expedition to the bottom of the Mariana Trench
Translation picture 2
 Traveler FedorKonyukhov asked Putin for help in organizing the expedition to
the bottom of the Mariana Trench
 To find the bottom of the Russian economy

10. The data are valid on 03.07.2018
Name of
community in
VKontakte
Number of
watches,
total
Number of
users who
liked the
message
Number of
users’
comments
Number of
interaction
“Share the
news”
Medusa 63372 275 113 8
Lentach 271195 7294 115 139

11. CONCLUSION
 The results of the research demonstrated a great communicative success of
multimedia text messages as they are native units for Media Aesthetics
 The options which are provided by the social networks for its users allow
producing social activity in a creative form. On one hand as a consumer – to
feel the esthetic pleasure from breaking the norms of every day discourse, on
the other hand, as a real author - to create such texts, self-presenting in
public space
 Social media actively exploits the need for users to recognize and apply new
multimedia tools.

12. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Supported by Russian Science Foundation, 18-18-00007.

13. Thank you for your attention
Vasilii Fedorov
vvf-82@mail.ru