BAİBÜİLEF-İG 2024 Digital Transformation and New Media Symposium Completed Successfully

News: Gül Gizem Aytekin, Büşra Kartal, Emre Tandırlı, Gül Gizem Aytekin, Sıla Özalp, İrem Arısoy, Nurmelek Çelik-Aleyna Yılmaz, Beyzanur Akar, Yağız Ekmen. Sevilay Beyza Yamalı

The opening program of the 1st International Communication Days Digital Transformation and New Media Symposium, the first international symposium organized by our University's Faculty of Communication, was held in the Congress Center Bordo Hall. During the symposium, which lasted three days between May 13-15, 2024, national and international researchers and academicians who are experts in their fields made presentations. The opening program of the symposium was attended by Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Alişarlı, Secretary General İhsan Ağcan, Dean of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Emre Tandırlı, guest researchers and academicians, academic and administrative managers and staff, and students.
In his opening speech, Dean of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Emre Tandırlı provided information about the content of the symposium program and said that over 100 applications were made to the symposium from our country, Azerbaijan, Iran, Malaysia and Greece.

“Technological Developments Have Changed the Dimension of Communication.”

Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Alişarlı stated that this important symposium was the first international symposium organized by the Faculty of Communication, thanked the academic and administrative staff and students who contributed, and wished it to be a productive and beneficial symposium.

Following the opening speeches, a panel on Digital Transformation and New Media was held. Participating in the panel online, Azerbaijan State Administration Academy Dean Prof. Dr. Murteza Hasanoğlu concluded his speech by emphasizing the impact of digitalization on radical changes in communication and the internet, the changes in our world along with this impact, and the fact that both Azerbaijan and Turkey are trying to strengthen their commitment in this area with new steps. Kütahya Dumlupınar University Faculty of Fine Arts Dean Prof. Dr. Levent Mercin made a presentation on “Museums’ Need to Communicate and Digital Transformation”. Underlining that museums should take digitalization into consideration in order to take part in global competition, Mercin said, “Because new technologies have radically changed culture and its access tools, cultural policies and practices. The program continued with the presentation titled “Journalism Ethics in the Internet Exam” by Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan, and he explained the basic universal principles of the journalism profession, which he describes as the profession of telling the truth. He brought up ethical issues in internet journalism under the titles of speed, click journalism, SEO journalism, news theft, prevalence of false/baseless news, advertising news, crumb journalism on social media and hate speech. He emphasized that the negative effects of artificial intelligence use could pose a threat to journalism. The opening program of the symposium ended after the participants were presented with certificates of appreciation. The program continued with the Digital Transformation and New Media Panel in the Congress Center Bordo and Green Halls.
The panel, which was held in the Congress Center Bordo Hall, was moderated by the Head of the Journalism Department of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. The panel, held in Selami Özsoy Green Hall, was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ekin Kadir Selçuk from the same department.

Prof. Dr. Rengin Küçürerdoğan, Res. Asst. Ceren Şahin contributed to the panels organized by the Evrensel Media community online. Prof. Dr. Nalan Büker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tolga Erkan, Assist. Prof. Rahime Akikol, Assist. Prof. Orhan Faik and Res. Asst. Gizem Güler presented their papers in the Bordo Hall, while Prof. Dr. Ayşe Aslı Sezgin Büyükalaca, Prof. Dr. Artun Avcı, Dr. Selver Mertoğlu, Assist. Prof. Özgür Başyiğit and PhD Sevgi Pilgi presented their papers in the Yeşil Hall.

The Excitement Continued in Our Faculty Building!

Our faculty hosted important guests on the second day of the Symposium. The "Design" themed session held at 09:30 on May 14 in Z-114 (Communication Workshop) was chaired by Instructor Bahar Akbulak. The first presentation was made by Berna Dilek, a graduate student, with her presentation titled "Ancient Traces in Digital Culture: Semiological Analysis of Sight-Worth Sculptures in Istanbul Archaeological Museums". Dean of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Emre Tandırlı and students attended the presentation. Then, Dr. Lecturer Elif Sabancı Polat's presentation titled "Reflections of the Digital Age in Animation Cinema" took place. She gave examples of animation cinema from the animated film "Wall-e".

Simultaneously, the session titled Digital Hegemony was moderated by Dr. Lecturer Özgür Başyiğit. PhD student Emrah Sıran Kara analyzed the role of digital hegemony in international relations in detail. Then, Tolga Tellan addressed the new dynamics of international relations in the digital age. Tellan conveyed the role of digital media in international relations and the impact of digital hegemony on international politics to the participants. Attorney Orçun Oltulu examined the place of military autonomous weapons within the framework of international armed conflict law. Oltulu shared with the participants the limits of autonomous weapons systems within the framework of international law and moral principles and the ethical and legal dimensions of these technologies. In the Q&A section, the participants contributed to the event by asking various questions to the speakers. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatma Akar chaired another session where the topic of Digital Transformation was discussed.

Res. Asst. Dr. İsmail Kaplan, in his presentation titled "Digital Transformation in News Media: News Producers Using WhatsApp Channels", talked about the channels opened on social media. He touched on how WhatsApp channels are used in journalism.

In the ongoing session, PhD Student Bilal Erkan Değer began his presentation titled "Offline World Effects of Online Games". After talking about the development and economic income of digital games in his presentation, he touched on the motivations of gamers to play games.

Finally, Res. Asst. Tuğçe İyigüngör, in her presentation titled "New Media and Cultural Diplomacy: Cultural Diplomacy Activities of Yunus Emre Institute with New Media in Egypt and Hungary", talked about cultural resources in diplomacy and the contributions of new media outlets to the process.

The session titled New Media and Cinema was moderated by Prof. Dr. Emre Tandırlı and Res. Asst. Selin Akınç Akpınar.
Res. Asst. Aziz Barkın Kadıoğlu made a presentation titled "Digital Transformation of the View: Examples, Discussions, VR Cinema Theaters Within the Framework of Limits". He talked about the transformation of VR from the past to the present. Then, Res. Asst. Fatih Saraç discussed the Mubi application in detail in his presentation titled "A Digital Cinematic: Mubi Investigation". Afterwards, Res. Asst. Baran Cem Yiğit made a presentation titled "Netflix on the Red Carpet: Exploring the Relationship between Digital Broadcasting and the Academy Awards".

Then, Master's Student, Evrim Aydın made a presentation titled "YouTube Channel Review in the Context of Alternative Broadcasting: The Socrates Magazine Example". In the presentation, he talked about how Socrates Magazine started as a magazine publication and then moved to digital publishing.

Finally, Master's Student, Shatha Najip Taher Al-Ashwal, talked about how much more sales are made with advertisements made by celebrities in her presentation titled “A Comprehensive Review on the Role of Creativity in Modern Advertising”.

The symposium organized by the Faculty of Communication of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University was followed with interest on its second day. In the event moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Tuncay Erdem, graduate students made presentations on important topics.

Master's students Arigerim Irgebay, Sena Sürmene and Esra Ergin contributed to the session titled New Media and Society moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Tuncay Erdem with their presentations.
Arigerim Irgebay attended the symposium online and discussed the topic of "Political Approach in Critical Economics". In her presentation, she talked about the works of Peter Golding and Graham Murdock.
In the continuation of the face-to-face session, Sena Sürmene presented her thesis work on etiquette rules. Sürmene, who said, "We cannot design society only based on legal rules," recommended Gökhan Dumanlı's book "And Elegance." After her presentation, Ahmet Tuncay Erdem presented Sena Sürmene with a Certificate of Participation.

Esra Ergin introduced her work titled "The Destructive Effect of Communication Convergence on Public Service Broadcasting" in her online presentation.

The opening speech of another session titled New Media and Journalism was given by moderator Prof. Dr. Selami Özsoy. Following the opening speech, Dr. Bahare Saghazade talked about the media problems experienced after the Iranian revolution in her presentation titled "Instagram: The Renationalization Of A People." Then, Dr. Lecturer Seyyed Shahabeddin Sadati talked about Althusser, whose name we often hear in the field of communication, in his presentation titled "An Althusserian Study Of Ideology and Interpellation in Iranian Billboards." In addition, he touched upon the state's oppression and ideological apparatus in his ideologically focused presentation. The final presentation of the session was made by master's student Hüseyin Demir under the title of "Digital Transformation of Sports Media: A Study on National Sports Magazines". He discussed the change and transformation of sports media with digitalization.

After a pleasant Lunch with our Faculty Members and valuable guests who contributed to the Symposium with their Presentations, the Sessions continued without slowing down!

The afternoon sessions continued with presentations on Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT and Digital Addiction. The first presentation, moderated by Asst. Prof. Özgür Başyiğit, started with Res. Asst. Dr. Cihan Çılgın's narrative titled "Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Media Content: ChatGPT Applications". It was followed by Prof. Dr. Emre Şenol and his students Elif Aşkan, Münire Berfin Yılmaz, Semanur Sarıca made an English presentation titled “Managing Emotions in the Face of Addiction to the Internet and Online Cognitions”. The presentation included topics such as technological addictions, excessive technology use, and internet addiction. The session continued with Res. Asst. Tuğçe İyigüngör’s presentation titled “Brand Perception Management and ChatGPT Generated Texts and Potential Impact on Consumer Behavior”. Information was provided on what artificial intelligence is and its learning stages. Artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT and DALL-E were explained. A visualization study of a determined brand poster with ChatGPT was shown.

The session titled Disinformation and the Struggle for Truth was moderated by the Dean of the Faculty of Communication, Prof. Dr. Emre Tandırlı. 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ergin Şafak Dikmen and Res. Asst. Ayşe Seda Aslan touched on climate policies in their presentation titled “Discourse of Climate Change Skepticism on YouTube: The Example of Gzt YouTube Channel”. Then, Res. Asst. Dr. Aytekin Çelik addressed the issue of “Why Are Humans So Suitable for Governing” in his presentation titled “Imperialism and Voluntary Exploitation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”.

Afterwards, PhD Student Selahattin Bölükbaşı spoke about the transformation of knowledge into information and gave examples of data journalism in his presentation titled “Data Journalism Evolving with Digital Transformation”. Then, Nareeman Fıras İbrahim’s presentation titled “Self Presentation in Digital Communication Environments: Instagram Example”, in which he touched upon the concepts of self and the fact that individuals have two identities, virtual and real, was followed by PhD Student Ahmet Fuat Polat’s presentation titled “Digital Diseases of the Digital Age: A Conceptual Framework”. Polat touched upon digital diseases such as Mouse-Keyboard Disease, Ego Surfing and Blog Exposing.

The session continued with Res. Asst. Dr. Leyla Turğal and Lecturer Atiye Güner’s work titled “Metaverse Universe Created with Immersive Technologies in Television News: Habertürk’s Interview Example”. Information was provided on the place and future of metaverse technologies in today’s media, how and in which areas these technologies can be used. Then, PhD Student İsmail Düger’s presentation titled “Re-Evaluation of Public Space in the Context of Virtual Reality Technology”, asked the question “Are Virtual Spaces a Public Space?” question, and touched on virtual reality and its limitations.

Finally, Ahmet Fuat Polat and Lecturer Dr. Burak Çeber completed the session by touching on topics such as the importance of the concept of Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation, Deepfake and Verification with their presentation titled “Disinformation Transformed through Social Media: A Study on Deepfake Technology”.

The third and last day of the symposium continued with online presentations!

The online session titled New Media, Disinformation and Digital Addiction was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Tuncay Erdem.

Res. Asst. Azimenur Ayaz stated in her presentation titled “Examination of the Relationship between Social Likeability and Appearance-Related Social Media Awareness According to the Rate of Filter Usage on Instagram” that the desire to be liked among individuals is increasing day by day with the use of social media and that individuals are giving more importance to their appearance. Then, Master's student Şirin Eldener, in her presentation titled “Disinformation in the Digital Era: Fake News in the Covid-19 Pandemic”, underlined the importance of combating disinformation by stating that disinformation drags society into countless negative and dire consequences in economic, health, democratic and financial terms. Then, Master's Student Asena Kurtuldu, in her presentation titled “Effective Social Media Management: Instagram Social Media Platform”, talked about her research on the effective use of social media.

Dr. Burak İli, in her research titled “Understanding The Role Of Social Media in Hate Speech: A Quantitative Content Analysis On Ekşi Sözlük”, addressed all aspects of hate speech on social media. In her research, where she applied quantitative content analysis to hate speech, especially about Syrian refugees, she made suggestions for preventing hate speech. Then, Master's Student Burak Altuncı, in his presentation titled “Artificial Iceberg”, drew attention to the negative aspects of the internet and artificial intelligence as well as their positive aspects. Altuncı likened artificial intelligence to an artificial iceberg and emphasized that artificial intelligence is rapidly alienating individuals from reality.

Then, Dr. Ezgi Saatçıoğlu, in her study titled “Use of Social Media in Destination Branding: The Go Turkey Example”, talked about the impact of the concept of destination on branding and examined the GOTurkiye account via Instagram. In her presentation titled “Digital Transformation: Changing Social Media Trends Through New Media”, Dr. Lecturer Zeliha Canan Özkan and Enise Erva Sayık revealed that digital transformation has gained speed with new media tools.

Then, in her research titled “Causes of Media Disinformation and the Importance of Media Literacy”, Dr. Lecturer Ayşe Betül Tanrıverdi touched on the fact that disinformation, which serves treacherous purposes such as provoking the public by spreading fake news and inciting hatred and hostility, can spread like a virus on social media. Lecturer Dr. In their joint study titled “Examining the Relationship Between Employees’ Digital Literacy Levels and Their Attitudes Towards Digital Transformation: An Application on the Media Industry”, Esma Sancar and her PhD student Semih Sancar touched upon the importance of the development of employees’ digital culture. They stated that digital literacy is the correct interpretation of information and the correct positioning of the correct information, and in this context, they referred to Cemil Meriç’s words “People who read, understand and know are the ones who are the most hostile to what they do not know” and stated that digital literacy is a skill that must be learned by employees and individuals.

Then, in their joint report titled “Artificial Intelligence Bias: The Turkish Example in Productive Artificial Intelligence”, Res. Asst. Esra Özgür and Res. Asst. Dr. Nilüfer Pınar Kılıç talked about the level of development of artificial intelligence and emphasized that it will develop rapidly every day. Researchers who claim that artificial intelligence imitates human intelligence stated that with a correct productive artificial intelligence, our humanity can also develop with many developments in the fields of culture, art, economy, health and politics.

The online session themed Digital Transformation, Design, New Media and Cinema was moderated by Prof. Dr. Emre Tandırlı.

The first participant, Dr. Lecturer Cem Hakverdi, in his presentation titled “The Effects of Digital Transformation on Documentary Film Production in Turkey: Crowdfunding and the Example of Dog Movie (2018)”, discussed the examples of documentary genre, which is his area of ​​expertise, in the world and the issue of crowdfunding in the digitalization process in our country in detail, by giving the example of the Dog movie dated 2018. Then, Dr. Şule Kurt conveyed the views that emerged in terms of the ethical values ​​of the digital universe reached with web 3.0 at the latest point of technology with an objective perspective with her research titled “New Discussions Brought by the Metaverse Ecosystem to the Functionality of the Digital”.

Assoc. Yasin Söğüt, with his “Digitalizing New Media’s Ways of Recommending Content to the User: “Amazon Prime Video, Puhutv and Tabii” Example”, drew attention to our national and cultural treasures offered in the Tabii application created with the support of our State and TRT by mentioning that the content offered on digital platforms is a hidden element of global hegemony. Following this interesting presentation, Lecturer Fatma Güneş introduced the benefits of various gamification applications in the field of museums, which provide effective and permanent learning through the audience, in her presentation titled “Gamification with Augmented Reality Applications in Museums”, which is frequently used in the design-oriented thinking approach.

Afterwards, Enise Erva Sayık, a graduate student, comparatively addressed past and present book designs in her presentation titled “Digital Transformation of Book Designs: Examination of E-Book Cover Designs in the Context of Digital Literacy”. Another graduate student, Ecem Tuncer, provided sectoral information on how to most effectively launch a brand in social media content production in her research titled “Visual Content Strategies: Creative Approaches for Social Media Branding”.

After these important presentations, Assoc. Prof. Bilge Kalkavan, undergraduate students Berkay Ellek and Yuşa Tarık Demir introduced their own unique initiative “Digital Design Academy” to our audience with all its details. Then, Prof. Bülent Bahri Küçükerdoğan and Res. Asst. Mahmut Ceran comparatively addressed the digital cinema and conventional cinema sectors in their joint presentation titled “Organizational Structure of Digital Cinema and Film Festivals”. Res. Asst. Mahmut Ceran, who continued his speech, introduced examples of desktop movies, a brand new genre, in his research on “Visual Aesthetics in Desktop Movies” together with Res. Asst. Halid Bilal Tanrıkulu.

Towards the end of the session, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem Duğan and PhD student Barış Özkaya made a visual presentation titled “Analysis of the Movie I, Robot within the Context of Artificial Intelligence Ethics Discussions” and shared their consistent and important conclusions and comments with us by sharing various scenes from the movie I, Robot starring Will Smith and making detailed examinations.

Then, Master's Student Mehmet Emin Dereçineli covered the detailed analysis studies on the production Octalysis in his research titled “The Concept and Models of ‘Gamification’ Under the Focus of Current Design and Approaches: The ‘Octalysis Model’”. After this presentation, Prof. Dr. Barış Atiker drew attention to the fact that effects that used to be produced with a lot of effort can now be achieved much more easily by entering a command thanks to artificial intelligence in his presentation titled “Generative Artificial Intelligence as an Innovative Approach in Motion Graphic Design”.

Finally, Lect. İlhami Diksoy turned on his microphone and made his presentation titled “The Use of Illustration as a Visual Communication Language in the Promotion of Tourism Destinations” with his graduate student Dilara Gençağa. Then, Lecturer İlhami Diksoy took his turn again and shared with us his presentation titled “The Art of Digital Dreams: Poster Design of Artificial Intelligence” with another graduate student; Münevver Aslan.

The session themed Digital Transformation, Design, New Media and Journalism was moderated by Prof. Dr. Selami Özsoy. The session began with a presentation by Dr. Nihal Erdoğan Sepetci on “Changing Perception of Reality with the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Content Production”. In her presentation enriched with visual examples, Sepetci revealed the point our perception of reality has reached with artificial intelligence with a psycholytic approach. Immediately afterwards, Dr. Lecturer Selin Çetinkaya was in front of the audience with her research titled “Comparative Analysis of Midjourney and Photoshop Beta Applications of Visuals Produced with Artificial Intelligence”. The session viewers gained very important and up-to-date information about artificial intelligence and its expansions. The session continued with the joint presentations of Dr. Lecturer Nazmi Ekin Vural and Yasin Nazım Kayhan on “Internet Journalism in the Integration Process of Local Media with New Media”. PhD student Dudu Yurt made her presentation titled “Analysis of Postgraduate Theses Published in the Field of Communication within the Scope of Digital Transformation”. Following this topic, Dudu Yurt took the microphone again to present another research and shared her research titled “Disinformation in Digital Media: The İliç Example” with us. Afterwards, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özge Nilay Erbalaban Gürbüz made her presentation titled “Evaluation of the Short Films Sunspring and It’s No Game Made by Artificial Intelligence within the Scope of Intellectual and Artistic Works Property Rights”. Then, Assoc. Prof. Alp Şahin Çiçeklioğlu addressed the subject of “Changing News Consumption Practices and Personalized News Applications: The Bundle Example”. After this presentation, Burak Saçsız was in front of the audience with his research titled “Artificial Intelligence Technology: Changing Digital Transformation with ChatGPT”.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Member Evangelina Parisi addressed the topic of “Artificial Intelligence in the Hotel Sector”. Following this presentation, PhD student Mehmet Özkan Yıldırım shared his presentation titled “A Study on the Reading Practices of Literary Work Producers in the Digital Age: E-Book Versus Book” with us. Finally, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Aytaş and graduate student Beyza Aytaş presented their joint research titled “Artificial Intelligence and Media Manipulation: The Intersection of Deepfake, Disinformation and Midjourney” to the audience.

The theme of the last online session of the last day was New Media, Society, Education, Ethics and Law, moderated by Dr. Lecturer Özgür Başyiğit, Faculty Member of the Faculty of Law of our University. The last session began with a presentation titled “The Place of Social Media in the Penal Mechanism Developed by the Radio and Television Supreme Council for Content Broadcast on Television: The Effect of Content Trending on Twitter and Content That is Never Talked About on Penal Practices” by graduate student Elif Beyza Akkaya. Following this presentation, Lecturer Dr. Dilek Turan Eroğlu shared innovative examples related to the subject with the audience in her research titled “A Study on the Evaluation of the Use of Podcasts (Audio Blogs) in Education in Terms of Effective Education and Communication”. Then, Lecturer Dr. Yusuf Yüksekdağ was with us with his research titled “Indiviual Communication Ethics in Countering Extreme Speech in Digital Spaces”. Following this presentation, which was watched with interest by the audience, Lecturer Dr. Taner Kızılhan addressed the subject of “Moving Beyond Data Literacy: Definition, Components and Functionality of Critical Data Citizenship” in full detail. After Q&A and brief exchanges, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökçen Başaran İnce turned on her microphone and presented her presentation titled “Digitalization of Communication and Transformation of Collective Memory Studies” to the attention of the audience. Immediately afterwards, Arda Umut Saygın presented his detailed research on “A Study on YouTube Channels of Communication Faculties” to the attention of our viewers. Prof. Dr. Nigar Değirmenci, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ferda Esin Gülel and undergraduate student Mine Kılıç addressed similar problems with their joint research titled “Social Anxiety on Social Media: A Study on University Students” and made very innovative and creative suggestions. Then, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sibel Çelik Norman and Dr. Fuat Boğaç Evren analyzed their joint research titled “Society 5.0: Critique of Technological Rationality from the Frankfurt School Perspective” in all the details and aspects. Following this interesting and important presentation, Attorney Dr. Murat Sadak addressed a research that could answer many questions the audience had been wondering about with the title of “Artificial Intelligence within the Scope of Ensuring Legal Security in the Digital Age”. Then, Assist. Member Hakan Cindemir shared his presentation titled “Application of Digital Contracts in Labor Law” with us. Finally, PhD student Sevim Büşra Köse touched upon current informatics issues through the concept of identity in her research titled “Construction or Destruction of Identity in the Information Age”.

After the face-to-face presentations, certificates of appreciation were presented to the participants. Group photos were taken. Reportages were shot for our faculty's YouTube channel. The 1st International Digital Transformation and New Media Symposium seems to have led to the establishment of numerous collaborations and the emergence of joint and innovative studies.

All the academic and administrative staff of our faculty who contributed to the symposium were not forgotten after this difficult period. After the farewell of our participating guests at the end of the symposium, certificates of appreciation were presented to all our academic and administrative staff with a small celebration.

The process for the publication of the Abstract Proceedings Book and Full Text Proceedings Book for BAIBUILEF-IG 2024 is now ongoing. Theme determination studies for BAIBUILEF-IG 2025 have also started in this sense. Hopefully, our faculty will host a brand new, productive, beneficial, and exciting International Symposium in May 2025.