Friday, June 26, 2015

#HashtagsMatter

With the recent Charleston shooting and the legalization of same-sex marriage, activism has been a popular and controversial topic. Social media is used for political campaigns, personal stories, humor, and activists. It is a place where people can show support or disagreement for a certain topic. Hashtags and memes are used as ways for those groups of people to promote their cause. However, it does not always work in a positive way.
People used the memes or hashtag to make fun of the topic at hand, thus discounting the importance of the matter.Stephanie VIe discusses in her analysis, “In defense of “slacktivism,” that people change and edit the original meme that the individuals actually in support of it no longer associate with it because no longer has the important meaning. On the contrary, people will also use the image to mock the group. Because of the ideas behind memes being customizable and having no real owner, everyone has the right to do with it as they please. Unfortunately, this is not beneficial to activism. For instance, the LGBT community has been using the exact same icon since 1995, but people felt the need to edit and change it for new issues and new recognition. While millions and millions of people changed profile pictures to the red and pink icon, the original one was forgotten by some, myself included. Social media activism is powerful, but it is important to not let it get too powerful where people forget the initial meaning.
People all over have this simple icon, which is all started as an icon and was used on social media and online sources to show support for equal rights. Which has easily been one of the most popular social media activists groups in recent time. The impact of social media memes in respect to activism has a tricky balance. People can use it positively or edit the image and easily bash the group it is supporting. Online activism only works when the right people are involved. However, there is no way of managing outsiders. It is anyone’s game on social media.
The other popular use of social media tactics in online activism is hashtags. One that has been popular throughout the time of hashtags has been #blacklivesmatter. Since most activists are protesting and spreading the word to due changes in the political world. Either they want something passed or are angry about something that has passed. Hence, the recent Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriage. That has been a huge controversial topic, as anyone who reads, listens, or sees any type of media. (Or you can just swear off social media for the day!) In Controlling the Message by Victoria Farrar-Myers and Justin Vaughn, the change in political activity due to social media is discussed. Chapter 9 states, “We expect that the social nature of the political activity on SNS [social networking system] is changing the notions of appropriate offline forms of political participation among users” (Farrar-Myers & Vaughn, Ch. 9). By there being popular hashtags and activist groups online, it is giving people in society something to talk about. The issues on social media are spreading into the real world and are getting discussed due to the nature of the spreading online. With over 1 million posts on Instagram with #blacklivesmatter, it is obvious that people have been talking and spreading the importance of the issue. Whether it is online or in person, people are using social media to make advances in issues. It is not able to change the world on it’s own, but it is certainly helping.
Not only is #blacklivesmatter happening on Instagram, but also Twitter and Tumblr. Within an hour, 194 new posts with the hashtag have been tweeted. Many people also use multiple hashtags to support multiple issues or protests at once. For instance,
The user is not only supporting equality and #Lovewins, but also remembering and reminding about the importance of black lives too.
The issue that arises is when certain issues are solved and others are not. People are able to express the frustration of the matter through using all of the hashtags. By using the hashtags for all the issues, it allows everyone to see it involved on any side.
It is clear that this person was offended by the recent addition to the #lovewin so they did not actually use the hashtag, but it goes to show that by using them in social media activism, many different opinions and insights can be seen.
Whether it is about gay marriage, race equality, or an upcoming candidate, social media is able to play a huge role in the impact of activist groups on and offline. It is a powerful tool and it needs to known that it can be a game changer, for the better or worse.

Works Cited:
Farrar-Myers, Victoria A., and Justin S. Vaughn. Controlling the Message: New Media in American
Political Campaigns. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Vie, S. (n.d.). In defense of "slacktivism": The Human Rights Campaign Facebook logo as digital activism | Vie | First Monday. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Say no to the haters!

The internet has all types of people on it. With this comes the good and the bad, as with any type of social interaction. You have bullies, flirts, and overall nice people. Although all of these play important roles in the online realm, let’s focus on the bullies. On the internet, there are many names for bullies. A main one being trolls. Trolls are in simple a cyberbully and most likely a coward that uses the internet as a way to attack people in hurtful ways.
Trolls are everywhere. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yik Yak, and the list goes on. Anywhere there is social interaction between people, trolls will be lurking for their next victim. I believe that the online environment creates the perfect space to cultivate the mindset of trolling, allowing people to take advantage of others and not worry about as many consequences.  
Before tackling trolling, I want to think about how bully in person works. You have two people. One is the bully and one is the innocent victim. The bully hurts their feelings, the victim tells a friend, parent, or teacher, and the bully gets in trouble. Bullies normally prey on people younger than themselves and someone that is already insecure or self-conscious.  There are some cases where bullies have caused people to harm themselves. As it is easy to see, bullies create a lot of unneeded trouble, and that is something we can all agree on. With an understanding of real life bullies, cyberbullying and trolls are not much different.
In the article, “What happened when I confronted my cruellest troll” author Lindy West discusses the intensity and confrontations with an internet troll. Although her story was a very intense and cruel instance of a troll, it shows the severity trolling can reach if not dealt with or eliminated. She says, “Trolling is recreational abuse – usually anonymous – intended to waste the subject’s time or get a rise out of them or frustrate or frighten them into silence.” Sounds a lot like a bully to me! However, in her case, she was not silent. She was one of the brave people who stood up to the troll and the results were quite amazing. He apologized and admitted that he was caught up being jealous that she could be so confident and decided to take it out on her. The story does not stop here though, she decided to talk with him. “I wondered if I could learn anything from him.” continued West, “And then it struck me: why not find out?” (West, 2015). Personally, I think this shows extreme bravery and curiosity for the trolling phenomenon. It poses another question for the internet society, what if we were all able to take a stand and in turn help the bully too? This leads to my next point, maybe bullies are trolling merely for the sake of getting attention.
As it can be seen in the above article as well as ”#Gamergate Trolls Aren't Ethics Crusaders; They're a Hate Group”  by Jennifer Allaway, trolls can be in many different capacities. Sometimes it is just one person, but often times it is a group of people. What Allaway calls a hate group. People gang up for the sole person of insulting or offending others. Allaway says, “After successful indictment, hate group members begin to practice dehumanization, and commit actions without thinking of their victims as human beings” (Allaway, 2014). Hate group members, which are just a large group of trolls, do not see people as human beings. It is just the receiving end of their degrading and insulting ways. Since trollers use the internet, they never have to meet the person face to face and this allows the personal touch to be taken out of the equation. It is easy to forget about the other end when you are not ever faced with it. I truly believe that if trollers (and usually cowards) had to face their victim at some point, the amount of trolling would decrease drastically. If they are not even concerned with the idea of the other person, then that leaves just seeking attention. They like having the attention of dehumanizing people, for whatever reason. As someone who has never been on either end of trolling, I think it is difficult to understand exact why is happens. But, I can say that it is easy to see the want for attention and the possibility of standing up to all the trollers.
Lastly is this: if we were to stand up to the trolls and hate groups, show them a little friendly love, and potentially eliminate their need for negativity, could it actually help? I believe it could. They want attention, so we give it to them. If trolls were stood up to, they would realize they are not getting the satisfaction they want. After all, trolls like making people feel silent. So let’s not be silent. As we saw with West, when she confronted her troll, it not only made her better but it reformed him. As the famous Youtuber, Miranda Sings, says, “Say no to all the haters!”

Works Cited
Allaway, Jennifer. "#Gamergate Trolls Aren't Ethics Crusaders; They're a Hate Group." Jezebel. N.p., 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 June 2015.
West, Lindy. "What Happen When I Confronted My Cruelest Troll." The Guardian. N.p., 2 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 June 2015.

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Seguin and Social Media

Everyone knows that Seguin is not the most updated town in the country, however the companies that are there still use social media. The Seguin market is much smaller than most so the difficulties the small companies are faced with are not what most social media is used to dealing with. While looking around on social media, it was obvious that most Seguin companies do not partake in a lot of social media. I decided to focus on Seguin Brewing Company, which seemed to be an exception to the social media norms. Seguin Brewing Company is active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I think it is important to use all three while promoting via the internet. Although there are many, many more social media outlets, I think using these three cover the important aspects of what might be good advertising. Additionally, Seguin Brewing Company also has a blog on their on website. Often times social media can be used to attract the audience to the website where they can then read the blog as well.
I believe one reason this particular company is successful with social media is because they are young. While it is not clear on how long they have been established, both of the owners are young and most likely have personal experience with social media as well.
First, all three platforms they use can be used for different things, yet can have similar posts. Facebook reaches an older audience on average while Twitter and Instagram can be targeted for younger audiences. According to Guy Kawaski, social media marketing is extremely important as well as managing all of the different sites and possibilities involved.  In the article, "Guy Kawaski's 10 Tips for a Perfect Social Media Post" Kawaski discusses what is needed to have a successful post within social media. While it is hard to perfect all ten tips, some are definitely possible and Seguin Brewing Company is succeeding in regards to them. Some of the tips include, passing a re-share test, being bold, and being brief. He says, "This means your post is so good that your followers like it enough to re-share it with their followers" (Guy Kawaski top 10 tips...). Even though they do not get tons of shares, they do have a decent amount on Facebook and Twitter. The importance of boldness and briefness are other important aspects. In posts like the following, it can be noticed that they company is posting things, which include graphics, that are short and simple.
Heading out tomorrow is a fresh batch of Honey Pecan, the last of this year's Black Rye, Summer Blonde and 9-Pin Kolsch. #nightshift #seguincraftbeer
Posted by Seguin Brewing Company on Monday, June 1, 2015
Also looking at the boldness, Seguin Brewing Company is very conservative with their posts but they do not hesitate to post about their events and beer. They share images of their beers all around the world and where all they travel. A lot of individuals believe that to be bold, one must be in your face about whatever it is. That is not the case, one can be bold but still appropiate and polite about it, and that is what the owners at Seguin Brewing Company do.
The last aspect of Guy Kawaski's is the frequency of posts. Luckily, the brewing company is quite frequent with posts. Although they are not up to multiple posts a day, they do seem to post at least several times a week on all platforms.
So, they are doing well with regards to posting and actually being on social media, but what about their spreadability?
In Chapter 5 of Spreadable Media, the authors discuss about the uncertainty principle and how and what people are likely to share. In comes down to the main idea that people are hard to predict and difficult to figure out. It states,
"We may share songs from our favorite band as a way to define ourselves, to communicate something about who we are and what we like to our friends. We may pass along a news article to a former schoolmate to strengthen our social ties with her, to remind her we remember she she is interested in. We may include a video  lip in a blog post or Twitter update as a means to provide commentary on it, using that clip as inspiration for our own content and as a means to grow or activate a community" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 5).
This might be a little bit extreme for the topic of beer, but I think it is important to realize that no matter what the topic is, people must be interested in it first. For instance, I am not a beer drinker but my friends are and I know that if I share a link that I found while doing research on the company that it could indeed strengthen a connection or grow their knowledge of local breweries as well. Even though Seguin Brewing Company is small, it still matters that what they post is important.
Due to the size of the company, most of the media is also independent. They do have companies that carry their beer, but all of their social media is done by them alone. In Chapter 6 of Spreadable Media they discuss how media can be spread for people to make joyful noise. The idea behind spreading media is to amplify and proliferate the way the media circulates online (Jenkins et al, Ch. 6). Social media has to be spread to be successful and as people circulate and increase the amount it is seen, joyfulness will happen as well. Posts that are shared and created by Seguin Brewing Company will continue to gain interest and recogniziton and with 966 likes on Facebook and several hundred on Twitter and Instagram, I would say they are utilizing social media to their best ability. It might be an anomaly within Seguin, but social media is definitely working in their favor for this one!

Works Cited:
Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
http://www.lynda.com/articles/guy-kawasaki-10-tips-social-media-post
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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Uncommon Media

Comics are a very popular thing. However, it does take a special person to understand a lot of them! Comics can be short with only one picture and caption, or they can be entire books. Of course everyone knows about the Avengers or any other superhero comic, but what about the smaller ones made by individuals or small groups? Although they might be less known, it should not discredit them in the comic realm. Social media allows for ease of independent media however, receiving enough notoriety to become well-known is still difficult for many.
When considering more popular comics such as, The Oatmeal, Hyperbole and a Half, and xkcd, one can notice that all three are quite different. The Oatmeal has a variety of themes and lengths of comics that could appeal to more types of people. Hyperbole and a Half is more nontraditional in the way the comics are written. Almost feeling more like a blog than a comic. Whereas xkcd has much shorter comics with a more hand written feel. Obviously all three of these comics are vastly different, so why are they all successful?
Spreadable Media discusses independent media in chapter 6. "Many commercial media producers will hold onto the old-school business models as long as they can, attempting to ease the transition to a new state of affairs, but grassroots circulation may be the only way forward for many independent artists lacking mainstream distribution" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 6). The reason they have reached a successful status is due to the amount of circulation and popularity they have. All independent comics start at the same level. Most starting with a simple imgur site or blog and promoting it best they can, in hopes of moving past amateur comics. The above mentioned comics have obviously taken themselves above amateur status. However, there a lot of less successful comics that have not.
When on reddit, one can find an enormous amount of comics that have not become successful. Again, all categories. Some funny, some inappropriate, some simple, and some sad. There is a comic for everyone, especially online. Spreadable Media states, "Today, webcomics thrive across many different communities, and people create comics material for very different reasons" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 6). Invisible Bread by Justin Boyd was found on reddit after seeing one his comics posted. While he has all types of comics, I believe this one can most easily represent how many college students feel on a daily basis!
An important key to remember with all online media, is the way people can relate to it. If there a dozen webcomics that are all hard to interpret or read, chances are they are going to be unsuccessful. The online arena gives comic creators the ability to reach all the different communities. 
Another example of a less known webcomic is Rabbitual Offender, who openly admits that the site is about, "A comic about rabbits and dick jokes" (http://rabbitualoffender.tumblr.com/). It takes a special kind of person to want to read about those topics. While it does allow the creator to reach the niche' market, it does not allow for much outreach to other people. By being so specific, it limits the audience to people wanting rabbits and dick jokes. 
Another webcomic is Blue Dinosaur Media, which is simply a comic that has to do with all things related to the blue dinosaur. Again, this comic experiences a pretty slim audience, but it is pretty cute!
As stated earlier, all three of the comics are extremely diverse, yet none of them have much recognition. "Spreadability does not offer a panacea for independent media makers, however." continues the author, "Distribution by a major studio still matters for many independently produced films, for instance, and only a small number are picked each year beyond the film festival circuit" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 6). Even though we are not dealing with films, any type of media can be analyzed through this same type of lens. Many people create webcomics but only a few will actually become successful. Most of the people I know that create comics don't do it for the recognition, they strictly enjoy creating them and sharing with who is willing to read. So while becoming successful is usually important, I'm not sure it truly matters with regards to webcomics. Additionally, many comic creators do not make them to make a profit. If any profit is made, it is made through an online store or merchandise. The author states, "George Rohac Jr. surveyed more than 500 webcomics producers and found that almost all of them now give their comics away for free, while seeking revenue through other means." Most creators also allow fans to share the works freely as long as attribution is given. (Jenkins et al, Ch. 6)
In short, I do not think there is a method as to why some webcomics become successful and some do not. Just like music, film, or any other sort of media, it is dependent on what the audience is wanting at that particular time. Who knows, Invisible Bread could be famous tomorrow! "And, as alternative comics creators work together to provide mutual support, they often shatter the rigid genre classifications that have long constrained commercial publishing" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 6). Webcomics are unpredictable and can change with different audiences, thus breaking any standard protocol to becoming famous. With so many outlets and resources in social media, webcomics are a great example of an ever-changing audience and how independent creators can become successful due to uncommon means. 

Works Cited:
Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
bluedinosaur.net
http://rabbitualoffender.tumblr.com/)
invisiblebread.com


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Saturday, June 13, 2015

University and Student Interaction

Universities are constantly looking for ways to engage students. Whether it is to encourage them through finals or to have the students feel welcome, participation is always wanted. Most universities have multiple Twitter accounts as ways to gain student engagement and participation. Through tweeting, retweeting, and posting pictures, schools like Texas A&M are able to communicate with the students. The only problem is, if the students respond well to it.

In the analysis or student participation and engagement, I looked to Texas A&M for information about how effective it was. TAMU Dining is the Twitter account for the dining services at the University. The account currently has 1,678 followers and is following 2,000 accounts. With the large amount of people seeing their tweets, one would think that the participation would be rather high. However, this was not always the case with the tweets. Many times, the account would request a retweet to gain involvement from the students. For example, the following picture was posted to the account but only had six retweets.

Yes, the account did have some engagement with students, but compared to the amount of followers, I would say it is pretty low. In comparison, when the Texas Lutheran University Dining twitter was examined, there were usually an average of five retweets on most posts. The difference is TLU Dining has 56 followers. As the authors of Spreadable Media discuss:
"In a similar fashion to our spreadability model, Clark describes how such works offer resources to sustain public conversations, how audience members intensity their involvement through acts of curation and circulation, and how spreading the word may help prepare them to take action around the issues being discussed" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 4).
In most circumstances, Twitter accounts related to the University dining does not post controversial topics, usually things to excite the students about coming to school. When the authors discuss taking action, it would be the act of retweeting about a food related event or something they want to share with students on campus. If students are excited about the event themselves, the potential of them sharing it with others is much higher. University Twitters also provide useful information to students, these type of posts do not require as much interaction but it does aid in encouraging students to participate The last thing this particular page posted was humor. Let's face it, what college student doesn't enjoy a bit of humor every once in a while?

TAMU Dining entertains students with posts like the one above. It is another way of encouraging engagement with the students. If the page can relate to the students, the students are more likely to relate to the page.

Another Texas A&M Twitter page is the Texas A&M Bookstore. Similar to the dining Twitter, the bookstore aims to engage students as well. While some methods are the same, some are different. They often use advertisements and local deals going on. Again, they are relating to college students and one way to do that is through discounts and free things!


 Spreadable Media talks about listening and hearing. While it might seem strange to listen and hear social media, it is important for the spreading of the message they are aiming to achieve (Jenkins et al, Ch.4). Companies, or in this case, Twitter accounts to need listen to what they audience is saying. If the account only posts what they want, never listening to the audience, there will be no engagement from them at all. We are a society that is only interested in what we want. In order to gain participation, the different accounts need to give the University students what they ask for.

Lastly, the authors bring up an important point. Participation versus collaboration. Derek Johnson recommends a move are from resistance and toward collaboration. While it might be more morally complex, it will in return create new opportunities and tools (Jenkins et al, Ch. 4). Considering the University Twitter accounts, collaboration might be a game changer for their engagement with students. By allowing the students to collaborate with the page and contribute to the content, it will likely encourage the involvement they are looking for from students. Yes, participation is important, but collaboration allows the students to be one step above just participating. Students that have the capability of collaborating with the dining services or bookstore will feel more inclined to spread the page and media that is being posted.

In conclusion, Universities are student focused (or at least should be) and are interested in harboring the relationship with each and every student. By using certain social media pages, it gives them the privilege of being able to reach many students at once. Spreadable Media gives us the tools to understand what is important in regards to participation and how it can be achieved. Students are technology minded and the schools have to accommodate that in ways to gain student engagement, participation, and collaboration.

Works Cited:
Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
TAMU Bookstore. Twitter, n.d. Web. 13 June 2015.
Texas A&M Bookstore. Twitter, n.d. Web. 13 June 2015.
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Thursday, June 11, 2015

Fandoms Are More Than You Think

In today's society, it is completely acceptable to dress up as a wookie, trekkie, or robot, and attend conventions with many others that are doing the same as you. This is what is known as fandom. People who are regular watchers of popular television shows often become radically involved with the show and often let it overflow into their daily lives. Social media allows for such behavior to be shared and encouraged by others. With Vine and Youtube, fans can create small videos to show their enthusiasm for shows such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or many of the superhero movies. While there are many suspicions as to why this has become the norm, I believe it is easily explained.

Firstly, let's consider BatDad. A popular Vine user that creates short, seven second videos usually involving his children. He makes everyday happenings into short narrations using his best Batman voice. Suddenly, "Don't throw your food on the floor" sounds a lot more interesting! BatDad easily became one of the most popular Vine accounts, while never letting his true identity out. His large fan base could most likely be attributed to the amount of superhero fans as well as users that enjoy comedy and kids. In this case, his fandom of Batman resulted in his putting on a mask and being comedic for the general public, and social media allowed him to do so. He went from spectating Batman to becoming Batman. Henry Jenkins III discusses in his article, Star Trek, Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching the stereotypes associated with fandoms, Star Trek especially. He states, "One becomes a fan not by  being a regular viewer of a particular program but by translating that viewing into some type of cultural activity..." (Jenkins, p. 4). By making a social media account to share one's activity, people like BatDad are becoming fans, thus having the ability to share with others .

Another example of fandom is cosplay, which is simply defined by "dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character" (Urban Dictionary). With conventions like ComicCon, it allows fans to become the character as well. People take ComicCon extremely seriously too. It's not looked at as some childish event to go to, instead people will spend months preparing for it. With 999,783 posts under #comiccon and over 6 million for #cosplay, there a copious amounts of fans in relation to shows, video games, and specific characters. Social media allows these fans to post and share how their costume is coming or which convention they will be at. It is a way for fans to create value in relation to their fandom. The authors of Spreadable Media discuss how sharing and spreading everyday activities will attract new people within social networks. "Each new viewer that these practices draw to the program could, in theory, translate into greater economic value (exchange) for media companies and advertisers" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 3). It becomes a win-win for all parties involved. Fans get to share, shows gain recognition, media companies and advertisers have increased economic value, and new people are converted to the fandom every time it happens. While fandom might seem strange to someone who does not care about movies in an in-depth manner, it is actually quite an amazing community.

Sherlock fans are some of the most die-hard fans around. Whether it's attributed to the attractiveness of Benedict Cumberbatch or the clever wit of the story line, the fans of Sherlock are force to reckoned with. On Tumblr, a popular social media platform, users contribute pictures and GIFs of the characters from the show as well as their predictions as to what might happen in the future. This allows the fans to have creativity in regards to the show, something that social media is great at. Social media is open to everyone's creativity In The Social Media Reader, Henry Jenkins discusses what happens when grassroots creativity meets the media industry. "Like the older folk culture of quilting bees and barn dances," continues Jenkins, "this new vernacular culture encourages broad participation, grassroots creativity, and bartering or gift economy" (Mandiberg, Ch. 15). Although Jenkins is discussing it at a higher caliber, I think the individuals on Tumblr are taking advantage of the movement towards a participatory online society as well.

In relation to fandom, it is easy to see why people would want to be so engulfed in a show or character. There is a large community and many supporters of the numerous fandoms. No matter if it is BatDad, cosplay, Sherlock, or any others, the reasons for being an enthusiastic fan is to join others like you, show creativity in person and online, and being in a participatory community. I know that these are not reasons for everyone to go be part of a fandom, but for many, it is exactly what they need.

Works Cited

Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

 Jenkins III, Henry. "Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing As Textual Poaching." Critical Studies In Mass Communication5.2 (1988): 85-107. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 11 June 2015.

 Mandiberg, Michael. The Social Media Reader. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print.
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Friday, June 5, 2015

Candidates and Compeition

Politics is such a touchy topic around people today. Everyone is concerned with who it might offend, so the solution is to just not talk about it. However, this is not a wise solution. The 2008 election is when social media became increasingly popular within in politics. Since people are notorious for sharing media on the internet, it is time to advertise where you stand with politics. The only way change happens is when voices are heard. The recent announcement of Ted Cruz for President has social media buzzing with opinions, articles, advertisements, and news about the latest with the candidate.
One of the greatest advantages with online advertising is that it does not always require a huge sum of money. Many nonprofits, campaigns, and small business rely on online advertisements to get their message out. In Controlling the Message, the author discusses the impact of online advertising. He explains that three primary objectives were used for the Obama campaign in 2008. The objectives are, building a robust supporter base, mobilizing those supporters to become volunteers and donors, and to persuade undecided members of the electorate (Farrar-Myers et al, Ch. 1). Ted Cruz is doing this on Facebook and other social media platforms for his current campaign

Found on: https://www.facebook.com/tedcruzpage

In this post, he is showing that he is interested in gaining voters and supporters. He is travelling around on a tour visiting states and gaining his supporter base. He advertises his events and visits online in order to do so. Additionally, he advertises his important statements and facts in hopes of persuading people to vote for him.

Found on: https://www.facebook.com/tedcruzpage
While his campaign might not be paying for the Facebook posts, people share and comment, and thus it create a sense of advertisements. Perhaps, it is the best form of campaigning in today’s time. Ted Cruz is definitely taking advantage of social media with thousands of shares on every post and a large following to begin with.

Competitors are something that exists in just about everything that goes on. Whether it is a full-time business, a sports team, or a politician, the competition reigns true. In comparison to Ted Cruz, the Americans Against the Tea Party (AATTP) is the complete opposite. However, with a large fan base, AATTP has to be concerned with how they control the message that is being sent out. “Candidates, political parties, and interest groups,” explains Roberts Klotz, “are advocates who fight to have their message heard” (Farrar-Myers et al, Ch. 4). With a group like AATTP, they are not promoting a specific candidate and can also benefit from the online environment. Groups that are for or against a political party are able to spend unlimited resources and posts delivering the message they want, not what is required by a specific candidate..

Found on: https://www.facebook.com/NoTeaParty
For instance, in the post above, it can be seen that AATTP is able to post a wide array of photos and opinions since it is not candidate specific. Having a group such as AATTP, allows for different types of people and social groups to be interested instead of just people focused on one person.
In relation to both Ted Cruz and AATTP, social media by independent users can sometimes be a hindrance. When independent groups start promoting their own message, campaigns can often be challenged (Farrar-Myers et al, Ch. 3). As with anything, campaigns have a certain image they are attempting to uphold. If individuals are promoting their beliefs alongside the existing campaign, the message will be diluted and perhaps, misunderstood.

In conclusion, politics have a strong correlation with social media, especially Facebook. While it might not be the most popular amongst teenagers, it is still a great resource for updates and events happening within politics.  Whether it is with advertising, competitors, or individuals, Facebook and other social media are imperative for the online presence of political candidates and parties.

Works Cited
           Farrar-Myers, Victoria A., and Justin S. Vaughn. Controlling the Message: New Media in American              Political Campaigns. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Always-On, Good or Bad?

Everyone is on. On their phone, on the computer, on Twitter, on Facebook, the list goes on. If someone was to ask you right now, how many hours do you spend online? Could you answer? So many aspects of life are spent on something electronic. Alarms are now on phones, as well as books. Truly, there is an app for everything! Whether it is checking your Fitbit, updating your status, or reading the most recent news, technology leads to new things that only further the always-on lifestyle.
Danah Boyd in The Social Media Reader relates being always-on to all media. It does not mean you have to be on the internet, just simply being connected to the network means you are “on.” By being connected to the network, it allows anything to reach the user at anytime. Almost all platforms of social media have the ability to reach you at anytime as long as you are on the network. It is all about the approach that one takes in the virtual world. Yes, having specific tools to assist you will help, but the approach taken to use the tools is what separates the always-on lifestyle to those who are not. (Mandiberg, Ch. 6). However, having an always-on lifestyle is not a negative aspect, Technology opens doors for people. Doors that lead to new innovations, new collaborations, and new possibilities. With so many opportunities to absorb technology, people are left concerned they are missing other equally important things.
The fear of missing out, a fear most people have. Actually, so many people have it, there is a popular hashtag for it! #FOMO has many posts about products, advertising the hottest new things to have. By posting products and must-haves to Instagram, people are able to reach the group that finds it important. Boyd offers that technology gives posters the ability to post something for the people who find it relevant (Mandiberg, Ch. 6). When companies post a photo on Instagram, it allows people who are interested or follow that company to instantly see what they are advertising. Thus, it allows all of the always-on individuals to see it at the touch of their fingertips.
With all this talk of being always-on, there is also a concern with the way society is leaning. Everything in life needs a balance, and if we’re always on technology, when will we enjoy what is actually going on in life? While it does lead to new possibilities, we need not to forget that picking up an old-fashioned book or newspaper is still good for the soul.
The authors of Spreadable Media discuss many aspects of the changes as people continue to gravitate to spending more time in the virtual world, a term they call spreadability. Not spreadable as in what you do to your peanut butter on toast, but that media can continue to be spread by multiple people and expand the horizons of the always emerging media world. Having spreadable media allows the users to have open-ended participations. While it might be hard to track, it allows the participants to customize it for exactly their community. For instance, Snoop Dogg has 5 million followers, which he has shared 17 thousand pictures with. As his fan base comments tagging other people in it, that media is spreading. Like a wildfire in fact! Every time it is shared with someone else, a new dimension is added. A new comment, an opinion based off of the photo, or a question. All of which are ways of spreading the media.
Always being on the media and spreading it is inevitable. In fact, it should not be avoided in today’s day and time. Although, as with anything a balance is a must. So, next time you are spreading the media, don’t forget, it is important to smell the flowers, not just post them!

Works Cited
Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Mandiberg, Michael. The Social Media Reader. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print.


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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

The Twitterverse

Today, social media is infiltrated with personal opinions and within seconds, these can change. As soon as you finish looking at tweets from the last two minutes, there are hundreds of new tweets at the blink of an eye. People are no longer sitting around for hours watching television, but instead are using those hours to write their own media and find out news first hand, rather than relying strictly on television and other large media to inform them of the latest happenings and breaking news. Thus, it creates a large social surplus. Without spending as much time consuming television, it gives people more time to produce and share media.
When “fitness” was searched on Twitter, the first 30-40 tweets were within the last two minutes. When letting the page sit without being refreshed, there were 440 new tweets about fitness. Not only are there people tweeting about fitness, they are also retweeting. The “Twitterverse” allows people in the twenty-first century to do exactly what they want; consume, produce, and share. The Social Media Reader discusses important aspects of a surplus in society. “Now, the interesting thing about this kind of surplus is,” continues Clay Shirky, “that society doesn’t know what to do with it at first – hence the gin, hence the sitcoms” (Mandiberg, Ch. 16). Society gets stuck in ruts and often times has difficulty changing old habits. After all, if people were able to handle the emergence of new social institutions, would there be a surplus of existing ones? Probably not. While television might be in a surplus, Twitter is definitely not. Now having not been refreshed in roughly ten minutes, there are over a thousand new fitness tweets. It is evident that Twitter is most definitely not in a surplus. It is being used every second of the day with people adding opinions, sharing thoughts, and debating actively.
Felix Stalder discusses the issues and cooperation and conflicts in “The Social Media Reader.” Many people on social media agree to disagree. So many opinions pop up even under one topic. No matter the topic or people involved, there is always a sort of disagreement throughout a discussion.  Stalder states, “Because of the underlying assumption that communication leads to cooperation, current discourse is virtually silent on such issues” (Mandiberg, Ch. 17). Communication does not always lead to cooperation, often times it has the opposite effect. Tweets such as the following are examples.

Driving is already a sensitive subject, especially between genders. Many males think females cannot park, back-up, or drive in general. When tweets are posted in reference to bad driving skills or criticizing other drivers, conflict is going to occur. No one can be positive that communication will result in cooperation. To many online users are guilty of taking posts too personal and starting an argument.
While personal cooperation is important, many do not understand the ramifications a post could have in regards to laws and politics. People often post tweets explaining something that could easily break a law. As seen in this tweet:


If the right person was to see this, it could easily backfire on the person who tweeted it. However, with the constantly changing tweets and live feeds, it would be almost impossible for it to be seen.
Conflicts arise in many ways via social media. Stalder explains, “It is not just that the modes of cooperation contain elements of hostility: the results of cooperation can fuel conflict” (Mandiberg, Ch. 17). Social relationships tend to include conflict, thus social media has no way of avoiding it either. When open source media is used, cooperation and conflict will be reactions to one another. Twitter allows free speech, and people are going to take advantage of it, no matter the social surplus, cooperation, or conflict it entails.

Works Cited

Mandiberg, Michael. The Social Media Reader. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print.
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Monday, June 1, 2015

Flaws in Wikipedia

Wikipedia has been a helpful resource for many years. Most individuals rely on it to provide helpful and accessible information in all situations. Because of this, Wikipedia has a large user base and an even larger image to uphold. Users are entitled to edit any of the information on the Wikipedia site. As humans, we are prone to twist stories to fit our motives. Can a site really be trusted when humans are in charge? As stated in The Social Media Reader by Michael Mandiberg, the people are no longer just the audience. The average person is no longer just listening to the Big Media. The "Active Audience" is interested in being engaged in current happenings and are willing to do whatever it takes to be heard. (Mandiberg, 13-15). Wade Frazier perfectly exemplifies this phenomenon in his article "The Biases of Wikipedia - A Case History." As he has done extensive research on genocides throughout history, he added information to the Wikipedia site. Frazier was being part of the active audience, wanting to add his knowledge of genocides to Wikipedia. “In late 2007, I read a Wikipedia article that referred to a list of massacres.  I studied that subject matter for many years, and was immediately stuck by the list’s overwhelming bias” stated Frazier. However, his dismay was great when he realized that Wikipedia quickly fell back to their bias, even after posting a more thorough list of massacres. (Frazier). Open source media has grown quickly in recent years, especially in regards to Wikipedia. “The “open source” way of doing this is all the rage” states Siva Vaidhyanathan in The Social Media Reader. Even through publications like The Economist has dubbed it successful, does not mean is it is flawless. While it has been used widely in regards to history and events, it has been questioned in the applicability to research and other more extensive discoveries. (Mandiberg, 24). Open source is allowing the past to be altered, whether good or bad. As explained by Jacqueline Maley in “Wikipedia ‘edit-a-thon’ writes females into history’, females are underrepresented in certain aspects of history. Maley said, “The scarcity of information in this area is reflective of a wider gender bias for which Wikipedia has long been criticised, says Diana Smith, a female artist and member of the Brown Council, a women's art collective.” Individuals are able to close the gap between genders and other controversies due to open source. If used correctly and to its advantage, open source could be a game changer for the future of online information. Although, with this comes more challenges. As many things have been copyrighted, open source alters the effect of original material. “Copyright is a limited monopoly, granted by the state, meant to foster creativity by generating a system of presumed incentives.” says Vaidhyanathan.  As Maley and Frazier both discussed, Wikipedia gives rights to individuals to change and add creativity. It is simply a bundle of rights given to the copyright holder, not a single right given to the author (Mandiberg, 29). If all individuals used this right for the common good, Wikipedia would be full of insightful, accurate, and thought-provoking information. However, as long as people continue to have a bias and only add what is important to them, Wikipedia and all open source media will continue to be untrusted and useless for any credible research.

Works Cited
Frazier, Wade. "The Biases of Wikipedia - A Case History." The Biases of Wikipedia - A Case History. N.p., 24 Feb. 2008. Web. 01 June 2015.
Maley, Jacqueline. "Wikipedia 'edit-a-thon' Writes Female Artists into History." Daily Life. 2015 Fairfax Media, 26 Oct. 2014. Web. 01 June 2015.
Mandiberg, Michael. The Social Media Reader. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print.
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