Our Lives in the Hands of the Internet.

    Gosh. Social Media. I have been studying it more and really getting into ALL the different types of social media for a good 4-5 months now...and i STILL have not even come close to be notified of a majority of them. Social media is a completely different world, and reality and people are starting to realize that it is now a new way of living. No, it WILL be the way of living. So where does it go from here? Can we REALLY come up with a newer and better phone while we have already invented a phone smarter that most beings?  Can we come up with new ways to educate ourselves, make a career, keep in touch with others? The truth is...yes we can and we most likely with quite rapidly to say. Social Media, in my mind, is kind of like the ocean. Huge, never-ending, a little unsafe, and the biggest comparison would be there is something new to discover about them every.single.day. 
    With something to up and coming who wouldn't want to be a part of that? Who wouldn't want to shop, do you homework, find an answer to absolutely ANYTHING with the tap of a finger? The internet is the whole world at the tip of our fingers, and we need to take advantage of it. The internet was not always accessible not to long ago a matter of fact and now I could not even imagine a world without my iPhone. 
    To stay on top of social media one has to be smart and involved. Like anything it takes a lot of practicing to be tech savvy but it is so worth it. Stay on top of the peaks and pits of the Web and like life itself being able to take on the world takes skill, and survival of our surroundings. And the Internet has us wrapped up in the power of the web, we must not be foolish and let it take over and most importantly we must control it. 

Being Lost in Technology

    My blog has been about me exploring just how much social media, it present in all of our lives today, especially my generation. The iGeneration's world seems to revolve around the Internet, for example is it sad that I don't know at least ONE friend that does not go on some sort of social media site every single day? I know for sure I am guilty, if I spend as much time on my homework as I did Facebook, I would have been already graduated with a Masters Degree by now, like I said sad. I know I'm not proud of it but unfortunately it's true as it is for most of my age group. But what about the people who ARE NOT tech savvy? My thought on such a person would be to consider them with social problems of some sort, but is that the case? Is not being integrated with the addictive poison of the internet make a person less intergrated with the world? I say yes, but I would like to hear other opinions! 
     The lack of access or interests in social media tools can really cause a person to not be up to date in the world. Not just Facebook or Twiiter, because yes even I could agree that a person could I GUESS live without either, even though its a concept I could see myself grasping, ever. But the daily news, just the way of working new technology is important in not falling behind. A good example of this is look at a majority of grandparents today. Mine never know what in the world is going for the most part. Although i rant about how being one with technology and being persistent with it is essential for great success it is not the only way, people are going to success with their brain with or without technology, but for the majority, learning the basics around the WEB couldn't hurt. 

Social Media and Eduction...Yeah, What?

     When I personally think about education and social media I put them in completely different categories, but when really thinking about it, they are collaborating and it now seems like social media plays a huge role in education. Who would have thought to see the day, right? It almost seems that educators were smart when collaborating the two, for the people getting educated (mostly college aged peoples) are absolutely ADDICTED to the World Wide Web, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest you name it people spend nearly 5 hours, FIVE HOURS, minimum on these sites PER DAY. So what else to do than make it so they see educational articles or since everyone is already 24/7 connected to the Internet, why not teach by having them watching videos? I can tell you first hand, just the fact of being able to watch a lecture (that is not completely boring) in the comfort of my bedroom sounds way more appealing to me that going and sitting in and hour and a half lecture, and to be honest I will be more likely to pay more attention.

     It's really convenient for teachers to send homework assignments via Internet for the iGeneration anyway. Like I have strongly approached in my blog posts, the Internet is a huge part of communicating modernly and just collaborating education makes that fact alone even more real. It's not only our present but communicating in all aspects, whether it be socially, academically, shopping, or anything else you could possibly think of, it is our future. The world is changing, and people are becoming smarter in making their point, in educating, more accessible to it's audience. 

Social Media and Business' Yay or Nay?

   After reading a weekly module my social media class had given I really thought about the articles and videos provided. I thought about just how many of my favorite company's I have "LIKED" on Facebook, or followed on Twitter. I realized I had many and also the impact they have on how much I really like them. For example Dutch Brothers, a local and very popular drive thru coffee shop (In Redding and Chico, if you're in the are I strongly advise you to CHECK THEM OUT THEY'RE AMAZING, get the chai tea latte...yum) and I have "LIKED" their page which almost DAILY gives out special offers for drinks half off, or other great amazing deals. Because of their page and offers I find myself going much more often than usual. The other companies I am really fond of also give out deals and little quotes of the day that I personally find amazing and actually make me like the company more.

      Without social media company's have to rely on magazine ads or commercials to get their specials out, but they cannot make a new commercial everyday....therefore social media is a great way, that I have found myself, to interact with their costumers on a daily basis. Even posting an update about something not having to do with that particular company and about something going on in the world is something that I find smart. I think that the more a company interacts with their buyers, the more buying they're going to receive. It's very positive when one of my favorite company's posts, "Have a great day Target people!" and honestly makes me have a positive attitude towards a company that can take the time to care about their customers. It's an extremely simple, easy, and effective way of marketing. 

Politics and Social Media...too add more stress on everyones plate...

Politics: Have you become more engaged in politics due to exposure to social media? How do social media sites effectively (or ineffectively) communicate with potential voters? Does the design of social media political marketing differ from traditional media marketing? What makes an effective social media campaign?  


   Being in College, I am frequently introduced by politics for education being one of the most HIGHLY controversial issues that there is. So therefore, I have become much more involved with politics than ever before, not to say I am going to jump on my political party's bandwagon, but I have become a lot more aware of what is going on in this country...well as much as us citizens are allowed to know that is. 
   A big reason, well more like the only reason, I have become more politically educated because of my school, and   mainly because of social media. All the videos and articles that are posted from my fellow followers and friends are what get my attention, for like most people my age, I am not the "watch the news every night at 5" kind of young adult. So social media is where I get my information. People are not connected to the news updates as they are with Facebook and Twitter (unless they have the NY Time New News app like me:p). Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+ and ALL the other social media sites are the new age way of showing the citizens what a politician is doing, and the only way they can comment their opinions within seconds of being posted. One YouTube video (example: KONY2012) can become a HIT over night if it sends a strong enough message. 
   Triggering your viewers and followers through media differs from the traditional way of marketing for a lot of people just don't have the time for the traditional way, of course some people do but speaking from my perspective and I am embarrassed to say, I'm not going to flip on the news or pick up a newspaper before I log onto Facebook, sorry world but this is how a majority of the world is. Triggering to the population of your campaign is most effective by doing it in a way the new age is familiar with, technology. This is a new world with different people, and it's time to move from the past and take charge of OUR future how WE are going to be effected by it. Looks like the "traditional" way of approaching politics is slowly dying out. 

The Not-So-Pretty aspects of Activism through the Media

Especially in recent times you really see the power of social media being taking advantage of for the use of good, well mostly. People are smart enough to know that in this generation how you reach people to hear your voice isn’t through commercials, ads in the paper and definitely now by passing out pamphlets. A recent example of activism through the media was KONY 2012, a recent attempt at mass activism that I am sure we are all aware with now. For me, when I had watched the video my heart sank and I immediately wanted to “jump on the bandwagon and help” JUST by watching that video, and by the results of it many people were in the same boat I was. Unfortunately things like this are hard to justify the good power of it. Are ALL donations given to the cause? Are they telling us the REAL and COMPLETE story? Those questions can only be found by researching the cause, which in reality most people will not take the time and do. This is why many things like KONY2012 really cause hoopla just for a moment…then eventually begin to fade. Just look at all the controversies about the KONY 2012 campaign that are leaking out into the public, people are questioning the cause, the creator had to be hospitalized for being detained, and the people in Uganda didn’t agree with the video, the very people whom they were trying to reach.

         Although there is much controversies in many activism through the media, it is important. With anything, when an attempt to do good by the mass public becomes astray, there will be people trying to nit-pick every last detail, but I truly believe that by activating through mass media is the only way to get your voice heard. Make it interesting and make it LOUD. People will listen. 

Journal 4. Crowdsourcing? KONY2012

     When reading some articles and watching some videos about crowdsourcing it really had me thinking about all the benefits it has to people who have been majorly tackled by our nations poor economy. As crowdsourcing is on the rise, it is a great opportunity for individuals struggling to get their feet back on the ground, if internet issues is their game. I often mention in my blog many different sources of crowdsourcing before i even had a grasp on what crowdsourcing even was. Sites such as Wikipedea, Facebook, and I recently just learned about iStockphoto which I had researched a little more. I have a friend who is this amazing photographer who really uses a variety of different social media sites to get his work known by the public, (check him out he's GREAT taylormccutchan.com) and since iStockphoto was a photograph site i asked him about it. He said something that really made me think. He said it's not much of a sharing site, but a way to make a living. It was difficult for me to fathom that someone could make a LIVING off of one of these sites. 
      Although making a living off of something of the internet seems just dandy, doing that is extremely difficult. Getting your photos, blogs, or sites noticed by the mass media is HARD, you're collection has to be pretty impressive for it to impact people enough to share your work. If you were to truly believe that your work was worth sharing to the world, I feel like you should stop at nothing. People are connected to the internet...so why not share your work through every possible social media site? If it's good, you will be noticed.
     Another thing I would like my readers to take ahold of is KONY2012. This is the PERFECT example of using crowdsourcing as a way to GET YOUR VOICE HEARD. The men and women who put this together are examples of people using the popular demand of social media to get a very important message across to America. Take a look, your thoughts on how powerful social media will change. 

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/videos