Chelsea Chisholm-Comm 4330

Monday, April 29, 2013

Zing of Authenticity

After listening to the podcast of Brooke Gladstone interview Alex Goldman from On The Media I was a little confused about she meant with her comment about the "zing of authenticity." I probably listened to the podcast at least fifteen times trying to really understand what she was talking about. Then I noticed the general overall theme of what this whole interview was about and then the "zing of authenticity" kind of clicked for me.

With how social media is today we have access to all sorts of information with the click of a button or just the tapping of our finger. I think it is great how fast information can be relayed back and forth from people who are all over the world or all over the country. But with this power also comes the power of deception and the task of reporting the truth. A point which came up in the podcast is how social media was a great tool in letting people know what was going on. At the same time wrongful information that was being spread across the social media world was also affecting what was happening in the real life situation. This is where some of the frustration comes in when talking about social media and the news. "As people on social media, including journalists, sometimes conveyed wrong information last week, it was challenging to know what (sources) to trust," Dave Kerpen, CEO of the social media marketing firm Likeable Media. This is something I found very frustrating as well. I noticed when they were in the midst of looking for the second bomber CNN was reporting they had found him and were trying to capture him. While a local news station had reported a couple of days earlier both of the bombers had been caught. Yes social media can make our lives easier and being up to date with the information. At the same time it is hard to know if their sources are reliable and if their sources are providing them with the upmost current and reliable information.

The next part I found very interesting was how fast people found out through social media these events were going on. People in the twitter and facebook world had reported this information first, from people who were in Boston. "On Monday, information about the blasts spread more quickly on social media than through traditional news outlets." I found this very interesting, people when first hearing about something big from a news source usually ask someone else if they have heard about it. Almost to clarify or to double check their sources, but instead of people going and finding someone to ask they turn to social media. If something big is happening then it is on social media. This is the clarification they are looking for. They trust what is happening in the social media realm more than anything. Apparently so do the authorities as well because they were reading false tweets from a so called person pretending to be the boston marathon bomber. This false information affected the real world. Which leads me into my next point about the "zing of authenticity."

The last part I want to look at is the fraud that is going along with these high case social media floods. All of this information is pouring out and you alone are in charge of what information you take to heart and see it's real or you don't and see the falsity behind it. The FBI is warning people they can be charged for fraud for doing these wrong postings. For instances, "the FBI is aware that an account on a popular social media service using the Boston Marathon name and official logo was created soon after the explosions." They are talking about an account on twitter which was created representing the Boston Marathon organization. This twitter feed said that for every communication or repost of a certain tweet they would donate $1 to help the victims of this tragedy. The account was quickly suspended by Twitter. Although this is just one example a lot of harm could have been done by this account.

I feel

Money Can't Buy You Love: Response

Reading over Corey and Potters remarks I sit here and think to myself how I wish I could be witty and as good with words as they are. But I have to agree with them. Happy and utility for me go hand in hand. I love my iPad because of what it can do for me. I love that it makes my life easier. Being able to have access to my email, calendar, homework, to do list all the time makes me happy. So I would have to say they go together being able to use something and making it work makes me happy. But as soon as that fails me or time after time trying to get it to work the right way for me I am done with it. The apps the I use day in and out are the ones that make me happy.

New Media and PR: Response

Social Media is quickly if not already the biggest and newest area of marketing. The other night I was talking to my friends dad who is about to open up a new mechanic shop. He knows that I am graduating with my mass communication major and wanted to talk to me about social media and his marketing strategies.

I told him the benefits of having a Facebook page, a twitter account and then he was also interested in a blog as well. Talking over with him he was telling me what his marketing guy had explained to him so far. With him trying to market to a younger demographic then usual for a mechanic shop he knows that these types of marketing tools can be the most effective. I also was sure to explain to him how he might not realize it but managing all of those accounts can be a full time job in itself. He also mentioned pinterest and instagram for his shop.

I was surprised at the information he knew about all of these new social media tools. The more I talked to him about all the benefits the more he realized the many different options he had and benefits he would be gaining by having these social media tools. I think that if you are using them correctly then it is an ok way to do public relations. I think that to often people get to comfortable with twitter and facebook and post their life stories on it and just complain all the time. Which is one of the reasons I rarely get on facebook now.

I think that as long as a company sets out to do what they need to do to keep their brand name out there and in the minds of the consumers then it is ok to do this kind of marketing. When they act like teenagers and put ridiculous posts then I believe they have gotten to far into the social media trap.

The Boston Marathon and Social Media: Response

The Boston Marathon bombing was a tragedy and lives were lost and many people were injured. I don't think that any certain amount of people killed outweighs the significance of another mass murder. It really is amazing how fast word travels with social media today. We knew about the bombings in Boston moments after they happened via Twitter. I think social media is a great tool but some people miss use it. Some people believe that a lot of these bombers are doing it for the attention that they receive after these mass murders happen. They are highly publicized and receive a lot of attention many weeks after they happen.

I am not saying these events shouldn't be publicized. I feel it is important for the American people to stay aware of what is going on. But to what extent should they be talked about? I don't like looking at the news anymore because of how awful everything is. I feel that there is nothing happy reported on anymore. A classmate did an interesting study on if media has a negative bias to it and after her research it does. On a good day three of a papers top ten headlines will be something other than a negative.

I read a quote on the boston marathon tragedy that i really liked by Patton Oswalt, "The good outnumber you, and we always will." I really like this because it is true no matter how many bad people there are it won't even come close to the people that are in this world. To ready his full quote you can find it here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patton-oswalt/patton-oswalt_b_3088337.html

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

48 hours.... Almost

Before you start reading this it reads like a journal entry so if you want to skip to the bottom and I give my main points from my media fast.

Ok this past weekend I decided to do my 48 hours of no iPad, smart phone, Macbook or Apple TV. I thought this weekend would be perfect to do it because my fiance and I were headed up to Salt Lake City to be with family. This way I wouldn't have to worry about figuring out when was good to come over, getting in touch with him or my family. But then plans changed he got sick and we no longer decided to go up to SLC. I wanted to get this 48 hours over with so I decided to keep with it. My plan was to start at 5 pm on Friday and end Sunday at 5 pm. So right before, I told my parents that if they needed to get in touch with me to call Blake. Which in the beginning Blake had little faith that I could go without my phone or iPad because my life is with them. He knows how much I like Instagram, candy crush and my icalendar. Before 5 o'clock hit I had an all out media binge where I just played as much candy crush as it would let me and looked all over Pinterest and Instagram before I said good bye to them. Looking back it is kind of sad that I would miss them that much which made me feel inclined I had to get my fix before starting.

Friday Night: Friday turned out to not be so bad. I kept my phone off and left it in my car. I noticed that I had no clue on what time it was. This proved to be one of the most difficult parts because my phone is my alarm in the mornings. Blakes family was in town so we mostly played games and hot tubbed that night making it pretty easy for me to not have my phone and think about it. I noticed I missed my phone during the down moments of in between games or going places.

Saturday: I woke up on my own fairly early which was good. We kept ourselves busy that day with going out to lunch, going to the arts festival, making chocolate dipped marshmallow eggs with his family and then going out and having a bonfire that night. So most the day I didn't notice no phone until I wanted to take pictures or use my phone for a flashlight or to call my friends to invite them. It made me realize all the different tasks I use my phone for. When I got home that night Blake gave me permission to use my phone to call him to make sure I was home alright. Well I didn't stop there... For about an hour I played candy crush and pinterest. Then I felt guilty and stopped.

Sunday: Sunday was a busy day filled with breakfast with Blakes family, church to watch my roommates speak, then a nap followed by Easter dinner with family. I ended up going until 7 pm that night because I felt bad for cheating the night before. Once I got my phone back Blake kept telling me to get off it.

I know this reads like a journal but the main points are:

1. I kept myself busy
2. I realized how many different tasks I use my phone for
3. I cheated
4. I went 48 hours-1 hour (cheating) + 2 extra hours
5. I love technology and how accessible and easy it makes my life.
6. I love always being able to have a camera with me.
7. The fast was good for me