Monthly Archives: April 2023

Final blog

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing to do. It can be an emotional and difficult experience, whether you’re saying goodbye to a friend, a family member, a place, or a phase of your life. But as much as we might want to avoid it, saying goodbye is an inevitable part of life. In fact, it’s often necessary for us to grow, change, and move forward.

One thing that can make saying goodbye easier is to focus on the positive memories and experiences that you’ve had with the person, place, or thing that you’re saying goodbye to. Remembering the good times can help to ease the pain of the goodbye and leave you with a sense of gratitude for what you’ve had.

Another thing that can help is to take the time to say a proper goodbye. Whether that means having a heartfelt conversation, writing a letter, or simply taking a moment to reflect and say goodbye in your own way, it’s important to acknowledge the significance of what you’re leaving behind.

Of course, saying goodbye can also be an opportunity for growth and new beginnings. Sometimes, saying goodbye to one thing means saying hello to something else that’s even better. By embracing change and the unknown, you can open yourself up to new experiences, new relationships, and new opportunities.

In the end, saying goodbye is a natural part of life. It’s a reminder that nothing is permanent and that everything is always changing. But while saying goodbye may be difficult, it’s also a chance to reflect, to grow, and to move forward. So embrace it, appreciate it, and say goodbye with grace and gratitude.

Process Post Week 10

My Google Analytics has shown me that my audience has yet to take off and that people are more interested in my homework post than my content posts. Google Analytics has shown me that no one is interested in my lucid dream blog content and that my main traffic is from my short essay. I was pleasantly surprised that I had eight recurring visitors but my Google Analytics shows that they didn’t hang around long. According to my Google Analytics, I need to up my marketing plan to get more of an audience. The marketing plan I talked about in my last Process Post for week 9 would fix most of the problems with my audience retention and my redesign plans would also help people be less confused with my site.

After reading the required readings for this week I found a solution to many of the problems I have can be solved using SEO. In the article 15 Reasons Why Your Business Needs SEO the author Sam Hollingsworth, says “SEO Builds Trust & Credibility,… is the Best Way to Understand the Voice of the Consumer,… Means a Better User Experience,… [and] Local SEO Means Increased Engagement, Traffic & Conversions.” All of these things are the things my website needs help with. If all of this is true my updated marketing plan will include learning SEO. I will probably not update my website any time soon as I now need to learn some new software and will make a big update later. By the time I update my website, there will be no more confusion about what my website content is and the right audience will be directed to my website because of this. Look forward to the update and I’ll see you later.

Supernatural Hotel from Another Dimension

This dream played out like a movie with my perspective from behind the fourth wall. I believe this is because of all the supernatural manga I have read and the horror movie I have watched called The Shining being the main memories this dream takes from.

It started with my little sister going on a mission In an abounded building that had supernatural anomalies directed in it.

After my sister had gone I found out that this other organization was planning to ambush her so I decided to go after her right away. As I was leaving I messaged the rest of our family about what was going on.

When I got to the site I found out the supernatural anomaly was a portal to a different dimension. In the dimension, it looked as though it was always night when you were outside and there were huge piles of snow and cedar trees all around.

After exploring the dimension a little I started hearing noise from behind me and assumed it was the people going for the ambush. I burrowed a tunnel through the snow and waited for them to show themselves. It turned out to be this large dark shadowy figure that walked on four legs that were long and skinny.

I just held my breath as it walked over me and started in awe of its size. When it was gone and I couldn’t hear anything around me anymore I kept moving to find my sister.

I was extra cautious as I was walking and heard noises again and burrowed, this time the noise came from in front and behind. it was the ambush but at this point, they were only two of them. They must have gotten lost in this dimension and picked off one at a time which prompted them to attack anyone they saw or heard.

I was a little taken aback by how desperately they were attacking me as they started destroying my tunnel from either end. As I was contemplating what movie to make next the giant dark shadow from before came running through and kicked them both far away.

I only noticed this after I finished burrowing out of the snow from the top and pointed my Riffel at the dark shadow. The dark shadow turned out to be a giant moose.

As I confirmed that the moose would not attack me I continued to find my sister when I found an abandoned building.

The abandoned building had to be the cause of the supernatural anomaly and so I entered cautiously. As I looked around the building I found it was a fully functioning hotel. And unlike the outside, you could tell if it was day or night. I found my sister and the rest of my family there.

My family saw me and almost like they were incanted decided to stay for three nights. My little sister on the other hand was adamant about leaving as soon as we could.

My little sister had stayed a night there before and barely survived. My little sister explained to me that you could not leave the hotel at night and night spirits will attempt to steal your body. She also mentioned that if you stayed for three nights you became one of the spirits. She said the spirits were normal guests in the morning and that if you try to leave in the morning the guest will attack you.

I asked how she knew all this if she only stayed one night when she said that the portal takes you here at different times and our family had gotten here first. She said that our family had already stayed here for three days and become mindless spirits.

I then said we need to find a way to save them and decided to stay one night. As I looked around the hotel I saw old pictures of all the guests in the past and a sign that said the slogan of the hotel. The pictures had my family in them. I don’t remember what the name of the hotel was but the slogan was something along the lines of a stay so grand you’ll never want to leave. I also found a list of guest check-ins and saw that there were no check-outs. I also noticed how all my family’s names except for mine and my little sister’s names were not on the list of check-ins however there was a faint line starting to appear in the book.

As I was a person who frequently encountered supernatural anomalies I deduced that this hotel traps its prey by making you forget how many days you spent here and that my little sister had already stayed for two nights. It was an evening at this point and she needed to leave. I took pictures of my family and the check-in book with me. I found my little sister just as it was turning night and all the guests were going to their rooms. I grabbed her hand and ran out of there.

As we left the hotel the scenery changed, we had made it out of the portal and our family had turned back as well.

I then woke up. This was the first time I had a natural end to my dream.

Process Post Week 9

I do not have a marketing plan as I only planned to do this website as a hobby and for school. The only active marketing for my website was telling my friends and family about it. I also made a logo that I thought was cute and put it on my private Instagram. As I did not plan on a lot of traffic on my website monetization did not even cross my mind. If I were to make a marketing plan I would probably post a few of my dream blog posts on Reddit and post my mini assignments on a public Instagram. I would have also made art to go with my post and post those on Instagram as well. The last thing I would have done is fixed my home page to make more sense and not be as hectic. If I had gone with this plan I would have considered monetizing my website with gaming ads and sleep products. This is all theoretical as monetizing my website seems like too much of a bother for a hobby.

In the transcript of a podcast by George Philip, Jennifer Anne Lazo, Rooham Jamali, and Rudy Al Jaroodi they talk about an experiment they ran to see how just about everything leaves a digital footprint nowadays. The narrator at one point during this podcast had stated, “The findings from our interviews made us realize that a lot of people mentioned Facebook or Google Maps as a form of Digital Trail they were creating. But most, like Amanda, were pretty unaware of the extent of their Digital Trails extending to their daily use of contactless cards and the majority of applications on their phones.” I found myself in this sentence as I also had no idea just how far my digital breadcrumbs reached. Before reading this transcript I would have said my digital footprint would just be my YouTube and school work, however, now I would say my digital footprint is all over the place. If my bus card, debit card, and two credit cards are part of my digital footprint as well as my Google Maps searches one could probably map out my entire university life. This podcast opened my eyes to how much of my life is on the internet. I would say I am a private person and have not personally put myself out on the internet so this realization really shook me, as I am really careful when it comes to my information on the internet. For example, I have yet to like or comment on any videos on YouTube because my name is connected to my YouTube and I have never posted a picture of myself on a non-private Instagram account. This podcast made me realize I shouldn’t be so scared of the internet as I aready have a large digital persona.

Reference:

Philip. G, Anne Lazo. J, Jamali. R, and Al Jaroodi. R. (2016). Digital breadcrumbs: the data trail we leave behind us. Published by podacademy.org, http://podacademy.org/podcasts/digital-breadcrumbs-our-data-trail/.

Mini Assignment #5: Media Usage

I spend up to 9 hours on my phone each day

The Social Media platforms I use most are YouTube, Spotify, and Discord. Another nonsocial media that I use a lot is a website called Mangakakalot.com.

I use YouTube every day for up to 6 hours, I like to have a Vod up in the background on YouTube while working on homework and chores. I also watch videos in my spare time. YouTube is my main content platform

I use Spotify 4 times a week for up to 2 hours each time. If I don’t have a Vod up on YouTube while doing homework and chores I’m listening to music. I also Like to listen to Spotify when I am heading to and from places when there is no wifi.

I only use Discord for school and therefore, only use it once a week for five minutes.

I use Mangakaka.com sporadically throughout the week for up to 4 hours a day. Mangakakalot.com is a Manga translator website with thousands of manga on it.

Mini Assignment #3: My Cat

Mini Assignment #2: Tommyinnit

GAAHHHHH WHAT I’M I SUPPOST TO WRITE.

Hey Guys! Today I wrote a guest post imboding my favorite Youtuber. This post was really hard to do so I would appriciate if you could subscribe (to tommyinnit) and leave a comment below.

I’m really trying to think of what to write but I Just Don’t Know. I figured I would start writing and it would just come to me. So I sat down pulled up a new post and waited. But nothing has come to me. That’s when I had the Idea all I had to do was write about how awesome Tommyinnit is and why I chose to embody him. Anyways as I’m sure you’ll be able to tell I’m a big fan of Tommy and this video is sort of like a recreation of his video talking about Ludwig being his inspiration. Tommyinnit has been a major motivator for getting me to do homework, having his streams in the background gave me enough energy to push through writer’s block. I’m even writing about him for homework now. Tommyinnit’s personality and ability to make anything funny have helped me come out of my shell and encouraged me to talk to more people. I have literally watched all of his blog videos and MCC Vods. I really like how he is just his loud, chaotic, comedian/improver no matter where he goes or who he meets. That’s all I wanted to say, however, most people might think this is a Tommyinnit website but it’s not. Tommyinnit doesn’t have a website but you can watch Tommy on youtube on his Tommyinnit channel. He also has two other channels where he posts all his Vlog content and Vods. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the post leave a comment below and go check out his, Tom Simons vlog or his newly formed group channel called Sorry.

Process Post Week 8

I am one of the people who do not support ChatGPT and DALL.E, I find them to be dangerous tools for complacency. I believe in hard work and people who think for themselves. If ChatGPT or DALL.E are only used as starting points, prompts, or idea generators then I would find them useful. However, people are using them to steal content whether it be from the content creators ChatGPT and DALL.E take from or just straight up using the content they create for you as their own. I also believe ChatGPT and DALL.E are widdling away at critical thinking as instead of the person using their brain the computer does the work. Even the people who created DALL.E “Recognize that work involving generative models has the potential for significant, broad societal impacts.” I don’t think people should be allowed to use DALL.E-generated art for anything other than inspiration, reference, or content related to DALL.E.

The many Limitations That ChatGPT shows on its website are why I don’t believe ChatGPT should not be used as independent content. One of which is, “ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers.” If people are to use ChatGPT as content I hope they use what’s left of their critical thinking skills to look over and correct the mistakes in the writing. I am a creative writer and believe in the critical thinking skills and creativity to write engaging content myself. I do not need Ai to take over my passion and do not enjoy the writings ChatGPT generates, however, I will not discourage people from using ChatGPT as a tool and not as content.

Process Post Week 7

As digital media continues to rise in popularity, digital literacy, and critical thinking are needed. There is so much fake news, and false stories being told that it can be quite hard to distinguish the truth. I have been taught from a young age not to trust social media and that the news only shows one-half of a story. As an Indigenous person, I was taught that even what I saw in the News could be wrong/fake. According to Jacob Liedke and Jeffrey Gottfried, “Adults under 30 are now almost as likely to trust information from social media sites as they are to trust information from national news outlets, new data shows.” This scares me as I do not trust either of those sources without extra research. Liedke and Gottfried also found that “In a recent Pew Research Center survey, half of 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States say they have some or a lot of trust in the information they get from social media sites.” I do not trust social media but many people I know do and I find this is because they do not do their research before having their own opinion. I find out they are tricked because they do not have the critical thinking or digital literacy skills to question where the information came from and determine if the source is trustworthy. Digital literacy and critical thinking are needed to browse the internet today because of cancel culture.

Canceling used to be reserved for people that were irredeemable like sexual assaulters and people who had sex with animals. Now people are canceled for having an opinion, trying to get the truth heard/out, or supporting people who got canceled with exaggerated truths and straight-up lies. There is a mob of people on the internet who will take one sentence out of context and not even do one search to see if what they saw was true or give the person a chance to explain themselves. Cancel culture used to be used to inform people of terrible things people have been confirmed to have done with evidence to back themselves up. Now you can cancel someone if you have an opposing opinion from them and throw around labels until one eventually sticks as it looks like it could fit. Cancel culture now should not be taken seriously without extra research that breaks past the initial wave of hate. Because of the way cancel culture is nowadays people need to take what they see on the internet with a grain of salt. Digital literacy to me is navigating through fake news and false stories and critical thinking is needed to find the truth and brake past the toxicity of canceled culture.

reference:

Liedke. J and Gottfried. J. (2022). US adults under 30 now trust information from social media almost as much as from national news outlets. Published by Word Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/11/social-media-adults-information-news-platforms/.

Me? obsessed with polymer clay because it feels like I am being productive instead of just procrastinating… Nooo

I should have posted this about a month ago when I was totally in the midst of an anxiety induced coma/paralysis and all I could do was art. Now I have a small business (insert comical manic laughter).

It all started because I could not get myself to study and so I turned to dear old Amazon and ordered one of those starter kits for polymer clay. I thought it would be a fun activity to do while I was trying to get my life back on track for the X (I lost count) time. And it made me feel amazing creating something with my hands that could also be worn. I started making these cute octopus monster earrings and I could not stop. I went into a full month of hyperfixiation on polymer clay. I made batch after batch after batch. And I bought so much clay and tools that my wallet was definitely suffering big time. My mom kept asking me what the hell was going on with Uni work and I keep lying and saying everything was fine when it wasn’t. 262 pairs of earrings later, I realized that… I love making polymer clay earrings and that I still didn’t have my life together. At least I now have another source of income because I need to sell those suckers.

It has been almost 2 months since I started making the earrings and I have not stopped. I have a lot of them and I keep getting better and better. But now it is a little more balanced. I have time for art and time for studying, which is good considering the state of my grades and pending uni work.

In the end my mom did not understand where the hyperfixiation came from because she does not understand my anxiety but I feel really proud because I did not let the parental disapproval contaminate the joy that making earrings gives me. And sure, it all started because I needed to forget about the world but now it’s just something more that I love, something that is just mine and I will not let the judgement of my parents deter me from making these beautiful earrings that I love so much.

My first market is happening April 22 at Slice of Life in Vancouver and I am absolutely elated. My friends are coming and I have no idea if the earrings will actually sell or if I will manage to make back all the money I spent but the joy I get from this craft is worth it all.

This is not to say that I have my shit together now. I have so so so so so much to do now because of that month I spent hyperfixiating on making earrings, I have essays and final papers and exams and oh am I dying. Half the time I just want the world to shut up and leave me alone but I am running out of time and international tuition fees are a pain so I can’t fail any more classes. If you are wondering how the hell I am going to manage to finish all the stuff I have to do… I have no idea. I guess I just need to take it one day at the time and try not to die in the process. At least I have profs that are very understanding, roommates that are supporting me at home, friends that love me and a family that supports me even though they don’t always understand.

Copyright Statement

This will be a shorter post but I wanted to say:

Because I will be posting a lot of my own art in this site, I want to request people not to copy and pass it as their own. You can repost and tag me or share my content but I work hard on my pieces and I am happy to share them but please don’t copy them without my consent.

Thank you

-Sara A

Social and Cognitive Intro/extraversion

This week I’ll be providing some theories behind the popular scales of introversion and extravertion that have been prevalent on the internet and in real life for years. 

In my early teens, I hinged much of my personality on being an introvert (which was further reinforced by thinking I was an INFP due to typing by letter instead of functions). Although it is harmless to not wish to engage more deeply with personality theory than this, in online forums you might come across discussions which mention ā€œsocialā€ or ā€œcognitiveā€ intro/extraversion. 


Let’s start with definitions, since I’d like the rest of this post to be coherent for everyone. The popular understanding of the introversion-extraversion scale is as follows: introverts are quiet and aloof and extraverts are loud and outgoing. On a slightly more realistic scale we would have the approach of energy levels, where introverts are ā€œrechargedā€ by alone time, while extraverts gain their energy through socializing.

In reality, the vast majority of people lie somewhere between introversion and extraversion, typically known as being ambiverted.Ā Ā 

In my opinion, the second definition is more accurate to real life, so I’ll be referencing energy levels when referring to the social axis. This ā€œsocialā€ axis will be what the majority of people are talking about in casual language, but there is an additional definition which pertains to cognitive functions.


The cognitive axis deals with your cognitive functions and is therefore more black and white. Unless you aren’t sure of your MBTI type, you will have a dominant function that is either introverted or extraverted, representing your primary method of ā€œcommunicationā€ with either the internal or external.

Some people might insinuate that an individual’s social axis will dictate your dominant cognitive function, or vice versa, but I feel like that is too strict of a definition. This is especially true given that the social axis doesn’t have a strict definition, and many popular interpretations peg most people as ambiverted anyway.

For example, an ESTJ (Te-Si-Ne-Fi) will always lead with extraverted thinking (Te), making them cognitively extraverted. This hypothetical person could be introverted, extraverted, or ambiverted by the social frameworks definitions, but cognition only has a marginal impact on the social axis. 

I hope that this inspires you to think more deeply about your preconceived notions around intro/extraversion when trying to type people and characters. Someone being withdrawn and traditionally introverted doesn’t bar them from being an EXXX, and the same goes for introverted types. 

ā˜†.

What Would Caffeinated Tammy’s Instagram Look Like?

As I work toward building a following on Instagram, I thought it would be fun to do a drank-peak of the BIPOC and style-related content I plan to upload weekly. Below are some mock posts of what that would look like, made with the help of Canva.Ā 

Why Only Send PR to White Influencers?

An influencer of colour sitting in front of a big pile of make up PR boxes.

Since the pandemic, social media has become much, much more popular than it was before. This website’s content can attest to that — TikTok becoming big, impacting audiences, creators, and families for the better. There are different communities in TikTok (Fashion Community, Makeup Community, Manga community, etc), and each benefits in different ways. If an influencer gets big, they receive PR, free merchandising, brand trips, and much more.

Using makeup is not only about improving one’s appearance; it is a way of expressing one’s identity and self-expression.It is important for makeup brands to ensure that their products cater to a diverse audience. It is a sad reality that major makeup brands prefer to work with white influencers, leaving them little to no chance to represent individuals of color.

This systemic issue can be seen in the disproportionate representation of white influencers in the makeup TikTok industry. A simple search of popular makeup TikTok influencers will reveal that most are White. This is not because individuals of colour lack talent or interest in makeup; rather, it is because makeup brands prioritize working with white influencers, as they believe they will appeal to a larger audience.

Racism is everywhere if you care to look for it — the TikTok makeup industry is no different. FIT reinforces the idea that beauty standards are exclusively Eurocentric, and therefore, individuals of colour are not as marketable. This belief establishes the decade-long notion that people of colour are not worthy of representation in the beauty industry.

Secondly, it sends a message to young people of colour that they do not belong in the makeup industry. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and discouragement from pursuing their passion for makeup. People of colour need to feel seen and heard in the beauty industry.

Let’s do a little exercise —

Look at your own ForYou page, whose makeup videos pop up more – a makeup artist of colour, or a White influencer? It is more likely you will see the latter pop up more, and they will have more sponsored content, more likes and more engagement. It is upsetting once you start looking at how prejudice is still alive and well, even in TikTok algorithms.Ā 

Ā 

Process Post #13

Reading: Make Your Thing

summary: The author, Jesse Thorn, shares his experience of making independent media and making it his job. He started a college radio show called The Sound of Young America (now Bullseye) at the age of 19, and eventually transitioned to podcasting … Continue Reading

EDM: Displacement

Say hello to the internet trolls!

Displacement refers to the Ego Defense Mechanism which uses the technique of taking emotions or unpleasant thought (usually aggression) about one thing and using it in a different place, one of the most common example of this would be when someone’s superiors at work treats one badly, but they cannot show their anger to them, so they might end up expressing this anger somewhere else. This is also one of the reasons for internet hate and trolls hating on and fighting people on internet, they say something mean just because they had a bad day.

This can be somewhat unhealthy for a person’s relationship and may lead to them hurting or losing their friends. This displacement technique can be used healthily as well, by use of anger room or maybe just breaking some objects. It can be useful to let some steam off. Piling emotions inside can usually lead to a outburst bigger than the original emotions.

Sometimes, Displacement can also be inflicted on ourselves, Turning against oneself is a type of displacement in which the person becomes their own replacement target. it is the Freudian explanation for many of our feelings of inferiority, guilt, and depression.

(The purpose of this series is to make everyone aware of the pattern in which they react in a stressful situation to avoid anxiety, and be more woke. Please do not try to self diagnose or give unsolicitated guidance to people going through stuff. )

-Kashish Shodwani

Can Chat GPT diagnose psychological disorders correctly?

Spoiler alert: Yes.

Today I tried asking ChatGPT if it could diagnose me for mental disorders and it said, “Hello! While I am an AI language model and can provide information on mental health disorders, I am not qualified to diagnose them. It is important to seek out a qualified mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist, for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. They can evaluate your symptoms and help you determine the best course of action for your specific situation.” Which was not a bad response, I was happy to see it promote talking to a medical professional but from what I know about ChatGPT, it is that right prompt will always yield a right answer.

So the next thing, I did was tell it symptoms, and ask what does it think I have, to which it answered correctly and advised me to get medical support from a professional. Not bad for an AI honestly. It was able to correctly diagnose ADHD, Bipolar and Panic attacks, even when I didn’t make it too obvious with the symptoms. (or did I? check out the screen shot below) I think it is revolutionary for the psychological industry to have this. It is important to note that sometimes symptoms are not obvious and overlapping with other disorders so please do not take AI’s word for your mental illness.

-Kashish Shodwani