Author Archives: Everything kenna

Process Post #12

Comments, oh the power they hold. We always want comments. We want to feel like people care about what we’re putting out into the world. On an instagram post the more comments correlate to your ‘popularity’ in a sense. We love to feel supported and have that validation that our content is good, but is that validation really worth the hate that can come with it? Hate comments have a real effect on people and their mental health. Major youtubers, social media influences, and many more have closed their comment sections, so that they can keep the hate comments from accumulating on their platforms. 

I have never received a hate comment on any of my social media accounts. This is probably because I’m no one when it comes to having a following on these platforms, and I’m not a controversial figure. Even though I have not been on the receiving end of these hate comments I don’t think the solution to these comments is to not allow these comments to be posted. 

It’s unfortunate that people feel the need to pick apart people on the internet, but I do think there is a solution to this after reading what Maria Konnokova had to say in her piece in the New Yorker. She stated that “a quarter of Internet users have posted comments anonymously” (Konnokova, 2013, para. 2). This makes me wonder if we were somehow able to prevent people from posting comments anonymously if they wouldn’t post hurtful comments in the first place. I have found in life, and I think it’s pretty commonly known that people are less likely to say negative things to your face. The trouble with the internet is that these people can hide behind their screens while having anonymous profiles. I personally will not deactivate comments on my media platforms, but if I do see comments that I don’t like I think it is fair that I have the option to take them down. I want my viewers to know that I value their opinions and I want them to be able to say what on their mind, just as I am doing.

I am a firm believer that everyone has the right to their own voice, so who is to say what you can and can’t say on the internet. I think the way to go about the hurtful comments is to educate people about what these comments can do to a person. I would say from my own experiences that people are usually pretty supportive of each other, heck if bots can say they love my posts why can’t humans do the same! I don’t think this is an internet issue, but rather a humanity problem. 

References

Konnikova, M. (2013b, October 23). The Psychology of Online Comments. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments

Process Post #10

I feel like I am really getting the hang of this blogging thing. I’m getting in a good routine and I like the content I’m putting out there. My site is coming together. The contents there, the aesthetic and look of the site is what I want, but there is a lack of readers. Although I didn’t create this blog for millions of viewers, it would be nice to have people read and follow what I put out there.

It has come to my attention that I need to utilize SEO. I have found this challenging because before this last week I had no idea what SEO was. All I was told was that “SEO is the most viable and cost-effective way to both understand and reach customers in key moments that matter” Hollingsworth, 2021, para. 2). When I was reading up on SEO’s and came across the idea which Hollingswoth stated, “SEO will certainly improve a website’s overall searchability and visibility” (2021, para.4) I knew I needed to implement SEO. In class my Pub 101 professor told us a joke that the best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of search, and that’s exactly where my site lies when a direct search is not used. My goal is to get on the main search page, and I now know that I can do that by using SEO.

After learning about SEO I have been changing a few things on my site. First  I have started by implementing tags on my posts and I have also been adding links to all the products I have talked about in my product reviews. 

I can’t expect my website to bow up in the first few months (there’s a good chance it never will). Right now I am laying the groundwork of what I want my website to be. I am creating credibility and authority which comes with time. I do think SEO could be a great way to grow my site, as it is a good tool to use for small companies with a niche. If I continue with my website after the end of this class I definitely will look into having SEO for my website. 

References

Hollingsworth, S. (2021b, August 9). 15 Reasons Why Your Business Absolutely Needs SEO. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-seo-is-important-for-business/248101/#close

Flowerbomb

If you don’t have a perfume that you absolutely love then you need to go get Flowerbomb perfume by Victor & Rolf. I fell in love with the scent when I was in sephora one day, and I’ve been wearing it everyday since. I’ve received so many compliments from people about the scent. It’s nothing crazy, and I think that’s what makes it so intoxicating. It’s a subtle flowery scent, but it’s still strong enough to know that you’re wearing something. It also lasts a whole day, which a lot of my previous perfumes would never last that long. This sophisticated scent is a must have for all women!

Kiss Me Lashes

I have only worn false lashes a handful of times, and when I have worn them I never applied them myself. Last week I had a function to attend, so I asked my friend who’s a makeup artist what lashes she recommends and she gave me a great list to go off of. From Walmart I picked up the Kiss Me lashes for $10. I absolutely loved how they looked. They were whimsical and made my eyes pop. I found them pretty easy to apply, and they didn’t feel heavy on the eyes or anything. I’d definitely recommend you to get these lashes if you’ve been wanting to try falsies out.

The other brands the makeup artist recommended were the Ardell ones, Quo & NYX (though she did say they can be hit or miss as sometimes they’re so fragile), and House of Lashes if you can justify dropping $20+ on a pair of lashes.

Process Post #9

Analytics (Google, Facebook, Twitter etc.) is a very valuable tool for building your audience. For content creators, knowing how your reader behaves on your website can help enormously with developing the best content, posting at the right time, and developing the appropriate engagement strategies. On the flip side, for the reader or user, it can be tiresome and even worrisome knowing you are providing data trails every where you go online.

I find it easy to get mesmerized by the analytics of the people viewing my content. My first exposure to this side of being a content creator was a couple years ago when instagram provided its users with the analytics of their following (age range, gender, etc.). As a content creator it’s nice to have access to this information, as I find it helps to know your audience so that you can provide them with the best content you can. 

A few weeks ago I installed google analytics on my site. I’m still figuring out everything that it tracks, but what I have particularly liked knowing is how far my website has reached.  According to google analytics people in Canada, the United States, American Samoa, and France have visited my site. 

Another important piece of information I received is that of those who look at my site 70% of them access it from their desktop. This is beneficial to know as I will now focus my attention on how my site looks on desktop versus the mobile. 

I am both a content creator and a content consumer. I benefit from the likes of app tracking, but when I find myself on the other side of the data it’s hard to know if the benefits outweigh the costs. Apps monetize the digital breadcrumbs users leave through their use of media platforms. In the article Digital Breadcrumbs: the digital trail we leave behind us they talked about how media consumers play a hand in their data being used from their use of location tags and the usage of contactless cards people. Companies pay for this data as it helps them know how their targeted demographic lives their lives. 

It’s frightening how much information these companies can get about a person. Through this data collection they can find out “each shopper’s consumer behaviour, demographics, home address, occupation, estimated salary, as well as the websites they visit are all recorded” (Digital breadcrumbs, 2016, para. 56). I don’t like how much information is collected about individuals through the use of apps. I think it’s sad that that’s the cost of getting apps for free.

Kill ‘Em With Kindness

I was on a work call the other day where my boss was talking about how we are expected to interact with our customers. The customers often don’t agree with or are not happy about how my boss runs his business. His piece of advice for myself and my coworkers as we are the ones who talk with the customers, is to kill them with kindness. 

I honestly think this is one of the most underused tactics in life. We so often are set on proving that we are right or winning the argument that we forget that the easiest and usually best approach is to just be kind. In a world that is already so tough and cruel to so many, so why would we want to add to that. 

Another way of thinking about it is that you really don’t get anywhere by just arguing with someone, even if you know you’re not changing your stance. Instead let them talk and hear what they have to say. I have found through my own experiences that by doing this they become more receptive to my actions that follow because they feel as though I did hear them out.  

Kill them with kindness. It seems like such a simple thing to do, but by the lack of use in our world I would say that isn’t the case. I just think it is such a powerful weapon to have for use. The only way that you can use it though is when you are confident enough in who you are that you can take the higher road that results in less resistance. This is a skill that is so valuable to have, and usually overlooked. The good thing is though that it is never too late to start killing people with kindness. 

Process Post #8

The time has finally come. Artificial Intelligence is taking over. I have always been a skeptic of AI and its capabilities, but I can no longer deny how far technology has come. Although I think it is amazing all that AI’s like DALL-E2 and ChatGDT can do, it does frighten me a bit. Used as a tool, I think these AI’s can do a lot of great things, but I think there’s a fine line between what we should have the AI do for us, and what we should do ourselves. As soon as the AI starts thinking for us, the use of AI is wrong. People have fought for centuries to have their own voice, and by having AI’s write papers for us and tell us what we should think on a certain topic we start to give them the right to our own voice…what’s to say we’ll get it back?  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a number of advantages, including:

  1. Efficiency: AI can perform tasks faster and more accurately than humans, reducing the time and resources needed to complete complex tasks.
  2. Consistency: AI systems can be programmed to consistently perform tasks to the same high standard, eliminating the risk of human error.
  3. Cost savings: AI can automate routine and repetitive tasks, reducing the need for human labor and saving on labor costs.
  4. Decision-making: AI can analyze large amounts of data and provide insights that can help humans make better-informed decisions.
  5. Innovation: AI has the potential to create new products, services, and business models, driving innovation and economic growth.
  6. Safety: AI can be used in dangerous or hazardous environments, reducing the risk to human lives.
  7. Personalization: AI can be used to create personalized experiences for individuals, such as recommendations for products or services based on their preferences and behavior.
  8. Accessibility: AI can help overcome barriers to access for people with disabilities, improving their quality of life.

Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our lives, from healthcare and transportation to education and entertainment.

These benefits to using AI were generated by ChatGPT. I could easily pass its ideas and or its writings as my own, but I will not do that because I still believe that the principle is of utmost importance. For that reason I will never try to pass the AI’s work off as my own. I still see the value in my own voice even if I am not able to go through the entirety of the internet to generate my opinions or ideas. AI is no doubt going to play a huge role in our future and I see no problem in that, but I do think people need to be taught how to use it as a tool rather than a crutch.