Hi Carolina! I will be reviewing your blog today called “Its Carolina”. My review is categorized in the following design decisions you have made for your blog. 

Theme and Customizations

I am really loving the theme you chose, all pink and subtle. The use of shades of pink really tells me you know your way with design moreover, the pictures your chose fit perfectly with your theme. You even edited them to match the overall design of your website. You mentioned in your “About” page how you love “drawing, reading, eating, traveling and photographing”. What caught me by surprise was the integration of all your favorite things in your bio actually in your blogs and mini fun assignment, it is a complete package. You customized your blog according to your personality, which makes your blog fun to read for example the use of emojis and symbols to express the way you feel throughout your blogs. Hence, giving your website a cute edge to it along with the use of pink theme.  

Typography

The style and appearance are really nice in your website, the fonts that you used compliment your overall theme. An article I read talks about using typography that connotes emotions as the fonts “play a hand in conveying the message you want to send your readers” (Bernazzani, 2018). Looking at your blog I liked how your website typography is soft and smooth and the rest of the blog is in a clean and eligible font. 

Layout

My favorite part about your layout is that it is symmetrical and organized making it easier to navigate my way around your blog. I like how your layout is enlarged, which not only makes it easier to read but covers any extra white space. You also put a small tab on the side, facing upward, that takes you back to the top and I thought that was pretty cool. I had one suggestion regarding your featured image, if you could center them it would make it more symmetrical. 

Social media integration

Your decision to choose Instagram as your main platform was a smart choice as even through your blogs you have shared all your photography. One of my suggestions would be maybe looking at how many pictures you are incorporating in your posts cause too many seem to clutter the page, I say this because you already have all of the pictures featured on Instagram. 

Site structure and usability

I honestly love the side menu in your website, especially the tags and how they are in different fonts makes your layout interactive and organized as clicking on the tags take me straight to your blog posts. The way you have categorized your blog post into “story & experience” and “local delicacy” makes it easier for me to navigate what I am in the mood to read. You provide your blogs with the address further enticing me to pack my bags and go right now haha. I find it one of the best ways to attract audience. The main menu is neat and really organized, the tabs indicate exactly where the content is located. 

Overall Carolina, it was great reviewing your website! I hope you visit more places I can’t wait to see more places you suggest.

After being a part of our “speed dating” exercise I was really happy to hear my fellow classmate’s reaction towards my blog idea about my exploration into the world of art. Initially I was just going to talk about dance and my experience with the art form till date. The response I got from everyone was supportive however, after pondering on my blog I felt that it would be better to offer my audience with a variety cause I felt that talking about one art form could be repetitive. Henceforth, talking about my venture into the world of art would be a better idea to keep the audience engaged.

Even Anita peer reviewed my site stating “I like her choice of such a unique title and also that is very abstract as to what type of art she is referring to”. Which is the exact reaction I was hoping for! so I really appreciated her feedback. I was also thinking that in my blogs I incorporate sample of my artwork let it be dance or drawing to add more content for my blog and viewers. I feel like when I write it is harder for me to stop talking, so I want to make my blogs to the point and concise.

In the world of democracy freedom of speech is a prominent feature that gives people the right to express themselves and form an opinion, which many individuals exercise on a fast-growing platform – social media. Social media is not just being used as a means to communicate with one another but is a shift towards influencing individuals. It holds greater power when acted upon as it can unite diverse communities. Even though social media “provides citizens with opportunities to express themselves” there is still the concept of hierarchy of authority present regardless of living in a democratic society (De Zuniga et al., 2018). This paper will argue that regardless of freedom of speech, voices still get suppressed if they do not conform to certain standards set by social media. We will discuss the influence of social media in today’s world by looking at the involvement of social media platforms in international relations.

As the world continues to grow economically, politically and socially the rapid adoption of technology affects how we “access information from the news” and can further “demand political change” (Ortiz-Ospina, 2019). The transition of receiving news on paper to digital journalism has increased immensely over the years. According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 91% of individuals living in 11 nations use a smartphone and social media in conjunction (Silver and Huang, 2019). These statistics indicate a sense of inclusivity within the international community regardless of different views, however popular platforms control who is allowed to project their voice and what they can say. As social media acts as a mediator between individuals and their understanding of international events. Twitter and Facebook determine who is permitted to speak to the president of the United States of America and hold the right to suspend an account if fails to conform to corporate beliefs.

For example, the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir which provided the region with autonomy. Allowing Indian-occupied Kashmir with a separate constitution and flag except in the matter of “finance, defence, foreign affairs, and communications” (Aljazeera.com, 2019). The decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi rattled situations in Pakistan and efforts to internationalize the situation became crucial. Henceforth, Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter were heavily used by people to propagandize the tense situation in India and Pakistan. For India, according to the company’s guidelines moderators were instructed to look closely for the slogan “Free Kashmir” (Leetaru, 2019). International media platforms like Aljazeera and BBC were accused of spreading ‘fake news’ such as unrelated protests videos to represent current situations in Kashmir. Foreign meddling and misinformation can result in a lack of transparency but has the potential to further corrupt a democracy which is evident in the case of India after the abrogation of Article 370.

In terms of hierarchy of authority, the relationship between elected officials and online platforms is evident in the case of the United States. Recently the general manager, Daryl Morey of Houston Rockets in NBA posted a tweet that supported the pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. Soon after the NBA was seen kowtowing to China, which got American citizens furious. The backlash received by China resulted in the cancelation of events, taking down signage, two major Chinese retailers pulling off NBA merchandise from their website and no pre-season games to be broadcasted in China (Roy-Choudhury, 2019). It is important to notice that it is not just NBA but companies like Tiffany, Nike, Apple, Versace, and even Delta Airlines have apologized to the communist regime. These companies are not obligated however the power that China holds as the largest economy results in this behaviour by companies as it will incur a cost of one billion Chinese customers. As seen in this contentious example it is evident that China used their economic power over the United States, even though Daryl Morey was exercising his freedom of expression on an online platform it was a powerful incentive for the American citizens to act on American soil.

The impact of social media on democracy is that it tends to amplify human intention which can be in terms of the hierarchy in authority as seen in the example of NBA versus China. As a community we are a democracy, however considering unlimited power of companies, elected officials in conjunction with social media acts like any authoritarian regime. The fact that voices are constantly suppressed on social media if they fail to conform to corporate or majority belief makes it similar to Chinese censorship laws. Dissemination of public information and freedom of speech are just an outer layer but in reality, is a disguised version of autocracy.

Bibliography

Aljazeera.com. (2019). Kashmir special status explained: What are Articles 370 and 35A?. Aljazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/kashmir-special-status-explained-articles-370-35a-190805054643431.html

De Zuniga, H., Huber, B., Strauss, N., & Gil de Zuniga, H. (2018). SOCIAL MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY. Profesional De La Informacion, 27(6), 1172-1180.

Leetaru, K. (2019, April 25). A Reminder Than Social Media Platforms Are Now The Greatest Threat To Democracy. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2019/04/25/a-reminder-than-social-media-platforms-are-now-the-greatest-threat-to-democracy/#24cb6cf07c7d

Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2019, September 18). The rise of social media. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media

Roy-Choudhury, Saheli. (2019, October 6). Houston Rockets GM apologizes for Hong Kong tweet after China consulate tells team to ‘correct the error’. Cnbc. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/houston-rockets-gm-morey-deletes-tweet-about-hong-kong.html

Silver, L., & Huang, C. (2019, August 22). In Emerging Economies, Smartphone and Social Media Users Have Broader Social Networks. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/2019/08/22/in-emerging-economies-smartphone-and-social-media-users-have-broader-social-networks/

I have tried to make my blog a certain way so it can be easily navigated by users. The menu consists of 4 categories:

1. Home
2. About
3. Blog
4. Posiel – with Mini Assignment and Process Post in the sub menu

Under my blog I will have submenus that will showcase my experience with different art forms. Also with upcoming assignments I will update the mapping of my website accordingly.

Hi Anita!

I must say your website is chic and simple, the perfect combination especially for a food blog. Your page is an attention grabber as it is nicely organized and I am able to familiarize myself with your page instantly, kudos to you on that!

Even though it is a food blog you have managed to keep the content easy to understand for foodies. Instagram as your choice of social media platform to market your content is a perfect idea. Moreover, the pictures along with your food reviews are beautiful (ps: go into photography girl!). Not to mention the fact that you blog about best and affordable places, because of your blog I went to try brunch at Earls and it was delicious, so thank you for introducing me to this. I will be honest, when I checked out your Instagram page I was mesmerized by the pictures, transitioning between the food places was amazing.

I was personally hoping your website would have more pictures of the food in your home page to make your blog a little bit more interactive. As a food blogger your biggest strength are pictures and incorporating them on your homepage which will add that splash of color. The thing that caught my eye was actually the similarity between the Instagram captions and your blog posts, if you were to describe the taste of the food in depth using more culinary terms, that would make it more personalized. Regarding your About Me page, I actually like to hear more about what interested you to start a food blog in the first place and your journey as a blogger.

I had an opinion regarding your blog posts, if you were to talk about the ambiance of the place and the audience it best caters to will provide the reader with an overall review of the place. Oh oh oh! an idea just came to my mind Anita, you could even provide a little history regarding your food, its origin point, this keeps the audience engaged and will further entice them to eat at your suggested food place. Just something I thought you could consider writing about?

Overall, the blog and social media content is awesome! I really like that you are focused in the Richmond area as I have never explored the city and would love to know some of the go-to places for food. This would expand my palette in since I am a curry girl haha. Keep the great work going and good luck on your blog.