Tag Archives: Process Posts

Week 10: Process Post

Monetization has been an ongoing topic I’ve been having with myself for about six months now. Although I’m a full-time student, I’m also a full-time content creator. In my two years working within the local creative industry, I’ve only ever made out with one single paycheck. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining…in all honesty I think I’ve been putting off monetization tactics so I don’t make money. On average, I participate in a photoshoot up to four times a week, as well as producing video content for YouTube and Tik Tok. On one hand, because I spend so much time and effort producing the best content for my audience, I don’t want to be paid as I feel that the content won’t be as authentic anymore. However, on the other hand, because I spend so much time and effort producing the best content for my audience, I do feel as if I need to be paid to keep producing that level of content. 

I’ve always told myself that the day I don’t feel like my true self online is the day I quit posting. When I was younger, it was my dream to be noticed as a “big” online personality, however as my numbers and views continue to increase, I’ve realized that being a face people know isn’t as glamorous as it seems. After coming to that realization, I’ve focused 100% on showcasing my authentic self on all of my social platforms as that is what I want to be remembered by. I don’t want to grow or create a fan base, I would rather create a community of like-minded creatives who support each other for their work, not their online personas.

When I first started in the industry, my parents had a lot of doubts as I was putting in the time and effort, but I wasn’t getting paid. Over the years, more and more people- creatives and non-creatives alike have asked me why I’m not being paid for what I do. In all honesty, there was time before I was creating that I thought that I could make millions on content I produced. Back then, I wasn’t passionate about my craft, nor was I in the correct headspace to even create. When I let all of that go and stopped thinking about how great my creative destination could be, I picked up a camera and began on my creative journey. Since then, I haven’t thought about being paid or expecting any form of payment whatsoever. I’ve found my passion and I would much rather be myself online and never make a dime, than make a bunch of cash but hate what I do.

For the day when I do decide to monetize my business, I will be starting with YouTube as I’ve found that when I’m interrupted by paid advertisements, it doesn’t stop me from watching my favourite creators, but on a platform like Facebook, I tend to leave the content when an ad pops up. I’ve decided that I won’t be monetizing my website as it’s primarily visual, and I wouldn’t want the advertisements taking away from my content. 

I believe that later down the road, I will be implementing a freemium model when producing content, so my true fans can view special/exclusive content at a reasonable price. However, I believe that until I reach that point, I’m much better off getting to properly know my audience and build what Kelly (2008) calls, “true fans.” Without them, I won’t be able to progress my brand in the ways in which I would like- starting a clothing line, producing music, and writing a book. In order to build this true fan base, I need to keep working on my craft, building up Stanford’s (2015) 4 emotions associated with neuromarketing. Not only do I need to focus on building trust with my audience, but I also need to build that level of trust with myself through self-acceptance and self-admiration. As my brand showcases myself, I can’t expect my audience to feel the four emotions- joy, trust, anticipation and surprise if I myself don’t feel those emotions whilst I’m creating. At the end of the day, I want to create in order to help others and help myself by being true to themselves, whether I’m monetized or not.

References

Kelly, K. (2008, March 4). The Technium: 1,000 True Fans. Retrieved from https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/

Stanford, D. (2015).  “Neuromarketing” Is Becoming A Much Stronger And More Relevant Trend.” Retrieved from http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2015/12/current-trends-neuromarketing/

Going Online: Process Post #7

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you are aware of the coronavirus that is causing much mayhem across the world. As of Friday March 13th it was announced that all in-person courses at SFU would be going online! Now, while this is something that most definitely had to happen, but I am also frustrated for a couple reasons. First of all, I genuinely enjoy the classes I have this semester and enjoy going to class because of the lectures my profs do, and, I am terrible at committing to online courses.

The first time I ever took an online course was in Grade 10. I did a special dance program when I was in high school called the “Pre-Professional Dance Program” (or as me and my friends called it: PPDP) which pretty much meant I got to leave school one blog early to go to dance class. My high school worked on a 4 block day timetable, which would then switch a the end of the semester (very similar to university). The class that PPDP would take the place of was gym class. Thank goodness. As well as one the two electives I got to choose each year (also fine because the only elective I cared to take was drama) However, PE 10 is a course that is required (at least in BC) for one to graduate high school. As is the dreaded Planning 10 class — which students often end up taking online so they don’t have give up an elective. Although, because of my PPDP, I was forced to take these two classes online. Yes, Gym online.

To be fair the gym course was easy enough, I did about 10 quizzes (which were all open book) and I just had to prove that I was getting enough daily physical activity (which was also easy seeing as I was doing about 20 hours of dance a week). However, the Planning 10 course is a whole other story. First of all, even if you did the version of the course that was in class, it’s boring. But put all the information in online power points where I can easily change the tab and watch tv on Netflix? even more boring. I procrastinated the hell out of this course, and (somewhat) luckily there was no completion deadline on it — so I could take however long I needed. Although when they say that I don’t think they mean almost 2 years. Finishing Planning 10 online was one of my greatest achievements, mainly because I don’t think anyone (including me) thought I could do it.

I was of course scared when I decided to then take another online course in University, especially seeing as there was no way they’d let me take 2 years to complete it. But with my determination, I was able to complete it and get a solid mark along the way. However, that was one course, and a course that was intended to be online. Whereas all the courses I am taking right now (3 to be exact) were not made to be taught online, and couple of them are bound to be quite difficult for me to now comprehend via my laptop rather than two and a half hour lectures.

My main goal for the 4 weeks is to try and stay organized. I still have assignments that are due and final exams to prepare for, but the only way for me to not become overwhelmed is to prepare myself. One of the ways I hope to do this is maintain the schedule I already had. I had class on Monday, Wednesday, & Fridays — so I will do my school work on those days.

But with all this being said, I completely understand the decision for us to switch to online courses. While we might not realize it yet, the situation we are all in the middle of is quite serious. Social distancing is one of the best things we can do not only for ourselves — but for others. As an introvert myself I don’t find this too difficult — but if you are someone who usually loves to be out and about 24/7, think about it first.

dark side of the comments

As we have discussed in class this week, comments on the internet can be harmful from time to time for instance Leslie Jones‘ or Justine Sacco’s cases. Due to the disinhibition effect especially because of the anonymity, dissociative imagination and invisibility people may say or do things that they would not try doing in real […]

Community Guidelines

For my website I have implemented the community guidelines outlined below. Since my blog is mainly a professional portfolio, there is not much community involvement, however, comments are allowed (but moderated by myself). The guidelines are in place to ensure comments are respectful and that the content within my website is protected from plagiarism. These guidelines work for my blog as they are in place to keep inappropriate or harmful content off of the blog and to prevent users from stealing/ copying my work without giving credit.

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES:

By commenting on my blogs, you are agreeing to abide by the following community guidelines. I reserve the right to remove comments posted by users if they violate these guidelines.

I am one person. I am a student and an artist trying to elevate my career so please be respectful of the following;

  • Keep comments relevant to the post on which you are commenting.
  • Do not post anything inappropriate, offensive, or hateful to myself or other users.
  • Don’t plagiarize..
  • Don’t post any material which may be discriminatory or cause offence on the grounds of an individual’s sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or working status. (Love is love, people are people)
  • If you are reposting a post for whatever reason, you must tag/cite this website or the Instagram account (@mmh_portfolio)

Take responsibility for what you post. Would you show it to your mother? If not, then maybe you shouldn’t be posting it. This world already has so much hate, I don’t want any of it here. Just because you can’t see me, doesn’t mean your words don’t have an impact. Think before you post. I want this website to be a place of community, where artists and other users can communicate and grow from one another.

If you see a comment that violates these guidelines please direct message @mmh_portfolio on Instagram and please include the following

  • The title of the post the comment is on
  • The username of the user who made the comment
  • A screenshot or a copy & paste of the comment

COPYRIGHT

  • You agree that you will not use any of the content on my blog to post any copyright material or intellectual property that is not your own without the permission of the copyright or intellectual property holder unless permitted by copyright law

I reserve the right to change these guidelines at any time.

The Struggle

Since the beginning of the semester I have been trying to display only the blog posts on my homepage. The first approach I have tried was to make my homepage a static page, the problem with that was when I did that the slider on my homepage kept disappearing. Also, another problem I was facing […]

Transmedia Integration Plan

Process Post

I plan on incorporating more transmedia into my publication by using YouTube. Since my website is a professional portfolio incorporating other channels into my website is not necessarily integral or useful. My work is mainly text and image based, therefore my website is the best place to display it. However, I have some work that could be viewed on Youtube. In addition, I think a lot of my fashion blogging would benefit from linking to YouTube videos that support what I am writing on (interviews, runway shows, fashion vlogs, etc.) Other than this, I do not feel that incorporating more transmedia would benefit my website.

Week 12: Process Post

This week, I have been tasked with creating the community guidelines for this blog. Below are the new community guidelines that I have come up with.

Creation

I figured that these guidelines would work best for my blog. My number one rule is that people are respectful of one another while on my site. Not only do I not tolerate hate in my daily life, but I also do not want to be responsible for facilitating hateful discussions on my blog. I also want to make sure that comments that are posted on my site are actually relevant to the content and are free from any spam or advertisements. I also want to make it clear that I do not have an issue with my content being shared on other platforms; however, this could become an issue if I am not being recognized and credited for my work, which is indicated in rule #3. This space is also meant to be inclusive and rated G, so I do not encourage inappropriate language to be posted on my site.

Implementation

I have decided to locate these guidelines under the “About” tab on my site. I figured that this would be a visible enough place for readers to access the guidelines without overwhelming them by having them thrown at them as soon as they get to the homepage.

I am hoping that with the integration of these community guidelines to my site that I can encourage readers to share insightful comments and engage in pleasant discussions while in this space.

Process Post #7: Analytics

I took my general idea for the website from other creepy-pasta esque websites such as Lorepodcast.com. Lore primarily features an excellent podcast. If you’re interested in the topic of cryptids, I highly recommend it.

In Genereal:
– I understand my meatier posts can be quite wordy, and that is likely a problem which stems from my own bias.
– I think the darker theme looks nice. It sets the mood and is an easy way to visually indicate what kind of website it is
– As you may have noticed, I try to keep myself relatively anonymous
– In regards to the first Peer Review of my website, I certainly am trying to implement some of the suggestions. The main concern being content, but also a few edits

Week 11: Process Post

This week was dedicated to discussing transmedia integration and how we can incorporate it into the online presence.

I have already created an Instagram account for my website that I have been updating every so often. Below is a screenshot of the way I have set up my site. I have not yet worked at gaining more followers for my account as I wanted to wait until I had more content on my website in order to promote it further.

Instagram is the only other channel that I have been focusing on specifically for my website 1) because I am most comfortable using Instagram for promotion and personal reasons, and 2) because I feel like it is the most relevant channel to market to my audience. Being a personal kind of blogger, I have often seen other personal bloggers running an Instagram account alongside their blog content. I believe it has something to do with the visual part of IG that draws in followers. Below are some examples of IG posts that I have made. I try to shuffle between posts that update readers about my blog content & try to direct them back to my blog or engagement posts that try to encourage user comments & interactions.

Example of a content post
Example of an engagement post

On top of the Instagram that I have created for my website, I have attached my personal social media accounts onto my website (FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn). These are accounts that I use in my personal life and not necessarily just for my blog content. These social media accounts are presented to my blog readers as social media icons at the top bar of my website above my site logo.

A more recent addition to my blog is a widget that I found called, Instagram Widget by WPZOOM. This widget allows me to display my Instagram feed on the homepage of my blog, along with a “Follow” button that users can easily click to follow my account.

Overall, I think that I will keep up with the Instagram account for my blog, but I don’t think there are any other channels that I will be exploring right now. A Pinterest account may be a possible addition in the future, but I am not sure how many university students are still using Pinterest.

Process Post #3

I took my general idea for the website from other creepy-pasta esque websites such as Lorepodcast.com. Lore primarily features an excellent podcast. If you’re interested in the topic of cryptids, I highly recommend it.

In Genereal:
– I understand my meatier posts can be quite wordy, and that is likely a problem which stems from my own bias.
– I think the darker theme looks nice. It sets the mood and is an easy way to visually indicate what kind of website it is
– As you may have noticed, I try to keep myself relatively anonymous
– In regards to the first Peer Review of my website, I certainly am trying to implement some of the suggestions. The main concern being content, but also a few edits

Week 11 Process Post: Website Review

For this week’s class, we were given an interesting and fun group activity where we were to critique a website on a art gallery based in Vancouver called Canwest Art Gallery, which is a good example as to why it’s important to make sure your website runs smoothly on all devices and platforms. One of the main concerns that was addressed by the class was that it took way too long to navigate through the website and load a page. A second general consensus was that some of their links weren’t working such as seeing who their art partners were. Lastly, it was brought up that their art pieces were ridiculously priced at an average of $900.

What came to mind was that if a company is expecting to sell an art piece valued at $900, at least have your entire website runs properly with no issues and looks presentable so that your potential customer can trust that they can make a big investment online without hesitation. It was eye opening to me as it goes to show that it is easily to tell the quality of one’s work by the amount of effort they put into maintaining their website to the best it can be.

Process Post 11 – Community Guidelines

If you haven’t already done so, you can examine my angle on the democracy of social media here. I feel this is a great starting point for understanding the foundation for which I value social media, online content and the ways in which people and groups interact with what is published online. Through interpreting these views, one can perhaps understand my vision of an online community, which as suggested by Ryan Holmes, founder of Hootsuite, is a viable vehicle for democracy and how we should be ‘tapping social media for good.’ You can read Holmes’ article on Venture Beat here.

With the positivity of online usership said, there is of course a cloud of shaming, bullying, trolling and demoralization. Mark Shrayber (2016) discusses hate crime here in the context of Leslie Jones’ (Ghostbusters, Saturday Night Live) experience with having her personal site maliciously hacked. Do community guidelines mitigate these actions? Certainly not. People break rules, ignore laws and evade ethics on a daily basis online and in-person, so in developing expectations, can we actually expect to prevent wrongdoing? As Konnikova (2013) suggests in the New Yorker, the anonymity of commenting online provides a safe, but confident place for threatening civility. However, she also notes that people tend to devalue anonymous comments, which researchers at the University of Wisconsin (2013) reiterate here.

So, arguments litter every angle of each side of the fence; do you make guidelines, will they be adhered to, do you screen comments and are you hypocritical if in fact you limit engagement on your site when you’re preaching the asylum-esque quality of the Internet? In looking at the course resources, as well as exploring the Internet for guidelines that support a positive and inclusive community online, I have found the most suitable and relatable for me to reflect those of Book Riot, which you can see here. I appreciate these guidelines because they are clear, concise and current. They are inclusive, well-articulated and are relatively easy to understand and follow. They are fair.

However, when do we, as a democratic society, say why do we need a list of guidelines? The Golden Rule is dated, which you can read about here in Peter Economy’s proposal for the ‘Platinum Rule,’ but are we over-complicating the desire to just be good people? I’m not saying it’s right, but if rules are meant to be broken, are we better off not listing them but instead having the trust and confidence in humanity that we can be good, and that when we’re not, we lose the privilege to take advantage of that which democracy provides? What if websites emblemized the notion of acting in a manner that expects people to“ be kind.” That’s it; be kind. Appreciate the content and accept different views, but contribute, as opposed to degrade, and as such, you will adhere to kindness. If someone hates, I feel they will do exactly that, so in establishing guidelines, am I inviting the trolls? When one walks into a coffee shop, is there a sign indicating how to behave? There are no guidelines, but a social contract that suggests kindness.

So, do I need to be explicit in generating and sharing guidelines for this blog, or can I assume goodness? Or, do I expect the unexpected and create some guidelines that protect liability and govern what occurs? For now, I’m going to gamble on humanity and hope for kindness, until of course a literal laying down of the law is warranted…

Process Post 11 – The joy of public shaming

This week in class we watched a TedTalk by Jon Ronson where he discussed peoples’ tendencies to behave like a lynching mob on social media when it comes to perceived injustice, as well as the joy people get out of this public shaming. Jon Ronson discussed a particular case of a woman named Justine Sacco. Some of you may remember her as the woman who made a tweet before getting on an airplane from London, England to Cape Town, South Africa that utterly dismantled her life during the span of the flight. She was a public relations worker in New York with 170 Twitter followers. However, her story is proof of how fast word can travel, especially on the Internet. The tweet that ruined her life was this:

Image from: Jon Ronson TedTalk

Upon arrival in Cape Town, Justine turned on her phone to discover that she was the world wide #1 trending topic on Twitter. It turned out that one of her 170 Twitter followers sent Justine’s tweet to a journalist who then retweeted it to his 15,000 followers, and spiralled from there. Jon Ronson actually emailed the journalist a few weeks after the incident and asked him how it felt to do this, and he exclaimed it felt “delicious.” When I heard this, I was immediately enraged and knew I wanted to discuss this on my blog. How could someone say the destruction of someone’s life felt “delicious”?!?!?! Then, Jon Ronson began to show some of the tweets that were sent to Justine, ranging from demanding her to be fired from her job, to wishing AIDS upon her:

Image from: Jon Ronson TedTalk
Image from: Jon Ronson TedTalk

Jon Ronson had a suspicion that Justine’s tweet was actually not meant to be racist. He met with her a couple of weeks after the debacle and asked her to explain the joke, and she said that her intention was to mock the bubble Americans live in when it comes to their knowledge of Third World countries. Clearly, it was not interpreted that way.

Although I do feel that Justine was in the wrong and could have worded her joke much differently to convey what she was trying to say, I don’t believe she deserved to have her life torn apart because of it. I understand how her tweet was misinterpreted, as it’s nearly impossible to detect elements like tone and body language over Twitter that help with interpreting a message, but she made a mistake. Jon Ronson mentioned how it was interesting that someone tweeted, “somebody HIV positive should rape this bitch and then we’ll find out if her skin colour protects her from AIDS” (8:10) as that person received no public persecution whatsoever. So why when we are joining in a mob mentality do we all of a sudden deem this disgusting behaviour appropriate? I can’t imagine any sane person having the courage to say something like this to Justine’s face. However, when we have a mob of people doing the same thing, and we can do it while hiding behind a computer or phone screen, it makes dehumanizing someone a lot easier, and we may even feel a bit of joy sitting back and watching somebody’s life crumble right before our eyes.

While watching this video during class, one of my initial thoughts was, “what if Justine was just doing her best?” I know that may sound like I’m giving her too much of a break, but that is the mentality I live by and also what this blog is centred around, so I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t ask myself that. Once again, although she could have worded her joke way better, the intended meaning was misinterpreted. I do believe that she made a mistake, but we all have made mistakes and bad judgement calls. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that everyone on Twitter that night was so quick, and excited, to call someone out for their wrongdoing. It’s much easier to do that then take a minute to ask ourselves, “maybe she meant something different by that tweet” and giving Justine the benefit of the doubt. Instead, responding in ways the Twitter users did that night makes us feel better about ourselves; that we’re not the only one who has flaws and makes mistakes. Jon Ronson put it beautifully when he explained that the Twitter users that night were trying to call out someone’s misuse of privilege, essentially something good, however the phrase “misuse of privilege” is becoming a free pass to tear apart anyone we choose to. In attempting to search and find the “bad guys” in our world, we are utterly destroying innocent peoples’ lives, and feeling good about it. I ask this of you: next time you see something online someone has said that bothers you or even enrages you, like Justine’s tweet, take a minute before you respond and ask yourself if you were standing in front of that person with no one else around you, would you still say that comment to them? If the answer is no, don’t post it. Also, ask yourself if there are other ways of interpreting what they said. Who knows, you may have saved someone’s life.

Process Post 10 – Transmedia

“Transmedia stories are based not on individual characters or specific plots but rather complex fictional worlds which can sustain multiple interrelated characters and their stories” (Kevin Britteny Lauren, 2013).

I had no idea what ‘transmedia’ meant before enrolling and subsequently engaging in this course. However, this does not mean I wasn’t participating in it as both creator and consumer. In fact, when reflecting on the media in which I was utilizing throughout childhood and today, much of what interested and continues to tap my mind is a product of transmedia storytelling. We like, follow, buy and crave stories, and through various mediums and ways in which our interests interact, these only become more appealing, compelling and addicting.

Similar to Lauren’s (2013) post about the transmedia-ness of Pokemon, which you can read here if my last link did not tempt you; various forms of involvement within the ‘story’ enthralled me from the likes of ‘Batman,’ ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’ ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and ‘Star Wars.’ I was not just watching a cartoon or playing with an action figure, I was interacting with video games, seeing movies, watching YouTube videos, mesmerized by commercials, wearing clothes and playing board games that encapsulated the worlds, characters and stories of each interest. For an in-depth exploration of transmedia storytelling in the context of Star Wars, read this article about Suzanne Scott’s course at the University of Texas, Austin.

Today, it only takes a second to recognize the success of Marvel movies as a product of transmedia integration. These films, as well as everything else from Stance socks to video games, are transmedia juggernauts, all of which impact us at the deepest neurological level. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) of Australia posts an interesting article here that examines the cognitive science behind our infatuation with media and how transmedia arouses neurons. In 2019 and assuredly beyond, transmedia storytelling has and will continue to expand – apps, VR, Blogs and whatever gaming platform arises from the brains of Silicon Valley. However, the fresh technologies of the 21st Century did not spawn the idea of transmedia, as Henry Jenkins, attests, our brains have long been exposed and satiated by the integrated and complex worlds created by multiple media. In fact, Jenkins suggests that transmedia started making strides in the 1930s with Tarzan Adventures, which was interestingly during the Great Depression. Perhaps Jane was not the only person saved by Tarzan…

In terms of ReRouted, transmedia integration seems like a logical step and initiative. I feel this because the nature of the blog is to read as a story; therefore, the complexities, characters and interwoven environments and ponderings fare well to be exposed through other mediums and platforms. Because my technical skills are somewhat limited, I have to consider the ways in which I can enhance transmedia integration on this blog. I have yet to give careful consideration for this, but the addition of a vlog via YouTube, perhaps some storyboard sketches or various one page infographics depicting the blog’s content or message. In terms of audience, I’m wanting to capture more people, and for me, the challenge will be grasping the likes of non-athletes or people who really aren’t interested in hearing ‘some jock’ blab about football. It will be important to discuss change in general; identity, life, situation, environment, etc. To accomplish this, I need to present the story from different angles or mediums that conjure interest from others.

Transmedia options provide a different lens in which to explore my content and overall theme. ReRouted is a story, and with that, there are various ways in which to tell it. One year ago, Shannon Emmerson posted an article about great transmedia examples, with The Matrix series of films being a quintessential standard. Like the movie reflects in its complex direction, the more angles you have to view something, the more intrigue is developed, questions are asked and in the blogosphere, visitors one receives. Therefore, more channels of accessibility and variety in exploring ReRouted from various perspectives is valuable and the reason why I need to utilize transmedia.

Week 10 Process Post: Monetizing

With only about 2 weeks remaining in terms of classes, it’s surprising to see how fast this semester has flew by. I do feel that I have been in a bit of a slump in terms of keeping up to date with my blog. Most of it has to do with due dates of papers and essays flying at me week after week to the point where I didn’t really have time to tend to my site. But with the semester coming close to an end, I can say that I can try and catch up as best as I can in terms of posting up content that I originally had intended to.

When it comes to monetizing, I’ve come to realize that the direction this blog was going in was never for any sort of currency. Therefore, I’ve chosen not to monetize this website. Why? well when I first started this website last semester in PUB 101, it was initially intended to be a journal for myself when it came to my fitness progress, as well as a guidebook of some sort for others to read and take something away from. Fast forward to this semester, Eat, Train, Sleep, Repeat. has become less about me, nutrition, supplementation, and more about others and sharing their stories. As this will probably be the end of my website after this semester is completed, the potential to make some source of income was never really of any interest to me as I probably wouldn’t have the time to attend to my website regularly.

Process Post 10 – Transmedia Integration

We had a wonderful guest speaker in class this week, Darren Barefoot, from the company, Capulet Communications. His talk on multichannel marketing and transmedia integration inspired me to reflect on the various media and channels I promote and growThe Kindness Lifestyle on as a brand, which is not many, and how I can continue to grow my brand past the completion of this course. Currently, I promote my blog posts on my Facebook account, and that is all. I’ve mentioned in previous posts how I’m not one to keep track of followers and analytics, however for the sake of this post I will pretend I do and consider what I would conduct in order to grow The Kindness Lifestyle as a brand through transmedia integration.

As we’ve discussed in class, as well as discovered through my own experiences, it’s evident that one of the dominant “channels” used to promote websites, ads, companies, etc. is social media. Specifically, there are a few superior ones which include Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube. Of these five, I currently have two for my own personal use; Facebook and Snapchat. According to Hootsuite, as of 2019 the world’s population is 7.676 billion, and of those people, 3.484 billion are active social media users. Considering this, my first plan of action would be to create accounts on each of these social media platforms under The Kindness Lifestyle. Although this would be stepping out of my comfort zone, I would also make a YouTube channel where I would discuss the topics that I write about in my blog. Marketers have said that video has become more powerful than text as it’s more memorable, probably because it appears more personal to the viewer. Having a YouTube channel would be a way to grab another audience’s attention and direct them towards my blog, but also a way to grow my brand as a whole.

However, Darren Barefoot also discussed the notion of “heartbeats and remarkables” when it comes to marketing, and social media was considered a heartbeat. He described “heartbeats” as the basics of marketing that all companies and brands have such as email lists, websites, and social media. Remarkables on the other hand are the exceptional marketing tactics that catch the consumers’ eye; some of them include PR stunts, gimmicks, pop-up events, and unique fundraising mechanisms, to name a few. An example of a remarkable marketing tactic can be found here. Relating back to my website and brand, an effective way to draw people’s attention to The Kindness Lifestyle could be creating an original remarkable. It’s evident that social media isn’t enough to promote a brand these days as everyone has it; it’s simply a necessity, or heartbeat, in the marketing world at this point. However, I was curious if it would be more effective to conduct a remarkable marketing stunt when you have a significant following, or conduct it despite a significant following as a way to make people curious enough to search your brand and see what it’s all about. When considering this, maybe I should take Darren Barefoot’s advice of “safe is risky and risky is safe” in the marketing world.

Process Post 9 – Data Trails

As, Suzanne Norman (2015) reflects, “so much for the data trap.” In the Bezosphere of 2019, data governs decisions, policies and movements, but as everyday web civilians, what does our trail mean? How do we contribute to analytics, and as such, how does our online behavior dictate what we see, what is created and how, as bloggers, we design, re-design and promote what we post and share?

In the past month, Google Analytics has shown that ReRouted has had 28 users, 63 sessions, 28.57% bounce rate and an average of 5 minutes and 58 seconds spent on the site. This bounce rate is considerable, particularly now, as it’s significance was discussed in tutorial, and I hope to believe its due to my content and not just family members and friends reading a couple pages of this blog. The average length of a session seems to match the length of a post or two. So, it makes sense having these two analytics do ‘well’ in terms of an amature blog.

As noted by the Pod Academy (2016), our blissful lack of awareness in leaving breadcrumbs of ourselves online is something we’re not entirely aware of, and unlike brick and mortar libraries and bookstores, what we touch is counted, assessed and re-presented to us as marketing chameleons. Our blogs then, become digital shapeshifters; responding to what is required in order to elicit activity and move users towards content that generates data we like to see. The question is, does Google utilize analytics as a kind resource for bloggers and developers alike, or is it a self-serving service that gives them access to ours, as well as our readers’ information? Moreover, does this matter?

Here, Brian Mac Namee (2016) suggests that yes, we leave data trails everywhere we go, but this is the world we live in, and like other things we have come to accept, we must forge ahead and understand that there are consequences of convenience. Further, he argues that data trails do not equate to a dystopian now, but rather, these are algorithm breakthroughs that are exciting from the perspective of science. On Apparel, Venkat Viswanathan (2017) agrees, but from a consumer perspective; we are leaving an identifiable residue of activity that teaches us about consumption, impulsivity and behavior. Is this ethical? I’m not certain I am the right person to suggest either side of the fence, but in living within a digital world that targets my interests, shares my data and influences what I see, I offer my implied consent.

This begs the question; are we aware of what we are contributing to; this murky pool of data? If we apply the concept of implied consent, can our understanding suggest to the omnipotent social creators like Google, that we accept all ramifications of dropping data behind us for the collection and interpretation of others? Alternatively, what factors jeopardize implied consent, such as age, ability, demographic, disability, etc? Do people really know what they’re getting themselves into, and if they do, is it too late for them to wash the trail behind them?

Is our information public? This question has been of contentious debate, which you can read about here, but in consideration of our understanding of the Internet as a public space, we should, as we would in a mall or library, be aware that our activity is not private. Education and awareness is fundamental in providing society the tools, or at least the knowledge, that our actions are observable, and while less pervasive, our purchases have always been recorded. So, are Google and Amazon the culprits of this contention, or is it capitalism in general? We are quick to blame technology, but like a race to the finish, we’re always pointing fingers at whomever crosses the line first.

Process Post 9 – Reverse Engineering Ads

Recently I’ve been noticing the abundance of engagement ring ads that have been popping up on my Facebook feed. Although it’s something that I have noticed, I haven’t thought deeply about why they may be showing up on my feed until this week in class when we discussed audiences and how websites reach their intended audience. Our professor gave us an activity to try, which was to pick an ad from our Facebook feed and reverse engineer it, A.K.A dissect why it may be popping up on your specific Facebook feed. Below is one of the many engagement ring ads that I’ve come across on my Facebook feed:

As many of you have probably noticed, Facebook seems to know your exact search history based on their creepily accurate ads they place on your feed. However in my case with the engagement ring ads, I found it interesting as I haven’t searched engagement rings in my browser, so where did they get this information from that I might be in this market at the moment? Time to start reverse engineering!

I began with thinking about what my characteristics were and which one’s I’ve shared with Facebook. Like most people, I have my basic characteristics listed on Facebook. This includes my age, gender, education, things like that. However, I also have my relationship status listed, which is currently “in a relationship”. Based on this information I’ve shared with Facebook, they can conclude that I’m a 23 year old female who is in a relationship. In general, women in the age range of 20-30 years old who are in a relationship may be thinking about getting married. Facebook may have taken this information and made an assumption, which is why they’re promoting engagement ring ads on my feed. Another added factor to this may be that I’ve had my relationship status as “in a relationship” on Facebook for over three years now. I noticed that these engagement ring ads started appearing on my feed a few months ago. Since Facebook thinks I’ve been in a relationship for a long time now, maybe that is also an indicator to them that they should start targeting me for engagement ring ads. However, I’m not positive if Facebook actually tracks this factor, but with my experience it seems as though they very well might be.

I plugged in my reverse engineering into Facebook Audience Insights and this is what I discovered:


I set the audience to Vancouver, Canada, and women in the age range of 20-30 years old. I didn’t specify if they were in a relationship or not as I wanted to see the percentage of this audience was listed as “in a relationship.” It appears that 61% of women 18-34 years old who are on Facebook in Vancouver, Canada are in the 25-34 age range, and 39% are in the 18-24 age range. Of those women, 27% of them are listed as “in a relationship.” Based on this information, I can assume that Facebook may be targeting that 27% with engagement ring ads.