Tag Archives: pub101

Process Post 2: Reflecting on my Tumblr days

Me during the circa 2014 ‘soft grunge’ era on Tumblr.

I’m going to be completely honest, going into this I didn’t feel confident in creating a blog at all. This is my first time using WordPress and my first time editing a blog since about 2015. When I was a teenager, I got really obsessed with the band One Direction and I decided that I wanted to dedicate a blog to them. So, I created my first-ever blog on Tumblr.com called “NandoswiththeNialler”. I called it this because one of the band members called Niall Horan liked the food chain Nandos. Anyway, that blog didn’t last too long. As I grew up and decided to become more “edgy”, I ended up changing my URL and my whole theme to more of a “grunge” aesthetic, after becoming obsessed with it. If you were a Tumblr kid between the years 2012-2016, you know what I’m talking about. I call this my emo/misunderstood/it always felt like the world was ending era. I had a lot of feelings and angst and I made Tumblr my outlet. Since then I’ve blogged pretty casually over the years, with my URL and theme changing once or twice. My Tumblr blog (and my old cringy posts) is still up and I still post sporadically. I didn’t delete anything, change the theme, or change the ‘about’ section for nostalgia reasons. I checked the other day and I was surprised to see that I still have a little over 2,000 followers, but a lot of them are probably either inactive or bots.

Although I haven’t edited a blog in years, I found it fairly easy to figure out how to navigate WordPress and add plugins, categories, and widgets to my blog. I originally wanted this blog to have the same theme as my Tumblr blog. A black background, the title as the header with no image or icon. The menu bar would be below the header with the content beneath it. This theme was very popular in the “grunge” era of Tumblr. Then I started thinking about how much I’ve changed since I originally chose that theme. I want the theme and content of my current blog to reflect who I am today. So, I decided to use this theme from the Elementor plugin. I chose to display my icon and menu as the header with a sunset-like gradient background and the title below it. I also added some pictures that I’ve taken on an image carousel.

The blog I’ve created relates to my vision board because it has bold colours, and the title is larger than everything else which gives it a typography feel that I really like. I was leaning toward an art magazine editorial look.

Ps. I linked a video about the 2014 grunge Tumblr aesthetic, maybe I’ll dive more into this topic in my content posts.

https://www.tumblr.com

Elementor Website Builder

Process Post 1: Talking to a Stranger

Being introverted, I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of talking to a stranger. I’ve always been reserved and quiet, and I’m still learning to break out of my shell and put myself out there, even online. Talking to a stranger can feel intimidating, you don’t know if they’re going to be easygoing or not, and they might be reluctant to talk to you.

When it comes to either online or in-person interactions, I used to find myself leaning towards online interactions a lot more. There is less pressure online, there are no awkward silences, you don’t have to worry about if there’s something in your teeth, and you can send the other person memes or funny Tiktoks. Although I used to lean towards online interactions more, lately, I’ve been growing to enjoy interacting with strangers in-person more than I used to. I find that it’s a lot more candid, you don’t have the time to contemplate your responses as you would online, and your true self comes out more that way. The conversation seems to flow better in person, and you can also read the other person’s tone and body language.

I consider a stranger to be someone I’ve never met and know nothing about. I consider a person known after interacting with them and learning about them, like their name, age, where they’re from, and some of their interests. You can meet someone and become acquainted without fully getting to know them. The more you get to know someone, the more comfortable you both become. Over time you start opening up to each other and discussing things beyond the surface level.

For this process post, we were asked to find a stranger and engage them in a conversation. My encounter was unexpected, and I didn’t even have this assignment in mind when I engaged with this stranger. It happened on a Sunday evening while I was grabbing my laundry in my apartment’s shared laundry room. When I walked into the laundry room, one of my neighbours was there getting her laundry. I startled her when I opened the door, we both laughed, and I apologized. After that, we walked to the elevator and discovered that we live on the same floor. I told her that I hadn’t seen her around before, and she said she moved in a few weeks ago. I then asked her how she was liking it here so far, and she said her new apartment is a lot nicer than her last place, and it’s way more convenient to be close to campus. I agreed that it was convenient and we said goodnight. After this interaction, I would still consider this person a stranger, but maybe a tad bit less than a stranger, if that makes sense. I didn’t learn anything about her other than that she also likes to do her laundry on Sunday, she lives in my building and we both enjoy the convenience of it.

Regarding the Importance of Rest and Community

The End

This site was created as part of a class at Simon Fraser University titled, Publication of Self in Everyday Life. 

As part of the class, we were required to develop one post a week about the process of creating our website. The teaching team supported the course in this endeavour, by providing materials to reference and prompts to adhere to. In the course, we referred to these posts as “process posts”; each and every post on this website that has the word regarding in the title is a “process post.”

This post is the final “process post” that will be created for the class.

Unfortunately, I was sick for last week’s lecture and unable to make it, however, I do know that the lecture was about community and am able to access the readings and slides from the course. Subsequently, this final process post is going to be about the importance of rest and community. 

Rest

Last week, I fell sick. 

When I was sick, I came across a Linkedin post by TED Conferences which made the point “by doing nothing, you are actually being your most productive and creative self. It might feel weird and uncomfortable at first, but boredom truly can lead to brilliance.”

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What the post explained, is the value that you receive when you take time to sit with your ideas. It explained that when you take time to do nothing, you are allowing your brain to process all the information from your life so that you can spend time daydreaming and realizing your aspirations in life.


Truthfully, over the course of the semester, I cannot help but feel that I have spent too little time doing that. 

However, it makes sense. Just see my post 30 Minutes: Working a 99 Hour Work Week. Since making that post, I did experience a period of severe burnout but thankfully recovered quickly after having a few days of rest. 

When I was sick last week, I had the opportunity to spend some time reflecting on my life, and as a result, I honestly feel much more in tune and aligned with myself than before I was sick. 

Ironically, having no rest is what truly has allowed me to realize the value that rest does provide.

Community

On the internet, there are communities, that would not exist if it were not for the internet. 

One such community that I am incredibly thankful to have participated in is Lookout Landing, a Mariners fan site, with an incredibly loyal audience and fun community. 

I found the site sometime in 2016 and have ever since been a follower of the site. In fact, almost every morning one of the first things that I do is take a look at posts which the site calls Moose Tracks. Moose Tracks are daily posts that share links to news around baseball. However, the content of the posts themselves are only a small part of the Lookout Landing experience, the comments below each post is where you actually get the opportunity to engage and talk to individuals in the lookout landing community. Typically Moose Track posts have around 300 comments per day, and if something big in baseball happens you can guarantee that these posts will have 500+ comments. 

Although based off my initial explanation it may not seem this way, Moose Tracks are actually only a small part of what makes Lookout Landing what it is. The staff of the site also posts game recaps, game threads (for discussion), game charts, analysis, creative writing pieces and more. All content based around the Seattle Mariners. 

Although I myself rarely comment and am a bit more of a lurker, I still feel very much a part of this community and it has helped fuel my Mariners fandom.

Lookout Landing most certainly is my favourite online community, they have a fantastic audience, great policy, and even better writers. 

If you are at all interested in the Seattle Mariners, I highly recommend checking out some of the posts on the site.

The Secret to Maintaining Energy and Creating Great Products

We are a product of the people around us. 

This is a fact. Simply start hanging around a different group of people and evaluate your speech pattern before and after. It will change. 

People around you also influence how you think of and view yourself as a person. A lot of the time, the people around you will either provide you with energy or drain you of it.

Community is key to shaping who we are and providing us with energy to move forward.

We are a product of the decisions we make.

The decisions we make, forge the path that we take and subsequently shape the history and future of our lives. When we do one thing, it will close some doors and open others. 

Oftentimes, the decisions we make are impulsive. When we are well-rested and aligned with who we truly are as people, these impulsive decisions can be effective. However, when we are tired and in dire need of rest, we often make poor and sloppy decisions.

Rest is critical to the decisions we make.

It should also be noted that we all have the opportunity to choose who it is that we spend time with. Rest enables us to choose the right communities for us to be a part of.

To maintain energy, be our best selves, and subsequently make great things, it is critical we are well rested and engaged with the right communities.

References

Zomorodi, M. (2022). By doing nothing, you are actually being your most productive. Ted Conferences. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ted-conferences_by-doing-nothing-you-are-actually-being-activity-7003032527359672321-dEjR/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop 

Guidelines for Comments.

When I think about a comment section on social media, I immediately think toxic. I think about the no-filter responses people give without any thought of repercussions.

Comment sections can be detrimental to some individuals’ mental health and well-being. Comments can be utilized to tear people down and isolate them.

In my opinion, over the years people have become more aware of the issues regarding the comment sections on differnt social media platforms. Although people have become more aware, the problem is still exists.

For example, when I was in middle school and high school there was a social media platform called ASKfm. ASKfm was an online platform where people could anonymously ask other people questions or leave comments on their pages. ASKfm was used to create cruel rating systems of peopel and to anonymously leave hateful comments.

From a greater perspective, the whole idea sounds harmless. However, in application, it was horrible.

Trying to navigate middle school alone is a challenging time, but adding social media bullying to the mix, made it a struggle.

The whole idea that people exude hate on the internet is exhausting. The more ideas of comments, the more I think of differnt social media platforms. For instance, I think of the early days of Instagram, where people would post and rate each others pictures and posts. For example, people would rate a photo out of 10 on how “attractive” someone looked in a photo. 

Social media comments are not built for success. 

When I think about Lyz’s (2022) story, I can understand and support why she would make those comments. Living in the world of social media platforms is difficult. Comments are a free space where people can comment whatever they feel.

The one slightly good perspective of comments is the opportunity to share information. For example, sharing recommendations for places to go, or commenting on where someone purchased a item. Therefore, using the comments as a place to distribute information.

On certain platforms, the idea of negative toxic comments is highly unlikely. To some extent, I believe trolls and scammers are not be looking at unpopular websites or media. Trolls and and scammers are more likely to spend time on platforms that generate more attention. 

For my website, I choose to have the comment section available. Based on my posts and the platform I created, I believe the idea of negative comment curating is low. Of course, if someone were to comment anything hurtful or toxic towards someone else, I would address it and remove it. For right now, I don’t think my website needs the comment section removed.

References 

Lyz. (2022, February 2). That’s how it works when you’re a woman on the internet. That’s How It Works When You’re a Woman on the Internet. Retrieved from https://lyz.substack.com/p/thats-how-it-works-when-youre-a-woman?s=r 

(Mini Assignment #6) It is GIF

The post (Mini Assignment #6) It is GIF first appeared on Self Therapy.

Mini-Assignment #6: Transform Your Live Photos into GIFs

Preface

As part of the class that I am taking which has resulted in the creation of the website you are viewing, I must complete some mini-assignments.

This post is one of those mini-assignments.

The instructions for this mini-assignment were “make a GIF.”

Recalling a GIF From Grade Nine

I am in my fourth year of university now, which means that grade nine was over six years ago, but I distinctly recall a GIF that I made in my grade nine information technology class. 

The GIF was a cartoon character running and unfortunately, I no longer have access to it.

I mention this because it is the only other time I have been required to create a GIF as part of a class.

The GIF I Made Today

GIF is really not a term that comes to mind often. So when I saw the term the first item that came to my mind was Apple’s live photos.

I recognized that these two types of media were very similar and wondered if there was a way to turn a live photo into a GIF, so I googled it and learned that there indeed is! (Here is a link to the resource I used to turn one of my live photos into a GIF).

So, here is the GIF that I ended up making:

My dad and I at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

This GIF was made from a photo of my dad and me at the Seattle Mariner’s first playoff game in Seattle since 2001. 

I really cherish this photo, as one of the ushers at the game saw us and asked us if we wanted him to take a photo for us. It was an excellent example of generosity and the photo itself ended up being really nice.

I will always remember this game and if you want to learn more about my experience at the game, here is a link to a video where I reflect on it.

An Additional Note

It should also be noted that turning your live photos into GIFs certainly does sacrifice quality. However, there is a certain aesthetic to the graininess that makes the GIF appealing to look at.

Understanding Transmedia.

The idea of storytelling across multiple different platforms made me reflect on my website as well as the ones I view in my personal life. 

From my standpoint, creating my website has been a journey. I think it was more difficult than I anticipated. Throughout posting on the blog, I have been unintentionally incorporating different media within the blog. The problematic area within that is I used my platforms rather than creating platforms directly for the blog itself.

For example, in the second mini assignment based on incorporating a video, I strategized making the video using Instagram. I utilized the Instagram platform for editing and creating the video. Still, instead of posting it on that platform and tagging the link to my webpage, I saved them and uploaded it to a private YouTube page for easier viewing. 

Similarly, I followed that same pattern when I created a remix, I used a template I saw from TikTok, created it on Instagram and then uploaded it onto YouTube. From there, the same pattern continues. I made the gif assignment using a gif template app and then downloaded and redirected where I uploaded it.

To incorporate transmedia into my website, I should have been creating a different platform to not only upload the content but also allow other users to use it. 

When I think about the reading of Pókemon as the transmedia storyline, I think about several other platforms that replicate similar processes for storytelling. For example, similar ideas like marvel comics, became movies, shows, action figures, and more. It demonstrates different variations and platforms of the same thing. 

When I was thinking about transmedia on a social media scope, I thought about celebrities. Several celebrities have their websites/blogs, clothing lines or makeup lines, along with their social media platforms. These platforms help promote the celebrity and gain social media attention and awareness.

It’s interesting because prior to completing the reading on transmedia and attending the lecture, I never thought about the scope. Transmedia has a large impact on the delivery and dispersal of information in the media world. Therefore, I believe it is widely important to have multiple platforms to generate awareness.

Regarding Various Channels and Media

In this post, I explore how to choose a medium for your message and the importance of using channels to distribute your message to your audience.

Choosing Your Medium

“Types of media”

Upon googling “types of media”, you will discover that definitions and descriptions of types of media that exist in the world vary significantly from source to source.

Just look at this section that was the second item to show up on my google search:

Google search results depicting text that says People also ask What are 10 types of media? What are 4 types of media? What are the 7 forms of media? What are the 3 media types?

After reviewing the various types described in these search results, I realized that boxing and organizing types is unnecessary.

Media, after all, is just the plural form of the noun medium which Oxford Languages defines as “an agency or means of doing something.”

After all,

The medium is the message

Marshall McCluhan

In other words, you must craft your own form of media to communicate your message.

Crafting Your Own Form of Media

To craft your own form of media, I recommend you examine three elements, the message itself, yourself as the messenger, and your audience as the recipient.

To review these elements ask questions such as:

  • In what ways could I share this message?
  • How does this message want to be shared?
  • What is the broader purpose of this message I am sending?
  • How have others previously communicated a message like this? Could they have done it better?
  • Are there conventions for messages such as this? Are they ideal?
  • How can I make this message uniquely my own?
  • If I could do anything to share this message how would I share it?
  • What am I capable of doing to communicate this message?
  • How can I compromise between my own ability and my ideal for sending this message?
  • How does the audience want to receive this message?
  • What do I want the audience to do upon receiving this message?
  • How is the audience capable of receiving this message?

After asking questions like these (note that you are most certainly not limited to these or required to answer all of these), choose your medium. Then take action to craft it.

Selecting Channels

What a Channel Is

When I hear the term “channels”, I immediately think of television channels. Although those are most certainly types of channels, the type of channels we are looking at here is broader.

Here, we are going to define channels as paths that we can use to enable our content to reach our audience.

Channels themselves are too media, however, they are different than the form of media described above in that we are going to be using them to direct our audience to our message, whereas previously we were using our medium to direct our message to our audience.

The purpose of channels is reaching our audience so they can connect with our message.

Choosing Channels

To choose channels, we need to answer the question “what is the best way to get our audience to reach our content?”

Sometimes, the best channel is by talking directly to people and asking them to interact with our content. Other times it is best to simply let the content exist and be found by others.

Channels again come down to the sender, the receiver, and the message. Examining these three elements will allow you to choose the best channel for your content.

Media and Channels

To choose your form of media and your form of channel, you need to examine the sender, the audience, and the message.

In examining these items, you will discover a distinct medium you need to create to embody your message and channels you can use to spread your message to your audience.

Communication is an art form. Practicing and iterating on messaging is the best way to improve.

References

McCluhan, M. (1964). The medium is the message. https://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/mcluhan.mediummessage.pdf

(Process Post #11) Multimedia Integration

This week (November 22–November 29), we got our second review feedback from our TA. Thank you, Lauren, for giving out such a detailed review to help me out with building my online presence. I will be incorporating this feedback into my website this coming week. Apart from that, in class, we discussed the importance of being present in multiple places, whether it be social media, a website, YouTube, etc., in order to reach a diverse and larger audience.

My website is focused on meditation and mental health, and there is no doubt as to why I should educate about this type of content on social media platforms (like Facebook and Instagram) as well. There are several reasons to be present on social media and on my website.

1. Brand Presence

In order to build trust amongst the audience, it is important to be everywhere. People who connect with my content on social media are more likely to visit my website.

2. Ease Of Use

Most of us are familiar with using social media. It is there with us wherever we go (on our phones). Furthermore, the shareability feature provided by social media is by far the best of any content medium. As a result, I can create a post or story on social media with a “read more” link to my website; this will help me divert more audience from social media to regularly check up on my content on the website.

3. Audience Insights

Many social media platforms like Instagram offer data insights on their business accounts; this data ranges from demographics, the time of day with the most interactions, etc. Hence, this can come in handy, as more people are on social media than on a website. This data would be more diverse and have greater numbers than Google Analytics due to the number of users on social media. Hence, this data can be a valuable tool for me to apply to my content on any platform.

4. Share Positivity In A Negative Environment

As I have talked about in the essay as well as in one of the blogs on my website, social media is biassed and a negative environment for many of us. However, it is crucial to be present on social media and share positive teachings in a negative environment.

As a result, social media (particularly Instagram and Facebook, due to its large user base), are an excellent way to reach a large number of people. Furthermore, I may be incorrect about who my intended audience is; for example, if I start a social media page and discover that a wide range of people enjoy this type of content, I should probably give it a try!

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All Travelled By Claire?

PEER REVIEW THREE: reviewing marketability. featuring: all travelled by claire.
A screenshot of Claire's home screen of the website.
A screenshot of Claire’s home screen on the website.

For the third peer review activity, I got the opportunity to browse and look at Claire’s website: All Travelled By Claire

At first glance, the home page is well-organized and aesthetic to look at. The picture featured on the homepage immediately caught my attention because it is from Greece. From a fellow traveller’s perspective, I was immediately interested. 

The title and home screen of Claire’s website clearly state the website is for travel photography and travel resources. From a SEO standpoint, I think it is good marketing as it highlights keywords for the search engine to curate and find (Hollingsworth, 2021). The page captivates audiences who love to travel. 

I really like the home page; it is very clean and organized. The simplicity and natural colours add calmness to the webpages setting. 

Before I began interacting with Claire’s webpage, I thought about my own digital relationship with travel. I thought about the different photos I would take compared to those of others. Therefore, I was interested in seeing what Claire decided to take photos of and decided to upload (“Digital Breadcrumbs: The data trail we leave behind us”, 2023). 

When I clicked on the travel photo option button, it took me to a page labelled “an interactive photo diary”. The page featured two pictures of a similar beautiful sunset overlooking the water. From the photos, I could see the captivated beauty. Overall, I really enjoyed the colour scheme from the sunset. Based on the photos, I assumed the location of travel was possibly Greece, or somewhere warm. 

Although the photos were beautiful, I was missing some information. Unfortunately, there was no story or information regarding the photo’s location and or meaning. I loved the idea of the photo diary, but it seems like photos are missing as there are only two pictures available to see. I think there is a lot of potential for this page despite the missing information.  

Next, I explored the about page. When I went to the about page on the webpage, I found a lot more information. 

I really appreciated the about page as it outlined some information on Claire. I was able to understand Claire’s vision for the website. From my perspective, the website was focused on Claire’s passion for travelling and was intended to be demonstrated through the cultivation of travel photos and fun tips (Basu, 2020). I felt that the about page provided a lot of personality into who Claire is. 

A big thing I would personally focus on is adding some public content that includes travel tips and photos with information. 

Overall, I really liked the intended look of the website. I think the intentions of the audience are clear and precise. The website includes good key search words and is headed in the right direction. I think the website has good potential. 

Thank you for sharing Claire! 🙂

References

Basu, T. (2020, September 3). Digital Gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/

Digital Breadcrumbs: The data trail we leave behind us. (2016, May 23). Pod Academy. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from http://podacademy.org/podcasts/digital-breadcrumbs-our-data-trail/ 

Hollingsworth, S. (2021, August 6). 15 reasons why your business absolutely needs seo. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-seo-is-important-for-business/248101/#close 

(Process Post #10): Data Insights and SEO

This week (Nov. 13–Nov. 19) was the busiest week of the term so far, with essays, midterms, and plenty of assignments in the lineup. Finally, I got through the rough patch, and now my only focus is doing well in the finals. So good luck to me!

Now, looking over the content for this course, I will be going over the Google Analytics data for my website and the importance of SEO.

Google Analytics
12 Users reached out my website in last 28 days.
Website speed.
Website reach by channel
Website reach by device.

Most of my website’s reach is coming from direct channels, which is understood at this moment due to peers looking at each other’s websites, grading, etc. However, access through social media is at 16.7% and organic search is at just 8.3%. To reach a larger audience, I would need to improve my organic search results.As said by Hollingsworth (2021), organic search is usually the primary source of website traffic, which is clearly not the case on my website because of poor SEO at the moment. Hence, I would have to tag the posts and make proper use of keywords in order to perform better on the search engines.

Looking at reach by devices, 75% of the reach came from desktops and 25% from mobile phones. Currently, as a student, I mostly use desktop all the time, so I’m only focusing on the desktop website; however, now that I’ve realised that the majority of my audience will most likely carry phones wherever they go, it’ll be critical to polish my mobile website to make it accessible and finished.The data from data.ai (2022) also suggests this trend: more people are spending their daily time using phones. Hence, this is what I should start working on as soon as possible.

Lastly, it is important for a website to be fast and reliable in order to improve the user experience. It turned out that my website was poor in terms of quick response; it took 3.8 seconds for a page to load, and that’s a lot! I would have to probably add a plugin or reduce the picture size for content to appear quickly and reliably.

Search Engine optimization
…


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Figuring Out SEO.

Before this week, I honestly had no idea what SEO was or how it even worked. I had no idea of its importance or any idea of how it influenced the internet.

The biggest and most important step in understanding SEO was knowing that it was an acronym. SEO is for search engine optimization (Hollingsworth, 2021).  Before I went on to the readings, I wanted to understand each component of that. 

I know it sounds silly to not understand the components of SEO, but honestly, I had to break it down. So, I took each word in the acronym and broke it down. 

My definitions: S.E.O

Search: to look for something or someone. It’s the process of looking. 

Engine: something that is a moving part. Meaning, it facilitates something. 

Optimization: something that provides the best or most effective possible outcome. 

After I was able to create my definitions and break down the word slowly, I was able to read and understand the articles. 

Essentially SEO helps facilitate, promote, and benefit the growth of a company/brand (Hollingsworth, 2021). Hollingsworth (2021) outlines 15 reasons why SEO is important to a company/brand by reasoning it promotes growth and awareness. 

I found the process of understanding SEO interesting because I was able to break down the whole wording into my own definition and apply it to the readings.

I find that if I ever am confused or stuck on the wording of something, I find I just have to break it down. I don’t know why, but I sometimes have a short mental block when I come across wording that is unfamiliar to me. Therefore, I have to take a step back and look at it in small doses to easily break it down. Once I do that, I have no problem understanding it. 

After reading Hollingsworth’s (2021) article and sitting in a lecture, I can understand the importance of SEO. I find I was able to understand how it impacts a user’s experience with the content online. 

References

Hollingsworth, S. (2021, August 6). 15 reasons why your business absolutely needs seo. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-seo-is-important-for-business/248101/#close 

The Digital Footprint.

Leaving a digital footprint almost seems unavoidable. Anywhere you go, someone always asking for something… especially when you go shopping.

I found after reading Norman’s (2016) post on trying to avoid leaving a digital trail, completely relatable. Almost every shopping mall and or store asks you for your email, your phone number, and or some type of contact information. I find it nearly impossible to have a trip to the mall that does not include some type of contracting information question.

Everything needs to be digitalized.

Some stores try to promote their digital footprint by indicating they will send deals and discounts to the contact address. Therefore, if you are willing to give stores the contact information then you specifically will benefit from receiving secret information.

With that, I feel like the idea of using or giving digital information has become the preferred method.

I have come to realize, that the idea of using cash at some stores almost seems to be ridiculous. Many times, I have offered cash to the store attendees and have found they almost looked surprised, like “really, you want to pay with cash?”. Honestly, I have gotten to the point where every time I want to pay with cash, I seem to always ask the working attendee if it’s okay if I pay with cash as if cash is a foreign payment.

With the strong push for consumers to pay by credit and with debit cards, cash almost seems like a burden. I find it becomes awkward as some employees make it feel like it is an inconvenience. Several card payment options include simple tap features or slide features, making transactions quick and easy.

To some extent, I think the peak of Covid-19 had a lot to factor into avoiding cash payments. Cash payments require a type of contact exchange. Thus, stores were trying to minimalize physical exchanges. Although I understand that contactless payments avoid physical exchanges it makes it hard to reverse the mindset that cash exchanges are bad.

Now, I have found that several stores and companies now push for contactless payments. Stores have created this by having signs indicating a preference for consumers using a card method of payment or having signs indicating they don’t accept cash payments. Therefore, pushing consumers to leave digital footprints on basic transactions.

Overall, I find digital footprints unavoidable. They are everywhere.

References

Norman, S. (2016, March 7). Trying not to drop breadcrumbs in Amazon’s store. Publishing @ SFU. https://publishing.sfu.ca/2016/03/breadcrumbs-of-data/

Processing Technology.

Last week, I was working on making a remix. Honestly, I had no idea what to do with the word remix. When I thought about remixing, all I could think about was music. Music is where the artists blend two or more songs to create a new sound.

Thompson’s (2022) article explores the acceleration of the internet and the changing of the word lingo. From Thompson’s perspective, I can understand the confusion. I feel like the new slang words in social media are constant. I find I am constantly learning and adapting to the newest and trending sayings.

Yes, the word “remix” is not exactly new, but the idea to remix things other than music, is a foreign idea to me.

To gain insight into remixes, I set out to do some research. 

When I first went beyond a remixing song in the way of collaboration, I thought about remixing lyrics. Meaning, adding new words, rhythms, and rhymes to the popular trending lyrics. Thus, putting a twist on Gen Z slang (Thompson, 2022). What I quickly realized was trying to remix music was out of my realm of expertise. 

Next, I thought about poems and making a collage using only old magazines and newspapers. When I thought about this concept, it brought up a lot of memories of my old childhood bedroom. I use to cover the walls and hang the weirdest collages from my ceiling just so I could be surrounded by my interests.

All through this idea seemed great in theory, (who doesn’t love a good collage?) I realized that I have not owned a glue stick in YEARS. So…

Onto the next idea. 

While I was flipping through my camera roll on my phone, I started laughing at all my old videos and pictures. I was getting a good laugh at watching the memories back. One video that I watched a couple of times was about my parents finding out I got a tattoo.

When I rewatched the video and saw my parent’s facial expressions I knew I wanted to remix it. 

When I was thinking about the different ways of remixing, I could just hear a specific TikTok audio. (Oh No).

Before merging the two, I could tell the original audio mimicked the TikTok song. I knew the video and the audio would match up and create something funny.

Next, all I had to figure out was how to combine the video and the audio.

TikTok seemed to be the place.

Although TikTok is a trending app, I feel completely intimated by it. As Thompson (2022) indicates the internet world is changing for the new generation. 

After playing around with the audio and the video footage, I was able to crop the pieces accordingly to make a concise video. 

The original video contained a whole introduction and then the revealing of the tattoo. Whereas, the remixed version only showcases a snippet of my parent’s (mainly my mom’s) initial reaction to seeing my tattoo.

Overall, I found using different technology outlets challenging as it was new to me. However, after trial and error, the process produced a funny remix. Without the assignment, I would have not gotten the opportunity to remix the video.

References

Thompson, D. (2022, May 16). Is the internet changing how we talk about slang words? In The Know. https://www.intheknow.com/post/slang-words-tiktok-gen-z-linguist/?guccounter=1

 

Is Social Media That Democratic?

The Internet has revolutionised how people acquire information. Humans are social creatures, and one of the biggest gifts given to us by the internet is social media. Social media has transformed the way we communicate with others and more likely empowered individual users by protecting their freedom of speech and expression. Users on social media can connect with other users from different parts of the world within seconds. Content creation and dissemination have become easier than ever. However, the purpose of this essay is to examine the downside of these advantages, i.e., the democratic nature of social media. Considering how accessible and widespread social media is, has it potentially made existing problems even worse?

Social media has questioned many existing norms and challenged traditional news media and institutions. However, some problems have amplified since the creation of social media. Online harassment and cyberbullying have now become mainstream and are mostly facilitated by social media (Persily & Tucker, 2020). Although social media was once thought to be a place where all voices were heard, online harassment and widespread intimidation have left some social groups, like people of colour, females, certain religious groups, and people of certain age groups, the victims of such encounters. This encounter has led disadvantaged social groups to take less part in online social platforms than they would wish (Persily & Tucker, 2020).

One of the core elements of democracy is diversity of viewpoints, and an individual can make informed decisions when they are presented with diverse viewpoints and opinions. News is one such source that fosters diversity of viewpoints and helps democracy thrive. News can help produce “positive externalities” that in fact benefit human society by bringing about policy changes and a redefinition of the roles of political parties and institutions (Persily & Tucker, 2020). However, due to fewer regulations for news generation on social media, it has led to enormous disinformation and misinformation on online social platforms. It is crucial to note that social platforms are a business model that exists to make money by presenting users with content that is both controversial and tailored specifically to them; this is referred to as “algorithmic gatekeeping” (Stark et al., 2020). This business model has sort of been flawed when considering the democratic stand that it has taken. 

Algorithmic gatekeeping has given rise to “filter bubbles” (i.e., content tailored to the user’s personal preference) and “echo chambers” (i.e., showing opinions that align with the user’s preference). Hence, algorithmic gatekeeping presents the user with news that is tailored specifically for them. This one-sided view of society and topics could lead to fragmentation and polarization. Fragmentation is defined as the “disintegration of society into smaller sub-units that no longer form a cohesive whole, induced by individualized media exposure” (as cited in Stark et al., 2020), while polarization means “ideological division of a society into different (extreme) political camps” (Stark et al., 2010). Hence, with fragmentation and polarization comes a declining social consensus on major societal issues, and society is more divided than ever. Although, social media has led to more news being generated, for an individual user it does not necessarily mean diverse. The user often gets what they want and what they like through this algorithmic gatekeeping. Due to this, diverging views are often marginalized, and disengaging with views that are ideologically different has become easier (Kent, 2013). Lastly, apart from the algorithm the content that is being shared to us is coming from the user that we trust and know. For instance, considering India’s situation, fake news stories on WhatsApp revolve around the idea of nationalism and nation building as they connects user emotionally and make fact checking less important (Bali & Desai, 2019). 

In a nutshell, social media has always given opportunity to the individual user to create and share content, and perform their right of free speech. However, the problem lies in the abuse of free speech on social media and its algorithmic gatekeeping. Humans are so engrossed on social media platforms that their decisions in real life are shaped by the information they perceive on online social platforms, and this is where the problem lies (Margetts, 2018). Social media has the power to bring large-scale policy changes and reforms to institutions, but with the current structure of social media and extreme polarization, the changes are nowhere near. Hence, lawmakers and tech giants should work together to structure an online space that is safe for all the users, promotes diverse content and free from any manipulation or filtering. As the quote says, “Unity in Diversity.”

References

Bali, A., & Desai, P. (2019). Fake news and social media: Indian perspective. Media Watch, 10(3), 737-750. https://doi.org/10.15655/mw/2019/v10i3/49687

Kent, M. (2013). Using social media dialogically: Public relations role in reviving democracy. Public relations review, 39(4), 337-345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.07.024

Margetts, H. (2018). Rethinking democracy with social media. Political Quarterly, 90(S1). https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:8d51efd0-ede2-450c-9f96-5b962a2d9989/download_file?file_format=application%2Fpdf&safe_filename=Ch%2B9%2B%2BMargetts%2B-%2BRethinking%2Bdemocracy%2Bwith%2Bsocial%2Bmedia%2Bfinal.pdf&type_of_work=Journal+article

Persily, N., & Tucker, A. (Eds.). (2020). Social media and democracy : The state of the field, prospects for reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press  https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108890960

Stark, B., Stegmann, D., Magin, M., & Jurgens, P. (2020). Are algorithms a threat to democracy. The rise of intermediaries: A Challenge for Public discourse. https://algorithmwatch.org/de/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Governing-Platforms-communications-study-Stark-May-2020-AlgorithmWatch.pdf

 

 

The post Is Social Media That Democratic? first appeared on Self Therapy.

Process Post #12

Online comments & Community guidelines

The online comment area should be regarded as the embodiment of freedom and democracy. We can be frank in the comment area, exchange ideas in-depth and understand each other’s views to participate in the topic discussion. However, at the same time, it is also the place where language violence and harm are the most serious. One of the most common critiques of online comments cites a disconnect between the commenter’s identity and what he is saying (Konnikova, 2013). Psychologist John Suler calls this phenomenon the “online disinhibition effect” (Konnikova, 2013). The theory is that when you get rid of your identity, the usual constraints on your behaviour will also disappear (Maria konnikova, 2013). This can be even worse with anonymity. 

Konnikova said that of the 900 randomly selected user comments on articles about immigration, 53% of anonymous commentators were uncivilized, while 29% of registered non-anonymous commentators were uncivilized (2013). Therefore, Konnikova concluded that anonymity encouraged rude behaviour (2013). How should we deal with such physical behaviour? Becky Gardiner et al. said it was simple: “do not read comments,” or turn them off completely (2016). Many people have done this by permanently disabling their comment threads because they become too laborious to disturb (Becky Gardiner et al., 2016). However, simply deleting comments is not a perfect solution. Konnikova said that deleting comments will affect the reading experience (2013). It may take away the motivation to participate more deeply in a topic and share it with a broader audience.

My attitude towards my comment area is to welcome everyone to express any opinions in the comment area since I found this blog. I encourage everyone to participate and create an atmosphere of shared learning and discussion. I have not received any comments so far, not to mention malicious or offensive comments. However, through this week’s reading, I really should consider the concern of comments, so I may create an online community guide in the future to maintain a friendly, open-minded, and respectful discussion area. For example, I might make the first rule that any derogatory comments of any race, religion, gender, age, or ability are unacceptable.

Moreover, I will make it clear in the community guide that such comments will be reviewed and may be deleted. I hope all discussions will focus on topics of common interest rather than offensive comments about others. At the same time, based on my desire to create a shared learning environment, my community guide will make this point clear again. For example, I would advise people to post valuable and relevant content to help others. Furthermore, expect users to submit content based on their own honest opinions and experiences.

This is my current idea for community guidelines, and I will create a dedicated community guidelines page in the future. Starting from the mission and value of my website, I will list out clear key points and rules that create a safe space for my entire audience to connect and interact with each other.

Reference:

Featured Image via Pinterest

Gardiner, B., Mansfield, M., Anderson, I., Holder, J., Louter, D., & Ulmanu, M. (2016, April 12). The Dark Side of Guardian comments. The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/12/the-dark-side-of-guardian-comments 

Konnikova, M. (2013, October 23). The psychology of online comments. The New Yorker. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments

 

Mini Assignment #6

GIF

Process Post #11

Multi-channel, Multi-media

My understanding of multimedia is that it is a complex combination of many things that can present information, exchange ideas and express emotions. It can display information, exchange ideas and express emotions. It allows us to see, hear and understand other people’s thoughts. In short, it is a way of communication. 

Bryce J Renninger said that the concept of multimedia aims to define the new environment with a surge in communication opportunities and its impact on interpersonal communication (2015). In other words, he believes that in a multimedia environment, media ideology helps people decide where to exchange certain types of ideas (Renninger, 2015). This reminds me of the current media environment. When we pay attention to a celebrity, we no longer only know it through newspaper news but pay attention to his / her Instagram, YouTube and/or other channels

At the same time, because of the current social network environment, the online community is growing day by day. Therefore, when developing my blog in this media background, I need to consider the construction of different channels to strengthen each other. The first participatory media I created were social media such as Instagram and Twitter. By sharing the post related to the weekly blog post on IG. Moreover, mention my blog link on the IG post to increase the audience’s access to my blog. At the same time, hashtag on social media helps me effectively contact potential audiences interested in specific topics.

Rapid advances in technology are opening new frontiers in the possibilities of interactive storytelling, bringing us closer to realizing this dream. The lines between story and experience, physical and digital, real and virtual, are blurring. The audience is elevated to the role of active participant and co-creator. The audience’s increasingly active role in creating story experiences is at the heart of all this. Audiences will have more and more power to create their own experiences. Therefore, I started this blog by making it clear to my audience through my “About” that I created a shared learning relationship with them. I would love for my audience to interact with me in the comments section or on social media and share their colour combinations or favourite fashion items.

Although my blog content focuses on fashion and colour matching, I don’t want to limit my audience to every post I write. So, I created the Colour Palette. In this section, I don’t talk too much about clothing or the fashion world but rather give readers a different perspective by sharing movie colours that match the tone of my weekly tweets. In the future, I may also integrate video-sharing platforms like YouTube and TikTok into my online publications because I want my sharing to reach a wider audience not only through graphics but also through visuals and audio.

Reference:

Featured Image via Pinterest

Renninger, B. J. (2015). “Where I can be myself … where I can speak my mind” : Networked counterpublics in a polymedia environment. New Media & Society, 17(9), 1513–1529. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814530095

Process Post #10

SEO

 This week’s theme: SEO is relevant to the big data I discussed last week. Before this week’s lecture, I did not have a deep understanding of SEO. Using the definition in the lecture, SEO is simply a way to make Google notice “you” (Lecture 10, 2022).

I further understood my audience through this week’s study and modified the website according to the obtained data.

Sam Hollingsworth said that SEO could help us understand macro market changes to understand consumer intentions in detail. I found that my user participation was meagre when I reviewed my analytics report. Before that, I tried to write a call to action sentence such as “post your views in the comment area below” or “do you have any ideas? Share them with me in the comment area” under each post. However, from the analysis results, it does not have much effect. However, after consulting my analytics report, another helpful information I got was the active time of my audience. This information includes a summary of nearly three months since I published my first blog. This makes me understand that the publishing time of the blog should be modified to the most active time of the target audience to promote participation. At the same time, I also noticed that many users use desktops as their browsing devices. This makes me pay more attention to the typesetting design in line with audiences’ web browsing habits.

Finally, I also learned from the 15 reasons why a business absolutely needs SEO that the article title is the most prominent and direct part of the optimization process. Therefore, the optimized keywords should appear in the title. I modified and adjusted some titles in my blog according to this situation. For example, try to limit the number of words in the title to 20 assignments, prioritize users’ search habits, and consider how to summarize the post’s content when writing the title.

Reference:

Featured Image by karolinnne_06 via Pinterest

Sam Hollingsworth. (2021, August 9). 15 reasons why your business absolutely needs seo. Search Engine Journal. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-seo-is-important-for-business/248101/#close

Suzanne Norman, 2022, Introducation to SEO.