Final Blog Post

Technology's Impact 

In today's society technology is a vital part of our everyday lives whether we like to use it or not. Every year that goes by there are more technological advancements that help make different aspects of your lives a lot easier. My generation was born in a time where we are considered digital natives. This means that we were born with computers and technology since we were born and did not need to be taught how to use computers later on in life. Having access and the need for computers in and out of school made it mandatory for our age group to learn how to use this skill early on while growing up. When I was in first grade, at the age of seven is when I first had access to a computer at home. My parents thought it would be a good idea to invest in buying a computer for my siblings and me at home to help us with our studies. I remember when we first got the computer my parents were extremely strict on what I could use it for. At first, I used the computer at home to help me improve my reading and writing skills since I struggled with reading comprehension as a student growing up throughout the elementary school. This first allowed me to see technology in a positive way because it was a tool I had access to use at home and at school to help me improve both my reading and writing skills considering the fact I struggled a lot academically at the time. 

Improved My Academic Success

Since I started to use technology early on during elementary school for academic support I have always viewed technology as a positive component in my everyday life. Throughout the years I continued to use it to help with my studies. Eventually, as new programs were added every year the computer we had at home was used as a resource and a way to help with any class. When I started to struggle later on in my academic career with math it allowed me to help improve my skills with the calculator feature and a program that helped me a lot throughout the years called Khan Academy.  Since technology in my life helped me better myself as a student I always viewed it to be a healthy aspect of my life.

Healthy Vs. Unhealthy 

As I got older and the use of social media became more popular and used by many people my age it was the only time that I would ever consider technology to be unhealthy. Since I knew so many people that were very close to me get cyberbullied this is the only time I ever considered the use of technology to be a negative component in life. This was the first time I ever thought about how technology could be a negative aspect. Since people were able to hide behind a screen and be mean to people anonymously through programs like Ask.FM, it caused a lot of people to become depressed and anxious. Eventually, when people started to bring awareness to how cyberbullying could really upset someone badly it eventually started to improve. Anyone who bullied anyone via online was held accountable for their actions since it was such a horrible thing that occurred way too often at the time. 

I remember when I was in middle school and throughout high school my favorite time of the year was summer. Growing up I attended a sleepaway camp where the use of technology including phones, iPods, laptops, and pads were strictly prohibited. This was honestly one of my favorite parts about summer camp because it gave me a way to disconnect from the outside world. It allowed me to grow as a person tremendously by not having any access or form of communication through texting, phone calls, and social media. All my friends also agreed with me one of the best parts about summer camp was just not to worry about how many likes or who followed you. The little things that come along with the use of social media that stress many people out for no reason. I loved to be able to talk to my friends in person and be able to not worry about anything other than having fun with my friends at camp. I will always say even to this day that going to summer camp and being able to disconnect is one of the best ways for my friends and me during the summer to improve mental health. I always felt anxious-free over the summer and felt overall happier.

My Online Footprint

Even though I am someone personally who loves to disconnect from the outside world and enjoys taking breaks from technology, it is still very important to have around as well. Being in college it has been very important to have access to computers to help with all my assignments in many of my classes. Especially since I am a strategic communication major, there is a lot of classes that require programs to help with audio and video editing. I do have an online presence but compared to my peers I would say not as much compared to them. I do have a few social media accounts but I am not that active on them on the daily basis. My digital footprint shows that my actions online are noticeable and present but lack a lot of information googling myself. Since I do not have a lot of accounts and the account I do have are private it is hard to find me on the web. Technology has been around my entire life and has helped me in a lot positive ways overall but even to this day, I will always be someone who enjoys a break from access to technology as well.

Blog Post #12

Grasping the Concept of Propaganda 

A concept that another team presented, that I both learned a lot about and intrigued me was Propaganda. Growing up during middle and high school in history classes, we touched a little about what propaganda was and why was it used. But I never realized or knew before how connected propaganda was to World War One.  World Word one made propaganda more dramatized and showed the power it also had. Since the very beginning of the use of propaganda, it has been used in a way to misguide information and statements on posters and signs. Even though some people may assume that it is modern and newer propaganda has been around for a long time and has been used to grab individual’s attention by being misleading. Since it started being used it has changed throughout the years by being used for many different purposes.

 Changes Throughout the Years

 Even though it was first used at the start of World War One, eventually it was then used for the media too. Propaganda style of a way of communicating to grab people’s attention was then used for TV shows, radio shows, films, and even cartoons. Recently, in today's era, propaganda can be viewed as being negative in respect it is a way of manipulating individuals. Since the words could be misleading since they could not show the correct facts or all the information that should be present. A topic that has been thrown around and been discussed a lot in the past year is fake news. This corresponds to the use of propaganda because it includes not the full story or information. Also, in today’s society, propaganda has been used frequently in political campaigns and ways to get people’s attention for both political parties. Propaganda has been around for a long time and it continues to adapt and change throughout the years.

Blog #10 Key Post

 

Online Influencers Triumph 

Online influencers have been used for nearly twenty years now and continue to get even more popular and used every year. Influencers, in general, have been around for a while and have been used to promote all different brands and products to help improve sales. Online influencers are a form of social media marketing. Influencers that brands hire to help promote themselves have been a selling technique and way to bring in engagement for many years. This started back in the year 1997 for the L’oreal company, they decided to use a celebrity, Jennifer Aniston, to help market their hair products. Since at the time everyone knew who Jennifer Aniston was because of her role in the very popular show Friends, it helped attract many individuals to purchase their hair products because Jennifer was promoting them. This was just the very beginning of online influencers which then paved the path to the now very successful brands who use online influencers. The brands use their online influencers to help sell and promote their products.  This can be done in two ways, the first way is by the brand posting about the influencer on the companies platforms to help market their products. This can be done when the influencer is personally posting about the brand and their products on all of their accounts on either just one platform or multiple. The overall main purpose of the company hiring the influencer is to both help endorse and sell the products to help improve the companies sales. The platforms that are typically used to help the market by the online influencers are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Recently in the past year, since TikTok has blown up companies have started to make accounts for this platform since it has become so popular to use by many individuals from all over the world.  

Positives and Success from Influencers

It is very clear from an outside point of view to see how online influencers have impacted a lot of brands in a positive way. If a company hires an influencer for the right age group and the target market for the product they are trying to sell it will help make an impact bringing in more sales. In order for the company to be most effective using their platform, they need to figure out what platform will help the company become more successful and help grow their following. This way they are able to achieve their sales goal and the influencer will help attract more people to the brand as well. It would be favorable to the brands’ social media team to focus on hiring an influencer who already has a big following. This way all their followers will either follow the brand on social media or turn to the brand for the products they are selling. It would be a bad idea for the company to hire an influencer who would not reach their intended target audience. For example, if the brand hires someone who is fifty years old and the company sells college decor, it would fail and not be an effective use of hiring an online influencer. The brand would have to hire a college-age student to help sell the college decor because then it would be in the same age group which would be the most effective way to promote. Also, it would be a bad idea for the brand to only use the influencer once. This is because followers want consistency and the company needs to focus on building trust with its audience. The brand’s followers would not be in favor of there being a new online influencer each post. It would look disorganized on the companies behalf and it would not give them enough time to allow the influencer to help spread the word on the brand and their products. 

An Accepting Community

The use of online influencers has a strong impact on society because it helps more companies become successful by individuals with a large following help build a company to become more successful. This helps our society connect and unites more individuals from all over the world and with all different backgrounds, ethnic groups, socioeconomic statuses, and age groups. Since individuals from all different countries can follow the brands and influencers it will help further relationships regardless of who the individual is. The online influencers could bring in more individuals to follow and buy from the company than the company ever expected. It will also help more people within society have more interest to create social media accounts if before they did not have an interest in having any social media before. No matter what an individual’s sexual orientation does not matter or affective in a bad way at all. Through the use of social media, brands have brought more awareness to the LGBTQ community and help bring awareness to the community. To help more individuals from the LGBTQ feel more comfortable using these platforms it would be effective to hire an online influencer within the community. This way followers who are gay, lesbian, and transgender also feel comfortable buying from the brand. Also, this is a great way to show that the company has awareness and is very accepting of any individual no matter who they are. No matter what online influencers could affect different genders, ages, or minorities. But a lot of brands have acknowledged how they could impact people and have learned the best and right way to show that they accept anyone and everyone through their platforms. If a certain brand is showing in any way that they are not like this in today’s era they will be canceled which means nobody would buy anything from the brand going further.

Personal Impact

Since online influencers started being used back in 1997 they have impacted social media platforms and the brands that use each and every platform in a positive way. Everyone I personally know who uses social media has their favorite influencers and as do I. They are a great way to help more individuals find out about brands from all over the world that they never heard about before by someone’s favorite YouTuber or celebrity. Personally, it has affected me because if I love a certain influencer and they promote a certain brand, it would help encourage me to then buy the brand’s products. Since my generation loves and uses social media daily in their lives it has impacted so many of us to learn about brands that we have never even heard of before. Since social media is such a vast component in our everyday lives with our age group a lot of influencers are also roughly the same age as well for many brands. In a time like the COVID-19 pandemic, influencers have helped companies still bring in profits during a difficult time for the economy. Overall, online influencers have made such a powerful impact on helpings brands improve their following and help with their overall sales.

Blog Post #9

Diffusion Theory and the World Wide Web

Back in the year 1989 when the World Wide Web was created no one had any idea the magnitude of success, it would bring. When the World Wide Web was first launched, only a select group of individuals had access to use it and check it out. This is because it was designed to help better the communication for scientists around the world. The main goal was for scientists studying at universities all over to be able to connect and share their thoughts without needing to travel or find a way to connect in person. Since it was released and used by only scientists at first not everyone had access to it. Until it was eventually released and could be used by the general public. Everyone who already had access to the World Wide Web spoke very highly of it, which made many people eager to try it out themselves. The reason why so many people caught on so early and were interested is that the scientists who used it originally were extremely impressed with the development of it. It made many different tasks easier and it was also very user-friendly.

Early and Late Adopters

Since so many individuals finally got access and were able to finally use the World Wide Web it made many people even more excited to use it and see it for the first time. This is what then led many individuals from all over the world to become early adopters because everyone wanted to get their hands on this new online information platform. Since there was nothing that could ever compare to it or was even close to similar, it made it even more appealing to try and test out. No matter if you were in Switzerland or in the United States there was much discussion over this invention by computer scientist Tim Berners Lee. The main reason why some people were late adopters of the World Wide Web is because of their location. Some parts of the world are so far off the grid they would not have access to it because they did not own a computer or have one that they were able to use. If down the road they still never got access to it because they still did not have access to technology then this would lead to some individuals never become adopters. 

Even though the World Wide Web serves an amazing purpose and allows anyone and everyone to communicate online if they have access to a computer. There are still negative consequences with technology. This is mostly due to personal safety and hackers being able to steal your personal data as more people turn to use different platforms online and share their personal information. The main reason for not being on any social media platform or website is mostly due to the fact that anyone can somehow gain access or information and steal your data. This could occur from a hacker logging into your account if you had one of the government having the ability to get all of your personal data as well. The cost-benefit analysis helps you compare both the good and the bad. If you are debating to use a new platform because you want to be safe but there are also benefits that come about it too. Since making decisions can be difficult it can help you figure out what the strengths and weaknesses are.  Overall there are both positive and negatives to any technology platform or device because it makes life a lot easier but at the same time it still puts you at risk.

 

Blog Post #8

A World-Changing Technology Device

During the first EOTO which stands for Each One Teach One, I learned a lot during all the group presentations. Which were in regards to all different technological advancements and their communication abilities. Even though I was already born when the iPhone was released, I never knew how many technological improvements and advancements it had throughout the years since it was first released in 2007 by Steve Jobs. Even though it first came out nearly fourteen years ago now a lot has changed since the original iPhone was designed. It is impressive how much has changed and been created since the first model. This makes the iPhone extremely impressive and stands out compared to other technological communication devices. After learning about other technology devices and services nothing compares to all the changes and new features from each and every iPhone model to date.

No Comparison or Competition  

When the iPhone was first launched back in 2007 it changed the world technology-wise and a cell phone was never the same again. Since the iPhone had everything all in one it made it extremely easy and useful to any individual who purchased it. At the time there was no comparison on the market because it was brand new and the first cellular device to have any of these advanced features. Even though at the time the Blackberry was released many years before the iPhone. It still never came close or could even be compared to everything that an iPhone could do. Eventually, Samsung released their first version of an iPhone called the Samsung Galaxy two years after Apple launched the iPhone. Even though Samsung tried to compete with Apple for the greatest smartphone phone it still never became as popular as the iPhone was and could ever be. In today's era, the iPhone still dominates the smartphone market. There are people who do prefer other smartphones compared to Apple’s iPhone. But there are not enough to make Apple’s iPhone have any close competition.

The Impact and Change Throughout the Years

The iPhone has changed the technology world forever because the device that was created has never been seen before. The success of this cell phone steamed from the fact it can make almost everyone's life easier. This is because you could access the internet, check the weather, text, call and take pictures all from the tip of your fingers on only one device. Also since it's a mobile device you had the accessibility and power to bring it everywhere and anywhere you desired to. The iPhone went through many different facelifts every year when it released the new model basically every fall each year since 2007. In 2010 when the 4th generation iPhone came out the phone included a front and back camera which was a game-changer. When the 5s generation came out a new feature that changed the iPhone forever came out which was touch ID. This allowed you to open your phone without a password and just a touch with your finger. The newest models do not use touch ID anymore. But this led the way to the now popular use of Face ID. This is a similar concept but this lets you open up your phone with the recognition of your face to unlock. Internally the phones changed each year as well. At first, the iPhone had very little storage and could only offer up to sixteen gigabytes. As a new model was released every year it also changed internally between offering more storage and memory. The iPhone is arguably one of the greatest technological inventions ever. It changed the cell phone world forever and made accessing the internet and communication through technology easier than ever before.    

Blog Post #7

 What is an Anti-War Website?

                                            

In today's day and age TV news and different media platforms are where most individuals get the latest coverage on topics including political debates, current events, celebrity gossip, or daily updates of COVID-19 statistics. All of the mainstream news channels that people typically watch have different points of view depending on the channel's political view. For example, Fox News is for conservative viewers while CNN news is aimed towards more of a liberal audience. Even though most of the United States citizens tune in to watch mainstream media, there is still a lot of important information they do not cover or even touch base on. One very important thing that is not covered at all on mainstream platforms is information in regards to military affairs including war and overseas issues as well. Nobody knows exactly why this occurs, where military and war information is not covered on the most viewed news channels. Both military affairs and war are serious topics with a lot of heavy information. It could be difficult for any individual to process any and all content regarding military affairs. But can be assumed the reason behind this is to prevent fear or anxiety from American citizens.

Free Speech gives you the power

Being a citizen in the United States of America gives you the right and free will to have freedom of speech. This is a vital aspect within the First Amendment and it is made very clear that every citizen is able to speak up and state what they personally believe in. No matter what that topic is regarding anyone and everyone within the United States has the power and the right to say what they want. A lot of Americans when speaking on behalf of what they believe in on a certain topic even if it is a light or heavy affair. All in all any individual just wants their voice to be heard and taken into consideration by others. 

Depending on the subject or the material that is being discussed and talked about by someone it could result in a disagreement. This is due to the fact that it could get heated and controversial because someone is just trying to get their message out and they want to be heard and acknowledged. In regards to an individual or a group having a discussion or conversation about war or military affairs by any means is it light or easy subject. But that makes us then question why and how individuals who are anti-wars never speak up? There could be multiple explanations and assumed reasons regarding this question. The easiest explanation for this is because war-related topics are nowhere close to being a light subject to take in.

Why have you never heard of these sites?

Websites like Antiwar.com and American Conservative that share and discuss heavy material are barely known. This is because they are anti-war websites and why most people do not ever hear anything about these types of websites is strict because of the content on them. The content on these sites contrary to the information and material that gets published and talked about on mainstream media. All of the information on these sites are extremely opinionated to what the writer believes in. Since this could cause a lot of arguments and be so controversial it made me realize why these sites are barely talked about and known to the general public. Considering the fact how a topic like war is such a deep and heavy subject there could be a lot of fighting amongst different parties. Overall, the most significant reason for you needing to seek out obscure websites like these to speak out, and share your anti-war opinions is because of the number of altercations and fighting that would happen. A lot of dispute would happen if it was easier to share your opinions on heavy topics like anti-war on just any ordinary website or mainstream media platform.

Blog Post #6

 World Wide Web

The Creation

Back in the year 1989 arguably one of the most important developments within technology was the World Wide Web. In the year of 1989, a computer scientist named Tim Bernes Lee who was from London in the United Kingdom. Tim was always interested in different gadgets and toys since he was a little kid. Later on, in his college years, he attended Oxford University in England. While he was in college he was so intelligent that he took an old television set and turned it into a computer all by himself. Once he graduated from Oxford University Tim Bernes Lee moved to Geneva, Switzerland to work for CERN. CERN was a research institute for scientists from all over the world that conducted many different types of research. This is where Tim first had his idea of creating the World Wide Web. When the idea was developed and put together by himself he made a document for his proposal called “Information Management: A Proposal”. Shockingly, when he first proposed his idea and plan for his creation it was not accepted originally. Months later after editing and improving his proposal he eventually invented the World Wide Web by himself and was not considered to be a CERN project. 

The famous Tim Berners Lee

When Tim first developed the World Wide Web only individuals within CERN were only able to use the web at first. Eventually, in the year 1991, any and all individuals outside of CERN had access and the ability to use the world wide web. Anyone who wanted to use it was allowed to try it out and join the community of this astonishing new technology invention. When it was first released outside of CERN, he considered and debated if there is or should not be a cost to use it. Tim believed the best option to give access to anyone to use the world wide web would be the best idea if there was zero cost to it. This decision was made after he realized the world wide web would have more potential of being successful if there was no price individuals would have to pay just to use it. When the world wide web was first developed the main idea for it was for scientists from all different universities to be able to communicate amongst each other without traveling to meet and conduct research altogether. It allowed scientists to do research and studies from their university while collaborating with scientists from a different university on the other side of the world.

Developments and Improvements

As the World Wide Web became more popular and used throughout the entire world it developed and changed fast throughout the years. Originally when it was first developed the browser was only able to bring you to twenty-six web servers. Which grew throughout the years and many more servers were added every year. The web at first had no pictures at all and no buttons as well. This was at the early beginning for the first few years when the World Wide Web was first created. In the year of 1993, the web started to be used daily by many individuals as it developed and added more websites to use. Towards the end of 1994, there were more popular websites that were created and used. This is when the popular and still used website today Yahoo!, was first introduced. The website developed early on in 1994 in January, it was created by two students from Stanford University in California. Both Jerry Yang and David Filo created and brainstormed ideas to make this very successful website. 

When the World Wide Web was first established in Switzerland by computer scientist Tim Bernes Lee at CERN. Five years later Robert Cailliau organized and planned the first World Wide Web conference in May of 1994 in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference was held where the World Wide Web was originally created which was at CERN in Switzerland. Since it was created at CERN, every year the conference was held there because of it. The first year in 1994 there were nearly four hundred participants who attended the conference. At this event, there were multiple awards given for all sorts of personal achievements that helped shape and develop the World Wide Web. 

Web 2.0

A lot of improvements and changes were done over time to the web as we know and use it today. When it was generated it looks a lot different than how it looks today, as a lot of changes were made while new technological advances were made and created. In the mid-2000s there was a lot of change and development that was made and what is referred to as Web 2.0. This simply means that new developments changed the look and design and also incorporated user-generated content. This time period also sparked a very popular platform that we still use and love today, which is social media websites. This is when popular social media websites including Facebook and MySpace were established. Once Web 2.0 was created and took over it is still current to today and how we use and view the World Wide Web in our daily lives.