There was a recent law made in Indiana that allows certain businesses to refuse to serve people in the LGBT community as a way to protect religious freedom. The Indianapolis Star, a newspaper in Indiana decided to put an editorial opinion piece on the front of the paper with the huge headline saying"Fix This Now," meaning stop the discrimination against gays in the community.
I personally do not understand the law because it takes away freedom from a certain group of people while it is "protecting" the freedom of religion. It's a very gray area, but come on now, this is not the 1950s when blacks and other minorities were not allowed to sit at the same table or dine at the same restaurants as white people. What happened to America Home of the Free? I am aware that discrimination still exists, but it seems that we have learned nothing from our past. I feel like religion is meant to bring people together instead of tearing us apart.
The fact that this was a front page opinion story is really different. Everyone has their own opinion, but not everyone is interested in someone else's opinion. I respect the fact that the newspaper took a risk and did that because it represents the community in Indiana. It shows that people really care about this issue more than we think and it gets people talking. If it had of been the other way around and the newspaper supported the law, then I would really question the values of the newspaper and would probably want to know more about their values.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Braketology and March Madness!
Around this time every year, college basketball teams, men's and women's, fight on the road to becoming the NCAA National Champions. People around the country and around the world fill out brackets predicting who will make it far enough to become the champion.
Bracketology is so interesting now because there is a moblie app for it. Just like there is an app for almost anything, the sports world has made it easier for people to see who chose what teams to advance in the championship. The app is ESPN's Tournament Challenge and it shows people who have perfect brackets and how many points they've earned. Even celebrities and their brackets are shown like Obama for example and Kevin Hart.
This is another way for people to connect to one another. This time through sports. It excites people to know that they've chosen the same teams as the President of the United States and involves people who may know nothing about college basketball. Every time a school wins the app notifies people of the percentage of people who put them winning on their bracket. I think that's pretty cool.
Bracketology is way to invite a friendly competition between fans who may be absolute strangers and makes the game and tournament so much more exciting by adding to the experience.
Bracketology is so interesting now because there is a moblie app for it. Just like there is an app for almost anything, the sports world has made it easier for people to see who chose what teams to advance in the championship. The app is ESPN's Tournament Challenge and it shows people who have perfect brackets and how many points they've earned. Even celebrities and their brackets are shown like Obama for example and Kevin Hart.
This is another way for people to connect to one another. This time through sports. It excites people to know that they've chosen the same teams as the President of the United States and involves people who may know nothing about college basketball. Every time a school wins the app notifies people of the percentage of people who put them winning on their bracket. I think that's pretty cool.
Bracketology is way to invite a friendly competition between fans who may be absolute strangers and makes the game and tournament so much more exciting by adding to the experience.
Why Snapchat Works
People have a desire to know what their friends are doing at certain times throughout the day. Social media allows people to share what they are doing, their location and who they are with in pictures, videos and posts. Snapchat allows people to get an inside view of someone's daily life through pictures and video for a snippet of time.
MyStory is something that is in my opinion a great invention. You can keep adding seconds to your story giving people a view into your life for a certain period of time throughout the day. The cool thing about Snapchat is that whatever is on MyStory doesn't last beyond 24 hours after it's posted. People literally can show every second of their lives on MyStory, but who has time for that?
Snapchat works because it allows people to communicate through real time events and it forces people to pay attention. Some may argue that it's no different than text messaging, but I beg to differ. A text message is permanent. You can always go back to a text message to see the conversation again. With Snapchat that is impossible. Once someone sends you a video or photo you have only a certain amount of time to figure out what's going on or what the person is saying.
People focus more and probably enjoy the thrill of having a certain amount of time to look at something. It's fun, it's exciting and it's s new kind of communication that I think helps us to listen and understand a little bit more. I know that when I get a video message and I am somewhere quiet I wait until I am somewhere appropriate enough to where I can hear the message and hear exactly what is being said because ultimately I only get one shot. If not, I just put headphones in because I am too impatient to wait. That could explain people in the digital ages' fear of missing out, but I'll save that topic for another post.
MyStory is something that is in my opinion a great invention. You can keep adding seconds to your story giving people a view into your life for a certain period of time throughout the day. The cool thing about Snapchat is that whatever is on MyStory doesn't last beyond 24 hours after it's posted. People literally can show every second of their lives on MyStory, but who has time for that?
Snapchat works because it allows people to communicate through real time events and it forces people to pay attention. Some may argue that it's no different than text messaging, but I beg to differ. A text message is permanent. You can always go back to a text message to see the conversation again. With Snapchat that is impossible. Once someone sends you a video or photo you have only a certain amount of time to figure out what's going on or what the person is saying.
People focus more and probably enjoy the thrill of having a certain amount of time to look at something. It's fun, it's exciting and it's s new kind of communication that I think helps us to listen and understand a little bit more. I know that when I get a video message and I am somewhere quiet I wait until I am somewhere appropriate enough to where I can hear the message and hear exactly what is being said because ultimately I only get one shot. If not, I just put headphones in because I am too impatient to wait. That could explain people in the digital ages' fear of missing out, but I'll save that topic for another post.
Good Things Never Last Forever
How would you feel if I told you the free music that you listen to on Spotify and Pandora and other streaming music sites are limiting the music you can listen to and adding things like more advertisements forcing you to buy the music? I would be sad at first, but I would get over it. There's still YouTube.
Music labels are getting angry because they are losing money from these free streaming sites and are not getting enough money from the music they play. In the near future "free music" may vanish and we won't get the luxury of listening to the Justin Timberlake radio that we adore so much.
What are we going to do? Personally, I love Pandora when I am studying and working out, so I don't know how I am going to be able to listen to my stations anymore. I love opening Pandora and it's spontaneity when a song plays that makes me reminisce back to a certain time or memory. It's extremely convenient.
Of course money is the root of all problems and because music labels are losing money they are suggesting that these freemium models start adding special features to buying customers, such as exclusive albums and high resolution sound. Biggie said it best, "Mo Money, Mo Problems," but in this case the money that is not there is causing the problem for the labels while others enjoy the free service.
I knew this was coming one day just like (for my Chapel Hill people) I saw Old Chicago's price go from $2 to $3 pizzas. People always get a little angry when they have to pay more or pay all of a sudden when a service used to be free. This digital age has spoiled us.
Music labels are getting angry because they are losing money from these free streaming sites and are not getting enough money from the music they play. In the near future "free music" may vanish and we won't get the luxury of listening to the Justin Timberlake radio that we adore so much.
What are we going to do? Personally, I love Pandora when I am studying and working out, so I don't know how I am going to be able to listen to my stations anymore. I love opening Pandora and it's spontaneity when a song plays that makes me reminisce back to a certain time or memory. It's extremely convenient.
Of course money is the root of all problems and because music labels are losing money they are suggesting that these freemium models start adding special features to buying customers, such as exclusive albums and high resolution sound. Biggie said it best, "Mo Money, Mo Problems," but in this case the money that is not there is causing the problem for the labels while others enjoy the free service.
I knew this was coming one day just like (for my Chapel Hill people) I saw Old Chicago's price go from $2 to $3 pizzas. People always get a little angry when they have to pay more or pay all of a sudden when a service used to be free. This digital age has spoiled us.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
The News Media Still Doesn't Get It
I am in this class entitled Current Issues in Mass Communications where we talk about media and the future of media and how it affects how we live our lives now and in the future. Well, there has been one issue that has been on my mind lately and it's about the media coverage of Ferguson.
We all know (or should now) what someone means when they say "Ferguson." It is the place in Missouri where unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, was shot and killed in August of 2014. Some credible news outlets that are known for their outstanding reporting and storytelling telling were irresponsible when it came to coverage of the incident. News organizations such as The New York Times called Mr. Brown "no angel" other news outlets such as CNN didn't even bother to consider the issue as breaking news or didn't cover the story right when it happened. According to the Pew Research Center, it took a full two days for any cable networks to mention the issue and its growing concern on the nation.
Bystanders and citizens of the entire United States got the news out on Twitter way before anyone else did. By anyone else I am talking about our news organizations that we rely on for our news. Many people do look to social media for news, which is a whole different story, but it's these people who are actually getting the story right. In the journalism world we call them citizen journalists. These are the people shooting videos of real events, such as the case with Eric Garner in New York.
Phones have allowed people to be journalists themselves and news sources have to step up in order to confirm the claims made on social media.
When the Stonewall riots happened in the late 1960s as an initiator of the gay rights movement, the same thing happened. The New York Times choose to use sensationalized words to describe the drag queens and other LGBT individuals, and news stories made it seem like the police were the victims instead of the perpetrators. Stories were often in the back of the paper, so people hardly saw them and they rarely inserted the voices of the LGBT community.
It's surprising that we have come so far with equal rights for all in this country, yet we still have further to go. For news outlets that have millions relying on you to produce fair and truthful news, I have two words for you, "Do Better." I know you can.
How Mainstream Media Failed In Ferguson
We all know (or should now) what someone means when they say "Ferguson." It is the place in Missouri where unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, was shot and killed in August of 2014. Some credible news outlets that are known for their outstanding reporting and storytelling telling were irresponsible when it came to coverage of the incident. News organizations such as The New York Times called Mr. Brown "no angel" other news outlets such as CNN didn't even bother to consider the issue as breaking news or didn't cover the story right when it happened. According to the Pew Research Center, it took a full two days for any cable networks to mention the issue and its growing concern on the nation.
Bystanders and citizens of the entire United States got the news out on Twitter way before anyone else did. By anyone else I am talking about our news organizations that we rely on for our news. Many people do look to social media for news, which is a whole different story, but it's these people who are actually getting the story right. In the journalism world we call them citizen journalists. These are the people shooting videos of real events, such as the case with Eric Garner in New York.
Phones have allowed people to be journalists themselves and news sources have to step up in order to confirm the claims made on social media.
When the Stonewall riots happened in the late 1960s as an initiator of the gay rights movement, the same thing happened. The New York Times choose to use sensationalized words to describe the drag queens and other LGBT individuals, and news stories made it seem like the police were the victims instead of the perpetrators. Stories were often in the back of the paper, so people hardly saw them and they rarely inserted the voices of the LGBT community.
It's surprising that we have come so far with equal rights for all in this country, yet we still have further to go. For news outlets that have millions relying on you to produce fair and truthful news, I have two words for you, "Do Better." I know you can.
How Mainstream Media Failed In Ferguson
Friday, March 20, 2015
Monica Lewinsky Talks Cyber-bulling
Monica Lewinsky became very well-known after one of the biggest sex-scandals of our time with then-president Bill Clinton. She was called many things online, such a slut, whore, home-wrecker, bimbo, etc. This all happened during a time when the Internet was flourishing and many people began to use social media on the Internet to communicate with one another.
She went through very tough times because during the late 90s (the digital revolution), information had never been spread as quickly as it did to so many strangers at once. She was the main target for cyber-bullying and as an activist now she can speak for those who have been cyber-bullied.
She said that people are hungry for gossip on the Internet and will sometimes do anything to find out the latest gossip. Today it is becoming easier to find gossip, which makes it easier for rumors to spread and for people to branded in ways they don't prefer to be. The Internet has this amazing way of connecting people from all over the world, but the nonstop information is what makes people so hungry to find out more.
Lewinsky said she was branded as being a slut from people she barely knew. One issue was how the media portrayed her. People don't see the real stories or the real people behind the story because sometimes all the media cares about is traffic on their sites and readership. Lewinsky encouraged people at a TED Talks event to be media "upstanders" instead of bystanders and show the media that public humiliation does drive clicks, but can ruin the person whose voice is often not heard. It's not worth it because it ultimately keeps feeding a society that is greedy for more gossip instead of information that actually matters. We see this all the time today and it's only making media companies richer and us...well...I think it's honestly making us less aware of important news that affects us.
She went through very tough times because during the late 90s (the digital revolution), information had never been spread as quickly as it did to so many strangers at once. She was the main target for cyber-bullying and as an activist now she can speak for those who have been cyber-bullied.
She said that people are hungry for gossip on the Internet and will sometimes do anything to find out the latest gossip. Today it is becoming easier to find gossip, which makes it easier for rumors to spread and for people to branded in ways they don't prefer to be. The Internet has this amazing way of connecting people from all over the world, but the nonstop information is what makes people so hungry to find out more.
Lewinsky said she was branded as being a slut from people she barely knew. One issue was how the media portrayed her. People don't see the real stories or the real people behind the story because sometimes all the media cares about is traffic on their sites and readership. Lewinsky encouraged people at a TED Talks event to be media "upstanders" instead of bystanders and show the media that public humiliation does drive clicks, but can ruin the person whose voice is often not heard. It's not worth it because it ultimately keeps feeding a society that is greedy for more gossip instead of information that actually matters. We see this all the time today and it's only making media companies richer and us...well...I think it's honestly making us less aware of important news that affects us.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Trusting Facebook with your bank Info.
Facebook just announced that they will be allowing people to pay and send money to family and friends on Facebook just like people do on sites like PayPal. This is a very smart choice on Facebook's part because many people connect with their distant family and friends mostly through social media instead of actual phone calls and texts. Being able to add this to the way of connecting with them will add convenience to paying someone back when you owe them money.
I think a lot of people will use this, however I think some may have a problem trusting Facebook with their bank information. Facebook is way to share pictures, events, videos, posts, news etc. and now money! There have been issues in the past of people not reading the privacy settings on Facebook and often times not knowing that their private page isn't so private when some of their information is sold to advertisers.
Talking about privacy is one thing, but when it comes to people's money Facebook will have to be extremely careful to maintain trust with their users. Otherwise the business could go downhill really quick. I personally will not be using it just because it's new and I'd want to wait to see how it does first. Then if I am comfortable enough it could take a load off my shoulders when trying to send money to someone with confidence that it won't be stolen. Another issue would be to make sure other people have it too, so you can actually send the money. Either way people will mostly want to do it for the convenience it brings to the transaction process.
Read more: http://mashable.com/2015/03/19/facebook-messenger-payments/
I think a lot of people will use this, however I think some may have a problem trusting Facebook with their bank information. Facebook is way to share pictures, events, videos, posts, news etc. and now money! There have been issues in the past of people not reading the privacy settings on Facebook and often times not knowing that their private page isn't so private when some of their information is sold to advertisers.
Talking about privacy is one thing, but when it comes to people's money Facebook will have to be extremely careful to maintain trust with their users. Otherwise the business could go downhill really quick. I personally will not be using it just because it's new and I'd want to wait to see how it does first. Then if I am comfortable enough it could take a load off my shoulders when trying to send money to someone with confidence that it won't be stolen. Another issue would be to make sure other people have it too, so you can actually send the money. Either way people will mostly want to do it for the convenience it brings to the transaction process.
Read more: http://mashable.com/2015/03/19/facebook-messenger-payments/
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