Social Media vlog

I tried using imovie, it's a bit choppy, but here ya go!

Politics Today

New new media has changed the way campaigns are run today. Candidates now have the ability to target specific segments through a number of different media instead of just using mass communication. They can target a large segment of the population with Facebook, Twitter, they can blog about their campaign experience and upload YouTube videos to keep their voters entertained and informed. Instead of spending a large sum of money on a spot on a major TV news outlet, they can create a speech from the comfort of their home, or on the road even, and upload it to YouTube. They can tape interviews with voters at different locations to answer questions in a less formal environment and give a down to earth appeal.

But, new new media can also be very damaging to a campaign. If some unknown truth about the candidate is revealed, it will spread like wildfire throughout the Internet. This would call for serious damage control both through the use of social media as well as conventional mass media. So, I see new new media as being extremely helpful for the public in terms of election. Not only do we have the potential to feel significantly more connected to our candidates, but there is also an ease with which the majority of society can learn about past scandals if they happen to come up during the election period (or after).

However, we must always be careful not to believe anything too quickly and always check stories against other sources. Although the truth has the ability to spread rapidly across the Internet, so do lies.

Obama and Digital Media for his 2008 Campaign

Revolutionizing Politics

It is interesting to see how much of an impact new new media is having on government, politics and law, one of the most reluctant groups to accept to new technologies as Dr. Levinson says. The Obama administration used tons of new new media, never used before, throughout the campaign, including a campaign video made specifically to air on YouTube. An actual presidential debate was streamed via CNN and YouTube, bringing new media more attention in the presidential race. The administration continues to use all kinds of media everyday. It is fascinating how these new methods, like blogs on the the whitehouse.gov website, facebook pages, etc. allow the people to have more of a say and an opinion ever before. I remember writing letters to the president in grade school that the teacher would pack up all together and mail to the white house. I don't remember if we ever got responses, but I'm sure if we did it was similar to the one Dr. Levinson's wife got back. Lookingback it doesn't seem like this method was very effective. Not only is it easier to write an email or a blog post or a facebook comment, but it is also easier for white house administrators to read them and take what they say into consideration. I think new new media has revolutionized politics for the better. It will be interesting to see what types of new new media will be used in the next election and to see if it has any interesting effects.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying has grown to simply be a part of our society. In a way, I think that cyberbullying may even have replaced actual bullying. I think that some people are more likely to bully someone through various sources of new media. Face to face confrontation is uncomfortable for most people, but with the invention of the internet this is not necessary anymore, but the same results can be attained, sometimes even worse results. I think that websites like myspace and facebook are the biggest sources of cyberbullying because of the amount of information that one puts out about themselves on these types of sites. They become targets for certain information that they post. My sister who is a 7th grader has told me countless stories about kids who have been bullied on facebook, which then translates into real life fighting or isolation. I think it is a shame that these types of issues come from websites that have the potential to be so positive. However, everything in life has its downsides and I suppose cyberbullying is one downside of new new media.

Downsides of New New Media

Every rose has its thorn. This is true for everything including new new media. New new media opens up a whole new Pandora's box of crime that now takes place in cyberspace. Crimes like cyber-stalking, cyber-bullying, and even robbery and murder have been solicited through new new media. Most of us are familiar with the joke "oh, time to Facebook stalk you!" This is making a pun on the fact that you're going to go through someone's Facebook page and give a thorough read through. Though harmless in this scenario, cyber-stalking is when someone repeatedly follows the movements of someone online through the internet. This is very scary for many people because it makes them uncomfortable and fear for their own safety. Cyber-bullying is another big issue as well. We're all familiar with gossip queens and such, but when it takes to the internet, it turns into a whole new beast. A young Irish immigrant to Massachusetts committed suicide because of what some of the people in her school were writing online about her. She was constantly harassed over her short time dating a football player at her high school and she could never settle in or feel welcome. The bullying got so bad, she took her own life. One of the most famous new new media crimes however, was the craigslist killer Philip Markoff. He was a medical school student who met people by soliciting ads on craigslist.com and then proceeded to rob them. One final time he met a young lady on craigslist and robbed her and killed her. Markoff committed suicide after being indicted on murder and armed robbery charges. Even though the internet and new new media have incredible upsides, their downsides can be very ugly. The world is a dangerous place, and cyberspace is no exception.

Cyber Bullying

After reading ch. 11 in Paul Levinson's "New New Media" I knew immediately I wanted to write about online gossip and cyberbullying. I was a little late to join the popular college gossip site collegeacb.com. It wasn't until over the summer that I heard about the site from a friend who thought she had seen a post about me. While I was curious, I've never really been too interested in these kinds of sites for the very reasons that Levinson outlined in his book: they're generally cruel and completely inaccurate. The fact that I could be talked about on this site, however, somewhat unnerved me, and it didn't take too much effort for my friend to convince me to check it out. She showed me the post she thought might be about me and I was relieved to see that it was pretty harmless and really could be about anyone named Kristen. Once on the site though I noticed the titles of other posts and was both disgusted and curious. Posts included topics calling out the "sluttiest" girls of different classes and dorms, who was gay and who's not, who has the best bodies (and who has the worst), among other terrible categories. What's worse is that anyone can post something about whoever they want without any kind of explanation or certification, and also without the person in question being able to defend themselves without looking defensive. Although there is a report button many people don't utilize this because you need to have an account to do so. Many people probably worry that they'll lose their anonymity if they report something, which makes the site both so popular and so dangerous.

Another terrible case of cyberbullying is the Honesty Box application on Facebook. This has to be the single most confidence-shattering thing for a lot of girls in my high school. This application allowed people to write anonymous notes to you. While occasionally there could be nice things written to you from someone who had a secret crush on you or from someone trying to help you without revealing themselves, 95% of the time it was girls writing nasty messages to each other judging that person on anything from their appearance, to their personality, to their sexual experience. What was especially harmful about this application (that I think trumps collegeacb.com) is that people could only write in your box if they were Facebook friends with you. This meant that for the most part depending on how picky you were in accepting friend requests, the people putting you down were people you knew. Many a times, the people writing the meanest things were the box owner's supposed friends. I can't even count the many times this single little program caused catastrophic fights between the closest of friends within my high school class. I'm thankful I never enabled this application and that it seems to have lost some of its popularity since then.

Bottom line is that cyberbullying is going to continue to be a problem until sites and programs like these are banned from the web. Since this is unlikely, if people join together to stop giving these sites traffic, they will be forced to close. This happened to JuicyCampus.com and although this only directed more kids to collegeacb.com, at least some of these sites are losing momentum.

*although I don't really want to encourage going on to collegeacb.com, I know most of you have probably already been on it. If you haven't it's worth checking out at least to understand more fully the seriousness of cyberbullying and just how close to home it really is. click the link above to check it out.

Foursquare

For the past month or so, I decided to try another form of social media: Foursquare. For those of you who do not know what this is, Foursquare is meant for a smartphone with either WiFi capability or a data plan because it tracks and shares you're location with your friends. The more places you "check-in" to, the more chances you'll unlock badges. You get points for going to a new location like a park or a restaurant. There's also a mayor for each location. If the mayor happens to be in the location when you "check-in," then you get even more points.
Foursquare is similar to Facebook in which you can have friends, post statuses, makes comments, upload pictures, and even check into a location. However, I find it kind of strange to announce every location I go to. I understand if there's a nice restaurant that you might want you're friends to check out, but there's no need to know you're home, at the park, or at a grocery store. Even you're friends really wanted to know where you are, they would either call or text you. As a default setting, all of locations and comments are public information. If you are worried about someone knowing you're location, you can set it to friends only, but that may also make you lose friends.
There is one benefit to using Foursquare and that is the special deals that are offered. Certain stores or restaurants have discounted rates or may even give away things for free just by checking into their location. For example, the Checkers located on Fordham Rd will give you a free small milkshake for every 3rd check-in. Some stores give you a discount only when checking in for the first time. Also, being the Mayor of a location can give you even more opportunities. At Checkers, every time the mayor checks in, he/she can get a free small milkshake.
If you're interested, this may be something you want to check out. For more information, you check out Foursquare's website here. Keep in mind that not all locations have WiFi, which obviously makes having a smartphone much more useful for this. If you do check it out, let me know what you think!

Digg

I have never used Digg but I've seen it on various websites. I first saw it on StumbleUpon. After reading the article I stumbled on, it said "Digg this". What is Digg? How do I Digg something?
Digg is a social news website, consisting of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying. The readers get to decide what the stories are by "digging" the story up. Digg was originally popular because of it's creation of other social networking sites with story submission and voting systems. It has inspired other social networking websites, like Facebook, to add the "like" button - which is very similar to digging something.
After finding out what Digg is, I think it would be a great tool for procrastination and boredom, much like StumbleUpon and Facebook.

Digg What?

Prior to reading this chapter in New New Media, I had only briefly heard people mention the website Digg. I had no idea what it was or how it worked, because quite frankly, I didn't need to. After reading the chapter and investigating a little bit, I found Digg to be quite interesting, to the point that I actually got my own Digg account. It proved to be a useful way to browse headlines and see what's new and find some interesting articles to read.

Digg is a user generated content site where people post headlines and links, and other people can either 'Digg' it and vote it up or 'Bury' it and vote it down depending on whether they like it or not. Their is no 'friending' like you can on Facebook, however like Twitter you can become a 'Fan' of someone and follow them. Also like Twitter if the person who you are following decides to become a fan of you too and follow you back, you can send messages, called 'Shouts' to each other, another Twitter like concept. You can also provide a small profile with your name, picture, location, and description of yourself as Digg is still nonetheless a social site. You can also add links to your other social sites or websites that you my have too. Digg can also be connected with you Facebook, Twitter and Google accounts as well.

Digg proved to be much more of a help than I thought it would be at first glance. It offers a constant news stream that is more than just a monotony of song lyric statuses on Facebook, or Charlie Sheen's latest Tweet, if offers more relevant and useful information to the world around us.

Is Burial in Digg's Future?

Prior to reading New New Media, I did not know about Digg either. I do not know anybody that uses Digg, but I do think that the concept is pretty cool. I think that, contrary to a regular newspaper, it gives the people the power to decide what stories are most important to them. I think that this website is a sort of shortcut. It is one general place to go to learn about different topics, news, issues among many different categories with ease. I definitely think that our society values ease and speed these days so I think Digg is a great place for this. However, now that news websites are starting to incorporate videos and links to other pages, I wonder how different Digg actually is from a normal newspaper website.

I don't know if I just missed the Digg era, but it is interesting to think about why Digg didn't catch on and become as popular as other sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Is it saying something about our society? Do we care more about being social, looking at people's profiles and finding out what our "friends" are doing, more than we care about real events and news that is occurring? I would like to think that this is not true, but judging from the popularity of Facebook and Twitter over Digg, I think that it actually may be a possibility.

I found this article about some changes being made at Digg: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-20045598-2.html

dirt to digg

Digg is an online index for all news published on the web. It is a combination of stumble, facebook, and twitter. The user on Digg can search for information or news articles that pertain to their interests. Digg selects articles that fit your interests automatically. Digg also allows the user to have "friends" just like you would on facebook or twitter. Digg shows common interests between you and your friends and connects articles that interest both of you.

Personally I don't think Digg is all that useful unless you are using it for your job or school work. I just don't see how being connected to people for what news articles I'm interested in is really that big of a deal. I think that although it is an interesting idea, I just don't ever see myself using this website regularly. Digg flat out isn't facebook or twitter. It's purpose isn't to connect people for social reasons but to connect people based on what news articles they like. That being said, I just don't think this type of new new media is life changing or worth my time. Google is an easier and more popular web search that finds interesting articles as well and I just don't see Digg ever surpassing that.

How Non-Voters Can Keep Up With the Rankings

Digg is a site that I am not familiar with. However, after reading the chapter in Dr. Levinson's book New New Media, I have an idea of what it is like thanks to websites such as Stumbleupon and Mashable.

I found the Ron Paul section to be pretty interesting due to the stories about Ron Paul that were "Dugg" by readers, despite the fact that he did not even win the primaries. Dr. Levinson points out the usage of Digg by people (who claim to be) 13 years or old. There is a 5 year gap of teenagers who can use the site, but are not able to vote. Dr. Levinson says there are several factors why this occurs, but most importantly it could be due to the young audience that Ron Paul targets rather than Barack Obama who targets those people between the age of 18 and 30. So rather than this occurrence of "gaming" on the website, it seems that the age difference plays a role in online politics as well.

Towards the end of the chapter, Dr. Levinson talks about the "Alexa ranking," which made me curious to see how much it has changed. As it turns out, Google is the number 1 website (which probably held that spot when this chapter was written) and Facebook has moved from number 5 to number 2. MySpace, which was ranked number 7, is now ranked number 63. And these new rankings have occurred about 2 years later than when the book was written.

Not only were "Top Sites" posted, but so were "Hot Topics." The one that I think is worth mentioning is FireFox 4, currently ranked at number 3. FireFox is one of the leading web browsers today. After experiencing some competition from Google Chrome (and let's face it, it doesn't receive any competition from Internet Explorer), FireFox is being updated with some pretty cool improvements. The official update can be download starting tomorrow. To see some of the features in this update, check out the following link from Mashable, a site similar to Digg. I can't wait for this update!
http://mashable.com/2011/03/10/firefox-4-guide/

MySpace?

Never had one. I've rarely even been on the website, so my thoughts on the subject are pretty vague. They're a lot like Pokemon cards to me; I never had them and I never used them. Even the times I was on MySpace, I distinctly remember not enjoying myself. Generally speaking, I can't understand why anyone would want their computer to instantly and without warning produce music of anothers choosing.

Let's see what Brian has been up to!

Wow, no thanks on that horrible Lil Wayne song, Brian.

Features like that, in addition to profile customization, polarize a lot of people. Facebook is precisely the opposite. Just through browsing your blog post titles, it seems that many of you have the same feelings about MySpace.

MySpace: Facebook's Big Little Brother

How did MySpace lose to Facebook? MySpace was launched about a year earlier than Facebook and caught on pretty well, but what caused MySpace to stop growing and Facebook to catch fire and leave big brother behind? MySpace was launched in 2003 as a social networking site that offered the idea of "friends," people who you can connect with on MySpace and talk to on MySpace. MySpace also offered many of the same things that Facebook does like messaging, statuses, etc. However it also offered music pages where bands and artists could load Mp3 files for people to listen to on MySpace and it also allowed blogging, two features which Facebook does not offer. As time has gone by, Facebook has become the little brother who turns out to dwarf the big brother. This is because when it was launched, it was based around the idea of putting the college life online and allowing people to "meet" one another before actually "meeting" them in person. The idea took off like a rocket ship, leaving big brother MySpace behind. As the years have passed and MySpace has fallen more by the wayside, one thing that MySpace does have to its and advantage and many people argue that it is the one thing keeping MySpace alive; it's music pages. These music pages allow bands and artists to put there music out there and have people on and off MySpace listen to it for free. A kind of test run that big music companies look at to try and find some new and rising music star.

In short, MySpace is Facebook's big brother, however Facebook has become the little big brother because it tailored itself to one main focus: meeting people online. MySpace is now the big little brother that is beginning to be forgotten about.

Why Aren't I in Your Top 8?

In previous classes and blog posts many people have mentioned how they feel Facebook creates unnecessary drama between friends. Back in 2004 and 2005 when Myspace was popular among the kids in my middle school, (that's right middle school, we're going way back now) there was so much drama that a bystander could confuse the school with an episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

At the time, Myspace was unlike anything else out there. Many kids were still Internet n00bs, and AIM was used more frequently than even Internet Explorer. Myspace generated a huge buzz, and most people created a profile--sometimes several. I never had a Myspace profile, but I did create a few for fictional characters, including a page for a comic book character that myself and a friend created. It was more of a novelty than anything else, and once an awesome profile skin was installed, a few friends were added, and a song was chosen that would be the end of it.

Unlike my usage, however, a majority of the 7th and 8th graders in my school had real Myspace profiles--obligatory Myspace mirror profile picture included. Everyone had access to each others content because privacy was something people only considered when in the bathroom. Internet privacy wasn't a hot-button issue yet. It didn't take long for the fights to break out, especially between girls who would argue over comments, pictures, and most of all, THE TOP 8.

Suddenly, Myspace made people consider the value of their friends by ranking them in order. In an unprecedented turn of events, many kids began thinking like philosophers and communication theorists, considering the utility and social exchange theory. Worst of all, the Top 8 shared trends with the stock market--it was constantly fluctuating. It became, "what have you done for me lately?"
The arguing that arose was different than small fights that people see on Facebook today. Myspace was much more personal. Everything was customizable. Every facet of the Myspace profile was entirely reflective of you. Since people were young, insensitive, and often insulting, people were easily hurt. Tension rose and my school, as well as any others, became concerned with Internet safety and the use of social networking sites.

The Myspace I am referencing is of course very different than the Myspace that exists today. In fact, the site's banner no longer includes the word "space." I was stunned when I went on to the homepage recently to check it out. It is no longer a social network or a place for friends, but instead is home to "social entrainment." More shocking still is that it gives people the opportunity to "connect with Facebook." Looking back at what Myspace was and currently is shows how much the social network landscape has changed since its introduction. At first, many people tried importing many of the settings they were accustomed to on Myspace over to Facebook. For example, there were Facebook apps that would let people add a Top 8 or a song to their profile, but it is rare for someone to see that anymore. Ultimately, Facebook's cleaner layout and lack of fake accounts won over Myspace's customizable layout and freedom.

MyMusic

As much as I hate to say it Mysapce, the social network for creepy perverts has pretty nice "music pages". Actually, it is revolutionary and gives young inspired artists a chance to be heard. Although I don't think people like Justin Bieber should be allowed to hold a microphone up to their mouth ever, I do think that Myspace is a great way for people to get recognized.

The music pages on Myspace allow the user to post mp3's of their music and allows friends of that user to listen to the music. Then hopefully, a record company will hear about all of the excitement and become friends with you and listen to your music. This is a great way to eliminate several levels of middlemen in between you and the record companies. Myspace is new new media because it's a way that technology allows us to efficiently acquire a relationship between musician and record company without going through agents, club performances and auditions.

I mean don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of Myspace mostly because of it's privacy settings which hurt many people. However, I can respect the music pages that are on Myspace. Not even Facebook allows its user to post mp3's of music of their own. Myspace has revolutionized the music industry in a small way however it opens the door for many more unrecognized new artists.

Mac Miller - Knock Knock

Mac Miller | Myspace Video

What happened to Myspace?

Myspace is definitely a thing of the past. It is rarely used nowadays because of sites like facebook and twitter. From what I remember myspace was a premature version of facebook. It had some similar features but facebook seemed to have taken them further and develop the site a little more. When myspace was the big thing it was similar to facebook in that people's lives revolved around it. Kids would spend hours upon hours on it and when they weren't on, they were talking about it. Some people treat facebook the same way today. Myspace was a huge hit until facebook allowed those without college email addresses to sign up. Then it seemed that everyone switched over and myspace was no longer.

Looking back myspace seems like more of a forum for music, than any other social networking site. When we all had profiles, there was a feature that allowed you to post a song directly on your profile page. It seems like even now, when other sites have taken over for social networking purposes, myspace still sort of serves a music purpose. I remember last year the show Glee held a contest to try to find a new character and the auditions were held through myspace. People had to log on to vote for who they wanted to be chosen. Many bands still use myspace to try to get discovered. Although youtube seems to almost be taking over in this realm.

I personally deleted my profile after I switched to facebook, but my roommate and I went on her page last night and we discovered that myspace is now entirely different. It seems to have taken over a similar format to facebook and also twitter in some aspects. However, I think that their efforts to rebrand myspace may just be a little too late. People are too engaged in these other sites to even remember that myspace exists. The downfall of myspace makes me wonder if that was a unique thing to happen to myspace or if it will eventually happen to the more popular sites of today.

MYSPAAAACCCCEEEE

Remember the MySpace kid? Click at your own risk. Warning: foul language NSFW.

Anyway, I think besides the sheer hilariousness of the video, a statement made by one of the older brother's friends were nothing less than prophetic. "Wait till you see this when you're a senior in high school and MySpace doesn't even exist anymore!"

This video was uploaded in 2008. Assuming the kid was about 12 at the time, he should be 15 or 16 by now... That would make him a sophomore probably. MySpace as a social media site has been left in the dust of Facebook. MySpace is now hanging out with Friendster and Multiply as they bitterly watch Facebook and Twitter rule cyber space. What are Friendster and Multiply you ask? Exactly.

It's tough to comprehend how quickly technology evolves. MySpace saw its best days around 2005-2008 until Facebook finally overtook it. MySpace is still a great place for artists to post their music, but Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Soundcloud can take care of that as well. I wasn't even aware that MySpace was rebranded as "My___ - Social Entertainment." Good stuff I guess, but we're probably seeing its final desperate breaths. News Corp spent too much money on this monstrosity to let it go too easily.

What's fascinating is wondering how much longer Facebook has before it burns out or fades away. Is there any significant advancement in social media to even challenge it? MySpace spent about 3-4 years as a huge digital superpower. Let's say Facebook is probably at year 2 of it becoming a worldwide phenomenon. Will the next 2-3 years bare a worthy challenger and possible replacement to Facebook, or will Facebook roll with the punches better than Myspace?

It's just crazy to me how fast these profound elements of our media come and go now. Didn't it take several hundred years between the printing press and radio? A few decades between radio and TV and TV and the internet? Now the internet seems to be a wild west of opportunities in the media. I guess we are too deeply engrained in the whole thing to decide whether the rapid evolution of media now is exciting or frightening.

Common Features of MySpace

Wow. Myspace was such a long time ago. Honestly, I think the last time I logged on was back in middle school. From what I can remember, there were three features that me or my friends used that I noticed many other "friends" using as well.



1. Inside Jokes: I remember keeping a running tally of inside jokes between me and my friends in the "About Me" column on MySpace. I believe it started in the AIM profiles, but the space was very limited. When MySpace became the big sensation, most of my friends kept a few words that reminded them of a significant time or comment that had been made. Eventually, it got a little annoying and time consuming to mark every little event that happened in your life that the fad slowly died (as well as the fact that MySpace was constantly bothersome with viruses and spam).

2. Poetry: I was/am not good at writing poetry or even lyrics for that matter. My best friend from home, however, is. Back in the MySpace era, my friend who I will call, Tom, would post poems, short stories, or random writings in the blog section. I would read them every time I logged into MySpace and viewed his profile. Eventually, he changed his theme and began writing lyrics, which I thought was really impressive. To this day, Tom keeps a blog outside of MySpace and writes in it periodically poems, lyrics, or short stories. I was even lucky enough to compose one of his songs and perform it for my friends at a charity concert for Darfur.

3. Music: The music pages were possibly MySpace's best feature. It was an excellent place for rising musicians to accumulate a fan base and broadcast their songs worldwide. Though I am a musician, I never actually created a music page. Tom had this desire to start a band, so he created a page and listed me on it. Unfortunately, the band never actually happened and the page was pretty much a fun experiment for him. There were students at my high school who created a music page, got a decent fan base, and was able to sell some of their music on iTunes. Music pages really did help a musician's popularity. It is unfortunate that Facebook does not have similar features on their music pages as MySpace did.

Creepin'

Here are some fun relationship status updates.

Does this mean 21 people will "like" when they break up?

I feel bad for the boyfriend who has to read that.