I Flat Out Hate Twitter

I wish I could write a few sentences detailing the many benefits of such a seamless connectivity, as many of us will and should, but I really cannot. For me, Twitters deficiencies far outweigh the benefits, so much so that they are the only things I can think about. Don't believe me? Here are the current trending topics as of 1:30 p.m. this afternoon here in the heart of America: the internet.

#happy17thbdaybiebs , #isbetterthan , #guttbye , Jensen Ackles ,

Jane Russell , Ana Maria Braga , Justin Drew Bieber , Rubén González , FCAT , TAKS

I don't know whether to blame Youtube or Twitter for Justin Biebers career.

I randomly copy & pasted some tweets:

OMGTeenQuotez I think im afraid to be happy because whenever you do get too happy, something bad always happens

Very useful instruction for the maintenance of teen depression from media outlet OMGTeenQuotez.

Heres a strange one:

From 'The Social Network' to 'Citizen Kane', plenty of great movies have been losers at the Oscars.

Thats from Time Magazine, too. With so many advertisements, so to speak, for links to companies websites in the interest of their site traffic, it makes you wonder what you're really doing on Twitter. That Tweet is an advertisement for an article which has an advertisement, all of which are paid for with your eyeballs.

YouTube Success Story: Justin Bieber

I think it's pretty safe to say that most of us have heard of teen pop sensation Justin Bieber. His face and trademark hair are everywhere, from countless magazine covers to television programs, and his catchy (often annoying) tunes are heard on every popular radio station throughout the country. He is possibly one of the most well-known people in the U.S. (and the world for that matter) right now. But if we go back to 2008, we all would be saying Justin who? How did Justin Bieber skyrocket to superstar fame in just three short years? The answer: YouTube. Three years ago, Justin was performing at a local theater in his native Canada and posting amateur videos of him singing on YouTube. One day, talent manager, Scooter Braun happened to stumble across one of Justin's videos, and the rest is history. Fastforward one year and Justin was releasing his first debut album which preceded to shoot him to instant success on the Billboard charts.

It is truly fascinating to see how a website can catapult a virtual nobody to one of the biggest pop stars in the world in such a short period of time. Thanks to this revolutionary form of new new media, tons of artists, actors, comedians, and anyone else looking to "broadcast" their talents are being discovered. This kind of platform not only provides entertainment for public viewing audiences that can watch these videos, but also acts a means to level the playing field for the average person looking to make it big. As proven through the case of Justin Bieber, one no longer needs to attend the best, most expensive performing schools or have connections to bigwig executives to get noticed. All it takes is the courage to put yourself out in the public eye, a hint of individuality and creativity, and a little bit of luck (actual talent doesn't hurt either) to become famous.

"Broadcast Yourself"

Honestly, I could not imagine my life today without YouTube. While I was able to live more than most of my life without it, considering it was created in 2005, during the years in which I have had access to it, it seems quite essential. YouTube offers an array of videos, ranging from educational how-to’s to recreational musical videos. The best part of all is that they are FREEEEEEEE! Free for anyone to watch and free for anyone to create! I think YouTube is a great opportunity for individuals to express themselves just like the YouTube trademark which is “Broadcast Yourself.” People can perform different talents and display them on the internet for others to watch and be entertained, sometimes even discovered. For example, the teenage phenomenon Justin Beiber was found on YouTube by Usher. Thinking nothing of it, his videos were posted but nothing was thought to come of this. Surprisingly, his videos were found by the singing sensation Usher who made him a pop superstar. Who would have thought that a few YouTube videos would put him where he is today? Clearly, YouTube can be life changing. While YouTube has not been THAT critical to my life, I enjoy this site and use it daily. I frequently visit YouTube for musical enjoyment such as videos or interviews with my favorite artists. Also, this site is very helpful for many of my classes. It enables me to view different things such as commercials and different experiments for my Psychology classes. Whether it is for fun or for school, YouTube is awesome!