New Technology

It seems to me that I am starting to see smartwatches much more often these days. I started to do some research on smartwatches and found this website that is discussing how much smartwatches are going to expand and explode over the next five years. There are some really neat features that are to be expected. 

Apple Watch 2 is set to debut this year and it has an impressive list of new functions. Such as time lapse pictures, longer battery life (rumored up to one week), and waterproof. It will also expand to have more native apps. These apps are going to be especially useful, they are rumored to be Siri - for voice texting and calling, Health Apps - to keep track of steps, heart rate, blood pressure and a plethora of other great features, Facetime, GPS and others. The new apple watch is also going to be getting a facelift. Their new designer has been listening to the complaints since Apple Watch first launched and people have been expressing a need for new design scheme. They want options that make their watches classy and beautiful, something they can wear to their office jobs and galas alike while still having great durability. There's said to be some big changes and options for colors and designs that Apple has yet to reveal. 

Another watch that I am excited to see later this year is the Omate Rise Android Smartwatch. It works with IOS and Androids and has a bit more of a rugged exterior. The Omate Rise is 3G-compatible, has GPS and is properly waterproof. It boasts a round 1.3-inch, 360 x 360, touchscreen with sapphire coating. It works with iPhone and Android and the Rise also has a 3G micro SIM slot for untethered use as well as GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. There is a speaker and mic, presumably to take and make calls as well the usual 6-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer for activity tracking. As someone who loves hiking and being outdoors, I would choose this watch over the Apple Watch 2 because of its durability. 

In general, I think that wearable technology is going to change social media, especially smartwatches.

Because of the Voice-Based Updates, I imagine the shift of wearable update-ers will be dramatic. The shift from PDAs with pullout keyboards to smartphones with on-screen touch-based keyboards was significant, but the shift that will come with wearable tech will be even greater. Because screen sizes will shrink down even further, users will no longer be able to type as conveniently as they used to. Now users will have to use their voices to respond which will ultimately change how we interact. Messages/posts will become shorter, more informal and contain less typing and grammar errors which can be embarrassing. As a result, you’ll have to change your communicative style to cater to those more conversational inquiries.

Images will become increasingly more desirable because long messages won't be accessible and people will quickly lose their patience. This will not only cause people to be more concise and the to the point in their personal messages, but advertisers might be able to capitalize on this as well. Optimizing your posts to be legible and interactive on a small screen will put you ahead of the competition, and more wearable users will flock to your social profiles as a result.

It will be interesting to see where Smartwatches will reach, what will happen to regular watches? You know the kind that just tell you the time?? I wonder how long it will take people to make the switch and which brand they'll run to. Social media will have to grow and adapt to keep up, and I have no doubt that it won't upset us. 

Where Have all the QR Codes Gone?

Remember how in 2011 QR codes were the big thing? They started cropping up everywhere. They popped out the snow, like daisies! (Props to you if you know what I just quoted.) I remember scanning a couple but mainly being unimpressed with them. They seemed like they had a lot of potential, but weren't used effectively. In fact, Alex Kutsishin, president of FiddleFly, said that:

"If there was ever a technology that was frustratingly unpopular despite its true potential to improve the way consumers and businesses interact, it would be the QR Code."

QR stands for quick response. Originally they were created as a way to track things for Toyota but have since evolved. They can hold 100 times the information of traditional barcodes, making them look great to businesses for marketing. QR codes are read digitally, most likely by your smartphone, with the pairing of an app too so that you can do a myriad of marketing with it. Ideally, QR codes enable businesses to connect offline customers with online content in an engaging and interactive way.  Unfortunately, before they could really become mainstream, the technology started to trip over itself and sort of fell flat on its face - ouch. 

Consequently, the steps for engaging with a QR code often look something like this process, aptly described by Joshua Johnson in an article for Design Shack:

"1. Get out your phone.
2. Find you phone’s QR Code reader, assuming you’ve downloaded one.
3. Search for that QR code app that you downloaded one time, the name of which escapes you.
4. Realize that you deleted that app ages ago because you never used it. Go to app store, search for and download a new free QR Code reader.
5. Take a nap because you’re exhausted at this point.
6. Launch app and wait for the camera to initiate.
7. Hold phone up to QR Code.
8. Wait for browser to launch and page to load.
Tadaah, a web page! Wasn’t that easier than typing in a URL?"

The problems mainly stem from the fact that businesses don't know how to use them effectively. Some common problems are when the code sends you to a place that isn't set up for mobile sites - it's choppy and hard to navigate, which just becomes annoying and people lose interest. The next problems is that when you're on the page, there isn't a clear action - sometimes it just takes you to their unfriendly mobile site. Great. What next? It leaves users confused and frustrated that they wasted their time. The placement of QR codes is also important since you have to be able to take a picture of the code, having it in places like billboards and television commercials, isn't going to allow the user enough time to actually scan it. You also need an internet connection to scan it, so placing it in underground subways or on airplanes isn't helpful.

Those that did harness the QR and used creativity to make it beneficial for consumers did very well. Target had coupons that you could download onto your phone once you scanned their QR codes, Taco Bell and Mountain Dew used their codes for free music downloads, and Tesco, the second largest grocery chain in South Korea, created virtual grocery stores in select subway tunnels (those with cell service), allowing commuters to shop while they wait for the train by scanning QR codes next to items they want.  The items are then added directly to their carts and delivered to their homes after work.

So there is great potential for these little guys, but you can see how things can fade very quickly if they aren't used creatively. Now, I don't know if it would be possible to bring these codes back, people have already written them off. It will be interesting to see what the future holds - maybe they'll make a comeback.

Viral Videos: What it Takes

We've all laughed at Charlie Bit My Finger, cooed at Sophie the Bulldog Rolling Down a Hill, shared David After Dentist, chucked at Pizza Rat or Grumpy Cat, and quoted Double Rainbow or Damn Daniel. But it wasn't until recently that I learned that there is an art to making a viral video and actual techniques people use. Originally, I always thought viral videos were organic, they were posted simply because the creator thought their friends would find it funny, interesting, sad, etc. I had no idea that there were people out there - like Travis Chambers who came and spoke to us - that actually tried to make a viral video.

With the help of these articles (1, 2, 3) I was able to compile a list of ways in which you can make your video go viral.

1. Release your video on a Monday or a Tuesday.

When do you find yourself online the most? For me, it's when you're at school or at work. And Mondays and Tuesdays tend to be very boring for people, they need something to get through their days. So they read the news at work, or go online, check out what's trending, post on social media, etc. If you release your video on Monday or Tuesday you can give it the whole week to gain momentum. Some people may think it's better to release it on a weekend, but you have to remember that people usually are out and about during weekends, not online. Weekends are speed bumps; avoid them. While you can't always avoid it, try to upload something on a normal day. Be aware of holidays in your country and others. Some people don't work on certain days so it's important to release your video when the most people are active online. It's also important that you don't release it when any big new stories are going on unless it pertains to that news story, it is likely to go unseen.

2. Keep your video short.

This is the age of quick attention spans, I don't have time for a video that's over one and half minutes. I need quick and simple. 30 seconds to a minute is the perfect amount of time. If your video is too long it is less likely that people will click on it to begin with, let alone actually finish it. Short videos spread faster.

3. YouTube is great, but don't limit yourself.

Post it to Vimeo! There's no disputing that YouTube is the most popular video-sharing platform in the world (official data puts YouTube as the third-most-visited site in the world behind Google and Facebook.) However, it's not the only place to upload your videos. Hosting sites like DailyMotion, Vimeo, and more sometimes offer attractive features to video providers. For instance, DailyMotion is sometimes ranked higher in terms of video quality than YouTube.

4. Use animals or babies.

Let's face it, animals and babies are the best. I follow multiple accounts that are run by the owners of pets on Instagram and Facebook. Animals are so pure - too good for this world. Use them.


If you follow those steps, your video is destined to get more views. Be careful what you wish for, though, people often regret making videos and posting them online because of how crazy comment sections can be, media attention, and trolls and haters. People love to share things online, and once it's out there: it's out there forever. Even if you take the video down, other people still have access to it. 15 minutes of fame can quickly turn into 15 years of hell if you're not careful.

SEO - not Sia, unfortunately.

I'll be frank, I had zero clue as to what search engine optimization (SEO) was up until a few minutes ago. When I first read the phrase I assumed it had something to do with Boolean searches, but apparently not. Thankfully, the Internet knows all the things.

This beginner's guide defines SEO as a marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness in search engines. So, from what I understand, it's the process of getting your web page to be pulled up in the search results when a keywords or phrases are typed into a search engine. The goal is to create more traffic: people accessing your web page.

The majority of web traffic is driven by the major commercial search engines, Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. Although social media and other types of traffic can generate visits to your website, search engines are the primary method of navigation for most Internet users. Obviously, Google has the upper hand here, with more than 80% of all people using Google's search engine.

The argument has been made that while Bing is the most helpful search engine,  as we talked in class, because of how popular and well known Google is, it will most likely always have the upper hand. The word "google" is a verb itself, so if you want to focus on a specific search engine optimization - stick with Google. I inserted a commercial from YouTube that Bing produced that shows how the results you want from Bing are generally more accurate than what you receive from Google.

Anyways, back to SEO's. There are some common tools and search engine protocols that can help get more traffic to your website. The first is Sitemaps.

Sitemaps are most easily understood if you think of them as files that can give hints to search engine on how they can find your website. They can help the search engine label specific content on your site that the search engine might not have found on its own. Sitemaps can be useful because if you have videos, images, or news on your website because Sitemaps can use those different types of formats to generate more traffic.

You can also implement Geotagging.

Formally, geotagging is know as: "the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as a geotagged photograph or video, websites, SMS messages, QR Codes or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. This data usually consists of latitude and longitude coordinates, though they can also include altitude, bearing, distance, accuracy data, and place names."
Simply stated:geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification to photographs, video, websites and SMS messages.

Keep in mind, geotagging has big privacy flaws to it. Why? Well, you are giving up your location, whether you are still there or not. In this article, it explains how to avoid the potential risks to geotagging.

You should always be aware that your phone may automatically geotag your location - this has been shown to be problematic, especially for people in the public eye who do not want their location given away. Turn your location settings off if you do not want your photos to be tagged with your location.

There are other risks involved because if your photo is posted with the location it can be a great way for potential stalkers or thieves to find you/your location. It's important to know where you shouldn't geotag: private addresses, dorms, hotel rooms, public settings (beaches, amusement parks, etc) and never geotag photos of children.

And finally, if using geotagging websites, control with great care the people who are able to see where you're located. "Each website differs in how it confines your information to only those people whom you want seeing it; always be sure to read the instructions carefully and don't just rely on the default setting which might be allowing anyone to see your whereabouts."

Overall, search engine optimizing can be extremely helpful when trying to gain more traffic to your website through keywords and phrases, especially using tools like sitemaps and geotagging. But be careful, privacy is something that is much harder to get back than it is to maintain.

Aggravating Aggregators

I'm going to be honest, if you had asked me what an aggregator was up until twenty minutes ago, I probably would have responded with something like, "Um...it's like a character from a storyline right? Like you have the protagonist, the antagonist and an aggregator...who is aggravating to the protagonist...Probably. IDK IDK IDK."

I had never heard of the word in relation to technology. So I looked it up. According to TechTarget, a content aggregator is an individual or organization that gathers Web content (and/or sometimes applications) from different online sources for reuse or resale. There are two kinds of content aggregators: (1) those who simply gather material from various sources for their Web sites, and (2) those who gather and distribute content to suit their customer's needs. The latter process is called syndication. ScreamingMedia, Moreover, and iSyndicate are among the increasing number of companies offering aggregated content for resale.

According to what I learned in class before social media really became the hot thing, organizations would update all of their social media platforms from aggregators, they wouldn't actually go to Facebook or Twitter to write out their post. Nope. They would write them out from the aggregator and the aggregator itself would post to all their social media platforms. It was a quick and easy way to get a point across through social media without having to make multiple posts.

The Wall Street Journal came out with an article on the lack of privacy that aggregators have.
"Security and privacy are a concern because users must reveal their account numbers and passwords to the banks doing the aggregation, in most cases. Banks say the service is as secure as online banking -- but even online banking customers may think twice about having all their access codes in one place. While banks often provide aggregation services to clients free of charge, it is vital to determine whether the bank assumes liability for any mistakes or security breaches, as each aggregator has its own terms and conditions. Otherwise, the risk could fall to you."

So I got to thinking, what is the best aggregator out there? What's the worst? The rest of this blog post will be dedicated to weighing the pros and cons (with the help of outside sources) of three different aggregators to decide who is deserving of the title: The World Wide Web's Most Aggravating Aggregator!! (*applause*)


ScreamingMedia:

In 1996, while developing a site for the 1996 summer Olympics, Alan Ellman learned how difficult and expensive it is to get content. He developed ScreamingMedia as a way to deliver, filter, back content and efficiently integrate it into websites. ScreamingMedia got off to a very quick and efficient start, ramping up over 530 customers and 119 providers supplying content to 390 publications by January 2000.

Pros: large user base, generally simple/easy to use, well-known/trusted, and it allows the designer to create their own filters which is useful.
Cons: has multiple complaints about quality of streaming videos and the cost is rather high: web clients can spend upwards of 1500$ per month.

iSyndicate:

iSyndicate has managed to distribute both for large companies and content providers, but also reaches smaller sites that pertain to electronic commerce and hobbies. An invaluable resource for content providers, iSyndicate also offers individuals a way to distribute their work across the Internet.

Pros: large user base: 795 content providers use iSyndicate to reach 170,000 Web sites, it also covers a very large array of categories such as business, entertainment, finance, sports, and politics.
Cons: It is easy to use, but you first have to cut through a lot of jargon, and there is also a 300 dollar set up fee which can deter many potential clients.

Moreover:

"Moreover.com allows people to search the Web," says co-founder David Galbraith in London. "We have a headline service and are focused on being the biggest and best aggregator of headlines."

Pros: uses proprietary software to produce the Web-style news feeds it calls Webfeeds. It aggregates news and information from 1500 Web sources in near real time and then assembles the Webfeeds in more than 200 categories. No content or licensing fees which help people who are new to the world of aggregators and aren't sure where to start.
Cons: Its basic filtering is free, but if you're serious about getting into the world of aggregators it's going to cost you much more on Moreover.

Utilizing Humor in Organization's Social Media

Personally, I am a large fan of comedy. It's one of my favorite genres, who doesn't love to laugh?? Humor is one of the most powerful tools one can use, especially in marketing. I love it when companies use humor in their tweets and posts, the ability to make your product relatable through humor is something that is extremely valuable. It makes a brand "followable," for me. Just think about the things people "like" or share on their social media sites; it's either educational, valuable, appeals to your interests and needs, or it's just seriously funny. Humor can do four things for your brand, creates unity, triggers an emotional response, makes your brand memorable and provides audience insights.

When you know your audience, you'll know what makes them smile. You should use that to your advantage. Using your knowledge and paying attention to news, current events, and pop culture can give you material to comment on in your social media posts. Knowing where to draw the line with humor is a skill that may take some time, trial and error, but I believe that it is one that can endear your to your target audience and make you unforgettable. Even though it might seem like extra work to figure it out, I think humor is a marketing technique all its own.

For example, I think Charmin toilet paper has a hilarious twitter account. I follow it and regularly laugh out loud because of it. The other day I had to go buy toilet paper for my apartment, as I was in the aisle looking around, I saw Charmin and proceeded to buy it even though there was cheaper toilet paper nearby. I follow Charmin for its hilarious tweets, but I also see all of its other tweets about the excellent quality of toilet paper Charmin has. So even though it was more expensive, Charmin was still able to have my service simply based on the fact that whoever writes their tweets, is someone who I consider humorous.

There is a balance organizations must strike between personality and professionalism. Many companies are still navigating the world of digital marketing and social media, and many are making social media a cornerstone of their digital strategy. When social media becomes one of the main ways your business reaches its followers, leads, and customers, your social media image becomes all the more important. Your social media becomes your brand image. The most successful companies at finding the right mix of personality and professionalism in social media will be able to both gain trust and seem “human” to their followers. Making this a goal for your business will give you a competitive edge when web searchers look to social media for a solution like yours.

I attached some pictures below of some of my favorite tweets from businesses and organizations that use humor effectively.

#HoopsNotCrime: a Response to "Basketball Cop"

On January 15th, Officer White responded to a 911 call that there were boys playing basketball "too loudly" in the street. Officer White arrived at the scene and started asking the boys if they knew who called the cops, they said they didn't know. After a small exchange Off. White said, "I don't know who called it in, but obviously, I ain't got no problem with it" (FoxNews). He then began to play some basketball with them, there were some shots fired, but not from a gun. Officer White played basketball with the boys for few minutes more before some other children joined in, to which he joked that they had "brought backup." After a few more minutes playing around, he told the boys that he had to go now, but he would return later tomorrow with some backup of his own to get a real game going. He also asked them to keep playing as long as they want but try not to be too loud. The boys agreed and the officer and the players parted ways. 

This was all caught by the dashcam in Officer White's police car, the Gainesville PD later released the video with the hashtag, #HoopsNotCrime, it soon went viral gaining more than 4 million views in 24 hours. One of the viewers was Shaquille O'Neal, NBA legend. Shaq saw the video and wanted to help, he dropped by the police station the next day and surprised Officer White. Shaq expressed his thanks to White for his actions towards the kids playing basketball. Later that day, White did return to the place where the boys were playing with backup, as promised, including Shaq. The kids went nuts when they saw Shaq. The rest of the video shows the kids, police officers, and Shaq all playing a pickup game against each other. At the end, Shaq lines up all the boys and tells them that if they can make a shot from a certain point in two tries that he'll give them 100 dollars. All of the boys, some with a little more leniency and help, make their shots. All of them looked very excited as Shaq gathers them around before he gives each of them 100 dollars he talks to them about the importance of staying in school, respect, and staying away from drugs. He makes them recite this, "I will become whatever I want to be. I will be a leader, not a follower. I will respect my peers, my elders and especially my parents." 

I searched the hashtag (HoopsNotCrime) on twitter and found a YouTube video from the Gainesville PD. It's a series that the Gainesville PD runs called, Gainesville PD: On Duty. It give a behind the scenes look at most of the big stories that the Gainsville police are associated with. In it, they interviewed Officer White and when asked how in all of the interviews he conducted with the various news sites, they kept reporting on his "extraordinary response" and his take on that. Officer White responded saying that what he found most disheartening was that it was considered an extraordinary response in the first place, he was "just doing his job, and it is sad to see that the perception of cops around the world is so negative that this instance was seen as surprising at all." I'd like to focus on this point as well because I agree with Officer White. It is extremely disheartening that in today's world, a video like this seems out of the ordinary. That a cop stopping to be kind and play basketball with a bunch of kids is out of character. It seems that all we hear about in the news today is "cop killers," and mostly their African American victims. This is a tough subject to approach because of all the contention surrounding it. However, there is the fact that the incarceration rate of black people is much higher than any other race, and the sentences that a black person receives are often more extreme than that of a white person for the same crime. And dashcam videos do show, in my opinion, many cops being overly-aggressive and overly-eager to use their guns. Unfortunately, this has created the idea that all cops are bad. While I 100% believe that there are bad cops, and some police departments are more corrupt, the idea that all cops are bad has permeated through our society. That is why this video of Officer White's actions was seen as so out of the ordinary. 

Having positive public relations is important with any type of business or corporation, but it is perhaps even more important for Police Inc. (lolz) to have the best public relations espeically in times like these. The Department of Justice would agree with me, in fact in 2014 the Department of Justice released a resource guide to help law enforcement strengthen relationships with communities. “Law enforcement officers are stewards of the peace and protectors of the people, but above all else, they are custodians of the public trust,” said COPS Office Director Ron Davis. When public trust is violated, it takes twice as much effort to gain back that trust. You've heard the saying, two wrongs do not make a right, well I believe that it takes at least two rights to repair a wrong. “It is vital to engage in planning and preparation, from evaluating protocols and training to choosing the appropriate equipment and uniforms.  This is the hard work that is necessary to preserve the peace and maintain the public trust at all times—particularly in moments of heightened community tension.” Today's society definitely has had its fair share of heightened community tension. Many Black Lives Matter activist are extremely upset at the justice system today. In my opinion, the best way to help de escalate tensions is not to ignore or defend actions of past injustice, but to openly admit that there are problems. Validating people's feelings is incredibly powerful. And the feelings of many activists are true and need to be addressed, brushing them aside or permeating hashtags such as #BlueLivesMatter or #AllLivesMatter is not helping. Of course all lives matter, but we have to realize that there is a specific community of people who are being mistreated more than everyone else. Saying that Black Lives Matter is not a direct attack at all lives not mattering, it would behoove the police departments to start looking at it in this light. Bringing attention to one group does not threaten the wellbeing of every other group - or at least, it shouldn't.

I also found a GoFundMe page that is dedicated to Officer White gaining the funds to help him start a program for children to help keep out of trouble and get into basketball. The Basketball Cop Foundation is helping kids to achieve that. You can donate here. 

Online Reputation

I was assigned Reece Sullivan to do the online reputation assignment on. I first began by looking at Reece's Facebook page, some basic information that I uncovered was: his birthday is March 8, 1993, making him almost 23 years old. His hometown is in Los Angeles, California but he graduated from Box Elder High School in 2011. He lived in Brigham for some time before going to college at USU in Logan where he currently lives with his wife. He is studying Communication and Media Studies at Utah State (Linked-In). He proposed to his wife on March 15, 2015, and they were married on July 6, 2015.

The first trend I identified was mainly due to Reece's Facebook page, it suggested that Reece is a member of the LDS church. I came to this consensus due to the many pictures he had on his wedding day, with his wife, in front of an LDS temple, one of his previous profile pictures of the "I am a Mormon" photo stock, multiple pictures of Reece on his mission, and under his "About" tab, he self-identified as a Latter Day Saint. Also, according to his Linked-In profile, he is currently teaching LDS Seminary and has been since 2012.

A second trend is Reece's mission, all of this information was gathered from Reece's Missionsite.net account. Reece was assigned to labor the Mexico, Culiacan, Spanish-speaking mission. He entered the Provo Missionary Training Center on June 13, 2012. He was released from his mission approximately two years, three weeks and three days on July 9th, 2014. Due to the frequent number of Spanish comments he receives on his Facebook posts and his Linked-In profile language section, Reece still speaks Spanish fluently. I also gathered from this site that Reece's home address is in Brigham City, Utah. His missionsite.net was run by Bentley Sullivan while he was on his mission, after doing some Facebook stalking I have come to the conclusion that this is most likely his mother.

Another trend I identified from Facebook posts was that Reece seems to enjoy the outdoors with his friends and wife. There are many pictures (1, 2, 3, 4) of him and his friends hiking, riding horses, four wheeling, snowmobiling and enjoying themselves outside.

The final trend identified was that for approximately 61 days, Reece was employed by a summer sales agency. I found this on one of his wife's Instagram posts that had been linked to Facebook. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to find out the company Reece worked for or where he was when selling during the summer. Which in my opinion, is totally okay because I felt like a complete stalker while doing this whole assignment. (Send your wife my apologies for attempting to befriend her on Instagram! I don't let strangers follow me either - it was a long shot to being with!)

Props to Reece for staying off most social media sites - you are a hard man to find; and I think that in today's society where everything seems to be online, that is something to be proud of.

"It's a Free* Country" *subject to terms and conditions*

In my Government and Politics class, we have been discussing The First Amendment over the past three days. It's been quite an interesting time, especially due to how the First Amendment is interpreted by the people versus how it’s original intention. I'm sure we have all heard, if not said ourselves, something along the lines of, "It's a free country, I can do and say what I want." And to a certain extent, that's true. The First Amendment does give you the freedom of speech and press and religion.

The First Amendment reads: 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Sounds pretty straightforward, right? However, when it was written, the two most common ways of expressing yourself was either going to a park and making a speech or writing a pamphlet and submitting it to the local press to be printed. I, for one, have never given or heard a speech in the park and certainly haven't written a pamphlet to express my feelings about government or politics. The Constitutional Framers clearly could not comprehend the existence of the Internet and social media's prevalence in today's world.

Thankfully, due to the Supreme Court's power to have judicial review, there have been new laws that interpret the vague language of the Constitution to match the changing times of today. In 1996, in the landmark case Reno v. ACLU, a unanimous Supreme Court specifically extended the First Amendment to written, visual and spoken expression posted on the Internet. *Angels singing the background.*

So that's that, right? Because of this and the First Amendment, we can say literally anything we want on any of our social media sites and face no legal repercussions whatsoever!! WAHOO!

Well, actually that's not true. According to what I've been learning in Government and Politics, your freedom of speech and press can be limited if it "compels state (government in general) interest." So what does that mean, 'compels state interest?' Let me explain. First of all, the freedom of speech and press does not apply to the private sector, meaning that anything that is privately owned (not under the direct control of the national government) can restrict your freedom speech. For example, if I worked at a gun store and I showed up to work with a "Bernie 2016" shirt on, I could potentially be forced to change my outfit, suspended or fired from my job by my superiors. Because my place of work is a part of the private sector, this would be perfectly legal. The private sector is also allowed to censor anything you post to social media during work hours or any subject that relates specifically to your place of work.

The phrase "Congress shall make no law..." doesn't literally mean: no law. The Supreme Court has created exceptions. If what you express (via Social Media or otherwise) has 1) excessive interference with others, 2) lying with malicious intent, 3) could potentially harm (mentally, physically, emotionally, etc.) children, 4) threaten public order or national security, or 5) threaten public morals, your expression is subject to legal actions against you.     

Here is a fascinating article about how student athletes, as well as professional athletes, have been subject to legal repercussions for posting on their social media during games, at socials, and on their own time. It has gotten to a point a point where it has become such a problem that the NBA prohibits athletes from posting anything on social media during game or practice times.

So, yes we do live in a country that grants us inalienable rights to freedom of speech and press, however that does not mean we have free reign on whatever we want to express at any time, especially on our social media accounts. We have to learn to take extra caution when we post things in today's world. As we are quickly becoming a generation that uses Facebook to rant about our complaints about things as small as getting the wrong order at Starbucks all the way up to serious issues such as making "jokes" about rape, we have to be constantly vigilant of what we post online.

Why I Hate Skype

I really, really hate Skype. I hate Skype almost as equally as much as I hate Christopher Columbus - if you know me personally you know how big of deal this is. Christopher Columbus (the “CC word,” as I refer to him) is the scum of the Earth, and if I had three wishes I would go back in time and use my three wishes to sink every single one of his ships, The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Mariahhhhhhhhhhhhh (that is the sound that Columbus would make as he sank into the cold ocean and DIED).

Anyways...

I didn’t realize how much I hated Skype until I met the love of my life: Google Hangouts. I believe that Google Hangouts are one of the most underused - yet best distance communication platforms. I’ve already mentioned this once in one my other blog posts, but I thought that Google Hangouts deserved a proper post to itself.

There is no doubt that Skype is the most popular way to video chat, I mean the word ‘skype’ has become its own verb: “are we skyping tonight?” and “I’ll skype you later.” But Google Hangouts, if more people knew about it, I believe, would easily surpass Skype. It has so many more features than Skype that are FREE to use. Using these two articles, (1 and 2) as well as my own experiences, I have compiled a list of reasons why Google Hangouts is better than Skype.

Google Hangouts, (which I may refer to as ‘GH’ throughout this blog) allows up to ten people at once to be in a video conference, and while Skype allows up to 25 people, you have to pay in order to get that feature. I’ve used a Hangout before with five other people when we were all studying for a big test we had the next day. It was so much easier than having to find a place to collaborate and waste gas driving all around to get there. I’ve also used a Hangout when I tutor kids down in Salt Lake, GH has this great feature that allows you write on the screen that Skype doesn’t offer. So when I’m up here at college and one of the kids I tutor needs help, I can just open a hangout and draw out the equations on the screen so that they can see my work when solving the problem.

Whenever I have used Skype in the past or observed someone using it, I always had connectivity problems. The screen would freeze, people get cut off, the audio stops working or isn’t clear, you name it and I most likely dealt with it. The great thing about GH is that it rarely has any bandwidth problems. I disagree with the first article mentioned above, I think GH quality exceeds that of Skype. The number of times that I have had to end a Skype call because of bad connection is much higher than that of GH. With Hangouts, you can also call landline and cell phone participants for free as long as they are in the US or Canada. Skype charges a per minute fee for this.

Another awesome feature of GH is that besides being able to write on the screen, there are other ‘apps’ that you can use too. It provides a suite of productivity apps that let users share what’s on their screen, collaborate in Google Docs, and view presentations and diagram. There’s also these really fun emojis that you can use on the screen, sound bits that you can play, and you can change the background of where you’re at - so it looks like you’re on a beach or on the Megatron in Times Square.

Above all, my favorite part of GH is that there are FILTERS. Yes, you better believe it. Everyone loves a good filter, that’s why Snapchat and Instagram are so popular! On Skype I always looked really gross in the video - I looked pasty white and I couldn’t find a decent angle to be at. On GH, you can alter the lighting and make it look much more like yourself than usual. It’s pretty great. There are some effects you can add to in Skype as well, but the variety is much better in GH.

Overall, my experience with GH has been one billion times better than Skype and I encourage you all to use it next time you make a videocall.

Battle of the Platforms: Google Review vs. Yelp

As someone who has only a little experience on Yelp and literally no experience on Google Reviews, I thought it would be useful to do more research into the two of them and figure out which one is the better of the location-based platforms.

With the help of this article, along with my own opinions, and complaints and praises I have heard, I was able to compile a pros and cons list for both Google Reviews and Yelp.

Yelp was founded in 2004 to help people find local businesses like dentists, hair stylists, mechanics, and restaurants. It had a monthly average of 86 million unique visitors who visited Yelp via their mobile device in 2015. Yelpers have written more than 95 million reviews expressing their opinions and giving ratings out of 5 Stars to service places they visit. In addition to reviews, you can use Yelp to find events, lists and to talk with other Yelpers. Every business owners can set up a free account to post photos and message their customers.

Pros of Yelp:

- It is easier to use (compared to Google Reviews)

- Currently, it is the #1 site for local reviews and recommendations - leading to lots of traffic, which is great for those businesses

- Unlike Google Reviews, you do not need an account to search for reviews/recommendations (you do need an account to post a review, however.)

Cons of Yelp:

-Can filter out legitimate business reviews through the Yelp Review Filter

- More ads, less local business

Google Reviews:

(Sometimes referred to as Google+Local Reviews) Essentially, it works very similarly to Yelp, one difference being that you have to have a Google+ account to use it. However, the chances are that you already have a Google+ account whether you're aware of it or not.

Pros:

-Google is the most powerful search engine in the world - if your business is under Google reviews, anytime someone searches something related to your business name there's a higher possibility that your business will get noticed intentionally and unintentionally. In short, Google reviews are attached to how google organizes its search results. That's not something you'll get on Yelp.

-The more activity you have on any of the Google platforms = more attention for your business in search engine results

-Even though Yelp will show up on Google search, it's likely to be 2 or 3 down the line after Google reviews.

-Minimizes spam and sorting out false reviews much better than Yelp

-Ability to manage your location, reviews and listing all in one, easily accessible place

-Greater SEO power than Yelp

-YouTube integration - as well as all other Google applications

Cons:

-Exclusively designed for people in your Circles, those who are not in your Circles have a little bit of a harder time finding all of your information

-Google+, despite all it's worth, still has a very small active user base

-Harder to navigate compared to Yelp

While there are many people who claim, with strong evidence, that Google Reviews will surpass Yelp soon. And while it definitely seems that Google Reviews are the place to go whether you are interested in advertising your local business or if you are trying to find the best place for food, services, and other recommendations. However, I personally will continue to use Yelp over Google Reviews simply out of habit. That may be the one thing that will continue to drive Yelp over the top, humans are creatures of habit, we do not like to stray from the comfort of our own platforms.

Most Used Platforms: Are Haters Gonna Hate? Let's Talk About Google+

After reading the topic for this week’s discussion, Most Used Platforms, I began my search by looking for what the number one platform is. I found a website that had this fantastic graph:

As you can tell, Facebook is the clear winner with little brother YouTube jogging to attempt to keep up. This made sense to me, as it seems that everybody and their dog has a FB (I mean that quite literally, I follow four accounts for people’s dogs. If you’re not following Doug the Pug, are you even really living?) As I continued to scan down the graph I found myself chuckling about how Yahoo! Answers - the bargain brand, Western Family of search engines - had outranked Google+ by a small, but significant amount. This got me thinking, why does Google+ get such a bad rap? For a platform that has 300 million users, (Google+ beats out Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, and Twitter in the number of users!) you’d think that it would be more popular among the social media platforms. This peaked my interest even more, so I started to search for answers as to why people seem to dislike Google+ as much as they do.

After reading for a while I started noticing recurring complaints about why people seem to hate Google+:

1. “It’s a lame version of Facebook - I don’t understand the circles thing”
2. “There is a forced sign in”
3. “It’s just another platform”
4. “Google+ is a failed project”
5. “Google+ ruined YouTube”

After reading all these articles, (1, 2, 3 - the third one is actually a google forum complaining about Google+...on google...while using their Google+ accounts to complain, which makes me chuckle) I began to wonder if there was actual truth behind these complaints, or if it was more of a bandwagon effect. I started to investigate their claims and see if there was actual validity behind them, with help/more information from this website I was able to help develop my own rebuttals to many of the complaints.

“Google is just a lame version of Facebook - I don’t understand the circles - It’s a copycat”

            Rebuttal: Isn’t Facebook a lame version of Twitter??? - I’ll save that argument for another time. But in all seriousness, Google+ actually functions much better than Facebook ever could. “Facebook conversions are falling, Google+ conversions are rising. Google+ search, tools, SEO and community segmentation is better, so is their privacy. As time wears on, Google+ continues to grow, improve and excel” (SocialMediaImpact.com). As for the circles - it’s actually quite simple. You organize people into groups and then can choose what groups you want to see the things you post, that’s it! Nothing too complicated about that. Facebook has actually developed a new tool that does this exact same thing, only they call it groups. Who’s the copycat now?

“Google+ is just another platform - has failed YouTube - failed project”

            Rebuttal: Google runs the world, and “Google+ is single handily changing the world of SEO. If for no other reason, you need an account to feed your SEO efforts. Plus no other platforms aside from LinkedIn give you direct access to influencers for marketing purposes” (SocialMediaImpact.com).  If you have a business and you’re not utilizing Google+, you seriously need to rethink your marketing strategy. And no, Google+ didn’t fail YouTube, it SAVED YouTube. YouTube is in the safest hands possible with Google in charge. So what, you can no longer post your mean comments on videos anonymously? What a travesty.

            So, overall I think that Google+ is getting more hate than it deserves. I get that there are some functions that are irritating and it takes some time to get used to but isn’t that how it is with all new platforms you join? Besides there is one part of Google+ that I personally enjoy the most and use it over any other platform that performs the same function: Google Hangouts. Google Hangouts are probably the coolest thing about Google+. I don’t know about you, but I ALWAYS have terrible connectivity problems when I use Skype, FaceTime or any other video chat platform. Google Hangouts has great video quality and I rarely experience any troubles with it. It also comes with these fun special effects so you can draw on the screen, play sounds, screen share, change your background, and so many other possibilities.

Blogging: A Great Way to Become a Healthy Criminal

Scientific American recently published an article about a new study that was conducted on the health effects of blogging. The study, conducted at Harvard University, has results that suggest that there are psychological benefits to expressive writing in blog format, “Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery.” Another study that was published in the February issue of The Oncologist reported that “cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.”

After reading this article, I reflected back on some of my own struggles in my life; at one particularly rough patch I recall feeling much better after writing my thoughts and feelings down in a journal. I think that there is something very therapeutic to be able to express all the thoughts that fill your head each day and put them into words via writing. However, it would have been helpful to me had I had received some positive feedback from others when I expressed those feelings; instead, my words just sat there and stared back at me. Nancy Morgan, the lead author of The Oncologist, states, “Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations. Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other’s expressions—the basis for forming a community.”

Once I had finished reading this article and perusing through more articles about all these added benefits of blogging I began to reach the conclusion that everyone should blog. It provides a platform for people to do what they do best: complain. Imagine not having to see anymore lengthy Facebook rants and Comment Wars in your newsfeed. If everyone had their own blog you would only see people’s opinions by choice. I know that I, for one, would benefit immensely from being spared from my weird extended family members opinionated posts filled with cringe-worthy undertones of racism and eye-roll inducing claims to being discriminated against as a white male. (Am I the only one who has to block some of their extended family members on Facebook??)

As I stated before, I was coming to the conclusion that everyone should blog specifically due to the health benefits. Then I began to wonder, are there negative health effects from blogging? Is blogging as healing as people make it out to be? Turns out, the answer is no; there are some serious side effects to blogging, most troubling being the legal side effects. I found another article from the L.A. Times that discussed the rise in blog related lawsuits.

In Pennsylvania, a judge recently ruled a community website must identify the Internet address of individuals who posted comments calling a township official a "jerk" who put money from the taxpayers in "his pocket." Since the official also was the owner of a car dealership - whose cars were called “junk” by one commenter - he also sued for defamation of his business. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, you can now be sued for calling people mean names over the internet. While websites are not liable for the comments left on blogs or the blogs themselves, under federal law they can, however, be forced to reveal the poster's identity if the post includes false information presented as fact. If you call someone an idiot or a jerk, you would most likely be safe from legal ramifications because it is stated as an opinion. But saying that someone wronged you, (i.e.“pocketed” public money) can lead to a defamation claim because it is stating it as a fact.

But the most incredulous thing is the rulings that are made against some of these bloggers. Hal Turner, a right-wing blogger from New Jersey, faces up to 10 years in prison for posting a comment that three Chicago judges "deserve to be killed" for having rejected a 2nd Amendment challenge to the city's handgun ban in 2009.

Overall, I think that while blogging is a great way to experience health benefits especially in times of distress, we always have to be conscientious about what we are posting online. The majority of people have zero clue as to the liability they face when they post anything online. Eric Goldman, who teaches internet law at Santa Clara University put it well when he said, “A whole new generation can publish now, but they don't understand the legal dangers they could face. People are shocked to learn they can be sued for posting something that says, 'My dentist stinks.' "

So, are many bloggers on the path to find better psychological health as well as unintentional criminal charges? The jury is still out on this one.

Sources:

“Blogging - It’s Good for You” Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-healthy-type/

“Bloggers Beware: Posting can Lead to Lawsuits” The L.A. Times

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/23/nation/la-na-blogger-suits-20100823