Entry #11 Dear Future Student

Hello, and welcome to the world of blogging. Your host today is me, Selena Sasso, who after my eight weeks of blogging I am a true expert. (Not Really) I have a few tips and tricks to make you an expert blogger or at least pass the class. 

Take it Seriously

   I myself did not take it as serious as I should have and could never get full points for my blogs because I didn't properly analyse my blogs and try to reach in deeper. I took my blogs as a way to express myself and use humor. Using humor and expressing yourself in your blogs is perfectly acceptable but you need to remember it is also partially a professional blog so some insight is needed.  Find a topic you are passionate about in your free write blog posts and dig deep and give people a true inside to how you think and how the topic makes you feel. 

Plan Your Time Responsibly 

   Doing the blogs the night before they are due (which I found myself doing quite often and so did my fellow students) can cause your blogs to end up rushed. If you and trying to make the 11:59 pm deadline and its 11:50pm its probably not going to be an award winning blog. Pace yourself in-between blogs and really sit down and focus on what you are writing. Do one every few days instead of all at once as you may get tired of writing and they may all seem to be the same when you write them at once. 

Blogging can Help You in Your Writing 

   Writing regularly in a blog can help expand your ways of writing essays for class. Managing your own blog and being able to write for a specific audience on a topic of your choice can be a lot easier to do then writing an essay for a grade. Having the practice and feeling comfortable in writing will show greatly in your school work . Play with different forms of writing. Add in links and photos to help  support your blogs. Though some people think they can't do this in an essay for school most teacher would accept photos and links in your essay as long as you incorporate them properly. If you find adding these into your blogs are helpful it can truly change the way you write for school.

You can learn more about your fellow classmates

   With managing your own blog you may need to also give feedback on fellow classmates blogs as well. By viewing others blogs you really see into the type of person they are and the things they are interested in. One of my class mates made a blog post about Cats vs Dogs Justin voiced his feelings about cats and how much he loves them. Knowing someone else liked cats like me it opened a door to conversation with that student. New relationships in your classes can benefit you greatly. Having someone in the class to bounce your ideas off of and keep each other on track can be a great benefit. 

If you follows these tips you are sure to be successful in your blog. Maybe one day as successful as mine! (; Good luck future student and blog on!

Entry #10 Blast from the Past

Still on the media topic of Entry #9 I came across some advertisements from the past that you won't believe! I wanted to share them with you guys give some feedback on the ridiculous pictures. 

1.

"A wife can blame herself if she loses love be getting "MIDDLE AGE" SKIN!" What? I am thankful that this is no longer the way of advertisement. Or is it? A advertisement now a days may not specifically say those words, it wouldn't get away with it, but it sure can hint towards it and use men in a commercial as desiring the woman with the beautiful scent. As if women need to smell like roses to get a man to fall for them. This advertisement is extremely ridiculous but also holds the hard truth of today. Some women may even think this way that if their skin isn't young and beautiful that its why men won't want them. 

2.

Oh perfect a baby advertising cigarettes. Of course this was back int he day when they were not known to be extremely harmful towards people, especially babies. How do you get people to buy a poison? Get a baby to tell you to do it! This ad is beyond absurd and would never ever be shown in the 21st century. It is so crazy to consider how much the world has changed to where this was once acceptable. You can truly see this in the ads shown in the article. Each has shown america coming a long ways. 

To enjoy a nice laugh click HERE for the full article

Entry #9 The Almighty Media

In my English 102 class we are discussing the power of media and as I do my research and hear of other peoples topics I started to pay attention to the media around me and the impact it truly has. 

Media and Bullying

      Of course it is a well known issue but cyberbullying happens way more then people may think. Even something you may have done on social media such as liking a funny post can be seen as bullying and can contribute to the harm. Since it was prom season twitter was filled with prom pics of girls getting dressed up and looking their best and showing off their looks. One girl posted pictures feeling pretty and beautiful but people saw it as an opportunity to make it into a joke and soon she became viral as a laughing stock. To see the post and the reaction towards it here it here Prom Post. After the hate she received she made a post saying "Why did I even go". Though the bullying was terrible and on a large scale the love and support she received was truly amazing. People flooded her with messages and comments about how she was beautiful and should never care what others think. Just a simple twitter post of your prom can turn into something you may never get to escape from. 

Media and body expectations

      Social media is filled now a days with posts about motivating people to work out. Which is a very positive thing to be advocating and a healthy life style is important to follow. What harm could be done in promoting health? Well as I scroll through twitter I see more and more girls complaining about their body and how 140 is too heavy and they need to lose weight, at 14 years old. Their tummies are flat and their arms bodies are average but they feel the need to worry about the gym and dieting rather then hanging out with their friends and enjoying school. It isn't an issue to want to have a nice body but at that age it can be emotionally damaging. There are also posts about "If you're 140 you shouldn't be aloud to wear shorts" excuse me? Not allowed to? At any weight a woman (or man) should be allowed to wear whatever they want. An item of clothing is never only allowed to those who are 130 and below. That isn't a realistic view and it can make girls think that they are not good enough. I completely encourage a healthy fit lifestyle but do it for the right reasons!

Media and Violence

     I have never really believed this one and still am little sceptic about it myself. People don't like to admit that something like the media can control how we act such as wanting to do violent crimes. How can a video showcasing a gun make a teenager want to kill people? It may be a far stretch but one student showed me their essay and she made a good point. Media has a great effect on children. I never thought of a little kid being harmed by media but if you consider for a second how much young kids are like sponges and will soak up any and all information around them and act in that way. She had an example about a young toddler who would sit in their fathers lap as he would play grand theft auto. This didn't seem like a harmful thing as the child was young and "Didn't understand" well even if the child dint understand it sure didn't have a problem saying the words "Mother F*&^%$". The parents were shocked and turned off the TV right away. Kids are developing so much in adoesence and it is important to consider the effects media can have on them. Not saying it will put a knife in their hands but it could make them repeat such words and who knows what could come next. 

These are just a few ways media contains power. Next time you are scrolling through instagram or tweeting on twitter look around and see if you can see the power as well. 

Entry #8 Party for the Poor

The news is commonly seen as a place where tragic events are shown and it may not seem like there is any good left in this world. Watching the news can make you feel sad and angry and really bring you down. To liven up the mood I found this story, (Video here ) that isn't sad or depressing at all about a woman who called off her marriage but instead of crying away and waitsing her non refundable deposit of the venue for the reception she connected with organizations who helped the needy and invited then to come and enjoy a party with face painting and balloon animals. 60 guests attended and she truly made a good situation out of a bad one. 

It is truly amazing to see some good people out there still. The bride called off the wedding after not agreeing on the prenup but was able to share the special day with people who needed it. Isn't it sad that most people feel that the news covers too many depressing stories of death and destruction? I know I myself try to stray away from the news in order to avoid the truth of the terrible horrible world. No, it isn't all terrible but it seems people would rather be oblivious of the world around them then have to face the cold hard truth. Should the news showcase more positive stories? What ever happened to our "local heroes" the ones who saved cats out of trees and helped an old lady cross a street. Okay. Maybe these aren't the type of positive things I am meaning but wouldn't it be nice? 

Of course the bad news needs to be covered and the job of a news team is to keep the people informed on what is happening. Death and disaster are a way of life and people may always continue to avoid it. It doesn't stop it from happening and it sure wouldn't help for the news to only show the happy things going on either. Where is the common ground? Should news channels span out their stories to more local heroes? 

Entry #7 Hashtag it!

Hashtags. You see them everywhere on social media Instagram, Facebook and especially on Twitter. What is a hashtag? Here is an article that gives a more in depth explanation Hashtag Definition. As said in the article a hashtag once clicked on is a way to search common tweets on that topic. So lets say there was a tweet that said, "I love my mom thanks for being my number one supporter #MotherDay" If you clicked on the hashtag you could see a variety of tweets from different people talking about Mothers Day.  This may not seem like a very groundbreaking tool but can such a "special character" hold great value? Or is it just a way for people to feel like they are making a change when they really aren't?

One article Hashtag Activism questioned the power of hashtag. It answered in a little bit yes, a little bit no, a little bit maybe. Well thanks that helps a lot! The article did point out that hashtags can make a difference when it spreads the word of issues and gets people out there trying to make a change. I don't know about you but most people I know just sit around read a issue going on in the world and then continue to scroll past or just make a comment about how they feel. Yes, if it brings the person reading to get up and protest and push towards change then hashtags can bring great difference. But in my opinion hashtags are merely just a way for people to see whats going on in the world and forget about it in a few months. 

Twitter is now seen as one of the fastest, if not the fastest, way of news to spread. The way of categorizing tweets by hashtags is also commonly used when a company, person, show, organization etc wants to see the peoples posts on a certain topic. On a news station they could say "Tell us what you think at #FoxNews" and to filter through the tweets they look up the hashtag and can see peoples responses. This has to be the best way the hashtag is used in my opinion. Contests are held in this way on twitter as well as getting celebrities to see your posts. It is a way to communicate with fans by a hashtag search engine. 

On the other hand hashtags are seen as a way to poke fun at social media lingo. My mom made me a grilled cheese #blessed. My iPhone 6 slow motion cam isn't working #firstworldproblems. They can be used to exaggerate what the person is tweeting about and just be a funny end to a tweet rather then a way to search for this grand topic. 

How do you feel about hashtags? Do you think they have the power to change the world? Have you ever used a hashtag before?

Entry #6 Big Brother is Watching

In the 21st century the internet is everywhere. It is in our phones, it is on our computers, it is even on our smart watches. You tweet you text you lol but what about you being able to look up personal information on people? I came upon an article about a website called Truth Finder that you can put in anyones name and it will give you a complete search of them. So naturally I put someones name in there. Not only did I put someone name in there I picked someone who has no social media what so ever and thought it would be harder to find information on. I searched my uncle. Automatically it came up with him and 8 of his family members names. How does this site know my uncle and his family when he is not on social media? It gave me the family members criminal records without me even asking. 

At my fingertips is the background to millions of people. Is this a good use of technology or is it a completely violation of privacy. On one hand we put that information out there ourselves and sometimes don't understand  what it means when its truly public. Once a post or picture it out there is no turning back. Does this deserve this type of back lash though? What should be considered personal and private or does that not exist anymore? My uncle someone who doesn't put his information out there for everyone to see can still be searched on a site like this. I could see the upside to this for people who are dating and want to be safe and do a little background search to make sure they haven't had any felonies. Even a caution for dating is still just to much to me. You life should be private and who you chose to tell things about should be your choice! What do you think? You do the crime so you deserve the punishment of everyone knowing? Or should some things just be kept a secret?

If you want to try it out for yourself and be as nosey as me here is the site truthfinder.com . Snoop at your own risk. 

Entry #5 Get a degree faster!!

             The amount of college classes it takes to get a degree seems to be growing and growing and what was said to take four years is taking some five or six. I personally and going for a business degree and my prerequisites before university will take me three years with just following the fall spring semesters. I have to take full time in summer and take some online just in order to fit it all in to two years. Recently an article same out about ASU and how they will be offering half time classes. Here is the article here! ASU ARTICLE A class that would take 15 weeks will take 7and a half. So if you use it wisely you can graduate earlier then the four years and do it in three. This is a great opportunity for those who are working and can take classes in a shorter period of time. They will also offer these shorter classes online which aren't used as often but now can be ideal for someone with a job or kids or other responsibilities trying to get a job. Since these classes are 7 and a half weeks it is very fast paced and may not be for everyone. Some students may need more time for certain classes since there may be a lot of reading and writing essays and doing this in a shorter time means double the homework. One of the downfalls to this change is the fact that the normal school schedule will be changed for everyone in order to incorporate these half time classes. You have to go in early January instead of mid to late and the winter semester will no longer be available. This has the potential to cause some problems with students who enjoy the normal 15 week classes.

Though it may not be for everyone I have taken shortened, fast paced classes before and I think they are very beneficial and can be chanleging but rewarding. I would definitely recommend taking these faced paced classes if you're not wanting to be on college forever. But for those who enjoy the normal classes and the 5 years of school stick to it and get that degree!