Does First Lady Melania Trump Hurt or Help Cyberbullying?

Her husband refers to the leader of North Korea as “Rocket Man,” calls Hilary Clinton “crooked Hilary,” and belittles and demeans people through Twitter. Her goal is to end cyberbullying. First Lady Melania Trump announced she would focus her attention on the issue of cyberbullying during the presidential campaign. Since Donald Trump’s election she gave a speech at a U.N. luncheon and traveled to a couple of middle schools to talk to children about bullying; it is believed that she has not yet formulated a defined program for ending cyberbullying. Given the recent comments made by a Parkland High School shooting survivor, it was time to take a look at what First Lady Melania Trump has done for the complex issue of cyberbullying and determine if she will ever actually be effective at change, assuming she is unwilling to smash her husband’s phone. Continue reading

Failing ESPN Continues to Tank

url.pngFailing ESPN continues to tank as anchor, Jemele Hill, keeps her job in the midst of a Twitter scandal. Why is Hill’s job in question? The tweet, which has since been removed, claimed that President Donald Trump was a, “white supremacist,” and that his cabinet (which features a black man, an Indian woman, an Asian woman, and multiple Jewish people) was, “largely…white supremacists.” Continue reading

Mark Zuckerberg Speaks Out On Facebook’s Big Problem: Social Misinformation

We have all been there, scrolling on our Facebook timelines and came across some wild article. Unfortunately what happens from there is up to the reader. Some take what they read on the internet with a grain of salt and fact check, others not so much. Social misinformation occurs because social sites, especially Facebook have a well-established reputation.Lincoln Warning

I know it’s one of the first places I go daily to find out what’s happening in the world. Facebook has trending topics, top news organizations and all my friends who I consider truthful sources of information. But in the wake of an especially confusing election season chock full of mudslinging misinformation, Mark Zuckerberg spoke out about how Facebook is going to combat fake news stories.

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How Donald Trump Leveraged Social Media

The 2016 presidential election was anything but ordinary. This crazy election had polar opposite candidates, zealous supporters, and biased media networks. Social media was one of the most interesting facets of this election. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were extremely active across the big three platforms: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Trump even went so far to say that social media played the key role in his victory.

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Skinny Minnie: Not-So-Pretty

Kate Moss once said, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” This quote was one of the most popular memes of 2016. Young girls and women alike have posted and retweeted this as “fitness” inspiration. Unfortunately, this quote is not the only form of unwarranted, unhealthy physical propaganda; especially within the social media sphere. Continue reading

Social Media: a Tool for Political Campaigns

How do you want to receive your news about the upcoming presidential election? You can watch the news and debates on TV, or you may read the newspaper for your daily update. Now, you can also turn to social media to learn more about it. As the election approaches, social media has been improving political campaigns.Social Media: a Tool for Political Campaigns Continue reading

Social Media Improves Political Campaigns

The 2016 presidential campaigns are in full swing, and social media improves political campaigns. Social media is an easy tool for candidates to get their message out there and find ways to reach larger audiences. As Campaign On says, “56% of Americans currently have a profile on a social media site… And with 22% of Americans using social media several times a day, it is no wonder that businesses, non-profits, and even politicians have begun to utilize social media” (http://campaignon.com/blog/political-campaigns/social-media-and-political-campaigns-what-are-the-benefits-of-social-media/).  Social media improves political campaigns by allowing candidates to show off their personality and their campaign.

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Twitter Campaigning: Social Media in the 2016 Presidential Election

Presidential campaigns spend millions of dollars each year on radio and television ads, but for the 2016 election this money is a waste. Presidential Candidates must look to social media for rankings, free advertisement, analyticVoter pin with the words"every tweet counts".s, fundraising, public feedback and opinion, engage with young voters, and immediate response to controversy.

More voters are receiving their news from social media and the 2016 presidential candidates are taking advantage of this medium. Social media is a tool for campaigns to reach out to Millennials and gain momentum in the polls and recognition in the news. Twitter has become imperative for candidates to use to gain the public eye and attention of potential voters.

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Combative Communications 101 – Presidential Debate Style

The candidates of the Republican Presidential Debate stand together after a combative, confrontational 3 hour dialogue.

The candidates of the Republican Presidential Debate stand together after a combative, confrontational 3 hour dialogue.

Although titled the Republican Primary Debate, CNN’s lengthy Wednesday evening production was much more of a “he said, she said,” Real-Housewives catfight-esque, combative communications performance than a Presidential deliberation.

Taking place at California’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, CNN hosted a whopping 16 Republican candidates for what resulted in more of a confrontational therapy session between the “cool kids” rather than an evenly distributed discussion amongst all of the candidates. And yet, the prime time debate averaged 23.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched program in CNN’s history. Is this statistic telling of the type of communication that attracts a majority of our nation’s population?

CNN’s combative questioning technique was designed to spark conversation, typically controversial, between two candidates in regards to comments that one has said about the other and vise versa. As the inquiries and accusations were being responded to, the network would publish the responses via Twitter, which only elongated the “he said, she said” conversation via social media. On the contrary, professor and CNN Political Analyst during elections Dr. Rita Kirk, noted that although combative, the debate technique forced candidates to be confrontational in a public forum. By forcing candidates to face the criticism that was made both by them and against them, it acted as a “check” on held them and a catalyst for accountability, which may have been the appeal to the American public.

 

 

Robots Do It Better: Technology Replacing Humans

Bill Gates claims that software animation could lead to technology replacing humans and robots stealing your job.

According to Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, robots do it better. The infamous computer programmer claims that advancing software automation could lead to technology replacing humans in the work force meaning that robots could steal your job.

Business Insider reports that Gates spoke at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington, DC last week speaking about how governments and businesses need to prepare for a future where lots of jobs will be done by software and robots, resulting in mass unemployment.

“Yes, robots really are about to take your jobs,” Gates said. “Software substitution, whether it’s for drivers or waiters or nurses… it’s progressing. Technology over time will reduce demand for jobs, particularly at the lower end of skill set… 20 years from now, labor demand for lots of skill sets will be substantially lower. I don’t think people have that in their mental model.”
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Obama on Between Two Ferns

Obama on Between Two Ferns for Zach Galifianakis’s Funny or Die show to promote enrollment of Affordable Care Act.

Funny or Die Images

Funny or Die Images

A surprisingly witty and snarky Obama kept Galifianakis on his toes throughout the interview. An example of their dry humor was when Galifianakis said, it must “stink” that Obama couldn’t run for a third term. He quickly rebutted with,

“If I ran a third time, it would be like doing a third Hangover movie…didn’t really work out very well did it.”

These sharp and comedic zingers weren’t the only points to come out of the show. Obama strategically and effectively communicated the Affordable Care Act to an audience he has been desperate to reach. Approaching the Millennials through an age appropriate, popular online platform like famous Funny or Die, is genius.

Like Obama on Between Two Ferns, to achieve your target audience you must:

  • Research and then do more research
  • Knowing your audience inside and out
  • Target them through the correct and applicable platforms
  • Don’t be afraid to standout from the norm

These steps are crucial. The success of these steps was proven when following Obama’s appearance, there was a healthy bump in the number of those who enrolled in the Affordable Care Act.

 

The Internet Fights Back Ready to Knock Out Government Surveillance 

Watch out NSA, the Internet is back for round two with “The Day We Fight Back” — an online protest packing one hell of a punch ready to knock out mass government surveillance worldwide.

The Day We Fight Back — Online protest.

The Day We Fight Back — Online protest.

A coalition of activist groups, companies and online platforms launch an online protest against government surveillance in a mobilization dubbed “The Day We Fight Back”.  

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Land of the Free? U.S. Now Ranked 46

The United States has dropped 13 places to a dismal 46 on the World Press Freedom Index.  World Press Freedom Index 2014

Reporters Without Borders annually ranks countries based on how they maintain freedom of the press. In a ranking of 180 countries, the United States now stands at number 46. Public opinion can best be summed up by The AtlanticAt least the birthplace of the first amendment managed to come in one spot ahead of Haiti.”

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New Creepy and Controversial Anti-Obamacare Ad

Generation Opportunity, a conservitive group that describes itself as a “national, non-partisan youth advocacy organization,” released a controversial anti-Obamacare ad this past Thursday. The video depicts a creepy and cartoonish “Uncle Sam” acting in place of a gynecologist.

 Screen shot 2013-09-20 at 4.56.21 PM

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Political Social Media’s More Noble Role

Political social media did not exist a decade ago. Now tens of millions of dollars are spent every election on social media campaigns. Initially politicians only believed social media would be used as an effective campaigning tool.  It is clear now though that political discussions on social media outlets can be the origins of larger mainstream ideas. This is political social media’s more noble role. Continue reading