Objective 7: SELF REFLECTION

I think what worked best for me was the schedule I was on. I posted twice daily at the same time. They were times that I felt were popular times for social media use. I also tried my hardest to become more interactive with with other users and local customers. I think that I got a lot of interaction with our pictures of our everyday arrangements because they were out of the norm.

One thing that I wish I would have done different is to focus more on variety. The pictures that I was given to work with were all the same things. Weddings and babies. Most people that follow us are looking for those things, but I wish I would have made it more personal. I wish I would have posted more behind the scenes of our shop and the faces behind Bloomers.

Objective 6: SUMMARY

After posting our Facebook campaign, I really hit our social media hard. I began posting regularly twice daily. I noticed that once I got on a regular schedule, interaction became higher. I also changed forms of media. Instead of exclusively posting pictures, I began posting Boomerang Instagram videos. Once I posted those videos, I noticed that they got a lot of reaction.  I also focused a lot on our features on different blogs and magazines. Those features are the types of things that catch the eye of destination brides.

Objective 5: FACEBOOK INSIGHTS

Objective 4: CAMPAIGN PLAN

With my Facebook campaign, I planned to further grow and represent our brand and style. I feel that I accomplished that well. We hosted events, participated in a workshop, we were featured in multiple blogs and magazines and designed many beautiful weddings. I posted updates on all of these things to help to engage with our clients.

Facebook Update

I noticed that the posts that we have been featured in magazines/blogs or collaborated with people are the ones that we got the most interaction with. The other one that has had a lot of interaction is an event that we are hosting. I have noticed that the posts that get the most interaction are normally the ones that also involve other people.

Default Attitudinal Responses

I have struggled with this response for multiple days now. I don't know if it's because it has been hard for me to put into words or if it has been too hard for me to take notice to these responses. Everyone has these default responses and it is vital that we take notice to these reactions to help better improve our interactions with those around us.

I grew up in southern Utah. All of my life, I have been surrounded by white people, consumed in an LDS community and lived in a very red state. Despite all of these things, I was raised in a home that taught me to love the people around me, give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and be as non-judgmental as possible.

As I read through my On The Media posts, I began to recognize some of my default responses. I was writing about issues that I have never even come close to experiencing. Things like living in poverty, being in a war-struck community, and keeping myself safe. I have never experienced any of these things because I live in a safe community with safe people and in a steady household. As I read my posts, I realized that it was nearly impossible for me to fully understand/comprehend these topics because I have never experienced them myself.

Because of my circumstances, I react to certain things automatically. Things like drug use, abortion, political parties, guns, and religion. But it is my responsibility to take notice to these responses and decide whether they are helping me or hurting me. Before this class, I never would have thought of these responses. And wow, I am happy that I have.
                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Well Informed 2.0: Syria + Immigration

This is an issue that is always brought up, but never actually recognized. I think that many people know about Syria and about the dangers happening in their country. I don't think that many people realize the extent of the danger and the situations.

After watching this, it added a little more insight to my knowledge about Syria. Syria's civil war started as peaceful protests and has turned in to a big mess with no end in sight.

I searched Twitter as part of my research for this post. All I typed in was simply "Syria". Hundreds of thousands of tweets came up regarding this topic. Many that caught my eye were images of children, and people saying that we have lost all hope for humanity. Many of the tweets also talked about the involvement of Russia and Iraq. Some mentioned immigration into the U.S. and what Clinton and Trump thought about it.

As of right now, the U.S. has allowed 10,000 refugees in to our country. Our country is skeptical, due to relations with ISIS. Germany has more than one million, and Europe over all has roughly 1,800,000 refugees within their countries.

After watching the documentary in class, I started to look at Syria on a more personal level. I know that I will never fully understand what that family has gone through, but I tried to imagine what my lief would be like with my siblings if we were that family. All that family had for each other was love. They were risking their lives for their home country and watching it be destroyed right in front of their eyes.

I know that it is hard for people to comprehend what is going on and many people are against helping the refugees and letting them in to our country. But it just hurts my heart to know that this is happening to families and individuals on the daily. I think that through certain background checks, we should be able to allow these people in to our country so that they can live a safe and happy life. Isn't America the land of opportunity? I understand that you cannot trust everyone, but you can keep your guards up and still try and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. You just have to go with your gut feelings.

OTM: Poverty Tour

The very poor in our country are the poorest they've ever been. How is that possible? Isn't America the land of opportunity? Sadly, it used to be. But now that thought has simply turned in to a delusion.

Many of us scored on the family we were born in to. Middle class is a good place to be and it is comfortable. Poverty is something that most of us will never understand or experience. Factors of poverty include: race, proximity, and gender.  Research says that in Salt Lake City, you have an 11% chance to rise from the bottom fifth income bracket to the top fifth. On the opposite side, you have a 4% chance, which is basically no chance at all.

In the Appalachian areas, there has always been problems with poverty. Beginning at the turn of the century, there were always more people than jobs. People in this area are living in rusted trailers and wooden shacks. Some have electricity but many do not have running water. Multiple families are living in these shacks. This kind of poverty is hard to see because it's not easily seen. You have to drive through back roads to witness it. It's hard to get the media to cover it and it's even harder to understand.

The biggest misconception about poor people is that they are poor. In some cases, this is true. But in many, this is not the problem.We have created this idea in our country, that if we help them or share with them, it is only hurting them. We have this idea that if we help them it is creating some kind of dependency. Many American citizens don't believe that poverty is an issue in our country. In result of that, it keeps getting neglected and over looked.

I'm not going to lie, this podcast was a little hard for me to relate to. In Utah, our poverty is not nearly as bad as other places around the country. I don't have any kind of clue what it is to live like that. I was blessed to be born in to the family that I was. Not by any means are we rich, but we are comfortable. It is time for the upper middle class and wealthy to take action and understand these issues and the crisis that poverty is.

Well Informed 2.0: Security + Privacy

Privacy is a very interesting topic because it has a very large gray area. What I consider to be private is something that you wouldn't mind being exposed, and vice versa. In this day and age our constitutional privacy rights are being compromised by the NSA in hopes to keep our country safe. The 4th Amendment is what is supposed to protect our privacy rights, but is being violated everyday.

We are told all the time that Snapchat is scanning our faces, Facebook is tracking our location and Instagram is creating maps of our lives. But what about Google? What about our phone calls? Have you ever noticed when you are looking for a new pair of Steve Madden boots and all the sudden you have Steve Madden ads on Facebook and Instagram. Every single one of our clicks is tracked and recorded.

After researching this topic, I kept coming back to the issue between Apple and the FBI. The FBI asked a court to order Apple to create a different iOS that would make information more easily accessible for them. Apple objected this order. Apple created a highly secure iOS because they know how much secure information carry in their devices. People carry their wallets, personal pictures, and basically their livelihood on those devices. Apple found it to be wrong to intentionally weaken this security system. If Apple did agree to this order, it would give the government more power and they were unsure where that would take us.

Of course Apple had the means to build this iOS. The FBI requested that it be built only once, but in this world that we live in now, once it is created once, there are no limits to how many more times it can be duplicated. Apple is frequently asked to unlock iPhones for law enforcement and have not because it is against the law. Apple is cooperating with law enforcement as much as they can without violating rights and breaking the law.

It is vital in this day and age to keep ourselves as safe as possible. If we really knew how much of our lives are tracked, it would be scary. We are constantly watched and our lives are being monitored. Our location through our bank accounts, our license plates are pictured and our phone activity is wired. It is important to be smart and aware of our surroundings.

#presidentialdebate2016

A group of my friends and I got together to watch the debate. I was nervous to be around a large group of people in fear of clashing opinions and different political views. I brought the bingo boards and someone else brought the pizza. It actually turned out okay.

I made it a point to check Twitter and Facebook as the debate was going on. I was shocked at all of the different responses. When I thought that Trump said something absolutely outrageous, someone was tweeting about how genius it was. Our country is in a scary place.

My newsfeed was full of mocking the candidates, hilarious memes and tweets of disparity that these are our two candidates. That did not surprise me at all. What did surprise me was that the number one trending topic was #TrumpWon.

I sat next to a good friend while watching the debate. We both are undecided on this presidential election and so we did a little experiment. We both watched our hashtags quickly change and become opposite of each other. I'm not sure what made them so different, but it was interesting to see how fast things changed. Her's was full of Anti-Hillary, and mine was all Trump hating.

Even though that I do not traditionally use Twitter for news or important topics like this, it was interesting to see it used in this aspect. It created stories and Top Tweets specifically for me. It made me realize that you really do have to do all of your research, because just by looking at your social media you're getting maybe 1/16th of the story.

But hey, at lease we have presidential candidates that hate each other.

OTM: Facebook Throws Out the Rule Book

Facebook is no longer "human". This world-wide social media is run by machines. The machines took humans out of the picture by creating algorithms. While there are still humans involved in the background, the algorithms were created to fill our timelines with things that they think we would like to see. The editors behind these algorithms are mostly college graduates from the Cupertino, CA area.

This week on On The Media, I listened to the segment called "Facebook Throws Out the Rule Book". It was interesting for me to listen to because of the impact that Facebook has on my everyday life. They covered the issue of the decision that Facebook made to delete the post by Norwegian writer, Tom Egeland. He posted a series of photos that he thought changed the history of warfare. The reason for deleting it, is because it included a picture of a 9 year old little girl, Kim Phuc, running down the war struck streets of Vietnam. The only issue with the picture is that Phuc is seen running naked. Facebook's "robots" flagged this as nudity and immediately removed the post even though it is an important photograph in our world's history.

Facebook users immediately began attacking Mark Zuckerberg for the removal of the post. Users are claiming that he is abusing his power and trying to filter what is seen on this social media platform. After searching Facebook, many posts appeared regarding the issue.

After the article was removed, Norway's largest newspaper released an article regarding Facebook's censorship and it also included the photo of the "Naplam Girl". Soon after it was posted, Facebook removed this article as well.

"Naplam Girl"

In the show, they talked about how Facebook has changed human behavior and media consumptionon a grand scale. None of this information would have been so readily available before Facebook. Our world has become completely dependent on Facebook, and it leaves many people wondering why they can't do better. But in all reality, we will never be able to get all Facebook users to agree. Our world and culture has become so mentally addicted to this platform, that we would not be able to function without it. 

As a millennial, I use Facebook every single day. It is something that my generation revolves around. It has become part of my culture. Facebook has made it so that everyday tasks, like wishing a friend a happy birthday, all the way to trying to find a place to live can all be done in one place. Chances are, without Facebook, I wouldn't even see war images like this. It has almost become socially unacceptable to not have a Facebook. Incidents like this come and go, but Facebook will never lose. They have created something that the human race now depends on.

Well Informed 2.0: Race Baiting

Simply by googling "race baiting" you get the exact definition of the term. It is the act of using racially derisive language, actions, or other forms of communication in order to anger or intimidate or coerce. After researching more details and social media platforms, it turns out to be more than just that.

After searching the issue on Twitter, many of the related tweets included the presidential candidates and President Obama for being supporters of the issue. Many of the tweets contain biased opinions, defensive statements and many news articles. One tweet that I found that stuck out to me was this:
"@Protocolflow: It's sad that after several decades of racial and economic movement and acceptance we now have race baiting victim profiteers."

I began researching race baiting on Facebook and found even more controversial posts. Multiple people that I am friends with have posted things on this issue that I did not even realize. When you search it, the most popular results is race baiting against blacks. But after seeing multiple posts on Facebook, I noticed that is also happens against whites. Similar to Twitter, many of the posts were about President Obama and the presidential candidates. There were also posts involving Beyonce, various judges, and some news casters. 

Out of curiosity, I searched the issue on Pinterest to see what they would have. I was shocked with how many memes and cartoons they had regarding the issue. 

From a cultural standpoint, all of this is hard for me to believe. I grew up in Southern Utah and do not have very much exposure to real issues like this. I have a few black friends and some black classmates, but when I see things in the news, it is hard for me to believe. Because I have never been exposed to these types of things, it is sad and shocking, and almost unreal to me, that these things happen in our society today.

Race baiting is dividing our country, tearing apart communities, and causing hatred across the nation. It is sad and scary that something as simple as someone's race is still an issue in our society. Police brutality and race is hard. It is something that is a very sensitive subject for most and leaves many people feeling scared and unsafe around police officers. It is a hard issue because many people don't take the time to learn about the real issues and only base their issues off of what they see in the media or on the news. Those platforms give completely biased opinions and only tell people what they want to hear. It is something that needs to be researched and learned about before forming a valid opinion for yourself. 

OTM: Kids These Days

Everyone has something that they are sensitive about, something that they get defensive about, or something that makes them feel just completely uncomfortable. As university students, we all come from very different backgrounds, and that is where trigger warnings come in to play.

Many people believe that trigger warnings are wrongful and are actually "coddling" today's university students. The professor in the podcast, Kate Man, who teaches Philosophy at Cornell, defends the use of trigger warnings. She believes they are beneficial to her students' mental health. Trigger warnings and safe spaces give people the opportunity to step back and enter the conversation when they are ready, and to step away when they are not. Everyone comes to class with a different background, different experiences and different opinions, but things still need to be talked about. When trigger warnings are given by the professor or other students, they help to enhance and enrich conversations because people are more willing and involved in the interaction. A trigger warning is something that can be as simple as a single sentence heads up. It can be something that a professor provides so that a student can come prepared to dive in to topics. A trigger warning can even be considered a simple act of kindness.

On the other hand, many universities do not support trigger warnings. With school starting this Fall, many universities sent out letters to all of their students stating that trigger warnings will not be allowed on their campus. Some universities think that colleges need to change as society changes and that can not be possible with things like trigger warnings and safe spaces. Many universities are trying to recruit diverse student bodies and conform with new times and new measures. Some universities think that people need to be taught offensive things and they need to learn to deal with it, and that can't happen with trigger warnings and safe spaces.

If you haven't caught on, people of older generations believe that us millennials are ruining the world. We are killing the housing market, the car sales and even the napkin industry. Millennials are sometimes referred to as a "13 year old from last century". People think that we are afraid of commitment, afraid of moving out of our parents house, and easily offended. While some of these may be right, the use of trigger warnings and safe spaces do not relate. I think that just out of common courtesy, these practices should be used. People should be able to feel safe and to be comfortable in their surroundings.

Facebook Campaign

Bloomers Flowers and Decor

Personnas

Person 1: Sophie, a 23 year old college student, who recently got engaged. She is looking for a floral designer that can make her dreams come to life. She has a full Pinterest board of arrangements that she wishes to have for her wedding day. 

Person 2: Tara, a 37 year old business woman that is looking to elope. She has researched Southern Utah and read our reviews on Yelp. She has a very desert style and is looking for a unique designer to help her. Her and her future husband are planning on having an intimate ceremony with just the two of them. 

Person 3: Kalynn, a local mom in the community who is in need of an everyday arrangement. She is a lady that follows our Instagram and Facebook and saw something that she loved. She calls our shop and we are more than happy to make something beautiful and deliver them in the local area.

For my Facebook campaign, I wanted to do something that I love, something that I'm involved with daily and something that I'm very knowledgable about. I plan on cross-promoting through Instagram and Twitter. I hope to be able to attract future brides and possible local customers. I plan on using pictures from past weddings and events that represent us and our unique style. I hope to be able to represent our brand and our style through different social media platforms.