Media Blog Forum 2

Topic 1: Social Media

I would like to start this article by saying that I am not one of the masses that spend the majority of their day just scrolling through various social media platforms such as the ones listed on this weeks assignments. ie, Facebook, snapchat. In fact until I took Marketing I didn't even have a twitter or LinkedIn account. Any how, Although I am not a fan of Social Media and I don't recommend that anyone get there news from such sources. I do think that in many cases Social Media has empowered people to become more active politically at least online. However, I worry that people do just fall to the echo chamber and because all of their friends feel or say one thing they will automatically take that stance without any personal thoughts or insights.
Some of the people that I follow and why are.

I follow Donald J. Trump on Twitter. The main reason that I follow the President on Twitter is because everyone is always talking about his latest Tweets and I like tobe in the loop. Another reason that I follow him is that you are able to get information directly from him, I don't want to go into a rant about how biased our media in this country is so I will just leave it at that.

I also follow Mark R. Levin @marklevinshow. I follow Mark because I have been a listener to his radio show on NPR for over 10 years and I feel like he is an independent thinker who uses his years of experience to formulate a well thought out rational realistic point of view, He is not another echo chamber, like many of his conservative cohorts.

The last company that I would like to mention is one that I follow on LinkedIn, the name of the company is Cheddar Inc, I like them because they are always posting videos, almost like commercials of cutting edge technology or machinery, I see a lot of applications in third world or developing countries for the items that they post. I mainly just like to watch these videos as a form of entertainment and to stimulate thought processes.

The best "tweet" that I have seen lately was the Presidents 4th of July address that he tweeted out on the 4th. I enjoyed this because it really represents the way I feel about my Country. It made me emotional. The address didn't seem politicized it seemed sincere.

I really enjoyed the TED talk from Sherry Turkle, She hits the nail on the read. The world and the way we communicate and connect is changing at an incredible rate. One example of a boundary that I have set with my two 16 year old's is that when they text me it will be in complete sentences with proper punctuation. Another boundary that I set with the family is that there is NO cell phone use allowed at the dinner table, this includes adults. This gives us time to visit and talk about the day, it really is one of my favorite times with my family.

When it comes to playing and downloading games onto my phone and computer I would have to say that I am one of the few who don't participate in such activates. The only game that I have downloaded is Ballz and I have only payed it a few times. I just have the time or desire to spend my valuable time staring at my phone. I am the guy who still turns his phone off in class and in meetings. I would rather be connected to the real world and my immediate surroundings.

Although I don't use my phone and computer to play games and surf social media I do find that I still spend at least 20 hours a week on some sort of electronic device, usually associated with work or school.