The Internet Week 2

The Internet 

By:Ryan Darling 

For this weeks discussion about the internet we were tasked to go online to our favorite social media sites and come up with a few notable people to follow and research.  The people I chose were people or businesses I am interested in and who are for the most part famous and well known. 

Topic 1

My first selection was a person who I really look up to in the business world because of his brilliance and drive he was able to start many million and even billion dollar companies.  He is on the forefront of technology and innovation.  This man is Elon Musk,  Musk became a multi-multi-millionare in his twenties and is now worth more then 19 billion dollars.  My favorite tweet the Musk posted was when he was promoting his Boring company's flame-throwers.  He says "Obviously, a flamethrower is a super terrible idea. Definitely don't buy one."  "Unless you like fun."  Why I liked this tweet is because it made me laugh that he would say this and it also was a great marketing tactic.  The next person is Casey Neistat.  Casey is very inspiring in the way he talks and presents himself just like an everyday guy who is very driven to accomplish his goals.  My favorite tweet from him was right after he snowboarded on the closed streets of New York City.  He says "SNOWBOARD NYC did a million views in 32 hours!"  This to me is crazy what he did but at the same time it was so cool that he was able to pull off a stunt like this.  

Has Social Media Enhances My Ability To Take Action? 

While I cannot say for certain that I have been able to change anyones mind or even participate in democracy through social media I do think that it has changed the way I view certain topics.  As I use  Twitter a lot more then before I see many people showing their viewpoints.  Many people link to articles or videos that further their views.  This has made me more informed in my opinion.  I used to be pro Trump everything as he was in my eyes a good business leader, which is what I am interested in but as he continues to go through his presidency I feel more and more that while he is creating a good economy he is also not being as diplomatic as he should be such as when he lashes out at people who make fun of him or say things about him he doesn't like.  "Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a....."  Trump tweet on January 9, 2017.  this is just foolish on his part because no president was universally liked but they all took the hate and brushed it off because in the end it didn't matter and they knew that the longer they talked about the longer it would stay in the news cycle.  I just see new things through social media that is connected to the world such as Twitter and Reddit.  The social media that is connected to just your friends and family can be harmful due to them most likely sharing your same views.  It is good to see all sides of a topic even if you do not agree with them it is good to be more informed.  

Topic 2

Turkles talk was about how technology is promising a more connected word but is giving us more isolation.  The part that stuck out to me was when she said "If given the chose to text or have real conversation with one another which is more favorable?" and many stated that texting was better.  The reason behind why we like to text instead of converse is just like how we use social media.  With social media we post we get to edit and reshape reality in just the right way that makes us look the best we possibly can.  With social media we are looking at the painting not the painter.  This is very much related to texting instead of conversation because with texting we get to edit and delete the things that we might not have wanted to say but did.  We get to shape a conversation think about the best way to respond,  taking minutes and even hours to think on the best response.  There is a sense of comfort looking at what you are about to share to the world and proof reading it for errors.  With conversation we don't get that sense of security we are vulnerable to human mistakes.  Which is more human but less comfortable.  

When it comes to gaming I have no games on my smartphone because I don't like to play games that way,  but on the computer I have about six games that I have downloaded but only play 1 every so often.  The game I enjoy playing the most is Fortnite because I get to play with my friends and actually talk with them and we get to all work towards the same goal.  I do not spend much of any time playing games but I do spend many hours a week on social media.  Social media makes me feel like I am in the know of what is going on outside of my town and in the world.  It creates a community that I get to be apart of contribute to.  I enjoy the feeling when playing the Fortnite Game with my friends because we are all working together talking to one another where we wouldn't if we just called each-other on the phone the game is what brings us all together.