On The Media #1

On The Media- "Detecting Terrorism Online Raises Legal Questions"

This is the segment I decided to write about this week because I find it interesting the dynamics and varying points of view that play into this idea of online surveillance. The segment was hosted by Bob Garfield and the guest was Karen Greenberg.

The psychological contents of this story that I found dealt with how we form opinions and judgements on others, even if "all the pieces fall together" how can we ever be one hundred percent sure of their motives? I like that Karen mentioned the fact that there are some youth that seem to gravitate towards radical groups because they feel "understood" there and may express hatred or desires for terrorism but these youth need to be rehabilitated not tracked down and locked up because we "pre-determined" they are a terrorist. I completely agree with that.

Another context that came into play with this discussion is a social one. This segment reminded me of the Snowden incident and how big of a social debate that turned into. He justified his actions by expressing the need for Americans to demand their privacy back and that we shouldn't have to sacrifice our private lives and way of life to "be safe." Karen briefly talked about how finding these terrorists or radical people needs to rely on interpersonal communication and >human< analysis. People can be whoever they want on the internet and many individuals have no limits to what they can do online, so should we really rely on some algorithm code to "keep us safe?"

Cultural context plays a role in this as well in what it means to be an 'American.' I feel most Americans enjoy our privacy and the freedoms we have to do as we wish (for the most part) with our own lives. However, with the reoccurring terrorist attacks, we are becoming more fearful and paranoid. Understandable yes, yet why are we at the same time also willing to let that fear rule us? This is the ultimate goal of terrorists, to make you afraid so that everyday you are just wondering and worrying if something bad is going to happen again, you let it ruin your life.

I honestly think this is something that is not being taken as seriously as it needs to. Too many Americans (myself included) tend to think ignorance is bliss and we just don't want to think about it or deal with it. Why not have the NSA and other "officials" surveillance everyone? It's keeping us safe right? I don't like the mindset of "if you have nothing to hide, why are you worried about the government watching you?" Well I'm not worried but it bothers me because I am an American citizen, don't I have a basic right to be trusted and to live my life not being "monitored" every second?

Think about it, what if you posted to your facebook "I hate the President! I wish he were..." what if a few moments later, a bunch of feds showed up to your door wanting to question you? Think that's stretching it? I don't. Sure that was a mean thing to post but it's your right of free speech to do so! We all have a right to privacy and a right to innocence until proven guilty. More than anything online text gets misunderstood and taken out of context almost every time. Again, imagine a guy is sending a 'drunk' or fatigued email to a friend that says "I just want to kill all the girls at my school... " Sounds pretty suspicious, the feds should definitely go pick him up and make him the top story of the week essentially scarring his reputation. When in reality, he wasn't aware at the time of the terrible typo that occurred when he meant to type 'kiss.' He may be a creep but he's not a mass murderer. Sure things may not be this extreme right now but I fear if we keep loosening our grips on our rights to privacy that those things could very much be a reality.

So in conclusion, my response to the story is I'm a little torn surprisingly. This algorithm they are suggesting sounds interesting but also makes me wary, I think I would need a lot more information on what it is exactly and how it is going to "weed out the bad guys." I do know, that as far as mass, pure surveillance on everyone, I'm not okay with. Even if some say that by doing it we 'could' have prevented 9/11, I'm not sure if I believe that or if I think that is a cost we need to pay.

Racism 2.0 well informed post

"Our true nationality is mankind" -H.G. Wells

I decided for this post, I wanted to spend some time looking into what the main concerns with racism are today. The points I found are that white people are seen as the root and problem, black people feel alienated and stereotyped, and everyone seems to be stuck in not knowing what to do about any of it. 

The first article I found interesting was from the Gaurdian online newspaper. (http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/24/white-student-unions-campus-racism-protests-university-of-missouri). It is a story on white students at a university who begin small "white student unions." A quote from the story shows why these students were doing this. "UT Austin’s WSU describes itself on its page as a “group to promote the ethnic interests of white students and to protect us from BLM [Black Lives Matter] terrorism”. The spokesman said the group started as a collection of like-minded friends who began meeting to discuss topics like pride in white heritage and a sense that, in college classes, students are “drowning in an anti-white narrative”. This really turns the table on this heated topic that while the black students were supposedly trying to decrease racism attitudes at their school, they were in turn alienating another race. I thought this response from another reporter was a little unfair- “It’s a parody that wants to belittle the language of black student movements and to try to show them as ridiculous,”. My issue is why can't we all be proud to be the race and gender that we were born into, better yet why can't we all be proud to be human? Why is it okay for some races to be recognized and celebrated and not others? Is that not racism in its most obvious form? 

I continued on looking for other examples or talks on racism and stumbled upon these two articles on the Huffington post written by the same author, Karen Fleshman who is Caucasian.  (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-fleshman/how-white-is-your-world_b_7772062.html) and (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-fleshman/yes-racism-is-still-a-problem-in-america_b_7732498.html). Before these two articles, she had written another one titled "white people- if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." However, I am only going to discuss the two I gave links for. She talks about how white people are in this "bubble" and deny that racism even exists. I will agree that there are many individuals who feel that way but not ALL white people do for example myself and many of my colleagues and friends. She believes that white people need to be accountable for racism and take the necessary steps to resolve it. This is a direct quote from her second article- "They[black people] are understandably wary of white people, and our motivations. We are going to need to make the first move. And when we do, we need an approach that will not further alienate, but will begin to build trust." What most stuck out to me was the word "wary" which means to feel or show caution about possible dangers or problems. So was she implying that black people are afraid of white people in some way? If so, how is racism not a problem that we all need to work together to improve? Sure, I will agree that the white race is by far the highest populated race in the United States but is that really a racist intention or simply a demographic one? I really liked this comment on the article written by a black woman (as far as I can tell from her profile picture) that sums up my point of view, Keondra Grant · Lawrenceville, Georgia

"It needs to be taught in every home regardless of color. There needs to be an acknowledgement that anyone, regardless of color and status, can be racist. Yes, there are people other than white people, which includes black people, that are racist. A discussion is needed in every home, because it's becoming a problem. Constantly pointing the finger at white people as if they hold a monopoly on being racist, far from the truth. Constantly pointing the finger at white people gleefully so we don't ever discuss individual racism, but rather institutional racism, is a problem. Nothing will be solved, issue continues, racism will still exist.
We can only improve "race" [there is only one race] relations if we admit how it affects everyone and what everyone can do to heal it."

Now before any of those reading this think that I am denying that racism exists and is a delicate problem in the United States, let me clarify that is not the case. I think it is so wrong that so many people in this country are bias to those of a different race. I think it is awful that children of any race are being bullied because they are "different". I think it is scary and upsetting that some policeman are acting too rash and violent especially to those of a different race. That being said, I found some other talks and articles that bring things a little more into perspective for those of us who are in fact Caucasian. The first is a Ted talk by Rich Benjamin (http://www.ted.com/talks/rich_benjamin_my_road_trip_through_the_whitest_towns_in_america) 
who shares his experience of visiting 3 of the most "white" towns in America. He refers to these towns as "whitopia" because they seem to portray a sort of sanctuary for white people. This one is a must see because ironically Saint George, Utah was the first place he visited. I sort of laughed when he said it but couldn't deny the truth of it because according to 'city-data.com' the percent of white people residing in St George is about 81% followed by Hispanics at 13.2% and blacks at .9%. I didn't feel as though he were bashing these "whitopias" as much as he was trying to show his perspective as a black man being immersed in this white community. He spent three months here and said that he felt almost exotic yet everyone was really nice and welcoming. It made me imagine for a moment if I could do that right now. Go to a "blacktopia" and feel like the only white person for miles, how would that feel? I'm sure I wouldn't feel like the community was racist however I do think a certain level of uncertainty and unfamiliarity would be great just like Rich experienced. I am not doubting that black people or any other minority race would feel uncomfortable here in Saint George however I would hope they wouldn't automatically assume we are bias or afraid of them and at the same time I would hope my fellow residents would welcome them and be kind and helpful, that is how I would act. 

One more interesting point of view is another ted talk by Clint Smith, who is black.(http://www.ted.com/talks/clint_smith_how_to_raise_a_black_son_in_america) Of all the links and videos I shared, this is one I would recommend definitely watching, it is only about 5 minutes long and really powerful. It really supported my belief that your perspective and expectations on the world and in this case racism are not rooted in society, but in our homes. What the parents are teaching us, what they are showing us. What was being instilled in us as children and how do we now translate that into our adult lifestyles? I think the biggest area of improvement and where we can really start to advocate change (and I'm speaking as a parent myself) is re-evaluating how we are parenting and ensuring that we are doing the best we can to raise respectful, kind, and loving children who grow up to be respectful, kind, and loving adults. 

My final thought on this is that Racism is not defined as "white people having an issue with and/or hating black people." Racism is defined as {the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.} I believe if we are ever going to resolve these conflicts and misunderstandings with one another, we need to start communicating better as well as being better parents. We need to ALL take responsibility for our actions as humans and realize we need to start helping each other instead of fighting with one another. 

"Our true nationality is mankind." H.G. Wells

Social Media Campaign Plan

My selected Facebook page for this semester is my husband's business page, "Red Tie Cinematography." It is an already existing account with followers, likes, and posts however it needs a lot of improvement and growth and that is where I come in!

Currently the presence on the page is minimal, he usually only posts when he has a new video to share and those posts typically only get around 5-25 likes and 1-5 comments, no shares. I really don't believe it is because people don't like the videos, I just think the page is sort of "hidden" and maybe uninteresting to most. The presence that I hope to develop (and that both he and I want to see) includes these main traits; inspiring, professional, positive, fun, romantic, and relatable. As far as communicating with those who come across the page, I really want them to feel welcome and familiar with our goals and motives. I want to make fans and past/future clients to feel like we are friends rather than just business partners. I want to have very open and honest communication so everyone feels like we care and that we are so grateful for their support because we are! My husband and by extension myself are literally following our dream by being filmmakers so I want our communication and page as a whole to reflect that, it's not just about the money. I feel like these goals align with Red Tie's mission to create a fun and relaxed experience for the bride and groom as he captures their wedding day; he believes it is important to get to know the couple so he can capture their essence and personalities in his film. He also likes to document the day as it really happened, yes occasionally he will "stage" the couple or ask them to do something but the majority of the day, he is very journalistic. He captures the couple acting like themselves and all of the cute and unique "in-between" moments. And I think that's what people love most about their wedding video, it was REAL.

Our target audience can generally be described with 3 personas.

A: A 20 year old female who is recently engaged and plans to marry in an LDS temple. She has an adequate budget for her wedding that she and her fiance will be fronting with some help from her parents. Because her budget is somewhat limited, she realizes she needs to make a list of priorities. Her mother suggests she save money by having her aunt (who owns a nice camera) be the photographer and videographer. She doesn't like that idea because she respects professionals and artists and realizes she only gets one wedding day. So, she creates her priority list which would have a photographer and videographer at the very top. She is referred to Red Tie by a friend who follows him on social media. She ends up booking wedding day coverage only and puts the focus on getting coverage of the temple exit as well as shots of her and her new husband. She knows when all is said and done, it comes down to her and the love of her life. She wants to capture their love when it is at it's peak and relive their special day over and over again.

B: A 27 year old female who has been engaged for a while and has a plentiful budget for the wedding. They plan to have a traditional ceremony in a beautiful venue. Although she isn't local, she has seen a few of Red Tie's videos already and has fallen in love with his style and skill. They book his full package and are able to get to know him and and communicate about all their video wants and needs. By the time the wedding arrives, they are familiar with each other and the day goes smoothly. They set aside time to shoot video of themselves and have an energetic and well lit reception full of dancing and fun. When they finally receive their finished video, they are ecstatic and blown away and want to show it off to all of their family and friends. They really enjoyed working with him and are obsessed with their videos so they will refer him to anyone they know getting married.

C: An 18 year old male who is an aspiring filmmaker. He is still learning the ins and outs of his camera and editing software. He hasn't yet taken any post high school classes on film but he plans on enrolling in a college film program. He is a fan of Red Tie Cinema and likes his style and professionalism. He follows his work on social media to gain inspiration and hopefully gain a relationship with him. He may ask in the future if he can tag along to a wedding to watch how he works or even operate a second camera as well to practice. His goal isn't to "copy" Red Tie or steal his business, he really wants to learn grow. He and Dustin can appreciate the new friendship because they have similar interests and goals in life and can help each other reach those things.


My tactic for this Facebook page is to get people interested and to stand out. It's no secret that Utah in particular is infamous for people who buy a nice camera and shortly after proclaim themselves as a photographer. Or those who are well established photographers and then throw in video services as a "freebie". It's difficult to be in this market when you are doing this for a living to support your family and not just as an "easy hobby." Anyway, I digress, my point is that I want to show through Facebook and Instagram that Red Tie Cinematography is one of the top video services in Utah, (I would say the second best but my opinion is biased). We've already been doing some work in the Instagram world and I want to continue connecting the two platforms as well as his website of course. Besides the obvious way of showing his work through the videos we post; I want to show through pictures and posts that he is the most professional, knowledgable, skilled, friendly, and still affordable videographer in Southern Utah and surrounding areas because I believe he is. One of the ways I plan to reach our audience is first simply inviting our demographic to "like" our page. Putting in the time to go out and look for those who might be interested in our work will really benefit my goal. As I said before I also want to post more and not just the films, some personal things, other film related topics, photos of his gear, photos or posts about his travel, posts about people who inspire him and most importantly a post(s) about why HE LOVES WHAT HE DOES. I believe (and hope) after some heavy lifting and late nights, I can really get people to see Red Tie Cinematography as a business they want to support and keep in tabs with. 

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My Facebook Campaign Idea

As I have mentioned before, I am not super involved with Facebook besides keeping in touch with friends and moms in my community, however I do realize that it is still a very useful and ever changing tool in the social media world and I can't so easily abandon it. Since I couldn't really think of anything I'm vested in enough to start a Facebook page for, I decided that I would like to take over my husband's business page(he is a videographer). I've told him numerous times over the past year or two that he needs to be more active on it to try to reach and connect with more people and gain more followers and exposure. He usually agrees but ends up having more important things to do and let's be honest social media is not his most favorite thing to invest time in. However, knowing the impact that a well structured and maintained Facebook page could have on your business, really urges me to want to help him. I've asked his permission of course and informed him that I would need full control of it and he said yes. I don't have an exact game plan yet but I'm sure we will discuss that in class. I do know that I want to document the current stats of his page now and then compare the growth along the way until the final comparison at the end of semester. My main goals for this is to make his page look more professional yet also approachable. I want to post a video at least once a week as well as other supplemental posts or pictures three times a week. I want to find and organize his target audience and figure out how to reach them better. I hope to develop better relationships with his fans, past clients, and those who may become future clients. I want to get more eyes and "likes" to his page to hopefully build more familiarity with not only his business but also with Dustin as a person. I'm actually really excited for this project and I hope I can make an impact in some way.

#sotu

Honestly I don't keep up with the political world, I realize that makes me somewhat ignorant and unable to form actual opinions on the topic however it just has never interested me. I also feel that too many people don't know how to correctly debate and be civil with one another when communicating and/or arguing each other's views. Therefore, I avoid it all together because I just see it as drama.


I did watch the entire state of the Union address as well as the republican response and as I did
I thought to myself  I don't even know who this person is. How can I say if I 'love' or 'hate' him? With that in my mind, I thought he gave a great and inspiring speech and although I don't agree with a lot of things he has done (or hasn't done) I can't deny that when he started the state of the country was already in poor shape, we were already in major debt, and lots of things were left undone by the president before him. I have pretty much always had a bad connotation with Obama and whenever he was brought up, I would roll my eyes and say "whatever." I'm embarrassed of myself that this way of thinking was nearly all due to my surroundings! I live in a red state and it seems all my family and friends have a total negative view on President Obama. So I suppose it was just easier to agree with everyone around me. I can't say for certain that his speech last night made me turn a 180 and adore him because like I said I still don't know enough about his whole presidency and what he did or didn't do, BUT I do think I have a better appreciation for him now and think that maybe he really did try his best to make the right decision to please the most amount of people in MOST cases.

Now onto my observations with social media, I chose to follow mainly Twitter and Instagram mostly so I could see what strangers were posting. My Facebook was unhelpful because I don't really follow people that get involved with politics and start arguments over everything (remember when I mentioned above that I don't follow it?) On Twitter I was actually quite surprised that most of the tweets were actual fairly positive. A lot didn't even have to do with the actual speech or Obama, they were commenting on odd looking people in the audience or the camera man doing a poor job. Two of my favorite tweets of the night were these. One was posted by Katherine Timpf that reads "I want a prez that strives for a USA where ppl have the opportunity to do things for themselves rather than an obsession with handouts." I totally agree with her statement! I know that there are lots of people who are struggling and genuinely need help (I was in that situation my whole childhood) however I feel that the system that is in place now makes too many people dependent on the help rather than using it until they are back on their feet and move on (as my parents did) I don't feel like we should keep letting people believe they are victims and that they "deserve" a break. The second post I liked was written by Adam White "you are an American. Whether or not you agree with his policies or the directions he put our country in.. It is still your responsibility to know what is going on. Here watch the SOTU."  I like that his post in a way resonates with the message Obama was trying to get across that nothing is going to change or go forward if we can't find a middle ground and start to debate better and compromise a little. While I agree that is an issue we all have, I don't know how we can achieve that if they continue to take power away from the states. I think if the states were given more voting power (per individual) and more allowance to pass their own in state laws, that would be a good place to start to reach compromise across the country.

Speaking of not debating civilly or compromising, I always get a good laugh reading the comments and responses on threads on Facebook. I did find a CNN post about the SOTU speech and saw that there were over 500 comments on it so I took a quick look through some of them. Typical responses were "I love Obama, best president ever!!" "Obama will go down as the best president the country has ever had, thank you!" These posts were maliciously followed by comments of "you must be a white trash idiot for thinking that" "are you serious right now?? So I guess you agree with starting a nuclear  war and killing fetuses?!" I just couldn't stop shaking my head. It's just appalling the amount of hypocrisy and uneducated assumptions play into these "Facebook wars" which is exactly why I avoid it!

In closing, social media posts,tweets, and comments don't sway me one way or the other, I am educated enough to know what is a credible source or what is not. I enjoy reading posts and comments from individuals who are educated on the matter and have valid and persuading viewpoints, these are the ones that pull me.