Social Media: Taking Over Lives One Post at a Time

Social Media has become more and more popular over the years, whether that is a good or bad thing is questionable. People will post just about anything anymore! 

It has given a voice to anyone and everyone, whether it be a positive or negative one. We often see that during times of tragedy one's post will often become available to the public through news mediums.  I do not agree entirely with making someone's post news worthy in the way that they have. One in particular that has recently been in the news was the tweet's of the teenage shooter from Washington State High School. Sharing his tweets and pasting them all over news articles just does not feel like the right thing to do to me personally. I do not think that his family would appreciate the world seeing their loved one only through his social media posts.  It only gives a glimpse of a persons life; although he posted his tweets publicly, I still don't think its right to include them in national articles. 

Too many of us are allowing Social Media to take over our lives and the way that we live them. I think we all need to take a step back and just look at what we have around us. It is not all about technology and what' s "new", there is so much more to life and so much more that we can get out of going out and living it instead of hiding behind a screen.

 

Apple Pay: Is It Here To Stay?

Apple Pay gives costumers the chance to now pay for things with the ease of using their Apple devices. It sets up costumers with a mobile wallet that is easy to access, but also keeps their personal information secure.  All users have to do is put their device up to the payment terminal, and their Apple Pay card will pop up, then they are asked to place their thumb on the touch ID button, and the transaction is completed. You can use this way of paying not only with online purchases but with retail as well. This service is compatible with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and the Apple Watch. 

Among the hype of the new release there have been some issues. People immediately started to use Apple Pay when it was released and loved it, seeing that it is convenient and simple to use. Come to find out later on that some of those who took advantage of this new way to pay had been double charged on the items that they had purchased with it. This was obviously a set back, and may cause others to be more cautious about what they purchase with Apple Pay. I personally would be a little nervous about using it for the first time. But with a company like Apple I am sure that they will get things sorted out in no time!

Buzzed About Apps

 The apps "Fade" and "Yik Yak" have recently become extremely popular throughout campus' across the US. It's questionable whether or not this is a good or bad thing. Molly Coyne describes "Fade" as, "... a collection of pictures posted by people on your campus. You can use your identity or make up one and you also get one anonymous post each day. The picture remains on the app for 24 hours and the time goes up and down from there depending on the up or down votes it gets. If it gets a ton of ups then it goes in the “Hall of Fades” which everyone can see from campuses around the country." This app is very similar to "Instagram" the difference between the two is that "Fade" actually allows its users one anonymous post a day. Yes, that can be a fun feature to take advantage of, but are people taking a little too much advantage of that perk? I think so. Now, "Yik Yak" on the other hand is much like "Twitter" set up in the same manor but, keeps all posts anonymous, which is quite scary to me actually. 

 The apps can be used in positive ways and just for fun, but I feel like people are starting to use them for negative things, such as bullying. People post rude things even when they aren't kept anonymous, now that they can hide behind a screen without being given a name I think that this has opened a whole new door. I also don't think that people quite grasp that although these posts are considered to be anonymous to the public there are always ways to find out who has posted what. Users don't seem to understand that these things can be traced. I find it quite funny that the "Fade" apps slogan is "Nothing Lasts Forever," making its users feel safe and more secure to post what they please. In reality it may fade away from a time feed, but it definitely does not just completely fade away into thin air. I do have both of these popular apps, but I am more of a follower when it comes to these, I like to be able to see what others post, but I honestly do not post much at all myself. I more so have them to stay in the loop and up to date on things happening.
 An article I recently found pertaining the app "Snapchat" displays a perfect example of how what we think is private can be made public. Although these should be a fun way to share things with others we the users need to keep in mind that what is posted can also become very hurtful to others. Not only can it be hurtful to just their feelings, but these posts can also alter their public image and cause them hardships in the future. 

Connecting With Consumers

  Advertising already follows us as consumers, and I think that it will continue to in more way than it does presently. Technology has become "the way" to advertise one's company, and I don't think that that is a bad thing at all. Yes sometimes they tend to get annoying and in the way, but other times I actually find things that are really interesting to me. There has been multiple times that I have clicked on an advertisement and ended up purchasing from that company, and then going even further to recommend it to others. Putting ad's throughout social media and just online in general helps to get that particular brand noticed and talked about.
  I keep up to date with a couple different blogs and I especially love the ad's that I find on their, because they pertain to the interests that I like and that I am looking for. I think that as long as they keep the "correct" advertisements to pages with similar products to what is being shared on those websites and other forms of social media that it will become more streamline and much less annoying. There is nothing more annoying to me though than when I continue to see advertisements that don't really relate to me at all, those are the ones that lead me to get annoyed.
  Now a days it is often to hard to grab consumers and to keep them loyal to a company, so why not try to gain more followers through social media? Don't get me wrong, I think that companies should still stick to other forms of advertisement such as TV, print and etc. as well, but using social media should help them to expand their brand exceptionally.
  Not only using social media to gain interest in consumers, but also using technology through wearable gadgets is starting to become more and more popular. This I am all aboard for, I feel that consumers should often be able to sample and become the test trials of products, not only will the company then be promoting something new but the consumers themselves can help too to promote the product at hand.

Dress Code Decode

Attire throughout the work place has drastically changed over a short period of time. Business' have become more and more lenient on dress codes. I wouldn't say that I necessarily condone this trend that is rapidly growing, but I am also not against it. I feel that the work place is a place where one should express their professional side of themselves a majority of the time. This article even shares how the White House has broken down and given their employers less strict of a dress code to follow. With that being said, dressing more causal could cause employee's and future clients to not take you in a serious manor. This could be a downfall for the promotion of yourself. I don't see the need to enforce a strict dress code but I do think it is a wise idea to have a list of general regulations put together for people of the workplace to follow. This should be different at every business, each have their own brand and own way that they want to present/sell it. There are some companies that can get away with dressing more casually and not cause any issues where as others it would be a different story. Dress codes can cause issues amongst the work place, but I feel that when you are at work you should present yourself in your own way, but also stay professional while doing that. Overall I think that it should ultimately be left up to whoever is in charge of the business, they are the one's who have a specific view of how their company should be presented to others, they should express that and make it known throughout their business.