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[alxndras]

Much like the headline implies, this article gives a lot of insight into why people turn to catfishing. While some people find it fun, do it because they’re insecure or use a case of mistaken identity to bring harm to other people, some of the less common, less obvious reasons truly make you feel bad for the people doing the catfishing in some sort of strange twist of events. A problem with watching “Catfish” that I’ve found is that I do tend to have sympathy for both parties, but when you hear some of their stories, it’s hard not to. In this article, one of the catfishes being interviewed states that she’s always been attracted to women, but has never had the courage to act on it, so she pretends to be a man online. Obviously, there’s a lot of harm done here, but I still feel the stories tug at my heartstrings.

[alxndras]

This article gave a different sort of perspective on catfishing. Oftentimes, we think of catfishing as something that happens between two younger people seeking out a romantic relationship. In this situation, it was a scheme carried out by a 65-year-old woman looking to scam her mother out of money before killing her. It’s definitely a more serious and less common scheme, but I think this article does a good job at pointing out that what seems like a silly online prank is sometimes much more than that.

[alxndras]

An interesting article I picked out to read for this class because I thought that it would provide a unique perspective on catfishing. Going into the piece, I expected the author to discuss why it’s harmful and why we shouldn’t be promoting these types of situations as a society. In all actuality, she just talks about how boring it is, but I thought an interesting bit was the part where she lists a handful of movies and television shows that have done the same thing the producers of “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser” has done and taken catfishing to make it a major plot point.

[alxndras]

The social media phenomenon has gone even further as of late as white influencers have begun to take advantage of makeup as well as iPhone apps like FaceTune to give themselves features “stereotypically associated with black women and capitalising on these to land lucrative sponsorship deals that women of colour may not otherwise have access to.”

[alxndras]

Midterm / Dec 9, 2018

When I searched my name, nothing of interest came up at first. I keep my social media accounts private, so I understand why it happened that way. After adding Villa Maria College to my search, more relevant results came up including a link to the Villa Vibe, a review of the Honors Convocation and the UB Spectrum article that was done on the Vibe. I believe the part of the book that states inactivity is just as bad as inappropriate activity. If there’s no activity for a potential employer to go off of, they can easily assume the worst. They have no idea of who they’re hiring if they can’t see how you act online when you’re not in the presence of an interviewer.

The content I share on all of my social media is very representative of who I am and what my interests are. I post on certain social media sites more often than others, but I’m not overly active on any of them. On Twitter and Tumblr, my posts deal with things I like. More often than not, they have to do with celebrities and pop culture as well as the occasional article on politics. On Instagram, I post more about what I do which is reflective of my life as well. My Tumblr has posts pertaining to things I’ve learned in school, but I’d like to add more to my Wix site and link to them in the future.

I have a website set up on Wordpress, but I have more content posted on my Wix site so far. After using both, I think I’m more fond of Wix, but I want to mess around with Wordpress a little bit more before I decide that.

I have public platforms on Twitter and Snapchat, but my Facebook and Instagram accounts remain private. I’d personally be more inclined to create a public Instagram/Facebook rather than open up my private ones to the public. I have a YouTube account where I subscribe to my favorite creators, but if I have a video to upload, I’m more likely to upload it directly to Tumblr since that’s what best suits my needs right now. I’ve tried creating a uniform handle for myself across my platforms, but I can’t snag the Instagram name that matches my Tumblr and Twitter name as somebody else beat me to it.

I’m still working on creating uniform bios, but I’d like to work off the one I have on my Tumblr account.

I think having a consistent brand across social media makes things easier for both the blogger and the audience. I try to keep all my profiles very clean, neat and simplistic as well as keeping them monotone. I’m currently in the process of learning how to change my Tumblr theme so that photos show up in black and white, but that’s done in the coding, so it’s a learning process that’s well underway.

I like the idea of the 80/20 rule. I try to maintain my Twitter and Tumblr profiles according to that balance, but might sometimes post a little too much about my personal interests. That being said, I think a lot of my personal interests are also professional in one sense or another. Most of what I reblog or retweet has to do with journalism, but there’s a personal aspect to it since I’m a fan of the people I post about in my personal life. I also like the idea of the rule of thirds for social media. I try not to clutter my blog or timeline with content that is either entirely my own or entirely someone else’s, so I’d guess that I’m pretty close to adhering to that rule as well. I’d be interested in adding my commentary to posts to provide context, but right now I’m focusing on hobbies and interests to populate my social media presence.

I have a few posts on my blog that have to do with my beat. Initially, I had picked film and through that, I found a movie that had to do with catfishing which I thought was interesting. Finding stories online has made me more knowledgeable about the topic. There’s so much more to the world of catfishing than I ever thought and it’s so much more widespread than I imagined going into this assignment.

[alxndras]

An ethical dilemma / Chapter 7

While social media has done plenty of good for journalism, it’s also created some problems that wouldn’t have arisen without its introduction. Ethics have always been of the utmost importance for journalists, even before the days of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The way we share news may have changed, but the rules created decades ago haven’t. It’s not only important, but essential for journalists to seek the truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable as well as transparent. The guidelines try to generalize journalism and therefore don’t specify how journalists should act on social media, so it’s up to individual corporations to give their employees a rundown on how they should present themselves on the web. Most often, this includes not sharing personal opinions about politics or religion as well as not joining groups associated with a specific issue or agenda among other things.

[alxndras]

Keeping up with the trends / Chapter 6

As communication shifts to being based online, it makes sense that journalism would adopt a social media edge as well. With most sites offering built in analytics and an open forum for the audience to interact with and give feedback to journalists, the change in how news is posted and gathered is beneficial to all involved. The audience these days is more of an active audience than a passive one as we have discussed in previous chapters. They like to engage with the writers of their favorite or last favorite articles and the writers should take advantage of social media and engage with the audience as well.

In order to optimize the tools that social media sites have given us, it’s important to master the very basics. Tagging relevant people and using relevant hashtags will bring more traction to your story or your tweet. Beyond that, social media should be used effectively. This means coming up with links and sites that are mobile friendly. It’s so important that Google will now knock your site down on its pages of search results if your web page is not mobile friendly. Using short and shareable headlines, shorter stories with the most critical info posted first and additional info being posted later on in short bursts are good places to start in order to be conscious of users who access stories on their phones as many people do these days.

[alxndras]

Catfishing is something that had always interested me. Whenever MTV was playing episodes of Nev Schulman’s documentary series “Catfish,” I’d fill up my DVR with a night’s worth of drama, delusion and deceit.

With the premiere of Netflix’s “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser,” catfishing once again became the center of people’s think pieces posted on Odyssey. Is it a cute plot line worth romanticizing? Or does it have harmful effects that go deeper than what a 60-minute long episode can cover? 

I decided I’d ask my friends around campus what they think. Since millennials are so active on social media and communication is becoming increasingly more digital at our touch, I thought they’d be the perfect pool of people to interview.

[alxndras]

The Social Scene / Dec 5

CHAPTER 4 / Unlike most other social media sites, TWITTER allows users to post several tweets one after the other. Given the formerly 140 character limit, now doubled up to a total of 280 characters, users are accustomed to short bursts of information. Theres also plenty of room on this platform to interact with other users. Things such as polls, retweets and likes are all tools that you can use to engage your followers and get an idea of what posts they like as well as what posts they dislike. 

For the average person, FACEBOOK is another social media tool worth utilizing. For journalists, however, it’s a little bit better. Taking advantage of Facebook’s discovery and curation tool designed especially for journalists, Signal, mass it even more powerful for users. In addition, there are plenty ways to add visuals to posts as well as handy features like post scheduling that tie in to concepts similar to that of HootSuite.

INSTAGRAM, another platform heavy on visuals, can also post to your Facebook account for you. It can post to your Twitter account, too. One of the big pluses of Instagram is that you can connect it to your other social media sites and have it publish posts there as well as on the official Instagram app. Additionally, Signal can be used on this site as well, since Facebook owns Instagram.

A little less pretty and a little more professional, LINKEDIN is described as a treasure trove for journalists by Anthony Adornato. Using tools they offer, such as advanced people search, can help a writer find sources to help their stories along. You can teach for experts as well as former and current employees of a certain company. It’s also possible to follow a company page to keep up to date on news that may be related to your beat. 

Another social media site takin the world by storm is SNAPCHAT. While it’s mostly popular between people between the ages of 18 and 25, there are plenty of useful assets offered to everybody who uses it , such as news on the go, geofilters and a list of who's seen your stories. 

[alxndras]

i don’t think there’s one word that can describe a man’s life.

citizen kane (1941) dir. orson welles

[alxndras]

Something I wish I knew about when I was 18 and voting for the first time: ✨EARLY VOTING✨. It makes it so quick and easy to go and cast your vote before November 6. Early voting starts TODAY in Tennessee and goes to Nov 1 🇺🇸

You can check out your state’s early voting dates at https://www.vote.org/early-voting-calendar/

[alxndras]

I literally always see this girl around campus and she’s so annoying. Kudos to you for dealing with her!  💕 😊

A short film practicing camera angles and shots. Always taking suggestions for the next short.

[alxndras]

Falling for nature: How Jesse Walp’s upbringing shaped his sculpture / October 11, 2018

During our interview with Villa Maria College professor Jesse Walp, he revealed to us plenty about his past, present and his future. Throughout the process, I noticed a connecting thread: nature. He spent his childhood in Mississippi playing in the woods alongside his brother. Rather than busying himself with traditional toys from the aisles of Walmart, Walp fashioned his own entertainment out of sticks and pine needles he found in the woods behind the home his parents built. He’d even built a fort with his brother that the two attempted to sleep in. Following that, he went through life and his first few years of college pursuing engineering degrees only to feel out of place in the classes. Upon seeing another student carrying around their interior design homework, his interest was piqued and Walp made the switch into the interior design major. His furniture all came out very sculptural, along with the lamp he’d made for a competition that won him first place. The realization was a turning point in his life. He continued honing his talent in graduate school, stating it was because he just didn’t know what he wanted to do. But after graduating from RIT, Walp has found great success in sculpture. 

The city of Niagara Falls was looking to spruce up the area surrounding the Falls and decided on commissioning a sculpture from Walp following the recommendation of the Albright Knox. There were many trials and tribulations along the way, but they all served as a learning experience. After a year of planning and a month of sculpting, the piece was placed permanently on Old Falls Street, the place where his father grew up.

In the future, Walp continues to work with nature and sculptures for the betterment of his children’s lives. With everything that’s going on in the world today, it’s important that people take advantage of whatever platform they’re given. He plans to do so with his craft and not only make a change himself, but encourage others to as well.

[alxndras]

Harry Styles Is the Co-Chair of the Met Gala

Harry Styles will serve as co-chair for the 2019 Met Gala.

On October 9, the Times reported that the Metropolitan Museum of Art revealed the theme for next year’s gala and its subsequent exhibit. 

Entitled “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” the collection will feature a curation of designs from labels like Prada, Balenciaga, and Demna Gvasalia’s Vetements brand. 

Harry will be one of the co-chairs, alongside Lady Gaga and Serena Williams. NBD!!!

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📸: Frazer Harrison

[alxndras]

I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now.  I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.

I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love.  Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives.  Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway.

So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

[alxndras]

I’ve still yet to see this movie, but I’m focusing more on cat-fishing as a future topic for this class as opposed to the movie itself. While it serves as an inspiration as well as an example, I hope to go forward interviewing students about their experiences with cat-fishing: whether they were cat-fished, had their pictures used as a catfish, or did the cat-fishing themselves. This article in particular is a review of the movie and it outlines the plot with enough detail for me, someone who hasn’t seen the film, to get a gist of what happens and details why it’s harmful; as if it’s not obvious that deceiving somebody online with another person’s photograph is harmful.

[alxndras]

Trixie Mattel on Her New Sugarpill Cosmetics Makeup Line Oh Honey!, DragCon, and the Future of Drag

Trixie Mattel is an all star, but fans knew that even before she took home the crown on season three of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. It’s unfit to call Trixie a double, triple, or even quadruple-threat, because we’ve lost count of the number of industries she’s dominated. After her original run on season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race she began a web show with fellow fan favorite, Katya, called Unnhhh that was eventually spun-off into its own cable show on Viceland, appropriately titled The Trixie and Katya Show. She’s been on countless tours showing off both her comedy and singing chops, and even released two EPs — the cleverly paired titles Two Birds and One Stone — that expanded the Trixie Mattel brand into country-folk music with singles such as “Mama Don’t Make Me Put On That Dress Again.” Now Trixie has partnered with Sugarpill Cosmetics to create a makeup collection called “Oh Honey!” (after one of her Unnhhh catch phrases) that she claims is for both “a drag queen, or someone who works as a librarian”.

To celebrate the launch of her new makeup line, and in preparation for DragCon NYC 2018, Teen Vogue chatted with the drag phenom to discuss her year since winning, tips on attending DragCon, and the future of drag.

Teen Vogue: Hi Trixie! How’s it going?

Trixie Mattel: You know, I was up at 5:30 AM getting in drag, and since then I’ve done everything. I’ve been running around talking about the exciting upcoming DragCon NYC, and also the launch of my new makeup line Oh Honey! With Sugarpill.

TV: Do you have any tips for fans going to DragCon?

TM: If you’ve never been and you’re unsure, think about this: you are currently unsure about coming to the most stimulating, loving, and enjoyable experience you will ever have. I have been to every DragCon, and every day at DragCon, and it’s like you get all of these queer superheroes in one room, with the most incredible, built-in shopping of your whole life. I mean there’s makeup, wigs, hair, fragrances, bath bombs, nail polishes, costumes, shoes, whatever you want. I mean you could walk in bald naked and leave in stunning drag. You probably shouldn’t try to come naked, although I’m sure some of the other drag queens will try.

TV: Do you have any advice for anyone that will have their first experience meeting a drag queen?

TM: Honestly, drag queens are in a lot of pain, and they are very fragile. What they are wearing and doing is very fragile, so just consider that. Maybe instead of a hug, try a high five or a thumbs up. Maybe blow a kiss. It’s just easier to communicate with your eyes and your voice by saying ‘thank you’ or ‘I love you’. But some people love hugs! For me, I’d rather fist bump or dab, you know.

TV: So we’re getting into this stage of pop culture where drag queens can become well known outside of RuPaul’s Drag Race. There’s The Trixie and Katya Show on Viceland, an entirely separate drag queen competition show Dragula, and now even Alyssa Edwards is getting her own Netflix series. What do you think of where the “future of drag” is heading?

TM: Well to be honest, I think a lot of people are like, “Oh I didn’t get into drag until Drag Race,” but if anything Drag Race enlightens people about how they’ve always been into drag. They just didn’t even know they were seeing drag. I always say, “Do you love Madea? Do you love Mrs. Doubtfire? Do you love White Chicks? Do you love Sylvester, David Bowie, Lady Gaga?” There’s drag all around you, you just never called it “drag.”

So I think that Drag Race has been putting the word in people’s mouths. It’s like the rest of the world just arrived to this party that gay people have been having for 100 years already. And that’s cool! I think that’s why drag is growing so quickly. People are going “Ohhh, it is for me, and it is something I actually enjoy and understand.” I always say that loving drag doesn’t make you gay, so even people’s husbands get into Drag Race because they’re just enjoying something from another culture. It just means you’re open-minded. Just like listening to Selena doesn’t make you hispanic.

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📸: Santiago Felipe