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Week 9: Fandom

Undoubtedly, most of us are a fan of something and so do i. In terms of celebrities, i am a huge fan of Jackie Chan and Benedict Cumberbatch and whereas in terms of TV drama, i am a huge die-hard fan of “How I Met Your Mother” and “Sherlock”. Besides outlining the definition of Fandom, its pros and cons and my concluding sentence, i will share with everyone about my experience being a fan of those mentioned celebrities and TV drama.

Jackie Chan

I believe most of us know who is Jackie Chan although some 00′s might not familiar with him since i am a 90′s who grew up watching Jackie Chan’s filmography. Although Jackie Chan’s film is predominantly Cantonese-spoken, the funny fact is that the first Jackie Chan’s movie i watched was “Rush Hour”, one of the movies that made him successful in the US market and was English-spoken. Well, i dare to say i have watched almost 90% of his filmography although i outgrew him ever since Benedict Cumberbatch toppled up my idol list.

 Furthermore, despite Jackie Chan has gained in huge popularity worldwide for almost half century, one of the incidents about fandom that had traumatized him was that 2 Japanese girls who appeared to be his die-hard fans committed suicide by running towards the railway and getting hit by train as soon as they knew that Jackie Chan was married and during the 80′s, there was a group of Japanese girls forming a fan club entitled “Stay Single For Jackie”. Whaaatt!!!.

Since then, Jackie Chan settled down his wife and child in the US to prevent those paparazzo from pestering his personal life.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Yeap, because of him i had to outgrow my childhood idol, Jackie Chan. To be honest, i seldom watch any movies starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the only reason why i knew him was ‘Sherlock’ season 1. It was exactly 10 years ago when i was still a wimpy pupil awaiting to take UPSR and Netflix did not even exist then, my cousin bought me a ‘Sherlock’ season 1 DVD from the UK during his typical European summer break and since then, i was obsessed with English culture and started to work hard on my English language and now, i am proud to say that i am able to watch any English sitcoms and movies without referring to subtitles and sarcastically, i still rely on English subtitle whenever i watch dramas and movies since i need to learn some specific phrases (Crime, fiction and documentary) and even American and British slangs. Therefore, instead of my English teacher, Benedict Cumberbatch was a motivator for me to learn English. 

How I Met Your Mother

One of my favorite US sitcoms that helps me to improve my English and frankly speaking, i watched it only because of Cobie Smulders but gradually, i fell in love with this sitcom. This sitcom basically depicts the life of a bunch of adults who met each other in New York and soon they all became good friends and some among them became an engaged couple (Lily and Marshall) and even ex-couple (Ted and Robin), followed by each episode has different story plot which has interconnection to others and basically reflects upon our life journey (From unknown to known, followed by outgrow and meet new things). That is how our life should be: Live at the moment, accept the unknown, let bygone be bygone and embrace the future.

Sherlock

Once again, i watched it only because of Benedict Cumberbatch. Well, basically this television series is quite derailed from the original novel. I have a whole set of Sherlock Holmes novel as my collection but now i can barely even remember the story of every series. Sorry earthlings, for the whole series of 4 (television series) i cant make sense of the association between each episode since it is too hard to fathom (scientific and psychological). Under my impression, i know that Jim Moriaty was the final big boss (villain) of the whole series, every series revolves around the rivalry between Sherlock and Jim Moriaty. Too hard to digest the story plot.

Definition of fandom   (Jenkin et al. 2009; cited in Grinnell College n.d.)

Fandom is a term which describes communities built around a shared enjoyment of an aspect of popular culture, such as books, movies, TV shows, bands, sports or sports teams, etc. Fandom is an example of participatory cultures. Participatory cultures involve fans acting not only as consumers but also as producers and creators of some form of creative media. Though most fan cultures, including sports fans and fans of music groups, have elements of participatory culture, media fandom in particular encourages creative expression and artistic production by its participants.

A participatory culture more specifically as one that consists of:

Relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement

Strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others

Some type of informal mentorship in which the most experienced members pass along their knowledge to novices

Members who believe their contributions matter

Members who feel some degree of social connection with one another and care about other members’ opinions about their contributions.

pros of fandom:   (Environmental-Conscience n.d.)

You learn to deal with emotional highs and lows

Fandom is a great way to learn how to deal with emotional swings. Since you will experience many losses and wins, you will be on an emotional rollercoaster once in a while and through those experiences, chances are that you will also be able to deal with your emotions in a much easier way.

Controlling our emotions is not only important for fandom, it is crucial in various parts of our life and therefore, being a fan can also indirectly help you to succeed in life in general.

Feeling of community

One important upside of being a fan is that you can experience a real sense of community. If you are in a sports stadium or at a concert of your favorite band, you will have many people around you that have similar interests and you can really feel like a valued member of a group.

Especially if you are a rather shy person who has difficulties to connect to other people, fandom can give you the opportunity to hang out with other people who will accept you as who you actually are.

Fandom gives you the opportunity to hang out with like-minded people

Another advantage of being a fan is that you will often hang out with like-minded people who have quite similar interests and attitudes towards life. In fact, if you join a fan club, chances are that you will be able to make really good friends over time, which may even last for a lifetime. Hence, if you currently looking to make new friends, chances are that fandom may give you a great opportunity to do so.

Cons of fandom:         (Environmental-Conscience n.d.)

Being a fan can be exhausting

Apart from the many advantages of being a fan, it can also have serious downsides. One disadvantage of being a fan is that it can become quite exhausting in the long run. You will live through many highs and lows and some people are simply not able to deal with those emotional swings. Moreover, driving to away games on a regular basis can be quite demanding and can cost you quite a lot of time and money.

Fandom can lead to conflicts among family and friends

In extreme cases, fandom can even lead to conflicts between family members or friends. If your friends support different clubs, chances are that there will be conflicts sooner or later since everyone thinks his or her club is the best. In the worst case, friendships may even cease to exist due to rivalries related to fandom.

Social media hate

In our current state of the world, information can be spread on social media by everyone of us. Unfortunately, those channels are also used by people who actively try to hate against members of other fan clubs or players from other teams. In fact, many comments on social media are quite insulting and you may become victim to those haters yourself if you are not careful.

Conclusion

Fandom is a polarizing topic to argue since it has a mixture of pros and cons. Practicing a good fandom can bring benefits to our life in terms of emotional association and in pursuit of happiness. However, toxic fandom can lead to severe aftermaths such as distress, social security problem and extremism. In my opinion, fandom can be indulged but not to be immersed. 

List of references:

Grinnell College n.d., FANDOM AND PARTICIPATORY CULTURE, Grinnell College,viewed 11 November 2020,

<https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/fandom-and-participatory-culture/>.

Environmental-Conscience n.d.,  Pros and Cons of Being a Fan, Environmental-Conscience, viewed 11 November 2020,

<https://environmental-conscience.com/being-a-fan-pros-cons/>

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Global Social Media (China)

The Chinese Internet Ecosystem

For most parts of the world, services like Google, Facebook, Twitter and such are widely available. Google for example is the most popular search engine (Davies 2018). Yet in China not only is the world’s most popular search engine blocked, their vital services such as YouTube and Gmail too are blocked (Comparitech n.d.). The reason a tech giant such as Google was forced to leave China was because China wanted censorship to exist within the services offered (BBC 2010). YouTube on the hand was told to get the boot for hosting a video clip which showed security forces beating up Tibetans. The people of China deserve to know the truth, this is one of the many violations of human rights in China. Freedom of speech is a human right according to Article 12 from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948). Given the conditions imposed on Google and such, China has their own alternatives to these services, services that obey the restrictions given by their government. For example, their search engine instead of Google is Baidu, instead of Whatsapp, it’s WeChat, Weibo instead of Twitter and QQ instead of Facebook. As mentioned earlier, when services such as Google and YouTube do not hide the sensitive news such as the news about the Tibetans, Chinese based services like Baidu and Youku block such news (Simonite 2019).

Social Credit Score While there’s no denying China’s economic prowess is something to admire, their efforts when it comes to fight for human rights has been abysmal. One of the human rights is privacy as mentioned in Article 12 from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations 1948). China has further violated this right by planning to fully implement their social credit system by the end of 2020 (Lee 2020). There are many cons to this high data consuming system as no country should have that amount of data on their citizens, it’s an invasion of their privacy. The next con is that people with bad records will be publicly exposed and will be prohibited from making vital purchases such as shelter and transportation. Some have argued that one of the benefits to this system is that businesses that do not follow strict laws for example if said company fails to pay their taxes in a given timeframe, they will have penalties (Koty 2019). However, this system hasn’t yet been proven flawless and will pose huge security risks and those risks itself outweigh the benefits. In a country that boasts the highest population in the world, that boasts its economic prowess, it’s a country which is the poorest when it comes to freedom of the people. That is truly sad, for the people of China can learn so much more, yet their potential is hindered by their own backwards government.

References: 

BBC 2010, ‘China condemns decision by Google to lift censorship’, BBC, 23 March, viewed 27 November 2020, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8582233.stm#blq-main>.

Comparitech n.d., ‘Is Google blocked in China?’, Comparitech, viewed 27 November 2020, <https://www.comparitech.com/privacy-security-tools/blockedinchina/google/>.

Davies, D 2018, ‘Meet the 7 Most Popular Search Engines in the World’, Search Engine Journal, 7 January, viewed 27 November 2020, <https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101/meet-search-engines/#close>.

Koty, AC 2019, ‘China’s Corporate Social Credit System: What Businesses Need to Know’, China Briefing, 5 November, viewed 27 November 2020, <https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-corporate-social-credit-system-how-it-works/>.

Lee, A 2020, ‘What is China’s social credit system and why is it controversial?’, South China Morning Post, 9 August, viewed 27 November 2020, <https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3096090/what-chinas-social-credit-system-and-why-it-controversial>.

Simonite, T 2019, ‘US Companies Help Censor the Internet in China, Too’, Wired, 6 March, viewed 27 November 2020, <https://www.wired.com/story/us-companies-help-censor-internet-china/>.

United Nations 1948, ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’, United Nations, 10 December, viewed 27 November 2020, <https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/>.

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Social Gaming

What is Social Gaming?

Social gaming often refers to online games that allow players to have social interactions. Multiplayer card games, board games, social network games and video games can also be included as social gaming (Gough 2019). Social gaming is usually for relaxation or distraction to some people. Social games are played by multiple players at the same time where they can either compete against or co-operate with each other (Logan n.d.). Games are an increasingly large part of our lives, thanks largely to mobile.

One of the Fastest Growing Industries

Social gaming has been such a huge success and this indicates the magnitude of the growth of social gaming. According to Digicult (n.d.), at the end of 2012 a serious study revealed that the market in social games worth US$5.4 in that year. It expected rapid industry growth, with an impressive $17.4 billion or more in the market, more than three times in 7 years. Most people played social games via social media in 2012 and the largest segment on the market was between 19 and 25. The predictions were reasonably accurate and the demand for the online gaming market continued to expand. This expansion was further strengthened by one key aspect of social gaming, for example, mobile social gaming.

Pay to Play

The evolution and maturing of the gaming industry continues to challenge developers to upgrade their overall experience. Gamers on all sides demand more from their favorite games, from exclusive, immersive storylines to complicated, skillful gameplay. As the buying power of gamers across the region is increasing, they have shown themselves to be prepared to invest more time and money to alleviate their thirst for competition, accomplishment, challenge and community (Niko n.d.).

References:

Digicult n.d., ‘The Insane Growth of Social Gaming’, Digicult, viewed 26 November 2020, <http://digicult.it/articles/internet/the-insane-growth-of-social-gaming/>.

Gough, C 2019, ‘Social gaming - Statistics & Facts’, Statista, 7 March, viewed 26 November 2020, <https://www.statista.com/topics/2965/social-gaming/>.

Logan, B n.d., ‘Social gaming - A usability perspective’, Spotless, viewed 26 November 2020, <https://www.spotless.co.uk/insights/social-gaming-usability/>.

Niko n.d., ‘From playing to paying: The art of monetizing games in Asia’, Niko, viewed 26 November 2020, <https://nikopartners.com/from-playing-to-paying-the-art-of-monetizing-games-in-asia/>.

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Fandom

Fandom is the combination of Fan and Kingdom words which is used to describe an equal interest group community. Now it is possible for these people to meet to celebrate their interests with the ability of the Internet to connect people. Video games, movies and celebrities fandom are becoming an important part of pop culture. Through technology development, media like online gaming can tell stories and interests and create dialogue and social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter. In general, the social media page Reddit allows users to create a group where people can comment, discuss, and open a thread (Kamelendran 2018).

Fandom and Social Media

As we all know, Korean pop music has become a truly global phenomenon and increasingly visible to global audiences. K-pop fandom has increased tremendously in social media such as Twitter. For example, a K-pop boy group, BTS, has performed at many well-known western award shows such as the Billboards Music Awards in 2018. The popularity of K-Pop artists and groups in the media makes it possible to expand fandom in both online and offline

In times of great diversity, digital media are an infrastructure that creates cultural niches, among other things.The same applies to the growth of the K-pop fandom. Since the K-Pop artists in the new media are becoming increasingly popular, new fandom and cultural niches are also emerging. K-Pop fans also contribute to a spread of K-Pop culture on social media platforms such as Twitter, and thereby help in strengthening the cultural niche (Vos 2019).

Fan activism is where fans are active in fundraising, charitable giving and emergency volunteering. They can help to raise awareness from the general public and put the artists, company, as well as fandom in good and favorable light (Derseh 2019).

However, the evolution of fandom culture does not always have a good social impact. Fandom can often be toxic where fans now see their idols as subjects that they carefully manage, which differs from the previous notion of fandom that emphasises the ways fans worship and adore their idols (Derseh 2019).

Fans begin to see their artists as objects they can use to accomplish greater things and at times they can stop liking the artists and become twisted by proudly saying, "I have made the artist who they are." It is a toxic mindset that can negatively impact the artists.

By the way, I'm a fan too. I'm a fan of K-pop and K-dramas, some western singers, movies, TV series and online comics.

Being a fan for those things makes me feel excited, entertained and less lonely, I enjoy them very much during my free time.

References:

Derseh, M 2019,’Social Media in Fandom’, Medium, 28 March, viewed 25 November 2020, <https://medium.com/meron-d3r53h/social-media-in-fandom-9f1382d76eb8>.

Kamelendran, S 2018, ‘Return of the Fandom - Digital Age’, Medium, 15 December, viewed 25 November 2020, <https://medium.com/@16061579/return-of-the-fandom-digital-age-5517e34714dc>.

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Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding

Crowdsourcing means acquiring knowledge or expertise or end products from a group or group of individuals. Crowdfunding is the way a company or group of people is raising money or funds (McGowan 2018).

Mass collaboration is applied to two innovative new developments to achieve goals. A crowd of talent or capital can boost productivity, improve efficiency and encourage previously unbeatable tasks (Schweissguth n.d.).

Benefits of Crowdsourcing:

Market time shortened.

Cost-effective solutions to major issues.

Access to a wide variety of expertise and access to a flexible workforce

(McGowan 2018)

Top global brands that are using crowdsourcing for product design ideas:

Lego

Lego has provided a platform for customers to submit their product designs. Then other Lego customers will vote on their chosen items and explain why they want them and how much they will be willing to pay. Lego 's official committee discusses designs with the most likes. This approach enables Lego not only to openly create unique products, but also to learn what the demands are. When users try to promote and enjoy their product ideas, they create more atmosphere around Lego. This results in promoting the brand openly (Norton 2019).

Starbucks

Starbucks is another brand which hosts a dedicated platform for crowdsourcing, accepting user suggestions. Many of the customer ideas, from new products to in-house experiences and ways to build up the Starbucks Community, are embraced by the company. Baristas had found that the standard Starbucks’ white cups were sometimes doodled by customers other than having misspelled names of the customers on them. Therefore, the brand decided to make good use of this by starting a contest. They had to submit their designs to social media with the hashtag #WhiteCupContest. Starbucks did not only have a new reusable cup design as a result of this contest. The brand also received free advertising in a variety of social networks and took it closer to its community (Norton 2019). 

Benefits of Crowdfunding:

More efficient than traditional fundraising.

An opportunity to refine the concept with crowdsourced brainstorming.

Gains early adopters and loyal advocates.

Doubles the exposure to marketing and media.

(Fundable n.d.)

Top crowdfunding in Malaysia where an individual or organization could seek help:

Kickstarter

GoFundMe

100% Project

Give.asia

Airfunding

(Mia 2020)

Hence, people specifically want money from the crowd with crowdfunding meanwhile people look for much more with crowdsourcing, such as knowledge, jobs, talent, skills and others.

References:

Fundable n.d., ‘The Benefits of Crowdsourcing’, Fundable, viewed 3 November 2020, <https://www.fundable.com/learn/resources/guides/crowdfunding/the-benefits-of-crowdfunding>.

McGowan, E 2018, ‘Crowdfunding vs. Crowdsourcing’, Startups, 19 April, viewed 3 November 2020, <https://www.startups.com/library/expert-advice/crowdfunding-vs-crowdsourcing#:~:text=Crowdfunding%20is%20the%20process%20of,group%20or%20groups%20of%20people>.

Mia 2020, ‘5 Top Crowdfunding Platforms in Malaysia’, Airfunding, 12 February, viewed 3 November 2020, Airfunding, <https://blog.airfunding.net/crowdfunding/5-top-crowdfunding-platforms-in-malaysia/>.

Norton, K 2019, ‘12 Brands Using Crowdsourcing for Product Design Ideas’, Cad Crowd, 10 June, viewed 3 November 2020, <https://www.cadcrowd.com/blog/12-brands-using-crowdsourcing-for-product-design-ideas/>.

Schweissguth n.d., ‘Crowdsourcing vs. Crowdfunding: What’s the Difference?’, OneSpace, 3 November 2020, <https://www.onespace.com/blog/2015/07/crowdsourcing-vs-crowdfunding/>.

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Public Health and Communities

Public health is the science that protects and promotes the health of people and their families by organising culture, organisations, public and private communities and individuals and informed decision-making. The project is carried out through the promotion of healthier lifestyles, investigating the prevention of diseases and injuries, and the detection, prevention and response to infectious diseases. (CDC Foundation n.d.).

Professionals in public health aim to avoid problems or their recurrence through educational programmes, policy recommendation, facilities administration and analysis, in relation to healthcare professionals such as physicians and nurses who mainly concentrate on treating individuals after being ill or injured. The promotion of improving health, efficiency and accessibility is a key aspect of public health.

Public health campaigns include a strategic public distribution of information to help groups resist inevitable health issues and pursue behaviour that promotes good health. These campaigns are typically aimed at increasing public awareness of important health issues by educating the target groups about potential health risks and unhealthy behaviours. Public health campaigns also promote healthy behaviour, with resistance to serious health risks to the target audiences. These may include the implementation of safe lifestyles including exercise, diet and stress reduction, the avoidance of harmful substances to reduce harm where possible (Kreps 2020).

Social media plays a part of it too. There are some recent trends that have impacted public health social media campaigns including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook advertising that is preferred by young people (Butteriss & Bradley 2019).

All these excellent health campaigns indicate the strength of social media public health campaigns that involve people, which can promote health awareness, education and improvement.

References:

Butteriss, C & Bradley, J 2019, The World’s Best Public Health Social Media Campaigns', Bang The Cable, 4 April, viewed 30 October 2020, <https://www.bangthetable.com/blog/public-health-social-media-campaigns/>.

CDC Foundation n.d., 'What Is Public Health?', CDC Foundation, viewed 30 October 2020, <https://www.cdcfoundation.org/what-public-health>.

Kreps, GL 2020, 'Public Health Campaigns', Encyclopedia, 30 October, viewed 29 October 2020, <https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/public-health-campaigns>.

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Activism and Protest

Activism is a group of social activities that informs individuals and increases awareness and awareness of an issue that affects or hurts people in the living areas.It acts to bring about social change. It is also concerned with 'how to change the world' by changing culture , politics, economy or the climate. This can be performed by people, but also by social movements (Permanent Culture Now n.d.).

It is ranging from writing letters to newspapers, civil rebellion, demonstrations, political campaigning, public protests, election movements, boycotts, activism on the internet, and petitions. It typically includes going through a mass demonstration formation and either starting or meeting at a specified location or rallying to hear people talk (Basic Knowledge 101 n.d.).

Social Media and Activism

After the Arab Spring protests in 2010 and since 2013, when the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was first used, social media and activism has become inseparable (Reid & Sehl 2020).

Social networking and hashtags have been influential in all events in the offline activation of the human rights movement. They have inspired social activism to rise.

The use of social media for raising voices and storeys, creating awareness, building and improving relationships creates an opportunity for organisations, activists and people to pursue justice (Maryville University n.d.).

Social media can also be used as a method not only to promote but also record large-scale protests. Almost every social movement of the world today is reported through the social media and news outlets frequently search websites such as Twitter to find new and evocative information or photographs of the current events and can be used to introduce people to movements and educate them about issues.

Social media has the power to quickly spread information and awareness to a large number of people about the causes. It provides a platform to speak for minority under-represented groups. Online activism encourages those who can not protest in public to take part from home.

The Hong Kong protests of 2019 are a highly publicised example of which protesters used social media to share pictures and videos from events that occurred, fighting for a public and global view of the pro-democracy movement (Maryville University n.d.).

Public awareness of social media issues can be generated on behalf of social justice. Through sharing information, communities are able to reach a larger audience and are able to mobilise around an issue in the real world.

In conclusion, social media can provide a platform for sharing stories, photos and videos, and provide facts and information in a consumable manner to allow an audience to understand them better. The efforts to generate awareness helps to develop a community around an issue. Activism isn't either a positive or a negative thing. Hence, it all depends on the cause and actions and on the importance of an individual's judgement.

References :

Basic Knowledge 101 n.d., ‘Activism - Social Movements - Protesting - Revolutions’, Basic Knowledge 101, viewed 21 October 2020, <https://www.basicknowledge101.com/subjects/activism.html#songs>.

Maryville University n.d., ‘A Guide to Activism in the Digital Age’ Maryville University, viewed 21 October 2020, <https://online.maryville.edu/blog/a-guide-to-social-media-activism/>.

Permanent Culture Now n.d., ‘Introduction to Activism', Permanent Culture Now, viewed 20 October 2020, <https://www.permanentculturenow.com/what-is-activism/>.

Reid, A & Sehl, K 2020, ‘Genuine Social Media Activism: A Guide for Going Beyond the Hashtag’, Hootsuite, 7 July, viewed 21 October 2020, <https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-activism/>.

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Political Engagement

Political engagement refers policy activities, government, politician or political parties' activities and can be described loosely as citizens' 

There has been basically no end to this list of participatory events like voting, protesting, public communication, boycotting, party demonstrations, guerrilla planting, blogging, volunteering, joining flash mobs, signing petitions, buying fair-trade items and joining a political party or standing for elections (Deth 2016).

Social media and Politics

Social media in politics is a game changer. It is a major factor in political campaigns and how people think about the issues. Social media changes the political landscape and the way politicians communicate and reach to the new audiences. Citizens will participate in direct conversation with politicians, government officials, and even entire government organizations socially. 

In most public social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Wikipedia are nothing new, just to name a few. They use these social networking platforms to connect and maintain relationships with other people. 

Social media isn't a new platform for communication. It is a Web 2.0 development and has features that allow users to create, upload, discuss and exchange information independently and easily with other users. This unique aspect has made social media platform popular among media users and it could be claimed that the involvement and role of traditional media in mediating information is now challenged by social media (All Answers Ltd. 2018).

There are no positive outcomes for politics in the implementation of social media where people could openly share their opinions. Social networking produces a particular feature of contact that ignores social differences. 

We could study the body language and tone as a group talked at a social gathering to know whether they were getting upset or frustrated. However, there are no such hints on Twitter or Facebook when people are angry about politics and triggers a riff in our society.

Thus, social media has its own benefits and downside but we all know political world will always change with the use of social media.

References:

All Answers Ltd. 2019, 'Role of Social Media in Political Communication', UKDiss, 13 Dicember, viewed 12 October 2020, <https://ukdiss.com/examples/social-media-in-political-communication-9877.php>.

Deth, JW  2016, 'What is Political Participation', Oxford Research Encyclopedias, viewed 12 October 2020, <https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-68>.

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Is Tumblr a Blog or a Social Networking Site?

In my opinion, Tumblr is both a blogging and a social networking platform, it depends on how we use it.

How does Tumblr work?

It can be used as a blogging platform that doesn’t only involve writing but is more visual that could insert photos, videos and animated GIFs (Moreau 2020).

It enables us to post a wide range of content styles, ranging from text and images to video, audio, and links, unlike many other social media sites. 

Tumblr is an ideal platform for many other content types in short-form or long-form, memes, and more, in addition to our preferences.

I could see some similarities between Tumblr and the other social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

For example, Tumblr does have the features like the ‘heart’ button to like any post of the other user and the ‘notes’ is when someone reblogs or likes our posts. As for the ‘double arrows’ button is to reblog a post similar to retweeting on Twitter. 

Other than that, I can interact with other users by following their Tumblr accounts, sending direct messages to them, commenting and reposting each others’ posts.

Marko Muellner, a vice president of marketing at Shoplgniter, stated that Tumblr is a social network and microblogging service that enables users to create custom blogs and post multimedia and text as blog posts that users can comment on, like or re-post; users can also follow other blogs and the dashboard, the key user interface, is a posting feed that makes it feel similar to other social networks (Stringfellow 2013). 

I did know the existence of Tumblr before this but just started using it at the start of this semester and have been hooked up with it after that. I enjoy the memes here and the contents that I discovered these past few weeks.

In conclusion, Tumblr is a platform that combines both microblogging and social networking. 

References:

Moreau, E 2020, ‘How to Use Tumblr for Blogging and Social Networking’, Lifewire, 6 April, viewed 25 September 2020, <https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-tumblr-4049305#:~:text=Tumblr%20is%20both%20a%20blogging%20platform%20and%20a%20social%20network>.

Stringfellow, A 2013, ‘The Great Tumblr Debate: Blogging Platform Or Social Network?’, American Express, 28 December, viewed 25 September 2020, <https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/the-great-tumblr-debate-blogging-platform-or-social-network/>.

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In case anyone is having a bad night:

Here is the fudgiest brownie in a mug recipe I’ve found

Here are some fun sites

Here is a master post of Adventure Time episodes and comics

Here is a master post of movies including Disney and Studio Ghibli

Here is a master post of other master posts to TV shows and movies

*tucks you in with fuzzy blanket* *pats your head*

You’ll be okay, friend <3

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In case anyone is having a bad night:

Here is the fudgiest brownie in a mug recipe I’ve found

Here are some fun sites

Here is a master post of Adventure Time episodes and comics

Here is a master post of movies including Disney and Studio Ghibli

Here is a master post of other master posts to TV shows and movies

*tucks you in with fuzzy blanket* *pats your head*

You’ll be okay, friend <3

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oh to be running in a flower field wearing this dress ♡︎

picture from @/ann.tique on instagram!

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To make your day better.

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Hey. Do you need a hug?

Maybe you’re having a stressful day. Maybe you just need a deep breath. Maybe you just didn’t realize how stressed you are. It’s okay! You deserve love and warmth in your life.

Are you comforted by words? 

Here’s an Emergency Compliment

Here are some kind words you can personalize with your name 

Here are 15 more emergency compliments 

Here is a Self Esteem Boosting Confidence Machine 

take a moment - video 

believe in yourself - video 

Inspiration from Jacksepticeye - PMA 

encouragement from Mr. Rogers - video 

you are ENOUGH - video 

Do you need to hear some pleasant ambient sounds?

How about rain sounds you can customize? 

You can listen to a cafe here  

or how about a crackling fireplace?  

ASMR? Stimming? 

Soap cutting ASMR - video 

more soap ASMR - video 

a 4 hour ASMR video to help with sleep 

ASMR face and scalp massage - video

ASMR slime - video 

the most satisfying video in the world 

more satisfying videos 

Lora Zombie speed painting - video 

Agnes Cecile speed painting - video  

the fastest workers in the world - video 

how candy canes are made - video 

Mr. Rogers shows how crayons are made - video 

How about a game or activity distraction?

Play 2048 here 

A whole website of free games!  

play chess against a computer 

Here are some coloring pages you can do online!  

Play Flow online here 

here’s a game where you stretch a giraffe’s little neck to give kisses 

Learn about the history of life on earth with PBS Eons 

Do you need something soothing?

Control the pattern of rain here! (flashing colors warning)

try doing nothing for two minutes 

Vent to a stranger online for FREE!  

weavesilk, where you can create a soothing pattern 

have you ever been to the nicest place on the internet? 

watch Bob Ross bring joy to painting - playlist 

How about a laugh?

Vines you can show your grandparents 

History of the entire world, I guess  

History of Japan 

Rhett and Link caption fails 

Thomas Sanders Vines 

The Demented Cartoon Movie (warning for flashing colors) 

The ASDF movie 1-11 

The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon by Richard Gale  (warnings for some bruises and some violence)

Rhett and Link VS Hank Green - SHUT UP AND DANCE 

It’s going to be okay. Today may be the worst day of your life - but tomorrow won’t be. Life is a series of ups and downs, and that means there’s going to be good and bad. Drink some water, let yourself cry if you need to, and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning. 

[avyzz]

Anti anxiety.