demystifyingmedia-blog

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Blog Post #10 - Final Reflection

    Final reflections serve the purpose as a chance for one, and in this case, myself to examine the fruits of my work in class. Reflecting on my own learning is a significant part of the learning process and the metacognitive work of reflection not only reminds us of the ways that our thinking has developed and changed but also helps us to name what we’ve learned, solidify the content of our learning and also to better understand the process of learning. The better I grasp these processes, the easier and more joyful learning becomes leading to an abundance beneficial outcomes.

    Initially embarking on a journey into a course that I had no expectations or anticipations towards, I was skeptical in respects to the amount of knowledge that I would obtain. The course description stated that J408: Demystifying Media was an advanced version of J100: Gateway to Media, a class that benefited me in the slightest bit. However, ten weeks ago when I came to class for the first time, my expectations quickly shifted. The manner in which Damian, our professor, addressed our class and what we would be doing throughout the term made me excited about the opportunities to come.

    Throughout the course of the term, our class for fortunate enough to receive the privilege of listening to an amplitude of guest lecturers. Ranging from professionals in advertising, business, entrepreneurship, public relations, media studies, design and journalism, our class gained a tremendous amount of insight. Perhaps the most beneficial insight, at least for myself, was that of one of our most recent experiences with a guest speaker. A couple weeks ago, our class took a trip to RAIN Eugene and had the opportunity to speak with Joe Maruschak about innovation and entrepreneurship.

    Some may question why I benefited so heavily from our discussion with Maruschak because I’m a public relations major, a field differing heavily from that of entrepreneurship. Although, my answer to that would simply be based on the advice he provided. Personally, I don’t think networking should be exclusive to your profession and in fact, it should be the opposite. Networking with a variety of professionals from different fields and experiences allows one to expand their perspective horizon and broaden their sense of understanding the world around them.

    The key idea that Joe Maruschak touched upon that resonated with me most heavily is that “opportunities tend to present themselves in the most unexpected fashions.” As an example, Maruschak started his career in the video-game industry and now is the Chief Startup Officer of RAIN Eugene - two very different fields. If one were to ask Maruschak if he would have seen himself in the position he is currently in 10-15 years ago, he would likely say that there would have been no way to tell. I find this to be a comforting reality because being a college student, I have no inclination of what my future holds. Often times this idea of the unknown presents itself as concerning or intimidating causing one to question whether or not they will be successful and/or if they are taking the right steps to bring them closer to success. Although intimidating, it is comforting to now know that by naturally taking progressive measures, such as attending University and being involved, that opportunities will start to present themselves.

    Another key idea that resonated with me in addition to the one previously mentioned was that one shouldn’t let their qualifications suppress their dreams. Often times when applying for jobs, I look at the list of desired qualifications and most of the time I don’t meet all of them. It is frustrating because, with such a competitive job market, the pressure to find jobs and be qualified for them is at an all-time high. Additionally, when I would job search and see that I didn’t meet all of the requirements, I would just move on to the next position/company. Knowing now that this strategy isn’t the best approach, I won’t let my qualifications suppress my aspirations from now on. Not only is putting yourself out there extremely beneficial to you and for employers seeking to get to know you, but it allows you to practice networking and social skills. These skills will only help you further in life whether it be in an interview or simply getting to know somebody. One of the most important things in life is being an individualized person and conducting yourself in such a manner that others can see that trait in you.

    The idea of being an individualized person is something that has been touched upon by numerous scholars. One of the most prominent figures to touch upon this is the theorist John F. Crosby. In his book, The Selfhood of the Human Person, Crosby explores everything that constitutes being an individualized person. Specifically focusing on chapter three, there is a presented theory of “depersonalizing actions” that essentially explains the very real difference and the gap between humans rights and those defined by corporations. Crosby states that there are three depersonalizing actions consisting of coercion, acting out of blindness and obedience. The translation and reality of these three actions are simply “action from outside will” (coercion), “impulse and emotion” (the act of blindness), and “depending on trust” (obedience). Now, clearly, these ideas seem abstract but I believe they play an important role in understanding what makes someone an individualized person. So often people get lost and begin to lose sight of themselves and instead conduct their approach to life in a way that was instituted by a corporate entity. In other words, people don’t genuinely act as themselves and I believe that this takes away from having a competitive edge when searching for jobs.

    Although job qualifications are crucial to meet, at least some of them, recruiters don’t always look for the smartest or well-qualified candidates. Instead and more commonly, recruiters will search for those who can bring individualized and unique perspectives that can progress a company/organization in some way. Crosby’s ideas on depersonalizing actions comments on the ideas that take away from being an individualized person and I believe it is important to recognize those when searching for a new position - or just in life for that matter.

    Coming full circle, my time in J408: Demystifying Media has been nothing short of beneficial. Not only did I learn a lot of important life lessons, with respects to academic and professional guidance, but I had the amazing opportunity of connecting and networking with so many experienced and diverse people. This class really opened my eyes to the endless possibilities in the working world, around campus/the community and how to be an individualized person. I can say with ease, for the first time ever, that this is a course I wish would have been more days a week. Courses like these that embody applicable skills and touch upon relevant/current things and events are the types of classes that help students the most. I wish I could take more classes like this moving forward, especially if they are taught by such an inspirational, insightful and respectful instructor like Damian Radcliffe.

     Damian, I would like to thank you directly (as I know you are reading this). You helped me in more ways than you know, thank you.

Signing off,

Charlie Walton

[demystifyingmedia-blog]

Blog Post #9 - RAIN Eugene

    Perhaps the most interesting day of class this term was Visiting RAIN Eugene and it was nothing short of inspirational. Going to class knowing that we were visiting RAIN made me excited because, during my freshman year, I took BA199: Entrepreneurship, and Joe Maruschak actually came and visited our class to give a guest lecture. Being a timid freshman, I never approached Maruschak to have a personal conversation with him or asked him any questions, so I knew this class could serve as a time to execute missed opportunities Being in a smaller, more personal environment with Maruschak while visiting RAIN allowed for more questions to be asked and information to be learned.

    RAIN Eugene is one of those hidden gems apart of Eugene's community that serves its purpose by turning “thinking” into “doing”. In other words, RAIN listens to your ideas for businesses/products/ideas/etc. and if it’s a good idea, they give you the resources and mentorship to guide you throughout your innovative journey.

    After listening to Maruschak talk about who he is, where he came from, how he started RAIN Eugene, what that is, where it potentially could go and more, I was able to derive my two biggest takeaways that may be useful going forward.

    The first idea is that 1.) opportunities may present themselves in unexpected places. Maruschak mentioned how he started in the video game industry and one thing after the next and he now is the Chief Startup Officer of an accelerator program. I found this to be insightful and hopeful because often times I question where I’m going. Nearing graduation, I have yet to have the slightest clue in respects to what my future profession will be or even what industry I will work in. This thought used to frustrate me because I could know grasp how people got their jobs and now I understand. It’s because opportunities present themselves in unexpected places.

    The second key idea that I digested from RAIN was harder to explain that I had anticipated, so bear with me. It is  2.) don’t let your qualifications suppress your dreams. In more ways than one, all the people we talked to from RAIN seemed to have started from something much smaller than themselves now. Additionally, I liked how they mentioned that they valued “knowledge” over “experience” because it really made this takeaway come full circle. If you have a great idea, but you don’t know how to execute certain aspects of it (whether production/design/etc.), you should still follow your dreams because other people can help you. In other words, if you pitch them a great idea to RAIN Eugene, they like it, but you don’t what to do with certain things, then they can still help you and teach you in various ways. This was something I found to be extremely inspiring.

    Following our visit at RAIN, I explored Business Insider for my first-half of weekly research. The article I found is titled Starbucks’ Howard Schultz is stepping down amid rumors of presidential run written by Kate Taylor on June 3, 2018. The article comments on the former CEOs long-run political aspirations and how stepping down from Starbucks hints at this going into effect. Schultz served at Starbucks for over three decades and so people are now starting to question his reasoning. Personally, I don’t like the idea of mixing influential businessmen and women into politics because there will always be an inherent bias leaning toward making their businesses, or former organizations, money. I think this presents ethical dilemmas that rather not be crossed or tested in society.

    The next article I found in lieu of the second-half of my weekly research came from VentureBeat. The article is titled Apple Swift Shot Hands-on - Augmented reality goes multiplayer with ARKit 2.0 and was written by Dean Takahashi on June 4, 2018. Essentially, all the article talked about was how Apple released a new augmented reality game preview at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). The game consisted of players standing on each side of an augmented playing field (table) with their devices in-hand (iPad, iPhone, etc.) and they are supposed to aim/shoot slingshots at one another, knocking down the other player's pillars. Although simplistic, the first of its kind always is - think back to Pong! I really enjoyed learning about this new multiplayer game experience because I think it really sets the tone for what to come. Being predicted to be the next major industry, it is exciting to see new implementations and examples of it coming into the market.

Work Cited:

Taylor, Kate. "Starbucks Howard Schultz steps down amid presidential rumors - Business Insider." Business Insider. 03 Jun 2018. Web. 04 Jun 2018. <http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-howard-schultz-steps-down-amidst-presidential-rumors-2018-6>.

Takahashi, Dean. "Apple Swift Shot hands-on -- augmented reality goes multiplayer with ARKit 2.0 | VentureBeat." VentureBeat - Tech news that matters. 04 Jun 2018. Web. 04 Jun 2018. <http://venturebeat.com/2018/06/04/apple-swift-shot-hands-on-augmented-reality-goes-multiplayer-with-arkit-2-0/>.

[demystifyingmedia-blog]

Blog Post #8 - Public Relations

    Another week, another speaker. Sadly for this past week's guest lecture, I was unlucky enough to miss the discussion. I was really looking forward to this guest lecture too because the speaker focused mainly on topics surrounding my area of study, public relations. Anyways, there is nothing I can do about it now.

    Erin Krug is the Vice President of Quinn Thomas and has worked in the marketing/public relations field for 15 years. Currently, Krug finds most of her time here on the west coast working for a public relations firm in Portland, Oregon. Krug has spent her professional career working on many projects for organizations most people are familiar with, but from the guest speaker notes, it is easy to assume that the most valuable information rested in her advice for all of us. The best pieces of advice she provided that stood out to me were the ideas of “charting your path” and finding your purpose.

    I think “charting your path” is interesting to give advice for students who are nearly done with school because most of us do not know who we are yet. Although unaware of our futures, many of us know who we want to be and that's where this piece of advice ties in. Creating your own personal brand is vital to have when job searching because not everyone looking to hire desires the smartest or most experienced person. Instead, employers are looking to see which candidates will stand out and sustain that special “X” factor.

    The next piece of advice, finding your purpose, is also very important to understand. If I were to personally give this advice then I would re-word it a bit, however, it still serves the same significance. If you find who you want to be or who you are, then you are indestructible and the world is your oyster. When you know who you are, then you likely will know your purpose in the world and transmit that into your own work. When people conduct their work because they want to genuinely do their best job opposed to solely working for a check, then that's when you will be most successful and stand out in the working world.

    Regarding my weekly research and in lieu of last week's guest speaker that I regrettably missed, I wanted to aim my research towards news stories that I could analyze from the perspective of public relations. The first article I read is titled Tobii Pro VR Analytics turns your eye movements into design and training data and it was posted to VentureBeat and was written by Jeremy Horowitz.

    Initially, I was captivated by the title of the article because we have spent a lot of time in class discussing the developments of VR technology and how it is likely to be the next wave of major technological innovation. Seemingly so, this article discusses the features of this company, “Tobii Pro”, and how it enables developers and researchers to visualize what virtual reality headset users are actually looking at in a simulated world.

    Some may ask why this is of value and the answer is quite diverse - Tobii Pro provides a game-changing potential across a plethora of industries. The example the article referenced was the retail industry and how Tobii suggests that brands could test alternative shop layouts and packages in order to see which maximize purchasing.  

    Although an innovative company and potentially beneficial technology, the article still raised many questions - some logistical; some regarding safety. Granted the article didn’t dive very deep into how the technology actually operates, the first question that came to mind was what if the person using the VR headset strays their attention away from what they were initially focusing on? Would this affect the way the technology visualizes what the person using the headset is looking at? The next question that was raised followed safety parameters - What can this technology lead into? Maybe I am paranoid, but I really don’t like the idea of technology being able to track my eye movement and project pictures of what I am seeing. I think this is too close of a relationship between the personal self and technology. From a public relations perspective, I argue that this article does provide insightful information to the public but also leaves out important information regarding the questions that were raised. If the article could answer these questions better than I believe it would penetrate its audience better in the sense that it would produce better responses to the information unveiled.

    The next article I read was slightly different in the sense that it discusses politics instead of technology, but I still reviewed the information aiming to focus my research on a public relations perspective. Posted on Business Insider, the article I found is titled Trump looks prepared to kick off a trade war with the European Union and was written by Bob Bryan.

    After reviewing the article, I was able to derive the three main points that summarize the most important information. 1.) The Trump administration will impose steel/aluminum tariffs on imports from the European Union (EU). 2.) The tariffs come after talks between EU and US failed to produce an alternative trade deal. 3.) The EU is expected to respond with tariffs on US goods, setting off a likely trade war.

    Reading this article was difficult because it comments on the status of the government in the United States. At least personally, I believe the infrastructure of the United States government is crumbling and if this information is fully accurate… then this is just the calm before the store.

    From a public relations perspective, I found it hard to assess this article because it’s difficult to critique the government and how they are communicating with the people (their public). There are so many factors that go into policy changes, tariffs and international negotiations, however, understanding who our current President is it becomes hard for me to stray away from the idea of it simply being apart of a scare tactic. In other words, I believe that our President is a major bully and is fully motivated by greed and entitlement. All I can say is… I hope things take a turn for the better, SOON.

    Due to missing last weeks lecture, I decided to do additional research on a third industry reading. The last article I found was also posted to Business Insider and is titled A month after Snap delivered disappointing earnings and saw its stock price plunge, CEO Evan Spiegel tried to reassure everyone that he knows what he's doing. This piece was written by Greg Sandoval.

    To summarize what I read, essentially Snapchat’s CEO wanted to “reassure” the app’s users that everything will go back to normal and the functions of the app will improve - but will they? Snapchat had a terribly shocking miss on its quarterly earnings and suffered a stock price plunge. The co-founder of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel, said he believes they must win back the trust of the apps users in order to bounce back.

    Overall, the article was somewhat insightful and comforting to read. As someone who loves Snapchat and has been an avid user of the social media platform, I would have still liked to see/read about more concrete plans regarding how the app will regain the users trust back. This ties back into the public relations perspective I approached this article with too - because the article didn’t actually mention how they will regain users trust, how can anyone believe that promise? Without concrete plans, anyone could say they are going to do anything. If I were to ask Snapchats board any questions, they would all center around the plans to regain our trust. This is no different to any other news story reporting about an issue without actually providing any solutions. Without solutions, the information cannot be 100% trusted.

Work Cited

Bryan, Bob. “Trump Looks Prepared to Kick off a Trade War with the European Union.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 May 2018, www.businessinsider.com/trump-steel-aluminum-tariffs-eu-european-union-2018-5.

Horwitz, Jeremy. “Tobii Pro VR Analytics Turns Your Eye Movements into Design and Training Data.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 30 May 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/05/30/tobii-pro-vr-analytics-turns-your-eye-movements-into-design-and-training-data/.

Sandoval, Greg. “A Month after Snap Delivered Disappointing Earnings and Saw Its Stock Price Plunge, CEO Evan Spiegel Tried to Reassure Everyone That He Knows What He's Doing.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 May 2018, www.businessinsider.com/tech-execs-evan-spiegel-and-sheryl-sandberg-try-to-calm-nerves-at-code-conference-2018-5.

[demystifyingmedia-blog]

Blog Post #7 - Trust In News

     Last week, our J408: Demystifying Media course had the honor of listening to Joy Mayer speak. Mayer is the Director of The Trusting News project and spent the majority of her time talking to our class about the epidemic of distrust that the United States people have in the news.

     Many of the things that Mayer touched upon, such as the underlying fact that half of Americans think “we’re making the news up”, were not surprises to me because I’ve spent most my life hearing about this prevalent distrust in news - something that I’ve been accustomed to. However, I had remained to have a great appreciation of the things Mayer talked about because I never thought about the issue of distrust in the news in these regards or how to find a solution to address the problem.

     One piece of information that was perhaps not new to me, but something I had no previous thoughts about was the idea of how financial support correlates with trust in the news. When thinking about this it all began to make more sense as a whole - if things are going well for you (ex: you’re financially stable) then you’re likely to have a more positive digestion of news stories because the issues discussed likely don’t affect you specifically. Often times social issues or other problems unveiled in news stories directly correlate to underrepresented communities, low-income communities and other minority groups and perhaps these communities don’t have a good interpretation of these stories and/or have a positive response to them because it seems like these stories merely address issues affecting them but not actually fixing them. In other words, if you hear the news that you don’t want to hear in the first place then you probably won’t “trust” it subconsciously.

     Following Joy Mayers talk, I wanted to follow up with my own individual research. For my research, I decided to try and find an article that related to what Mayer talked about - the issues of distrust in news - and something that related to my academic focus of Public Relations/Business Administration.

     The first portion of my research came from VentureBeat was based on the article Chinese School Installs Facial Recognition Cameras to Monitor Students by Reuters. What I learned from this article is that ‘Hangzhou No. 11 Middle School’ installed a “smart classroom behavior management system” which captures students expressions and movements. Upon capturing these mannerisms, the management system proceeds to analyze the expressions with big data in aims to make sure students are paying attention in class.

     After I read this article, the first two things that came to mind were: 1.) This is a complete invasion of privacy; 2.) technology doesn’t always work - what happens if/when it malfunctions? I found this to be a major public relations issue because it sparks so many questions of concern. If students are supposedly not paying attention then what is the punishment or action taken in order to ensure it what happen again?

     I was surprised on reading this article because I could never imagine this implemented at any school I’ve gone to, but then again I wasn’t that surprised at all. Technology is moving fast and it is rapidly evolving our culture - so fast… it evolves us. Regardless of this middle school taking such drastic measures, there is likely to be significant backlash because of all the open-ended questions that it leaves and unknown factors that surround it. At least that's my interpretation on it as an aspiring public relations professional.

     The second portion of my research was from Business Insider and came from an article called Kim Jong-Un is said to be worried about North Korea falling into a military coup while he’s rubbing shoulders with Trump in Singapore written by David Choi. The article talks about how the North Korean leader is anxious about the planned summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore. Kim Jong-Un isn’t worried so much about meeting with the President of the United States, but more so skeptical that something might happen to him when he’s in Pyongyang.

      After reading this article I instantly thought of Joy Meyers talk with our class. It’s almost routine to say that anything regarding Politics - especially United States politics - could just as easily be real as it is ‘fake’. To say that everything around the United States politics news coverage is fake would be ignorant, however, there have been many cases where facts have arisen that conflicted news stories surrounding this topic. From this alone, there is an ever-growing realm of trust issues behind news stories that centralize a focus on United States politics because people gain skepticism.

     Essentially, the main connection I had between this article and Joy Mayers talk was that Americans can easily be understood when they say they don’t trust the news because of this consistent pattern of stories that are proven to be wrong from outside sources/facts. It puts the reality that constitutes this widespread feeling of distrust in the news because it makes the average consumer of news question the information their absorbing. In other words, news stories are shady - always, always, always do your research.

Work Cited:

Choi, David. “Kim Jong Un Is Said to Be Worried about North Korea Falling to a Military Coup While He's Rubbing Shoulders with Trump in Singapore.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 22 May 2018, www.businessinsider.com/kim-jong-un-worried-about-military-coup-singapore-summit-trump-2018-5.

Reuters. “Chinese School Installs Facial Recognition Cameras to Monitor Students.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 18 May 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/05/17/chinese-school-installs-facial-recognition-cameras-to-monitor-students/.

[demystifyingmedia-blog]

Blog Post #6 - Takeaways and Readings

    As the term nears commencement ending yet another school year, I began to reflect back and digest some of the key takeaways from guest lecturers in class. Being in J408: Demystifying Media, I and others have had the privilege of listening to successful, insightful and innovative guest speakers that all explain their own unique experiences with journalism and media. The two biggest takeaways I’ve learned from during the term are that actively searching for solutions instead of piggybacking on social-issues for content creates greater purpose for an audience (David Bornstein - Solutions Journalism) and breaching your comfort zone can help one develop as a professional (Will Grant - BBC).

    When David Bornstein came to talk to our class, I instantly became engaged in his philosophy. Bornstein preaches that actively searching for solutions and using that as your platform is incredibly more beneficial to society (people) then employing the idea of prevalent issues as your content while not providing any answers to the problem. I’m not exactly sure why this philosophy resonated with me so well, however, it just clicked.

    As a student directing their education in the field of Public Relations and Business Administration, I believe that I can use Bornstein's philosophy in my own work to execute a better reach to various audiences. Public Relations is a field based off of communication and I strongly presume that this philosophy would only provide my audiences/clients with more authentic, genuine and transparent information. Trust is key in any relationship, whether personal or professional, and I want to be able to gain others trust so I can become as successful as possible within this industry.

    Will Grant is the Latin America correspondent for BBC and has covered the nations of Mexico, Cuba, and Venezuela. Being a long way from home (England), it is evident that Grant is reaching far beyond his comfort zone (or at least initially did when he started his profession) and is learning a lot by doing so. Although this wasn’t the core of Grant’s talk with our class, I believe his drive for positive action speaks volumes and it is something I want to employ in my own life.

    Partially studying Business Administration at school, I have been learning a lot about the functionalities of business and the various way in which one could become successful in the industry. One of the key ideas that teachers in the business school drill into your head is that it is good to take calculated risks because it teaches you more than any book, blog or website that one could possibly find. I want to embody the similar style of risk that Grant took in beginning his career in Latin America with BBC because I feel it will lead me to various experiences that will shape the course life - Similar to Grant! I also think taking risks leads to a better perspective on certain things in the world which wouldn’t do any harm in having.

    Following the takeaways I have gained through the term, I researched two articles for the second portion of the assignment.

    The first article I read was posted on Business Insider and was titled Microsoft is launching a new version of its $22,000 mega-tablet — and it looks super-futuristic. The article was written by Matt Weinberger on May 15, 2018, and it divulges into the latest upgrade Microsoft is implementing for the business world. Within the article, there is talk about how the Microsoft Surface Hub 2 is a modified version of its first generation and was created to help advance clear and simplistic tools for professionals alike.

    The newest feature on the Surface Hub 2 is that there is a hinge on the back that allows the user to rotate the 50.5-inch monitor from portrait to landscape orientation. Parallel to this feature, the overall size of the product is a massive reduction from its former 83-inch screen.

    Some may read this article, understand why it’s cool, but not fully grasp the significance of it. The value of this product is that it is simply another progressive step in advancing our society through technology. When I first read this article I thought of movies that are future-based and every wall is an interactive tech. device and I can only foreshadow this leading to that idea. There have been many guest lectures that talk about how technology that combines the function of the product with interactive space is only a booming market - this is exactly the direction this product will go!

    The second article I read was on VentureBeat and it was titled This VR app teaches kids about recycling and was written by Jamie Feltham on May 13, 2018.

    With technology moving ever so fast one can only imagine all the possibilities in store. Like many new pieces of technology, some employ various advancements and institute games and/or tutorials based off of educating the youth. Education is the most important thing for humans because that is the only way we can move forward as a species. In lieu of the idea of education is important, there is a new VR app that is set to educate kids on the importance of recycling.

    I found this article to be one ridiculed with promise because there are very small measures taken to reduce the pollution and waste issue in the world. If younger generations are educated well on social issues, such as pollution and waste, then when they grow older they will be a much more productive generation in terms of striving for positive action. The article did not say what the name of the app will be yet, however, I am going to have to keep my eyes peeled for it.

Work Cited:

Weinberger, Matt. “Microsoft Is Launching a New Version of Its $22,000 Mega-Tablet - and It Looks Super-Futuristic.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 15 May 2018, www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-surface-hub-2-price-details-availability-2018-5.

Feltham, Jamie, and Upload VR. “This VR App Teaches Kids about Recycling.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 12 May 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/05/13/this-vr-app-teachs-kids-about-recycling/.

[demystifyingmedia-blog]

Blog Post #5 - Will Grant (BBC) & Apple

    You know that feeling of anticipation and excitement that you endure when you know you’re about to enjoy something? Well, this type of feeling is what resonated with me when I heard that we were going to have a guest speaker from BBC. As someone who is from England, I can remember countless mornings running into my parents' bedroom only to find them indulging in what BBC had to report further developing this saturated connection with the broadcasting network.

    Will Grant is the BBC correspondent in Latin-America in which he reports from Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela. Through reporting, Grant aims to try and explain the lives of those in these regions and the realms of inhumanity that tend to occur there.

    Two key challenges that Grant faces embody the practical (daily concerns/issues of the job) and the editorial (pressures on producing unbiased reporting). Whether that be the lack of internet access in Cuba, the absence of personal security in Mexico, or navigating through a crumbling infrastructure in Venezuela, Grant explained that he must leverage his abilities toward learning the ins-and-outs of these regions in order to get the job done; in order to survive.

    Although Grant’s work is dangerous, burdensome and beyond frustrating, the proper execution of his stories can have ample ripple effects on these regions and the communities that reside within them. Although these ‘ripples’ may have an adverse effect depending on how the general public perceives his stories, generally speaking, these stories ensue messages that can open the eyes of others around the world. In doing this, Grant and his colleagues can perhaps encourage various people to support these, more so, underdeveloped areas and shed light on social issues that aren’t in the spotlight.

    What struck me most with Grant’s talk is that the real-life dangers that are commonly known about in these areas don’t just affect those living in these regions. Instead, anyone who is apart of the community, whether directly (locals, permanent residents, etc.) or indirectly (those working in these areas such as Grant), is affected by all aspects of corruption and danger.

    Although I never really have taken the time to think about it in depth, my perception before Grant’s guest lecture was that people in his position among these areas had this sort of immunity-like casting around them that separates them from these issues because they’re not directly associated with them. Looking back now, I would like to say that was ignorant thinking, to say the least.

    Using Grant’s talk to leverage my research, I quickly visited Business Insider and discovered an article that was interesting; Inside ‘iPhone City’, the Massive Chinese Factory-Town where Half of the World’s iPhones are Produced written by Harrison Jacobs.

The things I learned from this article are:

Half of the worlds iPhones are made at a Foxconn (Taiwanese electronics manufacturer) factory in Zhengzhou, China.

The factory has 350,000 employees.

Employees receive extremely low pay / work long hours - but not that different from other factories in China.

Employees work 6 days/week and see their spouses once a week and live in 10-12 story buildings outside Foxconn’s gate.

500,000 iPhones produced per day or 350 iPhones per minute.

    Although there is an absence of anything illegal happening, upon reading this I used my Public-Relations skill-set to analyze what is essentially happening. Apple, being a mega-tech company originating from California, uses the scapegoat of conducting mass production overseas because they know that something like this - having 350,000 employees living in dorms outside of the doors of their work - would not be accepted.

    I understand that there is a high level of demand for iPhones, but with all the resources that Apple has they should be able to institute more sustainable living conditions and regulations for those who help their company ‘tick’.

    Perhaps not on the same level of magnitude as the social issues that Grant touches upon in his stories in Latin America, there still remains an underlying theme. Through releasing this story, people like you and me can have a loose grasp of what goes on behind the scenes in a company like Apple. As a society, we have become disconnected from perceiving this as bad or immoral because we don’t perceive these conditions as unsuitable in other regions that already have lower-standards of living. However, there needs to be a change and perhaps a change in the way we perceive mega-companies such as Apple.

    In contrast to the previous article, on VentureBeat, there is an article titled Why Microsoft's Staya Nadella and Bill Gates are hyping Apple and it was written by Jeremy Horowitz (@HOROWITZ).

    The article discussed why Microsoft's Nadella and Gates are praising their rival Apple. Not only did Gates mention that Apple was an “amazing company”, but also mentioned that they have the strongest profit position of all major tech companies. Recently, Microsoft has even made their products more compatible with Apple (iPhone predominantly) after discontinuing the Windows phone.

    With the betterment of the relationship between these two giants there comes a plethora of opportunity - both positive and negative. Although opportunity emerges, the question still comes to how these companies will make positive social impacts.

    In pursuit of the first article from Business Insider, clearly, there are negative social impacts occurring behind the closed doors of Apple and perhaps even Microsoft. Through the exposure of these stories, people have the ability to make a better judgment on the ethics of these companies and whether not they want to be a consumer. The importance of unveiling stories, such as Grant’s in Latin America, Jacobs in Business Insider or Horowitz’s in VentureBeat, speaks volumes to the worldwide community because it allows people to be more informed and better yet, able to take action.

Work Cited:

Jacobs, Harrison. “Inside 'IPhone City,' the Massive Chinese Factory Town Where Half of the World's IPhones Are Produced.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 7 May 2018, www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-factory-foxconn-china-photos-tour-2018-5.

Horwitz, Jeremy. “Why Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Bill Gates Are Hyping Apple.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 8 May 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/05/07/why-microsofts-satya-nadella-and-bill-gates-are-hyping-apple/

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Blog Post #4 - Jessica Clarke & VR

    Another week in class and another appreciable guest speaker. Jessica Clarke, from Dot Connector studio, skyped our class to touch upon the everso rapid advancement of technology and how humans must adapt to this change.

    Among all the messages that Jessica Clarke shared with us regarding who she is, what Dot Connector Studio does and how she goes about her own work, the statement that stuck with me the most is “‘Impact’ is our [Dot Connector Studio] middle name”. Although vague, I truly value this brief bit of insight because it comments on everything she does and the type of person she is. Striving to make an impact is one thing, but actually making an impact is another. It is evident the type of work Jessica does at Dot Connector Studio attempts to make the world a better place for everyone, one step at a time. One specific example of making in an impact was the implementation of the ISeeChange application. This app was funded through a grant by NASA and investigates how weather and climate change impacts your environment. Although seeming minute and of insignificance, this app provides importance for those that depend on their environment and how well it is maintained.

    The feeling that resonated with me after listening to Jessica speak was this distilled feeling of inspiration. Stemming directly from this feeling, I decided to use this at the platform going into my research on VentureBeat and Business Insider, the two sources I choose to analyze this term.

    The article I found on VentureBeat was titled “Facebook wants to bring people on VR tours of their memories” and was written by Khari Johnson (@KHARIJOHNSON). Going into this article feeling inspired, I was adimitt that I would find something of significance - something of importance - that had the same theme as Jessica; making an impact.

    After reading the article, I had quickly come to the consensus that this was of great significance perhaps not currently, but for what this technology could lead into. At the annual F8 conference hosted by Facebook, the mega-social-media company announced its plans to “use artificial intelligence to reconstruct VR environments of photos and videos located on your facebook profile”.

    The moment I read this, my heart began to flutter and I quickly became impatient for the day that this feature is embedded into Facebook’s features. Being a lover and advocate for technology advancement, I found this to be incredibly exciting. Being able to do such a thing would not only allow people to relive their favorite memories in the most deceptive way feasibly possible, but it opens the door for a whole new world (literally) in technology.

    In my mind, after reading this I instantly thought of a reality such as the HBO hit series WestWorld. Although not quite the same, I can completely imagine reconstructed worlds as the central focus to forthcoming games which allow users to feel like they are ‘really there’, when in reality they are sitting on their couch eating a bag of crisps. In addition, I think this will be pivotal in a new means of military and emergency service training because it will put prospects in given scenarios in which they would not be able to prepare themselves for.

    Carrying on this theme of impact and Facebook, for that matter, I continued my research into Facebook’s VR endeavors. On Business Insider I read an article titled “Mark Zuckerberg’s $3 Billion Bet on VR is Finally Paying Off” and was written by Ben Gilbert.

    The article touched upon Facebook’s implementation of their first VR product, the Oculus Go and what to expect when using it. Ben ventured out and bought the Oculus Go just to see if it was worth all the hype. To save anybody who is reading this time - Oculus Go is totally worth it.

    Oculus Go has a wide range of features to offer users without the complexity of traditional VR technologies. It was described as “Finding the middle ground between high-end VR and smartphone VR. The ‘good enough’ VR has been born”. Essentially what this means is that the Oculus Go is not the most technologically profound VR technology ever constructed, however, it balances function and user experience.

    Aside from the $199.00 price, generally a lower price then most VR technologies, the Oculus Go provides a truly accessible and user-friendly experience. There are no headphones needed (however, if you want to use them because you’re “that person” then there is a headphone jack available) because there are speakers built on the inside of the device and you are able to connect it to your device via WiFi or Bluetooth.

    I wanted to research the actuality of the product after reading the first article about what Facebook plans to install alongside it (creating VR environments from your pictures/videos). From doing this, I think it is safe to say that Facebook is on route to becoming one of the leading companies behind yet again another technological advancement/market. Although the drawback of the product is that there is little software compatible with it, the impact of the product probably will be lurking in the shadows until Facebook creates its anticipated VR environments. All in all, it is with ease to conclude that Facebook coincides with Jessica Clarke’s views on making an impact on society for the greater good.

Work Cited:

Johnson, Khari. “Facebook Wants to Bring People on VR Tours of Their Memories.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 1 May 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/05/01/facebook-wants-to-bring-people-on-vr-tours-of-their-memories/.

Gilbert, Ben. “Mark Zuckerberg's $3 Billion Bet on VR Is Finally Paying Off.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 1 May 2018, www.businessinsider.com/facebook-vr-headset-oculus-go-review-2018-4#it-feels-like-a-modern-piece-of-electronics-for-the-most-part-4.

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Blog Post #3 - David Bornstein & Solutions Journalism

Often when people regard journalistic-news stories, they generally withstand the common perception that the story being conveyed has a negative connotation towards it. Whether that be true or not, it varies on a case-by-case basis. Although many news stories that are worthy of being considered “news” have negative aspects to the narrative and/or issue at hand, the majority of these information outlets shy away from divulging into actual solutions to the problem(s). Recognizing this problem in journalism, David Bornstein (@dnborstein) created an idea to address this issue and later became the co-founder of the innovative organization called Solutions Journalism.

Solutions Journalism is a non-profit network that conducts various reporting techniques and addresses their own responses to social problems that arise in society. Essentially, what Solutions Journalism does is help their audience become exposed to stories that actually benefit them in a way that allows them to find solutions and understand the challenges of everyday issues. Whatever is missing in everyday media can likely be found somewhere in a Solution Journalism article. In light of creating relevant work, Solutions Journalism prides themselves on their collaborative work environment and ability to work with various funders and supporters. The ideals backing Solutions Journalism and how they operate holds a major value to those pursuing a career in Journalism/Communication field because it shows you the benefit of thinking outside the box, so to speak. What caught my attention the most was the way Bornstein approached his work and how he looked for answers more often than stories. Personally, I believe this to be applicable towards my area of focus, Public Relations because it displayed the importance of finding legitimate solutions. If I were to make a comparison, finding just a story would be the equivalent to just covering up an issue. If one were to simply cover up an issue that a company or organization made, it would never technically be resolved and perhaps would recur over time. However, finding a story AND solution would be the equivalent to addressing a problem AND finding the solution. I believe this approach to be much more beneficial to all parties because once an issue is squandered properly, it is much less likely to arise and affect people again.

Following the informative talk that was given by David Bornstein on Solutions Journalism, I decided to do my own research and see if I could find any examples using the solution-based method for stories. The first website I explored was VentureBeat and I immediately was greeted by an article revolving Apple. The article was titled “Apple introduces iPhone-shredding Daisy robot ahead of environmental report” and was written by Jeremy Horwitz (@HORWITZ) on April 19, 2018. Ahead of Earth Day, Apple announced a new piece of technology - a recycling robot by the name of Daisy. The second generation iPhone recycling robot is the replacement to a previous robot, Luke, which was discontinued by Apple in 2016. Daisy can recycle three iPhones per minute into sorted piles of parts. Apple believed that every iPhone is made up of “precious material”, none of which deserves to be discarded. Understanding that the world is in a resource-based crisis, Apple took progressive steps in finding a (partial) solution to the problem. Although it may seem insignificant, millions of people have iPhones and replace them each year. Daisy could make a dramatic impact on the volume of usable technology that had been previously thrown out.

The second article I found was on Business Insider and it too centered around the tech giant, Apple. I wanted to see if the trend of finding solutions was carried on from the first article, so I clicked on it and began reading. The article was titled “Apple has a warning for customers in its newest iOS update: Don’t use third parties to repair iPhone and iPads” and was written by Katie Canales on April 24, 2018. Essentially the article touched upon Apple’s warning revolving using third parties to make replacements on damaged iPhones and iPads. Apple stated that third parties use “not genuine replacement displays” and mentioned that they could greatly damage the functionality of your device. Although at first, this may not seem like a solution-based story, I would still have to argue that it is. Apple perhaps received many complaints and circumstances where customers were unhappy or confused as to why their device was not working in the same manner as it was before any damage/replacement took place. In order to effectively spread their message/answer to customers, they released a warning. Of course, any warning released by a company, such as Apple, would almost definitely reach the majority of their audience. I believe they found the most effective solution to the problem and did so through the most effective platform.

Work Cited:

Horwitz, Jeremy. “Apple Introduces IPhone-Shredding Daisy Robot Ahead of Environmental Report.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 20 Apr. 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/04/19/apple-introduces-iphone-shredding-daisy-robot-ahead-of-environmental-report/.

Canales, Katie. “Apple Has a Warning for Customers in Its Newest IOS Update: Don't Use Third Parties to Repair IPhones and IPads.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 24 Apr. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/apple-ios-11-3-1-update-fixes-iphone-8-touchscreen-issue-2018-4.

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Blog Post #2 - David Ewald & Design/Technology

Throughout the period of our second class, we had the privilege of listening to guest speaker David Ewald (@iamewald / @uncorkedstudios), the Chief Design Officer for Uncorked Studios in Portland, Oregon. Uncorked Studios is a design studio that connects people, technology and context to create change. In simple terms, Ewald described Uncorked Studios as a Portland-based company intending to make a global impact.

The two most significant sub-sections (that caught my attention) in which David Ewald touched upon during his presentation was design and technology. After hearing David speak, I was quickly observant of the connection between design and technology. I knew that both design and technology went hand-in-hand, however, I never thought of it in the perspective that David enlightened us on. The only realm I considered design and technology to be related by was how companies could make advanced technology compatible with a good looking device. Although that perspective isn’t wrong, in fact, that is a major proponent of this relationship, Ewald described design to be both a practice built upon making things for other people and as a way of thinking and moving to enhance life. This caught my attention because I had never thought of design in this context. According to Ewald, the design is crucial for evolving technology because the most upcoming advancements revolve around technology that has a connection between digital and physical space. I found this to be particularly notable because this is something we see all the time now. In our current world, we have things like augmented reality, touch screens for virtually anything and so much more. Although the expansion of technology and design have been overtly positive for the functionality of society, there remain to be implications that have arose.

Posted on VentureBeat under the technology sub-section, there is an article titled “Facebook, Microsoft and 32 other tech firms sign cybersecurity pledge” and was written by Paul Sawers (@PSAWERS) on April 17, 2018. The article talked about how these 34 tech firms have “committed to not help governments advance their cyber warfare efforts” (VentureBeat). Although seeming promising with a pinch of restoration in humanity, there was a caveat that caught my attention. There were four notable absences from the list of the 34 tech firms; Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and Google. I found this to be particularly disturbing because in my experience these are the technology firms that withhold the majority of our PERSONAL information. If any of these companies were willing to help governments with their cyber warfare efforts, then the end of humanity and freedom in technology will be lost forever. In relation to this scary reality, there have been advancements in technology that are creating an even less transparent divide between what is real and fake. Posted on Business Insider, there is an article titled “A viral video that appeared to show Obama calling Trump a ‘dipshit’ shows a disturbing new trend called ‘deepfakes’” written by Kaylee Fugan on April 17, 2018. Deepfakes are videos of someone saying something that didn’t happen. Some people may ask how this is possible and the answer is in your hands (literally). This video, in particular, was “fabricated by emerging video-editing technology” (Business Insider) and the same technology stands constant in apps such as SnapChat and other facially recognition based ones. Essentially, this emergence of technology will be the future of fake news and will be used in a multitude of vindictive ways, such as making pornographic videos attempting to depict the person(s) performing are someone else. Where has our world gone to and where is it going to?

Work Cited:

Fagan, Kaylee. “A Viral Video That Appeared to Show Obama Calling Trump a 'Dips---' Shows a Disturbing New Trend Called 'Deepfakes'.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 Apr. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/obama-deepfake-video-insulting-trump-2018-4.

Sawers, Paul. “Facebook, Microsoft, and 32 Other Tech Firms Sign Cybersecurity Pledge.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 17 Apr. 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/04/17/facebook-microsoft-and-32-other-tech-firms-sign-cybersecurity-pledge/.

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Blog Post #1 - Digital Disruption

Before attending my first lecture of J408: Demystifying Media, I had little to no preconceived notions as to what the course would be like or what it would entail. Quickly, I learned that my skepticism would lead me to leave my first class only eager to learn more.

           Week one of class entailed the usual meet and greet formalities that are considered mundane but mandatory. Following a brief introduction of each student and the instructor, our class began following a slide show that talked about the rapid growth of technology and digital disruption within our society. Specifically focusing on topics such as the innovation of new technologies, placing an emphasis on social media and how it has structured our society and the way we communicate today, we learned that without the presence of technological advances that we consider ‘normal’ our means of life would be significantly different (and probably much, much, much more difficult). On top of graphs showing the trends of growth among these technologies, our class talked about important ramifications that certain technology, such as social media, can bring forth when rapid growth occurs. What I took away from this discussion is although technology is rapidly growing, it can cause serious disruption among the way we develop as a civilization.

           Following week one of class, I decided to do some research for myself (and for this class obviously, too). On the site VentureBeat, there is an article titled “Zuckerberg Doesn’t Rule Out that Facebook App Audit Could Take Years” and it was written by a contributor named Anna Hensel. Written on April 11, 2018, Hensel touches base with the recent negligence cases that Zuckerberg [Facebook] is enduring and for which he stands before the House Committee to talk about energy and commerce. Essentially what transpired was that Cambridge Analytica had “improperly harvested data on more than 87 million users - mostly in the United States - to create targeted advertisements” (VentureBeat). The underlying notion that makes this headline news is not the fact that it happened, but that it has been happening - since 2015. Although Zuckerberg asked them to take down the data, there was no audit to make sure that it was properly and entirely executed. I find this to be troubling and raises many red flags. Although this may be a stretch, it worries me that there is a potentially damaging reality that Zuckerberg was coerced into allowing for this to happen. Regardless of how or why it happened, it is a major breach of privacy and ties in directly with what we talked in class about; ramifications of rapid growth in technology among our society and the digital disruption that follows suit.

                       After reading VentureBeat, I drifted into Business Insider and read an article titled “3 Questions We Should Ask Ourselves About the Self-Driving Uber Accident” by Nicholas G. Evans. Recently, a woman named Elaine Herzberg was killed by an autonomous driving Uber car in Arizona. Although the car was in the testing stage for Uber, there remain to be many ethical questions we society should consider:

Could a human driver have avoided this crash?

Are self-driving cars still generally safer than human-driven cars?

How much better should self-driving cars be compared to humans before the public expects them?

These three questions present great interest because of all the hype surrounding a ‘new generation of cars’. Usually, our society associated technological advancements as a positive implementation because we have become so accustomed to it over time. However, after reading this article and those three questions, I now question whether that is the safest route to go in transportation. Yes, there is such thing as human error. But equally so, there is also such thing as error in technology. How many times has your iPhone or laptop froze, done something you did not expect or died? Would you want that to happen to a self-driving car with you as a passenger? This article dives into yet another example of digital disruption and how we cannot see past the reality that is right in front of us. Self-driving cars are not safe. At least not yet...

Cited Sources:

Hensel, Anna. “Zuckerberg Doesn't Rule out That Facebook's App Audit Could Take 'Years'.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 11 Apr. 2018, venturebeat.com/2018/04/11/zuckerberg-doesnt-rule-out-that-facebooks-app-audit-could-take-years/.

Evans, Nicholas G. “3 Questions We Should Ask Ourselves about the Self-Driving Uber Accident, According to a Philosophy Professor.” Business Insider, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/3-questions-we-should-ask-ourselves-about-the-self-driving-uber-accident-according-to-a-philosophy-professor-2018-3