Mae's Media Blogs

My mom always tells me not to take the quizzes you find on social media, like the Buzzfeed quizzes that we all know so well.  These quizzes promise to answer any question you have, and also all the ones that you didn't know you even had.  They will tell you where you should go, guess your favorite food, and even tell you what TV show you are. There are thousands of quizzes like this, and they can be a fun way to pass a few minutes when you are waiting for something, or trying to procrastinate. However, my mother always told me not to take them, due to the fact that they are just a way to gather your information. However, I had no idea how true this actually was, so I decided to look into it.  According to an  article by Local 8 News , some of these quizzes are designed by hackers who want your data, or who want to get you to visit another website and give them data there, or share it with your friends.  However, the article also said that not all quizzes do this...

One of my favorite book series is the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman.  This series discusses a futuristic dystopia, where abortion has been outlawed in favor of Unwinding, a medical process done to unruly, misbehaving teenagers.  They are surgically divided, and each part of their body and brain is used to help others.  There are many more complexities within the series, but that's the main idea.  In this dystopia, abortion lead to a huge civil war, known as the Heartland war, and eventually a compromise was reached that made no one happy. Although it seems crazy, this fictional dystopia is actually a logical progression of where we are now regarding abortion rights.  Currently, abortion rights are a hotly debated topic, from  editorials , to news articles and clips, and everyone seems o have an opinion. Although the series is targeted towards teens, it shows exactly what can happen when these debates can't be refereed any longer.  So many other ...

Since starting our media project, targeted ads have taken over my feed.  For our company we are looking at google, and the specific product of Google Home.  However, after looking at Google's Instagram feed repeatedly, looking for social media ads to analyze, I have seen a huge increase in ads that are specifically targeted to me.  Although I'm not actually looking to buy a Google Home, my searches have shown that I am, so now Google's posts consistently show up on my feed, and I've been seeing ads for things like Alexa, which are similar to Google home pop up, and not just on Instagram.  Ads before videos, on websites, everywhere, simply because I looked up that specific product a few times in the past few days.  While this is quite annoying, as I am definitely not in the market for a Google home, Alexa, or anything else like that, it also points to how so many of the ads we see are directly targeted to us. The type of ads that have filled my feed and my sea...

Something that I've realized throughout my experiences with social media is that sometimes you just have to remove yourself from the world of constant likes, comments, and posts.  But even though I consciously know that, it is still very difficult to actually make it happen.  In a world where notifications are always within reach, and constant validation is something we all seek, disconnecting is no longer just about turning the phone off, but becomes something that requires a constant effort, and in many senses, a complete lifestyle change.  Disconnecting is something that I often want to do, but I never do when I'm at home or going about my daily life. When my phone is right there, and I feel that I have nothing better to do, its too easy to simply go back to the world of scrolling pointlessly.  However, every summer, I am in a sense, forced to disconnect for a week, and this has consistently resulted in the best weeks of my life.  Every summer, my extended...

Whenever I'm listening to the radio, or listening to music, there's one ad that constantly comes on.  It is an awful ad in many ways, and the main thing I know about it is that I hate it.  We will be driving in the car and it will come on, or ill be working on homework while listening to music, and it will come on, and every time it only succeeds in making me mad.  The ad is horrible in a few ways.  The reasons I dislike it so much are mainly the fact that the voice actors are really bad, and the whole dialogue seems very forced and fake, which is something that I find really annoying.  However, the main issue with the ad is the fact that you completely cannot understand what they are saying when they actually say the name of the company.  There is a whole dialogue on how one person failed math and has to go to summer school, and then the other person tells them about a better summer school program where you don't have to go everyday, but for the life of m...

The Persuaders was the first documentary that I had seen that focused on the impact of ads, language, and overall clutter on the way we think, live, and act.  Seeing how advertisers and politicians alike conduct focus groups and create ads, all with the sole purpose of getting someone, like me, to buy their product was really eye opening. The statistics they offered on how many ads the average person seems everyday was very surprising to me, especially given that we know that number has increased exponentially in the years since this film was mad. Personally, if I thought about it, I wouldn't think that I saw more than a 1000 ads a day.  I don't watch to much TV, or spend a bunch of time on social media, so I felt as if that number was much to high. But over the past few days, I've really looked for ads, and I've realized that I definitely do see about that many ads.  From billboards and buses, to sponsored Instagram posts, ads in front of YouTube videos or that come u...

On April 21st, 2018, there was a Neo-Nazi Rally held in the small town of Newnan, which is located in Georgia.  However, depending on where you read about the event, it sounds very different. Fox News had an  article  entitled Neo-Nazi Rally near Atlanta Remains Mostly Peaceful, Officers say, whereas an article from the New York times was titled  Neo-Nazi rally draws about 2 dozen people, and upends a small Georgia city .  From the titles alone, a difference between the coverage is evident. The New York Times article focuses on the fact that the rally only drew in a few people, yet still had a large impact on the town, whereas the Fox News article points out how it was mainly peaceful. But beyond the title, there were many differences between the coverage of the event in the two articles. Both articles detailed the 700 plus police officers in attendance, but Fox News said they were in riot gear, but the New York times simply said that they were wearing black hel...