Social Media Changed The Way We Handle National Disasters

 

View the article: Sandy Was Our Social Storm, But at What Cost?

Today marks the one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, where our social media sites were flooded with pictures and stories of the horrific event. According to the article, over 1 million photos with Sandy-related hashtags were uploaded just days after the storm. This shows how much of an impact our new social networks have on our lives. Instagram has become bigger in the past few years and it is clear that they created a new outlet for people to express themselves. Here are few photos from Instagram from Hurricane Sandy:

 

According to a Department of Homeland Security report, "Sandy, however, marked a shift in the use of social media in disasters." This is because it was the first major crisis in which local and federal agencies used social media to disseminate emergency information to residents and provide emergency services in response to residents' posts. This gives social networks a new quality that could potentially save lives. Having constant communication with the world has it's pros and cons. Issues have also arose where people may be wasting their battery life to send out a picture or tweet, when they might not have access to electricity for days. What is more important to us? Staying in-touch with social networks or maintaining an open line during times when it may be our only life line?

 

In the article it's explained that NYC reigns with more than 340 social media accounts. Social media managers are normally able to post freely but the rules are different during times of a disaster. A team of experts has to approve any and all updates.

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has added a feature to their mobile app called, "Disaster Reporter." This allows people to send in any pictures of major weather events. All of the photos are then verified and added to an interactive map, which is on FEMA's website.

The director of digital communications for FEMA said, "A lot of the messaging when we announced the feature was to encourage folks to take photos, but most importantly to take photos safely."


It is important to remember safety anytime you are willing to go out during a storm to capture a picture for your social networks. The article begins by talking about New York City resident Lauren Abraham, 23, who went out on Oct. 29 of last year to document the historic storm with her iPhone. Abraham tripped and fell over a downed power line and was electrocuted to death.

Stories like this help us to remember that getting a breath-taking picture isn't more important than our safety. Hurricane Sandy was a tragic event and will always be remembered thanks to our social networks.

Apple 2013 Profit

Apple sold 150 million iPhones, 71 million iPads in 2013

If you read the tech blogs and social networks you will get many opinions of users about Apple vs. Droid. You will read get many opinions about why Droid products is better than Apple. Then the ultimate showdown came when the Samsung Galaxy was developed for Droid because it was the first product had as much success and raves as the IPhone. Despite the competition Apple managed to have a profitable 2013 so far.

According to Todd Wasserman from Marshable business  blog Apple sold 150 million iPhones and 71 million iPads in 2013. Apple brought in 171 billion revenues and profit 37 billion dollars. Apple’s iTunes media store,  where Apple users buy their music, podcasts, movies, applications and show series contribute 16 billion dollars to Apple’s fortune in 2013. Even though Apple has lost some popularity with users because of pricing and other products that is being launched, they still was able to remain profitable. They introduced over 10 products in 2013 and did very well in sale. Although Apple stock declined declined 5% they’re still the best in the game.

 

Is Miley still being Miley?

Just for a moment imagine Miley Cyrus with her tongue inside her mouth without ruby red lipstick.....

                                     


This is what was streaming across the Internet, and Cyrus actually looked extremely elegant and simplistic for once with minimum skin being exposed. This just reinforces her image to the public, she wants people to know that she can be anyone. She can be that classy girl, and she can be a corrupted hipster. Miley is the definition of a rebel, she is so authentic in the way she presents herself, and strays away from what society expects of her. No one expected Cyrus to be wearing this elegant dress, and that is why she in fact wore it. Just when everyone thought she was turning a corner she tweeted a picture that brought us back to her "former" rebellious self.

 

                               https://twitter.com/MileyCyrus/status/393128451148087296/photo/1

 

 

She wants to keep everyone guessing, and curious. Cyrus is a girl that creates a lot of hype, whether it's negative, or positive people are essentially talking about her. She is constantly tweeting, and keeping the public informed on her crazy daily life. Not only is she tweeting, but people/credible sources are tweeting to her as well. The Huffington post disappointedly tweeted shortly after her promiscuous Twitter pic was revealed, but many others were just loving her short little transformation. There is always going to be discussion of whether Cyrus should in a sense settle down, but this would mean her image is altered, making her someone she's not. She displays on Twitter how she really feels and does not by any means hold back. Overall, Twitter is a great social media site for self expression, it's quick easy, and very accessible. People feel even more connected with celebrities through Twitter because they can actually interact with them.

There is always going to be discussion of whether Cyrus should in a sense settle down, but this would mean her image is altered, making her someone she's not.


For More Info:
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/24/miley-is-still-being-miley-and-more-news-to-note/
https://twitter.com/MileyCyrus/status/393128451148087296/photo/1

 

Cristiano Ronaldo's Racy Twitter Post: Was it Too Much?

 Have you ever said something that came out wrong, but sounded right in your head? Awkward, isn’t it? Let’s be honest though, we’re all guilty of it at some point in our lives. This past week, soccer heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo turned heads after his sketchy comment he posted on Twitter.

Ronaldo posted...

 

This November, Ronaldo will debut his very own CR7 underwear line. The target market will be focused towards men and boys. As a promotion for the new line, there was a contest held on Facebook specifically for boys. If you wanted to win a trip to meet and see Cristiano Ronaldo play, then you would need to post a crazy fan photo, showing your love for CR7.  

Ultimately, Ronaldo by no means was trying to sound creepy or come across as a pedophile; he was just thanking his fans for participating in the CR7 Boys Underwear Contest. Ronaldo later apologized on Twitter for his previous racy tweet. “Wrong phrases out of this contest can be tricky, especially for the ones not paying attention,” stated Ronaldo. He later chose the winner for the contest.

I believe that this was truly just an accident, and Ronaldo stumbled on his use of words. I personally feel that the contest in and of itself had an extremely awkward name, but it did as it was supposed to: and that was to draw attention to the public. Overall, the incident was handled in a professional manner, (tweet deleted and apology soon afterwards) and by no means will Cristiano Ronaldo’s brand be tarnished.

India Joining in on Television/Social Media Convergence

India is finally catching up to what we already do in the United States: converging television and Twitter.  Airtel Digital TV, a division of Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, announced the integration of Twitter with its current digital TV platform.  Powering this service is Bangalore-based Brizz TV, a company centered around television technology.  This new teaming will give the already 8.5 million subscribers an opportunity to utilize second-screen viewing while watching their favorite television programs.

Second-screen viewing allows viewers of a specific program to watch the program and utilize social media to share the experience with others at the same time.  Users and viewers can interact with each other, tweet about the show, and follow other tweets related to the show.  The service being brought by Airtel will take it one step further, giving access to Twitter through your TV and with the click of your remote.  This will add to the already existing 373 channels, which include 17 HD channels and 5 other interactive ones.  The best part is there will be no extra charge for viewers!

The company could plan to off-shoot the cost by streamlining Twitter ads and marketing promotions with their television service.  It was also suggested that Airtel could use this to promote other internet services that the company provides, with the decline of voice and SMS (short message service) business in India, forcing telecommunication companies to seek new forms of income.

Party Hard? Your Potential Boss Will Know

You Won't Have A Job In The Morning

"New research has found that employers who quickly dismiss applicants based on unpleasant status updates and incriminating photos from a trip to Vegas may actually be missing out on great talent."

What Social Media Can (Really) Tell You About Job Applicants

 

"Have you ever been afraid your employer was looking at what you post? Reality check, they are. Why do employers look at job applicant's social media status in the first place? Wouldn't that be an invasion of privacy? What about my "First Amendment" rights?," are all valid arguments made by hot-tempered job searchers who were just denied a job based on their social media presence.

Is this really unfair? Tons of research has been created to defend and justify employers' actions. A study done by J. William Stoughton, Lori Foster Thompson, and Adam W. Meade, "Big Five Personality Traits Reflected in Job Applicants' Social Media Postings", identifies link's between an employees work performance and their online behaviors and characteristics.  According to North Carolina State University's department of psychology's published journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, unfiltered personal interactions, including photos and comments, consisting of profanity and references to drug an alcohol use, are what employers watch out for the most. 

Dr. Lori Foster Thompson, co-author of the study, stated, "Companies often scan a job applicant's Facebook profile to see whether there is evidence of drug or alcohol use, believing that such behavior means the applicant is not 'conscientious,' or responsible and self-disciplined." 

Will Stoughton, lead author of the study and a Ph.D. student at NCSU, commented, "This means companies are eliminating some conscientious job applicants based on erroneous assumptions regarding what social media behavior tells us about the applicants."

Let's take this into perspective. If you were an employer, wouldn't you want to know that job applicant's true personality? An employer has the right to defend their company by preventing those who tend to voice their opinion and engage in arguments in the virtual world to be hired. With that statement, you could get into the discussion of whether or not social media postings and online presence is an accurate representation of someone's personality. Some may argue that the web is a place for anyone to post without putting a face to the text. As if what persons are saying on the web are disregarded because they are not necessarily voicing the text. Another argument could be that the same text could be perceived in 10 different ways; an argument to one person could be sarcastic conversation with a good friend. The employer will never know that. Also, should employers base hiring of an employee strictly on their online behavior or their credentials? If a job applicant made one controversial tweet, does that single happening reflect himself or herself as a professional? It depends on the company. If the company has a large image online all potential threats will be cut off. 

Watch what you post on personal, unblocked, social media accounts because employers are starting to inaccurately evaluate a users online persona.

It only takes one tweet to lose a dream job.

                                                                                   Chloe Smith

 

For more information:
How Social Media Can Help (Or Hurt) You In Your Job Search
1 in 10 Young Job Hunters Rejected Because Of Their Social Media
Job seekers getting asked for Facebook passwords

Facebook Revokes Ban On Beheading Videos

                                 

                                             For More Information:



     

   Facebook has decided that people should be able to post and watch whatever videos they want. Back in May, Facebook decided that people should not post videos of people being beheaded onto the site. Last week ,a video of a woman getting beheaded surfaced on the site and this sparked outrage. Users pleaded with Facebook to remove the video from the site. The BBC launched an investigation that lead to the UK Prime Minister Prime Minister David Cameron, who tweeted that the content could have a negative impact on those who see it.

   The “Rights and Responsibilities" page on Facebook lists this warning to users under the "Safety" section: "You will not post content that: is hate speech, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence." While talking to a Facebook representative the BBC reported that: "People are sharing this video on Facebook to condemn it. If the video were being celebrated, or the actions in it encouraged, our approach would be different.

Since some people object to graphic video of this nature, we are working to give people additional control over the content they see. This may include warning them in advance that the image they are about to see contains graphic content."

   On October 22 at 5:45pm BBC News Tech Editor Leo Kelion confirmed that a warning has now been added to the aforementioned video of the woman's beheading. The warning reads: "WARNING! This video contains extremely graphic content and may be upsetting."  At 7:55 pm Facebook removed the video.. Facebook said it will "strengthen" the enforcement of its policies when it comes to graphic or violent content. The post reads:

First, when we review content that is reported to us, we will take a more holistic look at the context surrounding a violent image or video, and will remove content that celebrates violence. Second, we will consider whether the person posting the content is sharing it responsibly, such as accompanying the video or image with a warning and sharing it with an age-appropriate audience. Based on these enhanced standards, we have re-examined recent reports of graphic content and have concluded that this content improperly and irresponsibly glorifies violence. For this reason, we have removed it.

 

How to advertise on Social Media.

http://mashable.com/2013/10/15/social-advertising/

                This article was fabulous because it summarizes the important facts of advertising on social media. This article also hits close to home because I am a communications major at St John Fisher College and I am currently enrolled in an advertising class. I started as a communications student back in 2001 and I have notice that being able to write and advertise on different platforms is important.  Todd started out with the basics in creating a successful advertisement for a product. Todd explained that knowing your target audience is most important when creating a successful ad. To have a successful advertisement and to reach your audience on Facebook and Twitter, Todd states that you must use know the basics about your audience such as demographics, geographic and buying behaviors, you could obtain his information by researching and you target audience.

 

 

Facebook will allow you to follow your target audience through turnkey programs which would make it easy for the creator to find the audience according to the article. Social media relies on customer’s feedback and what they are buying.  The advertisement should have interaction and engage the actual consumer so you could learn as much about the customer as possible. Social media allows the creator to be funny and creative in the matter of seconds which will heighten the ad making it successful. Another good tip for getting more exposure online is sharing the information on social media. Sharing on social media is easy and a fun way to pass the word or create a buzz about your product. This could help the creator keep count on social media how many people your actually reaching and liking the product. Lastly you want to be able to optimize your advertisement so that it works on mobile devices. Most people are carrying around smart phones and when you creating an advertisement you want the ad to function a mobile phones and ipads. This will give you a broad audience to reach if you create ads that work on mobile devices. 1.5 billion People in the world carry smart phones according to the Business World so this will give you a large audience that would possibly see your advertisement.

Only The Good Die Young

 

 

 

This past Friday America mourned for the loss Adrian Peterson's 2-year-old son. Right now the Vikings star is trying to keep matter private which is obviously normal given the tragic circumstances. This kind of news is hard to comprehend, especially when a child is allegedly killed. It was later discovered that his son was in fact brutally abused to death by Joseph Robert Patterson, 27. If convicted he will could essentially be in jail up to 40 years with an additional $80,000 fine. The news spread quickly across the Country, and Adrian surprisingly was the first to expand his gratitude on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

This just reinforces how much he actually looks to his fans as a structured support system. Above all, he realizes what it means to give back to the fans even in troubled times. His teammates weren't forgotten either, he made a shout out to his fraternity brothers for all the phone calls, tweets, and texts. I think Adrian acted in a very professional matter, and honestly he is expected to act that way. He could have exploded on Twitter using profanity toward Patterson, but instead he took the high road. Below is a picture of LeBron James, Miami Heat star, he was among the most vocal and sympathetic throughout this emotional rollercoaster.

 

 

LeBron definitely expressed his condolences on Twitter as well, creating a hash tag #SickforAP.

 

 

 

 

For more info on this matter: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/us/adrian-peterson-son-alleged-assault/

Social Media Provides Tools for Personal Branding

 

Carmin Chappell writes an intriguing article on how she used social media to brand herself at a young age. She is 17 and has tapped into how to use these new networks to her advantage.

 

Twitter is a way to give one-liners and let your followers know what you're doing and sometimes gives them a taste of your personal philosophy on life. Carmin says it's important to let some of your personality shine through with the limited 140 characters you have. This way, her followers can peer into her thoughts and see that what she has to say is insightful.

I would have to say that most people probably don't use Twitter in this way. Many times teenagers and young adults use Twitter as a diary or even worse, when they are intoxicated. I would think Carmin would agree with me when I say, this is bad branding.

 

Social media brings the new generation a great outlet into selling yourself to the world. Instagram is also a great way to show people your "artistic" side, even if you aren't that artsy. This helps us to appeal to many different audiences to get across what about ourselves we're trying to sell.

 

One of the biggest problems with this is that teenagers are using these tools at such a young age, and don't know what they should be branding. Many times, we don't actually know who we are and what we want to be until after high school. This could pose a problem if kids are growing up with every social media site. They may already be branding themselves without knowing it.

 

The great thing about social media is that it is a constant flow, and many times only the most recent information is seen by the public. 

 

Carmin touches on a very important point in this article, that each social media provides a distinct niche to showcase different aspects of your life. It is easy to see when people do not know that there are specific purposes for each network. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all completely different.

 

When you realize which aspects of your life you want to be filtered through which social network, you can create an inflated version of yourself via social media. This might not seem like the best idea for creating a real reflection of yourself, but it does help in maintaining the social image you want. 

Carmin explains why she thinks Facebook users have declined, or at least the interest in this social network has lost it's spark.

 

"Social media’s shift in purpose from communicating with friends to feeding our growing digital narcissism explains the decline in Facebook among teens."

 

In a sense, Carmin is saying that Facebook is too close to home, a little too real. By limiting yourself to 140 characters or one picture, there is less information that can be put out and more of it is in your control.

 

Let this be a message to all social networks, new and old, to stay in your niche and not try to do everything. People like having a social network for each aspect of their life. When it is all on one, it generalizes the audiences in a negative way.

 

"Almost all popular social media sites are now associated with certain characteristics. Instagram lets users see the world through an artistic lens. Twitter is for sharp punch lines and the occasional philosophical musing. Tumblr is a safe haven for the shameless super-fan. Vine fosters over-the-top humor. And with its new lower age limit, LinkedIn wants teens to develop their professional sides online."

 

 

 To read this article: I'm 17 and It's All About Brand 'Me'

 



Breaking the Rules For A Good Cause: Chicago Bears Brandon Marshall Supports Mental Health Awareness

Breaking the Rules For A Good Cause: Chicago Bears Brandon Marshall Supports Mental Health Awareness

       
      Have you ever wanted to be different, but were afraid to break the rules? Chicago Bears Wide Receiver, Brandon Marshall, did just that during Thursday night’s Giants and Bears NFL matchup. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, hundreds of NFL players have been seen wearing pink cleats with their uniforms to help support breast cancer research. This is “legal under NFL rules.” Although these are the legal rules under the NFL, that doesn’t mean that players will always abide.

     Before the Giants and Bears took the field during last night’s game, Marshall announced that he would be wearing his own lime-green cleats to support Mental Health Awareness Week, which runs from October 6^th to the 12^th. Soon after, the NFL told Marshall that he would most likely receive a hefty fine for wearing non-league material. However, that didn’t faze the Chicago Bears wide receiver. Back in 2011, Marshall was diagnosed with, “borderline personality disorder,” and has been an advocate for mental health ever since.

       Having the NFL tell Marshall that he would be fined, only made him more excited to help his cause. He stated that he would match whatever the NFL fined him, and donate it to a charity. "I'm going to get fined and I'm going to match that, and we want to partner with a cancer-care [charity]," Marshall told ESPN.com. "We're still working on the details to give, really give back to an organization that is doing work in the mental health area. [Also], the diagnosis of breast cancer can hit families hard. It affects all of us."

     Overall, it’s safe to say that Brandon Marshall stole the show during Thursday night’s game. He knew what the consequence were if he wore the different apparel, but he didn't care. Marshall dared to be different, and broke the rules for a good cause.

 

Here's a photo of Marshall's cleats during last night's game!

(Photo courtesy of CJ Fogler)

 

 

 

BlackBerry: No chances of survival.

For BlackBerry, this might be the end.

Keeping up with the bigger brands 

seems almost impossible.

BlackBerry Talking to Google and Samsung About Potential Sale 

When you think of a smartphone, your mind thinks about the Apple iPhone, the Windows phone, and an Android phone. Your mind never thinks about BlackBerry. Today the term "BlackBerry" is only referenced in the textbook as the first company to make email go mobile and as the introduction to smart cellular devices. From there on out, every business professional had a BlackBerry. That is, until the Apple iPhone and Android came around. 

Now the company has been remodeling their mission statement and their products in hope of competing with the top brands. As of late,

BlackBerry is discussing a possible "buy-out," in hopes of selling to Samsung, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel and LG. The response from those companies was not promising. A spokesperson from LG actually denied knowing about the offer. The company recently fired 4,500, about 35% of its workforce, employees and had lost over $1 billion in its second quarter.

CEO of the company, Thorsten Heins, stated, "The rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly." Suggesting the BlackBerry will never be able to keep up. What does this mean to the future of the company?

Right now, the only thing going to BlackBerry is its "revolutionizing" appeal, secure messaging system, and its patent collection. The company used to be worth about $100 billion in 2007, now it is nowhere near that amount.

Will BlackBerry be another Palm? Palm came out almost at the same time as the Apple iPhone did. The company was worth over $9 billion when it started up in 2001, then fell behind innovation. Leaving the company worth less than $1.2 billion of which HP ended up buying the company for in 2012.

Iain Gilliot, president of market-strategy consultancy IGR, believes that, when comparing BlackBerry to Palm, "BlackBerry as we know it today is done. But BlackBerry as we used to know it — something's going to live in that form. The thing with BlackBerry is they have two sides to this business. They have 18 million customers using their software — Palm never had that."

What are your thoughts? Is BlackBerry done for good? Or do you think with more innovation of their product, increased research on their target markets needs and wants, or possible technological improvements they could be successful?

                                                                                           Chloe Smith


For more information:
"BlackBerry Talking to Google and Samsung About Potential Sale: Report" http://on.mash.to/1aWE8K5
"BlackBerry Lays Off 4,500 Employees, Loses Nearly $1B In Q2"  http://bit.ly/19yqPCl 
"7 Reasons Why BlackBerry Sucks and You Shouldn't Buy One" http://bit.ly/JVMQwH
"Is BlackBerry done?" http://on.mash.to/18lPu8S

Apple To Reveal New iPads at October 22 Event

 

 

In usual apple fashion, the release of new gadgets is on the horizon. Both the new iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5s were released along with iOS 7 just a short of a month ago and already, apple is planning the release of the second generation iPad mini as well as the fifth 5^th generation of the iPad with retina display.

After virtually a year of not having any updates on the iPads, he unveiling of the new iPads is reported to be discussed on Apple’s October 22^nd event. According to an article by Seth Fiegerman, multiple sources suggest that the 5^th generation iPad will have a “thinner, lighter design similar to that of the iPad Mini.” As well as the 2^nd generation iPad mini is rumored to have the retina display similar to the 4^th generation iPad.

As consumers, there are times that the market for tablets can be overwhelming and can appear oversaturated.  Apple is commonly known for rapid fire releases of new gadgets for people to indulge in excess of. I feel like Apple does give the consumer an adequate amount of time to become familiar with their products. Just when you think that you might be getting familiar to the operating system and the overall feel of the product, there is something new for the consumer to have to get adjusted to. Even with the precautions some people have with Apple, they never cease to amaze people with the products that they do release.

 

Article

Is Twitter Not as Popular as Facebook?

Twitter has released an IPO that reveals information concerning the company's reach as compared to Facebook.  It appears that there are more internet users that use Facebook than don't, while for Twitter, that statistic is reversed, with less internet users using Twitter than not.  More than half of internet users in the United States use Facebook on a daily basis, while only a fifth of the users in the United States use Twitter at least once a month.  The gap isn't only showing in the United States, but there is a substantial ratio in Facebook to Twitters users on a global scale as well.  Twitter had 218 million users globally, as compared to the 1.15 billion users of Facebook.  It is clearly evident that Facebook is more mainstream than Twitter.


Twitter acknowledged the need to penetrate new users and convince them of the value of the brand.  Some users may only see Twitter as a vehicle to tweet or for influential users with large audiences.  New users to Twitter may become confused with the service and give up early in the use of it before discovering some of the other benefits of the program.

Twitter plans to counter some of these disadvantages by establishing "advertising revenue per timeline view."  However, there may be awareness issues on that end as well, as many advertising executives may not be aware of Twitter or of how they can use it as a resource for advertisements.  Facebook has already implemented an advertising strategy that works well for them, and advertisers may see them as the only outreach to customers in social media.

There is a feeling in the company that they may never reach the level of popularity that Facebook currently enjoys.  While Twitter understands that they must educate the public on their product to gain more users, it is still a fairly new platform that needs time for development and growth. 

For more information, check out http://on.mash.to/1faElye

How Social Media Can Amplify The Aggressive Tendencies Of Some Sports Fans

                                         to view this story:http://on.mash.to/GzVKCn

On Tuesday night Dallas Latos, wife of Mat Latos, a Starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds was attacked. She was at PNC Park in Pittsburgh watching the Pittsburg Pirates beat the Cincinnati reds when the attack occurred. She posted about the alleged incident on her twitter account during the game Tuesday night. Latos got punched in the head three times and couldn’t defend herself because she was trying to protect herself. Police officers couldn’t arrest anyone on assault charges because it appeared people were just drunk.
 Latos allegations provoked a set of nasty twitter comments from Pirate fans. Some calling her a liar, saying that she just wants her fifteen minutes of fame and others asking her how did it feel to get her ass beat. This is just another way to prove that social media can sometimes increase the ferociousness of some sports fans. Sports fans are the one group of people you don’t want to piss off. If you do; they will attack. Social media`s role in this is that it is giving people the chance to say some really nasty stuff to one another. Social media is not a bad thing but people can sometimes use it in a bad way.
The police said they considered the case closed on Wednesday morning, and Latos has to file charges if she wants to but No arrests were made. Sgt. John Fisher said in a Wednesday morning press conference that this is a case of  overzealous fans and banter back and forth between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati fans.

Celluar Competition

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/freedompop-plan-free_n_4024623.html?ref=topbar

            Verizon Wireless, AT&T and other carriers are probably thinking of the next idea to compete with the Freedompop free calling and texting service. The competition is changing for cell phone carriers every day because customers are becoming more complex. Customers want to see more for their money and they want flexible options when choosing a carrier. The beginning of third quarter 2013 top name carriers started launching “no contract” plans. These plans were created for customers that didn’t want to be in contract and it will also let the customer swap out the phones at the 6 month mark instead of waiting two years because of a contract. This more was attempt to provide customers with more options as the cellular industry evolves.

 

 

 

Freedompop is a wireless provider that claims to provide a 100% free 4G WI-FI for customer. Freedompop is now introducing plans for customers that will provide them with 200 minutes, 500 hundred text messages and 500 megabytes all for free with a purchase of a phone.  Freedompop is getting the attention from popular networks such as WSJ, Bloomberg Business Week and CNBA who stated, “Throwing a firebomb in the middle of the industry”.  Will Freedompop actually change the industry and take the number one spot from Verizon?  Big name carriers such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T you could spend as much as 150 dollars for just one line of service. Free sounds a lot better to some families that are shopping around for cell phone service. Can’t wait to see what brilliant marketing and campaign plans that will come from Verizon and AT&T will come up with next.

 

Breaking News: Government Shutdown

                      


On Monday September 30, 2013 the Government of the United States of America officially shutdown. This basically means that about 800,000 federal employees will not be seeing their paycheck for a little while. It isn't just affecting people on a national level, but it is subsequently affecting the average American. This kind of news didn't just leave citizens sitting relaxed on their couch as they flipped through the early Tuesday news, in fact, many were in a state of panic and confusion. What does this exactly mean? When this sort of message is addressed to our nation it is only natural for people to become greatly concerned. News spread very fast, and for many night owls on twitter they were some of the many who received the breaking news first. Twitter blew up with many hastags like, #Governementshutdownbecause, #shutdown, and #Governmentshutdown. As I scrolled through my own twitter feed I saw these as well, however, some people seemingly turned the whole issue at hand into a joke, or to be taken light heartedly.

 

 

There were even tweets talking about how society could potentially turn out like "The Purge". This could essentially be an extreme way of looking at the economic crisis, or it could be someone's way of trying to spark argument. Federal Facebook and Twitter accounts such as NASA, U.S Capitol, and National Zoo have also stopped responding until the shutdown is over. National Parks, The Statue of Liberty, are all closed to the public at this time, as well as the NASA workplace.

 

 

 

 

 

I really don't think twitter is the best place to go when you want in depth information on a serious issue. It is a great place to go for a quick brief overview on what is going on, but if you want the real story you have to take it upon yourself to visit news cites, or even watch the actual event take place on television. Sometimes Twitter can stretch the truth and exaggerate what is really happening, but it is almost like a prologue to an actual story, or event. In this case Twitter notified most of the public that there was in fact a serious issue, but in order to dig deeper you have to dig into other sources and articles for a better understanding.

 

 

 

 

 

For more Info visit:

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/tweet-blackout-federal-agencies-organizations-government-shuts/story?id=20430932

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/29/us-government-shutdown-services-affected