Check out this 3-minute podcast I did with Alejandro Lopez, where we talk about online privacy in the United States.
Here is the link below
Month: March 2023
All the information needed
Press releases have been around since 1905. They provide valuable information not only to the public but journalists around the world. Since the takeoff of the internet, press releases have grown much more and have become way more common.
Press releases have changed with the growth of technology, allowing press releases to become more widely available rather than just seen through traditional media. With the growth of technology, press releases have incorporated multimedia and a way to access these releases online for millions of people to see and look up.
You don’t just want press releases when there is big news because “big news” doesn’t always happen. It’s about making any news have a hook that will intrigue journalists. Having a shift in a company is not the biggest news, but giving a reason for that shift can intrigue a journalist to want to dive deep into that story. This works the same for something that involves evidence. If Taco Bell were to take something off the menu, that is not newsworthy. Still, if they were to take something off the menu after finding something harmful or contaminated within that object on the menu, suddenly, it becomes a great news hook to follow and gather information about.
Press releases provide helpful information to the public and journalists looking for stories. Without press releases, people would go crazy wondering about how certain events happened without the company talking about it, and that’s what press releases do. It also doesn’t have to be a bad event that makes a press release. Some great press releases come from Apple whenever they release a new product and discuss the new features they offer. All in all, press releases are a great way to gain information through the evidence and details that they provide within these releases.
The start of something new
Vlogs and podcasts have become the new norm. Consuming them has allowed people with certain niches and hobbies to profit off things they love and build massive audiences.
Trends come and go, but some things are meant to stay, and they do. 15 years ago, watching a tv show or a movie was so common and was the biggest consumption in the video world. Vlogs, podcasts, and other youtube videos have become a completely normal and popular thing to consume.
I’ve said it before, but the biggest reason people consume other people’s content is that they resonate with it. Vlogs and podcasts allow the creators to talk about themselves and what goes on in their life. Through this, it allows fans and users to compare themselves to these creators and ultimately become fans. For example, the biggest YouTubers always have a niche, whether it be video games, makeup, fashion, sports, etc. Through these topics and the ability to record yourself, you become easily accessible to people wanting to watch the content. The way to create more engagement is just to be a likable and trustworthy person. At the end of the day, fans want to be recognized as loyal supporters who feel appreciated.
The explosion of vlogs and podcasts will set up younger generations to engage with the internet younger and younger. An example of a young youtube star is Ryans’s Toy reviews which have amassed 34 million subscribers. Soon enough, all the kids will be looking up to YouTubers before finding out about movie and tv stars.
Social media and why it’s addictive.
Social media and its algorithms are the reason apps are so addictive. Content is generated for users off their statistics and then is built into filter bubbles. Here is why social media keeps you interacting with your feed constantly.
Social media algorithms separate content among users. These algorithms allow every user to access different content from their feed. Whether it be Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, etc. All these social media companies provide algorithms based on how users interact with their feeds and who they follow, and how those users interact with their feeds. Also, filter bubbles are a huge part of these algorithms because filter bubbles groups users into certain content and will show you the same topics over and over again.
Algorithms from social media companies usually imply the same things. How long will a user interact with posts? Will the user like, comment, or share a certain post? Does the user have a mutual follower who interacts with certain posts? Most of all, is the content relevant? Ultimately providing more engagement. All this and more goes into social media algorithms and is the reason why these apps are so addictive.
Filter bubbles come in after algorithms. Filter bubbles are the content you enjoy the most and interact with, but that comes at a price. Once you are in filter bubbles, you will rarely see opposing content. For instance, if you love cute animal videos, you will never see gore content or animals being killed. I know that’s a harsh example, but everything is on social media, so deal with it. Another example is politics; if the system recognizes that you lean towards a certain party, all the political news you will receive will be from the party you engage with the most. This is detrimental because young Americans will lean towards a certain party and never get the chance to hear opposing viewpoints.
An example from my personal life is one of my friends started to see conspiracy theories on the internet and would constantly research them spending all his time going into depth about how these conspiracy theories might be true. Within a week of constantly looking into different theories, his whole feed was conspiracy theories. This is harmful because the more content you intake it will affect your personality and who you are. For months this friend of mine seemed to have become his own conspiracy theorist because of all the content he would intake. There is worse content out there to intake, and if people fall into those filter bubbles is detrimental to all of society.
So as we progress with social media, it is necessary for society to understand these algorithms and filter bubbles because most don’t. As time progresses, it’s important for people to understand why these apps are so addicting and why users constantly see the same content on a daily basis.
The usefulness of social media business profiles.
Instagram and TikTok are some of the biggest social media apps and offer business profile access. This allows for users to see basic information regarding the business and allows for users to learn more about the company but also gives easy access to buy the products.
Social media has become a powerhouse in terms of digital marketing. With apps like Instagram and TikTok, engagement and business marketing tools have allowed brands to take off just due to their presence online.
Instagram launched its business tool in 2016, and since then, it has added multiple tools surrounding the business side of social media. When the business tool first launched, it allowed regular users to turn their profiles into business ones. For brands and companies, it allowed them to put store hours, contact information, a website, a direct contact button to get in touch, and all the analytics of the business profiles. The analytics include the demographics of the audience, such as age, gender, and the impressions they got from those specific demographics. In 2020 Instagram added more to the business side of things and put in a store tab in Instagram where companies and brands could directly sell products and tickets directly from the app without leaving. With even more additions, such as stories and interactive stickers to add to stories, Instagram has set a mark on how they have helped businesses get traction online.
TikTok hasn’t been popular as long as social media companies like Snapchat and Instagram, but it does offer the best chance to blow up and exceed numbers in terms of popularity. It has similar tools to Instagram in the sense of business profiles and how users can view certain aspects of your business, like contact information, location, etc. What TikTok offers that Instagram doesn’t its popularity and how many users consume the app. A certain stat says 90% of users spend more than 52 minutes on the app a day. TikTok has the biggest numbers for engagement and can boost a profile that has 0 followers to a million in a week, and it wouldn’t be a surprise. These social media companies like TikTok and Instagram have allowed massive waves of people to cross over these accounts from companies and brands and allow them to explode on social media.
The one con of these social media companies is the pay. Most social media will pay profiles that generate a lot of content and views that also have high engagement, which would lead them to keep on regenerating high numbers in views, likes, and comments. Even though these companies receive lots of exposure and customers through these apps, they are still pumping up numbers for the social media company itself, therefore, letting these social media companies completely profit from their own “success,” which just seems to be exposure. For instance, a famous YouTuber and internet boxer KSI has amassed 9 million followers, 70 million likes, and over 200 million views on his TikTok yet has received a mere $3000 dollars from the app. So even though, TikTok and Instagram offer great business features to allow companies and brands to push their products online easily, it doesn’t repay big companies who offer users to the social media companies. This is also a reason why many influencers don’t use TikTok or Instagram as a way of making money online and instead use youtube.
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