msl1036 | Weekly Words

The Derby article talks about how fake news has recently affected society. It talks about recent fake news that was brought up when Donald Trump was running for president and fake news that was spread about the COVID-19 virus. The Atlantic’s article discusses fake news in Ameirca and how it is leading Americans to not want to read the news at all because they don’t know what can be trusted and what can’t. Fake news has affected the whole world in many ways. This article focuses on politics that have encountered fake news and it shows that Repulicans stumble upon fake news more often than Democrats do.

E: At the top of the Derby article they state that over 45% of Europe believes they run into fake news almost daily. They also linked several creditable sources like the Oxford Dictionary and other articles about fake news stories about COVID-19 and Trump saying that drinking bleach cures COVID.

The way The Atlantic is set up and the way it looks remind me of other news sites like Forbes and Barron’s. This article even quotes CNN and The Washington Post to back up the point they are trying to get across.

S: The Guardian is a trusted news publisher that many, many news websites use as sources. This article itself was published by the University of Derby in England. This particular article was written by Dr. William Von Gordon who is a professor in competitive psychology at the University of Derby. I believe the author being a professor at the University of Derby makes this article quite credible.

In The Atlantic’s article they linked many sources like the Pew Research Center Study that also discusses American’s need for fake news to be shut down and controlled. David A. Graham, the author of this article is known for his many other political writings that talk about Trump and supreme court judges.

C: This article’s context is quite relevant because it uses two very recent events as an example. The article revolves around the fake news and accusations that surround COVID.

In The Atlantic it discusses the 2016 election and the amount of people were exposed to fake news but luckily the election was not thrown by the exposure of fake news. The article also talk about how when Trump was president there was lots of news released that was against him that he told the public was fake news.

A: There is only one picture of a quote from another professor at the University of Derby. In the end, they give five tips on how to spot fake news. I believe the main audience for this would be anyone who has been tricked by fake news before and is trying to get advice on how to steer clear of fake news in the future.

I believe the intended audience for The Atlantic article is anyone who is interested in the affects of fake news on politics. I also think it is for anyone who wants to learn more about the differences between fake news and real news.

P: The overall purpose of this article is to keep people informed on what fake news is like and how to differentiate real news from fake news. Like any other news article their main purpose is to just inform people and let society know what is happening.

The purpose of this article is to let people know that even the most professional situations can be tainted by fake news. This article is purely informal and not very narrative. Therefore the overall purpose is to keep everyone updated and aware of what is happening in the world.

E: The overall tone of this article is neutral and informative. The layout is quite broken up, there isn’t any really long passages which makes it a lot easier to read. The big bold headlins really outline what is coming up in the next section.

Like the Derby article, The Atlantic article is also split up into smaller paragraphs which makes the article easier to read. They also include a few bar graphs depicting how often democrats and republicans see fake news.

Harmful Facebook

Posted on March 28, 2022 by msl1036

As we become more technologically advanced almost daily, people find more and more ways to expose themselves and others on social media. While social media is meant to share personal information and updates on our lives, some people may take it a bit too far. Facebook is one of the most used social media platforms across the globe and like many other platforms, they too have added a “Facebook Live” feature. This feature allows Facebook users to stream live videos for their followers and maybe even the public to see. While some people may stream a live video to get direct and immediate feedback, others use it to show disturbing, harmful, and hard-to-see content like hate speech, violence, pornography, racism, even violence, and suicide. Facebook has admitted in a Forbes article that they have lost control over the content that their users have been posting. Since they feel they have lost control they have placed rules around content like this. This article by CNet goes more in-depth about the rules and regulations of live streaming self-harm on Facebook Live.

E: Forbes itself is a very well-known and trusted magazine and website that mainly focuses on business, technology, lifestyle, entrepreneurship, and investing. In the article linked above they share links that bring the reader directly to Mark Zuckerberg’s blog post on Facebook. They use his name several times in the article to ensure that the information they are sharing in the article is directly linked to the issue at hand and is in fact true. CNet is another website that showcases relevant articles about software, gaming, technology, and product reviews. The article on CNet links to another news website known as The Guardian and also to the very well-known Wall Street Journal. They also directly quote Mark Zuckerberg.

S: Forbes itself is a very well-known and trusted source used by students, businessmen, bloggers, and journalists everywhere. Forbes was founded by Bertie Charles Forbes in 1916. Bertie emigrated from Scotland to the US in 1904 and Forbes was born 12 years later as a finance and business magazine. The main contributor of this article, Zak Doffman, is a frequent writer of the latest technology updates. His most recent article was about a new feature on WhatsApp. Overall, he seems to be a pretty trustworthy author considering what he writes about, the facts he includes, and the links he includes. All the links in this particular article are relevant and prove the points he is trying to make in his article. While I personally have not heard of CNet, the links that they use in their article make them seem to be credible. The author, Steven Musil frequently writes about the latest news on technology with his most recent article being about an ex-employee of Apple who was charged with defrauding the tech giant of $10M.

C: While this story was posted in May of 2019, I think it is still relevant in today’s world because Facebook Live is used and abused by lots of people all over the world. Facebook Live is not the only social media that offers a live-streaming option. Almost all social media platforms offer a live stream option. This article is important because it can bring attention to other social media platforms about these things that can happen. While Facebook is the focal point, this does not mean it hasn’t happened on other social media platforms. This article is aiming to reveal the truth about Facebook and how they are handling and monitoring new aspects such as live streaming. Perhaps this article has helped prevent it from happening on other platforms and has helped stiffen the rules of Live-Streaming. While the Forbes article talks about the lack of rules and regulations surrounding Facebook Live, CNet adds to that and talks about why they have few rules about what users are allowed to stream about. Facebook’s reasoning, according to CNet, is that they do not want to punish these people for self-harming or put them in more distress.

A: I believe the intended audience of this article is geared a bit more in the right-wing direction since this article talks about Facebook’s lack of rule and order on Livestreaming. Overall I believe the audience aimed at reaching is anyone whom this article concerns like Mark Zuckerberg himself. The language is relatively neutral and formal and does contain some loaded or leading words. For example, the title of the article is “Facebook Admits It Can’t Control Facebook Live.” The word “can’t” is leading the reader to agree. While they were not trying to bash Facebook in this article they are certainly telling the truth when saying that Facebook needs a bit more rules and regulations of what people should be allowed to live stream. On the CNet article there is not many pictures, there is really only one at the top of the page. The article is also not as long as others may be. Because it is a bit on the shorter side, the lack of pictures is justified by the fact that it does not need to be broken up as much. The overall story is quite relevant and a bit appalling to know that Facebook is allowing these things to go on. I think their desired audience is rather obvious as they are trying to be informative of what was occurring on Facebook. I think their main target audience is anyone who uses Facebook and perhaps this is mainly targeted at parents of younger users so they can try and shield their kids of the potential horrors of Facebook.

P: The overall purpose of this Forbes article was to address the lack of regulation of Facebook’s newly released Live Streaming option. The article included several examples of inappropriate content that was streamed by Facebook users. Instances of hate speech and self-harm were not taken down or stopped by Facebook. The article was trying to show Facebook realistically and while the overall topic is somewhat negative the article itself was not entirely trying to be negative. The authors main mission of this article is to simply be informative and let Facebook users know what is happening. The overall purpose of this article is to let users know what is happening on their favorite social media platform. Maybe even cause and uproar and a boycott of Facebook.

E: The article is executed in a fashion that is really only made to be read. The entire page is mostly just paragraphs that are only really broken up by ads rather than relevant pictures. the one image that they do have at the top of the page is appropriate. Throughout the entire article, there are basically no grammar or spelling mistakes. The CNet article is broken up into several small paragraphs which I think is appropriate because of their lack of pictures so it makes it easier to read. They provide a lot of important information, all cited with its appropriate links. The entire article has informative tones with some emotional tones as well. I think the combination of these tones in this case is relevant and good tactic to keep people reading and captivate throughout the entire article.

Analytics

Posted on November 4, 2020 by msl1036

Analytics are important to see how users interact with your website.

High bounce rates may indicate that the website visitor did not find what they are looking for on your website. Data can be segmented in many ways. I would segment my data by seeing how users accessed my website, whether it is via phone, tablet, or computer. I would also segment my data by seeing what part of my website is the most visited when it was visited, and the area in which they were accessed. Context would be used to see how and if my website is growing. It would tell me if there is growth, is it coming from my website; how it’s set up, the information it provides, or is it just an increasingly popular topic among the designated market. If my website was an e-commerce website then a macro that would be used would be a completed sale and it’s a receipt. A micro conversion would be someone signing up for emails that provide information and articles that may interest the user or sales on recently viewed products. My key performance indicators are how long someone has spent on my site, how many people signed up for email updates in one day, and blog articles published in one month.

Other benefits provided by website analytics would be the measurement of how successful your website actually is. They can measure how relevant the information a blog providing actually is or if people are really interested in what you are selling. They can also measure how easy your website is to use and navigate for first time users. Analytics can also measure how successful your marketing and advertising strategies actually are and how people stumbled upon your website.

Javascript Widgets

Posted on October 21, 2020 by msl1036

A Javascript widget is essentially an appliance that you can add to your host webpage. it is very similar to an application on an iPhone. They are not usually connected to the host site and have little to no interaction with it. An example of a widget available on WordPress would be the calendar widget. This allows you to have a calendar on the sidebar of your webpage making it possible for viewers to see what is coming up next. This is very similar to the calendar on Moodle. I refer to the calendar on Moodle all the time to help me keep track of what assignment is due next. This widget is very convenient and useful.

Another great and useful widget is email marketing and signups. There are several different kinds of widgets available that all perform the same function of giving the viewer the option to sign up for email alerts. This also creates good advertising and marketing for the website, every time an email goes out the viewer remembers the website and why they liked it enough to sign up for emails. This widget is very useful to both the website creator and the person viewing it.

Middle Name Optional

Posted on April 12, 2020 by msl1036

Something that has and will always interest me is middle names. I always love to ask people what their middle name is and to share my own because, to me, mine isn’t even a real name. I have three older sisters each with common middle names like Jean, Lee, and Lynn. Then there’s me with the middle name of Seer. You see what I mean when I say not even a real name? Where have you heard the name of Seer before? I personally haven’t ever really seen that other than in big blue letters on the side of a department store spelled with an ‘a’ (yes, Sears the store). So, I decided to do a bit of research on the meaning of my middle name. I started with the origin of middle names as a whole.

The concept of a middle name dates all the way back to the Romans. They used the format of praenomen (first name), nome (last name), and cognomen which the name of a chosen saint. In the middle ages, Europeans couldn’t choose between a family name or the name of a respected saint thus giving the format of first name, saint’s name, and then the surname which is the format we follow now. When the format of first, middle, last reached America most people used the mother’s maiden name as the child’s middle name. Probably because a women’s middle name fades away and can be forgotten when they take the last name of their spouse.

The meaning of the word seer is a person who is believed to see the future through supernatural insights; a prophet. Now I am not saying I can see into the future or tell what will happen on June 14, 2020, but sometimes I can feel when something is about to happen. But I was in search of what seer means as a name, not as a noun. I couldn’t find too much information on Seer as a middle name but I did find information on Seer as a first name. What I found was actually quite relevant to myself, kind of like when you read your horoscope and you’re like “That sounds about right”.

Those with the first name of Seer come up with original and inventive ideas, can be somewhat too concerned with the personalities of others, procrastination is a downfall, it is not easy to overcome obstacles or face personal issues, people often feel comfortable sharing their problems, they don’t take their own advice, they often have a desire to make a good first impression, and lastly those named Seer often have sinus, and ear problems as well as often headaches. I found all of these things to be quite true. I always try and come up with my own way to do things and think outside the box. Other’s personalities and personalities, in general, spike my interest more than most things, sometimes I feel like I should have been a therapist. Procrastination is 110% my downfall and a prime example is this current moment of me writing this blog just hours before it is due. I have a very hard time facing my personal issues and often get over them or try to forget about them in unhealthy ways. I probably would never take my own advice because most of the things I would recommend someone to do or not to do are things that not doing or doing. First impressions are very important no matter the circumstance or person. You should always aim to be your best self when meeting someone new. When it comes to health stuff, I cannot make it through one week without having a series of headaches or one allergy season without a sinus and/or ear infection.

It’s the little things like your name or place or time of birth or eye color that can say the most about you. Whether or not you choose to believe these things, you got to admit shit like this can be quite interesting. I encourage you to do some research on your name and see what you can find. Not like you don’t have all the time in the world right now!

Music is the cure.

Posted on April 6, 2020 by msl1036

Man, when I first heard about coronavirus it was through memes on Instagram. From these memes, I thought it was a literal joke. I thought that coronavirus was a whole big giant joke and it was just something the meme gods had created. I mean come on, a virus named after one of the most iconic and well know beers worldwide.

Corona Memes so funny they're spreading faster than the virus ...

This was in November 2019. Now that it is March of 2020 I have learned that coronavirus is in fact not a joke and it is a very real and serious thing that is affecting the world. It has also directly affected my world. I and everyone else in college was forced to move out of our beloved dorms and move back home and continue our college education online. Which sucks. Instead of losing my mind, I have been trying to distract myself in whatever way possible.

Music has always been something I could turn to whether I was feeling high and mighty or low and small. Music don’t judge, music doesn’t care who you are, what you like or think. Music is the cure-all, even when you’re listening to sad songs when you’re sad on purpose, you do that to try and make yourself feel better in the end. When I left college, my friends and I had really started to get into EDM and house music. You know the kind of stuff you hear at raves or music festivals. Instead of leaving that behind at school, I took it home with me. I have been listening to a lot of EDM and might I say that it really turns my mood around when I need it to. So to help maybe turn you guy’s moods around too, I have decided to share some of my favorites.

Still not butter by Dillion Francis
Helicopter by Dj Kuba & Neitan
Roses (Imanbek Remix) by Saint Jhn
OCB by Malaa
Werk by CID
My Frequency by Tiësto & 7 Skies (ft. Rebmoe)
Griztonics by GRiZ & Subtronics
Bad Guy x Satisfaction (ANGEMI Remix) (Bass Boosted) by David Danka Dewulf Ve
Losing it by FISHER
It’s My House (with Dillion Francis) by Ship Wrek

These are probably my top ten (not necessarily in that order) and all of these can be found on either Apple Music or Soundcloud. So when you find yourself in a hole of boredom, these songs will most likely be able to pull you out. If not then you’re even more of a lost cause than I am.

How to be Alone

Posted on March 6, 2020 by msl1036

Feeling alone and feeling lonely are two different things. To feel lonely is to feel like you are in an empty room even when you could be in a room full of people. You feel like you are the only person on Earth and all you really want is some company. To feel alone is to feel like no one can relate or you simply have no one in general or no one to talk to. But being alone is different than both of these feelings. Learning to be alone is life-changing.

Step One: Learn to be selfish

If you learn to be less concerned with other’s needs and opinions, everything gets a lot easier. You realize that the only thing you truly have to worry about is yourself. The only opinion you really need is your own because you only have one person to please: you. This realization changes everything. Once you learn the only concern is you then the sky’s the limit. There’s nothing holding you back from doing anything other than yourself. You can go anywhere you can be whoever you want to be dress how you want say what you truly mean even if it hurts some feelings along the way. Who cares just do it.

Step Two: Realize your freedom

Once you learn to live for yourself there is nothing to stop you. You can pack your shit right now and get in your car and drive. That is called freedom. Everyone is free to do what they want and make any kind of choice they want. Not many people use their freedom to the fullest because they worry about other people or they worry about getting in trouble. Apparently, America is the land of the free but most people are still working their 9-5 Monday thru Friday and pay taxes and dream of retirement. How is that freedom? Retire now stop paying taxes live off the grid what is stopping these people from doing that? Oh yeah, themselves. Being alone, being selfish and realizing your true freedom as a human are the best things someone can do. So many doors will be opened along the way some doors that no one ever knew they existed because they never took the chance.

Step Three: Staying occupied

Just because someone is comfortable being alone and comfortable being selfish doesn’t mean they don’t feel those feelings of feeling lonely or alone. Everyone can feel that way and that is fine because that is also part of human nature. But when you want to be alone and live your freedom these feelings can be distracting and bring you down and make you forget about all of these freedoms. The best way to not get brought down by these feelings is to keep yourself occupied. For example, when you one day run away and leave everything behind you could find yourself in the position of “now what?” To avoid this position you have to keep things moving, always have something to do, something to see, read, or create. There is a surplus of things to do, see and create you just have to keep your mind fresh and your eyes open. Opportunity is around every corner. There is always something to do when nothing is holding you back.

“Being alone is a power that few can handle” -Desirae Mitchell

Nihilism at its Finest

Posted on February 10, 2020 by msl1036

Netflix’s Bojack Horseman has to be my favorite show of all time with its true grit, brutal honesty, candid explicit humor, and dark views of the world and life itself. As Bojack learns to deal with himself and his feelings in some very bad self-destructing ways, with drug and alcohol addiction and meaningless sex, you learn why he copes with life in these unhealthy ways. His depression and self-loathing exposes his nihilistic views of the world. He states many times throughout the show that life is meaningless and nothing matters, but he remains optimistic as he continues to find meaning and happiness in his life, filling it with drugs, booze, and girls. Bojack is a nihilist for sure but what kind? As he is aware that life is meaningless, he still tries to fill his life with meaning, he fights with himself constantly and becomes incredibly anxious any time he is forced to make a decision. Bojack is a prime example of an existential nihilist. Every day he is faced with the fact that no matter what he does his happiness does not last long and he ends his days feeling a sense of nothingness and regret. He is reminded that no matter what he does that happiness is fake and nothing lasts forever because nothing he does matters. With this in mind, he is in a constant state of self-destruction and the destruction of his world around him. Bojack being the washed-up 90’s sitcom actor he is, is trying to get his face back on the screen and succeeds when he is nominated for an oscar in season three. When he was announced as a nominee for the best actor he expected to feel happy that he had finally accomplished a goal, but instead of feeling happy and proud he claimed to have felt nothing at all. The nomination and even wining and oscar did not make him as happy as he thought, because in the end none of that matters and he knows it. Bojack is constantly in a state of disappointment. No matter how well something may go, Bojack is always left feeling regret and despair. It is up to Bojack to create meaning and happiness in his life and with the freedom to do whatever he wants, this task can be quite overwhelming and daunting. He abuses substances to try and create this meaning, he has meaningless sex to try and feel good and happy, but it’s meaningless, it all is. The older Bojack gets the more he realizes that.

The popular cartoon Rick and Morty share similar nihilistic views that Bojack has but in a more dark and unforgiving way. Rick has come to terms that life means nothing and doesn’t even try to find the meaning of life or happiness. Rick lives full throttle not caring about what happens or what could happen and just filling his life with daring and risky adventures through space dragging his grandson Morty with him. He doesn’t care what happens because there is no meaning anywhere and there’s no point in trying to find or create meaning. Rick is a perfect example of a cosmic nihilist. He spends his days doing science experiments and traveling through time and space, not necessarily because he believes in science and wants to improve his own life and the lives of others around him, but to fill his days with pointless things. Similar to Bojack, Rick too is an alcoholic and has no problem spending his days drinking himself into a daze and having orgies with random alien chicks. Nothing matters to Rick because everything that is happening here and now is happening in a distant reality infinite amount of times and in countless ways. Because of this belief, Rick lives without regret and feels despair very seldom. He even sees love as a “chemical reaction that causes animals to breathe.” and the rest of the human emotions are basically bullshit. In fact, he states that one of the main reasons why Morty is always present on his dangerous trips to outer space and different realities is because his stupidity cancels out the strong smarts and intelligence of Rick, not because he simply wants Morty’s company. In cosmic nihilism, there is basically no kind of ethics or morals. Rick has very little ethical views or morals, for example, he once sold a galactic gun to a hitman alien just to play at favorite his arcade then he turned a whole planet into monsters, committed suicide, abandoned his family and then ended his night by sitting on the couch and having a beer. Rick is not looking for meaning in anything anywhere because it doesn’t exist. This is nihilism at its finest.

Weekly Words

Peek inside my brain once a week

Author: msl1036

Fake News & Society