Social Media - computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.
More than a passtime
Essay
People do not know how to most efficiently use social media to their advantage.
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Most people have a phone, and since they have a phone they probably use social media, and since they use social media, Social Media users have probably have seen the average popular, controversial posts. Whether those posts are on #thedress, political parties, or even the cash me outside girl, social media users have all seen these posts. People post things regarding their beliefs, and in doing so they are usually trying to convince you that they and their opinions are right. More than 20,000 social media posts get uploaded every second, and according to Google, about 1 billion people are exposed to social media each and every day and, of the sharing sites, the largest social media applications are Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Instagram allows people to share their pictures with a caption. Facebook allows you to do multiple things such as share pictures, location, how you’re feeling, etc. Twitter lets you express yourself in short blurbs of 140 characters. These three apps have more than 10,500 million users posting and interacting each day (google). Most refer to social media as a waste of time, or something unimportant, but they don’t know what great use social media has. Social media is the best sharing tool ever— people just need to learn how to use it to their advantage.
Controversy is what keeps social media going. Without people arguing or discussing a topic through social media, those apps would not prosper, and then social media would be a waste of time. But luckily, our lovely world has made thousands if not millions of controversies to talk about. New Yorkers give us an excellent example of this phenomenon: controversies fueling social media. New York has a population of around 8 million, and individuals have his/her thoughts. Lots of social movements have been birthed in New York. What is a social movement? “ Social movements are purposeful, organized groups striving to work toward a common goal. These groups might be attempting to create change, to resist change, or to provide a political voice to those otherwise disenfranchised (Little).” These movements cause lots of commotion online, and in some cases may even go viral. In New York, there are three big bangs — Second Avenue Subway, Zoning housing, and a ban on horses in New York
A century. 100 years. That’s how long it took to build the subway on Second Avenue, according to the records from the MTA. The plans were stated in the year 1920, but there were no promises at that time. From then till the 1930’s,building projects were promised and expected, but the Wall Street stock market crashed so hard in 1929, it put the whole project in jeopardy. Those who were being affected were not happy with the extension date, but there was no way of efficiently communicating their pain. Now the 1940’s rolled in and boy it didn’t get any better. World War II started which led to the increased amount of 249 million dollars, which resulted in the suspension of the buildings projects. After the war had ended, the building project was back to its planning stage. The proposal stated that the subway would be open in 1951. That didn’t happen. In the late 1940’s the Korean War had just begun, and the price had increased to 504 million dollars which naturally caused hesitation. When the Korean War ended the building project received a money bond, and instead of using it all for the subway on the Second Avenue, 500 million was used for improving the current transportation at the time. About 37 years have gone by with no progress and finally, New York Times had a few words to say about it such as, “It is highly improbable that the Second Avenue Subway will never materialize.” Sadly this remained true till about the year 2006 where The Federal Transit Administration gave the authorization to start phase one of the project finally. The subway on second avenue opened January 1st, 2017. A century. That’s how long commuters were trapped from efficient transportation (Kabak).
For all of those years, those who were affected by the extremely long build had no way of communicating their opinions since there was no social media at that time. The first recognizable social network was Six Degrees which started in 1997 (Google), it’s not at all popular nowadays. Stephen Glascock described how it affected the history of that part of town which is now unpopular due to the lack of transportation it’s had over the years. However, now that the subway is open, the business and restaurants in those areas are coming back to life. Steve Maschi also points out that the build caused lots of traffic problems and the retailers in those areas were struggling. Teri Noren, a broker, said “, The long wait depressed prices and rents for a while... because people didn’t want to live with construction. Now you don’t hear it that often ... as a result, prices have increased.” These people have seen the before and after of the situation and how it’s so much better now with the subway open. There was no way of conveying their pain( Paluch). Through my research, I could not find any accounts of people rioting or people getting in groups to speak out. Now in time, there is always a riot, now it’s more usual. I bet people in those times wished they could have said something publicly in order to get attention.
Another controversial topic for New Yorkers is the Housing Zoning projects. New York housing is a tough business, due to the economy and the popularity of the location. Zones are similar to counties or mini cities intertwined in New York. Recently a new Zoning plan has been announced to be established. It states that there would need to be a ton of new affordable homes. The mayor’s goal was 80,000 new affordable home units before 2024. It also means that the government will also improve the quality of the city by restoring some sites while helping out the lower class in New York. Sounds great right? More affordable homes for New York tenants (navaro). Well, there is significant opposition to this idea coming from the tenants and community advocates who have said that the prices are not low enough for the poor people of New York. “This will leave behind hundreds of thousands of people,” Maritza Silva-Farrell, a spokeswoman for the group Real Affordability for All, said(Qtd in Navarro). The people that they are trying to “help” will not be helped at all. Many are against this new establishment.
This dilemma is happening right now. It is in court and is being discussed on whether it would work. People know that they can not stay quiet, so a group of about 30 protesters has already been gathering in the lobby of the City Planning Department building with the cries of “Fight, fight, fight, housing is our right.” These words have now not only been used in protests, but many people have posted people of their Facebook page. Now in 2017 people are starting to use social media to their advantage. Facebook is just a start. People against the establishment have been meeting in groups and have created shirts that say “New York is a community.” The team goes out and walks through the streets not only protesting to the court but also to inform others what they are fighting for. When people walk by and see them with those shirts, they know exactly what they are fighting for and if they want they now have the choice to either join them or ignore them. This change allows for an increase of people they have against the court( Navarro). Using these tools allows for people ideas to be shared with the world. The group made sure that their situation was clearly shown on the shirt so that others could easily understand what was going on. This outreach is great, but it isn’t cranked up all the way...
Horses have been in New York for at least 125 years (qtd in Fermino). Soon, who knows whether you will see a horse in New York City ever again. This controversy is more one sided since there is more opposition the discussion, but for some reason, their outreach hasn’t given the opposition what they want. In New York, one of the popular tourist attractions are the horse carriage rides through New York City. What a better way to view the city than on a horse carriage. Have you ever thought about the animal giving you a time of your life? The horse suffers tremendously in New York. Horses do die on New York streets whether that be through fatigue, pollution, or automobiles. Not only does the horse suffer, but humans have been seriously injured and in some cases killed in accidents that involve horses. Animal cruelty is now starting to be recognized, and for people who love animals, horse cruelty is a priority.
#weloveouranimals is a hashtag that has been used for over 1.3k times (ink361). The groups who have been against animal cruelty have started using this hashtag to spread the word. Now, they aren’t the only ones that have used the hashtag. Many other people have also used it also. The hashtag is not necessarily only for the horses but is being used for any animals. This hashtag is being used on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and has reached thousands of people. Now, the people fighting for the ban on horses has also made entire websites on the reasons why people should sign their petition @ http://www.banhdc.org/. On their website, they give more than enough gruesome details about horse cruelty in New York. The whole point of the site is to convince you on signing the petition on the Horse Ban. The petition has a very high amount of signatures, but the state government is still in court debating this topic at the moment. Without the help of social media who knows whether these animal lovers and horses would ever get what they want. Social Media provides a simple, efficient way of broadcasting ideas and topics through the click of a button.
Did you notice the outreach increase through each controversy? The Second Avenue subway caused a lot of pain but was not shared properly since they did not have the resources. The Zoning Project had some good points, but they still need to use social media to its full potential. The horse carriage controversy has used social media perfectly to broadcast the situation. Now that you know exactly how to use Social Media to its potential you too can broadcast any situation of yours. Make sure you clearly state the situation and display it on multiple social sites to get the most possible views. In the article Using Social Media to #LeadChange, Rachel Cohn perfectly sums up how Social is not a pastime, but rather a tool to communicate to the world. She states how without social media, we would have to work so hard to get the word out, but luckily for us, we have social media. Use it to your advantage #leadchange. Social media gives a voice to every person. (#leadchange) New Yorkers are not the only ones who deal with controversies like this. We do too. If you want to spread the word on your situation somehow make sure you do it right. Good Luck!
Cited sources
Kabak, Benjamin. “2nd Ave. Subway History.” 2nd Ave. Sagas. 2nd Ave. Sagas, n.d
Web. 10 March. 2017 http://secondavenuesagas.com/second-ave-subway-history/
Little, William. “ Introduction to Sociology -1st Canadian Edition.” Open textbook bc. Open
textbook bc. Chapter 12 social movements & change, n.d Web. 10 March. 2017 https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/chapter/chapter21-social-movements-and-social-change/
Navarro, Mireya. “New York Zoning Plan Requires More Affordable Homes.” New York Times.
New York Times. Region, September,21, 2015. Web. 10 March. 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/nyregion/new-york-zoning-plan-requires-more-affordable-homes.html
Paluch, Gabrielle. “Sizing up the Second Avenue subway bump: Q&A, Part III.” The Real
Deal.The Real Deal. Estate. January 19th 2017. Web. 10 March. 2017 https://therealdeal.com/2017/01/19/sizing-up-the-second-avenue-subway-bump-qa-part-iii/
Fermino, Jennifer. “De Blasio admits he doesn't have enough backing in City Council or the
public to ban NYC's carriage horses.” Daily News. Daily News. Politics. August 20, 2017. Web. 10 March. 2017 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/de-blasio-admits-lacks-support-ban-nyc-carriage-horses-article-1.2330825
“Ink361”. Ink361. Ink361, Live website. Web. 10 March. 2017
http://ink361.com/app/tag/weloveouranimals
http://www.banhdc.org/ Horse petition website.
Controversy is what keeps social media going. Without people arguing or discussing a topic through social media, those apps would not prosper, and then social media would be a waste of time. But luckily, our lovely world has made thousands if not millions of controversies to talk about. New Yorkers give us an excellent example of this phenomenon: controversies fueling social media. New York has a population of around 8 million, and individuals have his/her thoughts. Lots of social movements have been birthed in New York. What is a social movement? “ Social movements are purposeful, organized groups striving to work toward a common goal. These groups might be attempting to create change, to resist change, or to provide a political voice to those otherwise disenfranchised (Little).” These movements cause lots of commotion online, and in some cases may even go viral. In New York, there are three big bangs — Second Avenue Subway, Zoning housing, and a ban on horses in New York
A century. 100 years. That’s how long it took to build the subway on Second Avenue, according to the records from the MTA. The plans were stated in the year 1920, but there were no promises at that time. From then till the 1930’s,building projects were promised and expected, but the Wall Street stock market crashed so hard in 1929, it put the whole project in jeopardy. Those who were being affected were not happy with the extension date, but there was no way of efficiently communicating their pain. Now the 1940’s rolled in and boy it didn’t get any better. World War II started which led to the increased amount of 249 million dollars, which resulted in the suspension of the buildings projects. After the war had ended, the building project was back to its planning stage. The proposal stated that the subway would be open in 1951. That didn’t happen. In the late 1940’s the Korean War had just begun, and the price had increased to 504 million dollars which naturally caused hesitation. When the Korean War ended the building project received a money bond, and instead of using it all for the subway on the Second Avenue, 500 million was used for improving the current transportation at the time. About 37 years have gone by with no progress and finally, New York Times had a few words to say about it such as, “It is highly improbable that the Second Avenue Subway will never materialize.” Sadly this remained true till about the year 2006 where The Federal Transit Administration gave the authorization to start phase one of the project finally. The subway on second avenue opened January 1st, 2017. A century. That’s how long commuters were trapped from efficient transportation (Kabak).
For all of those years, those who were affected by the extremely long build had no way of communicating their opinions since there was no social media at that time. The first recognizable social network was Six Degrees which started in 1997 (Google), it’s not at all popular nowadays. Stephen Glascock described how it affected the history of that part of town which is now unpopular due to the lack of transportation it’s had over the years. However, now that the subway is open, the business and restaurants in those areas are coming back to life. Steve Maschi also points out that the build caused lots of traffic problems and the retailers in those areas were struggling. Teri Noren, a broker, said “, The long wait depressed prices and rents for a while... because people didn’t want to live with construction. Now you don’t hear it that often ... as a result, prices have increased.” These people have seen the before and after of the situation and how it’s so much better now with the subway open. There was no way of conveying their pain( Paluch). Through my research, I could not find any accounts of people rioting or people getting in groups to speak out. Now in time, there is always a riot, now it’s more usual. I bet people in those times wished they could have said something publicly in order to get attention.
Another controversial topic for New Yorkers is the Housing Zoning projects. New York housing is a tough business, due to the economy and the popularity of the location. Zones are similar to counties or mini cities intertwined in New York. Recently a new Zoning plan has been announced to be established. It states that there would need to be a ton of new affordable homes. The mayor’s goal was 80,000 new affordable home units before 2024. It also means that the government will also improve the quality of the city by restoring some sites while helping out the lower class in New York. Sounds great right? More affordable homes for New York tenants (navaro). Well, there is significant opposition to this idea coming from the tenants and community advocates who have said that the prices are not low enough for the poor people of New York. “This will leave behind hundreds of thousands of people,” Maritza Silva-Farrell, a spokeswoman for the group Real Affordability for All, said(Qtd in Navarro). The people that they are trying to “help” will not be helped at all. Many are against this new establishment.
This dilemma is happening right now. It is in court and is being discussed on whether it would work. People know that they can not stay quiet, so a group of about 30 protesters has already been gathering in the lobby of the City Planning Department building with the cries of “Fight, fight, fight, housing is our right.” These words have now not only been used in protests, but many people have posted people of their Facebook page. Now in 2017 people are starting to use social media to their advantage. Facebook is just a start. People against the establishment have been meeting in groups and have created shirts that say “New York is a community.” The team goes out and walks through the streets not only protesting to the court but also to inform others what they are fighting for. When people walk by and see them with those shirts, they know exactly what they are fighting for and if they want they now have the choice to either join them or ignore them. This change allows for an increase of people they have against the court( Navarro). Using these tools allows for people ideas to be shared with the world. The group made sure that their situation was clearly shown on the shirt so that others could easily understand what was going on. This outreach is great, but it isn’t cranked up all the way...
Horses have been in New York for at least 125 years (qtd in Fermino). Soon, who knows whether you will see a horse in New York City ever again. This controversy is more one sided since there is more opposition the discussion, but for some reason, their outreach hasn’t given the opposition what they want. In New York, one of the popular tourist attractions are the horse carriage rides through New York City. What a better way to view the city than on a horse carriage. Have you ever thought about the animal giving you a time of your life? The horse suffers tremendously in New York. Horses do die on New York streets whether that be through fatigue, pollution, or automobiles. Not only does the horse suffer, but humans have been seriously injured and in some cases killed in accidents that involve horses. Animal cruelty is now starting to be recognized, and for people who love animals, horse cruelty is a priority.
#weloveouranimals is a hashtag that has been used for over 1.3k times (ink361). The groups who have been against animal cruelty have started using this hashtag to spread the word. Now, they aren’t the only ones that have used the hashtag. Many other people have also used it also. The hashtag is not necessarily only for the horses but is being used for any animals. This hashtag is being used on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and has reached thousands of people. Now, the people fighting for the ban on horses has also made entire websites on the reasons why people should sign their petition @ http://www.banhdc.org/. On their website, they give more than enough gruesome details about horse cruelty in New York. The whole point of the site is to convince you on signing the petition on the Horse Ban. The petition has a very high amount of signatures, but the state government is still in court debating this topic at the moment. Without the help of social media who knows whether these animal lovers and horses would ever get what they want. Social Media provides a simple, efficient way of broadcasting ideas and topics through the click of a button.
Did you notice the outreach increase through each controversy? The Second Avenue subway caused a lot of pain but was not shared properly since they did not have the resources. The Zoning Project had some good points, but they still need to use social media to its full potential. The horse carriage controversy has used social media perfectly to broadcast the situation. Now that you know exactly how to use Social Media to its potential you too can broadcast any situation of yours. Make sure you clearly state the situation and display it on multiple social sites to get the most possible views. In the article Using Social Media to #LeadChange, Rachel Cohn perfectly sums up how Social is not a pastime, but rather a tool to communicate to the world. She states how without social media, we would have to work so hard to get the word out, but luckily for us, we have social media. Use it to your advantage #leadchange. Social media gives a voice to every person. (#leadchange) New Yorkers are not the only ones who deal with controversies like this. We do too. If you want to spread the word on your situation somehow make sure you do it right. Good Luck!
Cited sources
Kabak, Benjamin. “2nd Ave. Subway History.” 2nd Ave. Sagas. 2nd Ave. Sagas, n.d
Web. 10 March. 2017 http://secondavenuesagas.com/second-ave-subway-history/
Little, William. “ Introduction to Sociology -1st Canadian Edition.” Open textbook bc. Open
textbook bc. Chapter 12 social movements & change, n.d Web. 10 March. 2017 https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/chapter/chapter21-social-movements-and-social-change/
Navarro, Mireya. “New York Zoning Plan Requires More Affordable Homes.” New York Times.
New York Times. Region, September,21, 2015. Web. 10 March. 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/nyregion/new-york-zoning-plan-requires-more-affordable-homes.html
Paluch, Gabrielle. “Sizing up the Second Avenue subway bump: Q&A, Part III.” The Real
Deal.The Real Deal. Estate. January 19th 2017. Web. 10 March. 2017 https://therealdeal.com/2017/01/19/sizing-up-the-second-avenue-subway-bump-qa-part-iii/
Fermino, Jennifer. “De Blasio admits he doesn't have enough backing in City Council or the
public to ban NYC's carriage horses.” Daily News. Daily News. Politics. August 20, 2017. Web. 10 March. 2017 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/de-blasio-admits-lacks-support-ban-nyc-carriage-horses-article-1.2330825
“Ink361”. Ink361. Ink361, Live website. Web. 10 March. 2017
http://ink361.com/app/tag/weloveouranimals
http://www.banhdc.org/ Horse petition website.
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