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So today, another mass shooting occurred at a highschool in Florida. An expelled student walked onto campus and began firing, eventually killing 17 and wounding many more. It breaks my heart and makes my blood boil every time I hear of another one of these shootings happening. Since news first broke about the incident, I have seen many posts on social media talking about the attack, but this one struck me the most, notably for its picture of the semi-automatic rifle. Kristen Lemkau posts this picture of an AR-15 rifle and explains that the shooter from today, along with the shooter’s of the several other most recent and large mass shootings all used this same rifle. Kristin’s tweet effectively points out the common element in all of these shootings that shows her audience what is part of the problem. I think this particular tweet shows the potential of social media in circumstances like these. With it, we can share thoughts on the issue, start movements, and hopefully put pressure on lawmakers to address the public’s concern for safety.

#gunsafetyalliance

Read Bill & Melinda Gates’s full 2018 Annual Letter

Bill and Melinda Gates are some of the most kind and inspiring people I know of. Despite having one of the largest fortunes of in history, Bill does not spend his money to live a life of opulence. Instead, him and his wife have devoted much of this fortune to funding great causes and initiatives to save countless lives, increase the standard of living, and make education accessible, all over the world. Gatesnotes is a sort of blog that they both use to share news about what problems they are focusing on and initiatives they and other people are working on to combat these issues. This article here is something they call their “Annual Letter” to give their thoughts on what they’ve accomplished and what lies ahead. For this year, they decided to answer 10 tough questions asked by their followers. These include questions like “is it fair that you have so much influence?” and “Why are you really giving your money away - what’s in it for you?” They both take the opportunity to answer these difficult questions thoroughly and truthfully to give people more transparency into the actions they take with their vast resources, despite there being absolutely no need to. I think this was a very inspiring post because they chose to specifically answer “difficult” questions. I believe those are the most meaningful questions to answer because as a responder, it forces you more closely consider what you stand for and and why you say and do what you say and do. It also benefits the questioner because they can get a better understanding of where you are coming from. This post encourages me more to seek out those difficult questions in life and also ask myself my own difficult questions to gain a better sense of who I am and better understand the world around me.

#BillGates difficultquestions

Gary Vaynerchuk is the fastest moving person I know of. I first heard of him a few years ago through a youtube video and was really inspired by his fast-paced style. He’s an entrepreneur who started from growing his dad’s liquor business tenfold to owning a major ad company in New York and giving talks around the world about the “hustle” mentality. I think for many, at first glance it could be easy to cast him off as a bs inspirational speaker but if you look a little closer you’ll realize Gary is the real deal. I thought this tweet was a good encapsulation of the kind of guy he really is. It’s short but it says a lot about Gary’s attitude on work ethic that has gotten him to where he is today. He is saying that in working, you cannot let emotion get in the way of action because it wastes time and money and allows people like Gary to come in and steal that sale/opportunity/etc. This kind of aggressive tweet illustrates Gary’s assertive mentality while also encouraging his followers to adopt the same attitude to succeed in their objectives. He finishes off the tweet with a #madisonAve mention in reference to the famous Madison Avenue in New York City that is home to many Ad companies who have built a reputation over the years as being cutthroat and fast-paced environments.

#madisonAve hustle

Elon Musk has THE coolest instagram posts of anybody out there right now. From cool rocket launches to playing with flamethrowers to this most recent photo of his car (that he designed (from his company that he founded)) in space after being launched in the world’s most powerful rocket (built by another company he founded). The thing about his posts are, they’re not some artfully staged photo with a carefully crafted caption to ensure the most likes. Musk simply posts what his business ventures are accomplishing and creating. The cool thing about this posts are that they are showing how cool science and engineering can be and the great things that can be done with it. He is encouraging people to see the technological feats that can be accomplished with hard work and a dream.

#toinfinityandbeyond saveusElon

This is a post from a subreddit I really like called “Shower Thoughts.” On it, users post intriguing thoughts or epiphanies they have had that make viewers question the way things are done or seen and sometimes offer ideas on how they should be done or seen. This post for example takes the idea of disney movies in which there is in almost all cases, a good side and bad side. In each of these movies, the story is always shown from the perspective of the good side, and the bad side is always painted as evil for the sake of being evil. But as in most cases in life, people aren’t born purely evil. There are a multitude of experiences that have led them to where they are and can explain why they act and speak the way that they do. Ursula was not evil from the start, she must have experienced some hardship, some betrayal, some injustice that led her to be evil to ariel in the little mermaid. It would be a useful perspective to see her side of the story because people could better sympathize with why she does what she does. I think in ignoring the villains’ stories, Disney movies instill this perception in children from very early on that the other side is entirely bad and does not encourage them to try and understand the causes of their behavior. With that understanding, they could become better sympathize with those they do not agree with and more easily handle conflict.

#thelittlemermaid

This tweet by Franchesca Ramsey touched me because of the candidness she gives with it. I feel like it was a very real look into her life that maybe a lot of people can relate to. I think oftentimes we may hide our emotions and problems because we feel ashamed or embarrassed by them or what have you. This is not good for our emotional health because it can slowly eat away at us until it becomes unbearable. Talking can be a helpful release of our sadness and anxiety and can lead us to joy and peace. By Franchesca sharing her experience talking with a therapist I think many people who feel this way may be encouraged to speak to a therapist or just someone in general so that they can receive the emotional and mental help they need.

#mentalhealth #talkaboutit

This retweet by one of my friends on twitter does a good job at summarizing many peoples’ opinion on the current state of major social media platforms. I think many have evolved in the wrong direction from what its initial 18-35 demographic looked for in a social media platform. Although I don’t use twitter as much as platforms like facebook and snapchat, I’ve started to appreciate twitter more for its utility as a place for news and pure content that I want to see. @aimscp may be biased in that she is expressing her favoritism towards Twitter ON twitter and she may be making some hasty generalizations about the other social media platforms. But hey, 156,000 people liked her post so she must be on to something.

#twitterrules

I felt like this post by Jacksfilms gave a funny take on what seems like an increasingly large issue today with news and social media. It feels like everyday, there is a new “bad guy” who is making headlines either with the president doing or saying something controversial, another person being accused of sexual abuse/harassment/assault, or any other person committing some act that makes them the most unliked person for a short while. And while I am all for bad people being called out so that justice can be dealt, I feel like these day’s the target of the public’s hate changes so frequently, we’ve already forgotten who the spotlight was put on last week. And it is just tiring. It makes you feel more and more like the world is filled with bad people doing and saying things that are just wrong, ignorant, rude, or just plain evil. I like this post because it says this truth of today’s society really simply and and makes light of it with comedy. Jack is sarcastically giving a shoutout to the people who did not do awful shit today because it seems like in media, those are the people who are getting all the attention. I think this was an effective way of getting his message across because with the current state of affairs seeming more and more catastrophic, comedy is the best way to appeal to viewers. It makes it more easy to face what is really going on. That is why talk shows and shows like SNL are so popular, they can talk about these subjects and make people laugh about them even if the reality of it kind of sucks.

#Spoonfulofsugar jacksfilms shoutout

Sanah is a friend I made last semester when I participated in a University of Texas fellowship program in Washington, D.C. During the time I got to know her, she always inspired me with her immense courage and kindness in the face of adversity. She uses her social media to talk about her experience living with alopecia and how it led her to starting her own non-profit foundation on inner beauty. Her work with her foundation has allowed her to have some amazing experiences. This post talks about one of those most recent experiences where she was able to attend a film festival in Santa Barbara, California. Here she is on the red carpet at the festival, talking about how she she would have never imagined receiving such an opportunity. I thought this post was a great use of social media because not only is she sharing her successes with her friends and family, but she is also inspiring others who may feel like their dreams are out of reach by giving proof that that is she was able to achieve her despite her doubts. I this this illustrates the good that social media can have on society. Influencers like Sanah can connect with people facing similar troubles and show them that they are not alone in their adversity and it is possible to be happy or successful in spite of whatever difficulties they encounter.

This was a youtube video I found on Twitter about a young guy who just got fired from his job. Jack Coyne started working for a small startup in New York City a few years ago and just received news that the startup is closing and he is now out of a job. In his vlog, he goes over his history working with the startup’s creator, Casey Neistat. He breaks it up into several short “chapters” from him reaching out to work for Casey, to current day where he has just been fired. He ends the vlog as he walks down the sidewalk and talks to the camera about about how he does not know what is next for him but he will be vlogging everyday and throws in a last second mention that he has a one way ticket for a plane to California tomorrow. What Jack does so well in this vlog is capture your attention as a viewer and make you interested to follow his story in the following vlogs. The title “I GOT FIRED...” reels you in because its a story many can sympathize or empathize with. Many know of the feeling of being fired or have been close to someone who has been laid off and know the bummer it can be. However, Jack’s optimism during the video and his mission to vlog on this journey filled with so much uncertainty, turns any sorrow you had for him into hope. This video is a great example of an introductory vlog because it captures someone at a point of inflection in their life, and makes you interested to see what happens next.

#youcandoit gojack

Here is what I thought was an effective social media post by Robert Herjavec. You may remember him as one of the investors on the show, Shark Tank. I follow him on instagram because through what I’ve seen in the show and in separate interviews, he seems like a very intelligent, hard-working, and compassionate man. This post speaks a lot to that last characteristic. His caption mentions #BellLetsTalk, a movement going on in Canada to bring awareness and raise funds for mental health. He also includes a short message encouraging anyone to reach out and speak about their mental health issues. These are used to caption a picture of him in a windowed room, sitting on a couch; legs crossed, hands together, and a face that looks attentive and non-judgemental, he comes across as someone there to listen. I believe this was a tastefully done post that Robert used to bring awareness to a meaningful cause.

#BellLetsTalk #socialmediaforgood

Today, this post by a friend caught my attention. In it, she shares a GoFundMe Page by her “bff” who is asking for donations to help pay for her tuition. GoFundMes have become increasingly popular in recent years largely due to social media allowing people to ask for money from a large amount of people quickly, easily, and cheaply. Instead of going to 1 or 2 sources for a large amount of funding, an ordinary person can reach out to hundreds to hundreds of thousands of people depending on the popularity of the cause. Many causes that have been able to be funded through GoFundMe have created great products and services or supported people in very difficult situations. This cause, however, rubbed me the wrong way. While I can understand the reluctance to take on loans, that is the sacrifice many must take to receive an education at many universities. There are even other options available to a student wanting to get a college education. If one’s parents cannot provide necessary financial support, scholarships and financial aid exist to help students pay their way. Community college is an option many overlook because they believe the education they will receive is comparatively sub-par even though it will still help them immensely just to receive a degree from any legitimate school. My point is there are many options to consider before resorting to asking for handouts to fund your education. So many others are either working hard to earn scholarships, sacrificing their future financial freedom, or choosing less prestigious sounding schools to get a college degree that will help them out in their careers. I think this is an example of social media being taken advantage of for the wrong reasons.

#sorryfortherant

This is Facebook post I came across during one of my daily scrolls through my newsfeed. I became friends with Tommy when I started highschool and added him on Facebook shortly after. Though I haven’t spoken with Tommy in years, it is nice to occasionally see a post to see how he is doing. This post in particular caught my attention because the first sentence alone tells of an inspiring journey he has gone through. He came close to not getting a full education and now he is set to become a doctor. With the rest of the post he tells of how he was able to achieve this through his trust in God and with friends and family. He also posts a screenshot of what I believe is his online acceptance into the medical school to give credibility to his good news. It is posts like these that I enjoy seeing because there is substance to them. Nowadays I feel like Facebook is plagued with so much that I feel like I am forcefully subscribed to by their ridiculous algorithms. 75% of posts I see are videos posted from facebook pages an acquaintance of mine has liked. But once in a while I come across a friend’s post that reminds me of the reasons I enjoy using social media. I am able watch the journeys of my past and present friends as they unfold. I feel more connected to the people I have come across and they no longer feel like they’re gone from my life. Now they’re more like a neighbor down my digital street that I can see anytime I want.

Changing the world - one blog post at a time

Hello! if you’re reading this, it means that you have stumbled across my blog. Hi, my name is Jordan Gutierrez and this is a blog for my Rhetoric and Composition Class here at the good ol’ UT of the RGV. But wait, you’re probably thinking, “what even is the point of this? Why are you making a blog about Rhetoric and Composition?” Well to answer your question, we’ll have to go back, way back - to the dawn of time. Several things happened and sometime later, I was born. 18 years after that I entered the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley and settled on the prospect of becoming a Finance major. My studies have taken me all over, from the business building to the mathematics building, all the way to the student learning center. Now in my last semester before I graduate and earn that coveted degree, I must complete my last set of tests to see if I am truly worthy of a diploma. One of these tests, is passing this class. To do so, I must do well in all my assignments, which leads us to this blog right here that you are viewing!

So what is the point of this blog, you asked? Well I’ll tell you! This is my own personal blog that I have created as part of a class assignment in which I will be examining and commenting on the new paradigm that is social media. What better way to give my input on social media than to literally PUT myself INto social media? See what I did there? Well anyway, in the coming days I will be posting examples of social media in action and be giving my thoughts on said examples. In doing so, I hope to understand more about this new technology that we now rely so heavily on to communicate with each other. I will find the truths that lie within my interaction with this quickly-evolving digital landscape. I believe this will be an interesting and exciting journey and I’m glad you have chosen to tag along! Stay Tuned!

#getready itslit Letsdothis

Social media users choose and craft the content they post based on the platform they are using. On average, Facebook users will be more cautious as they broadcast to people they know personally, while Twitter users will have a following of people, a majority of which they may never have met. This new but large social landscape has its own rules and norms which its users must be aware of when posting. #FacebookVsTwitter #KnowYourAudience

I think over time more schools will understand the importance of utilizing technology in classroom to tap into the unrealized creativity and potential of their students. Web 2.0 is the way of the future. #21stcenturyteaching #educationrevolution #Web2.0

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