Viral

This week as we discussed several different topics in Psychology of Social Media, I was most interested in the topic of viral videos. Unless you are someone who has never been exposed to media then you most likely have helped a video go viral. There are so many viral videos out there. In class we discussed how "Gangnam Style" is the number one most viewed video of all time with almost 2 billion views. I admit that I helped make this video viral with a few views. I didn't even see the video until it had over 3 million views. There is something about the catchy song and the complete randomness of the video that makes it a "must watch again video" and "I have to share this will all my friends". The music isn't even exceptionally good. It is just extremely catchy. Psy again had another viral hit with his song "Gentleman". There are many other videos that go viral every year. Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez, and Eminem are among the top viral video celebrities. Recently I have seen many of Jimmy Fallon's "The Tonight Show" clips that have over 10 million views soon after they are posted.

So what makes a video viral? We discussed a couple of points in class about how to make a video go viral but I found the The Seven Golden Rules For Making Your Video Go Viral.

Rules

#1- Tell a Great Story

#2- Kick Off With a Bang

#3- Build an Emotional Roller Coaster

#4- Surprise but don't Shock

#5- Engage the Tastemakers

#6- The First 24 Hours are Crucial

#7- Look at the Big Picture

This is the overview, but the in depth descriptions for each rule are located in the article.

There were very few viral videos before social media and especially YouTube. Before these websites were created a video had to be circulated by Email and it wasn't easy to track how many people had seen the video. Now a video can be posted on YouTube and then shared with millions of people on every social media platform. It amazes me. Part of me never wants to help make a video become more viral but my curiosity always gets the best of me and I watch and sometimes share the videos.

I was actually able to participate in a viral video done here in Laie, HI by Devinsupertramp (a YouTube celebrity). Just for fun here is the video and a couple of my favorite YouTube videos.

I am to left of the girl on the guys shoulders. I am wearing sunglasses and almost being swallowed by the crowd. I jumped off of the trampoline but my jump didn't make the video.

http://youtu.be/vSROSencBss

http://youtu.be/_OBlgSz8sSM

http://youtu.be/K0DmtmmFEVo

Beth Gameren

The Bad and Ugly

We all know it is out there. The bad stuff. We see it in the movies and TV shows but most of us are blissfully unaware of it. For me it was the stuff of legend, a good imagination, or exaggerated facts. What I am talking about is the evil that can be accessed on the internet. You see on TV the type of things that can be found and bought on the internet: assassins, drugs, sex, people, and many other black market objects. I thought it didn't exist until our class this past Thursday. That was when I learned about  the deep web. The horrible black hole that is the deep web.

The search engines that we use daily with the thousands of websites that are found about one topic only scratch the surface of what is actually out there. Whatever we do online can be tracked with the right process and technology. That is why people don't access the deep web without being anonymous. They achieve this anonymity by using websites like Tor.com. Tor allows users to access any website they want and remain anonymous because it routes the trail through several different computers and makes it untraceable. That might be wrong but that is how I perceived it. You can read for yourself at this link, http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/12/06/tor-deepnet-anonymity/. The website does mention how Tor can be used for good. If someone wanted to make an anonymous donation to a good cause they could use Tor. However I believe that it is used much more often by people who want to remain anonymous to commit crime or obtain illegal substances.

I was horrified to find out that this was real. I have lived a very sheltered life. I feel very lucky to have not been exposed to the dark side of the internet. Am I curious about the deep web? Yes. Will I ever explore it? Unless I absolutely have to, I will never try to explore it and give into my curiosity. Knowing that it is out there is enough for me. I don't know want to know for myself the evils that are available to anyone. I just hope that it is never effects my life.

Beth Gameren

Internet Procelyting

   As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, missionary work is a huge part of our lives. I was in the CAC watching the Missionary Conference when they announced that the social media platform Facebook would be used by missionaries to preach the gospel. I was not surprised by this announcement because a friend of mine was already using Facebook in his mission. I knew it wouldn't be long before they started using it in many missions.

   That night I prayed that I would have missionary experiences and find the courage to share the gospel. The next morning I woke up and started my day by checking my Facebook. The first post I saw at the top of my newsfeed was posted 1 minute before. The post read, "Does anyone have a Book of Mormon that I can have?" The girl who posted it was a girl that I had worked with back home. I immediately commented and told her that I had one and I would love to get her one. I messaged her and got her information. I sent her a Book of Mormon with my testimony in it and gave her the link to lds.org and mormon.org. I felt like that experience was the answer to my prayer. I was able to share the gospel with her in Alabama while I live in Hawaii.

   Just a few years ago if you googled "Mormon" a lot of websites that are anti-mormon would come up and maybe a few good websites. Now if you google "Mormon" the positive websites outweigh the negative ones. Many conference talks, devotional, and fireside topics have been about sharing the gospel through social media. Sharing your beliefs on social media is a great way to take pressure off of those sharing. When you post on social media you aren't face to face with someone. You are putting your beliefs out there and observers get to choose whether they read it or not. You never know when you might post something that will make a difference for someone.

   Another experience I had was just this last week. Several mormons have worked at my old job and several mormons are currently working there. Another nonmember co-worker that we have all worked with messaged us and told us that he is quitting that job but all of the mormons he worked with made an impression on him. He said he respected us and our devotion to our beliefs. One thing led to another and we were all talking to him and inviting him to church and to receive a Book of Mormon. He accepted and will be receiving a Book of Mormon soon. We had all worked with him for a long time and it wasn't until a group message on Facebook that a barrier was torn down. This wouldn't have happened without social media and I know that many other barriers are being and will be torn down by using social media to reach people and share the message of Christ.

-Beth Gameren

Social Media Addiction

I in no way think that I am addicted to social media but after reading the talks given by President Uchtdorf and Elder Oaks I am rethinking my usage. Just the other day I realized that my husband was in the living room on Facebook and I was in our room on Facebook. I thought about what we might be doing if we didn't have Facebook. We might've been making dinner together or having discussions or out doing something fun to fill our time. Instead we were both mindlessly on Facebook. After I realized this I closed my computer and went to talk to him instead. After reading the talks I felt like I had an addiction to social media because, although I don't spend an excessive amount of time on social media, I spend more time than I should. That is something that I want to change.

After attending Dr. Steffensens forum about addiction and dopamine release I was curious to see if social media sights affected dopamine release. I found that although the site itself doesn't release dopamine, self disclosure does release dopamine. This means that telling people about yourself gives you the same good feelings that food or sex would give you. And where do people talk about themselves the most? Facebook of course! Talking about ourselves makes us feel good. There are other reasons we become addicted of course but I thought this one was interesting. Here is a link for signs of addiction to Facebook http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/facebook-addiction-signs/

As I looked at how much time I spend on social media and doing pointless things I realized that I spent more time on social media than I did focusing on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I claim that the gospel and my family are my number one priority but my actions show other wise. Social media can become our idols and when that happens we should realize it and change it. Thinking about this sparked the thought of how my children will be affected by social media. I don't want my children to see me using my phone or computer more than they see me interacting with other people and with them. I am excited to see where technology will take us but I am also worried about the impact it will have on my children. Their pictures will be on Facebook all their lives because I intend to share their pictures with family and friends. As media changes my life I have to adjust how I plan on raising my children. I never thought that social media would have this much impact on my life and on my future children's lives.

Over all I have to make sure that I keep an eternal perspective and make sure that my children know that the gospel and my family are my main priority. Social media isn't bad but it should be used in moderation.

Jargon

Language changes throughout time as technology develops. When something new is invented the maker names it and we continue to use it. These words become common place as the invention becomes common place. This has been evident to me over the past few years as technology has become more advanced, iPods, iPads, touch screens, tablets, and other inventions have made new words. Social media is no exception to this.

It is easy to see how social media has changed  the way we speak. We use terms that were coined by social media sites in our everyday lives. Before social media we didn't use many of these words. Before social media if someone had said "I tweeted it", "I posted it on your wall", "I pinned it on my board", "I'll tag you in it", "It's a trending article", or even just the word "hashtag". I would've had no idea what they were talking about unless they actually meant they posted or pinned something on a wall or board at my house. These phrases as well as acronyms like, "lol", "wth", "rotfl", "lmao", "smh" and many others were made common place by social media. We use these phrases because almost everyone uses social media and they understand them. As social media evolves our language to describe it evolves.

We use this special jargon when we communicate on social media as well as in real life. This is just one of the thousands of ways that social media is changing our lives. It makes me wonder how much social media has affected other countries since most social media sites are international. In other countries do they use the English terms or do they have words in their own language that translate into English? It's amazing to see how much social media has affected our lives. I wonder how much it will continue to change our lives.


-Beth Gameren

Social Media Terms
http://socialmedia.wikispaces.com/A-Z+of+social+media
http://socialmediatoday.com/your-social-move/397449/25-social-media-terms-you-need-know