Social Trends On Air (The Podcast For You)

Recently I was assigned a class project with the task of creating a podcast. The podcast I created focused on several relevant issues that are going on right now in the social media world. I invited a guest speaker, and social media analyst on to the show to help spark strong conversation topics. The main topic of discussion we went over was Facebook, and their latest decision to add a dislike button. We talked about whether or not this would be a good or bad thing, how companies using Facebook can use this for better analytics, and what the long-term end results may be.

The project itself was a fun one. I had the chance to learn how to effectively use garage band, and run a podcast. At one point I actually thought about making it a hobby. From the podcast project I was able to take away several things.

I now have a deeper understanding and appreciation for podcast, and what all goes into them. I know have a more broad knowledge on social media more specifically Facebook, and why they chose to add the dislike button; and finally I understand that in order to have a successful podcast you should have scripted questions to start with, but from those questions you should be able to generate new ideas, and topics. Podcast should have a planned flow, and then go from there by going with whatever content arises. I enjoyed this project. I now know how I could greatly improve my next podcast. If you would like to hear my first podcast here is the link,  http://sccraven85.podbean.com/mf/web/smid79/SocialMediaPodcast1.m4a please comment and let me know what you think.

A Weekend Away

This past weekend was fall break for ONU. I was fortunate and had the chance to travel across the country for a few days with my best friend. Most kids stay home and relax, or watch Netflix; I was climbing mountains, and experiencing life out west in Colorado. My trip started Saturday morning when my flight left the Cleveland airport. I have never had a smoother airport experience than I did Saturday morning. I am thankful my luggage was not misplaced, and my plane ride was very smooth.  

Once Rachel and I landed in Colorado we ate a meal from Burger King. Never in my life have I paid $18.00 for a fast food meal, but when you are in an airport they have no problem hiking up the prices.  After we ate, Rachel’s uncle who is possibly one of the coolest adults I have ever met picked us up.  We arrived at her aunt and uncle’s house, and immediately my jaw dropped. They live in one of the most beautiful houses located in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Later that night after meeting Rachel’s aunt and her 3 cousins we went out to dinner in downtown Colorado. The evening was perfect. We ate so much seafood, and drank the finest local brews. After experiencing some Colorado culture we went home and passed out. Rachel and I were not use to the time change yet.

The next day we went for a 2-mile hike to one of what I consider the most scenic views I have ever seen. While at the top of what I considered to be a mountain and Colorado natives consider to be a hill we took in the beautiful scenery, and appreciated something bigger than ourselves. After that we hiked down and spent the rest of our time site seeing, and relaxing. I am very pleased with how the weekend went, and hope to make it back out west sometime in the near future.

How Did The First Democratic Debate Match Up With The Republican “Debate”?

The first Democratic debate averaged 15.3 million viewers, easily making it the most watched Democratic debate ever. Some may argue that this is incomparable to the Republican debate, which brought in 23.2 million viewers. Regardless of comparative numbers the Democratic debate was not a disappointment. There certainly was not any bashing of minorities, or name-calling. In fact there was the exact opposite. One of the more bold and memorable statements of the night came when Hillary Clinton’s democratic opponent Bernie Sanders helped her answer a question potentially once and for all. The question I am referring to has been talked about for quite some time now. Anderson Cooper, the host of the debate asked Hillary a question regarding her email situation. While answering Bernie Sanders chimed in saying that he and everyone else are “tired of talking about her dam emails.”

The Democratic debate closed with a statement from Martin O’Malley. O’Malley mentioned the level of professionalism within the debate, and how there was not any mockery going on. As imagined the debate was covered all over the Internet from every platform imaginable.  The on going social media debate which will never have a true answer going forward is, who won the debate? This argument will continue for some time now.

I feel politics can be a stressful thing to keep up with. There is never one right answer. It is always a never-ending cycle of who is right and who is wrong. However once you know about the problems we have in our world, and what is or is not being done, you cant help but want to learn more about the people making decisions.  I have watched every debate this year with a fairly unbiased opinion. I am looking forward to the next Democratic debate, and hope to see more controversial questions discussed. I do not know who I am in favor of at this point in time, but I am making an effort to learn as much as I can so that I am ready to cast my vote for the best man or woman for our country.

Know What You're Voting For

If someone were to tell you a new bill recently passed in your state, and was rapidly increasing your property tax, or no longer supporting your civil rights what would you do? Where would you start? This is completely hypothetical, but the question serves a great purpose. Currently I am a part-time resident in the great state of Ohio. I do not have the right to vote in Ohio as a result of my current residence of the state of Indiana. Ohio is in a situation where things could drastically change whether that change is positive or negative that is up to the voters to decide.  I raised the first question because from what I can see people have no idea about a bill that is scheduled to be voted on in a month.

The bill I am referring to is Ohio issue-3. According to Ballotpedia.org Issue 3 will legalize the limited sale and use of recreational and medicinal marijuana and create 10 facilities with exclusive rights to commercially grow the drug.  At first glance voters might think this is great and that everyone will be able to have a big pow-wow. When looking deeper into the legislation the way things will be ran raises questions.

10 investors will fund the 10 facilities that will be allowed to grow marijuana. Some of the notable investors are former NFL player Frostee Rucker, NBA star Oscar Robertson, and former boy band member Nick Lachey. Many people often associate the term monopoly with this legislation. There will be 10 investors, 10 facilities, and that it all. There is no free market with this legislation, and the investors would like to keep it that way.

This legislation allows 10 people to get substantially wealthy; while not allowing others the opportunity to even make a living off of this potentially huge industry. This is scaring away many liberals. Ian James Director of Responsible Ohio announced in an interview with NRP "We are Ohio, folks. We're not a blue state or a red state. We're a very purple, middle-of-the-road state," James says. "And that requires that you have a middle-of-the-road approach that doesn't always sit well with the right and it doesn't always sit well with the left."

People have motives for every thing they say and do. Going back to the question I stated earlier the best thing to do is educate ourselves, and then responding accordingly. Things are not always as they appear at first glance. Dig deeper, and ask why?

The ballot is open to voters on November 2^nd 2015. Make sure to do your research.