Here is a sneak peek at what an advertisement would look like from the one and only...Celiac Symposium:
I was intrigued when I input different key words into the "behaviors" and "interests" slots, how drastically it would increase or decrease my reach to people. It was kind of fun to be able to tailor an ad that would reach a demographic of my choosing!
This is my Facebook page. A year and a couple months ago, when I was diagnosed, I didn't think my "disease" if you must call it that, would benefit me academically. It sure did, though. When this assignment was first presented, I thought, "Crap, what am I going to dedicate a whole Facebook page to?" BAM! It came to me. So here it is:
My mission statement was simple:
I think I strayed from my original mission statement. As I progressed through the semester, I would be breakfast or I would take something to work and think, "Hey, my fellow Celiacs should know about this amazingly tasty meal," so I shared it on my page. I'd say food ideas make up most of my page. I tried to generate a discussion with a few of my posts but it never seemed to take off. The most engagement I would receive would be one comment, MAYBE two.
This just shows how many likes my page has today: A total of 66.
This was my reach. The highest point on there correlated with the post I made on December 10, 2014. This post was a video of a popular song by Lorde with the lyrics changed to make light of a Celiac plight. This made sense to me, it was a clever rendition of the song.
This is a screenshot of my posts. I posted a lot of pictures of food. I did this because one of the biggest concerns, in my opinion, that an individual with Celiac has is what they are able to eat. What can I have and still enjoy without getting sick? Well, I've been on that journey for a year now and by trial-and-error sampling and investigation, I have found what works. Those posts received a fair amount of feedback, especially one I posted that asked about local restaurants in town people had frequented and found to have gluten-free options. Also, one post that I was particular happy about was my "Fall in love with breakfast again." I talked about the bread that I had put my breakfast eggs atop. This bread is the best brand to hit the gluten-free world. I raved about it, more or less, and one of my followers wanted to know the brand. Gasp. She wanted to know the brand and I could had the answer!!! I could help her out! My last post, a video, didn't receive as many likes as I had anticipated since it was a video and I thought it was pretty funny but overall, my posts attracted decent feedback. I think I even warranted 2 shares on the video.
This assignment was a soul-stretcher. Like I've said before, this class has really cultivated critical thinking skills. I constantly found myself trying to think of something worthwhile to post and share with my followers. What would the Celiac population I've been wanting to reach want to know? What light can I shed on this quandary we (as people with Celiac) are faced with?
I think I hit 2/3 of my personas from the beginning of the semester. They were: people like me, who are new/fairly new to this whole gluten-free diet way-of-life, the mother who doesn't know what to fix for her kid with the disease and the rest of the family is not, and the clueless people who don't even know what Celiac disease is. Like I said, I posted a lot of food options so I would say that appealed to the first two personas. The other posts with which I was trying to be funny, again, the first two personas might be able to understand the humor. However, I did not make the clueless, well...less clueless. What I should have done was have one of my first posts be what Celiac disease is. That would have set the page up for sure.
When it comes down to it, I would have done two things differently: (1) address the clueless population and (2) added a bit more of a variety of posts since I feel 90% of my posts were pictures of food.
I do like the first post I made, though. I did sort of a throwback to when I was diagnosed and encouraged my followers to do the same. My point was to encourage a type of camaraderie among the readers. I was so excited (since it was my first post), when I was notified I had two comments!!! That was a bright spot of the whole experience, most definitely.
I've never had a specialized Facebook page before, so this was a journey to remember. Thank you Professor Young for encouraging me to think outside the box!
“Meet the Mormons? What is that?” I asked myself
when my sister asked me to listen to a new song by our very own David
Archuleta. I didn't know at the time but this song would be a big part of the Meet the Mormons film buzz on social media. David Archuleta is from Murray, Utah and became quite a big deal after making it to the finals of American Idol in 2008 and earning the runner-up title. Mr. Archuleta is a member of the LDS faith himself.
This was my first exposure to the documentary film that explores the lives of 6 LDS members that live anywhere from Nepal to Georgia. Each individual has their own story. One member is a Humanitarian worker, another is a Bishop. One LDS mother tells of her struggles as a young adult and the journey she took that led her to the LDS faith. The film explores the life of the head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, a kick boxer in Costa Rica, and the candy bomber of the 1940's Berlin Airlift (meetthemormons).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, engaging in the use of social media in order to introduce the film, is featured in this YouTube clip:
Elder Holland explains that the film is meant to be informative and not a proselytizing effort. Also, as a film first intended for the Legacy Theatre on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, the film did so well and is why the film made it to major theaters. Research accumulated after the film debut at the Legacy Theatre, according to Elder Holland, indicated that viewers were more likely to:
1. Consider Mormons as Christian.
2. Understand more clearly the name of the Church.
3. Be more respectful.
Elder Holland then goes on to address the social context.The social context has a lot to do with the
roles individuals play and the inherent rules that accompany those roles. The role in
this case is being a Mormon. Elder Holland urges members to share the film, to "like" the film's Facebook page, and to share the trailer or other material. That is what happened. Many members took seriously their role as Mormon as well as social media user and went to work, posting and promoting. Post after post on the MEETTHEMORMONS Instagram profile (5,114 followers) debuts people in front of movie marquees, pictures with members from the films, or followers singing their version of the song, "Glorious." There are still posts that show up on my feed almost daily that seem to carry a reminder that the film is still out there, still waiting to be seen. The social context has a lot to do with networking and spreading the word and that is exactly what is happening. This is citizen journalism. Spreading a message, promoting a film, religious or otherwise, is at the tip of our fingertips. The LDS, or Mormon faith, ('Mormon' is a nickname) is definitely a culture. The film is about members of this culture. The YouTube clip from above includes Elder Jeffrey R. Holland talking about one of the most important aspects that the film depicts, that of these members "...striving to follow the Savior and the difference that that had made in their lives." This film and that purpose is a look into LDS culture through the lives of people in this film. The film was released on October 10, 2014, a week after LDS General Conference. General Conference is another facet of the culture and was effectively used to advertise the film during breaks between Conference sessions. These contexts seem to be interrelated at times. The cultural practice of watching General Conference was used to promote the social context of viewing and supporting the film.
The psychological context is one that is best illustrated by a screenshot:
These are what audience members thought of the film. My favorite? The last one on the right: "I liked that it felt like you were getting to know people and that those people happen to be Mormon" (Elaine Bradley, Neon Trees). The word 'emotion' stuck out to me while we were talking about the various contexts in class. Testimonials like these, accompanied with visual aids aimed at inciting emotion, personify the psychological context for me. These people are happy and they have good things to say about the film. This approach is meant for the psyche. Notice the social media icons below the boxes, ready for sharing and distribution on multiple social media sites.
It's not all bunnies and gumdrops, though. Of course there are always two sides to each story. Upon browsing a website called "Metacritic," a user will be exposed to opposing opinions about the film.
Obviously there is more than one way to look at the psychological context of this film. Some viewers came away uplifted and better educated, other viewers saw the film and its intent very differently. Here we see citizen journalism at work yet again. Websites are being created where viewer and writer alike can post reviews and influence perception.
I've lived in an LDS bubble my whole life, assuming everyone is LDS, LDS but inactive, linked to the LDS church in some way, or at least having good, LDS values and intentions. I am not saying I am opposed to the bubble, I am saying that I have come to place a high value on being informed. I believe this is far safer than being ignorant. Websites like "Metacritic" are evidence that there are always going to be people outside of that bubble with different opinions than my own. Not only different opinions but also varying methods of sharing those opinions.
That being said, I think the fact that the LDS church is utilizing social media tools more now to spread the word and appeal to an audience that at times, can only be reached by these mediums (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.), is brilliant. Walk into any public setting and you will see, at any point in time, a vast number of the people present with their face down, consumed by the electronic device in their hands. If the device is not in their hands, it is somewhere close by. Sometimes it is the only way to reach the people. Sad? I think so. Effective? Obviously. There is a lot more behind the scenes of Meet the Mormons, and I was intrigued as I delved a bit farther into the different contexts that are intrinsic within the film.
“Meet the Mormons?
What is that?” I asked myself when my sister me to listen to a new song by our
very own David Archuleta. Mr. Archuleta is from the same city as me, good old
Murray, Utah. In fact, we went to the same high school. All of this to say, I
was not opposed to listen to his new song but had no idea what the title under
the song was all about. I proceeded to ask my little sister about the title and
that is when she told me it was a new documentary coming out about our church.
I didn’t give it much thought after that, the song didn’t even strike me at
first but little did I know how big this song and movie would become, even if
just in the world of Mormons. The purpose of my contextual analysis of Meet the Mormons is to explore how
social media impacted various contexts as it relates to the film.
Then I started to
see it. “Nieniediologues” posted an Instagram picture of her talking to the
press about the film. Another post featured her and David Archuleta as she
mentioned “Glorious,” the song David sung for the film. This is when I realized
this show was going to be significant. The social media guns had been pulled
out; this film meant business. No surprise there since we live in a world where
promoting ideas we care about is at our fingertips. Paul Bond (2014) supports
this idea when he states, “The church is advertising the movie on TV and radio
in Utah, Idaho and Arizona where many of the nation’s 6 million Mormons live,
and then relying on the faithful to do much of the rest of the marketing” (para.
11).
This brings me to the first mediated context,
the social context. The social context has a lot to do with the roles we play
and the inherent rules that accompany those roles. The role in this case is
being a Mormon. Stephanie Nielson, David Archuleta, and many other significant
names within the LDS bubble, took seriously their role as Mormon as well as
social media user and went to work, posting and promoting. Post after post on
Instagram debuts people in front of movie marquee, raving about the film. The
social context has a lot to do with networking and spreading the word and that
is exactly what is happening.
One vlog I found
while researching the film, made by Shay Carl, was full of exuberance for the
premiere of the movie he was about to see, not to mention the fact that he was
able to meet Jeffrey R. Holland, a General Authority of the church. The impact
of the vlog and Shay’s excitement was important because social media is empowering
the cultural context. The LDS faith is a culture and when the public has access
to a blog that has as its star, a member of the faith who is so full of life
and thrilled about what he is sharing, that thrill is contagious and possesses
the ability to pique curiosity. “Okay, so here we are, at the premiere with the
other Mormons on Youtube…” says Shay with a zeal that makes you want to be a
part of something. My point is, social media is setting the stage for the cultural
context to be influential. Not only are Shay’s attempts representative of the
cultural context but it also proves the power of citizen journalism and all
that has come to mean.
An article in the
Deseret News hits on another cultural concept that is unique to this film.
“What makes this tricky is the bulk of the movie’s target audience-namely members
of the LDS church-are not expected to attend the movie on Sunday because of the
faith’s emphasis on Sabbath observance, Roberts said” (Evans, 2014,
Challenges).This speaks a lot about the
culture the film is about. Interesting to note though, in the same article,
Whitney Evans cites a YouTube video of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explaining that
the film “…is informational only, and not meant for proselytizing” (Leaderships
Report). The LDS faith and culture has received a lot of attention throughout the
years and through this film, which was first meant to be exclusively for
preview at the Legacy Theatre on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, the Church is
anticipating the public to be more informed about the LDS faith.
In my opinion, the
psychological context of this movement is paramount. When discussed in class, I
wrote down “emotion” next to this context and I think this is most adequately
represented by the myriad of tweets, Facebook statuses, and Instagram posts
that continue flooded feeds in response to the film.
Excitement about the film through
emotional responses like this really speaks for the psychological context of
the Meet the Mormons film.
I asked my sister and one of our friends if they knew who Edward Snowden was. They did not. This surprised me. However, I had to remind myself that before my Digital Revolution class last Spring, I would have answered the question the same way.
Patriot.
That's my answer. I think Edward Snowden is a patriot. He wants the public to choose. Kursty talked today in class about how she likes the emails she receives as a result of cookies and google sending in their robot. Interesting thought. Kursty said she has nothing to hide. I don't either. Then Eric said if he accomplished the task of educating students about the real story of privacy, perhaps that is enough... or at least a start. Now we know. And now we choose. Now we carry the responsibility of being self-aware. Bring that full-circle, back to Snowden, he wants the public to choose. Are the government's practices okay with you?
I want to write my contextual analysis on the Meet the Mormons movie. My exposure to the movie was gradual. It started with my sister showing me the music video of "Glorious," sung by David Archuleta. I've recently started following Meet the Mormons on Instagram. I think it will be fascinating to take the social media journey with this film, how it started and where it is at currently.
Poor grades were never an option. My dad would pay my older siblings for every A and B that they earned in school. Not me, however. Good grades were just expected because I accepted nothing less than my own best. And for that, my mom and dad never had to worry about me. Maybe I should have slacked a little bit...
Regardless, the clip we watched on Monday about the "Future of Learning," made me think. What do those grades even mean? What does my GPA really signify? That I can comply with the system? Perhaps that's not what I want. Well too bad because I am one year away from graduating from said system. However, I will have a say in how my children are educated. By golly, times are changing so I will undoubtedly be experiencing new advances in education right along with everybody else.
Let me return to the question, "How do I want to learn?" I think the advances companies like Knewton are making in education are fascinating and definitely have their advantages. I don't like change though. I like routine, I like consistency. I want to learn from teachers who dialogue with students. I want to learn from teachers who let students speak up with the questions that pop into their inquistive minds. I want teachers that are willing and qualified to answer these questions with knowledge that wouldn't be able to be acquired anywhere besides the classroom. There is a camaraderie dimension in the classroom that I love. I love being handed back graded assignments and report cards. These have always been a tangible measurment of success. A sort of identity, if you will. I love that. I can't say I want it taken away or adapted.
Last October I officially found out I have Celiac disease. To those who understand the disease the response is undoubtedly, "I'm so sorry." To those who don't understand, the question immediately surfaces, "What is that?" And then the follow-up question, "What is gluten?" Finally we reach the, "Oh, that sucks." Yes, yes it does. But the world has not ended, fortunately.
I want my Facebook page to appeal to the masses that have been forced into close quarters with Celiac. I want stories to be told, trades and secrets to be shared, and humor at our own expense to abound. The Mother:
The mother that has a child that must now follow a gluten-free diet faithfully. There are 4 other children and a husband that do not have the intolerance but she doesn't want her child to feel ostracized or deprived. Sunday dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy just won't be the same, or can it?
Me:People like me who have lived 20+ years being able to live in Glutopia unscathed. But a sudden turn of events and now they have to be very conscious about what they consume. Going out to eat is a problem because gluten could be hidden anywhere. Shopping is suddenly more expensive. Turning down cookies or cake sometimes calls for an explanation when really all you want to do is eat the flippin' cookie. And then for the cherry on top, moving away to college is uncharted territory. No more surviving on Ramen Noodles or free pizza during Welcome Week. You are supposedly on your own. But not really.
I am an advocate for face-to-face interaction. Face-to-face interaction for me is like a drug. I come away from the ingestion with a high that slowly wears off. Crazy? Maybe. But truth. I suppose the high comes from the wit my fellow comrades seem to carry and the way they can make me laugh. Or maybe it is the very attractive young man sitting next to me that I know can't come via social media mediums. Maybe it's the intelligent or not-so-intelligent conversation that always seems to ensue among my peers that I delve into head first, reading every facial expression, every hand gesture, just to size up their character, life and passions.
I thrive on this type of interaction. I do not thrive on Facebook interaction, however. That's why the short article about Facebook making people "sadder" was a piece of work I could say "Amen Hallelujah" to. My Digital Revolution teacher taught about this phenomenon, saying that users' compare their everyday life to someone else's highlight reel. The article agrees and deems this "social comparison." No thanks, not for me. Yes, I have a Facebook account but no, I do not check it regularly. There are highlight reels I am just not interested in seeing and getting worked up over when logically I know my life is full and blessings are abundant just the way it is.
The point is, maybe some die-hard Facebook users would disagree with this article, arguing that they log off Facebook with the same attitude or emotions they did before logging in. Sure, I'll go with it. But when you compare your stable emotions to the high I described earlier, aren't you even a little curious?
I really connected with this topic because it is one I find fascinating. I agree with a lot of Marc Dunkelman's arguments. He talks about connecting online and the effect this has on the middle ring of people in our life, people like neighbors. When he was making his case, I immediately thought of my neighbors. I have no trouble waving at the family from Congo across the street as I pull into the garage but when it comes to walking to my car while Mr. Meyer is working in his yard, I get slightly anxious at the warring thoughts of "Do I make eye contact and offer a hello? Start a mini conversation? Or do I avoid eye-contact and make a beeline for the car?" The conversation in my head sounds absurd, I know, but is present nonetheless.
However, I also agreed with one of Zeynep Tufekci's arguments. I love face-to-face interaction with my peers. I thrive on social activities, declaring myself an extrovert. If, for any given reason, I am not socializing in person with people, I love utilizing text messaging to reach out to those people I do, in fact, wish I was interacting with face-to-face.
I could not come to a definite conclusion about my stance on the issue. On the one hand, I am envious of the days when life was more simple because of the lack of technology. On the other hand, who doesn't love to log on to Facebook and see the red notifications in the top right corner of the screen, notifying the user that someone wants to be their friend? But wait, I don't want to see how far ahead in life all my high school peers are, do I? Katie just got married. Lennie has a kid. Oh look, Rachel went to the Bahamas over the summer. Where was I? Salt Lake City. So are sites like Facebook or even Instagram really promoting the good feelings and connection we never knew we needed? Perhaps we really don't need it.
I think the biggest point I identified with was the point Susan Pinker made. She was responding to a point a caller had made. She referenced his claim of playing board games on Sunday for most of his life. She said that when interact like that, sitting down and playing board games with a group of people and we engage in actions like fist bumping or high fives, a chemical called oxytocin vasopressin is released. This chemical effects how we fight infection and/or deal with stress. Well wow. If that isn't a case for face-to-face interaction, I don't know what is. I can totally see this. Ask my sister, whenever I leave a social event, I feel like I am coming off of a high. Obviously a social high. Any stress that I may have felt prior seems to have dissipated.
Both sides had thought-provoking arguments. If we were asked to choose sides though, I would align with Susan and Marc. Let's release that oxytocin vasopressin!!
