Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Three wikiHow Article Topics

A class project for COM 336 was to create a wikiHow account and find three topics that have not been talked about before on the site. wikiHow is an online community consisting of an extensive database of how-to guides. It was founded in 2005. The website aims to create the world's most helpful how-to instructions in order to enable everyone in the world to learn how to do anything. 


The first topic is how to make tater tot casserole. This recipe is good for anyone who needs a quick and easy meal during the week. Everybody has busy lives and this recipe doesn’t take very long. At the end of a long day most people don’t want to spend another hour slaving over the stove to make a hot meal for their families, or even just for themselves. With that being said, this recipe would be best for parents who work during the week. The recipe can be prepared ahead of time so it just needs to be put in the oven and then served. Another bonus is that the meal can be reheated and kept as leftovers for the next day! As an ever-moving society, it has been taught to “work smarter, not harder” and this recipe is just that. A few ingredients and minimal preparation time creates more of a chance to spend the evening creating memories with family. Also, don't be afraid to have the kids help! 


The second topic is how to change the notification icon on a Samsung Galaxy A50. The A50 was released in the US in June of 2019. This phone has a different look from some of the previous Samsung Galaxy phones. Since it is relatively new, there is nothing about this phone on wikiHow at all! All the Galaxy phones are grouped together which makes it difficult to find exactly what someone needs. The A50 starts out looking different with notifications when first bought. It has a little circle with no information about what the notification means until the screen is dragged down from the top. For anyone that likes to take a quick glance at their phone to see which notification they have just received, this is a hassle. This wikiHow can help a lot of people with the issue of having a small circle for a phone notification and change it into what most people are used to. 


The third topic is how to enjoy a vacation. Some people, when on vacation, don’t know how to live in the moment and enjoy their time. They feel the need to call their friends and family to talk about all of the fun things they are doing. They feel the need to post about everything they are doing that day all over social media. While it is fun to take pictures for memories or to document the fun things someone has experienced, it also doesn’t need to be broadcasted for everyone to see. When people are glued to their phones and aren't fully enjoying the things that they are experiencing, what was the point of going? For that one good selfie taken that can be used as a profile picture? This article would help people disconnect from the Internet and connect with what's right in front of them.

If someone needs an easy, step-by-step guide in order to do something, wikiHow is an endless resource to search. Currently, these three topics are on wikiHow as tutorials, but give it a few weeks and these topics will hopefully be on the homescreen!

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Social Media and the Internet: Do You Really Need It?

As most people know, the Internet and social media as a whole has been a topic of discussion. Is it good? Is it bad? There are many different viewpoints and people are conflicted. Does anyone know how the Internet was made? Most people probably don’t, but here’s a rundown. According to History.com, in the 60’s there was a “workable prototype” called ARPANET. Then in the 70’s, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) were created and finally in the 80’s all three were combined and the Internet was created!

From there we were granted things such as the World Wide Web and a plethora of social media websites. The Internet and social media has changed drastically from the 90’s to now. Most millenials first social media platform was probably Myspace. Nowadays most people have multiple social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.). Society enjoys being connected to friends, family and celebrities. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. 

On the good side, society stays updated on important news and events without missing a thing. For example, a few weeks ago every social media platform was bombarded with news articles and status updates about the Amazon being on fire. There were news articles saying “The Amazon is on fire and no one seems to care” that were being shared constantly. This brought attention to the issue and is currently helping everyone stay up to date with the destruction. 

On the bad side, there can be news articles that give fake news. Maybe they say the destruction isn’t as bad or it is a lot worse than it is. As long as people look into multiple sources, they won’t be caught in the trap. Another thing is that society sees EVERYTHING a person is doing at an instant. Does everyone need to know that their favorite celebrity just got Starbucks for the 10th time this week? Secondly, how does anyone have anything to talk about in person anymore? By seeing everything someone posts it creates a barrier in real life. Because of this reason, social media can be a little intrusive. 

With everyone's information out there it is really easy for people to know things about others. It is very easy to “stalk” people's social media (especially if they are not even on a private mode). If someone wants to know something, it is only a few clicks away. Social media needs to be used responsibly. If someone isn’t responsible with their social media there can be a lot of consequences for that person. There is also a lot of talk about kids and when is the right age for them to get social media but since the Internet and social media is ever changing, there will never be a right time to introduce a child to it. Because social media is forever changing it is hard to determine what sites will be introduced and which sites will go to the social media graveyard (sorry Myspace).