Trigger Happy in Social Media

Guns have been a big issue in news for quite a while. You hear about murders and shootings and scares relating to firearms all the time in the media. The Washington Post has put together a multimedia package all about guns and how they affect society.  They call it “The Hidden Life of Guns.”

Which platforms do I find the most striking? The interactive maps really show data. The colors, indicating a certain category, really stand out.  The map on crime gun imports and exports by state in 2009 really shows the facts. Georgia came up as having the highest total exports in the United States. That means that guns coming from that state have turned up in the largest numbers in criminal matters in other states. Police have recovered the most guns that came from other states in California. Who would’ve thought?

It’s always good to have all these different platforms to view stories and statistics about guns. They all tell you something different, even if they are about the same topic. The visuals of infographics can strike of viewer with bright colors, big and bold fonts, and graphics that an ordinary article cannot do. The articles, on the other hand, tell a story. It flows. The reader can follow. After reading, the reader can click on the links in the story and learn more. Jumping from one link to the next, the viewer can always learn more about the topic.

One of the articles says that more than 62,000 guns were unaccounted for in U.S. since 2008. People clearly see this as a problem. The article shows a bundle of statistics that most people may find as striking. It shows how many issues we have with guns in the United States. Other articles tell of many dramatic stories of shootings, how cop killers get a hold of firearms, how politics tie in, and all the trouble that guns cause in the country. 

The most striking platform I have found in the multimedia package was the videos. Dramatic music, pictures, listening to a storyteller, it’s all there. You can see personal stories as well. Videos help you connect with these stories.

These methods of social media do a thorough job in informing the reader. It’s a good kind of social media that help us know more about such issues that are quite important in reality. We expand our knowledge with these stories, videos, and infographics. Washington Post, you’re doing it right.

Hurricane Sandy and Social Media

With over 6 million people without power, Hurricane Sandy still goes on terrorizing the northeast.  The social media world is exploding with news, photos, and reactions to Sandy. But is it all true? What else are people doing with Sandy?

There have been several photos going around social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, and some of them have not quite been taken within the past few days. One of the very popular pictures going around is one of some soldiers standing in Arlington cemetery in the pouring rain. The picture was actually taken in September, so it’s about a month off.

Some other pictures that have been going around are from movies or they were even completely photoshopped. So next time you see a photo of a scuba diver in a subway station, don’t take it too seriously.

Twitter users have made a lot of twitter accounts just for Sandy as well. Most of them make crude jokes about the hurricane instead of actual news. One account has over 200,000 followers.

Some are trying to make Hurricane Sandy a joke, even when over 30 people have been reported dead. Sandy is now becoming one of the “big ones”. It’s been confirmed to be the largest hurricane to have formed in the Atlantic Basin. 

Twitter: Reliable?

Twitter has come so far since six years ago when it began. There are more than 140 million active users, and there are about 340 million tweets per day.

But what are people tweeting about?

Sure, some are tweeting about what is going on in their lives. But sometimes we get some tweets that may not be true, and they can become a problem. It especially affects how much we trust the media. Someone can tweet a bad rumor about someone, and it can spread like wildfire.  Things get around more quickly and spread out farther than any other social networking site. And sometimes someone will post something that may be true, but it can lead to make a stretched truth or mess with someone’s reputation.

Take the political events happening now. USA Today journalist Paul Singer wrote: "Within 15 minutes after the first tweet by @InvisibleObama, the account had been mentioned on Twitter by Mental Floss magazine, the news website Salon, and Washington Post political reporter Chris Cillizza and columnist Ezra Klein, according to data supplied by social media analysis firm Radian 6. Those four media accounts have more than a million followers combined."

If this was said back when online social media wasn’t as common, the Big Bird issue wouldn’t have been such a big issue. People would not have thought much on what Romney said. But people’s responses went around so much that it seemed like a much more important issue. And it was taken out of context. This also happened with the “binders full of women” issue from the second presidential debate as well as the “malarkey” situation from the vice-presidential debate.

Word gets around more quickly these days, but sometimes it is to our disadvantage. 

"Binders Full of Women"

            Social media plays a part in society more than ever, especially in politics.  The way we express our political views in 2012 has taken a great step since 2008. Take memes, for example. Most of the time, people take something that a person said out of context, grabs a picture, and inserts a caption.

            The most recent example of this in politics comes from the second presidential debate when Romney spoke about “binders full of women.”

What Romney was saying was that he was looking for some qualified women to hire for his cabinet. The phrase “binders full of women” basically meant, “binders full of women’s resumes and profiles.” Some people understood this. Some did not. A number of people took this short phrase out of context, and turned it into a sexual innuendo. Some took it out of context and said that he was discriminating against women, saying that he described women as simply objects in a binder. Twitter exploded with tweets about it. Facebook pages were made. Memes were generated.

            And was Romney really discriminating against women? On the contrary, he was expressing the opposite. It just might not have been the best way to describe a group of women’s resumes.

            Did people go too far with this? Obama supporters have been waiting for something like this to occur. They have been trying to find some way to bash Romney because he had been doing very solidly in the debates and his campaign. It’s a close race.

            But is this really a big issue in politics and social media? I personally knew nothing about it until a day later. My Facebook feed said nothing.  It did not quite spread like wildfire. When friends brought it up, their opinion was that it’s a non-issue. It is just a phase that will soon pass on and be forgotten. And I believe this to be true as well.

            My personal opinion is that the response to “binders full of women” was exaggerated. People may have been offended, but not as much as they expressed. The negative responses have turned into a negative campaign against Romney. Will it affect the election? It just depends on how others respond to this issue. But it is not likely that it will affect much.  

Alumnus Profile

Some college alumni find it hard to leave their college life behind. This is especially true for Bridget Masotti, Benedictine College class of 1987. During the summer of 2012, she returned to her alma mater for her 25^th class reunion.  She is the second of a 3-generation legacy. Her mother attended Mount Saint Scholastica, and her two twin daughters are currently freshmen at Benedictine.

While she was living in Kansas City, Bridget loved staying in touch with fellow colleagues, but after moving to the east coast, she found it difficult. “Since we moved out to the East coast, I haven't so much,” Bridget said. “Thankfully she has Facebook to keep up with her old college friends, even those she hasn’t been in touch with in many years. I've reconnected with so many people through that.  Also, since we knew our twins were going there, Alex and I have really reconnected with the BC community.  It is especially cool knowing that many of the staff at BC went to school with us or were there in one capacity or another when I attended.  I love that about Benedictine that people don't want to leave.” With her two twins now going to Benedictine, freshmen, she’s reconnected with other colleagues who are now staff like President Minnis, and Linda Henry.

While she was studying at Benedictine, Bridget Masotti, formerly Bridget Broker, met Alex Masotti, class of 1985, and they married after college. Since graduation, she has lived in Kansas City, KS; Anderson, SC; Rogersville, TN; Mishawaka, IN; and Greenville, SC. She had five children. Today she is a 4^th grade teacher at International Baccalaureate School in Greenville, SC, which is where she and her family have been living since 1999. Alex is Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety for a division of ABB North America. Her oldest son, Anthony Benedict is getting married in December. Her daughter Megan, 21, graduated from Clemson University in three years, and is living back at home. She is teaching 2^nd grade at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School. Her twin daughters Micaela and Rachel are currently freshmen at Benedictine. Her youngest son Dominic is a high school freshman at St. Joseph's Catholic School. “We are happy and thriving and we owe much of that to the foundation that was laid when we attended BC,” Bridget said.

Profile Summary

Bridget Broker Masotti is a Benedictine College graduate, class of 1987. She met her husband Alex Masotti at Benedictine. She has two daughters currently attending Benedictine, and she still keeps in touch with her colleagues.