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  • Remember When…We Didn’t Live in a Web 2.0 World?

    What do you think of when someone asks you “Remember When?” Among the historical disasters that have plagued our world, the media has always played a prominent role in the information that is released to the rest of the world. For example, in 1986 a huge explosion occurred at a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine. Even though nuclear power represented a large technological step forward for mankind, our technology in regard to media was still lacking. In fact, the Soviet Union tried its hardest to keep any information regarding the disaster out of media coverage. Not only did it take a long time for the rest of the world to find out about the disaster, but when they did, many of the facts were inaccurate and misleading. This is only one of the many examples in which getting authentic news coverage was halted by the government. Also, the mediums in which the information was made public were very minimal.  There are many other events that occurred during World War I, World War II, The Cold War, Vietnam, etc. that were not made public as well due to the lack of technology in that era.

    In more recent years, a new dawn of technology has signed the beginning of the Tech Age as well as the information Era. These new technological discoveries have further allowed us to transfer information liberally and have also given us the privilege of instant access to information that would otherwise have been difficult or tedious to find in the past. With improvements in technological development, such as the internet, we now have new global platforms that further enable and enhance the flow of information.

    We saw the amazing impact of the Web 2.0 technological age on the fateful day of September 11, 2001.  The new millennium called for the drastic cell phone advancement from bulky older versions to a new PDA form.  The advantages of this transformation really came to light when doomed passengers were able to make one more phone call home on their descent.  Also, real-time coverage about the day’s events was available instantaneously for the world to follow.  Unlike the decades prior, we did not have to wait for the evening news or rely on word of mouth information about the attack.  Americans could simply turn their television on, tune into their radio, call someone on their cell phone or access the internet from their PC or smart phone to keep up with ongoing news that day.  While this was beneficial to the average American that wanted to be informed, it proved especially pivotal for family members that had loved ones working in the buildings that were attacked.

    Every major advancement in society comes with its consequences.  While the technology era has birthed an easier way of living and communicating, the new wave of innovations came with a downside characterized by the improper usage of this knowledge via the media. Nowadays the media is manipulated all the time; these negative effects often come from lobbies that push political agendas or use inaccurate sources.  It is hard to determine what is credible on the web today due to the fact that almost anyone can access it.  Even with the disadvantages that come along with the new technology enhanced media, events such as September 11th prove the importance of getting accurate information in a timely manner.

    – Sasha De Vecchi, Lindsay Gallagher, Jay Reilly, Cary Welborn

  • A Speech Haunted by the Past

    How long does it take for people to forget about your past? Apparently, for some, it takes longer than 14 years. On Wednesday night, former president Bill Clinton spoke at the Democratic National Convention. He addressed the crowd with an honest, straightforward approach. However, many people found it difficult to believe him.

    On social media such as Twitter, people were arguing that they could not trust things coming out of Clinton’s mouth due to his dishonest past. Twitter users were using the hash tag #slickwilly to discuss his forty-nine minute speech. People on Twitter posted  “Bill Clinton, a.k.a #SlickWilly was disbarred for lying..Not a word he says can ever be trusted..” and “May I remind you that this is a man who was impeached by the House of Reps for perjury and obstruction of Justice? #Clinton #SlickWilly.”  These tweets were just a few of the negative words being spread across social media. There were, however, just as many positive remarks concerning Clinton’s speech as there were negative on twitter September 5th.

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    Clinton has been branded by a group of U.S. citizens as dishonest. For this reason, the many facts that were included in Clinton’s speech have been meticulously checked. Although none of them have been found as incorrect, he has been critiqued for exaggerating many facts. The facts Clinton presented that have been questioned were his statements about the health care reform, Medicare, and the American Recovery Act.

    Clinton’s speech is the only one that has been carefully examined for not providing the whole story to back his “honest” claims. None of the many speakers at the Republican National Convention were critiqued as much. Due to his scandalous past, Clinton is on a careful watch. If it were not for his impeachment, people would likely not question what he was saying.

    So do you believe Clinton gave an honest and real speech? Or do you think his speech left out details that were necessary?

  • “Tweeting” the Way (Back) Into the White House?

    This Labor Day weekend, as thousands of North Carolinians made a trek to the beach, others headed inland to Charlotte in anticipation of the Democratic National Convention and the preliminary festivities. On Monday, the excitement was palpable in Uptown as “CarolinaFest” served to get audiences pumped up for the opening day of the DNC. The streets were overflowing with vendors, street performers, temporary exhibits and thousands of chanting supporters, who all came together in celebration of North Carolina’s first-ever national convention.

    After experiencing the fervor first-hand, it was hard to imagine that (as right-leaning media suggested) the Democrats would have problems filling seats at either venue where the speeches were originally scheduled to be given. Convention officials were unfazed by this possibility and rightly so; enthusiasm at the event and via social media was at an all-time high for the first night of speeches. Signs were hung from various booths in the heart of the DNC activities to “keep calm and Tweet #DNC2012” and on the first night of speeches, viewers all over the country did just that.

    In the opening night of DNC speeches alone; the continuously trending  topics #DNC2012 and comparable terms received almost 3 million tweets…roughly 3/4ths of the final tweet count (taken over the entire three-day period) of the Republican National Convention. While all of the openers were well received (the numbers don’t lie!), the most prominent twitter conversations took place during the speeches of the Mayor Julian Castro (of San Antonio, TX.) and our First Lady, Michelle Obama.

    Mayor Castro’s speech peaked at 11,503 tweets per minute (TPM) which was higher than all of the GOP speakers excluding Mitt Romney himself. However, the “magic” really happened when Michelle Obama took the stage to officially open the convention. Peaking at 28,003 TPM, Mrs. Obama’s speech received twice the amount of “Twitter action” than Mitt Romney’s GOP acceptance speech, which saw 14,289 TPM at its peak. It is truly remarkable that one 25 minute speech could garner so much attention and foster a virtual discussion of mammoth proportions. While the content of the tweets in question undoubtedly varies, the important thing is that it got people talking.

    The use of twitter as a forum for political discussion and debate among average Americans and major media entities alike continues to grow and evolve as we near the 2012 election season. Will this explosion of Democratic enthusiasm continue all the way to the polls? Only time will tell. One thing is for certain: Democrats are using all of their available media to ensure that their voices are heard.

    (The twitter stats listed above were taken from the Twitter Blog (http://blog.twitter.com/) additional information regarding the DNC can be found at http://www.demconvention.com/ )

    –Lauren Habig , Gene Lee, Hannah Eure, Erin Kiffmeyer, Ally Walton

  • #Eastwooding

    Clint Eastwood is a man of many roles: he’s a movie star, American badass, producer, director, and even politician.  Most recently, he can also add empty chair talker to the list.  Eastwood attended the Republican National Convention this past Thursday, August 30th. He was attending the convention to give an endorsement speech prior to Republican candidate Mitt Romney taking the microphone, and things got a little wacky.  Eastwood began talking and asking rhetorical questions directed towards Barack Obama to an empty chair on stage.   Almost immediately after the speech aired on television, Clint’s stint at the convention became a huge buzz on social media networks, such as Twitter, where #invisibleobama was trending.  Not only were people talking about Eastwood’s strange chair conversation, but people also began posting pictures of themselves reprimanding empty seats as well, giving rise to the internet’s newest sensation, #Eastwooding.

    Romney may not have known what the outcome of bringing Eastwood to the convention would be, but it was certainly a strategic move on his part. It is safe to say that even if no one was expecting such a social media buzz about the speech, Romney was definitely looking to add star power to his campaign. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have become celebrities in their own right over the last four years. Obama has even taken to trying to downplay his celebrity in this election. This article from the Washington Times discusses Obama’s relationship with George Clooney. Obama is quoted as saying, “Clooney keeps his distance so that [the President] won’t be criticized for hanging out with Hollywood celebrities.” So it makes sense for Romney to try to bring in some celebrity credit, since after all, he is competing with the President who hangs out with George Clooney and was nominated by Oprah Winfrey. Who could be better to compete with those two celebrities than Clint Eastwood? Both candidates are trying to walk the fine line of celebrity endorsement. Obama has a little too much, and Romney has a bit too little. Why does celebrity endorsement even matter though? Celebrities are able to make campaign’s multidimensional and bring in more funds.

    Mitt Romney knew what he was doing when he brought in Clint Eastwood. He knew that Eastwood is a celebrated and respected actor that everyone can easily recognize. What the Romney campaign did not realize was the unintentional social media phenomenon that #Eastwooding would become. This trending topic got people from all over the country posting pictures of themselves speaking to empty chairs. Not only did it spark a riot via social media outlets, it also turned a national holiday, Labor Day, into National Empty Chair Day where people were encouraged to continue to post more pictures of empty chairs. Coincidence? We will let you decide that one. As for the Republican Party, their intentions of bringing in Mr. ‘Dirty Harry’ himself were well thought out and calculated in hopes that he would be able to rally the voters who are currently undecided to choose their candidate. Instead, the Republican National Convention of 2012 will forever be known for Clint Eastwood yelling at an empty chair as opposed to what issues the party stands for in this election. These unintentional acts can make or break a campaign. Will #Eastwooding have a lasting impact on the campaign? Will the President soon become #invisibleobama? Only time will tell.

    –Alexandra Huss, Caroline Merrill, Alyssa Morrello, Lauren Van Trigt, Daniel Williams

  • “Keep America America”; Mitt Romney’s Slogan Backfires

    This year’s Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida was not exactly a great success. In fact, the Gallup Poll showed us that Mitt Romney’s speech at the convention received “the lowest rating of any of the eight speeches Gallup has tested since Bob Dole’s GOP acceptance speech in 1996,” according to The Huffington Post.  The post also stated that the convention produced the worst voter intentions in history with a +2 percent, compared to +3 in 2004 and +5 in 2008. While there are many variables that contribute to such low ratings, the convenience and effectiveness of the mass media played a key role.

    Most people will not argue with the claim that media attention has become the basis for political attitudes in today’s society. The fact that the average American can essentially look up any information whenever and wherever they want can be very beneficial for presidential candidates in regards to reaching a large number of voters in a short period time. However, there is a downside to millions of Americans having the world at their fingertips. Mitt Romney first experienced the disadvantages to the Web 2.0 phenomenon when he spoke at the NAACP convention this past July. When reflecting on his speech, Romney stated, “I had the privilege of speaking today at the NAACP convention in Houston…when I mentioned I’m going to get rid of Obamacare, they weren’t happy … that’s OK…You remind them of this: If they want more stuff from government, tell them to go vote for the other guy — more free stuff. But don’t forget, nothing is really free.” When this statement went viral, Romney received a lot of negative press. While some argue that accusations against Romney’s statement were taken out of context, it shows how important media attention is to the public’s perception of a candidate. People made their own judgments about Romney’s statement, which in turn swayed their opinion about Romney one way or another. A more recent example of how detrimental the mass media can be consists of one of Romney’s recent catchphrases which simply reads “Keep America America”. People are outraged that Romney continually recited the phrase because the slogan “Keep America American” was used by the Ku Klux Klan in their 1920’s attempt to deface many groups including African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and homosexuals.

    Americablog, a progress political blog, was the first to provide the now popular examples of the controversial overlap. Much of the focus was put on a video of the multi-millionaire candidate in which he is found using the now controversial slogan. Mitt Romney was also quoted on the blog from an article found in the L.A. Times in which he repeats the phrase.

    Since Romney first used the slogan, people have been publicly bashing him on all social media sites. While Romney’s slogan “Keep America America” is eerily similar to the Ku Klux Klan’s rally to “Keep America American,”the two phrases are not one in the same. While Romney used the phrase to insinuate that we must keep American values incorporated in our government, the Ku Klux Klan used the phrase to convince people to discriminate against others. It is obvious that presidential candidates, or anyone associated with politics should be very careful about slogans and phrases they use because one wrong word can gain a lot of bad press. Therefore, while it is unknown why Romney used such a slogan for his campaign, he is going to have to deal with the consequences and try to regain some voters that he might have lost as a result of using it.

    The fact that Romney had a similar but not identical (while we must admit it may be too similar) slogan to that of the Ku Klux Klan has directly affected him.  Romney, in a sense has been “branded” by this one slogan.  It is likely that people who may have not even followed the presidential election have formulated an opinion against Romney upon hearing the controversy behind the “Keep America America” slogan.  The rise of technology’s role on mass media in today’s society has led to more branding than ever before.

  • Life’s a Beach & I’m Just Playing in the Sand


    If I could sum up my college experience at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in one word, it would be: fast.  I have grown up here, and Wilmington has become my home away from home.

    My High School Graduation 2008

    When I came to Wilmington in the Fall of 2008, I was a shy and naive teenager, fresh out of private school.  My wardrobe was tiny from having to wear uniforms to school from the age of five, and the only thing that I was certain about was that I was so happy to be at the beach.  I have always been an ocean girl and from a young age, my best family vacations involved me, my pink ruffled bikini, and a bucket full of shells.  I knew that as much uncertainty that was occurring in my life, I could rely on the waves to keep crashing on the sand.

    A year later, I finally chose my major and decided that my dream of becoming a wedding planner could become a reality with a Communication Studies degree.  All of my professors were so helpful, encouraging me to take the right courses and giving me the tools to be successful, not only within the major, but also in my future career.

    College Graduation May 12, 2012

    One professor in particular truly made a life changing impact on my college career.  I have taken almost every class she taught, including Integrated Marketing Communication and Public Relations, and have learned incredible lessons not only about communication studies, brand marketing, and social media, but also in how to be successful in the fast approaching “real world”.  I will always remember the day that I first met this professor.  I told her that I wanted to be a wedding and event planner and she giggled while telling me that I had a long way to go before I could say that.  She pushed me to work harder and encouraged me to get involved and get experience so that I would be prepared.  Dr. Jeanne Persuit is an incredible professor and her current and future students could not be more lucky to be learning from the best.  There is no way to express how thankful I am to have been in Dr. Persuit’s classes (and, no, this is not because I have a GIANT project due Thursday – promise!).  But I do know that she will be reading this post, so I’ll say it loud and clear: Thank you for absolutely everything!

    During the past four years, I have taken classes, learned amazing life-lessons, and blossomed into a confident, social, and successful woman.  I became involved.  I joined a sorority, made the best of friends, and I even survived COM 400.  And now that I am embarking on an incredible new journey known as adulthood, I still know that one thing will always be certain: the waves will always crash, over and over, on the sand on Wrightsville Beach.

    Cheers to the next step!

    Love always, Christina Stevenson

  • Cheers!

    UNCW has been my home away from home for the past four years.  The relationships I have made here will be the ones I cherish forever.  Friends and professors taught me more about myself than I think I’ll ever know.  As graduation slowly approaches and the stress of finals suddenly begins to fade, I hope to feel more relaxed and prepared for the world out ahead.  Although it is scary to enter the real world, I will keep my Communication Studies professors in the back of my head. I will carry COM400’s advice and skills with me through each future endeavor I face.  I can now reflect on what I have learned, completely focus on myself, my own goals and how I can achieve them.   I never thought that during freshman orientation I would be walking across the stage as a Communication Studies major wanting to pursue a career in public relations nor did I think it would happen so fast.  I am confident in myself and the things I have accomplished in Wilmington.  I know I have been given the skills I need to reach success.

    I faced experiences that have challenged and tested who I am as a person.  I have lost loved ones, moved to California for a year on my own, started new relationships and ended bad ones, and I put myself out there to build my professional portfolio.   It’s crazy that it all comes down to one day, one day where all those trials and tribulations will all come together and show who I have become. It is a moment where I can sit with my peers and laugh about the moments we dreaded.  From COM200 probes to COM400 portfolio presentations, we know we shared those times together and helped each other get to this very moment.  We will be able to celebrate the new beginnings we face and wish each other the best.

    Without my UNCW experience and the relationships that I have built among the Department of Communication Studies, I have no clue where in the heck I would be today.  So, for those of you itching to get out of school, take a moment and look around and do not take your college years for granted, for they are the most important years of your life to discover yourself. Cheers to my fellow seniors and what is yet to come!!!

     

    Leanna Marshall