Online Communication, Business Assessment- Sunski Sunglasses

The business I chose to review is a sunglasses brand that was founded in San Fransisco California in 2012. Sunski is a brand that aims to provide affordable and sustainable sunglasses for outdoor recreation. In my opinion, I think that Sunski does a great job at communicating their goal and their "vibe" on their website and social media platforms. Their presence on instagram is organic and true to their style. For example the brand is not Gucci or Lewis Vuitton this brand uses models that advertise activity with the sunglasses such as biking, hiking, or running. 

On the top of the home page of the website has a quote that says "Rare Shades for Wild Humans" this is an eye catching and unique phrase that draws people in. Then in the middle of the page there is their mission statement and a few images of their top selling or new style of sunglasses. Towards the end of the page their is other links that you can click on to get to the main shopping site of their sunglasses as well as information on how their company is practicing sustainability. Personally I find it effective, the top part draws you in and tells you about the company and their mission as to why their sunglasses are worth buying and towards the middle they show some of their styles and how they look on people then at the end of the website it gives facts about sustainability and the company. Another thing that I found attractive about this website and the company is that their sunglasses a quality and all under $100!!

I think that this business really has a unique and organic feel to how they communicate to their customers and how the express their brand. Here are some images from the company site that I really speak to how the company is managed and the customers that they are trying to reach. 

Personally I think the company could improve on their social media appearance by reaching out to customers to post or tag them in posts to better reach different audiences and customers.

Discussion- Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

 Howdy Readers! This week I am planing on talking about the big divide between humans on media. Many times you have the young generation using social media platforms, the internet and technology much more efficiently than the older generation. Digital Natives is a term that is used by Marc Prensky he defines them as people who are native speakers of the digital language (tends to be the younger generation, people who have grown up with email, texts, chats, and various social media platforms). Prensky also uses the term digital immigrants, people who also use social media and technology but were not apart of the digital world at some point in their lives. Prensky talks about a digital divide between digital immigrants and digital natives he also discusses the impacts that it has on the student teacher relationship and how education and students choose to learn. In his article "The Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native: What they do differently because of technology, and how they do it"  Prensky explains how the internet and information is now free, accessible and abundant in any information that a student is trying to learn. Usually in the classroom teachers were the only ones teaching the information, most times it is not the information that the student is interested in, and if the student is interested in the information why listen to a lecture that has selected information that the teacher only knows or has prepared when you could access all information with a few clicks on a computer or smart phone. This has led to a divide in the classroom. not to mention the lack of ability that teacher who tend to be digital immigrants lack in using social media or technology in a way that effectively engages a digital native and attempts to assist in their learning as a student. 

Another author named Paul Kirschner discusses the "myths" that Prensky's addresses in his article. One myth that is discusses is how being a ‘digital native’ doesn’t necessary mean one is ‘digitally literate’ what Kirschner is trying to get at is that even though someone might be a digital native, they might not understand the 'social rules' or how to interact on a media or internet platform making it difficult to connect with other fellow digital natives making them 'digitally illiterate'. Kirschner's article is called "The myths of the digital native and the multitasker"  

I think that due to recent events many people had an online present that thrived during the COVID pandemic. Many digital natives found comfort in communicating online and began to become more comfortable living their lives this way. For example online exams, SATs, and virtual classrooms have become preferred by some students rather than in-person tests, group work, and attending in person office hours. So many students have become so much of a digital native that they prefer only interacting and learning as a digital native. I understand that this is an online course and we have all chosen to take the course online due to any amount of situations that we are all in, but I wonder if there was a day where all classes had to be in person, how many people from this class would show up to actually meet our fellow peers in the flesh? To be honest, maybe I think that it would be a waste of time or maybe it is just a cover knowing that I am okay with communicating through a screen rather than in person. I know I would like to think that I would be the first person to show up to an in person lecture but if I am being truthful I am not sure if I would be biting at the bit to be permanently in person. 

The Ups and Downs of Integration!

 In this post I will be discussing Knapp's relationship model step integration. I have been with my boyfriend for quite a while now. We first started the initiation step during freshman year of high school, we were in this step for quite awhile. Throughout high school we progressed through Knapp's model quickly until college came around and we decided to end things due to distance and the start of a new chapter for both of us. We still talked off and on throughout our first semester of college and we eventually decided to try and give long distance a try. During the end of our winter term, the COVID 19 pandemic hit and we found ourselves back in our hometown. After looking through Knapp's model I was shocked to find that things with my boyfriend did not start over at the initiation stage, as we both did so much personal growth throughout the time we were apart. During the pandemic things were so easy, and the integration stage came quickly. We are now doing long distance still!! And it is going as good as it can be, it is interesting looking at Knapp's model and comparing our relationship and how it has progressed through the stages, but it has also been not a smooth progression long distance definitely takes a tool on the integration stage for us and it is difficult to connect sometimes when we are far apart. Thanks for reading! If ya'll have any suggestions on how to make long distance relationships not suck so much please tell me!! Here is a pic of my and my man hope ya'll enjoy! 

Online Influences and Oversharing

 Hello all, in today's post I will be talking about my personal experiences and opinions on a couple different social media platforms, the benefits and drawbacks of each platform and finally addressing social media's influences on mental/emotional health. First, the platform on the chopping block, Snapchat. Some benefits of Snapchat, like most social media platforms, is that it is a fun way to engage with friends and family. Snapchat allows you to send chats with photos. The fun thing about Snapchat are the filters that you can place on your face, other people's faces or just the background, pretty much any filter that you can think of is on Snapchat. Snapchat is not like instagram where when you post something you are not receiving validation via likes on your posts. Snapchat is also more limiting with how you follow and receive followers on the platform. Some drawbacks of Snapchat are that it is every time someone sends a snap it disappears immediately after that viewer sees the photo, keeping the audience more engaged but also it has become the new "texting" this platform can allow toxic things to be said or explicit pictures to be sent to the viewer with the comfort of knowing that what has ben sent or said will disappear. In my experience this makes senders more comfortable with sending negative content over snapchat. Other drawbacks about Snapchat can be viewed here. Next up, Instagram. I personally want to focus on the negatives of instagram but here is a great article that talks about benefits of Instagram in education. I grew up in a house where my parents did not let me get a phone till I turned 14 years old, this seems reasonable but by that time all of my friends have had a cell phone for at least a year. Another rule while growing up was that I was not allowed to get any type of social media until the end of senior year of high school. After getting Instagram I realized how much I was protected from the negative content on Instagram and from myself. I began noticing that I cared more about my appearance, constantly putting on makeup and dressing up when going out with friends because I knew we would be taking photos to post. I am not saying this is unhealthy, but for me, it got to the point where I struggled with body image and I was not taking care of myself mentally, emotionally, or physically. For me, this is a major drawback of Instagram. Instagram makes you feel instantly gratified if you get a new follower or by how many comments and likes that you have on your most recent post. For a while I was only posting content that would get me more followers, likes, and comments I was not posting anything that showed people about my personality or who I was. Because of these experiences I think that social media does have an obligation to post more about mental health showing people that what they see on social media is only a fraction of the actual person the profile belongs to. Social media platforms could start by doing this in encouraging mental health breaks, or starting a # movement. What I mean by that is establishing something that everyone can relate to but is a topic that many people do not feel comfortable posting about. Platforms could also approach celebrities or influencers and ask them to share something about their mental health that they feel would help other people out there.