Week1: Blogs I Commented On

 Carlos Palacios

Towa Mizuno

Megan McDonell

Week1 B: Social Media Use Today

     I think that social media usage falls across the spectrum, much as human's do. Human nature is really what makes it what it is! On one end, you have the ability to share heart-warming stories, connect with people all over the world, find moments of inspiration and joy, see beauty (travel, art, music, etc.), and build a large community of people who support you. On the other end - social media can be a very sad, overwhelming, harmful, dangerous place. Some people weaponize social media to cause mental, emotional, and physical damage to each other. Social media is what it is, a blank canvas to share yourself, your thoughts, your values, and your talents. However, I think that more people need to choose using social media in a good way. 

    Social media sites, in my opinion, can be used in both business and personal ways across all platforms. Firstly, I think that the intended usage was originally as a people connector and community builder. From posts on Facebook, photo sharing on Instagram, TikTok vides, tweets, and Pinterest boards you see people sharing their lives. However, I think that the digitization of our world has come full circle with an almost virtual "world market". Through all cultures and times in history communities have come together to sell their skills, goods, and ideas. That has moved onto social media through people who have business, make sales, promote themselves, and create their own brands. Certain platforms like Facebook and Instagram have harnessed using personal ideas/trends to market businesses and connect with new customers. 

    I rarely use social media, but when I do its purely as a social connection and sharing tools to those who are close to me. I live far from my family, so I am able to share (via Instagram) my son growing up, my personal experiences, and my day to day existence. It makes us feel like we are closer to each other and its been really important in created a relationship between my son and his cousins, grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc. I use TikTok to share jokes with my family and friends. I don't make videos but I can always find something that I know won't only make me laugh, but that I can quickly send to someone I love to make them laugh as well. 

Week1A: My Blog Theme

     The blog theme I have really is a two part look into who I am as a person. Most importantly, I picked a picture of my family as the background. I picked this photo, and overall picked a family photo, because my husband and my son are really my motivation for getting through school and being successful. In times that are difficult I find myself most able to focus and be productive when I am thinking about them and focusing on the future that we are having looking forward too. Secondly, this photo is a very happy moment. My 28th birthday and my son's 6 month 'birthday' were within five days of each other. For my birthday my husband paid for us to get family photo's done, because it means a lot to me to have photos and memories, and we ended up capturing how happy we are to be a family. 

    I picked a darker, more shaded, muted theme because it kind of meets my personal aesthetic as a person. I very much enjoy darker, quieter, solemn decorations. My personal style could be described as "Southern Gothic" and my house is even decorated to match. I find that darker background on the computer are also really good for my eyes! I work from home on my computer, as well as school, so after long days its nice to be not staring at a bright screen. I do most of my work at night while my son sleeps, and the darker colors also disturb him less. Its a good pick of practical and preference. 

    The only other change I really made was the text color! I really love yellow, and the goldenrod yellow was a very happy choice. As much as I like dark solemnness, I think that its incredibly important to always enjoy color and enjoy the beauty of the world around us. Yellow makes me think of sunshine, warmth, joy, and brand new bright days.