1993 to Now, Nothing's New

Friday, December 10, 1993 is the day the world was graced with my clumsy presence.

The weather in Plano was nice, 62.5 degrees F and no chance of rain in sight (Farmer's Almanac). I was born to Kellye Marie Blankenship and James David Lackland. Both were recent graduates of Lewisville High School's class of '93 which is the same high school I graduated from 18 years later in the class of 2012.

Seeing as it was a Friday, it was a great night for movie premiers including Geronimo: an American Legend, Sister Act 2- Back in the Habit and Wayne's World 2(The Numbers). The average movie ticket in December of '93 was $4.14 (NATO Online)!

 

 (YouTube)

I was also interested to see what ads would be like for something I already know I like (sorry, I read bad reviews about you, Wayne's World 2) and this Dr Pepper ad is definitely worth the laughs;

(again, YouTube)

One article that stuck out to me was an interview in Vogue with the First Lady, Hillary Clinton. (Reed, Julia 228-233).

 Barbies were a big part of my childhood and its fairly humorous to see what Barbie looked like the year I was born (Mary's Antiques).

Fashion around the time that I was born was definitely very 90s (The Vogue Archive).

Christmas Tree Brooches. You don't get much more tacky than that.

But I will say, as a makeup junkie, not much has changed in that area and I feel like the look in this Revlon ad is most definitely something that would be seen today (The Vogue Archive).

After conducting the research for this project, I do believe it's safe to say that not much has changed in these nearly 22 years, other than the fact that I've grown taller. Fashion trends come and go, entertainments fads and their obsession with sequels (and threequels) have always been a (somewhat problematic) thing and that some people just really know how to keep their name in the news (looking at you, Hill).

Farmer's Almanac. "Weather History Back to 1945 from the Farmers' Almanac." The Farmers Almanac RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. 

Mary's Antique's. Mary Lynn's Cyber Antiques. N.p., 02 Nov. 2015. Web. 

NATO Online. "Annual Average U.S. Ticket Price." NATO. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. 

The Numbers. The Numbers. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.

The Vogue Archive. Vogue 01 Dec. 1993: 12+. UT Dallas Library. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.

YouTube. 

 

 

As a PS!!
I fixed the alignment on everything but there was one spot (under Wayne's World 2) that didn't want to move. And I added the author's name on the Hillary article but the other sites didn't have authors listed :/ 

I think I fixed everything else you asked though!

Traffic, be it readers or drivers, I don't like it

Upon creating this blog, as I learned the ins and outs, one of the things that bothered me greatly was the fact that it shows you how many people have viewed your profile or looked at one of your blog posts. I'm not sure what makes me so uneasy about it, the fact that people I don't know are looking at it? Or the fact that they are people I know, I just don't know who? No one gives feedback (except for my awesome roommate Victoria who commented on my first blog post, and the awesome Dr. Lee on my Twitter! WooHoo!) But it still leaves me feeling a bit... creeped out? I know I'm writing things for people to read, but I don't want to know the exact number. I agree a lot with the employees in the beginning of the hubspot article, seeing and knowing how many people view your stuff makes you hungry for more views. But more views doesn't always equal success. I will say, I do like knowing who's viewed my things when I know who they are. Snapchat is an excellent example of this by allowing you to see who's seen your story.

 That doesn't make me uncomfortable in any way. BUT I will say, I'm not like Henry Blodget who seems to feel that the viewers are everything mainly because I'm not posting for my viewers. I know my pictures aren't the same as writing for a magazine article, but I feel like its somewhat the same principle.

(for anyone who wanted to see that story; its my cat, Sophie) also as my title suggests, since I didn't tie it in anywhere, I don't like traffic on the roads either.

The All Mighty Y! versus the Big D

When it comes to online news, for myself personally, I've used Yahoo! in the past, and lately I use Reddit or MSN (because that's what we use at work, so I see the headlines without really trying to seek them out. I've never really sought out the Dallas Morning News, but if I were to, it would probably be the physical copy as opposed to their online site. I listen to the news on the radio on my way to work or class and then if a story intrigues me, I tend to Google it to see what else I can find later. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not terribly aware of the news all the time. I lead a busy life, two jobs and classes (plus homework) doesn't leave a lot of time for me to be able to sit and browse things (this includes social media, my accounts have been terribly neglected this semester. I know, gasp). That's why I enjoy listening to the news though, I can listen while I drive so I'm not just sitting and not doing anything.

News to me is anything informative about the world around me. I like knowing what the weather this weekend will be like, I like knowing which laws are passing or being written, I enjoy hearing about the sporting events that happen. I don't consider celebrity news to be 'news' in this sense because its just not... useful? information. I guess in the same way as everyone else, when it comes to news, I'm a sponge. I soak up the things I see/hear and I know of them, I just don't know all the details to every event.

When it comes to comparing the sites, I believe one of the most obvious differences is the locality. The Dallas Morning News is a local page, although they do cover other topics, its mainly focused on this area, which isn't a bad thing! In a lot of cases, locality is good, it helps you know what's happening around you. I think that locality could be a pro and a con for the Dallas Morning News and that the wide range of locations for Yahoo! news could also be a pro and a con. I think Yahoo! has a better reach because they're a multifunctional site (email and ask Yahoo! and such) but, I feel like the Dallas Morning News is more known for news so people might consider them more reliable.

Two things I like about the Dallas Morning News would be firstly, the way it's set up. It's very organized and I like the readability of it. I feel like the page breaks make it a more comfortable thing to look at and the pictures help create breaks in the bricks of words. I also really like how the ads are on the side and out of the way so I don't have to weed through what's news and what isn't. As for Yahoo!, I like how the sub-topics are all listed on the left side so if you're looking for something specific, you can navigate to it easily. I also like the right side with the writers are written on the side along with articles by them specifically listed underneath.

Things I dislike about each page would be that I feel like the Dallas Morning News' front page all evening has been about the Cowboys' loss which although is true, is still painful to see. Also not terribly news-worthy to me. My second complaint feels a bit nit-picky, but I don't like how the actual news stories are listed next to the huge picture talking about the Cowboys. There was a shooting in Arlington that's just pushed off to the side! I know that it's probably because they don't have a lot of details yet, but the priorities feel off. For Yahoo!, My biggest complaint would have to be the ads. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE. I feel like I'm treading through a minefield where I have to be careful where I click. My other issue would be that they focus a lot of attention on celebrities and TV shows, which I'm also not a huge fan of. Where's the news, people?

When it comes to choosing a site that I feel is 'better', I'm at a loss. My gut tells me Dallas Morning News because I do enjoy looking at and navigating on their page more

I definitely am more of a fan of the Dallas Morning News because every ad I've encountered on their page has been stationary as opposed to the many moving ads on Yahoo!. Also I like the headlines being toward the top, because on Yahoo!'s page, they throw stuff in the middle that just feels out of place

No Yahoo!, I do not want to search my name on that site and then brace myself, I want news.
I enjoy the closeness of the Dallas Morning News as well, there was a section on things that are happening next weekend in Collin County and the only sports teams they write about are the Dallas ones (which are the only ones I care about). I like it because it doesn't take a lot of digging,

As I scroll down both pages, I'm further reinforced in my belief that the Dallas Morning News is just set up nicely. I also really don't like the emphasis on celebrities on Yahoo!, I don't care that Michael Jordan is wearing an unreleased pair of Jordan 1s. He's Michael Jordan. All of his shoes are technically "Jordans".

I also feel like the Dallas Morning News is a more reputable site than Yahoo!. This isn't based off any kind of fact or data given, its just in my opinion that a place that solely focuses on the news is more reputable than a site that hosts a search engine, an email, maps, and everything else Yahoo! does because I feel like things get left out or quickly glazed over in an effort to get everything done. People don't multitask well, and I know computers and algorithms are much different, but it's hard to get out of the mindset that its possible to have a successful piece of work with multiple moving parts when it feels like each part doesn't get enough attention.

The not so better half of Assignment #2

For my choice of YouTuber for Assignment 2, I had zero hesitation on who to choose. I learned of Jenna Marbles in honestly the best way possible, around 2 AM, at my friend's house, trying our best to keep our giggles from waking her parents. And that about sums up everything you need to know about what I'm going to tell you.

Jenna Marbles' (real name Jenna Mourey) clips are hard to define, they don't really serve much of a purpose (as in news reporting or beauty tutorials), but she creates a sense of connection with her viewer very readily, along with her relatable humor and how easily she presents herself before the camera, I find myself trapped in the YouTube loop of link after link on her channel time and time again. She takes requests for videos pretty often and most of them are along the lines of "how girls ____" (and then the next week "how guys ____") or "things girls secretly do" or what have you. They're all very funny and typically either very true or laughably satirical in form.

Marbles' (or Mourey's) content is different because she keeps her viewer's attention easily, she's very comfortable in front of her camera and as the 7th most subscribed to channel and the top channel operated by a woman, she's amassed quite the following in the past 5 years. Let's face it, once you have a following, you're a lot better off than someone trying to establish one.

I picked her because growing up, I didn't spend a lot of time online, so now, in what little (and with two jobs and classes, I mean little) free time I have, I know I can go to her channel for a few good laughs. She updates her channel every Wednesday (sometimes Thursday, because she's busy) so there's always new content to catch up on!

This last question gets me thinking because I'm taking it two ways; would she have been successful without YouTube? Honestly, I don't think so BUT if she were to stop using YouTube now, I think she would still be pretty successful because she's an actress (in other YouTuber's movies) and a vlogger, among other things, so YouTube isn't the only thing keeping her afloat anymore.

Sorry I didn't post any links! I'll do more for part 2, I swear!

Twitter; So Much to Learn, So Many to be Taught

Hello world of Blogger, my fellow ATEC2321.001 peers and the very small number of my coworkers reading this post! I'm not quite sure what I'm doing here so bear with me...

*I'm still not super familiar with Twitter and how everything is formatted so this assignment wasn't as easy breezy for me as it was for some, I'm sure.

(Also I didn't retweet the links that caught my eye and that I felt were retweet-worthy... Is that a bad thing?)

ANYWAYS, read on for Netflix, a seal joke and a little bit of happy!

The first tweet that caught my eye was by Netflix, announcing the new logo for their new show, Fuller House. I loved watching Full House with my sisters growing up, so this is a super exciting series for me and although the logo isn't any different from the original (unless you count the "-er" in fuller), it's still an exciting development.

My next good tweet was probably my favorite, and it was posted by Imgur. I'm an avid Redditor so I'm fairly familiar with Imgur and it's workings, but this honestly was much funnier than what I'm used to, I love funny and I'm a sucker for a good joke. It's a gif (PRONOUNCED JIF LIKE THE PEANUT BUTTER) of a seal, who doesn't love seals?

http://imgur.com/gallery/bdn3gbm
(Worth the click, I promise)


My last good tweet actually lead me to do some reading and to learn something new, so I figured it was a good example of a retweetable tweet, it was by TIME magazine and at first, I was uninterested, but then I stopped to go work (haha I'm doing homework at work) and when I came back, I actually read what it said "I just get a little tired of everybody running around and talking about how terrible everything is." And I honestly can't agree with that statement enough. Too many people are so negative about everything in life and you need to see the bad to appreciate the good, I know but jeez people! Let's be happy every once in a while, dangit! Life is beautiful!!

I honestly had no idea who Kasich was, so I did a little reading and he is the Republican governor of Ohio. The more you know!

My bad list includes alcohol, Star Wars and cilantro, oh my!

The first and perhaps most useless tweet of the day was this one from TIME magazine;

I first felt that a poll/quiz type of thing was a little silly for a magazine like TIME and I also felt (feel) that you can't lump an entire country's drinking habits into one solid chunk. (Also there was no American anywhere on the list! What if I drink wine like a 35 year old soccer mom?! HOW WILL I KNOW) There's not really any way I would suggest "fixing" a post like this other than to not post it at all.

Fun Fact, I HATE cilantro with a fiery passion. I read somewhere once that either you hate cilantro because you can taste it or you can't taste it (because its bad. there's nothing good about it, you just can't taste it so you can't tell how bad it is) and GOODNESS can I taste it. I hate it. I love Mexican food so I have to be careful about being adventurous. Anyways, as I was happily discovering all Twitter had to offer me, I scrolled past this picture;

and I immediately sat up straighter. I'd recognize those leaves anywhere. Cilantro. Snuck its way onto my screen... that slimy herb. This tweet honestly has less to do with content and more to do with my personal preference, but to each their own.

My last bad tweet is probably going to cause a fuss... The Wall Street Journal tweeted a gif of some sort of droid saying that "this little guy" could take the place of R2D2 and I'm over here like "ZZZZzzzZZZZZ" couldn't. care. less.

Here's a tip, WSJ, save calling something a "little guy" for something that's actually cute. like a kitten. like this kitten;