COM0014 Blog post#2 Sea Shanties have taken over TikTok storm.

By Chris Price

Vlog Sea Shanties have taken over TikTok storm

Sea Shanties, a form of singing and story telling dates back to the 1400’s. Recently, the singing of sea shanties have a come back on the social media site Tiktok, a social media site that is known for bringing dancing, lip-sync, and other trending videos to social media. Videos tagged #seashanties have brought in over one billion views, a number that is growing due to word to mouth.

Sea shanties art image reference historic uk https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Sea-Shanties/

sing together while they worked and it would help keep the men on task. The singing would keep everyone in sync while pulling and pushing the ropes to raise or lower the sails, to raise the ship’s iron anchor, and to bring in the fishing nets. Most sea shanties would have a main singer also called a shanties man and a crew that would sing along to the song as they worked. The rhythm of the shanties helped keep everyone synchronized. They were used to hold the sailors attention, but it also gave the men much amusement and brought much needed humour to the hard labour jobs that sailors performed everyday on long sea voyages.

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YSltK-10zk

Even today if you wandered into a pub in England or Ireland, or wasinvited to a kitchen party in one of our Maritime provinces you may stillhear the singing of these shanties songs. So it’s not surprising that these songs have shown up on TikTok at this time of isolation.  Because of covid-19, people are longing to share community experiences such as the singing of shanties songs.

Reference: The Wellerman – TikTok Sea Shanty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auI9Cx8SGX4

Reference:

https://www.cnet.com/news/why-sea-shanties-have-taken-over-tiktok/#:~:text=According%20to%20online%20history%20magazine%20Historic%20UK%2C%20sea,be%20pushing%20or%20pulling%20at%20the%20same%20time.

Ben Johnson, https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Sea-Shanties/

COM0014 Blog Post #1 What I did on my Vacation

My Cruse through the Panama Canal

COM0014

By Chris Price

I took a trip In February and March of 2019, I took a Cruse with Royal Caribbean through the Panama Canal, starting in Miami, Florida and finishing in San Diego, California. The places we stopped on our cruse were Cartgena, Coloumbia, Panama, Costa Rico, Guatemala, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Cobo San Lucas, Mexico.

Miami, Florida, U.S.A.

On February 25th 2019 we Boarded The Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas in Miami, Florida, U.S.A

Fort Cartagena, Catagena, Colombia

Blue Macaws in the Avery at the ship port Cartgena, Colombia

The first stop was Cartgena, Coloumbia where I went on a tour of the old city and saw the old fort.

Sloth High in the Trees, Panama

My second stop was Colon Panama where I took a Eco Tour where I saw wild birds, monkeys and sloths high in the tree tops.

Locks at Panama Canal

The next day the cruise ship started its passage through the Panama Canal. The passage took a long 10 hours to pass through three sets of locks, started from the Alantic Ocean and went to a large lake in the middle of Panama Canal and then Came out to the Pacific Ocean.

Crocodile in Costa Rica 

Crocodile in the water waiting forBare Throated Tiger Heron come closer to the water. Costa Rico

Next stop was Costa Rica where I went on a bird watching and tropical boat tour, where we saw crocodiles in the wild and many type of birds.

Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua, Guatemala

Next stop on the cruise was Guatemala, where I took a guided tour of the old town of Antigua and visited a Jade factory and saw many small women selling blankets and crafts that they had made.

Great Blue Heron, Mexico Ecotour

Next Cruise stop was in Manzanillo, Mexico where we went on another ecotour into the Mangrove forests and saw many species of birds.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Two days later, the ship arrived at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We took a city tour and walked along the Boardwalk, visited a Market and a few parks. We stop at a hotel where the movie A Night at Iguana was filmed.

Cobo San Lucas, Mexico

Pelicans on Boat, Cobo San Lucas, Mexico

Harbour Seal, Cobo San Lucas, Mexico

On March 10^th, the ship arrived in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We had to be tendered by boats into the Harbour. We walked around the Harbour area and took a lot of photos.

San Diego City Scape

Japenenes Garden San Diego, USA

Toucan at the San Diego Zoo

On March 13^th the ship docked in San Diego where I left the ship. I walked to a nearby hotel and stayed there for two extra days. I used their local train system to visit many sites in and San Diego including the Navy Pier; the aircraft carrier “Midway”; the famous San Diego Zoo; museums in Balboa Park.

Blog #4

By Chris Price

COM0011

Starting a Podcast

Resource Image WordPress Stock Image

A Podcast is a radio show transmitted over the internet. Anyone can produce a podcast with an internet connection and some inexpensive audio equipment. Podcast shows can be on any topic or theme from Gardening, Travel, Cooking and Baking, Entertainment (talking about T.V. shows and Movies), to News and Sports. People host and produce a podcast as a way to share their passion for the subject-line the podcast is about. For example Rick Steves hosts podcasts on travelling through Europe and the hidden secrets most tourists will miss on their own travels . He hosts the podcast to share his experience with other travellers.

There are many talk shows on FM/AM Radio but most people don’t have an opportunity to host a radio talk show. Radio show hosts and producers have to deal with sponsors, commercials, station managers, government and corporate regulations. Podcasts don’t have as many rules and regulations and anyone can start a podcasts. They don’t need to be a formal broadcaster or have permission from a broadcasting corporation (CBC Radio). The cost of starting a podcast is much less than the cost of studio time at a radio station because you can buy basic recording equipment, microphones and computer software starting around a hundred dollars. 

Before starting a podcast you have to choose a theme and category for the podcast talk show, such as News, Sports, Entertainment, Comedy, Health, Music, Business and Politics. “Social Pros Podcasts” hosted by Jay Baer and Adam Brown is an example of a well known Social Media podcasts. The show talks to guests that are working for different companies and they discuss their different social media strategies and ideas that they have used in social media. “Social Media Marketing” hosted by Michael Stelzner is a weekly podcast that also interviews social media experts and successful business people to help listeners learn new strategies to deal with social media marketing. “Well since you asked” is another podcasts that focuses on business and where listeners can learn how to become entrepreneurs and how to start a business.

To be successful, podcasters need to make their podcast interesting, informative and entertaining. If the podcasts is based locally, it needs to receive recognition within the community (town, City)? Podcasters need to decide how many people (and the demographic of people) listening to the podcasts makes it successful by setting goals or targets for attracting new listeners. If the podcast has a topic with wide appeal, a high target of perhaps a thousand new listeners or downloads per episode may be an indicator of success. If the topic has niche appeal, then perhaps more modest goals should be set. Podcasters need to measure their “listener count” at the podcasts networks website to verify that their goals are being achieved. If goals are not being met, podcaster need to either set more modest goals or change the format of the podcast to attract a different demographic of new listeners. 

Podcasts make it easy for listeners to hear from talented people or leaders in industry, to share their experiences and give advice. It provides a platform for information that we might not read or hear about anywhere else.

Resource

https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/how-to-podcast.htm

Blog #3

by Chris Price

COM0011

Facebook and Instagram adds eCommerce ‘Facebook shops’ to its social media sites.

resources image wordpress stock image

Now Covid 19 has Closed down stores and business around the world, facebook help to launched online shopping on facebook and instagram. Facebook for years are trying to find ways to invest in eCommerec stores online with Facebook Market Place. Facebook Market Place is a classified sales site for facebook is the same as kijji and Craigslist. Facebook Market Place like the other Classified Sales sites are not shops but are privet people putting antiques, appliances and other items that may be used for sale.

Facebook has become a standard in developing an eCommerce network for advertizing and marketing for retailers. Now, Facebook is testing out new ways for people to shop online and for businesses to sell merchandise by introducing “Facebook shops”. “Facebook shops” makes it easy for businesses to set up online stores on both facebook and instagram. Businesses can create a catalog of products that they want to sell on their on-line “shop”. Businesses can customize their shops with many different templates and colours. They can add a cover image to show their brand online. Facebook provides the business with a link to “shop builder”, an extension found on the Facebook tool page. The businesses can upload product lists one by one or by connecting and streaming their catalog to existing eCommerce shops such as “Shopify” or “eBay”. 

Facebook makes the process easy for business to maximize shopping options for their brands and to build their shops on facebook and instagram. Facebook shop will make it easy for customers to make contact with businesses from ‘shop listings’ by connecting through “Facebook Messenger”, “Instagram Direct” or “WhatsApp”. The Customers will be able to view and make purchases from “shops” through “messengers” stream.

Also, Instagram has added a shopping section to it’s app to explore different product lines. The customer on Facebook and Instagram will be able to see pictures of the products from the shop’s catalog online. The customer can select the item pictured and a link will appear to the shops store web site where they can purchasers the item. Businesses having a “Facebooks shops” page helps expand the business and attract customers to the web store site. 

“Facebook users” spend more than 40 minutes per day on average on Facebook and other social media networks. Facebook is becoming a powerhouse for Advertising to ‘millions’ of people sharing and communicating information to their friends and families. People are just one click away from “Buying” and “Sharing” on Facebook, a good reason for businesses to have a “Facebook shops” page.

resources

Social media today;  https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-shops-for-facebook-and-instagram/578255/

ecommerce platforms; https://ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-selling-advice/how-to-create-a-facebook-shop-page

What Is Facebook’s Future As An E-commerce Platform?; https://www.forbes.com/

Blog #2

by Chris Price

Comm0011

Facebook launches a brand new app called Venue that focus on watching live sports and events on television.

image resource word press stock photo

Facebook launches a new app called Venue. It focuses on introducing a second screen experience for more live sportingevents and concerts to make them a more interesting, engaging, and interactive experience for fans. Facebook is providinga Venue for sports journalists, athletes, analysts and commentators to share their thoughts during events. It will provide interactive features like quick polls, commentaries on the game and ask questions for fans to answer. Famous Sports personalties can post “moments” about the game or the streaming event. Fans will be notified when a new moment aboutthe game appears in venue and they can check the app for the latest updates about the game or sporting event. Facebookpartnered with NASCAR to be the first sports organization to use the new platform.  Facebook is looking to partner with other sports leagues including the NFL football. 

Facebook found Facebook found that 94 percent of people are watching sports while holding a smartphone in their hands. Social media apps have been trying to make better second screen experiences for years with both Facebook and Twitter trying to make the experience of watching sports more interactive.Facebook tried to make a live sports feature in their main Facebookapp back in 2016 called Sports Stadium. Its intent was to engage fans with discussions around every sports league and their teams.

Twitter has been a favourite for real time events such as sports for it’s rapid response online. Twitter sees a more than 4 percent from from live sports and entertainment then any other social Media sites. Twitter looking to broadcasting live sporting events, trying to merge both screen and text in one platform. Twitter made major deals with both NFL Football and MLB Baseball to use their platform for broadcasting games. Twitter had more than 19 percent on 2017 Super Bowl game while other social media outlets had a decline during the game. More than 31 percent more Twitter users were more engaged with the sports on Television. 

Facebook Venue is trying to compete with Twitter by improving the experience of fans by providing more insights on the plays of the game by commentators with multiple angles. Initially Venue focussing on sporting events but is planning to eventually expand to other live entertainmenteventsand broadcasts such as liveconcerts, music festivals andeven world news events.

Resource

Andrew Hutchinson, Social Media Today, https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-launches-yet-another-new-app-this-time-focused-on-live-event-enga/578886/

marketing twitter, https://marketing.twitter.com/na/en/insights/twitter-changes-the-live-tv-sports-viewing-experience

cnbc, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/29/facebook-venue-app-lets-you-stream-sports-starting-with-nascar.html

COM011 Blog 1 Introduction to Social Media Positives and Negatives of Social Media in times of Covid 19 pamdemic

By Chris Price

As Covid 19 spreads around the world, Social Media Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and other Social Media apps and sites have helped inform people how to flatten the curve of the virus. These sites remind us about good hygene and behaviours to keep us safe, e.g., washing hands, cleaning surfaces in the home and work place, and wearing face masks when out in public places. Social media sites continually keep people informed on up to date news of the SARS Covid 19 pandemic.

Twitter has been a tool and voice for governments and world leaders as well as for front line workers (Doctors and Nurses) to provide data, expert opinions, and updates on latest information regarding experiences, treatments, potential vaccines and safety measures. They are an excellent source for the public to access information about the virus and progression of symptoms some-one may experience if infected. Help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Twitter, Facebook and other Social Media apps give all people an opportunity to voice their opinions and experiences on covid 19 pandemic; to voice concerns for their health; concerns for the economy, to thank front workers, to pass on positive messages to family and friends. Facebook and Youtube keeps us entertain and provides “how to” videos on making face masks and shields. People are working and going to school (online learning) from home using Microsoft Team or Zoom to have office meetings. Businesses that closed down during lock out have opened up online with people working from home. Zoom and Team and other video meeting social media apps help gyms and fitness instructors keep their businesses running where everyone can stay at home and practice social distancing. 

The Negatives of Social Media apps, Facebook and Twitter is that there is a lot of misinformation and conspiracy theories circulating in the social media. Many people use social media as their only news source, people have to decide what is real information and what is fake information, by looking at many different social and news media platforms. They need to think about the information and advice they are getting to see if it makes sense and remember who it is coming from. Examples, several twitter followers claimed medications designed for malaria and ebola were good treatment for Coronavirus. Other media outlets claimed these treatments were not based on science. There is much misinformation, on social media about where the coronavirus started in China’s wet markets, come from eating bats. Both United States and China are using Social Media as a propaganda tool against each other and their own people.

Source

COVID-19 Reminds Us: Social Media Is Good, Actually

https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2020/04/17/covid-19-misinformation-remains-difficult-to-stop-on-social-media/#301882b14819