Emily Duever

Not too long ago, Pinterest announced that they would be launching, or aiming to launch, their first IPO later this year. Predictions for how the company will do because of this IPO are all over the place. Similarly to Facebook, they could go public and only continue to grow and succeed. Twitter did pretty much the opposite after launching their IPO and hasn't quite been the same ever since. With trends changing every day and attention spans being shorter than ever, the social media game is hard to predict. The thing that sets Pinterest apart, though, is that Pinterest is set apart. I meant there's no other social media site/app that has or does exactly what Pinterest does. There are no "statuses" and it really caters a more creative audience than Facebook or Instagram do sometimes. One article I read, however, said that while Pinterest is definitely unique, they do have one major risk to face: Google. It seems Google has been watching Pinterest pretty intent...

We've all heard about Facebook and their scandals. They kinda seem endless lately but as of now, Facebook is taking a stand against some of the things that make their social media site so much less enjoyable. They've decided to take legal action against the companies that are selling fake followers and likes on their site. Fake likes and followers plague every social media and they give false credibility to pages that don't deserve it. Many users have found them to be misleading or downright annoying, not just on Facebook, but on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter too. With Facebook taking action, hopefully, other platforms will follow which means that Facebook and all of the platforms it owns such as Instagram, Whatsapp, Messenger, and many more, are setting the standard for social media policy and interaction. Another problem social media has is fake news and many of the bogus articles that are passed around, are passed around on Facebook. CEO Mark Zuckerberg...

We should all consider ourselves lucky to live in the U.S. and have the first amendment protecting our free speech. Uganda isn't so lucky. Recently, the Ugandan government implemented a "social media tax" which affects more than 60 online platforms, including big names like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter. The tax is 200 Ugandan shillings a day. The government revealed their reasoning behind the tax to be that of wanting to cut down "idle talk" and raise revenue for the government and Uganda itself. The plan didn't exactly pan out, though, because, within three months, the number of Ugandan internet subscriptions fell by 2.5 million. I don't think the Ugandan government is going to be raking in the revenue that had hoped they would... While the government did outline they're apparent reasons for this social media tasks, outsiders think that there might be alternative motives. An election year isn't too far away for the people of Uganda and t...

Recently I've been researching different kinds of lesser known social media and websites allowing people to connect with one another to see what kinds of things are out there. I came across something recently called Archetypes and it sparked my interest.  To get started on Archetypes, you first take a quiz that determines exactly what archetype you are. The options seem a bit endless with 12 different archetypes to end up with but if your's isn't quite clear-cut, they do tell you which of the 12 you're a mix of. The descriptions of the archetypes are super helpful as well since you can just scroll over them and get a better understanding of what each one is.  After you receive the results of your quiz, you're able to read stories related to your archetypes and even shop for perfumes, spritzes, and candles that are meant to be compatible with you. The site is still under construction and they're working on adding more features but when they do, you sh...

While checking Facebook the other day, I came across a new video from Barbie's Youtube channel.  Launching in 2015, Barbie's vlogging videos opened up another dimension of the famous Mattel doll to children who were already seeing some of their heroes creating content on Youtube. Recently, however, Barbie has put out some content focusing on women empowerment, an important message for many of the young girls playing with Barbie dolls and tuning into her channel. The most recent video I saw was on what Barbie calls "The Dream Gap." In her vlog, Barbie comments on young women not pursuing their dreams or being discouraged from doing so by society. After a bit more research, I learned that Mattel launched The Dream Gap Project in 2018. This campaign aims to better empower the young girls playing with their products and show them that if Barbie is capable of doing anything.  We're all aware of Barbie's numerous careers. From president to teachers, socce...

With so much going on in the world and in this country, it's important to stay up-to-date and in the know on all things "news." Making sure that the news we're receiving is as unbias as possible is a huge part of staying properly informed. In order to share the ways in which I stay up-to-date, I've included my top 5 news sources below. 1.) The Skimm The Skimm, is a perhaps less popular news source that comes with a wealth of information. It provides you with a daily morning summary of everything you need to know once you sign up. This allows you to start your day with relevant and timely updates on everything happening in the world. 2.) Buzzfeed Buzzfeed, being tailored to a younger demographic, often offers a different spin or viewpoint on things happening here and now. While it may not always be unbias, it does allow for younger people to start conversations and be aware of what is trending and being talked about. It's also a very interactive source,...