CMN450 (03) Participatory Media

This website contains very detailed information on colour theory. It defines and explains the 3 core principles of colour theory (complementation, contrast and vibrancy). It also advises the reader on structures of how to select good colour schemes (triadic, compound, and analogous). Furthermore, it includes advice on tools the reader can use to design colour schemes.

Through a list of the top social media websites, it explains how you can benefit from each one. The website explores communication, brand exposure, and traffic to your site. It also discusses how each site can benefit you and reasons why you should use it.

A website that shows the top 40 most popular social networking sites around the world. Each website has a brief summary of what it is and where it is popular. Very interesting contrast in popular websites that are international, and some that are more specific to different regions/countries.

*Note: this list is as of 2012

An article that discusses social media and how it can be a useful tool for a global organization/company that crosses at least one national or regional boundary. Provides tips on how to get their message heard, as well as provide the top used social media websites in different countries.

This interesting article discusses the advantages in using social media to fight crime and solve cases. Whilst originally social media appeared more risky than helpful, police have discovered using social media is the fastest, most effective way to get warnings out and help find missing persons, and one of the best ways people can communicate with them without feeling threatened.

An interesting article about how people who are in real life, serious situations, take photos and tweet them or Instagram them and they spread across the internet showing the truth about events occurring. The article discusses how social media brings us closer to international events/issues/problems and how social media spreads truth to the false news articles or censorship that often happens.

this article talks about the different ways to use social media in campaigns for different issues

This video refers to one of our readings, by Jonah Berger. He talks about why things go viral; the causes of it. The video is very informative , and gives us a different perspective of what Berger has to say, since he engages with an audience and demonstrates some pictures and puts emphasis on text on a PowerPoint slide, unlike his article. I enjoyed watching this clip and was able to understand it better than the article itself.

This article refers to the lecture and assignment of the power of social media tools to represent a brand or organization. Furthermore, this article talks about the four big social media platforms, being LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These social media tools are great for commercial use; to connect and gather interest from the public. It touches base with individuals on an almost personal perspective, as the platforms talk directly to an individual or certain group. This article emphasizes why these 4 well known platforms are being used by marketing teams and organizations themselves.

This article is useful for individuals looking to edit their videos effectively. The tips provided are to guide a video editor in making the best edits possible. Before editing a video, it is a good idea to look for some tips to help you start well before messing up. Those 10 simple tips will be a good read before you start your editing session. This topic goes back to our lecture on how to edit videos.

This link refers to a bunch of audio story telling recording of different individuals. By listening to a few if them, you will be able to get a feel of how an individual can bring life to whatever they are talking about with the use of different voices and tone if voice. Also, the use if pauses and sounds are meaningful in some cases. This link greatly helps an individual with making their own narrative story, as we had to do in the begging of the semester.

This article talks about copyright violations of a company to an individual. The company used a photographer's pictures for their benefit of making it used commercially for their profits. Just because it was posted on Twitter, a public domain, doesn't mean one can steal someone's products without permission. This is related to our copyright lecture of what not to use for commercial use without giving credit to the original owner of the product.

This article explains how although it is not always possible to predict if content will go viral, there are some similarities between content that has gone viral in the past. For example, Walter explains that viral content shares common features like addressing real-world problems, by evoking emotion (such as anger or humour), and usually has an element of surprise. Walter also adds that how material is distributed and by whom (ex. if celebrities are endorsing it) often plays a key role in whether it will reach a level of virality.

Is there a way of predicting if content will go viral? This article, published by Forbes magazine, written by Roger Wu, attributes the viral success of a certain types of media such as videos, images and sound clips into two categories: the "Roadblock Effect" or the "Stagger Effect." Wu explains that viral content can be divided into these two categories and can therefore be used to determine whether or not content will go viral.

In this article, Jonah Berger explains "what makes things go viral," essentially what common themes tie things together when being virally shared. Berger expresses that there is a science behind why content go viral- for example, he says that virality can depend on the medium of how it's shared and it's level of sharability (ex. Facebook or Twitter). Also, Berger notes that another reason why content goes viral is because individuals want to appear more intelligent by sharing certain links that make them look better. Berger also explains that viral content has a related theme of "triggers," meaning it appeals to our stimuli in the form of sight and sound.

Burstein's article looks into the concept of virality from a marketing standpoint and examines how to use social media in order to market a product or brand in a way that it will reach a large audience and reach a level of virality. Burstein says that although you do you know have full control of whether your message will reach viral status, there are ways in which to encourage virality. For example, Burstein explains getting involved with your audience and being engaged with social media outlets. As well, he advises marketers not to come off as "salesly" or pushy, and to instead recognize the needs of your audience.

This article analyzes the idea of how virality can be influenced by the emotions felt by the audience. For example, the article explains how people who feel emotions such as happiness as result of viewing certain content are more likely to share it with their friends and networks, therefore contributing to it going viral. The article also uses data collected from Fowler and Christakis' study in 2008 which monitored the emotions people experienced when sharing things on Twitter.

This blogger looks at the different ways to utilize word press and how to optimize the site. This could be helpful to skilled word press users to help them find new tools they can use. It also is useful to new users as it gives step by step tips on how to operate the site.

This article looks at the power that people have on social media and how easily it can rally people together for a cause. It uses an air pollution problem in Beijing to demonstrate how awareness of different issues affecting us on a global scale can spread.

This website focuses on what to consider while trying to make your website as visually appealing as it can be. Specifically the article touches on overall appearance, page layout and a detailed section on the importance of color. This link provides helpful tips that people can utilize to design their website the best they can.