What's it Like to Create a Website

When thinking about coding and developing a website many might find it a little challenging. Designing a website with coding that’s already done speeds up the process and gives a helping hand to beginners. Having a template ready helped focus more on the content that’s going to be on the website instead spending too much time figuring out how to code a website for the first time. Making everything used for the website web-ready on Adobe Photoshop and then uploading them to Adobe Dreamweaver was one of the most important steps because it effects the overall look and how the website runs. Choosing a banner, profile picture and documents for a portfolio is what requires a lot more thought because that is what a potential employer is really looking at and using what’s being displayed to decide if they are interested. Creating a bio page put in perspective what experiences are really important to a future employer, it was a bit difficult deciding what isn’t relevant.

Using a website is good way to post your work, unlike a portfolio that you have to print things out and carry around. On the  website you can post writing pieces, videos, flyers and more without having to limit it to what’s able to print. Having a website makes it easier to promote yourself and to reach a broader audience. This website will be used after interviews or included in a resume to further show possible jobs the experience that was accumulated overtime. This website will be something I can show employers that are interested or clients as I grow in my career that is professional, unlike my social media accounts.

Throughout the semester working with the different social media platforms prepared the class to develop their own websites. Each project gave us a different tool that we’re able to apply to our personal website. The Wiki-how project was a way to ease into actual coding and was also practice for making images/videos compatible with the web. The Twitter project helped with realizing what should be posted onto the internet, and how to use what you post to your advantage. While social media can be a fun place all the different projects reshaped that thought, it could also be used to self-promote and get your name out there. The projects showed the class the flip side to social media and the internet, it’s not only for memes.

The World of Twitter

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Social media, in this case Twitter, has grown into a platform that is more than just posting pictures or funny statuses. It’s now also being used to raise awareness and spread information to thousands of people at once. An example of this was the revolution in Egypt, the article Egypt five years on: was it ever a 'social media revolution'? highlights how the Egyptians used social media to get rid of their president, Hosni Mubarak. Once Egypt was able to get their president to step down it influenced more change throughout the Middle East and North Africa, this is referred to as the Arab Spring. As this information became accessible to the western world they began to call it “Twitter uprising” and “Facebook revolution” focusing more on the social media aspect instead of the revolution itself. Even though Twitter did play a big role in planning and executing the revolution it was more of just a tool to get information out to a large amount of people. They used Twitter and Facebook to organize protests and create a sense of community between those who wanted a change in their country. Another time Twitter was used more than just a social website was during the hurricane in Houston. People used Twitter to post updates on what was happening and to ask for help. With phones and televisions not working, the people of Houston turned to Twitter to get their message out, whether it was the police keeping the people updated or the people tweeting the police and others for assistance. But the downside to Twitter was apparent during the Boston attacks, at first, it’s a good thing because information is being spread out as soon as something happens. But Twitter also gives people a platform to spread false information, intentionally or not. Spreading fake news makes it difficult for those that use Twitter to get their news and stay up to date with whatever is happening. Twitter became something much bigger than just a social media page, it’s used to spread news, unify groups of people, politicians can post their messages to the people and much more.

There were other times where Twitter was used as a communicator of important events. One of those was the #MeToo movement, this movement became “popular” once Alyssa Milano tweeted using the hashtag. Since then thousands of women have come forward about their sexual harassment stories, and it also brought to light famous men who were taking advantage of women. Men like Harvey Weinstein, Brett Kavanaugh, Bill Cosby where called out for their behavior because of the #MeToo movement and where forced to deal with their bad decisions. When rapper Nipsey Hussle passed away recently, Twitter was the main place for people to not only share their condolences but also remind people what Nipsey Hussle was about and how much he did for his community. Instead of it being another story about gun violence it was made into something to motivate people to pick up where he left off.

For this Twitter project I decided to follow Trend Mood, The New York Times, and ESPN. Trend Mood is a makeup page that shows sneak peeks of new releases, shares discount codes for different makeup brands/websites and updates you on what are the new launches. I already follow their page on Instagram and I enjoy their content so it was a no-brainer for me to follow them on Twitter for this project too. The New York Times is a well-known news outlet that not only has stories that are based in New York but they also cover national and international news. Besides my local news website, The New York Times is a news source that I visit the most to get all my updates and to see what’s going on that day.  I decided to follow them because it’s a well-rounded news website that has a little something for everybody; whatever type of news you like you’ll be able to find it there. The last page was ESPN, I don’t consider myself a sports fan of any kind so it was a little out of my comfort zone to retweet and read some of the articles they shared. But the more I read and went through their page I realized that it was more than just which team won what game, they also had inspirational and feel-good stories. Using Twitter is very different, coming from someone who uses Instagram and Facebook. First having to keep my thoughts down to 280 characters was challenging, when you’re on a regular blog or any other social media sites there isn’t a limit on how much you can say. Also, I used Twitter in this project to inform my classmates about cruelty-free and vegan makeup. Usually on my personal social media accounts they’re just for jokes but this project forced me to do something different.

Social Media: the Good and the Bad

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Compared to the early 2000’s social media has reached a level unimaginable, it is everywhere, on your phone, spoken about in your conversations or being advertised anywhere you look. On the other hand, when social media was new it was something that was only seen when you got home on your desktop computer. Social media made it easier for people to connect with from anywhere and see their lives through apps. It also became a source of income for a lot of people, whether they’re a blogger, an influencer or post videos. A lot of people who use social media post everything; what they’re eating, what they’re wearing and even their location. With all the personal things people post on social media some may find it intrusive, but you’re in control of what is seen on your profile. If you’re not comfortable posting certain information about yourself then you always have the option not to. Social media can be invasive depending on how you want to use it.

In this day and age social media has grown and it effects many things in our everyday lives. While using social media it is important to be responsible and aware of what you post because you never know who’s looking at what you are sharing. Whether it’s not posting a picture of your location until after leave to prevent someone from using that information to target you, or not posting certain memes or jokes because a job you’re looking into is checking your social media accounts. Even though social platforms are supposed to be a fun place it’s still important to think about what you post and how it may affect you or even people around you.

A lot of good and bad can come from social media, depending on how it’s used. Some may use their platforms to spread positive messages or bring awareness to an issue, while others may use it to talk bad about others or to give false information. The #MeToo movement is an example of social media being used for something positive. One tweet from actress Alyssa Milano using the hashtag caused thousands of women to speak out about their own experiences with sexual harassment. Although Alyssa Milano didn’t create the Me Too movement, that’s all thanks to Tarana Burke, she used her massive following on social media to shed light on an issue that a lot of women have to deal with. That tweet opened the door for women to be able to have a voice and feel like they’re heard.

As time goes on social media will continue to be a source of entertainment, a career and the center of attention for its users. More apps will be released, there will always be a newer and better platform that’ll shift people’s focus. As people gain more experience with social media they may realize the power that it actually has and use it to bring awareness to social problems and to do more good than harm.