The Rise of Tik Tok

Within the past year, this new video-sharing app has been giving other apps like Instagram and Snapchat a run for their money. Tik Tok is now the world's most downloaded iPhone app. It features short 15 second videos with your choice of music in the background. For the most part, the content you can find on this app is trendy, comedic, and sometimes interactive. It has taken the internet by storm, with over 1 billion downloads and 500 million active users daily.

Tik Tok first launched in 2016 in China, then eventually made its way to the United States in 2017. Then in 2018 this app merged with a similar app called Musical.ly. After the merger, Tik Tok really began to take off. Before essentially becoming Tik Tok, for the most part Musical.ly had the exact same format. It allowed users to lip-sync songs and have virtual duets with different people from all over the world whether you knew them or not. I think that the merger was so successful because it created a massive video database while combining all existing accounts to form a large community of users.

One thing that differentiates Tik Tok from almost all other social media platforms is the demographics that it reaches. The app is pretty easy to use so it allows users as young as 8 years old to become content creators. This makes lots of sense since it isn't uncommon for children that young to have things like cell phones or iPads. For example, the Tik Tok app gives people tools like filters, control over video speed, and access to professional audio and more all available in one place.

Tik Tok's success with younger audiences reminds me of when Facebook and Snapchat first started. Facebook was originally created for college students only and later gained popularity in other age groups. At one point Snapchat did something similar by focusing their age to one app group then eventually capturing other demographics.

I personally don't know many people who make Tik Toks, but I do know a lot people who have the app. Myself included. Tik Tok was one of those things that people considered "corny" or "stupid" but eventually ended up downloading. The first time I ever saw a Tik Tok was on Instagram because you can upload anything you make on that app to any other app. I believe that this app will only continue to grow and attract more people, even the ones who never had any interest in the app in the first place.

Here's a few funny TikToks :)

Lucy # 7: Freedom of Speech

"A community in which free speech is valued and protected is likely to be a more energized, creative, interesting society as its citizens actively fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways." 

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. I don't even want to imagine living in a world where self-expression wasn't allowed or accepted. When I think of free speech I think of so much more than just putting different words together to make a sentence. To me, freedom of speech goes hand in hand with freedom of expression. It enables the free exchange of ideas, opinions, and information which allows us as individuals in society to form our own opinions on different issues that we face.

When the thought of not being able to have free speech came across my mind for some reason a specific episode of Fairly Oddparents came to my mind. In this Nickelodeon animation, Timmy Turner has godparents that grant his every wish with some guidelines attached of course. This episode is a prime example to be careful what you wish for because in it Timmy wishes that everyone was exactly the same. This eventually resulted in everyone turning into gray blobs.

I personally think that the world would be a lot like this if we didn't have any ways to express ourselves. Well of course minus being bray blobs. But without self-expression, the world would definitely be a very boring place. I think that we would have no real way of showcasing who we really are.

Music, art, films, and books are all different ways that people used their own ideas and ability to speak freely in order to create. When we can appreciate different forms of art we can also learn to empathize with it. These things help us learn what emotions are like and how to deal with them. When we experience and appreciate the works of others, we are better able to understand them and their emotions.

Living in a world where there is no form of self-expression or freedom of speech would be very sad and boring. Sometimes we fail to realize how much of our lives revolve around our ability to express ourselves freely. Taking that away would take away who we are. It's important for us to continue to express ourselves and encourage others to do so as well. I truly believe that as we begin to share our experiences and ourselves, our world continues to grow for the better. 

First Smartphone: Everything you need to Know

Was called the “Simon Personal Communicator” & was created by IBM more than 15 years before Apple. 

Launched at $899 with a service contract 

First device to combine the functions of a cell phone & a PDA 

Featured a monochrome LCD touch screen measuring at 4.5 inches by 1.4 inches, & came with a stylus

Could be used for calls, sending emails, faxes, pages, & third party applications

Extra features included: notes collection, an address book, calendar, world clock, and a way to schedule appointments

Before there was Samsung or Apple there was this device. On November 2nd, 1922 Inter nation Business Machines (IBM) debuted the very first "smartphone". Like all the newest iPhones it was something that everyone couldn't wait to get their hands on, but not everyone could afford it. Without a contract this phone could be priced as high as $1,300. There were many setbacks, but people loved the idea of being able to have the internet on the go. Only about 50,000 units we sold and IBM did have plans to redesign the device and perfect all of its imperfections, but they never ended up doing so.

It's a Mad World

Music and art are some of the most powerful ways to convey a message to an audience. The music video for "Are You Lost in the World Like Me" by Moby and the Void Pacific Choir did an excellent job of showcasing how technology might be changing our lives for the worst. Between the combination of sad music and 95% of the images being in black and white, it's almost impossible for the person watching to miss the big idea of the picture.

Honestly, the video was sad. Not just because of the things going on in it, but because of how accurate it was. In the music video, a man is beaten up and receives no help from the people around him, but is recorded instead. A woman is taking a selfie while there's a building burning behind her. And the saddest part to me was the woman who humiliated all over social media after her "terrible dancing skills" are posted, and the aftermath of that is her suicide.

All of the people in the video are numb. Our dependence on technology and obsession with being cool or liked on the internet is literally causing us to be detached from the real emotions of the world. People can deny the fact that they're addicted to their phones all they want, but in reality, we all demonstrate addictive tendencies, and if we don't change our ways we will be the people in this video.