MYP3 Thoughts on Social Media

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Social media has become a global dominant force, as many of us connect online. With so many portable devices and an internet connection from almost anywhere, it is more convenient than ever. Each year the changing trends affect the popularity of many apps. With thousands of different sites, the variety is endless. A recent survey conducted asked the newest year level (MYP3’s) to share their favourite sites. The purpose was to discover what features were attracting to them. The three main sites featured included Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Snapchat was created in September 2011 and is owned by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. Snapchat was originally called Pictaboo which was launched in July 2011. However it didn’t reach popularity until later when the founders changed the name and started to introduce it back onto the market. At the time the main market was high school students and reached 100,000 users by 2012. Since then it has dramatically grown in popularity.  Snapchat allows you to send photos, videos and text messaged which are deleted as soon as the receiver opens them. There are many appeals of the app to a wide range of audiences. Our MYP3’s liked how snapchat allowed them to communicate globally, the stories and pictures allow you to stay in contact with all kinds of people including celebrities and it’s convenient to use. The students enjoy the creative features of the app such as the stickers, filters and streaks. Finally the last appeal mentioned was that it allows you to see whether your message has been delivered, received, opened and screen-shotted.

Instagram is one of the most popular world-wide sites with an approximate 500 million active monthly users in June 2016 (“Number of Monthly”). Instagram was available in 2010 and created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. When setting up an account you have the option of making it public or private (only people you choose can see information). It allows you to follow people such as your friends or celebrities, and lets you choose who can follow you. By using Instagram you can share pictures, videos and messages. According to our survey, the reasons Instagram appealed to students was that it is easy to find people such as old friends.  You can show creativity through your posts, and it can be quite addicting. The features of the app such as the layout and overall design are fun and easy to use.

WhatsApp is another social media app which was created in January 2010. The inventers of the app are Jan Koum and Brian Acton. The both used to work for the company Yahoo!, but left to pursue their own ventures. It has many features which can be used to make chatting online easier. The app can be used to contact people all over the world, an important feature for our students. Group chats can be set up so that a large amount of people can all contact each other at the same time. WhatsApp allows you to call and text people free of charge and if more convenient you can send voice messages. It allows the same features as other sites such as photo sharing but in a different form.

 

From the research it is clear that with such a range of apps and many of the same features all these companies are competing with each other. Having all launched between 2010 and 2011 these three companies are in constant competition with each other, making them want to update and improve. With changing trends and a global market there is constant demand for new ways to communicate. As individuals, it is important that we create a balance for ourselves and remember to spend time offline with those around us.

Many Thanks to the MYP3 students and their contributions!

By Beth (MYP3)

 

Bibliography

Audiovisual:

“Instagram Icon.” Instagram Brand, Instagram, http://www.instagram-brand.com/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

“Snapchat Icon.” Seek Logo, SeekLogo, seeklogo.com/snapchat-logo-249555.html#. Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

“WhatsApp Icon.” OS X Daily, 25 May 2015, osxdaily.com/2015/05/25/whatsapp-for-mac-whatsmac-app/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

Web sites, e-sources:

“Instagram.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sept. 2016, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram. Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

“Number of Monthly Active Instagram Users from January 2013 to June 2016 (In Millions).” The Statistics Portal, Statista, June 2016, http://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

“Snapchat.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2016, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapchat. Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

“WhatsApp Messenger.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2016, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp. Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

Technology Update: New Features on IOS10

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Apple recently unleashed their new big update, which has definitely changed the way we use our phones. But with all of these new features, it’s hard to understand how to use them all. If you are interested in knowing these features and how to use them,  keep reading:

1. Send a Visual Message

• Apple spent a lot of time updating the messaging apps in IOS 10. Emojis are three times bigger, and web links show up as media. But wait… there’s more. Your messages can now come with a visual punch, or a festive background. First start by typing in the message that you want to send, then hold down your send button. You will then get to choose from bubble effects like Invisible Ink or full-screen effects like fireworks.

2. Find your Friends in Photos

• The photo app now has facial recognition, which easily allows us to locate different people in your camera roll. Every person who is in your camera roll, have their own folder with every picture which they can be seen in.

3. Hide Apples Apps

• One feature that everyone seems to like, is that now you can delete the original apps that Apple puts onto your phone. If you never use the Stock App, or you have no interest in Stocks, you can now delete the app, which will remove it from your phone, and give you back the space that it has taken up.

(Source here)

4. Know Your Favorite Lyrics

• Apple Music, has made it possible to get the lyrics to the song which you are listening to. When listening to a specific song, pull up to reveal the lyrics tap above the Up Next section. Here you can expand or hide the full lyrics. Unfortunately, Apple has not gotten the rights to display song lyrics from all the music publishers, so we still don’t know what Rihanna is singing about in her song, “” I guess we may never know…

5. Set Your Bedtime

• If you have trouble getting up in the morning, Bedtime is a new tab in the Clock app that will help you to get a better night’s sleep. You can choose at what time you want to wake up and pick how many hours of sleep you need to get a bedtime reminder. The feature then keeps track of your sleep activity so that you can be more consistent of your sleeping patterns.

 

Bibliography:

Remundo, Oscar. “10 Features to Try First in the Public Beta of IOS 10.” Macworld.com, 7 July 2016, http://www.macworld.com/article/3092414/ios/10-features-to-try-first-in-the-public-beta-of-ios-10.html. Accessed 1 Oct.

 

By Sophia O (MYP3)