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Journal Week 5: Social Media's impact on small businesses in India

There's no doubt in 2025 that the internet is now a utility that is used around the world for a number of purposes. Social and political revolutions have taken place thanks to internet communities created through Facebook and Twitter. Natural disasters have been reported faster and aid has been delivered quicker thanks to first-hand reports of destruction. International business has spread because of the marketing and influencing through social media apps. In India, specifically within the small business community, social media has had a great impact on the brand relations, sales, and marketing of various micro and small enterprises (MSE) (Madhumithaa et al., 2023). It has also allowed entrepreneurs greater access to financial services and resources that can help grow their businesses within their communities. "...social media (including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) has played a crucial role in empowering MSEs by providing them with a platform to voice their concerns and ...

Journal Week 4: How can AI enhance teaching and learning?

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As big a science fiction fan I am, I have to say I am not fully on the AI train. More specifically, I am not a fan of seeing AI as a replacement of anything, but more as a tool. I have seen the benefits of AI in many aspects of my life—helping create baseline lesson plans for intense units in my ELA classroom, helping me plan the first big family Thanksgiving dinner by creating grocery lists and finding recipes that met my qualifications, and even helping answer some questions I had on a few tax forms.  So if I approach AI in my classroom as a tool and not as a replacement for content or learning activities, I predict I may have success with it. Besides, denying AI's potential for assisting in the ELA classroom would be like denying the internet as a classroom tool when it emerged decades ago. Now, it's a requirement for any job or college. In Tucker's "Applications of AI in Primary and Secondary Education," she notes that AI in the classroom is not only an effici...

Journal Week 3: There is no topic this week but...

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 ... I can't go from week 2 to week 4 so here is Keyboard Cat, a millennial mascot.

Journal Week 2: The Value of Social Media and Social Change

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  What will history say about social media? Since the advent of the internet, social media has taken shape in ways that many people never thought it would. Different platforms offer different experiences and interactions with peers online regarding a plethora of topics. What started out as chat rooms and message boards turned into separate applications that allowed for photo albums, sharing one's "status," and bigger social groups that only existed in the web space. But as social as the initial take off was, a separate web also morphed into a sort of citizen reporting space. Instead of waiting for news, individuals could now report on what was happening around them in real time. Weather, political, and social events were now able to be shared and collected through various avenues such as hashtags; no longer did you need to sign in and join specific groups to see information on a topic. Social media made access to information and the ability to share it faster and potentia...

Journal Week 1: Media Ecology - Social Media and Language

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The Evolution of Social Media One of my favorite forms of media to watch shape and evolve has been social media. The question of where it began is debated by a lot, but I think it depends on the individual's definition of social media and their age. For me, social media began in the early days of Instant Messaging which belonged to AOL, then was followed by other browsers such as MSN.  I have always considered social media to be a form of personal branding, which is apparent in the AIM days with usernames that could be customized, profile icons that reflected a variety of interests, and away messages that could reflect anything from simple information ("BRB!") to feelings (*insert moody song lyrics here*). This branding expanded into the more mainstream sites like MySpace, LiveJournal, and Tumblr, but it had humble beginnings and simple goals such as connection. https://www.future-marketing.co.uk/the-history-of-social-media/ Fast forward to today and social media has crea...