Eight Fifteen Ninety-Four

Eight Fifteen Ninety-Four

August 15, 1994.

The 90’s. It’s a decade most people make an effort to forget rather than remember. A time of bad music, bad fashion, and bad boy/bad girl attitudes. Okay, I recant the part about bad music. Who doesn’t love jamming out to Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, “...Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears, or anything Dave Matthews? Am I right?... Anyways, the 90’s weren't that bad. This day in particular was special, and known as (at least to those closest to me) the day I popped out blue eyed and screaming. There weren't too many exciting things happening around the world on that day. However, there are a few noteworthy things that were, and are important to me. Let’s check them out.

Weather

Now, I was born in Dallas TX and for it being the middle of August, it was quite cool out! A nice 86 degrees that day. I’d like to think that it could represent how cool I am. Or, you know, how cool I wish I was? In any case, quite a nice day!

 Weather History for KDAL - August, 1994. (n.d.).

News

The image below is part of the cover page of The New York Times on August 15th, 1994. Just because I was born in Dallas doesn’t mean there wasn’t news elsewhere! The front page of this paper covers several news stories! Haitians were hiding out in safe houses. Check forgers were exploiting desktop publishers. And apparently there was a discussion about the legal and ethical dilemmas in selling growth hormones for children. It’s an interesting view outside of my own city.

(1994, August 15). The New York Times, pp. 1-48.

Music

Music has played a major part in my life. It has been an escape, a comforter, and a companion at times. I have always had a deep appreciation for the art of music. This might be one of the reasons I was sorely disappointed when I saw that the number one song in America from August 6 to August 20 was “Stay (I Missed You)” by Lisa Loeb. It was so close to being “I Swear” by All-4-One, or “I’ll Make Love To You” by Boyz To Men! Two love anthems that would have been so much better than “Stay (I Missed You)”. Who knows, maybe it embodies who I am more than I think it does. Anyways, here’s a golden nugget of a gift for you.

 Lisa Loeb "Stay (I Missed You)" Music Video.

Movies

My brother and I have been pretty big movie fanatics since we were young. Any time we get together we watch a new movie, or re-watch an old one we love. There were two major films that were popular around August 15th ‘94. The first is The LIttle Rascals; known as a fun loving family film telling the story of young children and their silly antics. The Little Rascals was showing in theatres on my birthday. However, parents said I was too young to see it.

The second, and immensely more important is Disney’s great Lion King. Arguably the number one Disney movie ever made, it is an epic story about a sacrificial father, a lost son who returns to save his people, and friendship that lasts forever. No, it’s not as cheesy as it sounds, but yes, it is as heart-warming. The Lion King was released in theatres three days after I was born, in Norway that is. This is, without a doubt, close enough to my birthday to justify it being an important part of my birth week. I will remain in my heart as the Disney film ever created.

Photography

When I was young I was into photography. Capturing moments, no matter how blurry they are was a hobby of mine. I was given a fairly cheap Nikon camera. I took a look at a Popular Photography magazine issue published in August of ‘94. I found a Nikon advertisement and the camera to the left reminded me of the one I had when I was young. I am definitely thankful for digital, but there is something quite nostalgic about old school film.

(1994, August). Popular Photography, 58(8), 0-164.

Old movies, old, music, and old film, it’s all old news really. (Double entendres intended.) Especially from the 90’s, a pretty silly era. But being born on August 15th, 1994 has lead to 21 good years. I’ve been blessed in a lot of ways, health, family, friends, and strong community. I’m thankful to be a 90’s baby. No matter how ashamed I should be…

Sources:

Weather History for KDAL - August, 1994. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2016, from https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KDAL/1994/8/15/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Dallas

The Hot 100 - 1994 Archive | Billboard Charts Archive. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1994/hot-100

(1994, August). Popular Photography, 58(8), 0-164.

L. (2010). Lisa Loeb "Stay (I Missed You)" Music Video. Retrieved April 12, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9HGwRbMiVY

(1994, August 15). The New York Times, pp. 1-48.

Dallas Morning News vs. Huffington Post

Ahh the news

I must confess, I am not an avid reader, or viewer of news sources. That is to say, I don’t often go out of my way to search for news, whether it’s TV or online. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t stay somewhat up to date on what’s going on in the world. I also must confess that one my main avenues for news is Twitter. This seems to be a large trend in my generation’s age that could be argued, is not great. However that is the truth of the matter. On Twitter, I follow news sources like Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Public Radio, Dallas Morning News, and the BBC World News, which keep me decently updated! I also, however, listen to NPR in the car, which I admit is about 85% of my radio time.

Every news outlet has it’s strengths and weaknesses, it’s pro’s and cons. They all have to attempt to stay up to date with the digital age, it’s users. I took a look at two news sources, Huffington Post, and the Dallas Morning News to see how they match up.

Huffington Post

We’ll start with Huffington Post. My first impression of Huffington was not bad. I initially took a look at the very top of the front page, viewing the layout and organization. Huffington presents itself in an organized and professional way.

You’ve got everything from Politics to Comedy! It’s well presented with “The Huffington Post” right in the center, followed by “Inform, Inspire, Entertain, Empower” directly under it. It’s elegant, simple, and easy to understand. The green letter on white background was a nice touch too. It gave it a sense of prestige. Sadly, directly below this was a major eyesore and disappointment.  

No, not because it was Trump. Well... I'm only kidding. After seeing how professionally created the top of the site was, I am sad to say this did not appeal to me. It's large, in your face, and looks like it's a part of a cheap website. The red and blue letters really push this over the edge of annoyance and eyesore. It definitely seems like Huffington is trying too hard with this over sized post.

Thankfully it does get a bit better! Just below this begins the front page articles. There are three columns of posts. I don't believe each column is differentiated from another. They are simply three vertical columns of front page news. Huffington does a nice job of matching pictures to each posted article. It's simple, but effective eye candy information for people scrolling through the page. In fact, it made it easier and more enjoyable to skim through each article and have a quicker understanding of the article.

I do find however, that the one negative side to this layout is that each column is staggered. The headlines of the articles do match up. This appears sloppy, and frankly more difficult to read. It forces your eyes not only left and right as you look at articles, but up and down to read the headline. It was simply an obnoxious feature. Have a look!

Dallas Morning News

The front page of the DMN is similar to the Huffington Post. It has "Dallas Morning News" front and center. Directly under that is has different page/subject options from Home to DMN Store. Again, like the Huffington, it's well organized and looks professional.

Here is what I enjoyed about the DMN in opposition to the Huffington Post. As you scroll down, the DMN has top stories from each of the subjects that you can choose from at the top of the page and more. Along with that they are separated by a nice bold, black line, with bold, black letters.

The DMN does a nice job of using photos to catch the reader's eye. I think what gives the DMN an edge is the fact that the snippets of stories are categorized on the front page. This not only keeps it organized on the site, but it helps keep the reader organized in their mind. I know what I'm looking at, and it what category it belongs. It's not just a bunch of stories collected on one page. It's easy to view and easy to understand.

Conclusion

When it's all said and done the Dallas Morning News takes the cake for me. The Huffington Post started strong but didn't finish well. The organizational behavior of the DMN is ultimately what keep me rooting for it. I tend to like things well organized, where they should be and the DMN delivered. It is simple, clear, and the the point.

BOOM Goes The...Well, Everything!

FPSRussia is a YouTube channel run by a man named Kyle Meyers. He was born in Georgia and has grown up on U.S. soil. He is "home grown" as some would say. Kyle's channel features video's of a variety of weapons, from pistols to tanks and everything in between. But Kyle's videos are a little bit stranger. Kyle isn't necessarily the one hosting the channel, Dimitri Potapoff is. Dimitri is a Russian character that Kyle created to enhance this explosive YouTube channel of his. (No terrible pun intended) He has an extremely strong accent, and a natural relaxed aura around these extremely dangerous weapons.

In each of his videos Dimitri usually explains what weapon he will be looking at and shares some of its characteristics and features, often sharing where its from and what it is used for. Directly after that he proceeds to fire the weapon or weapons at some sort of target whether that be a mannequin dressed up as some sort of "enemy", or a steel plate, or whatever he has decided to destroy that day. Often each of these targets are strapped with an explosive to give an extra bang to the show.

FPSRussia is an extremely popular channel with over 5,975,700 subscribers. Each of his videos has close to, if not over one million views, sometimes even reaching over several million views! Why is he so popular? Here is the thing, I'm not sure if FPSRussia is so different from mainstream content. But I can dive into a few reasons why he might have gained so much attention!

It seems that "Dimitri" is genuinely having fun! Of course, for those who have ever gone shooting, who doesn't love the rush that comes with nailing an object from fifty feet away? He takes a real enjoyment in working with the weapons he does, and in teaching his viewers about them! So while it is very fun simply watching things explode, it is also exciting to watch some get exciting about things exploding!

Another aspect of his success is probably due to the fact that his videos are actually fairly good quality. What I mean is that they are well executed, well organized, and they don't waste your time. Okay, so they might not look like a movie, in terms of video quality, but what he does, he does well. He's got a great, quick intro clip with some hard rockin' music that leads to a quick overview of what he will be reviewing. He follows that with the actual action of using the weapon on said "enemies", and finally he ends with a closing remark. Quick, clear, and to the point! Here, check it out!

Lastly, I think that Kyle, embodies the character of this Russian gun nut all too well, it's quite humorous! It's funny to watch this American guy knowing give such a good impersonation of some born and bread Russian man who loves blowing stuff up. I think the American embodiment of Dimitri is whats so very attractive to avid subscribers.

Dimitri tends to gain my time and attention for his videos for three main reasons. He consistently has different guns and weapons in his videos. The variety is attractive in itself. Each time he's having fun with different explosives, destroying and blowing up all kinds of items. Second, the cold, subtly humorous, Russian ambiance he has is attractive. I think it brings a different edge to the videos that is enjoyable to watch. Third, he is very knowledgeable about every weapon he demonstrates. He not only has fun with them, but he conveys facts, specs, and characteristics about the weapons. He is pandering to the fun side of me, as well as the intellectual, analytical side of me. In that way, I am never bored.

Although Kyle...or Dimitri has had great success on YouTube, I am not quite sure he would have had great success out side of YouTube. At least, not with out a lot of financial help. There are and have been plenty of gun shows out there, and they continue to be made in certain avenues of media. It would be awfully difficult for him to thrive among such an atmosphere. Aside from that, he has some very worth while videos, and I highly recommend checking them out!

-Ray Royal

What Makes You Click?

What Makes you Click? 

Have you ever thought to yourself, "man that just works"? Whether it's rustic or modern look of your friends house, your new haircut, or that gorgeous couple who look as though they were hand crafted by God himself? Some things just catch our eyes more than others! What about the things that aren't so appetizing? For instance, a terrible paint job on a nice car, your old haircut, or of course, that one couple you know. I'm only kidding of course. However, the same concept applies in many areas of our lives, including our social media. If posts or tweets are initially pleasing to view, they will gain our attention. If they aren't, we don't often give them the time of day. In essence, tweets that are initially and aesthetically pleasing, will receive more attention and ultimately more clicks than those that aren't.

I have often found myself scrolling through my Twitter feed so quickly that I am hardly paying attention to detail. This is no surprise considering that a social media platform like Twitter updates its feed every second, and the time I spend on Twitter is in the "in betweens" of the day. That is, going from class to class, or the all too familiar bathroom break social media splurge. Most of this time being five to fifteen minutes at the most, which means if I am going to give time to a tweet it has to make a quick impact! A site like Twitter is meant to be quick and relatively easy to use. I would be reading articles all day if I paused to look at every tweet, what it had to say, and the article or video connected to it.

Many avid tweeters are recognizing these trends and utilizing effective strategies to create more attractive tweets. There are, however, still users who aren't catching on to eye-popping tweet trends. Most of their tweets we tend to scroll right past. What then, makes a tweet pop? What makes one tweet stand out from another? What makes us click?

Here are a few tweets that caught my eye and kept my attention.

The first, tweeted by HubSpot, caught my attention immediately. Now, I'd like to say what first gained my attention was the subject of psychology. However, the truth is, it was the exuberant colors that caught my eye. The bright red, blue, green, purple, and yellow were gravitational! I am almost certain I paused purely to admire the wispy color spectrum portrayed. I did then, proceed to move my eyes upward at the caption displayed. The caption was short, sweet, and to the point. This was helpful because it can be read and understood in under two seconds; very helpful when skimming through your Twitter feed. Not only did this catch my eye, but with the subject being the psychology of how I spend my money, you bet it kept my attention!

A tweet by NYT Opinion grabbed me in a different way. It didn't pull me in with vibrant colors or a "wow factor". It pulled me in merely through curiosity. The picture is near grim in demeanor and provoked a feeling of being trapped and sad. The last element that hooked me was the quote above the picture. "...I have wrestled with that decision ever since." It cause me to ponder things I have wrestled with in my own life, and to a certain degree feel a connection with this person no matter how outlandish and unrealistic that may be.






This simple tweet by The New York Times did not bounce off the page as the other two did. Rather, I took a second glance at it. This tweet was so short and to the point, and that is exactly what made it powerful. It can be read at just a glance, yet it is a simple question about an emotion that nearly everyone feels. We all feel shame from time to time. It can be a strong emotion. The possibility of taking something that feels terrible and putting it to some use is attractive.


The odd thing about noticing tweets that are not good at attaining your attention is exactly that. They are not very efficient at saying "look at me!". It is much more difficult to notice them! Looking for tweets that naturally slip by is a surprising task in itself.

Here are a few tweets that lacked in the attraction department.









Sprout Social has a very elegant profile picture. The animated green leaf on the white background it very eye catching. That is a plus for this post, and anything they post. The issue I had with this tweet as follows; I have no clue what it is about. The first "word" in the tweet, I assume is a five letter acronym. A five letter acronym that I have no idea as to what it means. It would be helpful if the caption explained what the acronym means so there is no confusion. It might also help to bold the first word in the tweet. This allows at least one element to bounce off the page at the reader. This might aid in the likelihood of the tweet being favorited or re-tweeted.



















The tweet as seen above by Mr. Preston seems to be in order! However, there is one thing that didn't quite click with me. The picture associated with the text is very difficult to understand. I can't get the gist of what he is trying to say through the picture, and it is not interesting enough in itself to evoke me to read further. I see numbers, and text that is not initially clear. If the picture were much more simple and had much less text it might be more attractive to potential readers or re-tweeters.

















The Oscar tweet I found myself almost trying to pass over. It is simplistic and does not have too much text. However, the bright orange to white contrast was uncomfortable for my eyes. I scrolled down to it, glanced and found that I kept scrolling because it was not pleasant to continue to view. A color change on the image would be helpful for ease of viewing.


It's interesting how a few minor tweaks to a tweet can either grab our attention immediately, or keep us from even noticing it. It makes me wonder how many "new haircuts", or "gorgeous couples" we've missed because they weren't presented the way they should have been? Granted, these are just a few things that caught my eye. What makes you click?

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