New Technology

Social media is changing. New technology and ideas are coming together to change the world for the better. The new technology that I would like to focus on is interactive games that focus on humanitarian efforts around the world. There are numerous apps available that offer real life aid to those in need.

For example Feedie is a new app that provides food to those who cannot afford it. This is how it works: Users can look on the Feedie app to find restaurant locations that are participating in the program. Next, after ordering a meal from said restaurant participants take a picture of their meal and post it to the app’s newsfeed. Finally, the restaurant will then donate a meal to a person in need by donating to the lunchbox fund. It’s that simple! Numerous people already post pictures of their meals onto social media, now it can be to support a good cause. What apps like Feedie are doing is giving social media more of a substantial purpose! Tasks that used to be completed just for the sake of social media presence can now help those who really need it. And Feedie is not alone! There are numerous of interactive social media apps that are up and coming and they are going to change the world for the better. Click here to learn more about Feedie! 

Another app that is up and coming in the humanitarian world is Tree Planet 2. This is a similar app to Feedie in its purpose of helping humanity, but it is centered around a game. Users engage into the game on the app and plant trees. You earn points within the game that turn into real trees that the company will plant! This is truly making a difference to help our environment! Tree planet 2 lets gamers make their time playing count and help the environment in the process. Click here to see the app’s homepage.   

Apps like Feedie and Tree Planet 2 are starting a trend that is going to change the way social media is used forever! These apps are taking things that people were doing already; such as gaming or taking pictures of meals, and turning them into something that benefits others! This technology will continue to develop and it will help us use social media to benefit our world and the people who live in it. Social media is moving in a new direction and it is because of apps like these!

Reflection on Social Media Case 12: United Breaks Guitars

United Airlines does not have a comfortable past or present with the American public.  As you can see in this link their most recent scandal is still getting a lot of negative press. United Airlines forcibly removed a passenger from a plane in order to make room for more of their crew members that were needed in another airport. Click here to see the video of the man being pulled from the plane and watch as CNN discusses how much he received in the court settlement. They were not able to disclose how much he was given, but they said that it was easily in the millions. What was the reason United awarded this man the requested settlement? I think it is because they were concerned with their negative press and not so much because they did the wrong thing. When we think back to the old problems with the damaged guitars you can see that they didn’t offer to pay for the damage until the airline started receiving excessive bad press. And by the time they did offer to pay for the damages, it was too late. Too late meaning that the damage to the company’s reputation was already done and they couldn’t fix it by giving the client the original monetary value. United is going to struggle with bad press for a long time. It’s interesting to see that when another incident happens it is not independent from their past wrongdoings. The public immediately compares it to whatever they have done in the past. If you look to the comments on the YouTube video you can see people saying “is anyone here to re watch after that guy was dragged off of the plane?” The bad press for United is building off of what has happened previously in the company. This will be a long term problem for them to deal with for sure.