Tech blog 2 - Smackdown 1 reflection

I really enjoyed watching everyone's presentations last week. I learned a lot because there were several apps/websites which were discussed that I had never heard of before. One of the websites that I found to be extremely interesting was the one Matt presented, Incompetech. I loved the fact that you can choose any genre or characteristic you can think of, and instantly find music that relates to it. I also loved that the music is not copyrighted, so you can use it in any video or presentation you create. Incompetech is a very useful tool that I am sure I will be utilizing for my presentations in the future.
Another website that I really enjoyed learning about was Daily Strength, which was presented by Jennifer. This website was especially meaningful to me because I have a lot of close friends and family who struggle with mental and physical illnesses. I really appreciate the fact that there is an online community specifically dedicated to helping people who are struggling with health issues, both mental and physical. The thing I loved most about the website was the support groups. I think it is imperative that people who are struggling can talk and exchange advice with one another. I also loved the fact that there are professionals and experts available to answer any questions you might have. I think Daily Strength is an extremely progressive and useful website.

Smackdown 1

The application I decided to do my first Smackdown on is Pinterest. Pinterest is a visual discovery application that has taken the internet by storm. While on this app you can search any topic you can think of, and receive pictures, articles, and informational posts about this topic. You can follow other pinners, save pins, and organize them into groups. Many people use the app to find arts and crafts ideas, as well as ideas for decorating and organizing. Pinterest is also a promoter of the newly discovered acronym DIY - do it yourself. The app has countless step-by-step tutorials of how to create something yourself instead of having to pay a ridiculous amount of money for it. I love Pinterest because there are an almost infinite amount of things you can discover.

In relation to my major, Pinterest can be an extremely helpful tool. If you search the word "psychology," a plethora of posts come up. For anyone who is studying psychology or already in the field, Pinterest is the app you want to have. There are many helpful tips to guide you in understanding all fields of psychology. If you are looking for information on mental disorders, there are many articles and pamphlets containing pictures and bullets describing specific mental illnesses. If you are looking for ideas for treatment, there are many posts describing helpful plans and tactics. But most importantly, if you are concerned about your own mental health, whether it be stress or illness, there are plenty of very helpful tips and practices that can bring your mind to a more stable and pleasant state.

Tech blog 1

A great app that I like and use daily is the Twitter app. Twitter is a social media platform where one can post pictures, videos, and text posts under 140 characters. The purpose of Twitter is for people to connect and stay updated on each other’s lives. But Twitter is really much more than that. It is a way for people to share their thoughts, beliefs and ideas, relate to one another, and voice their opinions. For someone in my field of study, psychology, Twitter is the entrance into a world of endless opportunities for observing human behavior. 

Twitter is an extremely useful tool for conducting social experiments. For example, say psychologists want to find out which form of advertising for animal welfare works most effectively. They create a twitter account for a local animal shelter. First, they post a tweet with the picture of a healthy and happy puppy, and the caption “Please adopt!” Then, they post a tweet with the picture of a newly rescued and malnourished puppy, with the same caption: “Please adopt!” By monitoring the favorites, retweets and responses these tweets receive, the psychologists can determine which tweet gets the most attention and produces the most emotionally-charged response. Psychologists can take the results of this experiment and determine whether the positive use of pathos or the negative use of pathos is more effective in attracting people’s attention to an advertisement.