###### tags: `CDA`
# Tam's Reading Responses

- Checklist for a [good reading response](https://reagle.org/joseph/zwiki/Teaching/Best_Practices/Learning/Writing_Responses.html) of 250-350 words
- [ ] Begin with a punchy start.
- [ ] Mention specific ideas, details, and examples from the text and earlier classes.
- [ ] Offer something novel that you can offer towards class participation.
- [ ] Check for writing for clarity, concision, cohesion, and coherence.
- [ ] Send to professor with “hackmd” in the subject, with URL of this page and markdown of today’s response.

## Reading responses 5 out of 5
### Nov 4 Fri - Ads & social graph background
When I was younger, I used to get so frustrated every time I had to click on the "stop showing me this ad" button because Google would always be like, "Oops, nah, I don't believe I will." Then, in the Fall of 2021, I did my first Co-op at Ogilvy where I got to use cookies and databases provided by our client to advertise products. It blew my mind. For marketers, these things are beneficial to ensure that we can reach our target markets and reach the right people. Because seeing irrelevant ads is pointless for both the firm and the viewer. Thus, if we look at the situation in a positive light, if we had to view advertising every day whether we want to or not, wouldn't it be much better if it was for things we truly wanted or were interested in? Just last week, I was on the phone with a friend talking about how I've been craving Malatang, a Chinese street food, but don't know where to get it. The next day, a Malatang restaurant was recommended to my friend and me on our TikTok so we wouldn't have to seek it ourselves. Moreover, by gathering your information, entertainment platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook may better propose content that is more appropriate to your preferences. Isn't that wonderful? To conclude, I do believe that internet privacy is a major concern and that we, as customers, should be informed about it before making any decisions. However, everything has two sides, and we as rational internet users should always consider both sides of a situation before making any final judgment in our life.

### Nov 8 Tue - Manipulated
As Joseph Reagle detailed in Reading the Comments Chapter 3: “Manipulated: Which Ice Cube is the Best?”,"10 to 30 percent of online reviews are fake. The cast of manipulators includes fakers (those who deceptively praise their own works or pillory others’), makers (those who will do so for a fee), and the takers (those who avail themselves of such services)." During my first Co-op, I was one of those makers. Specifically, I was interning at Ogilvy agency, where one of my duties was to pretend to be a mother who uses Nuti Food's milk for her newborn child and reviews the company's product for other mothers on Facebook.

A funny story that my manager often tells people is that as a teenager, Picasso was an unknown, poor painter in Paris. When there were only 15 silver coins left, Picasso decided to hire students to walk around the painting shops and ask: "- Do you sell Picasso paintings here?" In less than a month, his name spread throughout Paris, paintings sold out in a very short time. And seeding was born from that time. During my Co-op, I have to come up with 200 seeding comments per day the Nuti's new product. It was not fun, and I felt disgusted about lying to other people like that. But it is one of the marketer's jobs. We are all liars.

Additionally, "people traffic in the illicit markets of comment, some click alike in hopes of a discount, diners loudly discuss Yelp when their server is nearby, restaurateurs give coupons in exchange for reviews, authors ask friends to write reviews" Joseph Reagle (2018). By doing this "favor" for brands, companies, or even our friends, we became one of those manipulators on the internet and have contributed to one more false comment. So, the issue is, how can you trust and how would you know if it is a seeded comment or not, given the volume of comments, contents, and posts that are posted on social media?

### Nov 18 Fri - Algorithmic discrimination
"It’s only reflecting the way society searches" Google (2016). Are we, the internet users, the one who is racist, or Google is the ones? Up to this time, this is not the first time that Google facing claims of racism and discrimination. But is it true that they're using their algorithm to discriminate against different races?

In 2009, when someone typed "Michelle Obama" into the popular search engine Google, one of the first images that came up was a picture of the American first lady altered to resemble a monkey. Google then deleted the image and apologized for the incident and said that "Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google." This droves netizen to 2 different sides. Some said that the Internet has thousands and thousands of offensive images. Should Google get rid of all of them? How can they be able to do it? While the other side argues that Google should point out the person that was behind this picture. Alheli Picazo (2009) said "People often claim their right to free speech to mask blatant racism and insulting bigotry and always seem to get away with it," she told CNN via e-mail. "When it comes to issues of discrimination, hiding behind free speech just doesn't cut it."

I do not know whether this racist incident is based on Google's algorithm or not. But being accused of such things from ten years ago and until now? Google should really step up the game and really think of a way to solve all of these problems.

### Nov 29 Tue - Collapsed context
Instagram has long been a favorite social networking platform for people who love to edit and post their photos, or to put it trendy. But BeReal is challenging that situation in a different way. This application is "making a hit wave" among users. However, BeReal's, in my opinion, more of a trend than a long-term dominant social media app like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, and in the end, users will have to continue and come back to use platforms that have repeatedly been identified as "harmful" to them over the years.
Because the present world is so harsh, some individuals use social media to find and live a better version of themselves. They find joy in everyone's compliments and envious glances. They adore creating their ideal lives there. But even if BeReal is just a trend that fades away soon, it truly serves to highlight a social media issue that is already present: younger users are selecting platforms with less friend-focused features and instead focus on themselves more.

### Dec 02 Fri - Authenticity, work, & influence
“If someone who is 20 years old watching YouTube or Instagram sees these people traveling with brands, promoting brands, I don’t see why they wouldn’t do everything they could to get in on that,” said Alyssa Vingan Klein. This is so true, especially for me. I always feel like being an influencer can give you so many advantages such as can making money at a very young age, becoming financially independent, and can afford everything you want as well as being famous. According to Rachel Lerman, influencers "often earn between $100 and more than $1,000 per post, depending on how big their following is."

But I also realize that becoming an influencer is more complicated than it seems. The shift from a typical Instagram or YouTube user to a professional "influencer"—that is, someone who uses a social media following to influence others and earn money—is not simple, according to Taylor Lorenz (2018). The quantity of content they must create each day, the risk to their health and to their skin when testing new products, the danger they take in order to attract attention, and the possibility that they will at any time offend followers and face a boycott if they do anything wrong, those kinds of things is the reason why I step down and not ready to give it a try. Additionally, after the epidemic, the number of influencers in the profession increased significantly, making it harder for someone to succeed in the industry Rachel Lerman (2020).