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What I Learned

For my multi-media project, I discussed my new role in the North Central College Marching Band (CMB) as the person who runs their social media pages. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to view Facebook and my role in the CMB through both this project and a project for my marketing class. With that said, these projects have proven to be very insightful for me in terms of allowing me to utilize Facebook in the best way to reach as many people as possible.

In my marketing project, we were asked to create a product that suits the needs of gen xers. Additionally, we were asked how we would go about marketing to this demographic. During my research, I came across the fact that gen xers make up a large portion of Facebook users. I also learned that this demographic responds best to marketing that is authentic and reflects their values. This is so as most gen xers have a family of their own and their values have changed and no longer reflect their younger selves. Based on this information, I have made sure to post several pictures of people in the band, making sure that I don’t highlight any one instrument section more than the other. By doing so, I tap into the fact that the adults are looking to see their children on the Facebook page and when they do, hopefully they will react with the post. This project allowed me to learn a lot about gen xers, their marketing needs, and the best way to use Facebook to reach them. Though this project was very insightful, my multi-media project was very helpful as well. 

With my multi-media project. I was asked to track the growth rate of the page after I had taken it on. With this task, I was pushed to learn the deeper workings of the app that I didn’t know existed. I had no clue that Facebook put together graphs depicting things such as growth in following, growth in activity, growth in interactions and so on. I found it quite intriguing and inspiring as all of the graphs depicted the page growing as soon as I took the page on. Though it grew exponentially when I started, I have to keep in mind that there was essentially no activity going on prior to my takeover. Getting to know the app better was not the only way in which this project helped me.

It was required with the project that we write an article pertaining to the subject we chose. During my research when I was writing this article, I found that millennials are also big users of Facebook. I learned a lot about millennials' marketing needs such as needing one’s product or service to be “Instagram worthy” and needing to emphasize word of mouth. Millennials love social media marketing so it is imperative that the photos that are posted are of high quality and engaging. Furthermore, Millennials are much more likely to try something out if a friend or one alike gives good reviews of the product or service. With that said, it is essential that I maintain a proper reputation with the public to ensure that anything that is said about us is good. 

In conclusion, I was fortunate enough to apply information I have learned in both class projects. As a result, I have been able to grow the Facebook page substantially since I have had control of it in the past month with a gain of about 25 followers and a lot of interactions. 

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CMB Facebook Page Growth

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CMB Content Calendar

November:

December:

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CMB Facebook Post 5:

Post 5:

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CMB Facebook Posts 1-2

Post 1:

Post 2:

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CMB Facebook Posts 3-4

Post 3:

Post 4:

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NCC Marching Band Promotion

Though Facebook has gone through rocky times in recent years, they still hold the number one spot for social media network usage at a whopping 2.895 million users. Facebook had humble beginnings dating back to February 4, 2004, when Mark Zuckerberg, 19 years old at the time, launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm. Little did Zuckerberg know that within only four years, his new platform would surpass other large social media platforms such as Myspace and take its prominent place at number one. With such a large amount of people using Facebook, there are redeeming qualities drawing people to the app.

U s a b i l i t y :

Facebook is the easiest platform to utilize as a media consumer. The usability of this app attracts people with ranging knowledge in technology to the app. Navigating Facebook is very intuitive and easy to use allowing it to be very accessible for all users. In addition, Facebook allows for just enough customization that even the least tech savvy person would be able to utilize such features. As a result of Facebook's usability attracting so many, businesses and organizations see Facebook as an opportunity to capitalize on marketing efforts.

Organizations and businesses utilize Facebook to promote their offerings to the public. Facebook allows one to not only post text, but pictures as well. This has proven to be a powerful way in which businesses can communicate with consumers. An example of such a scenario is seen when businesses are able to push consumers from wanting their item, to actually purchasing the item due to social marketing. So many businesses have seen and begun to maximize Facebook’s marketing potential that their advertising growth rate has increased by 22% from the previous year. This is so as marketers can reach 32% of the population with advertising on Facebook. When promoting services and organizations on Facebook, it is important that one keeps in mind the age group that uses Facebook the most.

People of varying ages use Facebook all the time but there is a prominent group that must be taken into account when marketing. The age group that uses Facebook the most consists of those in the age range of 25-34 with a makeup 13.1% of women and 19.3% of men. Approximately six in ten adults use Facebook with each of them averaging 34 minutes a day of active use. With the primary user demographic being Millennials, it is pertinent that creators promote in ways that are authentic and engaging as that is what this generation responds best to. Furthermore, it has been shown that video advertising is the most effective way to advertise towards Millenials. This age group is also attracted to websites and pictures that are aesthetically pleasing with funny and informative content. With this information in mind, one should be able to effectively create a marketing plan that is tailored to the demographic that utilizes Facebook the most.

N C C A p p l i c a t i o n :

With all of this information in mind, I plan to take advantage of Facebook’s ability to reach mass audiences. I am currently in charge of the North Central College Marching Band Facebook page. Prior to me taking over, the marching band’s director, Dr. Sean Kelley, was the only person posting on the page. His posting style consisted of about one post a week. He almost never posted pictures of videos from any of the marching band’s performances. He primarily posted updates on when concerts were as well as general happenings of the band. In my opinion, though not professional, the page had a lot of potential not yet realized. When I took over the page, the goal was and continues to be to bring attention to the band in an attempt to increase enrollment in the band. This goal is especially important as enrollment, due to the pandemic, has drastically decreased from between 80 to 100 down to about 50 members currently. As this is a hefty goal, I have created a plan to assist myself in achieving the goal.

My plan was slated to start on Friday the 19th with a post pertaining to game day details as well as an invite for people to come out to the game and support the band. This plan got slightly derailed as our football team’s opponent, Carnegie Mellon University, experienced a Covid-19 breakout and had to forfeit the game. To adapt to this announcement that was made on Friday the 19th, I plan to post a picture to tide the Facebook page over until Thanksgiving where I plan to then post another picture for Thanksgiving. From there, I plan to post a day game eve picture and text on Friday nights until NCC’s football team either loses or wins the championship. If they unexpectedly lose early on in the playoffs, I plan to use photos that were taken during the football games to promote our family atmosphere. As the goal of my role in taking on the Facebook page is to promote awareness of our band to high schoolers, I have created a plan to make sure that happens.

I plan to release challenges after the next semester starts in 2022. My first challenge will entail color guard. I am going to have my band director learn a few moves with a color guard flag, set a few color guard girls up behind him and have them perform a short routine. Once done, I am going to challenge either Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South, or Plainfield East’s band director to do the same thing. I am choosing these schools as we have direct relations with their directors so I know that they will be willing to participate. From there, the hope is that they will challenge other schools and in effect, spread the word of our marching band. I will most likely post one more challenge during the pap band season either pertaining to low brass songs or drumline songs with the hopes of getting the students involved.

In conclusion, Facebook reigns supreme when it comes to the amount of people who utilize the app. If used properly, I can utilize the app to create a name for the North Central College Marching Band. In order to optimize my success, I must take into account the audience who uses that app the most, Millennials. If I take these aspects into consideration, success is imminent.

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Media Literacy Steps

In today’s society, more than 120 million households in the U.S. have t.v. 's which allows for them to have a weekly reach of about 90% of adults. Furthermore, roughly 92% of Americans listen to the radio on average once a week. Consequently, as a result of the number of media that is available in one’s day to day life, it is not shocking that Americans spend an average of 463 minutes or over 7.5 hours per day consuming media. As a result of the abundance of exposure everyone has to media, it is important that one can properly exercise media literacy. As a result, the topic of media literacy must be discussed. 

Media literacy is defined as the ability to identify different types of media and the messages they are sending. With this definition, one should also realize that there are certain questions that one should ask themselves when practicing media literacy. The first thing one should question is who created the content you are interacting with. One should determine who they think created the content and follow up with the question as to why one came to that conclusion. The next question to be asked is why the creator made this content. One can assume that maybe the content is meant to be informative or to change one’s mind. Whatever one thinks the reasoning is, the follow up question of why that conclusion was drawn should be asked. The third question the reader must ask is who the message of the content is intended for. The message can be for kids, girls, boys, adults and so on. Once again, the reader must follow up with the question of why that conclusion was drawn. With the basic questions covered, the more technical questions must be discussed.

One must question the techniques that the creator is using to ensure that their content is perceived as credible or believable. This question entails deciding whether the given statistics or quotes directly support the assertions being made as well as whether they came from reputable sources. Of course, one should follow up this question with how the assumption was derived. The next technical question that needs to be asked is whether there are any details that were withheld from the content. One can go about answering this question by determining if the content has differing viewpoints or do they just present one side of the argument. Furthermore, if one needs to do more research to understand the concept that is discussed in the article, it can be concluded that the creator intentionally left information out. The final question that needs to be asked is how the message of the content makes you feel. To answer this question, one can assess who would feel the same as you or who would feel differently than you.

In conclusion, media literacy is something that is accomplishable if one takes the proper steps. Those steps include asking oneself several thorough questions that will allow media consumers to become more responsible media consumers.

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First Amendment’s Recent Importance

The first amendment has been referenced more frequently in the past few years as a result of recent events. Though that is the case, a lot of people don’t quite understand the full scope of the first amendment as there are five subcategories that fall beneath it. Oftentimes, citizens take the first amendment’s definition of “guarantees freedom, religion, speech, assembly, and the right to petition” at face value which can get people in trouble. As a result, the three most prevalent subcategories in today’s society, the freedom of press, assembly, and speech, must be defined. 

The first category to be discussed is the freedom of press. Freedom of press gives one the ability to report on things without government backlash, retaliation, and interference. An example of one’s freedom of press being properly exercised was demonstrated in the New York Times Co. vs. United States supreme court case where the New York Times and The Washington Post were proven correct in their actions of reporting on the then-classified Pentagon papers. Unfortunately, though the U.S. has this amendment, we are not ranked very well when it comes to freedom of speech as we are ranked at number 44. One’s freedom of press isn’t the only prevalent part of the first amendment. 

The freedom of assembly has been exercised frequently, especially in the past few years as well. This subcategory ensures that citizens can meet both publicly and privately. Like all subcategories under the first amendment, the freedom of assembly has the caveat that the assembly must be performed in peaceful circumstances. Examples of the freedom of assembly being exercised include birthday parties, church gatherings, and protests. Protests such as the women’s right protest in Washington D.C. is a real life example of citizens properly exercising their right to assemble as they assembled peacefully. There is another aspect to the first amendment that has played a crucial role in recent years.

The freedom of speech has been so important these past few years as the fine line between the proper use of one’s freedom of speech and unacceptable speech has been walked upon. The freedom of speech allows for citizens to express themselves and any opinions they have with the absences of censorship and repercussions by the government. There are types of speech that aren’t protected by the first amendment which include obscenity, fighting words, defamation, child pornography, perjury and more. An example of people properly exercising their right to free speech can be seen in the Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District case. Students were wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War and though at the time, they were punished for their actions, it was later proven that the students were properly exercising their right to freedom of speech. 

In conclusion, the first amendment is very comprehensive and has several facets to it that are important for citizens to understand. The importance of people understanding these subcategories comes as a result of recent events which highlight the previously discussed parts of the first amendment. 

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North Central College Marching Band Social Media

As discussed in class, a public relations manager is very important for the success of a band. They go out of their way to create and execute a brand strategy so as to portray the exact image that the band wants the public to see. Ironically, as this role was just being discussed in class, I have taken on a very similar role in the North Central College Marching Band. 

I have taken on the role of running the marching band’s Facebook page. I have previously worked with a small startup company in which I did the same thing. I went and helped set up events where I then took pictures, edited those pictures, and then released them on Facebook. I made sure that I always checked my posts with my boss before I released them, and I went out of my way to create a fun story to capture the audience’s attention. Luckily, my efforts didn’t go unnoticed as bookings for the company increased. 

This time around, the central focus isn’t to bring in clients, it is to bring up enrollment in the band. Thankfully, I have several plans on how to go about doing so. I first need to start by sending a link to the Facebook page out to the band as most of the students in the band don’t know that there is a Facebook page. I will go one step further and request that the members have their friends and family follow the page. From there, I will start posting game and performance dates with well-crafted pictures of our seniors. 

With the basics of running a platform for an organization in place, I plan to release challenges to the surrounding high schools. I have good connections with some of the surrounding high schools so the starting point in this plan is to ask them to participate in challenges that I send out. The first challenge I have lined up will contain a video of my band director spinning a color guard flag and then pose the question, “Can your band director do that?” and challenge two high schools. The hope is that they will then challenge two more high schools each and so on.

Another challenge that I have lined up pertains to our drumline. I will have them come up with a fun and somewhat challenging drum cadence or drum move, record it, and then challenge two high schools with the hopes that they will then challenge two more. I also plan to release a holiday sweatshirt in an attempt to give the band a sense of unity as there is currently no apparel offered for band members or their family. 

Though I just got offered this role, I already have big plans and hope to make the most of my time in this role. As there is not a lot of preexisting groundwork to go off, I have the power to shape the future of this band in the eyes of the public.

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Ads, Commercials, and Sponsorships

Marketing plays a large part of everyone’s lives and is so essential not only for businesses, but consumers as well. They play such an integral part of people’s lives that most Americans are exposed to roughly 4,000 to 10,000  marketing tactics in one day. As a result of such large amounts of marketing campaigns being displayed to consumers every day, it can be assumed that there are different types of marketing attacks that are being produced such as advertisements (ads), commercials, and sponsorships. With that said, the origins and characteristics of these tactics must be discussed in order to better understand how they play into today’s society. 

The first type of marketing strategy, advertisements, originated for the purpose of spreading information about trade goods as well as available work. The first slogan that was represented in the marketing world was released by Kodak and was coined by Kodak’s  founder George Eastman. Their slogan was used as leverage to make their camera seem more accessible to those who didn’t know how to use a camera. From there, advertisement popularity grew exponentially allowing for another type of marketing, commercials, to come about. When commercials first started, advertisement specialists were skeptical that they would be successful but they ended up being wrong as commercials allowed for advertising to occur on TV and radio platforms. 

The last type of marketing that is viewed so often are sponsorships. Sponsorships are the act of supporting an event, activity, person or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. There are two different types of sponsorship. The first type of sponsorship is financial. Though there are many subcategories of finance, the most popular one is series sponsor. A series sponsor is the highest value of sponsor that allows the name and logo of the company to be incorporated into the title of the series along with other promotions. Examples of this include Nascar cars and professional soccer jerseys. The other kind of sponsor are in kind sponsors who have products, goods, or services incentives. The most popular subcategory are venue partners that allow events to be hosted at their venue for a discounted or free rate. With the origins and characteristics of the marketing campaigns defined, their importance can be discussed. 

Oftentimes people don’t see marketing as something that is beneficial to consumers but, contrary to popular beliefs, it is extremely important. This is so as marketing identifies customers needs and how much value they place on addressing those needs. Marketing also allows for businesses to ensure that the product is changed to meet customers needs and provide value proportional to what it costs. Furthermore, marketing is what determines the location of any transactions as well as the terms of those transactions. In essence, it has control over the experience that the customer has while buying the product as well as while owning the product.

Conclusively, though marketing is something that is taken for granted as consumers are exposed to it all throughout their day, it plays a much more integral part in everyone’s life than what is originally thought.  

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Social Media Dangers

The usage of social media platforms, such as SnapChat and Tik Tok, skyrocketed as a result of the pandemic. During the quarantine, millions of people were experiencing loneliness and boredom and turned to these platforms as a way to escape their current situations. Though these platforms were seen as saviors to millions of people, they are a double edged sword as there are a lot of physical and psychological dangers that come along with engaging in such apps. 

There are many social media platforms that people use but the most used ones include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Facebook started in 2004 with the original purpose of college kids using it as a way to connect with one another. The platform then became public in 2006 and only grew from there with 2.89 billion current users. Twitter was created in 2006, going public in 2013. The platform now has 335 million monthly users. The final platform that holds one of the top three spots is Instagram which is also owned by Facebook. The platform went public in 2012 and has 1.386 billion users. With so many users on each platform, plenty of dangers become present.  

When one engages with social media platforms, there are several inherent dangers that come along with these actions. Some of these dangers include cyberbullying, invasion of privacy, identity theft, the risk of children seeing offensive images or messages and more. There are several ways in which these dangers can be addressed including not posting personal information online, being aware of online scams, being careful about the content that one releases and more. Though most of these threats have been taught in school, what wasn’t taught were the mental dangers that are associated with social media use. 

Psychological dangers can be worse than the perceived physical dangers as there is a very impressionable audience that uses social media; teenagers. Approximately 75% of American teenagers have social media profiles with about 51% of them visiting those platforms on a daily basis. Some of the psychological factors that this audience can be faced with include anxiety, depression, sadness, loneliness, low self-esteem and many more.

As a result of this being a growing stage in their lives, teenagers are very susceptible to having too much time on social media as they have a difficult time self-regulating. On the other hand, the use of social networking plays a crucial role in teenagers developing social and technical skills making it almost essential that they have ample amount of exposure to it. Though this is so, teenagers are also so much more susceptible to the psychological dangers. 

In conclusion, there are a lot more dangers to social media than what most social media consumers assume. There are physical dangers that include things such as invasion of privacy and cyber bullying but there is another side to the dangers that aren’t talked about so frequently; psychological dangers. Though these dangers aren’t discussed as often, they are just as dangerous, especially for social media’s younger audience and should be taken as a serious threat. 

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Streaming Today

Television had at one point evolved into one of the most common ways in which entertainment was accessed. While that was once the coolest new development, it has now been surpassed by streaming video on demand (SVOD). In order to better understand how this new type of entertainment not only recently came into the market, but took the number one seat, the history of SVOD must be discussed.  

Firstly, streaming is a relatively new word that has been defined as any media content that is delivered to computers and or mobile devices via the internet that is played in real time. From there, in 2005, Youtube was launched with the original purpose of allowing consumers and creators the ability to post, share and view content without any restrictions. This platform gained traction after Janet Jackson’s mishap during her Super Bowl performance. Years later, Youtube has since then grown into the largest content distribution platform in the world. As a result of Youtube, they paved the way for other platforms to develop such as Apple TV and Netflix which both launched in 2007, Hulu which launched in 2009, Youtube TV which launched in 2017, and many more. Now that SVOD’s history has been told, it’s present discussed. 

Today, there are several streaming services that are available to consumers. Some of the most popular streaming services include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney +, HBO Max, and more. The reasoning behind these platforms' large success include their convenience, scalability as well as customization compared to cable tv.

The convenience of these new streaming platforms is their largest selling point. One can watch whatever show they want whenever as they no longer need to wait for the show's air time on t.v. as well as the fact that they don’t need to record the show to watch another time. As long as one pays for the service, one will have access to the shows whenever one wants. In addition, these streaming services can be utilized on phones meaning that one doesn’t need to carve out the time to physically sit in front of a t.v. They can watch shows when they’re walking to class, eating a meal, relaxing on their own, or whenever it is most convenient for them all with just a phone in their hand.

 Though it is traditionally thought that cable TV is more expensive than streaming, people are starting to see that it is very possible for streaming to be just as costly, if not more costly than cable TV. This comes as a result of each streaming service only providing specific shows meaning that one must purchase packages through different streaming platforms in order to have access to all of the different shows one wants to watch. Consequently, the price for having a variety of streaming services adds up fast and can be very costly. 

Conclusively, streaming is the most effective way to consume shows as a result of it’s flexibility in availability. One doesn’t need to carve out time in the day to sit in front of a t.v., rather, they can watch shows whenever they have time during their day. Consequently, streaming will be a service that continues to thrive in a society where convenience and flexibility is a focal point. 

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Podcasting Stigmas

The practice of podcasting has boomed over roughly the past two decades. As a result of such a growth in interest, podcast listeners now have easy access to podcasts on platforms such as Spotify, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. With such a growth in interest, stigmas have arisen for pertaining to the actual practice of creating a successful podcast. 

In order to discuss the topic of podcasting, the term must first be defined. A digital audio file made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, a new installment of which can be received by subscribers automatically.

With the term defined, the history of podcasting can be discussed. Former MTV video jockey, Adam Curry, developed podcasting in 2004 with Dave Winer who was a software developer. Together, they created IPodder, a program that allowed users to download broadcasts to their IPods. It wasn’t until 2005 when companies and users really started to recognize the opportunities that came with such a development. 

Prior to these developments, the term “podcasting” was originally coined by journalist Ben Hammersly in 2004. Hammersly introduced the new term in a news article he wrote about the potential of there being an increase in amateur radio for The Guardian. Hammersly argued that all of the “right ingredients” were there for potential success in this industry. 

Just as Hammersly saw all of the right ingredients for success in this model, so did a lot of other people. Consequently, podcasting has become so popular as a result of it’s accessibility. It is highly accessible in the sense that, in its purest form, all one truly needs to start a podcast is a microphone, a phone, as well as a hosting platform to release the podcast on. What people don’t realize is that there is much more that goes into creating a good podcast. 

Though creating podcasts is something that is highly accessible to most, it also comes with the stigma that creating a successful podcast is easy and will happen overnight. With that said, If one is just looking to create podcasts for fun, the items listed above are really all they will need but it will most likely not turn over a profit. It is when people are aiming to gain a true following and turn podcasting into a career that these types of thoughts become problematic. 

Producing a podcast that will turn over a profit is much more difficult. In terms of the equipment needed, one will inevitably end up spending thousands of dollars on high ended equipment that will produce a great sound. From there, one must spend time themselves or pay a professional to edit their audio. For one hour of audio, it’ll take one roughly three hours to edit the recording. From there, it is common for one to have to pay a fee to upload their podcasts to a platform.  

Unfortunately, most people looking to start a podcast of their own don’t understand the amount of time and money that needs to be invested into their podcasts. They are often under the impression that if they release a podcast, they will become successful almost instantly and that it will become almost a form of passive income. 

Conclusively, these stigmas are by far not true and have resulted in an oversaturation of the podcasting market. The oversaturation of the market has almost made it harder for those who are completely understanding of the full responsibility of producing podcasts to turn this opportunity into a career. 

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Net Neutrality’s Past, Present, and Implications

The term “net neutrality” has once again had a resurgence in the eye of the public as President Biden recently reinstated net neutrality in 2021. This order comes as a result of President Biden wanting to not only enforce net neutrality, but allow for broad band competition to occur as a way to fund his new infrastructure. Net neutrality can be a difficult subject to understand as a result of the government constantly removing and reinstating bills involving it. Consequently, as a way to better understand the implications of such actions, net neutrality and its history must first be defined. 

A bill that included net neutrality first crossed the U.S. The Senate's minds after they didn’t update the Communications Act in a failed attempt to put an end to internet providers that were blocking and or favoring certain websites. Then, in the year 2009, the FCC started to introduce the idea of net neutrality through the open internet order which then grew to the FCC having the authority to issue Open Internet Rules.

Consequently, the D.C. Circuit decided to overturn the FCC’s Open Internet Rules 2014 with follow up efforts made by the FCC to still ensure net neutrality. The overturning of such a bill led to several public complaints followed by President Obama and the FCC chairman to endorse the open internet rules that were grounded in Title II. 

Then, in 2017, the new FCC chairman made an announcement stating that they were going to remove the neutrality rules once again. In 2019, the decision was made that individual states were going to be allowed to create their own laws pertaining to net neutrality. Net neutrality’s journey ends, as of right now, in 2021 when Biden decided to reinstate net neutrality laws.

Now that net neutrality’s past has been explained, it’s present day correlation to the common consumer will be discussed. Net neutrality prevents large corporations such as AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast from collecting extra money from consumers by tactics of speeding up, slowing down, or hiding content from consumers. 

If net neutrality wasn’t in place, the consumer could expect major internet service providers (ISPs) to take advantage of the situation and charge fees for opening websites, slowing down consumers’ internet speeds, as well as slowing down consumers access to content that was virtually created by small businesses or nonprofit organizations. As a result, small businesses that most likely would not have the funds to fight big corporations would lose their voices. 

As of recent, the lack of net neutrality laws will not be an issue for consumers and others alike as it has been reinstated. President Biden’s actions have allowed users the ability to learn, create, collaborate, and communicate freely without any repercussions. Furthermore, it allows consumers access to any information and or entertainment one is looking for. Accordingly, it seems that the net neutrality laws are what is best for this country and will hopefully continue down the path of existing in the United States. 

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Classroom’s Take On the Industry

The music industry is a popular subject amongst classes at North Central College. Whether it is being discussed in a media class, marketing class, or entrepreneurship class, the subject always seems to find a way into the classroom scene. Music tends to play varying roles in everyone’s day to day lives. Consequently, the music industry itself has made its way into the classroom curriculum as a result of its ability to be dissected through different curriculum lenses. 

Leading with the marketing scene, TikTok and music have become one in accordance to the fact that every user is the audience. Streaming has become the number one way in which users consume music, making TikTok the ultimate platform for musicians to market their music as the app has great speeds at which it streams. With the accessibility to fast streaming, TikTok approximately 500 million users have allowed for the platform to become an integral part of the marketing landscape for musicians. By employing marketing tactics such as using trending hashtags, participating in challenges, using pro analytics, and more, musicians are easily able to take advantage of such a large platform. Unfortunately, as discussed in the entrepreneurship setting, the music industry has become over-saturated. 

Though creating music doesn’t make you an entrepreneur, this particular field often comes up as an example of what an “over-saturated” field looks like. Fields that tend to have too many people looking to pursue a career within tend to be fields that are easier for the common person to pick up. Becoming a musician doesn’t necessarily require one to go to school. Conclusively, a lot of people pursue a career as a musician. 

The overflow of musicians makes marketing one's music incredibly hard. There is always the chance that a song can go viral on TikTok or other platforms alike, but those chances are slim. Only approximately 1% of users will go viral. Looking at other opportunities, one could be noticed and signed on by a record label. In the off chance that one has the opportunity to sign with a record label, that process brings on an aspect of the music industry that is discussed in subjects such as media curriculums. 

Being noticed as a musician amongst so many others by a record label is such a large deal. As most have the tendency to see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, most will sign the contract prior to reading any of the fine print. Unfairness to the artists tends to come as a result of these actions. A famous example of such tendencies deals with Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun. Scooter Braun was able to acquire the rights to six of Swift’s records through Big Machine Records. This resulted in Swift re-recording all of her records that were sold off so that she could once again profit off of her talent.

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Fake News: Large Platform's Approach

Fake news has been a hot topic, specifically during the 2016 election where roughly 25% of tweets made on Twitter were either false or extremely biased. Though the spread of fake news has become increasingly alarming, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have started to implement regulations on such topics. Whether or not these regulations have been successful is another story.

After the start of the pandemic, fake news continued to be a prominent factor in the media with approximately 80% of media consumers in the United States reporting that they had seen fake news concerning the coronavirus. Unfortunately, with such a large amount of people exposed to fake news, only 26% of these consumers were confident in their abilities to sift through fake news.

With that said, Facebook has made efforts to mitigate media consumer’s exposure to fake news in ways such as disrupting economic incentive, creating new products and algorithms to halt the spread of fake news, informing people on how to decipher fake news versus news that can be trusted and more .

All of these efforts to lessen consumers' interactions with fake news haven’t gone unanswered. In the months after the 2016 election, interactions with fake news on Facebook declined by more than half. Facebook’s rival, Twitter, has had a much different approach that resulted in a much different outcome.

Twitter implemented a much more relaxed approach to dealing with fake news. Instead of proactively attempting to find and stop the spread of fake news, they put the power in the hands of the consumer.

The power has been placed in the consumers hands as users are the ones that are in charge of reporting fake news. With the use of this tool, users are allowed to report news that doesn’t align with their political beliefs, news that they don’t agree with as well as news that is actually fake news. This hands off approach has led to both the spread and ending of fake news.

Twitter’s approach didn’t quite have the effect that they were looking for as while Facebook's exposure numbers declined by over half, Twitter's numbers continued to steadily increase. The ratio of Facebook's engagement with fake news to Twitter’s tweets was roughly 15:1.

Though Facebook’s efforts proved to be more successful than Twitter, both platforms have room for improvement. When it comes to discussing important subjects such as the coronavirus, these platforms must enforce tighter regulations to halt the spread of fake news.

A regulation that can be implemented is whenever the words coronavirus, covid-19, vaccine or any word alike is mentioned in a post, it must be categorized as either fact or opinion. If it is fact, an algorithm will fact check the statement before it can be published. The statement will then be hashtagged as either fact or opinion so as to make it crystal clear to the consumer whether or not the statement can be believed.

Conclusively, fake news on such subjects can endanger the lives of others if one is not careful. Consequently, in times such as now where the trust in news and the government are at an all time low, instilling harsher regulations on the information that is released on such subjects has become more and more vital.