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What is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital through the collective effort of friends, customers, and individual investors. This approach taps into the collective efforts of a large pool of individuals which means anyone could have contribution voluntary. Besides that, this is primarily online via social media and crowdfunding platforms and leverages their networks for greater reach and exposure. Crowdfunding has helped in creating the opportunity for entrepreneurs or those who wants to start a business to raise hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars from anyone with money to invest. Crowdfunding provides a forum to anyone with an idea to pitch it in front of waiting investors.

The Benefits of Crowdfunding

Efficiency – One of the best things about online crowdfunding is its ability to centralize and streamline your fundraising efforts. By building a single, comprehensive profile to which you can funnel all your prospects and potential investors, you eliminate the need to pursue each of them individually. So instead of duplicating efforts by printing documents, compiling binders, and manually updating each one when there’s an update, you can present everything online in a much more accessible format, leaving you with more time to run your business instead of fundraising.

PR & Marketing – From launch to close, you can share and promote your campaign through social media, email newsletters, and other online marketing tactics. As you and other media outlets cover the progress of your fundraise, you can double down by steering traffic to your website and other company resources.

Presentation – By creating a crowdfunding campaign, you go through the invaluable process of looking at your business from the top level—its history, traction, offerings, addressable market, value proposition, and more—and boiling it down into a polished, easily digestible package.

Types of Crowdfunding

Just like there are many different kinds of capital round raises for businesses in all stages of growth, there are a variety of crowdfunding types. Which crowdfunding method you select depends on the type of product or service you offer and your goals for growth. The 3 primary types are donation-based, rewards-based, and equity-based crowdfunding.

Donation-based crowdfunding – Any crowdfunding campaign in which there is no financial return to the investors or contributors.

Rewards-based crowdfunding – Any crowdfunding campaign that involves individuals contributing to your business in exchange for a “reward,” typically a form of the product or service your company offers.

Equity-based crowdfunding – Any crowdfunding campaign that allows contributors to become part-owners of your company by trading capital for equity shares.

Popular Crowdfunding Websites

Crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter and GoFundMe attract hundreds of thousands of people hoping to create, or support, the business which they wish to start.

GoFundMe

As of 2021, GoFundMe is the largest crowdfunding platform. Since GoFundMe was founded in 2010, the site has raised over $15 billion through more than 100 million donors.2 GoFundMe is the site most popular for individuals seeking to recover from a medical expense or disaster such as a house fire, natural disaster, or unexpected emergency expense. Start-up companies tend to use Kickstarter.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is another popular choice. As of May 29, 2022, since it was founded in 2009, Kickstarter has successfully funded over 220,000 projects, with more than $6.6 billion pledged across all Kickstarter projects.

Kickstarter is the most popular crowdfunding site for aspiring businesses hoping to raise capital and reach a larger audience. In fact, unlike GoFundMe, Kickstarter can only be used for creating projects that can be shared with others.

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Has any fandoms you’re involved in been part of any protest or acts of social activism?

First of all, I'm not any part of the fandom and also not involved in being of any part of protest or acts of social activism but I still have found some materials for this week's topic regarding activism.

What is Activism?

Activism is an umbrella term that describes efforts with the goal to make changes in society in order to improve the overall quality of life of the general public. This word can come in many different forms, including street marches, hunger strikes and demonstrations. Although activism implies several important benefits but it can also lead to serious problems.

Activism can improve the overall level of freedom in a country. In many regions of our planet, the level of freedom is still rather confined and people are not allowed to express their own opinion. Thus, the local population fights for their rights and activists can make a great change in their countries. Over time, chances are that the overall level of freedom will increase.

Nonetheless, activism is not always peaceful. While the majority of activists want to protest in a peaceful manner, a small fraction of this movement may engage in unlawful actions. Thus, if activism is not done in a peaceful manner, it will not fulfill its initial purpose and should not be tolerated and supported by the local population.

K-pop and Black Lives Matter 

Now, we could have a look on who are mostly those activisms in today’s world. In an age where social media is one of the most prominent platforms for social and political action, we are seeing a rise in its users who are resolutely involving themselves in creating and promoting POSITIVE change. Interestingly, but according to some, not surprisingly, many of these users are K-pop fans.

Amid a surge in social media attention to the Black Lives Matter movement, those supports to Trump and the hashtags including #WhiteLivesMatter, were quick to make an appearance but also drowned out in a short period of time. All of this because of K-pop fans used their fan base to flood those supports and contents. When clicked on one of the hashtags, we could found out that what under the post were not the racist and offensive content that otherwise would have been visible but instead featured a compilation of fan videos and tweets in support of Black Lives Matter and the protests that have been taking place all across the country.

Their united efforts led to the voiced approval from BTS, who tweeted, “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together. #BlackLivesMatter.”

BTS also donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter, which prompted fans to follow suit and match their donation through “One in An ARMY,” a global fundraising collective campaign comprised of BTS fans across the world.

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What role do social media platforms play in shaping our forms of connectivity and social life?

Social media has a major influence on society in the 21st century which is enable citizens to engage with each other in radically new and different ways. According to Brown (2011), we can fall in love online, create friendships, attend parties in other countries and all without leaving the comfort (and anonymity) of our armchair. Other than that, what is the role of social media play in shaping our forms of connectivity and social life? This essay will be written out that how the social media take role in connect us with the social life and the impact which social media bring to us in today's world.

The evolution of social media has been fueled by the human impulse to communicate and by advances in digital technology. According to Merriam-Webster, social media is defined as “forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and self-created content such as videos.” The social media also can be known as websites for social networking and microblogging. The 2019 Pew Research Center report on social media use in the United States showed that 72% of American adults use some form of social media. In 2005, the year after Facebook went live, that number was 5%. It relatively rapid growth as a sociological and commercial force, and the change it has brought to the marketing world and our sociality life.

Role of social media

Social media has played a very important role in today's life, they are web-based online tools that enable people to discover and learn new information, share ideas, and also interact with new people and organizations. It has changed the way most of the people live their life today which it made the communication of peoples much easier. It also allows the exchange of user-generated content like data, pictures, and videos. Social media platforms may come in different forms in nowadays such as blogs, business forums, photo sharing, product or service review, weblogs and etc. Besides that, studies have shown that quite a good number of people spend at least 25% of their time on social networking platforms and this goes further to show how relevant and popular the social media platforms have become in recent times. The importance of social media can be seen in several fields such as business, entertainment, food, lifestyle, welfare and a host of others which all of these included in our social life. We could find over millions of users on social media sites in today’s world, and the sites like Facebook, Instagram, Facebook, WeChat, and WhatsApp have made a big impact on people's life. They use the social media platform not only sharing their own-generated photo or video content and information but trades and business have also flourished. The huge rising number of users on each social platform have clearly indicated how important role that social media has taken in our social life.

Impacts of social media

We all recognize that “knowledge is power” this saying but only a few understand the empowering role social media has played. It is undeniable that the social media plays a really important role in sociality which on network, in community or in publics. Nowadays, anyone online is empowered by an unrestricted flow of information to increase their knowledge bank through the social media platform. It has impacted our culture, economy or even our overall view of the world in today’s world. We need to agree that social media has tendency which in leading people to a new age of world. Social media is a new forum or platform which could bring people to share their opinion or exchange their idea. It also helps people to connect with and mobilize for a cause, seek advice and offer guidance. Social media has removed the issue of communication barriers and created a decentralized channel for everyone to communicate. This has opened the door for all people to have a voice and participate in a democratic way including people in repressive country.

One particularly pernicious concern for a long time which is whether time spent on social media sites is deprive the time of face-to-face, and this is a phenomenon known as social displacement. The concerns about social displacement are longstanding, as old as the telephone and probably older than that. “This issue of displacement has gone on for more than 100 years,” says Jeffrey Hall, PhD, director of the Relationships and Technology Lab at the University of Kansas. “No matter what the technology is, but there is always a cultural belief that it is replacing face-to-face time with our close friends and family,” which also mentioned by Jeffrey Hall. Jeffrey Hall's research interrogates that cultural belief. In one study, participants kept a daily log of time spent doing 19 different activities during weeks when they were and were not asked to abstain from using social media. In the weeks when people abstained from social media, they spent more time on browsing the internet, working, cleaning, and doing household chores. However, there was no difference in people's time spent socializing with their strongest social ties during the same abstention periods. For the upshot, Jeffrey Hall tends to believe that, given his own work and then reading the work of others, that there's very little evidence that social media directly displaces meaningful interaction with close relational partners. Therefore, the one possible reason for this is because we tend to interact with our close loved ones through several different modalities—such as texts, emails, phone calls, and in-person time. Apart from this, there is no doubt that social media bring impacts which are mix of good and bad effects in the same time.

Impact of social media on Politics

Pew Research has showed a study which claims that about one in five adults in U.S gets their political news through social media. Through the study, we could find out that those who do get the political news primarily through social media are tending to be less well-informed. They are more likely to be exposed to unproven claims from indeterminate source. Compare to other sources, the influence of social media in political campaigns has increased tremendously. Social networks play an increasingly important role in electoral politics. The election of Donald Trump is perhaps the starkest illustration yet that across the planet, social networks are helping to fundamentally rewire human society. Social media allows people to communicate more freely either in community or publics. Social media is helping to create influential social organizations among once-marginalized groups.

Advantages and Disadvantages of social media

The social media has done a great job in the domain of information and updates. It helps people to stay informed about events happening across the globe or in other people's lives using social media. Social media also lets everyone convey information accurately by presenting the real picture on it. It aids in showcasing real-world news across the globe. Besides that, all of us have lived in a diverse world where individuals from different cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds exist. What social media did is it has brought all these people together by linking them on a platform. Thus, social media help in fostering a sense of unity facilitates the development of community links. It made all those people could communicate to each other even they are having different social contexts. Social media also helped in bringing good impact to business which is doing the customer interaction. Social media enhances customer engagement by providing goods and services and soliciting comments on them. The users could leave various feedback and suggestions on the platforms and it also allowed other people to see the comment. This could assist in improving areas of focus and satisfy the customer.

Although the social media has brought such many advantages to our social life which allowing us to easily connect with friends or our family around the globe and also allowing us to break down cultural barriers, but all of this also has come at a price. Social media has also brought disadvantages to our social lives because it is robbing us of trust and comforts we once placed in one another. The virtual contact or communication is replacing the human fellowship, physical or emotional support we once drew from each other in our reality life. Moreover, it has also made us cannot self-control and took away the ability which to think independently. More than that, there are some of the comments or perverse messages on the platform may make us gullible to join any group which could poison our mind. Last but not least, the problem of cyberbullying always derived from the social media. Nowadays, people of all ages could have been victims of cyberbullying where the threats or any other negative activities could ensnare them easily. Free speech on social media made fake news and rumors spread effortlessly, and this leading to depression and suicide since everyone could say anything they like taking no responsibility.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to say that social media platform is not only for business but one can also reach out millions of people and share their views or opinion. Social media could also help everyone is aware of what is happening now around them or around the world. Nonetheless, I still like a theory which has mentioned that everything is a double-edged sword. Social media has brought so many benefits to our social life, but it also brought out much of disadvantages or side effects which need to overcome them or take serious on them.

References

Brown, A 2011, ‘Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society’, The Futurist, March-April 2011, pp. 34, EBSCOhost

Simeon O. Edosomwan, The history of social media and its impact on business, January 2011 - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303216233_The_history_of_social_media_and_its_impact_on_business

The Evolution of Social Media: How Did It Begin, and Where Could It Go Next? -  https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/

Alejandra Guzman, Farida Vis, 6 Ways Social Media is Changing The World, Apr 7, 2016 - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/6-ways-social-media-is-changing-the-world/

Social media's growing impact on our lives, By Summer Allen, Date created: September 20, 2019 - https://www.apa.org/members/content/social-media-research

Impacts of Social Media: Advantages and Disadvantages, By Simplilearn, Updated on Oct 18, 2022 -  https://www.simplilearn.com/real-impact-social-media-article#top_20_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_social_media

The Role of Social Media, By WorldNoor, Updated on January 18, 2021 - https://worldnoor.com/blog/role-of-social-media/

The Impact of Social Media on Society, By Jacob Amedie, Santa Clara University, Updated on  March 9, 2015 - https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/2/?utm_source=scholarcommons.scu.edu%2Fengl_176%2F2&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages

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Is blogging still relevant in the age of TikToks and Instagram?

The technology of world is getting better and better with the change of times. There were also many types of application or social media platform given birth within a short period of time. Therefore, there is some old application or platform were be kicked out or eliminated by the user certainly. There a question come to us now, is blogging dead or is blogging still relevant in the age of TikToks and Instagram? How many times have we heard the term ‘blogging is dead’ but it is almost as many times as the old saying ‘content is king’.

Instagram, a social media platform which created in 2010 and two months later it had come to a million users and that number increased to 10 million within a year. Now, Instagram has owned more than 1 billion active users and it became the one of the most popular social media in the world. Instagram also comes out with Reel function which is a video clip for up to maximum length 60 seconds that users can upload on Instagram to share their own ideas and contents. Reels are typically used to publish creative content and promote brands in some business ways.

However, we could hear the sound of “blogging was dead” or maybe some terms like “microblogging” thrown around our society after these new social media was born. For me, I am not often using blog but I still believe that blogging is still relevant. In the earlier time, blog works as a platform which same as Instagram or TikTok which is also is mainly used to share our daily life style, such likes our hobbies, interests or thoughts. But now, blog more likely work as a part of a whole content marketing umbrella, where the idea that content spread across all platforms is the way forward. It had become a type of internet marketing tools for some of the organizations or business. There are few reasons that I believe which make blogs completely indispensable for businesses. First of all, Instagram reels and TikTok videos have only a brief life span but blogs stay last forever. The reason for such longevity is that they are discovered through search engines which keep surfacing the relevant content for the user even if the content has become slightly dated. The longevity of the content is what the business needed in spreading out and promoting their contents or products. Besides that, blogs can be much more ubiquitous than reels or TikTok videos since reels and TikTok videos may only appear on their own web application or platform. A single blog can be repurposed into Facebook posts and LinkedIn Posts and shared as a guest article on other websites. Reels and TikTok videos are platform dependent & have minimal utility outside their parent platform. We also can’t forget the fact that Instagram and Tiktok could ban or delete your account. With a blog, you have total control on your own which because blog is always self-hosted. It’s never smart to put all your eggs in one basket.  Once you have a successful blog or website and an email list you never have to be worried about that being taken away overnight. Despite the various range of social media nowadays, I believe blogs are still relevant in today’s world. It may not be so famous or eye-catching as Instagram or TikTok but it is no doubt that blogs still bring many advantages to business way or personal way.

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Pros and Cons of Social In Politics

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Is Twitter’s censure of Donald Trump while he was still a President a violation of “free speech” principles and democracy?

After Twitter has a close review from Donald Trump's account, Twitter decided to ban Donald Trump from its platform. I think this action did not violate the principles of free speech and democracy. There are few reason to support my point of view.

First reason, I think there is no free speech “right” to incite violence. There is no free speech argument in existence that suggests an incitement of lawlessness and violence is protected speech. Quite to the contrary. Nineteenth century free speech proponent John Stuart Mill argued the sole reason one’s liberty may be interfered with (including restrictions on free speech) is “self-protection” — in other words, to protect people from harm or violence.

Additionally, incitement to violence is a criminal offence in all liberal democratic orders. There is an obvious reason for this: violence is harmful. It harms those who are immediately targeted and those who are intimidated as a result of the violence to take action or speak up against it.

Secondly, I think there is no free speech “right” to appear on a particular platform. There is also no free speech argument that guarantees any citizen the right to express their views on a specific platform and this is ludicrous. If this “right” were to exist, it would mean any citizen could demand to have their opinions aired on newspaper and, if refused, claim their free speech had been violated.

Besides, Twitter is a private company, not a government. The First Amendment was designed to prevent Congress or the states from blocking people’s freedom to express themselves. In fact, you could argue that it protects the right of a company such as Twitter to decide for itself what content to allow. The government can’t push a private company to publish something it doesn’t want to publish, said John Morris, who has served in leading telecommunication roles in two presidential administrations and is now a fellow at the Brookings Institution. Moreover, Twitter is a platform that can regulate its content as it wishes, in accordance with its own terms of service. Morris said there are no laws that restrict the ability of platforms or websites to regulate their content. And if Trump doesn’t like it, he is welcome to go to another platform.

What does exist is a general right to express oneself in public discourse, relatively free from regulation, as long as one’s speech does not harm others. Therefore, I think free speech may be harmful against people or things if it used in a wrong way, so censoring some of the unsuitable content to show on platforms is acceptable.

References

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/29/no-twitter-did-not-violate-trumps-freedom-speech/

https://theconversation.com/no-twitter-is-not-censoring-donald-trump-free-speech-is-not-guaranteed-if-it-harms-others-153092

https://theconversation.com/trumps-twitter-tantrum-may-wreck-the-internet-139660

https://theconversation.com/parler-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-free-speech-twitter-alternative-142268

https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension