Pixtr - "Putting Your Best Face Forward"

In a world where taking pictures of one's surroundings, encounters, meals, and even the humorous "selfies" is considered normal, being highly self conscious of one's self image and the dream of being photogenic is amongst the biggest complaints. By posting and sharing photos on multiple social media platforms, one continues to make remarks regarding their physical appearance that is seen in a photo. The statement, "Oh my gosh! I look so bad in this picture! You can't possibly post this!" is universally stated across countries, languages, and cultures alike.

The introduction of this new mobile app will only make this case stronger.

Introducing, PIXTR! An all new mobile app available for Iphone and Android users. This app promises to "put your best face forward." What that means is that upon taking a picture and using Pixtr, you are able to automatically clean yourself up to look like a magazine Photoshop artist. This app allows you to thin your nose, tweak your eyes, re-shape your face, and even erase any wrinkles, blemishes, or freckles that you may have on your face. And it's not only for selfies, but for group photos as well.

Pixtr pushes the idea of "putting your best face forward," but is your "best" face your "real" face?

Below is demo of how Pixtr is used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQAx3CRinwA

Psy Has Done It Again!

We all know of the South Korean dance and K-pop phenomenon, Psy, who is internationally known for his popular music video/song, Gangnam Style. This song and wacky dance went viral and took over the world in 2012 with its interesting and catchy tunes and crazy dance style. This craze took on many diferent forms at professional and collegiate sporting events, various cultural functions, and even on popular television shows.

After a year of this craziness, Psy has come out with yet another, just as fun and even more wacky, music video/song -- Gentleman. Like its prequel, the Gentleman's music video showcases a very crazy and easy to follow dance move that stands as the icon of the song. Also, similar to Gangnam Style, Gentleman is mainly sung in Korean with a few English phrases for Psy's international audience to follow.

To view Psy's sequal to his hit song Gangnam Style, you can view Gentleman at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASO_zypdnsQ

Question -- What do you think of Psy's latest single? Will it surpass the likes of Gangnam Style?

Google Glasses Coming Soon

Everyone has been talking about Google's latest product that will soon hit the tech markets, the Google Glasses, however, its features have always been just a bit fuzzy in the consumer's mind. Well, look no further as Google as officially released a full hour-long video showcasing every single feature that this highly-anticipated product has.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JpWmGX55a40

The above video explains all of the different features that these amazing glasses can do. Google Glasses can perform a mutlitude of different actions ranging from recording videos to getting directions to even just "Googling" random facts on the web.

Google has been working on this project for a very long time now, and it will most likely be seen on the shelves in tech stores later this year in 2013. I, personally, am very eager to see Google's latest invention in action, and can't wait to get my hands on my very own Google Glasses later this year!

Instagram Chefs vs. Instagram Antagonists

Have you ever found yourself sitting at a restaurant and upon receiving your entree, you quickly whisk out your smartphone and start taking multiple snaps from various angles of your meal just to post it on Instagram? Well, just to inform you, you're not alone. Food pictures are amongst one of the most popular snaps on Instagram. Why is this so? Well, Instagram was founded on the principle of taking pictures of your daily encounters either with people, material articles, and now even food. Food is one of the few things that everyone encounters on a daily basis and, that too, multiple times throughout the day. It is also one of the things that can be one's best friend and biggest enemy (hello calories!). For this reason, "instagramming" food has become a popular past-time.


The act of taking pictures of your meals has become so common that some restaurants have even adapted to this new form of entertainment. For example, a New York restaurant, Comodo, has implemented an Instagram menu where their customers are directed to pictures of food posted under their Instagram hashtag (#ComodoMenu) to help them decide what to order. They have placed this instruction on the bottom of their real menu to encourage people to use this form of social media. The owner of Comodo has even stated, "We've been encouraging guests to post pictures on Instagram to spread the word, and the feedback has been great. Everyone keeps telling us how smart and creative it is." This just goes to show that by incorporating Instagram as a part of their restaurant service, they are able to interact with their consumers on a whole different level.

While some have embraced this form of picture-taking, others are completely against it. Some restaurants have even banned taking pictures of their food. They argue that "constantly whipping out your phone to document each course distracts from the meal, your dining companion, and even the chef" (Nesterov). In addition, many people have sided with this sentiment because they feel that it is unnecessary and a complete waste of time. Also, stating that food isn't to be appealing in pictures, but rather a form of filling one's stomach and keeping one healthy. 




 So who do you side with - the Instagram Chefs or the Instagram Antagonists?




http://www.gadling.com/2013/01/26/instagramming-food-fun-or-faux-pas/
http://mashable.com/2012/10/16/instagram-menu/

Are You Snapchatting?

Although this popular Iphone and Android app is not a new release, Snapchat, is taking storm on everyone's smartphone device. Snapchat is a photo messaging application released in 2011 where users can take pictures, record videos, add text and drawings, and then send them to their friends who also have a Snapchat account. Snapchat allows users to set a time limit for how long their recipients can view their photos/videos (max is 10 seconds), and after the viewing time has elapsed, the photo/video is completely deleted and erased from the recipients device.

This application has gained much publicity in recent months, and is only going to gain more. The term "Snapchatting" is becoming acceptable in everyday conversation. People are "snapchatting" on-the-go, in class, at work, etc. It has become an easy way to "beep" someone and give them a short glimpse of what they're doing or just to say "hey."

So the question is - Are you Snapchatting?

The Oscars

The Oscars aired on Sunday night opening to millions of viewers across the nation. Televisions were on, music was playing, people were drinking, and shiny dresses were over the screen. It was a great atmosphere for those actually at the Oscars and those watching in the comforts of their own homes either having an Oscars party with friends or simply streaming it on their laptop while trying to study for their midterms. Either way, it was quite a show!

Not only were people simply watching the show, they were also engaging with it via social media. The Oscars committee definitely had their eyes on this one from the get-go. Under the Twitter handle, #Oscars2013, viewers were constantly posting their thoughts/opinions regarding anything and everything about the event. This brought the audience together for good 4 hours straight.

Amongst the most tweeted, posted, and shared items during the event were definitely Seth McFarlane's opening act, or more commonly referred to as "the boob song," and Jennifer Lawrence's fall on her way up the stage to claim her trophy for Best Actress in Silver Lining's Playbook. Just seconds after both events occurred the online social sphere went on a complete buzz. Videos were uploaded to YouTube of the acts and in no time were people commenting away and posting their remarks.

Here are the links to both acts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TWLKP8j0zk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyAWdlqEmxg

All-in-all the Oscars was a great show and a Sunday night well spent. Seth McFarlane did a great job hosting the show all by himself, the acts, the presenters, the winners, pretty much everything about it was really well executed (even their social media tactic!). Way to go Oscars!

We're Really that Dependent.

 

Just the other day on the bus ride to class, I overheard two students talking:

Student 1: "So wait...he doesn't have a Facebook?"
Student 2: "Not that I know of. I searched all possible variations of his name and still couldn't find him."
Student 1: "Wow...that just means that he's sketch and that you don't want to talk to him.Where has he been living anyway? Under a rock?"

I couldn't help but chuckle a little after hearing this. If this conversation was to go on just a few years back, then simply not having a Facebook would be pretty common and wouldn't be deemed as being "weird." This just goes to show that times have changed and the realm of social media is only becoming more powerful.

Today, almost about 58 million Americans use social media sites on a daily basis. This is just a 4% increase since 2011 which was 18% as compared to 2012's 22% of daily usage/logins.



To check one's Facebook page is most often the first thing one does right when he wakes up and right before one goes to sleep. It is also the first thing one checks when they open their internet browser.

Knowing these facts only brings one question to mind -- Do we control social media or does social media control us?