Dani's Blog (DJ)

In recent years, "fake news" has been a big concern for the general public. News articles posted online may or may not be based on fact, and when misinformation spreads, it's like wildfire. Is this good enough reason for legislation and regulation? In the United States, we have the first amendment. With this, the constitution states that we have rights to free expression that the government cannot infringe upon. If we were to try and pass legislation like what is currently being considered in Singapore, it would have little chance of passing. That is because the regulation being called for n Singapore is so restrictive that tech companies like Facebook could get into huge legal trouble if articles deemed by the Singaporean government as "fake news" are posted on their platform. When the government has so much power that they can deem articles as "fake news" and ban them outright, this is a problem for those concerned about freedom of expression...

The way we tell stories has changed drastically over the years. At the beginning of man, oral storytelling was the only way, and then we began making music and art. By the time mass media came around, the stories we told were starting to become more complex. However, all of these examples were limited to its original medium: a painting, play, opera, movie, TV show, etc. New media has changed the way we tell stories in a big way. Online media has given storytellers the opportunity to expand their universes outside of their base piece of art. No longer does the story have to stop when the credits roll, and no longer are we confined to information given by the writers. Jenkins gives the great example of the movie, 2012 , where the creators made an entire website of backstory. Instead of filling the film up with backstory, they took the opportunity that the internet provided them to give viewers all that information in an entirely different way. By using multiple mediums, artist'...

Cyberbullying has been a hot topic among parents and school administrators for a long time, and recently, Michigan passed a law that criminalizes online bullying. Is this the best way to handle these situations? In many cases, the involvement of parents or teachers worsen bullying situations. Simply punishing the instigators does little good for the harassment victims. Based on this information, plus all that we know about why kids pick on each other, I do not believe that this is the right course of action. Sending kids to jail or fining them (or their parents, rather) for being mean to other kids will not be effective in helping either party. My suggestion is that any immediate threat to physical safety is taken care of swiftly, and a more careful handling of the social problems can then be carried out. Adults with expertise can evaluate what to do in detail, but cracking down on kids being mean to each other at all times is not a realistic or productive way to control young ...

Ever wondered what the members of Tonacity listen to on their own time? Now's your chance to find out! We've created a playlist of song recommendations, and with the power of the music sharing tool, Spotify, all our fans can listen in! Every member recommended two songs, and they're grouped together by member. Take a guess at who added what in the comments below! Tonacity's Ultimate Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/hannahvestal99/playlist/5oUrYcqczcQTsG3nkMzvYh?si=q-LYdiMSRrS0bM5fhaWaVA It's so fun to share the differences in our music styles with everyone! It truly is amazing to be able to come together and appreciate music of all different kinds! We'll be revealing the members' suggestions every week on our Instagram , so give us a follow and see how many guesses you got correct! Cheers, Dani James, VP

With so much of today's media being distributed by just a handful of companies, many of us find it impossible to escape the grasp of the infamous Google brand. But is that a bad thing?  Mega-companies like Google have given the public access to countless services: video streaming, web browsing, blogging, even calendar-ing --all essentially FOR FREE. Google Drive provides free cloud storage while giving users access to easy-to-use business tools like their word processor, spreadsheet maker, and presentation program. Countless people use the tools the Google company has provided to them in both their personal and professional lives. Some may say that we are addicted  to Google. Some are concerned about the data that Google collects on its users, and they worry about their privacy. It is true that the company does have a hold on our society, considering how many products are available to us and yet we still choose their brand over others, but I don't necessarily see that as a...

In a world where media is everywhere and the internet is everything, there is no doubt that the most effective tool to grow a following is through the use of social media. Arguably every single student organization on a college campus has a message to communicate to the rest of the community. Whether it is about an event they are hosting, promoting a particular cause, or even just updating their group's weekly activity, there is an audience for it! Jimmy: So, if social media is the key to gaining support for your student org, why isn't everyone doing it?! That's a good question, Jimmy! It may be that some people just don't know how influential their group can be! Or, if they do know that social media is a tool to be used, they may not know how to execute this form of promotion effectively. Tonacity A Cappella's official Instagram account, @tonacityofficial. Tonacity may not be "Insta-famous", but we are learning more about effective publicity ...

In an interview conducted by the site, "rebecca's pocket" by Rebecca Blood, Megan Reardon, a crafts blogger from the turn of the century explains how and why she keeps a weblog. In the interview, she goes into how she got started with blogging, how she comes up with ideas, and so on, but the most fascinating topic, to me, was her discussion of her internet audience. Source: http://www.rebeccablood.net/bloggerson/meganreardon.html Reardon made the decision to turn off the comments on her blog. She says. "... people were more antagonistic than was called for. If the same tone were taken while they were in my home I would toss them out. With all the access restriction that has become available since I took comments down I think I would feel better about having them, but for whatever reason it doesn't interest me enough to do." Although her platform is mostly related to crafts, the internet has a way of sometimes bringing out the worst in anonymous onl...

Welcome to Tonacity A Cappella's brand new blog page!  With this blog, we hope to give you an insight into the members of the group, music we're loving, what it's like to be in a college a cappella group, and much, much more! Leave comments with what you'd like us to talk about regarding music, college, etc. In the mean time, you can keep up with our activity on social media by following the links below. We CAN'T WAIT to hear from you all! ❤ TONACITY Follow us!       Instagram       Facebook       Twitter       YouTube