Hi all – Please see HW for today’s class:
- Read and Response – Please email to me
AND share on OpenLab (by next Thursday at noon)
New York Times: To Do Politics or Not Do Politics?
Tech Start-Ups Are Divided
âThereâs no real separation anymore, in the current political climate, between
politics and everything else. It has permeated absolutely everything.â
- Do you think tech companies should work on political issues?
- Do you think tech companies have a responsibility to take a political stance publicly?
- Is it enough for tech companies to make a statement about where they stand politically or should the also make a campaign using their platforms?
PODCAST – Listen and respond: How Rock the Vote Became Tok the Vote
Please email to me and post on Open Lab (by next Thurs at noon)
https://www.wired.com/story/get-wired-podcast-15-tiktok-the-vote/?redirectURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fstory%2Fget-wired-podcast-15-tiktok-the-vote%2F
- Had you heard of Tok the Vote?
- Does having politics on platforms that you enjoy (like TikTok if you do) hurt the social experience?
- Do you think itâs a smart use of a social platform?
- Do you think voters stay interested with politics once the campaign dies down on the platform? Or do you think they stay engaged?
Joel Gonzalez
4/24/2021
Prof. Spivey
Read and Response
1. Do you think tech companies should work on political issues?
Answer: Maybe. Canât honestly see nor tell how human are going to react to this. Some companies were trying to do the âright thingâ but had many compliments from the customer who their own beliefs and donât appreciate tech companies looking through their properties. Weâve also seen corruption in Washington. Tech companies would also probably encounter hackers or other stuff that are corrupted and can possibly create a threat to them.
2. Do you think tech companies have a responsibility to take a political stance publicly?
Answer: Yes. Again, I donât know how citizens will react to this because itâs extremely random and unexpected. However, some will understand and would appreciate that. The reason why Iâm saying this is because The United States is getting crazy and worst with all the violence, and many people staying silent and wonât answer our questions. Iâm pretty sure people would care about tech companies if they have answers to our problems. If they have a solution that can really impact social then by all means.
3. Is it enough for tech companies to make a statement about where they politically or should they also make a campaign using their platform?
Answer: They would have to make a campaign using their platform. A campaign where it will be fully protected and a list of interests in order to get peopleâs attention. However, it would be a place where everything is completely shown and is not censoring anything nor staying quiet on all the questions out there. Most people would use their phone/laptop for social media, but I guarantee that it will attract attention.
Read and Response || Listen and Respond:
Do you think tech companies should work on political issues?
I think tech companies should work on political issues that may concern the equality of everyone.
Do you think tech companies have a responsibility to take a political stance publicly?
I think tech companies do have a responsibility to take a political stance publicly so that customers can know who they are buying/supporting products from
Is it enough for tech companies to make a statement about where they stand politically or should they also make a campaign using their platforms?
I think just making a statement about where they stand politically is enough depending on the kind of stance that they take. If they are advocating for racial equality or against all forms of discrimination then I feel they should be practicing what they preach. Also if their product directly has an influence on any political stances then they should make a campaign using their platform. For me I believe it all depends on the kind of stance and the situation the company is in.
Had you heard of Tok the vote?
I have never heard of Tok the vote. Then again, I do not use TikTok
Does having politics on platforms that you enjoy(like TikTok if you do) hurt the social experience?
I donât think having politics on platforms that I enjoy hurt the social experience because I feel like politics goes hand in hand with some of the things you might see on these social media platforms. The only thing that can harm this is when the feed becomes primarily only politics. Having small amounts of it is completely fine but when it starts feeling like it is being shoved down your throat at every corner is when you lose sight of the social experience that people like when it comes to social media platforms.
Do you think itâs a smart use of a social platform?
In a way, yes. It is a smart use of a social platform because social media is probably the quickest and effective way to reach a large audience at any given time. People of all ages are on social media and it is where the majority of people go on every single day compared to just a website or a news blog.
Do you think voters stay interested in politics once the campaign dies down on the platform? Or do you think they stay engaged?
Both. Depending on how well the campaign engaged the audience or whether or not the campaign was impactful on tackling a specific issue or topic is when it can keep voters engaged no matter what. If it was just a simple campaign or something that was fueled solely off the hype and viralness of its content is when I think people start to sway away from being interested after the campaign dies down.
Joel Gonzalez
4/24/2021
Prof. Spivey
Read and Response
1. Had you heard of Tok the Vote?
Answer: Nope. Wasnât expecting this Tok the Vote makes people gain trust. This clearly shows how BAD Donald Trump was in his presidential time.
2. Does having politics on platforms that you enjoy (like Tiktok if you do) hurt the social experience?
Answer: Hard to tell to be honest. There are many people that have their own beliefs in society. In other words, their own views. Not many people would agree on the things theyâve seen on any platform. Reddit would be one example since the comments would always argue 24/7.
3. Do you think itâs a smart use of a social platform?
Answer: Nope. There are websites that many do not know, and those that do know would keep it a secret. Some would also be pretender (bots) that has a capability a posting thousands message in a second. Hackers that can manipulate othersâ accounts. Republicans sure use the platform to âsaveâ Donald Trump and did their best to make everyone see Donald Trump as âGodâ.
4. Do you think voters stay interested with politics once the campaign dies down on the platform? Or do you think they engaged?
Answer: As long they have a solution that can impact the future when the campaign dies down on the platform. People in this generation are using social media very often, and not for silly things, but for sending a message and helping others gain confidence.
Read & Respond:
Tech companies should work on political issues. As mentioned in the article, many tech companies pride themselves on âchanging the world.â How can you claim your company will change the world if you arenât supporting politics that bring real change? Some companies may not focus only on working on political issues, which could be reasonable. However, politics is something to consider working on since it has so much power in our lives. There really is no escaping politics, so why should tech companies distance themselves from it?
Tech companies do have a responsibility to take a public political stance. We no longer live in a time where companies should issue a tone-deaf statement saying, âwe do not take any political stance.â There is too much going on in this world, and even in this country alone, for companies to pretend like they donât care about politics. As the writers also pointed out, choosing to not take a political stance is still a choice. This is a privileged choice you make when you are privileged enough to be content with the way politics are. If a tech company decides to not take a political stance, they are essentially saying that they donât care for progressive change. In their eyes, nothing needs to be changed. Politics are things that people should care about and have strong opinions on. Living in a world where you can be attacked for your political beliefs is a problem itself. Major issues like these are exactly why tech companies should make it clear where they stand on politics.
In some situations, a tech company might make a statement about where they stand politically, but they might not want to make a campaign using their platforms. This could be understandable if the company does not consistently put out political campaigns. They may feel like it just isnât their place to do so. You don’t want to run a campaign with misleading information that stains your company. For example, when the Black Lives Matter movement arose in June 2020, many companies put out statements claiming they were âcommitted to diversity.â Once some time passed, those companies never spoke on diversity again. Many people claimed the companies were simply trying to jump on the bandwagon and make it seem like they cared about the issue. If a tech company wanted to make political campaigns on their platforms when it really was going to matter, like in the 2020 presidential election, that would be fair. Other times, it may not always be necessary. If they took a public political stance, it would at least be a start to show the world what the company stood for.
Listen & Respond:
I have not heard of Tok the Vote, but I remember seeing similar social media campaigns about the election. Having politics on platforms that I enjoy doesnât hurt the social experience. Politics is something that we should care about and talk about more. Politics affect us all, so we need to learn as much as we can about it. The whole point of a social platform is to share information and connect with others. Having politics on the platform will do exactly that. Many people even turn to social media as a news source. It is smart to have politics on the platform since it gives so many more people access to political information. People on socials can bond over issues that matter to them. They advocate for those issues through effective methods that allow accurate information to reach others. Some people may not care about politics if it wasnât all over social platforms. Having it there could be another tactic to get people engaged in things that should matter to them.
Voters might stay interested in politics once the campaign dies down on the platform if the campaign successfully got them engaged in the first place. The campaign might get people to see how important politics are, and they will begin to care about the issues. From there, they will see the need to ensure they stay up to date with politics. Having the campaigns on social platforms is part of the steppingstone. People will have this brief overview of what the issues are and how politics affect them. Once they pay attention to those things, they will stay interested in politics. Of course, if politics donât impact you and you can live happily without the need for change, you wouldnât care about staying interested. For many of us, however, we need to pay attention to politics for the sake of our futures.
Jordin De La Rosa
1. Do you think tech companies should work on political issues?
When it comes to tech companies working on political issues, I believe they shouldnât. The privacy of everyone around the world will be reduced drastically as people will never be able to truly be themselves or even feel safe. Once tech companies are involved with political issues, this leads to more issues to come in the future as well as peopleâs opinion causing havoc for certain companies. Itâs already impossible to please as many people as possible so when you add politics to the issue, youâre now showcasing and expressing your software/products onto a select audience. Once tech companies get involved with the government, most of our information from all these different apps/software that we use will be given to the government. Once that happens, theyâll have to deal with more hackers trying to gather information causing a massive uproar if anything were to get leaked.
2. Do you think tech companies have a responsibility to take a political stance publicly?
I believe it depends on the situation. Itâs a lot better for companies to showcase their political stance publicly rather than privately because once any information is leaked to the public that they support a certain political stance, theyâll receive backlash from different social groups/communities. If anything, itâs better to have certain companies focus on politics rather than all tech companies to focus on it.
3. Is it enough for tech companies to make a statement about where they stand politically or should they also make a campaign using their platforms?
Iâd say itâs more impactful to create a campaign rather than just releasing a statement. The statement is more of a safer route for people to realize where these companies are politically standing. However, once a campaign is shown, especially on their own platforms, it means that initiative is being taken place. Action speaks louder than words but some people appreciate the statement. It satisfies them most people enough, just to see an impactful statement.
4. Had you heard of Tok the vote?
Iâve never heard of Tok the vote. I needlessly scroll through Tik Tok and it never appeared on my feed. However, itâs an interesting concept to have.
5. Does having politics on platforms that you enjoy (like TikTok if you do) hurt the social experience?
In my opinion, yes. Social media platforms are made to escape from reality but there are times where the news that is given is beneficial/useful. Iâll get my information through the form of social media at times or Iâll go to Google News to see whatâs going on in the world. Now that I continue writing about the social experience, it varies. Small bits of political information helps the younger audience see whatâs going on in the world because the younger audience are unlikely to ever check a news outlet. Theyâll endlessly scroll through social media and having a platform to display small/major events that are going on the world could lead to a better future. Itâs debatable. Thereâs pros and cons to it.
6. Do you think itâs a smart use of a social platform?
A majority of the population are on a social platform whether itâs Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc. so itâs easier to relay messages or events going on in the world using any of these platforms. Itâs a smart idea and lots of pages simplify it for everyone to understand whatâs going on.
7.Do you think voters stay interested in politics once the campaign dies down on the platform? Or do you think they stay engaged?
It varies. Voters remain interested for a while once the campaign is complete or has died down. However, after a while, most people divert themselves away from the outcome of the campaign until something major has happened again. Think of it like stocks, itâs unexpected whether one day it can rise up to how much people are invested in the campaign and then the next day, people will lose interest and it goes down rapidly. Itâs not a consistent pattern.