The Newest Apple Devices Hit Social Media
For Module 2 I had to select a global event to follow on social media between September 11th to the 17th. There were many topics at this time that had unpredictable paths / resolutions; such as Irma, Houston flooding and earthquake in Mexico. Although, I was interested in these topics I wanted to find a topic I could relate and connect similar experiences to.
September 12th 2017, marked Apple’s first Worldwide Developers Conference hosted at Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference formally known as WWDC is a global event held annually in California by Apple. This is where Apple releases their newest technology advancements and devices publicly. I am a techie and apple fanatic at heart, so I knew this would be a great event to follow for my assignment.
The month of September is a very important month for any Apple lover. This has been the month that Apple releases a new iPhone every year. Although, we can suspect a new device will be rolling out; there are no announcements directly from Apple prior to the WWDC indicating anything about their new device. Most of what we know is based off of leaks on the web or word of mouth. But, can we really believe an article we read on the web or an in person conversation with a trustworthy friend? Is the source reliable or are they using you as click bate for their own good?
Learnings
Social Media Vs. Word of Mouth
Did you learn more on social media than other outlets? Do you feel the information was factual and sourced?
By collecting information from multiple networks I was able to learn more than other outlets, such as local newspapers and surprisingly one-off conversations in the Verizon office. I noticed the local newspapers covering the Apple Event found one way or another to find it’s way back to social media. It seemed as if there was little no gap between the two, since all the leaks surfaced from social media. It was clear to me that the information on new iPhone device prior and after WWDC was factual and fictitious.
Did the post on social media or in the online publication/website create a conversation?
I found that the social media posts generated more conversation than the online publications. The social media posts had an incredibly higher number of shares and comments than the online publications. Most of the online publications had no comments. However, the social media posts linking out to the online publication with zero comments had 100’s to 1000’s of comments.
Explain what was said on each, if anything. What was the overall sentiment on social/news outlet? Do you feel that both sources were trustworthy?
I found it very difficult to find local news papers covering iPhone 8 leaks prior to the Apple event. I think it may have to do something about the leaks surfacing directly from social media. The leaks also changed very quickly during the days leading up to the Apple event, which may have prevented local newspapers to release their publications before social media could.
Learnings
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun working on this assignment for Professor Miner’s Social Media class. Following multiple sources over a short duration on a topic I enjoyed was a thrilling and rewarding experience. I was amazed how leaks can easily be interpreted as factual information. It wasn’t until I did further investigation such as, identify where the source was finding its material, analyze the headline and use personal experiences with technology to arise to an opinion.
By completing this assignment I was able to see what Doug Hardy explains as the “disturbance of journalism” in his presentation. The transitional disturbance that has occurred between the journalism and social media era was evident. It would be interesting to go back in time and complete this assignment during the journalism era. Of course, we can’t expect Apple to come out with retina display iPhone 8. Although, if they did I am confident that the information would be enclosed with far less people if any at all.
I would recommend anyone reading the news to check all sources before forming an opinion. Even leading news sources provide false information and skew a story time to time. Technology is advancing at an amazing rate, but we can not put total trust in any social media.