Pizza Delivery Guy Gets Last Laugh

What it is the fasted way to get the internet to go crazy with comments? Simple, all you have to do is put a video online of a pizza delivery guy doing his job and the recipients berating him. In today’s world a person has a better chance at getting away with a speeding ticket than thinking a person can hide from the wrath social media. What happened to the pizza guy was a cruel display of a group believing they were better and had more power.  The group of individuals were probably thinking or in this case, not thinking, the footage from the security video would not make it to the internet. I can only imagine how the delivery guy felt as they talked down on him. Something I would like to know is why is it when people are put into a position of power they think it is okay to abuse it?

In the first article I read it appears the driver was clearly confused about the situation. I for one believe a food bill in the amount of $42 dollars deserves at least the five dollar tip. What made me get angry was hearing the dialogue that took place. When the driver asked about the additional money the employee clearly stated he knew he gave the extra money so he can have the opportunity to call the pizza company to have the driver go back to give it back to them. I feel that was so senseless. At one point in the video the female is heard saying to the driver to get out of the office before she sticks her foot up his “ass.” I think for this situation it was a good thing the security camera had audio capabilities because without it the pizza company would have probably made the decision to fire the driver. I was brought with the teachings of treat others the way you want to be treated. I say this because throughout the video you see the driver maintaining his composure and staying respectful while the transgressors steadily make the situation more and more destructive. I was glad to see towards the end of the article the owners of the dealership approached the manager of the pizza company to personally apologize numerous times. I tried to find information on whether the employees made a personal apology to the driver or were reprimanded for their actions but I could not find any information.

http://www.abc6.com/story/27860338/viral-video-westport-dealership-asks-local-pizza-delivery-man-for-tip-money-back

So now, what happens when the social media gets a hold of a video such as this? They go crazy with it! I already said I was not able to find information on the employees being punished but what I thought was interesting is the amount of people who began supporting the driver, and in some ways did their own form of social justice. One of the ways was they left negative comments in the reviews of the company. I think it is safe to say that the power of numerous negative reviews can easily break a company. This makes me wonder if the reason the owners of the dealership made it a priority to personally apologize was to get back on the public’s good side. To show how much support the driver had, there were donation pages created for him so he could receive his tip. Here is the crazy part, in only two days the donations were passed $22,000 dollars! I understand that people felt bad for him getting stiffed on a tip, at the same time I think it was a little bit overboard on the amount that was raised for what some might say was a rare case of bad tippers. Also, I feel this type of situation happens all over the Country, so I am curious to know what details made this particular case so special to people. I was able to find a plethora of videos on YouTube of employees being mistreated by others yet they did not receive any type of national attention.  I imagine that the delivery guy’s life has changed drastically due to this encounter with social media. It kind of makes me want to get a pizza delivery job in hopes of something like this would happen to me.  This entire situation from the negative reviews posted to the outlandish amount of money raised shows how powerful social media can be. It also puts into perspective how far some people are willing to go to show support for another.  The fact that this incident was happened privately and eventually given to the world can evoke some thoughts of caution. People need to be cautious of the material they post online because all it takes is one person to share it and another person’s life can be changed.

http://www.eater.com/2015/1/16/7559921/internet-bands-together-to-raise-22000-for-stiffed-pizza-driver

Platforms

These days people are looking to connect with others through many different platforms from FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc. It has even gotten to the point that phone game apps give the user the opportunity to communicate with other players. With so many platforms to communicate on it is no wonder why face-to-face communication is declining among our generation.

Ladies and gentleman I give you the greatest phone app a college student has student has ever come across: Yik Yak!

This app has been around for a little over a year and it has taken college campuses by storm.  With this app users are able to post anonymously and can say whatever they desire as long as it is within the 200 character limit. One of the great features of this Platform is the creators made it so that only other users within a 1.5 mile radius can send other post and comments that show up on your feed. One of the problems that arises with a platform like this is it opens up the realm of cyber bullying, which is becoming more prevalent in today’s society. Although many of the posts happen to jokes and one-liners, there have been posts made of confessions made of heinous crimes.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/21/yik-yak-anonymous-app-college-campus-whisper-secret

Up next we have the Platform that pretty went extinct the moment FaceBook got big. Let’s be honest though, this was pretty much the original Face Book. I give you MySpace. At the peak of its existence MySpace was considered a “Titan” of social media. With a title like that it can a person wonder what had to go wrong for such a strong Platform to almost become non-existent? According to the Bloomberg Business Week Magazine a compilation of mismanagement, a merger gone wrong and countless strategic blunders sent MySpace to its grave. Like many other Social Media Platforms MySpace made its money from advertisements. The issue with this was users started to become annoyed with the increased use of ads on their homepage. Now starting to make a small comeback MySpace is becoming a Platform to use if a person wants to create an identity in the music industry.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_27/b4235053917570.htm

I think few of the items which makes MySpace and YikYak such different platforms are the way content is presented. On YikYak there is a target audience of college students. So much so that they created what is called a “geofence.” This geofence is a barrier which disallows users on High School campuses from using the app. Also the fact that it’s anonymous makes it more of a “free-for-all” type platform.   I like to think of MySpace as the unprofessional LinkedIn page. Its main purpose is to connect people and socialize.

Blogging

Before I dive in to what blogging is, it is good idea for me to discuss where blogging came from. I read an article from the New York Magazine that gave a breakdown of the history of blogging. I never knew blogging has been around for 21 years! It was created by Justin Hall, a Swarthmore College student in January of 1994. His blog was posted on the website Links.net.  In December of 1997 Jorn Barger coined the term “Weblog.” Then a few years later another person came along and shortened it down to “blog”. In the same year blogger introduced the first popular free blog-creation service. Something I found interesting was in 2002 a lady by the name of Heather Armstrong was fired from her job because talked about it on her blog, Dooce. That word became a verb meaning “fired for blogging.” She was the first person to be fired for that reason. Believe it or not in the year 2004 the word “blog” was voted the “word of the year” according to Webster.

http://nymag.com/news/media/15971/

Now that we have made it through the history of the Blog let’s move on to fun stuff. Up until recently I had no clue what blogging entailed. In my second link it discusses how blogs work and the difference between a website. One of the first things I learned was blogging, also known as weblog, is a common thing for people to do these days. I used to think blogs were only for professionals such as reporters and others who are in the field of media. One of the key things to remember about a blog is it is public. So anyone can read what you write. Therefore always be aware with the items you choose to discuss. The great thing about blogs is a person can talk about anything and everything. Think of it as another form to your diary.  To create your blog simply go to one of the many web-based toolsets such as, Blogger, TypePad, Word Press and many more, and in less than five minutes you are set. Blogs can be used for many different purposes. To name a few a blogger may want to inform people about political issues, give lessons on how to cook, scrapbooking, and one that is becoming more popular talking about their lives. I think the idea of blogging is good because I feel there are fewer restrictions when typing a blog. Also, I have recently learned employers like to search for potential employee’s blogs to see what they like to talk about.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/information/blog3.htm

Social Media Change

Social media has affected the way we communicate in so many ways it can be thought of as outrageous. It is kind of crazy to think 10 years ago when a person would travel half way across the world and wanted to see their family they would have to wait until they returned back home. Now-a-days it does not matter where you are, a person can be as close to you as from the click of a button. Matter of fact, with some devices people do not even have to press a button. When you look at social media affecting communication in this situation it is great because we as humans long for a connection with others in some form.

On the other hand Social Media has also crutched communications. I am going to focus on the communications within college students. As a college student myself I witness everyday incidences when other students are glued to their phone and computer screens. One might think they would be doing homework on their devices but sadly they are not. Instead, their eyes are fixated on the latest viral video, social meme and so on. I sometimes find it difficult to have a conversation face-to-face with others. It almost seems as if Social Media has managed to reduce the ability for students to interact physically. A good example of this is the other day I saw a friend sitting down looking at their phone. When I attempted to grab their attention they remained engrossed in newest craze in social media. I thought to myself how I can divert their attention away from their device. Finally after repeated attempts I decided to slap them in the back of their head. It clearly, was not my first option, but it was the only thing that got them to lift their head up to look me in the eyes.

Social Media has done a lot of good in the world. It allows people to be constantly informed, gives easy access to family and friends, and it can act as an escape from the world. At the same time people have become more disconnected with the outside world. I think there needs to be a balance between using Social Media and Communicating .