Category: Class

Social media has become many peoples’ public squares where they everyone can speak their feelings, argue, persuade, share information, etc. However, many of these sites are privately owned with many rules.

Centralized platforms deliver a lot of public value. One benefit of highly centralized sites is that it has wide reach due to the fact that almost everyone has it. Social media for example is very easy to reach friends, family, classmates, and large audiences. Another benefit is that many groups rely on social media to spread messages quickly. Since these companies have so much money to put into apps, features, safety tools, etc. they become a reliable source for a lot of people.

However, there are still some major drawbacks to these platforms. One major downside is that we don’t control the space, and can’t choose who sees our posts or when they appear. Another drawback is that our algorithms shape what we think is “true” when it may be the complete opposite. The Free Speech Project points out that this affects political debates, new distribution, and public knowledge.

I don’t think that we should be depending on the goodwill of the owners because we never truly know what is going on behind the scenes. CEO’s and boards often change, politics fluctuate, and business incentives evolve. Decentralized systems don’t rely on one single company to control everything, rather people are able to choose communities and connect with each other. Decentralization may be good because it has less corporate control, and more use choice. However, there are downsides such as moderation will be harder, and it may become confusing for everyday users.

Many people think that the government should play a role, mainly to create rules to help make online spaces fairer, safer, and more stable. Portability is that idea that when moving platforms, you can take your conversations, followers, and groups with you. The Free Speech Project explains that if social media platforms are going to function like public squares, society needs to give us a way to prevent private companies from being the only gatekeepers. Portability is a way to give users freedom rather than being locked into one space. Other ways that the government can intervene is by adding basic safety standards and transparency rules.

Who owns what we say to each other? Legally, we own our own words because when you post something, you hold the copyright. However, platforms control the majority of everything else. This includes who sees your post, when it appears, how long it stays up, how your algorithm shapes you’re feed, etc. Users may technically hold the rights to their words, but the platforms decide how those words function in public (The Free Speech Project). An example of this is Meta changing it’s fact-checking policy and not asking users. You may own your own post, but the algorithm can hide it as if it doesn’t exist.

This is why many experts argue for portability, transparency, and better governance. To make sure that our words aren’t entirely controlled by companies whose rules can change overnight.

For this assignment, I was able to look at Wikipedia in a different way by seeing how it’s like to contribute to the platform. I chose to edit the Santa Maria, California page because it is my hometown and something that I felt I had enough knowledge to contribute to. After reading through it, I felt that it did a great job encompassing the city, but felt the need to add a few extra sentences on the culture, more specifically, the Santa Maria style bbq.

The first step that I took was deciding what information to add into that section. I chose to talk a bit more about the bbq because of a conversation I had with my roommates the other day when one of them came home with a tri tip that was from Santa Maria. I researched reliable sources and found an article from Food & Wine that discusses the history of the bbq style and how it is considered one of California’s most iconic regional food tradition’s.

Before making any edits, I learned that Wikipedia requires new editors to propose changes on the article’s Talk page. This is something I never noticed as a regular user, but have learned through this class that it’s an important part of maintaining transparency and collaboration. On the Talk page, I created a new section explaining that I was new to editing and outlining the idea that I was wanting to add to the preexisting article.

After posting my proposal, I waited to see if any editors would respond. I didn’t receive immediate feedback, but according to the assignment instructions, it’s acceptable to proceed if no objections are raised. I added my two sentences directly under the existing barbecue description. I included a link to my citation and double checked that my formatting was similar to the rest of the article. As seen in the screenshot below, the sentences that I added are in the second paragraph of this article. As a local, the article that I cited is 100% true when saying that it is one of the state’s most iconic regional specialties.

This experience definitely changed my view of Wikipedia. I’ve usually just used it as somewhere to get quick information, but contributing to it, even just a few sentences, was pretty rewarding. Before going into it, I had no idea how the behind the scenes worked and now I have much more respect for the people who edit and go through each article. Overall, editing this page gave me a new outlook on Wikipedia’s collaborative effort that is dependable on writer’s thoughtfulness, respect, and their commitment to writing accurate information.

This weeks assignment has allowed me to experiment in a different way with AI than I have ever done before. I used ChatGPT to help me create my response to the prompt that I came up with and found that it was pretty helpful in generating a response that aligned with what I asked of it. Something else that I learned is that editing generative AI is still necessary to make it sound like your real voice as well as making sure that you can add in your own sources to back up your statements. However, using AI was very helpful with structuring and making the paragraphs flow together well. After copy and pasting the AI prompt into Google Docs, I went through and added sources that supported what the prompt had asked about. My prompt was about reasons people preferred meal prep or cooking daily. This was important to find sources to support because I want to make sure I’m putting correct information onto my blog and want to create trust within my audience.

After thinking about whether I fully trust AI or not, I would say that I trust it for simple tasks like what we did for this assignment or for rephrasing something, making it flow more, etc. However, I don’t fully trust it because it may not understand exactly what I’m wanting it to do without guidance constantly. It also often takes the prompt in the wrong direction and may add incorrect information about the topic. Because of this, I make sure to carefully read and go through the writing to make sure it represents what I want to say!

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming, even with a busy schedule! In this post, I’ll share a few simple strategies that make healthy meals easy as a busy college student. I’ve also created a video with 3 quick tips to help you achieve your meal goals for the week!

Tip 1: Build balanced plates

One of the easiest ways to eat healthier is to balance your meals. This also makes it much quicker to grocery shop and make a balanced list. Making sure each plate has a protein, veggies or fruits, whole grains, and a small amount of healthy fats is super important.

Tip 2: Plan ahead

Spending just 30 minutes to an hour each week meal prepping your food helps save so much time and helps you make better choices. I like to cook all of my veggies and protein for whatever meal I’m making it and portion it out for the next few days! It’s so helpful so you don’t have to worry about what you’re having for dinner.

Tip 3: Use simple ingredients

Healthy cooking doesn’t require you to spend a lot of money or make super complicated recipes. Some good staples to have in your kitchen at all times are eggs, olive oil, frozen vegetables, frozen protein, and quinoa/flaxseeds. These are staples in your kitchen that allow you to throw some meals together without stress.

By using these three tips, my hope for you is that you can enjoy balanced nutritious meals everyday! Check the video below for a visual guide to these tips for a simple approach to healthy eating.

As a college student, it can be tough to eat healthy, but I’ve found that it doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. I enjoy meal prepping which makes you multiple meals for the week without having to cook everyday. One of my go-to breakfasts is overnight oats. They are very easy to prep the night before by combing oats, chia seeds, milk, fruit, and in the morning you can add any other toppings you like.

For lunch, I usually opt for a quick salad. My recent obsession has been a salad with chickpeas, cucumbers, red bell peppers, onions, mozzarella balls, and chicken with a light olive oil dressing. This is also something easy to meal prep and lasts me about four days!

Something easy to meal prep for dinner is a chicken sausage sheet pan. The sausage and any vegetables you choose comes together in about 40 minutes and the one pan makes the cleanup super quick!

1. My photo

Here is another easy breakfast idea that I have made! Just greek yogurt, apples, granola, and peanut butter. Super easy to throw together in the morning and makes for a yummy breakfast!

2. Stock Photo

Photo by Keegan Evans on Pexels

This photo is a great example of overnight oats! It looks almost identical to the recipe I use!

3. AI photo

Image created by DALL-E

This photo is an example of the chicken sausage sheet pan I mentioned above. This recipe is such an easy way to be healthy without having to give up good flavor!

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