Podcast with a Social Media Expert

 

I never thought making a podcast would be easy, and apparently it is. It was a new experience, and I am hesitant to do another. Still, I rather enjoyed this podcast and the interview I conducted with an expert in the field of social media and communications. I was pleased that she was able to participate and explain her knowledge of social media to me and others who will be listening to the podcast. 

In the podcast, I introduce Hannah Brown, a director of media for a company called Oodle in Cincinnati. Before that, she was a graduate of Ohio Northern University, obtaining a degree in public relations and social media studies. As a political science major, I was very insightful to hear from a person who studied at another college. In the interview, I asked her what her definition of social media was. Her answer was the typical answer most people would say when to define social media. This answer is that it allows people to connect with one another over large distances, greatly benefiting society and facilitating the globalization of new beliefs and ideas. I agreed with her definition, even though not being an affluent user of social media. Facebook is where I draw the line. We continued by discussing what platforms she was well acquainted with. Instagram is her primary platform, because of the many ways it can be used and how it can be easily accessed. Still, she gives high marks to TikTok for its reach to a wider audience. We then discussed what are the good sides of social media, as well as the bad sides. She explained that it has become a useful tool to help people communicate, families in particular, over large distances. She also credited the usefulness of social media to spread new ideas/customs, like business advertisements. When it came to the negatives of social media, she leaned towards the harmfulness of opinions, and how they can negatively influence the minds. Especially when it comes to politics and the spread of false information. 

In the last few minutes, we discussed what she thought of new platforms arising and the fall of others. She explained that it is quite common for platforms to be taken over by larger and newer companies. MySpace, she brought up as an example from the past. She also brought up the political situation of TikTok being banned in the United States. How politics can affect the longevity of a platform's existence. Finally, we discussed the future of social media and the possibility of a world without social media. She explained that it would be nice to live in a world without social media (I would agree also) but it would be hard for the younger generations to adapt to such a society. Especially since this younger generation was raised with such modern technologies. In my opinion, I would have to agree with her statement on this topic. First-hand experience tells me that the younger population in the world today wouldn't be able to survive a minute without social media, let alone a decade. 

I really enjoyed this podcast interview. However, I don't think I will plan on making another one again for the rest of my life. Still, the future is unexpected, and new ideas may arise to give me the boost to make an official one. 

Here is the link to the podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SI5y0xHVpIbD40Dre5euc?si=2Xjsfm9xRu6PC3SIYwIfSg